Doctrinal Specifics
This page last updated:
05/22/2007 07:27 PM
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THE SHORT LIST
The Word in Deuteronomy 6:4 says "Adonai Elohaynoo, Adonai echad,"
which means YHVH, your God,
YHVH is One. The word for one here (Hebrew echad)
means Unity, which implies that He is or has a manifold (many-fold)
or multiplied fullness or presence, existence and manifestation.
He is unlimited, outside of time and unbounded by material
restraint, yet able and willing to operate within physical boundaries
if He so chooses. He has no form in the sense of restriction to a
particular representation, yet His structure is perfect and balanced,
holy and pure. There is no shadow of turning in Him; His Word is fixed and
unalterable, acting as a foundation for the creation of worlds and
galaxies. He is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, thrice holy, complete,
and in need of nothing. He is the First and the Last, never beginning
and never ending.
More on this topic can be found in the article elsewhere on this
site titled Who's Running This Place?
The first Man and Woman disobeyed the Word of
God in the Garden,
were exiled before eating of the Tree of Life,
cut off from God, which is spiritual death, became slaves to sin,
and eventually experienced physical death.
The seed of the Tree of Knowledge is still reproducing and
bearing fruit in their descendants, and that fruit is disobedience to
the Word. Sin is defined by John as "lawlessness."
Everyone who practices sin also practices
lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness.
I John 3:4 NASB95
Iniquity is another English word used to describe 'no
law.' It is frequently used to translate the Greek word 'anomia,'
literally meaning 'no law.' It is curious to note that in the
Apostolic Scriptures (NT) 'law' is used to translate 'nomos' or 'nomon,'
but when 'anomia' is used in the Greek it is translated by some other
word such as iniquity. It is only in the last couple of
Bible translations (such as the NASB95) that both words have begun to be translated more
consistently. We are saved from the effects, penalties, or ultimate
consequences of sin, which is permanent separation from God. We
are not saved from the Law, or having to follow His Word or Will.
What was nailed to the execution stake (cross) with Jesus was
our transgressions of the Law, not the Law itself.
The Satan is an actual, existing, individual person.
He was the guardian of God’s Holiness at one time, but sin
was found in him and he was exiled from his place in the heavenly
order. He tempted the
first people to disobey the Word of God and in so doing they became
his slaves. He usurped
the authority over the earth originally given to man and rules with an
iron fist in defiance of God.
He has a plan to bring the people of the world together in a
unified kingdom that is to be openly ruled by him.
He has attempted on a number of occasions in the past to
implement this plan by raising up rulers who have attempted to unify
all the people of the world into one 'nation.'
He will attempt again soon, with a person called the Lawless
One.
The Tree of Life is the Word of God.
All who eat of it will have eternal life, those who refuse to
eat will be exiled from the paradise still future, condemned to
eternal death. It is also
an actual tree with actual fruit.
The Bread of Life (a.k.a. Jesus) is another form of this Word. To partake of the Tree of Life is to receive the seed
of the Word and reproduce or bear fruit in keeping with obedience to
that Word.
Torah is all the instructions of God revealed to
us in what we call the Bible, but also specifically the first five
books. It is the Word of
God, the Bread of Life, which we are to consume by reading or hearing and
produce fruit by obedience in order to have eternal life.
