Greater Israel: God’s One State Solution for Peace

Whose land is it?  The whole world belongs to the One that created it.  God, as the creator and owner of the title, can give His land to anyone He wants to.  Specifically, the land in question is called the “Promised Land” as it was promised to the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 

In the end of days God’s plan as prophesied in the bible is to establish all the tribes of Israel back into the land that He promised Abraham (See Jeremiah Chapter 31).  The original promise to Abraham was for land that went from the Nile in Egypt all the way to the Euphrates River in modern day Iraq. It is what I would call God’s “One State Solution” in contrast to the world’s desire for a “Two State Solution”.  God brought the tribe of Judah (the Jews) back into the land to prepare the way for the returning exiles (the lost 10 tribes along with the rest of Judah).  According to scripture, the messiah’s role is to gather the lost 10 tribes and bring them back to the land promised to Abraham. The end result will be the Restored and United Kingdom of God that includes all the tribes of Israel (See Ezekiel Chapter 37). This is taught in both Judaism and Christianity.

In looking at the big picture, Christians and Jews only differ on who the Messiah is.  Christians believe the Messiah to be Yashua who is today called Jesus.  Most Jews reject that view.  However, Jews do teach of two messiahs.  The Messiah son of Joseph starts the kingdom restoration work and then dies for his people while the Messiah son of David brings the lost 10 tribes back to the Promised Land to complete the restoration of the kingdom.

A look at historical events in conjunction with the modern day phenomenon of Hebraic restoration seems to indicate that Jesus (Yashua) was the Messiah son of Joseph that God used to reach out to the lost tribes and bring them back to Himself and His Torah.  A segment of Christians have been awakened to a love for Torah and the Jewish people.  Many even have an intense desire to return to Israel and be accepted by Judah.  However, they are many obstacles in the way of God’s two great houses (Israel and Judah) reconciling.  Returning members of the lost 10 tribes (House of Israel) are lame to walking the path of Torah while the House of Judah (i.e. the Jews) is blinded to the role of the Christian messiah in bringing the lost sheep of Israel back to God and His Torah.  The only thing that will bridge these differences is the love of God and the love of brothers one for another.  All the brothers need to love God and love one another enough to put their theological differences aside.  Love is the key that will establish Greater Israel (God’s Kingdom) and implement the final solution for peace!  If God’s people don’t make progress towards reconciliation, then the evil in the world will continue to grow and eventually force His people to come together for survival.

The evil forces in the world inherently know God’s plan for Israel and are feverishly striving to thwart it.  That is why the world’s plan for peace in the Middle-east is to divide the land a piece at a time in a futile attempt to prevent God’s plan for restoring the physical kingdom of Isreal.  The world’s plan is based upon hatred and separation with Israel’s enemies vowing to destroy the Jewish state.  Two peoples cannot coexist when there is hate.  Only love for your fellow man allows peace and harmony to exist with each group respecting the other. 

However, God’s plan is based upon love.  Those in the Middle East willing to love their Jewish neighbors regardless of religious differences will remain.  Those that hate their Jewish neighbors will have to leave or have their hearts changed from hate to love for them to stay.  If they continue to hate, they will have to either leave of their own accord or their hatred will result in their own self-destruction as is going on in Syria and Iraq today.  In the end the entire Promised Land will only be filled with those that love God and love His people, the Jews.  True children of God are identified by His love, not by hatred of any one group or person.

As for the rest of the world that is filled with hate for the Jews, they would be wise to listen to God’s words by the biblical prophet Joel in Joel Chapter 3:1-2:

“For behold, in those days and at that time, when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem, I will gather all the nations and bring them down to the valley of Jehoshaphat.  Then I will enter into judgment with them there on behalf of My people and My inheritance, Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations; and they have divided up My land.”  (NASB)

Two Messiahs or One?

    
Judaism has historically taught the concept of two messiahs. They teach of a Messiah ben Joseph that comes to gather the Lost 10 tribes and prepare them for their return to God’s Kingdom to be reunited with their brother Judah.  They also teach that this is followed by a Messiah ben David that comes to finally establish and rule over the restored God’s Kingdom.  The Jews view them as separate individuals.

