"Reach unity in the
faith . . . and become mature. Then we will no longer
be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and
blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by
the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful
scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will
in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that
is, Messiah."
It is my fervent desire
and vision that we might "speak the truth in
love," wholehearted agape. Yet we must also become
mature. Amen?
Do you want to be
"blown here and there by every wind of
doctrine?"
So, today's talk is
about a wind of doctrine that is blowing in parts of the
Church and even on the edges of Messianic Judaism.
It has come
increasingly to my attention in the last few months,
with Messianic Rabbis discussing its dangers on the web,
people visiting us,
even a book advertisement appearing on the back of the
Messianic Times.
This issue actually came out last winter, but for some
reason, it was sent to me again this week. This ad, Who
is Israel, caused a firestorm of controversy last
spring. Why? Because in it, Batya Wooten claims that
many gentile Christians, especially those attracted to
Israel and Messianic Judaism today, are actually the 10
lost tribes of Israel! Batya Wooten sponsors conferences
espousing the "Church is Ephraim" doctrine.
There is a call for Christians to claim their birthright
as Ephraimites. This movement is gaining adherents. This
doctrine is making the rounds in Christian Zionism. Is
it a discovery of hidden truth or new illumination on
the Scriptures? Or is this one of those winds of
doctrine to be avoided? I believe it a variant of a
false doctrine that has been circulating for centuries:
British Israelism.
My teaching today,
discussing the claims of this doctrine and the problems
with it, is based largely on an article by Daniel Juster
(which is also available on the web).
The Ephraim doctrine is
thought to solve many problematic areas of the Jew /
Gentile issue. First, it explains why many Christians
feel an attraction or fascination for Jewish roots.
Secondly, it explains what happened to the lost tribes
of Israel and how God is going to gather them.
The Ephraim doctrine
attempts to answer a couple of interesting Biblical
questions: What happened to the promise of regathering
the tribes of Israel scattered to all the nations?
Scripture promises of a massive regathering of all the
tribes of Israel. Yet history only records the return of
Judah and a minority of the lost tribes. Also, how will
God reunify Christians and Jews? Some argue that this
doctrine will produce a bond between Messianic Jews and
Messianic Northern Israelites, a.k.a. Christians.
To understand this
teaching, we need to review some biblical history. King
David first ruled in Hebron over the tribe of Judah.
Then, after Saul's son Ishbosheth died, the northern
tribes submitted to David. The relationship between the
northern and southern tribes was rocky to say the least.
After Solomon died, the northern tribes, rebelled
against his son Rehaboam, establishing a new kingdom
under Jeroboam.
The northern kingdom
was known as Israel, the southern kingdom Judah.
Sometimes these two kingdoms were in alliance, sometimes
at war. Finally, the northern kingdom was destroyed by
the Assyrians, and its people scattered, leaving only
the southern tribes (Judah, Benjamin, Simeon, and part
of the Levites), along with a remnant of the northerners
who came south to Judah, remained. Doesn't this historic
division look like the history of Christians and Jews?
It is taught that the spiritual heritage of this
conflict between tribes continues in the historic
conflict between church and synagogue. Yet the Scripture
promise that Israel will rule the nations in the Age to
Come. If the church is Ephraim at the present time and
will be joined in faith by Judah, then Israel and the
Bride of Messiah will be synonymous. Another puzzle is
solved. Wooten and others support this teaching by
citing prophecies that promise the regathering of
regathering of the northern tribes. An important example
is Ezekiel 37 (you may want to turn there), 15-23:
The word of the LORD
came again to me saying, "And you, son of man,
take for yourself one stick and write on it, 'For
Judah and for the sons of Israel, his companions;'
then take another stick and write on it, 'For Joseph,
the stick of Ephraim, and all the house of Israel, his
companions.' Then join them for yourself one to
another into one stick, that they may become one in
your hand. And when the sons of your people speak to
you saying, 'Will you not declare to us what you mean
by these,' say to them, 'Thus says the LORD God,
"Behold, I will take the stick of Joseph, which
is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel,
his companions; and I will put them with it, with the
stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they will
be one in My hand." . . . Thus says the LORD God,
'Behold I have taken the sons of Israel from among the
nations where they have gone, and I will gather them
from every side and bring them into their own land;
and I will make them one nation in the land, on the
mountains of Israel; one king will be king for all of
them; and they will no longer be two nations, and they
will no longer be divided into two kingdoms. And they
will no longer defile themselves with their idols . .