It is eternally existent and does not change, and exhibits the
same characteristics as God. It
is love (John 15:10, 12-14), light and lamp (Proverbs 6:23;
Psalm 119:105; Isaiah 8:20; Revelation 21:23, 22:5); life (Deuteronomy 4:1,
32:46-47; Proverbs 1:17, 8:33-36; Matthew 19:16,17); seed
(Matthew
13:18-23), instructions (Isaiah 1:10; Exodus 16:4 24:12; Jeremiah
35:13; Job 22:22, 36:10; Psalm 78:1; Zephaniah 3:1-7; Malachi 2:1-9, Proverbs
1:2,3,7,8 4:1,2; Romans 15:4; Ephesians 6:4; 1Timothy 1:5; 1Thessalonians 4:1, 5:12; 2Tim
4:2); law (Jeremiah 6:18-19; Zechariah 7:12; Deut 5:5 17:11, 27:1-3,
26, 30:10,14, 32:46,47; John 15:25; Acts 6:2-4,7 13:44,48,49, 28:23;
Romans 9:28,31,32; 1Corinthians 15:2; Galatians 5:14); commands, judgments,
teachings & ways (Isaiah 2:3; Proverbs 5:12 7:2 8:10 1:8 4:2
3:1 6:20-23; Jeremiah 32:33; Deuteronomy 4:1; 2 Chronicles 15:1-7;
Matthew 4:23 7:28,29
9:35 13:54 15:9 28:20; Acts 2:42 4:2 18:11; Romans 12:7; 1 Corinthians 14:26); wisdom,
and truth (Psalm 119:43,44,142 138:2; Proverbs 23:23; Malachi 2:6;
1 Kings 2:3-4; John 17:17, 18:37-38, 8:31-32; James 1:18, 21-23,25).
It is the straight paths for our feet and a light to our way.
All these references are typed out in the article elsewhere on this
site titled The Word of God.
Grace is the combined mercy and beauty of
God in
action; mercy in the giving of His Words to us, and beauty in the
giving of His Son to us (John 1:17).
He would have been a just God if He had not moved to save us, but
without compromising His Justice and Holiness He offered to die in our
place, so now we can know Love and freedom from slavery to our sin.
Grace is not permission to sin, nor is it in opposition to the Laws
of God. Grace is the favor of God bestowed on undeserving
humanity through the giving of His Words, His Son, and His Spirit.
Love is an action word, not a description of an
emotion. If the Father
merely had “good feelings” about us there would have been no
salvation. We learn what
love is by following the Father’s and the Messiah’s examples.
Love is acting for the benefit and well being of others
regardless of their position, and regardless of our emotions. In this way it is related to faith, both of which have the
element of obedience. Limiting
love to emotions only or words only causes hypocrisy. Hypocrisy is
saying or teaching one thing but doing something different.
It is impossible to Love God or each
other apart from His Word. When we follow one of His
Instructions we show love for our Father and return some of the love
He lavishes on us. Our love for each other flows from our loving
relationship with God. The more we understand the Word and
practice it the better and more 'loving' our relationship with God and
each other.
Faith has two parts - 'trust' and
'obedience.' We show that we trust God by being obedient to His
Word. Faith is trusting obedience to the Father’s will as expressed and
revealed in His Word. We enter into His Kingdom and we maintain
our presence there by faith. No work can gain entrance for us,
and lack of works cannot remove us. However, Faith must be
accompanied by some sort of action or actions. Without works
faith is dead. Faith is not just mental agreement to an idea
(mere 'belief'),
but a life lived out according to our Father's Instructions (Torah).
Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead,
being by itself. James 2:17 NASB95
God is the originator and finisher of our faith. It is a gift
that is given according to His plan (Romans 12:3). We do not hold on to it by
self-effort, nor can we earn it by self-effort of any kind. Faith is
given to all men; it is the proper exercise of this gift of faith that
saves us.
A person may 'believe' a train is coming,
but if they don't get off the tracks do they really have 'faith?'
Repentance (Hebrew t’shuvah - turning) is
the beginning of faith, or the restarting of our walk with Him.
Genuine repentance is accompanied by a change in actions. It includes restitution as a genuine sign of the turning, and
making as many things right as is known about. If a person was a
thief before repentance, then after repentance he ceases to steal, and
repays what he stole with interest.
Repentance is commanded by God, to all people. So salvation
begins with obedience to a command.
And the times of this ignorance God winked
at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:
Acts 17:30 KJV
Sometimes repentance (including restitution) can take time, either because a person does
not know about the effects his or her actions had on someone else
before repentance, or because it takes time to realize what was wrong.
