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From: Lars Bastrup Jorgensen
To: heb_roots_chr@hebroots.org
Subject: Questions about the two houses
>
>Shalom Eddie !
>
>I have read your book, "Restoring the Two Houses of Israel" and
followed the discussion in the news group and also read some other articles about the subject.
>
>The reason for contacting you now is to get some help, as there are some major areas in this subject, which are very unclear to me. Things I simply don't see clearly. I know you are very
>busy, and maybe to busy to answer me, but perhaps you can direct me to other sources/ persons where I can get some answers.
>
>I have no problem in seeing in the scriptures and knowing in my heart, that in the end-time, there will be a restoring of all 12 tribes of Jacob to the land, and that they will see Yeshua as their
>Messiah. A restoring which also might include an identification of all 12 tribes.
>
>What is very unclear to me is the equalization between The Ten Lost Tribes of Israel/ The Northern Kingdom and Christianity. How can this two groups be the same and what does this
>mean ?
>
In a LITERAL (fleshly) connection that would imply
that ALL descendents of the Ten Lost Tribes = modern Christianity and modern
Christianity = ALL descendents of the Ten Lost Tribes, there is NO
CONNECTION and NO ONE to ONE CORRELATION. Somehow people get confused
when discussing the topic of the Ten Lost Tribes and the role of the
Messiah to restore both houses of Israel into a REDEEMED house of
Jacob and somehow begin to think that you are talking strictly about
a genealogy thing when you discuss the Ten Lost Tribes and their
connection to the role of the Messiah in redeeming them. Genealogy
records going back to the time of the original exile of the Ten Lost Tribes by the
Assyrians have not been kept so therefore to determine if an individual
today is a descendent of these Ten Lost Tribes CANNOT be proven and
the ONLY one who knows is the God of Israel Himself.
In speaking about the Ten Lost Tribes, they are called in the
Bible by the following names/:
#1) Ephraim
#2) The house of Joseph
#3) The house of Israel
#4) Samaria
Ephraim was given the birthright in Genesis 48. Judah was given
the blessing of the scepter. Regarding these two blessings upon
Ephraim and Judah it is written in I Chronicles 5:1-2:
KJV 1 Chronicles 5:1 Now the sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel,
(for he was the firstborn; but, forasmuch as he defiled his father's
bed, his birthright was given unto the sons of Joseph the son of
Israel: and the GENEALOGY is NOT to be RECKONED AFTER THE BIRTHRIGHT.
.
KJV 1 Chronicles 5:2 For Judah prevailed above his brethren, and of
him came the chief ruler; but the birthright was Joseph's:)
Notice that AFTER THE BIRTHRIGHT is given to the sons of Joseph
in Genesis 48 that GENEALOGY is NOT an ISSUE.
While INDIVIDUAL GENEALOGY records CANNOT be proven, we can study
history and have a very good idea of the MIGRATION patterns of a GROUP
of people and where they may have settled. It IS valid to study
MIGRATION patterns of the Ten Lost Tribes because the Bible
identified them with certain GEOGRAPHICAL areas in the world in the
end of days so that we can understand when certain events happen how
the prophecies concerning the Ten Lost Tribes in the end of days are
fulfilled. However, because of 2,700 years of ASSIMILATION there are
no "pure" descendents of the Ten Lost Tribes who exist today. However, because
of MIGRATION patterns in the ASSIMILATION and because of the Bible
giving GEOGRAPHICAL locations of where the Ten Lost Tribes migrated,
we can identify this CORPORATE people group through various
attributes and characteristics provided to us by the Bible and
history.
With this in mind, the Bible does describe that in the end of
days that God would pour out His Holy Spirit upon the descendents of
the Ten Lost Tribes who would think that they were "Gentiles" and
when God would do this that many would hold onto the belief that they
are of the physical offspring (though assimilated) of Jacob. This
prophecy is given in Isaiah 44:1, 3, 5 as it is written:
KJV Isaiah 44:1 Yet now hear, O JACOB my servant; and Israel, whom I
have chosen:
JV Isaiah 44:3 For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and
floods upon the dry ground: I will POUR MY SPIRIT UPON THY SEED, and
my blessing upon THINE OFFSPRING:
KJV Isaiah 44:5 ONE shall SAY, I am the LORD'S; and another shall
CALL HIMSELF by the NAME of JACOB; and another shall subscribe with hishand unto the LORD, and SURNAME HIMSELF by the NAME of ISRAEL.
Why is it important that God pour out His Holy Spirit upon the
descendents of Jacob and cause them to then subscribe (swear with
allegiance) that they are descendents of Jacob?