In contrast, teachers in the Hebraic Restoration movement teach that the role of both messiahs will be accomplished by the same individual.  Jesus (Y'Shuah) was Messiah ben Joseph, who came 2,000 years ago to spread the Gospel message to gather the Lost 10 Tribes back to God and His Word.  He said himself in Matthew 15:24 that “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel” which was universally understood in his day to be a reference to the Lost 10 Tribes of the Northern Kingdom of Israel.  Restoration teaches believe he will come the 2nd time as Messiah ben David who will be the Ruler King of the Restored 12-Tribe Kingdom of God.

According to modern Hebraic Restoration Interpretation, the 10 Tribes were 'divorced' and rejected from the Covenant by God,  Messiah ben Joseph's main task was be to reconcile them back into Covenant with God and with Judah, to finally establish the Re-United 12-Tribed Kingdom of Israel over which Messiah ben David will reign at his Coming.  Judah, however, has never been rejected and therefore does not need the Covenantal reconciliation without which 10-Israel would be doomed for eternity. The apostle Paul acted contrary to his Divine Mandate to go to "the lost sheep of the House of Israel" (Matthew 10:6), by insisting to “go to the Jew first”.

The problem is when Jews accept the 'Christian' Messiah, they turn to some or other form of pagan influenced Christianity, because they are dependent on Christian anti-Torah and/or anti-Rabbinic literature.  The parable of the “Prodigal Son” in Luke Chapter 13 illustrates this picture perfectly.  The Prodigal Son had taken his religious inheritance and wasted it by following after the pleasures of the world.  He was on the path to destruction when he realized that even the servants in his father’s house were living better than he was.  At the time of this realization, he was living with pigs and feeding them which is as far from Jewish life as you could get.  He desired to return home and serve his father and brother.  The Prodigal Son represents the Lost 10 Tribes who followed after idols and left their Father.  Judah was the faithful son that stayed home with the Father.  The message of the Christian Messiah was sent to world so that the lost sheep would hear their shepherd’s voice (John 10:16 and John 10:27) and return home to the fold to become one flock with one shepherd.  Consequently, there is no reason for Jews to relinquish their Jewish Faith, as it is the Prodigal Son who has to return to his heritage which had been retained by the faithful remaining son, while the Prodigal Son sank to the pits of paganism (depicted by living with the pigs).

Christians are often puzzled by the fact that the Gospel message doesn’t resonate with Judah.  They fail to get the message in the Christian New Testament where the Christian messiah himself said that he came for only the lost sheep of the House of Israel, not the sheep of the House of Judah who were safe at home with the Father.

Are you one of the lost sheep of the House of Israel?  Have you heard his voice?  The voice is the Turtle Dove calling us home to join our brother Judah.  When the messiah comes he will join us together as one flock and answer the age old question of whether or not this is his first or second coming?  It is that answer that will unify the flock regardless of what the answer is.  In the meantime, the House of Israel and House of Judah should work towards reconciliation.  If we truly desire God’s kingdom here on earth, we will take the first steps and then God will complete the great work according to His plan!

 

Truth is Truth

 

In my efforts to follow the Almighty, I searched for the Hebraic roots of my Christian faith.  I started attending a Messianic/Jewish congregation.  I also read articles by various Pastors and Rabbis.  I had discussions with Jews, Catholics, Protestants, and Mormons.  What I discovered in this search is that truth is truth.  When you find it, it rings true in the depths of your heart and soul.  You can find it in many places.  None of us have a lock on all truth.  A person that believes that they completely understand God’s Word (The Bible) and have all truth is arrogant and is putting themselves above the Almighty.  This arrogance gets in the way of discovering real truth.  That is one of the reasons God hates pride and arrogance.  Pharaoh in ancient Egypt was arrogant and proud and refused to hear God’s words.  In contrast, Moses was described in the Bible as the most humble man that ever lived and he was able to hear God’s truth face to face.