As we study and practice the Word of God, more things are brought to
our attention that require a corrective action. Sometimes it has
been too long and a person may pay restitution in a little bit
different fashion than he or she would have if the restitution had
been paid right away. For instance, the wronged party might have
passed away, so restitution could not be paid directly. But
perhaps a family member of the wronged party would be a good
substitute. This is not meant to prescribe exact restitution
guidelines, only to suggest possibilities.
The first moment of salvation is the start of a renewed relationship to
God that we obtain by His Grace and through the Faith of the
Messiah. Our salvation is secure because it rests on God's Word,
not because of any worth or action on our part. Related words
are 'righteousness,' 'justice,' and 'redemption.'
However, salvation is only assured by continuing in trusting
obedience to the Word of God.
According to Scripture such as Matthew 13 (Parable of the Sower), some
people will receive the Word gladly but will not continue for whatever
reason. These people will fall away, but those that belong to
Him will continue in Him. Those that continue are the
over-comers mentioned in several other Scriptures.
Fortunately, He has not appointed any man as 'salvation police' in
order to judge or condemn a person’s place in the Kingdom. Our
goal is to exhort, encourage, correct, teach, and discipline our
fellow Kingdom citizens. We promote community to help us edify
the others that are part of the body, not to pass judgment on their
condition.
Sanctification is the continuation of our renewed
relationship to God. When
we obey the call to turn from the direction we are going and re-turn
to His Ways (t’shuvah), we embark on a process that will end
in redemption of all that we are.
So then, my
beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only,
but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and
trembling; for it is God who is at work in
you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.
(Philippians 2:12-13 NASB95)
Though God knows who will overcome, and takes measures to
keep His children in Him, from man’s viewpoint it is a process, and
an open question until we die. Therefore we ought to behave toward our Father, and treat one
another, in the manner in which He has prescribed in His Word.
As we study His Instructions (Torah, Laws, Word) and implement
them, we are proceeding in sanctification. The word
'sanctification' literally
means to 'make holy' or set apart. It is a lifelong process, and
is aided (or hindered) by our study and implementation of His Word (or
lack of it). The so-called Laws of the Old Testament (Tanakh)
are part of this sanctification process. After conversion, we
start with what we know to be right and do those things. The
more we study and fellowship with the other members of our community
(congregation) the more we understand and the more we need to
implement the new understandings.
Redemption is salvation and sanctification combined.
We are redeemed (purchased) by the blood that the Messiah Jesus shed
for us at His execution. We are not our own, we were bought with
a very dear price. We look forward to our full redemption at the
resurrection, when we will receive new bodies and creation will be
restored. In the meantime, we have been marked as His own by the
giving of the Spirit and a changed life. We were slaves to sin
and now we are slaves to righteousness.
The Kingdom of Heaven, or the Kingdom of God, is also
known as the Remnant, Congregation, Church, Called Out Ones, and the
Body of the Messiah. It
is made up of all who submit to the will of the Father, even in a
small way. According to
the Parable of the Hearers (Matthew 13), some in the Kingdom will show
growth but will not show fruit or endure, while others will endure and
produce fruit in different measures.
Those who endure and produce fruit are saved, while those who
“fall away” are not saved. The end condition of each person is an open question from a
human perspective until the day of physical death.
It is therefore possible that an individual may start on the
road to obedience but refuse to continue and appear to “lose”
their salvation, when in reality they never had it to begin with.
It is also possible that a person who appears to be
unresponsive to the Word can show sudden and startling growth.
It is very difficult to tell if a person is actually
'in' the Kingdom or not, so we must treat them as members if they
claim they are. All who
claim to be a brother or sister are held to the impartial standard of
the Word, not the whim of the assembly.
This protects the body member from the “tyranny” of the
legalist, who rejects the plain meaning of the Word in favor of a
self-generated system of law, giving the legalist the control instead
of the Word.
The system of Bible Interpretation used by our ministry is the
Literal. We define literal as the plain meaning intended by the
author. Even though a number of different types of literature are
used by the authors of Scripture (such as allegory, poetry, apocalyptic)
these different types are clearly defined by the context. There is
only one meaning intended by the author and that is the meaning we must
try to discover from the text.