Because while Christianity emphasizes PERSONAL salvation and the
GOAL of faith in Messiah, the Torah and the prophets ALSO speak of a
NATIONAL REDEMPTION in Messiah. This NATIONAL REDEMPTION is the
TOTAL REDEEMED HOUSE OF JACOB IN MESSIAH. When the house of Jacob is
redeemed on a NATIONAL basis, the prophets tell us that they will
return to the land of Israel (specifically the mountains of Israel or
the West Bank) prior to Messiah setting His feet down on the mount of
Olives. When this happens, the punishment of their exile for
disobedience to Torah will have ended.
MUCH of our CONFUSION in trying to understand this issue comes
from being taught UNBIBLICAL TERMS to describe the family of the God
of Israel. These UNBIBLICAL TERMS are engrained into our religious
thinking through the doctrine of dispensationalism which saturates
Protestant Christianity. By using the terem "Gentile Christian", it
distorts our understanding of the scriptures as it pertains to
NATIONAL REDEMPTION. A "Gentile" means "a pagan". To describe
yourself as a "Gentile Christian" means that you are saying that I am
a "pagan Christian or a pagan yet believer in the God of Israel". It
is a CONTRADICTION to say that you are a "pagan" and yet a believer
in the God of Israel. After being believers in the Messiah and the
God of Israel, we may still do pagan things (like sin) yet because we
do not attempt to practice sin as a lifestyle, we are not classified
as "pure Gentile pagans or heathen". The Bible tells us that AFTER
we accept Yeshua/Jesus as Messiah that we are no longer "pagans" but
members of the commonwealth of Israel. In Ephesians 2:11-12 it is written:
KJV Ephesians 2:11 Wherefore remember, that ye being IN TIME PAST
Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is
called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands; 12 That at that
time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of
Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope,
and without God in the world:
Christianity believes and worships the God of Israel.
Another
term which we use is "God the Father". By being believers in the
Jewish Messiah, we are called in the Bible CHILDREN of God the
Father. Even in the natural world, the FAMILY NAME given to the
CHILDREN of a mother and father is named after the EARTHLY FATHER
Our Heavenly Father has a name. His is the God of ISRAEL. ISRAEL is a
term given to JACOB when his name was changed. In Genesis 32:28 it is
written:
KJV Genesis 32:28 And he said, Thy name shall be called NO MORE
JACOB, but ISRAEL: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with
men, and hast prevailed.
In Exodus 3:15 it is written:
KJV Exodus 3:15 And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say
unto the children of Israel, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of
Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto
you: this is MY NAME FOREVER, and this is my memorial unto all
generations.
So, the family NAME of the God of ISRAEL = HOUSE OF JACOB or the God
of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
The Messiah came to rule over THIS FAMILY forever. In Luke 1:31, 33 it is
written:
KJV Luke 1:31 And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring
forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS.
KJV Luke 1:33 And he shall reign over the HOUSE OF JACOB for ever; and
of his kingdom there shall be no end.
Since our Heavenly Father is the God of ISRAEL then ALL His CHILDREN
are named after HIS NAME or else we don't belong to HIS FAMILY. If
the name of our heavenly Father is ISRAEL then ALL of His familly (spiritually
who have accepted Yeshua/Jesus as Messiah) are thus ISRAELITES. These
SPIRITUAL ISRAELITES (because they have accepted Yeshua/Jesus as
Messiah) have thus become members of the SPIRITUAL FAMILY of the God
of Israel and are SPIRITUAL ISRAELITES. In Galations 3:29 is is
written:
KJV Galatians 3:29 And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed,
and heirs according to the promise.
When you accept Yeshua/Jesus as Messiah, you become a member of
the family of the God of Israel so you are a SPIRITUAL ISRAELITE and
a member of the REDEEMED HOUSE OF JACOB.
In the flesh, you may or may not be descended from the physical
Lost Ten Tribes. It really doesn't matter. The REDEEMED house of
Jacob consists of two groups:
#1) The REDEEMED house of Israel
#2) The REDEEMED house of Judah
If you are Jewish then you are a member of the REDEEMED house of
Judah and the REDEEMED house of Judah is 100% a part of the entire
REDEEMED house of Jacob. In the REDEEMED house of Israel, you have
two groups of people:
a) REDEEMED members who are descended from the Ten Lost Tribes
b) REDEEMED members who are not descended from the Ten Lost Tribes
Does it matter? No! Why not? Because God made a provision in the
Torah that BOTH the native born (REDEEMED physical descendent from
the Ten Lost Tribes) and the sojourner (REDEEMED member but NOT
physically descended from the Ten Lost Tribes) have an EQUAL place in
the HOUSE of Israel. The term "HOUSE" means those who are native born
and those who are not native born. In Exodus 12:49 it is written:
KJV Exodus 12:49 One law shall be to him that is homeborn, and unto
the stranger that sojourneth among you.
