BASIC  TWO  HOUSE  TEACHING

By Rebbetzin Sherry A. Hord

                The following study identifies the Two Houses of Israel, the House of Israel, known as Ephraim, and the House of Judah, as they are found in the Scriptures.

                The study begins with their history, and ends with their fulfillment of the Avrahamic Covenant.  It reveals how the people of Israel have shaped the history of the world. 

                The Two House teaching is one of the most important studies that a believer should have after receiving salvation, and learning the fundamental doctrines of the faith.  Without proper understanding of the Two House theme of Yehowah's Word, the believer cannot properly align the First Covenant with the Renewed Covenant, and that is precisely why false teaching and religious doctrines have thrived in Christianity for centuries. This study begins with the ten instructions of Torah given to the Kings of Israel.  All sources for Scriptures are noted.

Torah Instructions for the Kings of Israel

                Dueteronomy 17:14-20 gives the ten instructions for the Kings of Israel to follow:

                1.  The King must be selected by Yehowah, not the people.

                2.  The King must be an Israelite.

                3.  He shall not acquire many horses.

                4.  He must not have many wives.

                5.  He must not acquire great wealth.

                6.  He must write a copy of Torah for Himself.

                7.  He must read Torah to learn to revere or fear Yehowah.

                8.  He must carefully follow Torah.

                9.  He must be humble.

              10.  He must not turn away/stray from Torah.

                It was paramount for the King to understand that if Yehowah's instructions  were followed, the presiding King of Israel would be greatly blessed, and his descendants would continue to reign over the Kingdom of Israel as a dynasty.

 Yehowah's Punishment for a King's Disobedience                   

                I Kings 9:1-9 Yehowah reminded Solomon to obey Torah.  If he did not,  the Kingdom of Israel would suffer consequences.  If Solomon or his sons turned away from Yehowah and did not follow Torah to serve other elohim/gods or to worship them, THE PEOPLE KNOWN AS ISRAEL WOULD SUFFER.  The following things would happen:

                1.  "....., then I will cut off Israel from the land,"  I Kings 9:7, NIV.   The Hebrew word for "cut off" is "karath" which means to be "destroyed,  consumed, cut down."  The basic understanding of the Hebrew here is that the people "Israel" would be left alone in the gentile/heathen world without Yehowah, separated from Him, and inevitably enter into a pact or covenant  with an enemy to eventually be destroyed or perish.

                2.  Solomon's Temple would be "cast out of Yehowah's sight."  The Hebrew  word for "cast out" is "shalach" meaning "send away from, forsake, leave, depart (to remove His presence, the Shekinah glory)." 

                3.  Israel as a nation of people would become a byword (a proverb,  an epigraph or something amusing from the past and given little thought to),  a thing of mockery, an object of ridicule, scorn, and taunt among all the people of the world.

                4.  Solomon's Temple would be scoffed at.

               5.  People of the world would instinctively know that the people called Israel stopped worshipping Yehowah, and embraced, worshipped, and served other elohim (gods), meaning to participate in pagan Gentile religions. 

A King's Disobedience Brings Division to the Nation of Israel

                I Kings 11:9-13 tells us that Solomon refused to obey Yehowah and follow His Torah.  So Yehowah warned Solomon that as a result of his disobedience Yehowah would tear the Kingdom of Israel in two (divide in two parts).  This would happen  during Solomon's son's reign, and his son would have only one tribe, Judah, to reign  over.  Yehowah would give the Tribe of Judah to Solomon's son for the sake of David. 

A Divided Kingdom - Two Houses - 931-586 B.C.E.

                I Kings 11:26-43 Yehowah sent His prophet Ahiyah to a young man named Yeroboam/Jeroboam.  The prophet tore his new cloak into twelve pieces to represent the twelve tribes of Israel.  To show Yeroboam what Yehowah intended to do to the nation of Israel, Ahiyah gave Yeroboam 10 pieces of the torn cloak to represent ten tribes of the nation of Israel.  Ahiyah then related that Solomon's son would have only one tribe given to him for the sake of David and the City of Yerusalem/Jerusalem. 

The one tribe given to Solomon's son would be the merger of the Tribe of Judah with the Tribe of Benyamin/Benjamin and the Levites.  Yeroboam would become King over the ten tribes in the north, and Rehoboam, Solomon's son would be King over the one tribe merger of the south.  The Kingdom of Israel would be two distinct Kingdoms.  The prophet Ahiyah admonished Yeroboam to follow Yehowah's instructions so that his Kingdom would be blessed and be a lasting dynasty to humble the Tribe of Judah for a period of time.