There are, of course, many applications that can be drawn from
Scripture, up to and including personal applications (what does it mean
to me). However, these applications should never be taught as
Scripture. Far too often people find what they think is 'meaning'
in the text then turn around and teach it as Scripture, when in fact
what they found was a personal application. Scripture interprets
Scripture, and one part of Scripture cannot override another. It
is a harmonious whole and exhibits a progressive revelation. Most
of the meaning in Scripture can be understood without the help of a
scholar although it may take some time and effort on the part of the
reader to uncover it.
The Bible is inerrant (without error) in the original languages.
In some translations a few spelling or grammar errors have crept in but
there is enough text in the whole Book, and enough older texts, to
eliminate any substantial error through comparison and context.
The English language translations are good enough that the bulk of what
the Bible teaches is plainly understood if one speaks English.
There is no reason to reject any of the accepted Protestant cannon,
except those sections already clearly noted by the majority of translators.
See also the section elsewhere on this site
called Interpretation for a extended descriptions of
the literal and other methods of interpretation.
God the Father, through His Spirit, has given gifts to the members of
the body, for the edification (building up) of all members. These
gifts are to be used according to the Word of God, and always lead
people (or point) to that Word. If a gift is used in such a way as
to lead away from the Word (which is possible), the person using the
gift is undoubtedly being led by a spirit but not the Holy Spirit.
It is impossible to exercise a gift in a godly manner apart from the
Word of God. Each Kingdom citizen is also given gifts for the purpose of
building up one another. God
calls some to help with various leadership roles, some to teaching
roles, and some to wait on tables as examples of some of the gifts.
All roles and gifts are of value to the Kingdom, none are
worthless or unimportant. A
place should be made for all to exercise their respective gifts for
the edification of the body.
More on the Holy Spirit and gifting is discussed in the
article elsewhere on this site titled Christian Faith and Practice
through the Spirit.
The Kingdom is governed by God through His Word. He has
given some to be apostles (emissaries or sent ones), some to be teachers and some to
help with various other functions within the body. The body is
composed of groups of people in different geographic locations we call
congregations or communities. All congregation members are responsible to be in
the Word on a daily basis, either to help lead or to check on the
leaders to make sure they are still following the Word.
There is clear
Scriptural evidence that the congregation should be led by a group of
men called elders rather than by one person called a pastor. There
is also clear evidence that all congregation members are involved in
building community with each other. We are all accountable to
follow God's will as revealed in the Word. God's feasts as summarized in
Leviticus (like the rest of His Word, even if you want to call it Law), help to draw the individuals
composing the communities together. It is not impossible to properly
follow God outside of a community arrangement, but a properly
functioning community is very important. The individual is
not designed to function alone, and as he or she connects with others the glory of God
is displayed more effectively.
A community or congregation can be defined
as 'two (or three) people meeting in His (My) name.'
“Truly I say
to you, whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven; and
whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.
Again I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth
about anything that they may ask, it shall be done for them by My Father
who is in heaven. For where two or three
have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst.”
(Matthew 18:18-20 NASB95)
The Scriptural model seems to be many small
congregations meeting in houses or small meeting centers. The
so-called 'super church' is in direct contradiction to the Scriptural
model. Communities, it seems from the Word, should be smaller
'neighborhood' gatherings, and involvement with each other should be on
a daily basis instead of the once or twice a week 'church' meeting.
The purpose of a community is for hearing
the Word and practicing it with the fellow members of the community.
Included in the goals of community life is to 'bear one another's
burdens,' for 'older men or women to teach the younger men or women,'
for 'teaching, correcting, reproof, encouragement and rebuke,' and to
'provoke one another to love and good deeds.'
Through these goals God is honored and
glorified, and our God and Messiah is lifted up before men. For
more on the concept of government, see the page titled
Whole Bible Community. Also see
Identity Issues.