REDEMPTION (salvation) is to WHOSOEVER calls upon the name
of the
Lord. In Joel 2:32 it is written:
KJV Joel 2:32 And it shall come to pass, that WHOSOEVER shall call on
the name of the LORD shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in
Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the LORD hath said, and in the
REMNANT whom the LORD shall call.
In Romans 11:26 it is written:
KJV Romans 11:26 And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written,
There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away
ungodliness from Jacob:
ALL ISRAEL = ALL the WHOSOEVER'S (whether they be Jewish by birth
or not Jewish by birth) who call upon the NAME of the Lord. These
WHOSOEVER'S will be a REMNANT of all WHOSOEVER'S and a REMNANT within
both the PHYSICAL descendents of the house of Israel and the house of
Judah.
In Romans 10:12, it is written:
KJV Romans 10:12 For there is no difference between the Jew and the
Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.
The NATIONAL REDEMPTION of the house of Jacob and the coming of
King Messiah to set His feet down on the Mount of Olives centers
around events in the land of Israel and the city of Jerusalem and
MANY (but a REMNANT) of physical Jews who have not accepted
Yeshua/Jesus as Messiah will accept Yeshua/Jesus as Messiah as a
CORPORATE PEOPLE (MANY but a REMNANT) will then say, 'Blessed is
He who comes in the Name of Lord'.
Included in this recognition of Yeshua/Jesus as Messiah is a
recognition of WHO their lost brother is and the restoration and
return of both houses of Israel to the land of Israel in the end of
days when this restoration and recognition takes place. Then, the
HISTORICAL enmity between Ephraim and Judah will end. In Isaiah 11:13
it is written:
KJV Isaiah 11:10 And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which
shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles
seek: and his rest shall be glorious.
KJV Isaiah 11:12 And he shall set up
an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel,
and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of
the earth.
KJV Isaiah 11:13 The envy also of Ephraim shall depart, and the
adversaries of Judah shall be cut off: Ephraim shall not envy Judah,
and Judah shall not vex Ephraim.
Notice in these prophecies that Ephraim AND Judah are gathered and
return to the land of Israel and when they do then the ENVY and
VEXATION between Ephraim and Judah will cease.
In describing the restoration and reunification of the house of
Israel (Joseph / Ephraim) with the house of Judah these words are
spoken in Ezekiel 37:16 it is written:
KJV Ezekiel 37:16 Moreover, thou son of man, take thee one stick, and
write upon it, For Judah, and for the children of Israel his
companions: then take another stick, and write upon it, For Joseph,
the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel his COMPANIONS:
Notice that the house of Israel is describes as having
"companions". These are those who are REDEEMED and who are NOT native
born but are sojourners of the house of Israel. So, does it matter if
you are a native born member of the REDEEMED house of Israel or a
sojourner member of the REDEEMED house of Israel if BOTH have EQUAL
place in the house? If you are redeemed and if you are not Jewish,
which group are you? Are you native or a sojourner? No one knows but
God and it really doesn't matter is BOTH have EQUAL status in the
family. Whether you be native born or a sojourner, ALL members of the
SPIRITUAL REDEEMED house of Israel are ADOPTED into this REDEEMED
family (Romans 11).
The HISTORICAL Northern Kingdom in the practices of faith and
worship
of the God of Israel is a TYPE AND SHADOW of how HISTORICAL Christianity has
chosen to worship and view the God of Israel. For example, Hosea 8:12 says
that the Northern Kingdom called the Torah a "strange thing". So has
historical Christianity. I site many more examples in my book, "Restoring
the Two Houses of Israel".
The recultivated olive tree in Romans 11 which comes from the
broken
olive tree in Jeremiah 11:16-17 of the house of Israel and the house of Judah has
Messiah as the root and BOTH Ephraim and Judah as being ADOPTED into the
family of the Messiah. In Jeremiah 11:16-17 it is written:
KJV Jeremiah 11:16 The LORD called thy name, A GREEN OLIVE TREE, fair,
and of goodly fruit: with the noise of a great tumult he hath kindled
fire upon it, and the BRANCHES of it are BROKEN.
17 For the LORD of hosts, that planted thee, hath pronounced evil
against thee, for the evil of the HOUSE OF ISRAEL and of the HOUSE OF
JUDAH, which they have done against themselves to provoke me to anger
in offering incense unto Baal.
The Apostle Paul was referring to the broken branches of
the
olive tree of the house of Israel AND the house of Judah in Romans 11
who through Messiah get GRAFTED into the ROOT of Messiah.
BOTH EPHRAIM AND JUDAH are GRAFTED into this olive tree and
NOT
just Ephraim or the non-Jews. In Romans 11:16 it is written:
KJV Romans 11:13 For I speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the
apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify mine office:
KJV Romans 11:17 And if some of the branches be broken off, and thou,
being a wild olive tree, was grafted in among them, and with them
partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree;
So. the "wild branches" are GRAFTED into the olive tree
but the
"natural branches" are also GRAFTED into this same olive tree.