.'
The image on the cover of
Wooten's most recent book is of course based on this
passage. Another proof text is Hosea 1:11, which
declares that "The people of Judah and the people
of Israel will be reunited." Also Isaiah 11:13:
"Ephraim will not be jealous of Judah, nor Judah
hostile toward Ephraim." The context of the two
sticks prophecies in Ezekiel 37 shows that the joining
of Israel and Judah in one nation leads to their
receiving the everlasting covenant ushering in the Age
to Come. How will this happen? If the Church is Ephraim
the puzzle is solved. The true Church (Ephraim) joins in
unity with a believing Judah. There seems to be a
parallel with Romans 11. When the Jewish people are made
jealous, they will be one with Christians in one olive
tree. Then "all Israel will be saved" -- where
all Israel is both Jews and believing Gentiles.
This exegesis (a fancy
way of saying interpretation) of Scriptures about
Ephraim is actually not new: The Mormons believe that
the Mormon Church represents Ephraim which will be
rejoined with the Jews. This is why they have
established a large center in Jerusalem, on Mount
Scopus. The Hasidim is not thrilled with their presence!
The Jehovah's Witnesses believe that they are the real
twelve tribes of Israel (no Jews needed). British
Israelism, a theology developed during the 19th
century, claims that the Anglo / Irish citizens of Great
Britain and the original United States are actually
descendants from the lost tribes of Israel. Herbert
Armstrong and the WorldWide Church of God has picked up
on Anglo-Israelism, as have other fringe groups
including Kingdom Identity or Christian Identity. The
fellow who shot the children at the J.C.C. in LA was
with Christian Identity. Here's an excerpt from the
Kingdom Identity web site:
"WE BELIEVE the
White, Anglo-Saxon, Germanic and kindred people to be
God's true, literal Children of Israel. Only this race
fulfills every detail of Biblical Prophecy and World
History concerning Israel and continues in these
latter days to be heirs and possessors of the
Covenants, Prophecies, Promises and Blessings YHVH God
made to Israel. This chosen seedline making up the
"Christian Nations" (Gen. 35:11; Isa. 62:2;
Acts 11:26) of the earth stands far superior to all
other peoples in their call as God's servant race
(Isa. 41:8, 44:21; Luke 1:54). Only these descendants
of the 12 tribes of Israel scattered abroad (James
1:1; Deut. 4:27; Jer. 31:10; Jo 11:52) have carried
God's Word, the Bible, throughout the world.
Apparently these groups
have no place at all for the actual descendants of
Judah, whom they dismiss as a false group descended from
Cain! Ugh! Batya Wooten and her adherents are not so
rabidly anti-Jewish (in fact, many are actually Jewish
and they claim a desire for unity with Judah), but they
do buy into much of the British Israel mythology. Moshe
Koniuchowsky of Miami Beach argues that
"Britain" comes from Hebrew "brit"
meaning covenant (actually, it's a Celtic word), that
Anglo-Saxons descend from Scythians (or Sacae) who were
actually Ephraimites (actually the Anglo-Saxons were
Aryans while the Ephraimites were Semites) that Isaiah
49:1, "Listen to me, you islands; hear this, you
distant nations," is referring to the British Isles
and North America
(actually the Hebrew word translated "islands"
is better translated as "coastlands" and is
unlikely to refer to North America, unknown to the
Biblical prophets!), etc.
I find it very
disturbing that the same sort of Anglo-Israel arguments
are espoused by many cults and hate groups, don't you?
