Originally published on 7/5/2007. Updated on 10/1/2020.
The Messianic (Hebraic, Israelite) Church is not new. In fact, it’s been around since the beginning of Christianity. Its Founders were the Apostles themselves. But, after the first centuries passed and the Roman Church seized control, it became a remnant, a small group of believers, that maintained the doctrines of the original congregation. Today, the role of Messianic Believers is pivotal to the spirituality and politics of the end times.
The definition of “Messianic” in the context of my teachings is the belief that the Messiah, Yeshua, is both God and King of Israel. The word also refers to those who believe this and are awaiting His second coming at the end of the Tribulation.
This article regards the physical return of the ten tribes of Israel, the House of Israel, and the House of Judah, also called Jews. This return has been a 2,000-your-long process that is pivotal to end-times prophecy. All believers in Jesus Christ, Yeshua Ha Mashiach, are children of Abraham. The acknowledgement by the House of Judah that members of the Ten Tribes deserve to make Aliyah in Israel, and the admittance by the Ten Tribes of their true Hebrew identity, will be a fulfilled prophecy contrary to current Judaism doctrine which excludes all Ephraimites from the return.
The process of restoring the Houses is prophesied in Ezekiel.
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:
Ezekiel 37:19 Say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel his fellows, and will put them with him, even with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they shall be one in mine hand.
The Spiritual Role of the Restoration
The Israelite Church (those who know Yeshua is God and King of Israel) is in the forefront of Christianity’s return to its Israelite roots. The ten tribes of the Children of Israel are still in exile, scattered all over the Earth while the Jews, who appear to no longer be in exile, still actually are. The reason the Jews are still in exile, even though they have a modern political State, is because they have not returned to YHVH with their hearts through Yeshua. But they remain known and visible remnant of the House of Jacob.
While it appears that the Messianic Movement is leading the Church back toward Jewish-ness, the truth is the return is much more than that and does not involve any believer converting to Judaism. There will be no Christianity or Judaism in Yeshua’s Kingdom since He never created a religion. Yeshua built, destroyed, and then restored His Kingdom. A Kingdom or nation is not the same thing as a religion.
Israelites are returning to the knowledge and identity of our Israelite Roots. All Israelites are only Israelites. They are not Jews nor are they Gentiles. They are not Ephraimites nor are they Gentiles. They are Israelites. This is a different, and for some a difficult concept to grasp at first. Jews are Hebrews. Jews who accept Yeshua are Israelites. Ephraimites, mostly in Christianity, who accept Yeshua are also Israelites.
The ten tribes of Israel’s northern Kingdom were were scattered for their repeated disobedience to the Torah. Their exile was a matter of divorce.
The Jews were cut off by death in the 1st century AD. When the Jews killed their rightful King, Yeshua, and killed Him, the nation died and their national identity as Israelites ended. The Jews continued as a culture for YHVH’s prophetic purposes but it is not enough to be a cultural Hebrew. One must become an Israelite through faith in Yeshua.
When Yeshua died, all Israel died. A nation that kills its king is no longer that same nation. Yeshua died because of sin. We die to sin. Yeshua and all of us suffered together the fate of the national death of Israel but His resurrection brought back and restored Israel to its original intent – to create a nation of priests to serve the world!
Read what YHVH said about the ‘scattering’:
Leviticus 26:33 And I will scatter you among the heathen, and will draw out a sword after you: and your land shall be desolate, and your cities waste.
1 Kings 14:15 For the LORD shall smite Israel, as a reed is shaken in the water, and he shall root up Israel out of this good land, which he gave to their fathers, and shall scatter them beyond the river, because they have made their groves, provoking the LORD to anger.
Notice that it is Israel who is to be scattered. Even though the northern and southern Kingdoms were scattered separately, they were both scattered and they were both cut off.
Nehemiah 1:8 Remember, I beseech thee, the word that thou commanded thy servant Moses, saying, If ye transgress, I will scatter you abroad among the nations:
Isaiah 41:16 Thou shalt fan them, and the wind shall carry them away, and the whirlwind shall scatter them: and thou shalt rejoice in the LORD, and shalt glory in the Holy One of Israel.
Jeremiah 9:16 I will scatter them also among the heathen, whom neither they nor their fathers have known: and I will send a sword after them, till I have consumed them.