 Upper Division:  Northern Kingdom of Israel - House of Israel (10 Tribes)

                I Kings 12:25-33 during Yeroboam's reign over the ten tribes of the north, he became fearful that his people would continue to go down to the Southern Kingdom under his rival, King Rehoboam, to celebrate the Feast Days of Yehowah as they were  commanded to do so in  Exodus 23:14-17.  His fear may have been based on several things that most leaders would face.  The distance and effort to cross over borders might cause his people to want to live in the Southern Kingdom to be closer to the Temple in Yerusalem for the Feast Days.  If his people moved to the Southern Kingdom, he would suffer great financial and agricultural losses, and military strength in his Northern Kingdom.

 The Golden Calf Worship System of the House of Israel - Northern Kingdom 

                To keep his people at home and happy in the Northern Kingdom, Yeroboam developed the "Golden Calf Worship System."  He built two temples and strategically placed them in the Northern Kingdom.  One was in the City of Dan near the upper Northern border close to Mt. Hermon, and the other in the City of Bethel on the Southern border that divided the two Kingdoms.  The focus of worship in these temples was a "golden calf."  Yeroboam mixed Torah worship of Yehowah with the revived Egyptian  "golden calf" Sun-god religion that Israel's ancestors had learned  when they were in Egypt during their 430 years of slavery. Yeroboam's greatest sin was that he called his newly formed paganistic religion the true worship of Yehowah. 

                Exodus 32:1-6 relates how the people of Israel fell back into the "Golden Calf Worship" while Moshe/Moses was up on Mt. Sinai receiving Yehowah's Torah instructions for the people of Israel.  These verses give us a clue that the Israelites  had been involved in Egyptian Sun-god worship during their years of slavery. 

                According to Egyptian mythology, the Egyptians worshipped Amen-Ra/Amen-Rah/Rah as their high Sun-god, later called Osiris.  They believed that the gods could not be visibly seen, so they entered into the bodies of animals so that they could reveal themselves through the characteristics of the animal.  Amen-Rah/Osiris was believed tobe like a strong and virile bull, and lived in the body of a special breed of bulls, called Hap-bulls.  These Hap-bulls were kept in the City of Ptah where the Egyptians formed molten statues of the Hap-bulls to be used in the religious ceremonies of worship to Amen-Rah/Osiris.  Eventually the Hap-bull statues became fashioned to look like a half-man, half-bull creature called Apis, (Egyptian Mythology, Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia 2001).   Yeroboam instituted his false worship of Yehowah approximately 930 years before Yahshua came to earth. 

Lower Division - Southern Kingdom (1 Tribe-Judah, Benyamin, Levites) - House of Judah

                I Kings 14:21-31 tells us that  Rehoboam, Solomon's son, ruled over Judah, the Southern Kingdom.  Scripture also tells us that the Southern Kingdom did evil in Yehowah's eyes.

                1.  The people of  Judah were worshipping the sexual, fertility gods and goddesses of Canaanite/Babylonian origin which dated back to Cush, Nimrod, and the "Queen of Heaven, " Nimrod's wife, Simmeranis also  known as "Ishtar, Eostre, Eos, Ostara, Astarte, and Eastre."  From the worship of this goddess, comes the pagan origin of today's Easter celebrations.  Jeremiah 7:18 tells us that even later in Judah's history, the people of Judah continued to worship this goddess by baking cakes as offerings to the Babylonian goddess "Ishtar," (The Two Babylons, by Alexander Hislop).

                2.  The people of Judah erected stone pillars and altars, and fertility poles called Asherah/Asherath poles on hills or high places.  These poles symbolized the "male genital organ."  The Asherah poles, the Egyptian obelisks, church towers and steeples, the Washington Monument are all related to the ancient poles and obelisks of Sun-god worship.  Male prostitution was also engaged in during Judah's worst sins against Yehowah.

                As a result of these sins, Rehoboam's reign suffered.  Solomon's valuable golden shields and articles were stolen from the Temple in Yerusalem, and continual warfare plagued Judah which probably drained the Kingdom's treasuries. 

The Nation's Punishment for Disobedience

                Dueteronomy. 28:64-68 expressly states that Yehowah's punishment for the nation's (twelve tribes) disobedience  would be the following:

                1.  The people would be scattered among all nations throughout the world.

                2.  They would worship and serve other gods.

                3.  They would have no repose (peace) nor resting place for their feet (be on the move; migrate).

                4.  They would have anxious minds (anxiety; fear; worry; wishful thinking),  eyes failing or weary with longing (to desire something unattainable; crave  for), and sorrow of being (to have self-pity).

