Two House Messianic Movement

The Two House Messianic Movement is a disputed theological movement involving the re-unification of the "Lost Ten Tribes" of the ancient Kingdom of Israel with the two southern most tribes of the ancient Kingdom of Judah (Jew Da), known today as the "Jews". The expectations within the movement are rooted in Messianic prophecy; it is anticipated significant re-unification of both "Houses" will happen at the hand of the Messiah (annointed king) of Israel, as King David united all twelve tribes in antiquity.

Quick History

The ancient empire of Israel, controlling lands from the Euphrates River to the Egyptian border, became divided after King Solomon's reign passed unto his son Rehoboam in about 931 BCE. Rehoboam refused to grant the northern ten tribes relief from Solomon's taxation and they subsequently formed their own autonomous nation in the north, making Jeroboam I their king.

The Kingdom of Israel, the northern ten tribes, were taken into their Assyrian Captivity starting in 740 BCE, culminating in 721 BCE with the seize of Sumaria. Even after invitations to return, many years later, no large representation ever returned to their former boundaries.

The Kingdom of Judah was taken into their Babylonian Captivity between 597-586 BCE. The kings of Persia granted permission for Judah to return to their lands, which they did, but then were subsequently exiled again by the Romans in 70 CE.

For greater detail, see History of ancient Israel and Judah.

Advocates

The factions, in the Two House dispute, are not limited to any one religion or denomination. Advocates and opponents are found within the various sects and ranks of Judaism, Messianic Judaism, and Christianity. Advocates take the general position that the ten tribes of the Kingdom of Israel have become a multitude of gentile nations since their exile by the Assyrian Empire (740-722 BCE) and lengthy migrations before and particularly after the decline of the Parthian Empire, 200-700 CE (also know as the Great Migration Period).

It is believed the ten tribes are not yet re-joined to the Kingdom of Judah in any large representation, though some small reunifications with Judah are believed to have happened in antiquity and are well documented to be happening in recent history with the modern nation of Israel.

For a short list of supporting authors, see the external link: Two House Authors

Opponents

Many opponents claim the lost tribes re-united with the Kingdom of Judah in the years leading up to and following Judah's return from their Babylonian Captivity in 537 BCE, hence they do not exist in the nations today other than in the form of the "Jews", those scattered by the Roman diaspora (70 CE) and subsequent Christian and Muslim exiles in later periods.

Some opponents take an agnostic position claiming the lost tribes have been completely assimilated by and are unidentifiable in the nations of the world and will never return from their deportation by and into Assyria. Hence, "why dispute what is unknowable?"

Opposition also arises simply when Israelites are identified with people more "commonly" associated with Japheth, one of Noah's three sons. Interestingly, some Two House advocates won't deny some aspect of this argument, taking into account a prophetic verse: Genesis 9:27a "Elohim shall enlarge Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem;" (Shem was another son of Noah, but also the ancestor of the Hebrews, Arabs, and many other ethnic groups according to genealogies found in the Hebrew Scriptures.)

Earliest Dispute

The earliest known documented dispute can be found in discussions taking place sometime before the second century CE. The Mishnah records Rabbi Akiva and Rabbi Eliezar disagreeing on various points in regard to the return of the lost tribes ^*.

The Mishnah in Sanhedrin 110b:

"The ten tribes will not return as it says (Nitzovim 29:8) "And he threw them to a different land like this day". Just as a day passes and will never return, they too will be exiled never to return, these are the words of Rabbi Akiva.

"Rabbi Eliezer says, just like a day is followed by darkness, and the light later returns. So too, although it will become "dark" for the ten tribes, Elohim will ultimately take them out of their darkness."

House of Judah - The Jews?

According to many Jewish rabbis and historians, the Jews are largely descended from the House of Judah, the Southern Kingdom of Judah, chiefly consisting of the tribe of Judah, the tribe of Benjamin, with some of the tribe of Levi.

House of Joseph - A Multitude of Nations?

Some historians, and especially Two House advocates, believe the Hebrew Scriptures indicate the Kingdom of Israel, sometimes referred to as the "House of Joseph", never returned from their Assyrian Captivity (1 Chr 5:26). Josephus writing not long after the life of Yeshua/Jesus in the first century CE, indicates the Romans only controlled two tribes of Israel, those returned from the Babylonian Captivity (see his quote below). Also, the Mishnah has Rabbi Akiva and Rabbi Eliezer discussing the eventual return of the tribes scattered and deported by the Assyrians [2. approximately 900 years after the deportation. All of this would seem to indicate the Northern Kingdom tribes of Israel did not return and unite with the Southern Kingdom of Judah.