Jeremiah 13:24 Therefore will I scatter them as the stubble that passeth away by the wind of the wilderness.
Jeremiah 18:17 I will scatter them as with an east wind before the enemy; I will shew them the back, and not the face, in the day of their calamity.
Ezekiel 12:15 And they shall know that I am the LORD, when I shall scatter them among the nations, and disperse them in the countries.
These are just a few of the scriptures related to the scattering of the tribes.
Yeshua talked about the scattering during his time on Earth. The House of Israel was important to Him. He was, and is, YHVH Elohim of Israel. All of Israel was, and are, His children.
John 10:16 And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.
In reading this scripture, Christians have assumed that Yeshua was talking about the Gentiles and they view themselves as Gentiles after accepting Yeshua as savior. The reason for this is that the identity of The House of Israel is so buried in antiquity. Yeshua died to restore His nation. To do this, He had to go after the whole world of Gentiles because His Israelite people had all been forcibly converted by Him to being Gentiles. This includes the Jews, too. All 12 tribes were Gentiles on the morning of Aviv 15 when Yeshua was in the grave. His resurrection and restoration of the dry bones of Ezekiel, what Paul calls the “new man” (as opposed to Isaiah 1’s “sick man”, the “old man”) requires all 12 tribes to graft themselves into His olive tree.
Further evidence that Yeshua intended to bring Gentiles to him comes from the Book of Matthew.
Matthew 15:22 And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou Son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil.
23 But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us.
24 But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the House of Israel.
25 Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me.
26 But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to cast it to dogs.
27 And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.
28 Then Yeshua answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.
When the Disciples asked Yeshua to send a woman away, whom they considered to be a Gentile, Yeshua’s reply was that He was sent to the lost sheep of the House of Israel. The Disciples would have understood that term as the 10 tribes who had been cut off. They did not yet understand that Yeshua intended to cut of the Jews, too!
Yeshua then refers to the Canaanite woman as a ‘dog’, a common term the Jews and an unclean animal. Obviously, Yeshua was describing the condition of all 12 tribes of His people.
Yeshua came through the tribe of Judah to restore all Israel into one unified “House” again, a “House” called the “House of Israel”. The nation of Israel always was called the “House of Israel” but the split of northern tribes also used that title.
The idea that Yeshua came to save not only the Jews, but also the Gentiles, was a foreign notion on the day that Yeshua spoke those words to the Disciples in John 10:16. It wasn’t until well into the Book of Acts, and a long time after Pentecost, that the idea of offering Yeshua’s teachings to the Gentiles was introduced. YHVH had to send a special vision to Peter in order to get the point across.
Acts 10:9 On the morrow, as they went on their journey, and drew nigh unto the city, Peter went up upon the housetop to pray about the sixth hour:
10 And he became very hungry, and would have eaten: but while they made ready, he fell into a trance,
11 And saw heaven opened, and a certain vessel descending unto him, as it had been a great sheet knit at the four corners, and let down to the earth:
12 Wherein were all manner of fourfooted beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air.
13 And there came a voice to him, Rise, Peter; kill, and eat.
14 But Peter said, Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten any thing that is common or unclean.
15 And the voice spake unto him again the second time, What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common.
16 This was done thrice: and the vessel was received up again into heaven.
17 Now while Peter doubted in himself what this vision which he had seen should mean, behold, the men which were sent from Cornelius had made enquiry for Simon’s house, and stood before the gate,
18 And called, and asked whether Simon, which was surnamed Peter, were lodged there.
19 While Peter thought on the vision, the Spirit said unto him, Behold, three men seek thee.
20 Arise therefore, and get thee down, and go with them, doubting nothing: for I have sent them.
21 Then Peter went down to the men which were sent unto him from Cornelius; and said, Behold, I am he whom ye seek: what is the cause wherefore ye are come?
22 And they said, Cornelius the centurion, a just man, and one that feareth God, and of good report among all the nation of the Jews, was warned from God by an holy angel to send for thee into his house, and to hear words of thee.
23 Then called he them in, and lodged them. And on the morrow Peter went away with them, and certain brethren from Joppa accompanied him.