                5.  They would be in constant fear, suspense, and dread.

                6.  They would have no assurance of their future (complete uncertainty).

                7.  They would go back to Egypt once again;  Egypt as an example of slavery,  hardship, and turmoil found in the world.

 Exile - Punishment Fulfilled

Northern Kingdom - House of Israel - 732-721 B.C.E.

                II Kings 17:1-40 due to their sins of idolatry and whoredom, the House of Israel, the ten tribes of the Northern Kingdom were sent into exile as captives of the Assyrian Empire. The beginning of the exile of the numerously populated ten tribes of the North began in 745 B.C. E. when Yehowah raised up the Assyrians to invade the Northern Kingdom, the House of Israel.  Throughout the following years, Assyrians deported huge masses of Israelites into Assyrian held lands, transplanting them as laborers within the Assyrian Empire. Yehowah's punishment was fulfilled upon the House of Israel, the ten tribes of the Northern Kingdom of Israel:

                1.  They would be rejected by Yehowah (Jeremiah 3:8, Hosea 9:17).

                2.  They would be invaded and taken captive by the brutal Assyrians (II Kings 17:23).

                3.  Their lands of the Northern Kingdom would be resettled by Assyrian captives taken from other lands (II Kings 17:24).

                4.  They would be scattered among the Gentile nations (Dueteronomy 4:27; Ezekiel 36:21).  The Israelites were scattered among Assyrian held lands.  After the Assyrian Empire declined, they began to migrate further away from  Assyrian lands. The largest portion of the Israelite refugees moved north  toward the European areas to eventually settle.  In the nations, they would  accept Gentile cultures and adopt heathen religions. The Israelites would intermingle and intermarry with Gentile people and have mixed offspring. They would so thoroughly assimilate that they would become like Gentiles, thus they became "invisible" in the world and were believed to be "lost." They continued to move from lands to lands to eventually migrate throughout all the world (Hosea 9:17).

                5.  They would lose their identity as Israelites, and their conscience would be seared (Hosea 7:8, 8:8).  (KJ reads the best on Hosea 8:8.

                6.  The Israelites would not return to their land in Israel as the House of Israel,  or the ten tribes, until their hearts returned to Yehowah (Dueteronomy 4:29- 31), and the prophecies of restoration would be fulfilled Ezekiel 37:21-22;  Hosea 2:22-23). At this point, I would admonish the reader to obtain a copy of The "Lost" Ten Tribes of Israel...Found!, by Steven M. Collins at www.nbizz.com/losttentribes. He has gathered research on the migrations of the ten tribes of the House of Israel and compiled the information into a marvelous book. 

Hosea's Life Becomes An Allegory for the House of Israel

                Hosea 1:2-10 states that Yehowah called the Prophet Hosea to live out an allegory regarding the destiny of the House of Israel, the ten tribes of the Northern Kingdom of Israel.  The real life allegorical experience for Hosea was to show him how Yehowah looked upon the House of Israel and how He would mete out punishment for their sins.

                1.  Hosea represents Yehowah as Israel's husband.

                2.  Gomer represents the House of Israel as an adulterous, rebellious wife, a spiritual fornicator and idolator.

                3.  Their marriage represents an unholy union between Torah and pagan religion.

                4.  Jezreel is a Hebrew name that has a dual meaning:  In the negative, it means "to scatter;" in the positive, it means "to regather."

                5.  Lo-Ruhamah is a Hebrew word that means "no compassion."

                6.  Lo-Ammi is a Hebrew word that means "not my people;" term of rejection. The allegory depicts Yehowah's punishment for the House of Israel, the ten tribes.   Hosea and Gomer's marriage depicts how Yehowah sees the House of Israel that was once married to Yehowah, in union with Him, and how Israel as His wife broke the marriage vows.  He gave His Torah to Israel at Mt. Sinai as the "ketubah" or marriage contract which they agreed to abide in (Exodus 19:8).  

                The three children depict what would happen to the House of Israel:

                1. Yehowah would scatter ("Jezreel" in the negative meaning of the name) the  Israelites among the nations as punishment for their sins; exile them. 

                2.  He would have no compassion or mercy on them during their exile.

                3.  He would strip them of their Israelite identity by saying they are not His people thereby rejecting them.  However, Hosea 1:10 also reveals five positive things that would occur with  the House of Israel during their exile among the Gentile nations of the world.