KJV Romans 11:19 Thou wilt say then, The branches were broken off,
that I might be graffed in.
KJV Romans 11:20 Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and
thou standest by faith. Be not highminded, but fear:
KJV Romans 11:23 And they [natural branches] also, if they abide not
still in unbelief, shall be graffed in: for God is able to GRAFT
THEM in AGAIN.
So, the ONE FAMILY of the God of Israel is the REDEEMED HOUSE OF
JACOB. This is the ONLY spiritual family in Messiah that the God of
Israel has. He has no "pagans" in this family or "pagan [Gentile]
Christians". If you are not Jewish and a believer in the Yeshua/Jesus
as Messiah then you are a SPIRITUAL (but not necessarily physical)
ISRAELITE and a REDEEMED member of the HOUSE OF JACOB (the non-Jewish
part of the REDEEMED house of Jacob).
>
>Is your point, that when The Brit Hadasha mentions the word "gentiles", that what is in view is in fact the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel/ The scattered Northern Kingdom/ The physical
>descendents of Jacob ?
>
In some cases when the NT uses the word "Gentiles" it
is
referring to the assimilated Northern Kingdom. At other times when
the NT uses the word "Gentiles" it is NOT referring to the assimilated
Northern Kingdom. Each scripture has to be read in
context.
>
>And that the fact that Sha'ul is mentioned as apostel for the gentiles, that this in reality means for the Ten Lost tribes ?
>
In the greater measure, this was his PRIMARY people group but the
Gospel is to ALL that would believe both Jew and Greek so Sha'ul was
actually an apostle to ALL Gentiles (whether descended from the Ten Lost
Tribes or not) who would believe in Messiah and the restoration of the
Kingdom to Israel. However, the Apostle Paul was sent to the AREAS
where the MAJORITY of the Ten Lost Tribes had assimilated which was
in the days of the Apostle Paul in Asian Minor and in Europe.
In Acts 13, Paul preached Messiah in the synagogues. When the Jews
refused to believe it is written in Acts 13:46-47
KJV Acts 13:46 Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold, and said, It was
necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you:
but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of
everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles.
KJV Acts 13:47 For so hath the Lord commanded us, saying, I have set
thee to be a light of the Gentiles, that thou shouldest be for
salvation unto the ends of the earth.
The scripture that Paul quotes in Acts 13:47 is Isaiah 49:6
which in context in Isaiah 49:6 is about the restoration of both
houses of Israel.
KJV Isaiah 49:6 And he said, It is a light thing that thou shouldest
be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the
preserved of Israel: I will also give thee for a light to the
Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth.
The Apostle Paul preached Messiah and the restoration of both
house of Israel in Acts 26:6-7 as it is written:
KJV Acts 26:6 And now I stand and am judged for the hope of the promisemade of God unto our fathers: 7 Unto which promise our twelve tribes,instantly serving God day and night, hope to come. For which hope's
sake, king Agrippa, I am accused of the Jews.
As far as PERSONAL salvation in Messiah, the issue of the Ten
Lost
Tribes is irrelevant. As far as understanding how the covenant that God made
with Abraham is linked to Mount Sinai is linked to David is linked to the
1st coming of Messiah and the calling of the Apostle Paul and the calling of
the two witnesses and the 144,000 and the 2nd coming of the Messiah and the
RESTORATION of the kingdom to Israel and how all this relates to the CURRENT
Middle East peace process and the events in the end of days, it is VITALLY
important and you will NOT be able to discern the "times and the seasons"
and the EVENTS of the last days in it's correct Biblical context and know
how to RESPOND to these events UNLESS you understand the 'Restoration of
both houses of Israel'. Because we are so close to the coming of King
Messiah who will set His feet down on the Mount of Olives, this is the reason why God is outpouring His Holy Spirit in these days and
times in which we live and raising up teachers who can Biblically
teach the restoration of both house of Israel because the
reunification takes place (Jeremiah 30:1-7) during the Jacob's
trouble or the tribulation period.
>
>And finally, where are the real gentiles ( the believing remnant from the nations, who are not physical
descendent from Abraham, Isak and Jacob) in the whole story ?
>
They are also ADOPTED into the family. They
have an equal share in
the inheritance in Messiah. They are referred to as "companions" of the
house of Israel in Ezekiel 37.
>
>You see, Eddie, my questions are not sophisticated, but rather simple minded, but still confusing for me. So I hope for some
clarification on the matter from somebody.
>
>May the Lord Yeshua bless you and your ministry richly and protect you carefully, you and your family.
>
>In Yeshuas blessed name from Denmark
>
>Lars Bastrup Joergensen
>
I hope that things are more cleared up for you now.
Eddie Chumney
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