According to the Word there is no such thing as free will in the
sense that modern man means the term. Romans 6:16-18 tells us that
we are in one of two conditions. Humanity is either sinful or
saved from sin; slaves to sin or slaves to righteousness; in bondage to
the flesh or in bondage to God. Jesus says in Matthew
12:30,
"He who is not with Me is against
Me; and he who does not gather
with Me scatters."
All through the Scriptures we are taught that there is no 'in between.'
God's will is the only will that is truly free, but even He is
constrained by His own character and attributes. If God did not
step in to save us we would not be saved, because we cannot save
ourselves from the consequences of a sinful life (death).
Fortunately, we do have the God-granted ability to choose the Messiah
through the blood of His once-for-all sacrifice.
After this choice is made, we become free to follow Him (slaves to
righteousness). Our apparent 'free will' has been purchased for us
at a very great cost.
To a certain extent, and from man's
viewpoint, we have the ability at the moment to choose from among many
courses of action that which we desire to do. But connected with
this ability to choose is a concept often overlooked - responsibility.
In exercising our choice we also have the responsibility to choose
wisely. Since everyone is 'free' to choose God, yet many do not,
their final condemnation will be just.
This word or term is an English construct and there is no direct
equivalent in Greek or Hebrew. However, it does serve to help us
describe in a shorthand fashion the concept of earning merit from God
through observance of a command or series of commands; merit earned
through genetics; or the attempt to earn merit enough for salvation in
any fashion. The problem is we cannot earn salvation from God as if it were wages
that are due to us for working or being born to a particular tribal
family.
But this does not eliminate the expectation of working, as best as we
are able, to do everything our loving God and Father requires.
Legalism does not describe the act of following God's Laws or
Instructions. Almost any practice can be considered legalistic,
and as a matter of fact a person can be legalistic about grace if he or
she wasn't careful. It is a sad fact that most of the
congregations who have thrown out God's Laws (all or part) have replaced
His simple Instructions with much more complicated, legalistic systems
of man-made laws.
These man-made laws have caused no end of division and strife.
Wearing certain clothes or hats (or head coverings), singing only certain types of songs, no
instruments allowed, only some instruments allowed, acceptable forms of
communion, unacceptable forms of baptism, and even how the seats are
arranged are examples of the complicated replacements for God's Law that
have been manufactured. Most of these laws are not spelled out in
the Scriptures but have become like the traditions of men that Jesus spoke against in the Word.
And He said to them, “Rightly
did Isaiah prophesy
of you hypocrites, as it is written:
‘This
people
honors
Me with their lips,
But their heart
is far
away
from Me.
‘But
in vain do
they worship
Me,
Teaching
as doctrines
the precepts
of men.’
Neglecting the commandment
of God, you hold
to the tradition of men."
He was also saying to them, “You are experts
at setting aside
the commandment of God
in order to keep
your tradition."
Mark 7:6-9 NASB
A Gentile is known today as
a non-Jewish person, but if the word is traced in the Scriptures
sometimes they are described as 'nations' (as in not God's people or
even 'the masses') and sometimes as 'strangers' or 'foreigners.'
The Hebrew word for the Gentile is goy (singular) and goyim
(plural). In one sense the Gentile is a person who is not
naturally a part of God's covenants with Israel, and in another sense
even Israel is called goyim. However, just because a person
may not have been born into physical Israel doesn't mean he or she is
not able to be adopted into the family of God. In fact, all
members of God's family are adopted. A person that is only born in
the flesh is not automatically part of God's family. All people
must be 'born again' in order to enter the permanent form of His family
or Kingdom.
Originally the name given to
Jacob after he wrestled with the angel of the Lord, the people descended
from Jacob are also called Israel. The meaning is a little
obscure, but apparently means something along the lines of 'struggled
(or contend) with God.' This group of people was chosen by God to
be separate or distinct from the nations (see
Gentiles) and to witness or testify on God's behalf by following His
Word and Ways. They are the focal point of God's rulership on the
earth (after the Messiah), the 'apple of His eye,' and remain so in spite of Satan's efforts
to exterminate them. Israel remains because God said they would,
and His Word cannot change. The so-called 'church' has not
replaced Israel in spite of efforts to the contrary.