                1.  The House of Israel, the ten tribes of Northern Israel would literally fulfill the Avrahamic Covenant.  The Israelites would become like the sand on the seashore, so many that they can not be measured or counted as stated in the  Avrahamic Covenant (Genesis 15:5).

                 NOTE:  At this point, one should realize that the population ratio between the House of  Israel and the House of Judah from ancient times to modern day has always been a reality that the "Jews" have been smaller in number than the Israelites.  The House of Judah can not possibly fulfill Gen.15:5 by itself. 

                2.  At a future time, Yehowah will no longer refer to the Israelites as "not my people."  They will be reinstated in Yehowah's good favor.

                3.  Yehowah will call the Israelites "sons of the living Elohim."  In Romans 9:24-27, Rav Shaul (Paul) refers to Hosea 1:10 in his statement to the Messianic congregation in Rome. He states that Yehowah is calling His people out from not only the Jews but also from among the Gentiles, and from both Houses a remnant will be saved.  The remnant is Redeemed Israel which  includes the saved from both Houses and non-descendants from the Gentile world.

                4.  The House of Israel will be reunited with the House of Judah under one leader, Yahshua HaMashiach (Jeremiah 3:18; Ezekiel 37:15-28;Hosea 1:11).

                5.  They will come up out of the land (earth) in the Day of Jezreel. This Promise refers to the positive side of the name "Jezreel" meaning "to regather."  This Promise also alludes to two deeper levels of spiritual understanding:

                           A..  The Israelites along with the Jews will be taken from the four corners  of the earth to be regathered in Eretz Israel in the near future  (Isaiah 11:12).

                           B.  The Israelite portion of the remnant along with the other saints will be   resurrected from the earth when Messiah comes in the clouds (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17).

 Good News For the House of Israel

                Hebrews 8:8-12 The Messianic author of the Book of Hebrews understood very well the plight of the ten tribes, the House of Israel, and the House of Judah.  He was making note of all the many references in the Prophets concerning the Two Houses.  He made note that in the "last days" the tribes would recover their relationship with Yehowah.  In particular, he referenced that Yehowah will put Torah in the minds of the people of the House of Israel, and write Torah on their hearts.  He further said that Yehowah will be their Elohim (God), and they will be His people once more; He will forgive the people of their sins and remember their sins no more.

                Futhermore, Yehowah intends to rename the people of the House of Israel even while they still exist in exile:  Hosea 1:10b says, "In the place where it was said to them (House of Israel), 'You are not my people (rejection by Yehowah),' they will be called 'sons of the living Elohim (God)," NIV.

                Rabbi Shaul (Paul) told the congregation of Israelites meeting in Rome that those of the House of Israel that had returned to Yehowah, quoting from Hosea 1:10, he exhorted them that they were "the sons of the living Elohim (God);" they were to remain in a humble heart and not look down on the House of Judah because they had not yet returned (Romans 9, 10, 11).

                The Israelites will recover their relationship with Yehowah.  The following Scriptures all speak of their recovery:  Jeremiah 3:11-13, 31:18-20, 33:7-8, 14, 23-26, 50:4-6, 19- 20; Ezekiel 11:17, 36:24-31.   

Yahshua Came To Save the House of Israel  

Matthew 10:6 says, "Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel," NIV.    

Matthew 10:6 says, " But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of  Israel," KJV.  

Matthew 10:6 says, " But rather go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel," The Scriptures.

                The NIV translation has left out the important word "house" in the above verse. The word "house" indicates that Yahshua gave His twelve talmidim (disciples) specific instructions to seek out the descendants of the House of Israel (ten tribes) to bring them the Good News.

  Matthew 15:24 states, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel," NIV.  

Matthew 15:24 states, "I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house  of Israel," KJV. 

  Matthew 15:24 states, " I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the  house of Israel," The Scriptures.

                Again the NIV translation leaves out the word "house" which clarifies that an important aspect of Yahshua's earthly ministry was to see that the ten tribes of Israel that were in exile beyond the borders of Eretz Israel were given the opportunity to hear the Good News.  Yahshua wanted them to know that their time of exile was over and that they could return to their Elohim (God).

                Matthew 18:11 further says, "For the Son of Adam (Messiah) has come to save what was lost," The Scriptures.  That which is "lost" refers to the ten tribes of Israel, and their descendants down through their generations.  The Great Commission is a seek, find, save, and restore mission (Matthew 28:18-20).  The key word in Matthew 28:19 is "nations" for that is where the tribes were to be found and are to be found even today.  "....To the twelve tribes scattered among the nations:  Greetings," James 1:1, NIV.