24 And the morrow after they entered into Caesarea. And Cornelius waited for them, and had called together his kinsmen and near friends. 25 And as Peter was coming in, Cornelius met him, and fell down at his feet, and worshipped him.
26 But Peter took him up, saying, Stand up; I myself also am a man.
27 And as he talked with him, he went in, and found many that were come together.
28 And he said unto them, Ye know how that it is an unlawful thing for a man that is a Jew to keep company, or come unto one of another nation; but God hath shewed me that I should not call any man common or unclean.
29 Therefore came I unto you without gainsaying, as soon as I was sent for: I ask therefore for what intent ye have sent for me?
30 And Cornelius said, Four days ago I was fasting until this hour; and at the ninth hour I prayed in my house, and, behold, a man stood before me in bright clothing,
31 And said, Cornelius, thy prayer is heard, and thine alms are had in remembrance in the sight of God.
32 Send therefore to Joppa, and call hither Simon, whose surname is Peter; he is lodged in the house of one Simon a tanner by the sea side: who, when he cometh, shall speak unto thee.
33 Immediately therefore I sent to thee; and thou hast well done that thou art come. Now therefore are we all here present before God, to hear all things that are commanded thee of God.
This scripture is always mistakenly used by Christians to ‘prove’ that YHVH cancelled the Law, the Torah. After all, in Peter’s vision, he saw unclean animals and God’s voice told him to ‘kill and eat’. But Peter refused to do so. In fact, the voice told Peter to ‘kill and eat’ the unclean animals three times.
So why doesn’t this scripture mean that the dietary laws were abolished? Because there is another meaning that Peter himself explained.
Peter knew that this vision wasn’t about eating unclean animals. He knew that God’s voice would never utter instructions contrary to the Laws of the nation that our King, Yeshua, had restored. The scripture says that Peter had to ponder its meaning – he didn’t take the vision at face value the way lawless Christians do today in order to validate their lawlessness. Nowhere does this passage say that Peter immediately understood that the Law was no longer in effect and he could now eat every filthy thing that YHVH had formerly forbidden. No, Peter knew there was a deeper meaning to this vision and had to think about it.
The Bible says that Peter was hungry when the vision started. Anyone who has dreams knows that dreams often contain the symbolism of the moment. For instance, if we happen to fall asleep while the TV is on, and the program has a scene about someone running just as we are entering REM sleep, our dream will be one of running.
Peter was subject to the same mental anomalies as we. So, while he was thinking about food, he fell into a trance. YHVH wanted him to understand something about ‘unclean’ things, so YHVH used what Peter was thinking about and what he would understand.
While Peter was considering the meaning of the vision, he was interrupted by some men who asked him to go to the home of a Gentile named Cornelius.
Notice that Peter’s vision came as a result of the prayers of this gentile. YHVH is in the habit of answering our prayers whether we are Israelite or gentile. Peter knew the meaning of the vision as soon as he entered Cornelius’ home.
In those days, the Jews considered both pigs and Gentiles to be ‘unclean things’. YHVH wanted Peter to know that His plan of Salvation was for everyone, Jew and Gentile alike. Cornelius had been told by an Angel to call for Peter to come to his house. Peter went to Cornelius – Cornelius did not go to Peter.
Acts 10:28 And he (Peter) said unto them, Ye know how that it is an unlawful thing for a man that is a Jew to keep company, or come unto one of another nation; but God hath shewed me that I should not call any man common or unclean.
Peter here finally explains to us the meaning of his vision. YHVH wanted the Apostles to stop viewing pigs and Gentiles as the same class of beings. He wanted them to stop viewing Gentiles as unclean and begin preaching the Gospel to them. The Jewish view of Gentiles – and all the Disciples were Jews – was that YHVH wanted nothing to do with Gentiles. Now we see that Peter’s dream was about elevating Gentiles to the status of human (against Judaism doctrine to this day) and to bring the salvation message to them.
This is very important because YHVH said that in the last days the separated tribes would reunite as the Kingdom of Israel. The Disciples witnessed to the Jews first and to the Gentiles second, but they witnessed! They sought to make Yeshua’s Kingdom a reality!