Israel is physical and also
spiritual. Just because someone is born naturally into Israel does
not mean they are automatically in God's family. Those who are
'born again' become part of spiritual Israel, also called the Remnant.
But physical Israel is no less important than spiritual Israel.
Both are integral parts of God's plans, and neither will be neglected or
forgotten by Him. Physical Israel has the pre-eminent place as the
'elder brother' to the Gentile. They have
been blessed with the Torah (instructions) of God including the
Covenants, and they have (more or less) preserved God's Words for the
rest of the world.
Israel is also a geographic
location. It is the Land promised to Abraham and his descendants
by God, covering an area much greater than the present day boundaries of
Israel. One day soon those boundaries will be restored at the
coming of our Messiah.
A Jew is known today as an
Israeli. They have become interchangeable terms. The word
Jew comes from 'Judah,' one of the tribes of Israel. The name
Judah means 'praised' and contains the idea of 'praising with uplifted
hands.' Israelis
became known as Jews (or those of Judah) because after the time of
Solomon the other ten tribes departed from the worship of the one True
God, eventually going into captivity years before Judah. So the
only tribe to (sort of) continue worshipping God while all twelve were in the Land
was Judah (with Benjamin), and after the other ten were removed from the
Land they were the only tribe left period.
However, Judah also fell
into idolatry and also were dispersed into captivity. It just took
them longer and they maintained their identity better than the other ten
tribes. In modern times the Jews have lost most of their tribal
identity and are known as the physical descendants of Jacob. All
of those descendants are known as Jews. The
Jews have a pre-eminent place in God's plans, and will continue to
maintain their identity as long as God has anything to say about it.
For more on
these concepts see Identity Issues.
The word 'rapture' is
derived from a Latin word (rapturos) used to translate the Greek word
for 'caught up' or 'snatched away' (harpazo) used in 1 Thessalonians
4:17. It is intended to describe the quick change of living people
to a different body and their removal from the earth after dead
believers are resurrected (see also 1 Corinthians 15:50-58). This
is a doctrine that in recent times has been developed all out of
proportion to the Scriptures. It is only mentioned a couple of
times in direct relation to the resurrection. But while the
so-called 'rapture' is only mentioned a few times, the resurrection is
mentioned a great deal.
A large part of the
discussions surrounding this doctrine are related to the timing of the
rapture. Much of the hype borders on hysteria, and the focus has
become 'escape' rather than God and His Word. The complications
are due to the type of theology used. Some have a 'literal' view,
some think there is always a 'deeper meaning' (allegorical). Some
impose a dispensational view point on the Scriptures, some see only
through a covenant theology presupposition.
We feel the biblical
teaching is that, although it is an actual event, it is appended to the
resurrection of the righteous. There is plenty of biblical
evidence to show that the resurrection may not happen according to the
imaginary timetable set up by the dispensationalists. We should be
prepared for any eventuality dictated by the plans of God and not the
whims of popular thought, even if it does sell lots of books and movies.
The 'easy escapism' of the current pre-tribulation rapture theory will
probably turn out to be a false hope. But our God is certainly
able to protect His children through the coming tribulation just as He
did the Israelites during the plagues visited on Egypt.
The Bible tells us that
there will be a resurrection of all people, both the just and the
unjust. The 'just' are those who accept the Word of God and do
what He says, and the unjust are those who maintain their rebellion
against Him and His Ways. All people will 'exist forever,' but
some in a state of everlasting life (the presence of God) and others in
a state of everlasting death (separation from God).
There may be three parts to
the resurrection as illustrated for us in 1 Corinthians 15:23&24.
But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits,
after that those who are Christ’s at His coming,
then comes the end, when He hands over the kingdom to
the God and Father, when He has abolished all rule and all authority and
power.
It seems as if the first
part of the resurrection was our Messiah which happened 2,000 years ago.