The House of Israel, Ten Tribes of Northern Israel Are Known By Other Names

                The House of Israel is known by several other names in the Scriptures depending on how Yehowah speaks about them, or depicts them to the Prophet He speaks to.  We must learn to distinguish the following names that pertain to the House of Israel.  Scripture examples are given for each name.

                1.  House of Israel refers to the Northern Kingdom (I Kings 12:21; Jeremiah 31:31).

                2.  Samaria is a reference to their state of idolatry or being like the pagans that Assyria planted in the Northern Kingdom (Hosea 7:1, 8:5-6, 13:16).

                3.  House of Joseph because the two tribes resulting from Joseph's two sons,   Manasseh and Ephraim, literally filled the Northern Kingdom during its existence due to their numbers.  It is also a reference to their numerous  descendants that would continue to fill the nations during their exile (I Kings 11:28).

                4.  Ephraim as a picture of the House of Israel who would spiritually perish in  the Gentile nations where they were scattered because they had forsaken Torah; apart from Torah there is no spiritual knowledge.  It is an allegorical  picture of the House of Israel participating in pagan religions, believing that they have spiritual knowledge but in fact are destroying themselves spiritually (Hosea 4:17, 5:3, 7:1).

                5.  Manasseh as a picture of the House of Israel seen as two tribes, Manasseh  and Ephraim at odds with each other (sibling rivalry) but together carrying hatred toward the House of Judah (Isaiah 9:21). 

Exile - Punishment Fulfilled 

Southern Kingdom - House of Judah - 605-586 B.C.E.  

II Kings 24:8-17, II Kings 25; Jeremiah 52 tells us that Judah also suffered for their sins against Yehowah.  During the years of 605-586 B.C.E., the Babylonian army under Nebuchadnezzer invaded the Southern Kingdom of Judah three times. 

The first invasion occurred in Yehoichin/Jehoichin's reign.  He was taken prisoner along with all the officers and fighting men, all the craftsmen and artisans, and taken into exile into Babylon.  In 597 B.C.E., the second invasion took place and more captives of the House of Judah were taken into Babylon.  Then in 586 B.C.E. the Babylonians destroyed Yerusalem, captured King Zedekiah, and executed officials.  Jewish rabbis, scribes and priests were among those taken captive by the Babylonians (God Intervenes in the Middle East, by Marion F. Kremers.  Yehowah's punishment came with the high price of exile into foreign lands under the heavy yoke of the Babylonians.

                Jeremiah 25:11, "This whole country will become a desolate wasteland, and these nations (Judah, Benyamin, Levites) will serve the King of Babylon seventy years." 

House of Judah Released From Babylonian Captivity - 536 B.C.E.

                The Book of Ezra tells us that after 70 years of captivity had passed, King Cyrus of Persia/Babylon announced to the survivors of the captivity that Yehowah had appointed him to rebuild the Temple in Yerusalem.  The exiles were allowed to return to Yerusalem to help build the Temple.  A remnant of Judah, Benyamin, and Levites returned to their homeland.  The remainder of the captives chose not to return.  Many remained in Babylon to eventually wander out into other lands.  In those lands, they would be "visible" as "Jews" because they retained Torah practice.  Whereas the House of Israel would remain invisible and thought to be "lost" because they adopted pagan religions and assimilated into Gentile cultures.

 Roman Invasion of Judea - 63 B.C.E. - 70 A.D.

                The rebuilt Southern Kingdom of Judah, then called Judea,  had been re-established for hundreds of years by the time of the Roman conquest.  The Roman armies invaded Judea in 63 B.C.E. They captured Yerusalem and the Temple and entered the kodesh place (Holy of Holies).  Judea was then subject to Rome. 

                At the time of Yahshua's life here on earth, Judea was still under the occupation of Rome. His talmidim thought that He had come to deliver them from Roman oppression as the long awaited and hoped for "Messiah of Israel."  "HaTikvah Yisrael," the Hope of Israel, looks to a time when the twelve tribes are restored under the Messiah and the Nation of Israel is healed and made whole again Acts 1:6 says, " So when they met together, they asked him, 'Master (Lord), are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?' " NIV.   Roman occupation of Judea lasted until 70 A.D.  From May to September of that year, there was a Jewish revolt.  Rome's punishment was horrible, 500 Jews were crucified daily outside of the City of Yerusalem.  On the 9th of Av, the Roman soldiers entered the "kodesh place," the Holy of Holies, to plunder its valuables, and the gold on the building.  They set the Temple on fire to be fully destroyed; it has not been rebuilt to this day (God Intervenes in the Middle East, Marion F. Kremers). The remaining Jews were dispersed beyond the Land of Israel not to return until 1948 A.D.  Daniel 9:26 states,".....The people of the ruler (Rome) who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary," NIV.