Only God has ultimate truth.  Man and man’s systems are filled with delusion and lies.  The question each person needs to address is “Are we depending on God or Man?”  God desires us to search for Him and His truth as we walk through life on our individual spiritual journeys.  God has hidden Himself purposefully waiting for us to find Him.  He wants us to discover His truth and to set us free from the shackles of lies that we have been taught.  Following man’s ways are false and lead to destruction.

God is everywhere and in everything.  He is in his word, the Bible.  He is in the nature all around us.  He is in subtle messages in books and movies.  Absolutely everything in this world is His effort at speaking to us and bringing us to Himself.  Even the evil we encounter in everyday life is a tool God uses to help us return to Him.  We need to only open our eyes to see and our ears to hear God’s message. 

Rabbi Ariel bar Tzadok at www.koshertorah.com is a teacher that I learn lots from.  He often quotes a statement in the sci-fi movie Dune which says “The Sleeper must awaken!”  We have to wake up to God’s messages all around.  We must awaken from the slumber that man’s world of lies has infected us with.  As Rabbi Ariel says, it is only by observing God in everything as we spiritually travel within ourselves that we connect with the Almighty and His truth.

Shabbat Shalom, May your Sabbath be restful and filled with true peace that only God can give!

 

The Lost 10 Tribes of Israel

I was searching for commentary on Ezekiel Chapter 37 about the stick of Judah and the stick of Joseph being brought together as one stick by the hand of the Almighty and came upon some interesting websites related to the Two Houses of God’s people the Israelites.  In the Bible God refers to His two families.  He calls one the House of Israel and the other the House of Judah.  After King Solomon’s reign the United Kingdom of Israel was split into two kingdoms.  The northern kingdom was called Israel and consisted of the northern 10 tribes of which Ephraim and Manasseh were the most numerous.  The southern kingdom was called Judah and consisted of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin.  Both kingdoms rebelled against God and were exiled.  However, the Northern Kingdom (House of Israel) was conquered and exiled by the Assyrians in 721 BCE to the Caucus Mountains, lost their identity, and never returned.  The southern kingdom (House of Judah) was exiled in 587 BCE to Babylon and was able to return after 70 years to the Promised Land.  The House of Judah is the Jews of today.  Ezekiel 37 is talking about bringing the lost 10 tribes back to the Promised Land to reconcile and reunite with the House of Judah during the end times in order to establish the promised Kingdom of God.

 

In order for that to happen, the Lost 10 Tribes will need to be awakened to who they are and return to God and the Promised Land.  I came across 2 websites that have traced the Lost 10 Tribes migrations and identified who they are at present.  One website is by Steve Collins, a Christian researcher in the USA and the other by Yair Davidiy, an Orthodox Jewish researcher in Israel.  What is interesting is that they didn’t even know each other and their research and conclusions are almost identical.  Steve’s website is http://stevencollins.com while Yair’s is http://britam.org .  There is lots of great information on each website and each has authored multiple books on the subject.  What got me really excited is that they trace the Lost 10 Tribes to be predominately in the West.  They identify Ephraim as being located in Great Britain and Manasseh as being located in the USA.  They don’t claim everyone in those areas is descendants of the Lost 10 Tribes, but that there are elements of them concentrated in those countries.  They use Biblical proofs, history, and archeology to back up their claims.

 

One of the reasons this got me so excited is that it matches what one of my ancestors believed.  His name was George Duffield and I am an eighth generation direct descendant of his.  George was a Presbyterian minister to the first Continental Congress and was instrumental in the founding of the USA.  In his one published sermon which was delivered on December 11, 1783, he stated that America was Israel re-gathered and had a divine purpose from God.  He also believed that eventually the Jews (Judah) would return to the Promised Land and would have their own country.  He based this on his understanding of Bible prophecy.

The Hebraic restoration movement among evangelical Christians is the modern phenomenon of the lost 10 tribes waking up to who they are.  They have an intense desire to return to God and his Word, the Torah.  They realize that they have been taught lies in their Chirstian religions which orignially were based in Judaism and then became paganized over time.