Some scholars imply that the tribes will be melded into one big Jewish tribe during the end-times, but that is not scriptural. The tribes appear before YHVH’s throne in the Book of Revelation. They stand around the throne, the 144,000 are marked according to their tribe, the New Jerusalem’s 12 gates are named for the tribes.
As a child growing up in the Church, the mystery of the Lost Tribes was on the same par as where Cain got his wife and how many angels will fit on the head of pin. It was considered unimportant and unanswerable. It wasn’t until I became an adult that I realized the scattered tribes have a role to play in the end times scenario.
YHVH said that He will gather all of His children back to Him. The connotation here is the same as in the Prodigal Son parable. The 12 tribes of the House of Israel is so lost it doesn’t even realize it is lost. But, one by one, YHVH is awakening His children to that fact of our identity as Israelites.
Jeremiah 3:12 Go and proclaim these words toward the north, and say, Return, thou backsliding Israel, saith the LORD; and I will not cause mine anger to fall upon you: for I am merciful, saith the LORD, and I will not keep anger for ever.
18 In those days the house of Judah shall walk with the House of Israel, and they shall come together out of the land of the north to the land that I have given for an inheritance unto your fathers.Jeremiah 32:37 Behold, I will gather them out of all countries, whither I have driven them in mine anger, and in my fury, and in great wrath; and I will bring them again unto this place, and I will cause them to dwell safely:
38 And they shall be my people, and I will be their God:
39 And I will give them one heart, and one way, that they may fear me for ever, for the good of them, and of their children after them:
40 And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; but I will put my fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from me.
It is possible that since you are reading this information, that YHVH has led you here because you are an Israelite. If you have felt the Ruach Ha Kodesh (Holy Spirit) prompting you to seek for deeper holiness within the Torah, the truth of your Hebrew roots may be one of the areas He wants you to know.
YHVH is calling His ‘lost sheep’, the physical House of Israel, to Him in these last days for the purpose of acknowledging who they truly are so they can begin living out their role as citizens of His Kingdom on earth even before He arrives.
We all know that accepting Yeshua as our personal savior makes us a Child of YHVH and a spiritual descendant of Abraham, but few Christians realize what this really means.
Romans 11:17 And if some of the branches be broken off, and thou, being a wild olive tree, wert graffed in among them, and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree;
Paul taught us that Gentiles are grafted into the Olive Tree, the tree that symbolically represents
Jacob and his children. Few realize they must convert to being Law-Abiding, Torah-observant Israelites in order to be counted among the children of Abraham and all 12 tribal branches must be grafted back into Yeshua’s “netser” olive tree.
The lines are being drawn between YHVH’s children, the “restored House of Israel” and the children of Satan in apostate Christianity, Judaism and Islam. Only the Torah provides clear instructions about the behaviors that YHVH expects from His children. To return to our Israelite roots means to return to obedience to the Torah. Obedience to the Torah is the real end-times battle line.
Understand that Yeshua IS the Torah. The Torah is His Word and He was made flesh. Yeshua fulfilled the Torah and is our Messiah and now we must return to obedience to the laws of His Kingdom. If we don’t want to obey now, will we obey in His Kingdom? Will Yeshua let the disobedient into the Kingdom if they are not obeying now?
The Political Role of the Restoration Message. It is significant that YHVH said He will bring His people back to the land that He gave them.
All over the Internet and from most pulpits, Christians are taught that the Law of Moses is a non-issue even though the scriptures clearly say the reason for the scattering and total destruction of Israel was because of disobedience, and the Apostles all wrote about the importance of obedience. They were not making up commandments for believers to obey. No. They taught from the Torah just like Yeshua did! YHVH expects His Israelite children to keep the Torah.
Returning to the Law strengthens our ties to the coming Kingdom of Israel. Yeshua said His Kingdom was already on the earth. It is on the earth for those who behave like obedient citizens!
We are now in the prophesied time of the “falling away”, the ‘apostacion’ when people will convert to the religion of the Antichrist, Judaism. This falling away has already begun with the belittling and reduction of the Gospel to nothing more than a prosperity message. Let us not live like lawless religious Gentiles any longer, but as fulfillers of YHVH’s Word about His Kingdom on earth. That is what is means to complete the prophetic restoration of Israel.
Blessings!
Kimberly Rogers-Brown
admin@themessianicmessage.com