Modern Day Remnant of Judah Returns to Eretz Israel

                    This study would not be complete if we left out the creation of the modern State of Israel.  In 1880, the long held Jewish vision to return to the Land of Israel called "Zionism" came to a reality.   Out of Zionism, emerged the resurgence of the Hebrew language through the work of Eliezer Ben-Yehuda.  During the following years, masses of Russian and Eastern European Jews fleeing the "pograms"(massacres of Jews, especially throughout Russia), found their way to the homeland (God Intervenes in the Middle East, by Marion F. Kremers).  Upon arriving in Israel, they found the following to be true:

                "Your children who follow you in later generations and foreigners who come from distant lands will see calamities that have fallen on the land and the diseases with which Yehowah (the Lord) has afflicted it.  The whole land will be a  burning waste of salt and sulphur - nothing planted, nothing sprouting, no vegetation growing on it....," Duet 29:22-23a.  

                Out of the hot desert, and malaria-ridden swamplands, farmlands and small Jewish communities called "kibbutz" emerged.  Life was not easy, and Zionism was not welcomed by the nations of the world, especially the Arab nations.  During the late 1930's and early 1940's, Jews fleeing Hitler's regime of WWII also found their way to Israel.

                 On May 14, 1948, Israel declared itself to be an independent nation.  The next day, May 15, 1948, the armies of Egypt, Transjordan, Syria, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, and Iraq attacked the new state.  January 7, 1949, saw Israel's War of Independence come to a halt with a cease-fire, and the City of Yerusalem divided between Israel and Jordan.  The Six-Day War broke out in 1967 when Jordan attacked Israel again.  The Jews regained control of the City of Yerusalem and the Temple Mount.  Intense Arab hatred of the Jews ensued.  On Yom Kippur, October 6, 1973, the Egyptians and Syrians once again attacked Israel.  On November 11, 1973, a cease-fire was signed. 

                Years later the Jordanian refugees that were left within Israel's borders from the war were refused to be taken back by the Jordanian State.  These Jordanian refugees were left by their countrymen to be at the mercy of the Jewish State.  Israel allowed them to remain within its borders, provided food and other amenities, hospitalization, and jobs. These Jordanian refugees adopted the name "Palestinians" from the Roman name "Palestine" given to the Land of Israel during Rome's occupation, and formed the Palestinian "intifada.".  With no where to go but to remain within Israel's borders, the Palestinian problem arose.

                Today, due to international decisions, the Temple Mount is back in the control of Moslems, Yehowah's cities are devastated by Palestinian uprisings, and the modern State of Israel hangs onto the partial recovery of Ertez Israel.  The House of Judah is only one step away from the time of the regathering of the twelve tribes of Israel, and full restoration to the Land promised to Avraham's descendants (Genesis 15:7, 17:8, 26:2, 28:13).

 The House of Judah's Future Revealed

                Hosea 1:7-11 allows us to understand that Yehowah does not leave the House of Judah out of the allegory given to Hosea.  At the time of Yehowah's revelation regarding the House of Israel's future, the House of Judah was momentarily safe from Yehowah's punishment for its sins.  During the years of 721 B.C.E. to 701 B.C.E., Judah was saved twice from Assyrian invasion.  However, Judah's punishment came in 586 B.C.E. when they were taken captive into Babylon.  The House of Judah's destiny for many following generations would be exile among the Gentile nations, the Holocaust of WW II, and Arab tensions over their present existence as the State of Israel.  Judah has suffered greatly for its sins, but their future will be equal to the House of Israel one day in the near future:

                1.  The House of Judah will reap salvation enmasse when the full number of the House of Israel who are among the Gentile Nations come into salvation; so all  Israel will be saved (Romans 11:26).

                2.  The House of Judah will be taken out from the four corners of the earth to be regathered to the House of Israel (Isaiah 11:2).

                3.  The House of Judah will be enjoined to the House of Israel under one ruler,  Yahshua HaMashiach in the Land of Israel (Jeremiah 3:18; Ezekiel 37:15-28; Hosea 1:11).

                4.  The Jewish portion of the saved remnant of Israel will be resurrected from out of the earth along with the other saints at the time of Messiah's Return  (I Thessalonians 4:16-17).