Frankly, I think these teachings are a bit
"wacko" (and no, I am not making a pun, I mean
it!) Dan Juster believes -- as do all the Messianic
Rabbis who discussed this doctrine on the IAMCS list --
that the whole tenor and thrust of the New Testament
Scriptures stands against this view. First, in Acts 9-15
we have the story of early Jewish Body of Believers
accepting Gentiles as legitimate members of the Body of
Believers. In Acts 9 Paul is commissioned to bring the
Good News to the nations (Gentiles). This was a
watershed change in direction for the early community of
faith. There is no hint that this mission is to be
explained as gathering the lost tribes of Israel. This
certainly may have made Paul's mission more acceptable
to the Jerusalem community. In Acts 10:34-35, God's
preparation is by sending Peter to the household of
Cornelius. Before Peter sees the Spirit fall on this
household he states,
"Truly, I perceive
that God is no respector of persons, but in every
nation those who fear him and do what is right is
acceptable to him."
When the case is made to
the leaders of the Jerusalem community their conclusion
is that "God has granted repentance to life to the
Gentiles." Nothing about long lost Ephraim here. If
the Gentiles were of Israelite descent, then they should
be circumcised, shouldn't they? But that's not what the
Jerusalem council ruled in Acts 15. Instead James cites
Amos 9:11, which refer to the Gentiles (goyim), not
Ephraimites. Amos 9 promises the rejuvenation of the
Tent of David and that all nations would flow to it.
This is a promise of the Age to Come. As scholars like
George Ladd point out, the New Testament view is that
the Kingdom of God has already come but not yet come in
fullness. The features of the Age to Come have broken
into this transitional period. Hence, the spirit is
poured out at Shavuot, Pentecost. Healing is available.
The insight of James is that another feature of the
Kingdom has broken in, the union of Jew and Gentile
under the Messiah.
In the Age to Come, Israel and the nations will be one
under rule of Messiah,
but already this is happening in the Body of Believers
where Jew and Gentile are one in the Messiah. The Jewish
people will walk by their Torah calling and will
circumcise their children. Gentiles are not so required.
There is no prophecy of the saved Gentiles in the
Kingdom being circumcised. The writings of Rabbi Shaul
of course teach us more about the relationship of Jews
and Gentiles The good news is the power of God to the
"Jew first and also to the Greek" (Romans
1:16). There is no difference between Jew and Gentile:
both are saved by faith in Messiah Yeshua. In Romans 11,
Sh'aul urges the Gentiles to participate in God's plan
to make Israel jealous. It is important to note that
Paul uses Israel and Jews interchangeably in his
writings as was the case in much of first century usage.
When he says that "all Israel will be saved,"
it is clear from the context that this is hope for his
Jewish brethren, the "natural branches."
"Do not be conceited," he warns the Gentile
believers who were the "wild branches":
"Israel has experienced a hardening in part until
the full number of the Gentiles has come in." I
once discussed this passage with a Wisconsin Synod
Lutheran pastor: It was amazing to me that he believed
that "the Israel which experienced a
hardening" in Romans 11:25 is the Jews, yet
"all Israel" that "will be saved" in
11:29 is the church!
This inconsistent
interpretation follows from Replacement Theology: if
it's a blessing, it must be the church; if it's a curse,
it must the Jews! That Lutheran pastor may not be a
rabid anti-Semite, but his doctrine is, IMHO, devilish.
The Ephraim doctrine aren't much better.
In Ephesians 2, Sha'ul
speaks to those who are Gentiles not of the
circumcision. They were strangers to the covenant and
excluded from the commonwealth of Israel. He has
"made both groups into one." He "made the
two into one new man." The two sticks of Ezekiel
could be interpreted as a type or foreshadowing of the
one new man. But to say that gentiles are literally
Ephraim actually goes against the message of Ephesians.
The one new man is more than a reconciliation of
Israelites; it's the reconciliation of all nations. A
great danger of this Ephraim doctrine is that it
diminishes the glory of the Gospel, which is that Jew
and Gentile have been made one in the Messiah, not that
Jews have been rejoined to their lost physical kin. The
disciples were commissioned to take this good news is to
go to all nations. Juster concludes, "for Messianic
Judaism, such a view is confusion and a conceptual
disaster."