The second part will be those that belong to Him, the timing of which is
before He begins His reign on earth ('the just will live and reign with
Him'). The third part is at 'the end' which seems to indicate the
time for the unjust to be resurrected. There will be only one
resurrection even if it does happen in three parts as indicated by
Hebrews 9:27 (it is given for a man once to die and after that the
judgment). The Bible does not mention anything relating to
multiple resurrections for the same person (reincarnation).
A tradition is literally
something that is 'handed down.' In this sense all of the Bible is
tradition. However, there are many traditions that are made by men
and not all of them are good. We believe that those traditions
that are handed down to us by God are the ones that the entire community
should practice. If He says we should do something, then we should
make it a priority. If He says not to practice something, it
should be avoided. If He does not say one way or the other, and if
there are no other sections of the Word that say anything against it,
then it is probably okay.
There is a large difference
between a conviction made into a tradition and Scripture itself.
Far too often, a conviction or tradition is taught as if it was
Scripture, when it is not clearly commanded one way or the other.
This causes people to divide and cease fellowship, but this solution
should be saved for much more important issues if needed. We
should be able to follow the biblical traditions together as a community
and allow for individual differences of opinion on those of man's
traditions which are open to interpretation.
Further discussion of
traditions is made elsewhere on this site.
The concept of Two Houses is
taught in the Word when speaking of the reunification of the twelve
tribes of Israel. The Two Houses are called Judah and Ephraim,
referring to the split between the southernmost tribes in the Land
(Judah and Benjamin) and the northern ten tribes (Israel or Ephraim)
starting right after Solomon died. Ephraim went into captivity by
the Assyrians about 150 years before Babylon captured Judah because they
were quicker to depart from the ways of God than Judah.
All of this is pretty much
unarguable. The controversy comes in when people try to identify
the members of one tribe or another. Some teach that Christians
are descendants of Ephraim because the ten tribes never really returned
to the Land of Israel as a group but seemed to keep migrating into
Europe, intermarrying and dispersing into the general world population, giving rise to the term 'lost tribes'. The same people teach
that the Jews are only descended from Judah. Some do not make an
issue of genetics at all. See the articles under
Identity Issues for more explanation.
We believe that the Two
House teaching is legitimate when speaking of the twelve tribes, but
that the Bible does not instruct us to find the identity of the members
nor does it instruct us to work for the reunification of the twelve
tribes. Another obvious point in disagreement with the Two House
teachings is that most Jews do not know which tribe they are from,
indicating that God has already blended the two sticks of Ezekiel into
one. In all cases the reunification is also said to be a work of God in
His power and His timing.
The Bible also mentions
people from every nation and tongue being saints, which includes
Gentiles. The Two House teachers have made a mistake in our
opinion by focusing on Two Houses instead of the One House of the
Remnant. However, their zeal is understandable in view of the fact
that many Jews reject their fellow Gentile citizens in the Kingdom.
They do this by teaching that Torah is only for Jews and relegating the
Torah-submissive Gentile to second-class status because they are not
Jewish. We believe we are all adopted into the family of God and
none are natural, and we only have one Word of God to bring us together
in the unity of the Spirit.
A covenant is essentially an
agreement between two people, where behavior is regulated by one person
towards the other person. A covenant can be one-sided or two sided
(or more). One sided means that only one person's behavior is
regulated, and two sided means the behavior of both parties is
regulated. An example of a one-sided covenant (commonly called
unconditional) is the covenant of God with Noah not to destroy the earth
with a flood again. An example of a two-sided covenant (commonly
called conditional) is the one made at Mt. Sinai between Israel and God
(blessings if you do 'these things,' curses if you don't). The
Covenants in Scripture are clearly spelled out, and we do not believe
that any others exist, such as the so-called covenant of grace that is a
main feature of Covenant Theology.
A one-sided covenant could
also be called a promise. A promise, for instance, was made by God
to Adam and Eve in Genesis 3:15 concerning the seed of the woman who we
know as Jesus the Messiah. All covenants, whether conditional or
unconditional, could be considered to be centered around this promise of
a Messiah, and we believe that to be true.
See the section elsewhere on
this site called Theology
for a discussion of Covenant Theology.
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