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.
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