Sometimes Christians
wrongly idolize the Jewish people. While Messianic Jews
appreciate the appreciation, there's no need for a new
doctrine about Israelite biology to explain it. It is
the work of the Holy Spirit, fulfilling the prayer of
Yeshua and the desire of the Father. An improper
response is for non-Jewish believers to wish they were
Jewish or to feel rejection. Rather, non-Jewish
believers can rejoice that they are the spiritual seed
of Abraham. They have been raised with Messiah and are
seated with Him in heavenly places. God also loves every
nation. All nations are culturally distinct and have
unique contributions to make to the Body of the Messiah.
All can appreciate the Jewish roots of our common
Messianic faith and also appreciate various national
identities as willed by God to enrich his Kingdom. Unity
should not be sought by uniformity. Unity comes through
Yeshua and the appreciation of cultural variety.
Many believers are
discovering Jewish ancestry -- Darlene, Shelley and
others in our congregation. When they do, this
strengthens their commitment to their calling to follow
the Lord as Messianic believers, and that's good. Yet I
don't think it's necessary for my wife or the Breeds or
other among us to research their genealogies in search
of Jewish blood. "Neither give heed to fables and
endless genealogies, which minister questions, rather
than godly edifying which is in faith." (I Timothy
1:4).
What of the supposed
lost tribes? Dan Juster offers several reasonable
solutions to this mystery:
1. All Israel is
included in the Jewish people today. After the
destruction of the northern kingdom, northerners joined
the southerners during the revivals of Hezekiah and
Josiah. 2 Chronicles 30:18 says that "many of
Ephraim and Manasseh, Issachar and Zebulun came to
Jerusalem" for Passover. This event occurred
sometime after the Assyrian invasion and the carrying
away of Israel. In 2 Chronicles 34:9, it is recorded
that Ephraim and Manasseh contributed to the rebuilding
of the Temple by Josiah. While the Assyrians did destroy
the kingdom of Israel, apparently not all were exiled.
2. When the
nation of Israel came back from captivity, northerners
were included in one people. The two sticks became one
then; they will receive the covenant of peace after
their present regathering is complete. Ezra 2 and
Nehemiah 7 record that a remnant of all Israel returned.
They were descendants of, for example: Arah from the
tribe of Asher (cf. Ezra 2:5 with 1Chronicles 7:39, 40);
Azgad whose name means from Gad (Ezra 2:11); Bethlehem
from the tribe of Zebulun (cf. Ezra 2:21 with Joshua
19:15-16); Ramah from the tribe of Naphtali (cf. Ezra
2:26 with Joshua 19:32-39); and
Nebo from the tribe of Reuben (cf. Ezra 2:29 with
1Chronicles 5:1-8). After the captivity, it seems that
the Judah and Israel were again united. Ezra 8:35 tells
us that:
"the exiles who
had returned from captivity sacrificed burnt offerings
to the God of Israel: twelve bulls for all
Israel."
Moreover, Luke 2:36 tells
us Anna was of the tribe of Asher, a northern tribe. It
is common Jewish consensus that all 12 tribes are
represented in the Jewish people today. The Encyclopedia
Judaica notes that, "Various theories, one more far
fetched that the other, have been adduced, on the
flimsiest of evidence, to identify different peoples
with the ten lost tribes."
3. There could
be a regathering of people representing the lost tribes
who will be identified as such. The falashas of Ethipia
and other groups in Africa, Afghanistan, India and Iran
may be a remnant of the ancient diaspora, returning to
Israel in these days. A historical aside: when the
founders of the modern state were considering what to
call it, their were two prominent alternatives: Israel
or Judah (from which comes "Jew") I think it
is prophetically significant that they chose the name
Israel.
4. The Messiah
could identify and gather the lost tribes after his
return. All of these solutions are possible and more in
accord with the exegesis of the biblical text.
If we are to avoid
being blown "blown here and there by every wind of
doctrine," we must take a humble approach to the
text and a repudiation of dogmatism for matters that are
not clearly taught in the biblical texts. Dogmatism on
conclusions that are highly speculative show a lack of
maturity.
My prayer, along with Rabbi Juster and Rabbi Sha'ul, is
that "we all reach unity in the faith and in the
knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining
to the whole measure of the fullness of Messiah."
Amen.