 All Israel Shall Be Saved

                Romans 11: 25-27 states, "I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, so that you may not be conceited:  Israel (House of Judah) has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles  (House of Israel, the ten tribes) has come in (to salvation).  And so all Israel  (the twelve tribes) will be saved, as it is written:

                'The deliverer (Yahshua HaMashiach) will come from Zion; he will turn godlessness away from Jacob (the twelve tribes).  And this is my covenant with them when I take away their sins,' " NIV.   Romans 11:25b is better translated in the King James Bible which states, "that blindness in part is happened to Israel (House of Judah), until the fullness of the Gentiles (House of Israel among the Gentiles) be come in."  The "hardening or blindness in part" means that the House of Judah, Jewish Israel, in general will not be open to the Good News until all of the House of Israel, the Israelites, are spiritually returned from their exile through the salvation work of the Son of Yehowah, Yahshua HaMashiach, and then the house of Judah will acknowledge that He is Messiah.  Judah's "saved" numbers today are small in comparison to the "saved" Israelites due to the overwhelming numbers of descendants of the ten tribes fulfilling the Avrahamic Covenant, and the timing factor of Yehowah's salvation of enmasse for the House of Judah.                  

 Hostilities Between the Two Houses Will End

                Isaiah 11:13 states, "Ephraim's (House of Israel's) jealousy will vanish, and Judah's enemies will be cut off; Ephraim (House of Israel) will not be jealous of Judah, nor Judah hostile toward Ephraim," NIV. 

The Two Houses Will Unite to Recover Eretz Israel

                Isaiah 11:10-16 speaks of the future time when the scattered people of both  Houses of Israel will return to the Land of Israel as a united army to recover the Land from their enemies.

                Obadiah 17-21 tells us that at a future time the House of Jacob, the twelve united tribes of Israel will destroy the descendants of Esau living on the Land.  The House of Joseph (comprised of Manasseh and Ephraim) will literally burn out (perhaps bomb) the House of Esau.  A great number of descendants of the House of Esau (Edomites) are presently occupying space within the borders of the State of Israel today.  They are the "Palestinians," the unwanted Jordanian refugees.  Their future looks very bleak according to Obadiah.

                Zechariah 9:13 states that at Messiah's Return Yehowah will "bend Judah as He bends a bow" and "He will fill it with Ehpraim."  This is a Hebrew idiom that means that the House of Judah will open up like a bow when its string is pulled back creating a larger space between the bow and string for the House of Israel to fill the space.  This literally means that with the House of Israel will join Judah in the Land, together they will have a military force that will surpass the greatest armies in history.  It also indicates that the House of Israel will join Judah already stationed in the Land.

                Zechariah 10:3-5 also indicates that the Israelites will join the House of Judah in the Land of Israel to become a strong military presence. 

Both Houses Will Take Back the Land of Israel

                Genesis 15:18-19 states, " ....To your descendants (Avraham's seed) I give this land, from the river of Egypt (Nile River) to the great river, the Euphrates - the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites and Jebusites," NIV.  The area of land allotted to the descendants of Avraham covers much more territory than is held onto by the House of Judah today.

                Isaiah 11:10-16 openly states that Yehowah will call both Houses of Israel  from the four corners of the earth, and together they will take back the Land of Israel from those that possess it now at this present time.  Both Houses of Israel will recover their land from the boundaries of the Nile River in Egypt to the Euphrates River which in this present day are Iraq and Iran.

                Obadiah 17-21 further states that both Houses together will defeat the House  of Esau (Edom), the present day Palestinians/Jordanian refugees, and will once again possess the present day area of the Gaza Strip (vs. 18-19).  They will recover the land as far as Zarephath which is in today's Lebanon (vs. 20), and Sephardic Jews that were in exile in Sepharad or today's Spain will return to possess the Southern area of the Negev (vs. 20).  Mt.  Zion, which is presently located in the Palestinian held West Bank, will be taken back and used by Messiah and His officials as the official seat of renewed Israel's government (vs. 21).

                Zechariah 9:13 states that this will be done through the combined efforts of both Houses which will promote a military force even greater than the hero of Greek military history, Alexander the Great.

Both Houses Will Settle in Eretz Israel Once Again

                Genesis 28:13b-15 says, "....I will give you (Jacob) and your descendants the land on which you are lying.  Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you (and your people) will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south.  All peoples of the earth will be blessed through you (Jacob) and your offspring.  I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land.  I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you," NIV.