“…the ten tribes are beyond the Euphrates River till now and are an immense multitude, not to be estimated in numbers." –Josephus Antiquities of the Jews ^*

Multiplication and Re-unification

Two House groups also believe many prophecies from the Hebrew Scriptures indicate the descendant nations of the ancient Kingdom of Israel would be re-united with the descendants of the ancient Kingdom of Judah. They frequently reference Ezekiel 37 (as below) and similar prophecies:

(16) “And you, son of man, take a stick for yourself and write on it, ‘For Judah and for the children of Israel, his companions.’ Then take another stick and write on it, ‘For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the House of Israel, his companions.’

(17) “Then bring them together for yourself into one stick, and they shall become one in your hand.

(18) “And when the children of your people speak to you, saying, ‘Won’t you show us what you mean by these?’

(19) say to them, ‘Thus said the Master יהוה , “See, I am taking the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel, his companions. And I shall give them unto him, with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they shall be one in My hand.” ’

Thickening the controversy, the movement believes prophecies indicate the tribe of Ephraim, the half-tribe of Joseph, would become a multitude of nations/peoples, referring to verses similar to Genesis 48:19:

"And his father refused, and said, I know it, my son, I know it: he also shall become a people, and he also shall be great: but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his seed shall become a multitude of nations." KJV

According to advocates of the Two House movement, the passages above present a problem to those who think the Jews are representative of all which is left of the twelve tribes of Jacob/Israel. They argue, "the Jews" have not become nor have they ever been a "multitude of nations". For a Two House advocate, a common answer is: no large contingent of Northern Kingdom tribes have been re-united with the Jews of the Southern Kingdom, thus they still exist as various nations/peoples in the world today. Also, someone sympathetic of the Two House ideals may say things like, "the problem is not: the Creator of the Universe lied about Ephraim becoming a multitude of nations/peoples, but simply: we have failed to unravel the mysteries of who is who in the nations today."

Missing Links

For students of the Lost Tribes of Israel, including Two House advocates, the Behistun Rock Inscription has provided an invaluable missing link, which adds credibility to where and who the Northern Kingdom Israelites were in the fifth century BCE and where they subsequently went in the following periods of their history.

George Rawlinson, Sir Henry Rawlinson's younger brother (translator of the Behistun Inscription), connected the Saka/Gimiri of the inscription with deported Israelites:

“We have reasonable grounds for regarding the Gimirri, or Cimmerians, who first appeared on the confines of Assyria and Media in the seventh century B.C., and the Sacae of the Behistun Rock, nearly two centuries later, as identical with the Beth-Khumree of Samaria, or the Ten Tribes of the House of Israel.” -George Rawlinson, note in his translation of History of Herodotus, Book VII, p. 378

The Behistun Inscription connects the people known in Old Persian and Elamite as Saka, Sacae or Scythian with the people known in Babylonian as Gimirri or Cimmerian. This is important because the Assyrian's referred to the Northern Kingdom of Israel in their records as the "House of Khumri", named after Israel's King Omri of the 8th century BCE. Phonetically "Khumri", "Omri", and "Gimiri" are similar ^*.

"It should be made clear from the start that the terms 'Cimmerian' and 'Scythian' were interchangeable: in Akkadian the name Iskuzai (Asguzai) occurs only exceptionally. Gimirrai (Gamir) was the normal designation for 'Cimmerians' as well as 'Scythians' in Akkadian." ^*

In the photo of the Black Obelisk to the right, compare King Jehu's pointed Saka/Scythian style headdress, which is similar to the captive Saka/Scythian king seen to the far right on the Behistun Inscription. Note: King Jehu of Israel was son and heir to King Omri of the Northern Kingdom of Israel.

Details Disputed

Two House advocates generally agree on the big picture, but disagree on numerous details, especially when view points converge amongst Judaism, Messianic Judaism, and Christianity. Identifying specific nations and/or people groups is full of varying opinions and speculations.

Replacement Theology?

Advocates of the Two House Messianic Movement wish not to be confused with Replacement Theology or Supersessionism. They refute this label with statements like: “there are two houses, two ancient kingdoms, being discussed and identified, without one replacing the other. The two are brothers who should not trouble each other as they did in their ancient past.” Replacement Theologians virtually make the claim “the Jews have been replaced by the church”. Such persons may say things like, “We are Israel now.” Two House advocates make no such claims and respectively identify the Jews as Israelites from the Kingdom of Judah.