                There is so much expressed in the above Scriptures:

                1.  The Avrahamic Covenant which states the boundaries of Eretz Israel in Genesis 15:18-19 was passed onto Jacob who's name was changed to  "Israel" by Yehowah in Genesis 32:28.  Jacob's twelve sons and their descendants also inherit the Land.

                2.  Yehowah told Jacob that his descendants would be numerous, beyond man's  ability to count.  "To be as the dust of the earth" is a Hebrew idiom meaning that there will be so many that it will be beyond man's ability to count them, but not beyond Yehowah's ability to know how many.  No human man can have that many children in his life time so it must mean that generation after generation of descendants up to the present day are counted in that number. 

                3.  Jacob's descendants would spread out to the east, west, north and south.  This of course meant that they would fill the Land of Israel in all directions.  To understand a fuller implication here we must go to point four.

                4.  Jacob's descendants would bless all the peoples on the earth.  For this to be  fulfilled, they would have to move out of the Land of Israel and migrate to the  four corners of the earth to reach all the peoples of the earth to bless them.  The blessing to the world by Jacob's descendants would come as a result of the  provisions of the unconditional Avrahamic Covenant.  As Jacob's descendants  moved into Gentile lands thereby filling the earth over generation to generation, they carried the blessing of the Avrahamic Covenant with them.   Galatians 3:29 says, "If you belong to Messiah (Christ), then you are Avraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise (Avrahamic Covenant)," NIV.

                The above Scripture takes into account that all those that are saved by faith become the offspring of Father Avraham and heirs of the Covenant.  If a believer was not a descendant of Israel before salvation then he became an "Israelite" upon adoption into the family of Avraham and made an equal heir upon salvation.  There is no separation or disparity in the family of Avraham between descendants and non-descendants.

 The Avrahamic Covenant - Genesis 17:6-14

                1.  "I will make you very fruitful,"  vs.6.   Avraham will have many descendants.

                2.  "I will make nations of you (come out of you)," vs.6.  Avraham's descendants will form nations (countries) (more than one).

                3.  "Kings will come from you," vs.6.   Avraham's descendants will be kings (leaders, presidents, have ruling  authority over nations).  NOTE:  There is no stipulation that this is just   during ancient Israel's time.

                4.  "I will establish my covenant between me (Yehowah) and you (Avraham) and  your descendants after you for the generations to come," vs.7. Avraham's descendants will have the same Covenant privileges with  them during their generations.  NOTE:  There is no stipulation of that  timing ending.

                5.  "I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant," vs.7. There will be no end or change to this unconditional Covenant, and Yehowah will be their Elohim.

                6.  "I will give possession of the land of Canaan to you (Avraham) and your descendants after you," vs. 8.  The deed to the Land of Israel (ancient Canaan) with its specified   boundaries was given to Avraham and his descendants as noted in the  in the Book of Genesis. 

                7.  "The possession of the land of Canaan is an everlasting possession," vs. 8  The Land of Canaan known as "Israel" belongs to all of Avraham's  descendants forever.

                8.  Male descendants in each generation and those males that join Avraham's  people are to be circumcised as a sign that they belong to the Avrahamic Covenant or are aligned with the people of the Covenant (vs. 9-16).  

                NOTE:  Galatians 3: 16-19 seems to stumble many believers.  But when it is taught properly one will see that the unconditional Avrahamic Covenant is separate from Torah which is conditional:

                "The promises (of the Avrahamic Covenant) were spoken to Avraham  and his seed.  The Scripture does not say "and to his seeds" (meaning all of his sons which would include Ishmael), meaning many people, but "and to your seed," meaning one person, who is Messiah (who was born of the Tribe of Judah, one of the twelve tribes originating from Jacob).  What I mean is this: The Torah (law), introduced 430 years later (after the Avrahamic Covenant was given),  does not set aside the covenant (Avrahamic) previously established by Elohim (God) and thus do away with the promise (Avrahamic Covenant).  For if the inheritance depends on Torah (the law), then it no longer depends on a promise; but Elohim (God) in his favor (grace) gave it to Avraham through a promise," NIV.

 Torah's Relationship to the Avrahamic Covenant

                It is important to understand the following about Torah:

                1.  Torah was given 430 years after the Avrahamic Covenant was established.

                2.  Torah was given as a "conditional" covenant between Yehowah and His people Israel.  Both parties agreed to its provisions.  An "unconditional" covenant takes only one party to agree to fulfill the provisions of the covenant.

                3.  Torah was given in addition to the Avrahamic Covenant for the purpose of  ruling over the Nation of Israel, and to reveal Yehowah's rule to the Gentile  nations.