The Two Houses in the New Covenant
If we want to understand the references to the Two Houses in the New Covenant, then we need to understand Israel’s three main exiles.
Israel’s first and greatest exile was the Assyrian Diaspora, in which Israel’s ten northern tribes were taken away, and sown into the earth like wheat seed. Indeed, the word Diaspora means The Seeding, and the first fruits of the dispersed Ephraimites are only just now beginning to return.
The Diaspora is also called The Great Dispersion. This Great Dispersion began in a series of invasions that took place from approximately 734 BCE until 722 BCE. However, while the Dispersion mainly concerned the Ephraimites, the Assyrians were not very particular about whom they took into captivity. When they came to take away the Ephraimites, they also took away a great many of Judah. This is why Ya’akov (or James) writes his epistle not just to the Ten Tribes of the Dispersion, but to the Twelve:
1 “Ya’akov (James), a servant of Elohim and of the Master Yeshua Messiah, to the Twelve Tribes who are in the Dispersion: Greetings.”
[Ya’akov (James) 1:1]
The term ‘Dispersion’ normally refers to the ten tribes of the Northern House of Israel (or Ephraim). That Ya’akov addresses the Twelve Tribes (instead of just the ten) simply makes him more correct.
Ya’akov, however, is not alone in addressing his lost Ephraimite brethren. The Apostle Kefa (or Peter) also addresses the Dispersion:
1 “Kefa, an emissary of Yeshua Messiah to the Chosen: strangers of the Dispersion in Pontos, Galatia, Kappadokia, Asia, and Bithunia;”
[Kefa Aleph (1st Peter) 1:1]
In his epistle, Kefa tells the Gentiles that they are not ‘gentiles’ as one thinks of gentiles in the West. Rather, he calls them an ‘elect race’ and a ‘set-apart nation’, something that gentiles in the Western sense of the word never were. Not only that, but he quotes Hosea to tell them they are actually the restored House of Ephraim being called back to the Covenant:
9 But you are an elect race, a royal priesthood, a set-apart nation, (and) a people for a possession, so that you may openly speak of the virtues of the One who has called you out of darkness, into His marvelous light.
10 You who were then not a people (Lo Ammi), but now are the “people of Elohim” (Hosea 1:10); the one not pitied then (Lo Ruhamah, Hosea 1:8), but now pitied (Ruhamah, Hosea 1:10).
[Kefa Aleph (1st Peter) 2:9-10]
Kefa calls the Gentiles ‘Ammi’ (My people), and Ruhamah (pitied). This is because while Ephraim was once not a people (Lo Ammi), they are once again the sons of the living Elohim (in fulfillment of Hosea 1:10).
The Apostle Shaul also quotes Hosea to show the Gentiles that they are actually the Ephraimites:
24 …whom He also called; not only of us Jews, but also out of the nations (meaning Ephraim).
25 As also He says in Hosea, “I will call them (who were once) ‘not My people’ (Lo Ammi) ‘My people’; and them (who were once) ‘not having been loved’ (Lo Ruhamah) ‘beloved.’
26 And it shall be in the place where it was said to them, ‘You are not My people’ (Lo Ammi), there they will be called ‘Sons of the Living Elohim’”
[Romayah (Romans) 9:24-26]
Shaul quotes Hosea to tell the returning Gentiles that they are not ‘gentiles’ without a past; but that they are actually the lost sheep of the House of Israel (or Ephraim). Then he tries to tell them that their Jewish brethren have not been cast away forever:
1 I say then, has Elohim cast away His people (forever)? Elohim forbid; for I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the Tribe of Benjamin.
2 Elohim has not cast away His people whom He foreknew.
[Romayah (Romans) 11:1-2]
What we see is a repeat of the same pattern that had taken place earlier, in Jeroboam’s time. Israel was to become the new lead House, while the Jews would be afflicted; but not forever:
39 And I will afflict the descendants of David (i.e., the Jews) because of this, but not forever’.”
[Melachim Aleph (1st Kings) 11:39]
However, while the Jews would be afflicted, Shaul tries to make it clear that this affliction would not be permanent:
11 I say then, have they stumbled that they should fall? Certainly not!
[Romayah (Romans) 11:11]
Shaul tells Ephraim that Judah will be grafted back in to her own Root (i.e. she will accept Yeshua) as soon as Ephraim has spread the Good News to the ends of the earth:
25 For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this secret, lest you should be wise in your own estimation: that blindness in part has happened to Israel (meaning both Houses here) until the fullness of the Gentiles (Ephraim) has come in.
26 And so all Israel (meaning both Houses) shall be saved, as it is written:
"The Deliverer will come out of Zion,
And He will turn away iniquity from Jacob (quoting Isaiah 59:20);
27 “For this is My covenant with them, When I take away their sins (quoting Isaiah 27:9).”
[Romayah (Romans) 11:25-27]
Both Houses were to be blinded for a time. Ephraim would know Yeshua (or ‘Jesus’), but would not know the Torah. This would allow them to carry the Good News to the ends of the earth much faster than the Nazarenes would have been able to spread it.
Judah, conversely, would be blind to Yeshua, because they were to remain focused on the Torah, so that Ephraim would have an Inheritance to come back to.
The big secret, then, is that the Two Houses were given two different tracks. YHWH placed the Ephraimites on the Christian track, which meant that they would have belief in Yeshua (or ‘Jesus’), but they would be blind to the need for the Covenant. While this would be entirely their fault, YHWH would also make use of it, for good.
Judah, conversely, would try to keep the Torah, but because they would be blind to Yeshua, they would never be able to experience the true fullness of it. However, Shaul tells us that Judah would ultimately be recovered to the Covenant, because their blessing and election as Children of the Covenant was irrevocable:
28 Concerning the Good News they are enemies for your sake, but concerning the election they are beloved for the sake of the fathers; 29 for the gifts and the calling of Elohim are irrevocable.
[Romayah (Romans) 11:11-29]
However, neither the Christian nor the Orthodox track would be sufficient to gain one entrance into the Kingdom. The people Satan is really out to get are those who both have the Testimony of Yeshua, and keep the necessary Commandments:
17 And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring; (those) who keep the Commandments of Elohim and have the Testimony of Yeshua Messiah.
[Manifestation (Revelation) 12:17]
The Prophets also speak to the need to both keep the Torah, and to believe on Yeshua:
20 To the Torah and to the Testimony (of Yeshua)! If they do not speak according to this Word, it is because there is no light in them.
[Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 8:20]
Yeshua is the Bridegroom, and the Torah is a record of His Instructions. Until we both believe on Him and keep His Instructions, our worship of Him is far from complete.
The worship of the Two Houses, then, is curious. Ephraim is like a woman who insists she loves her Husband, but does not want to do what He asks. Conversely, Judah more-or-less does what Yeshua asks; but she uses her partial obedience to His Instructions as an excuse to lock Him out of her house. Both of these expect to be taken in marriage.
There are other references to the Two Houses hidden in the New Covenant. However, because the language is symbolic, most Christians do not recognize them for what they are.
More than a hundred years after the Lost Ten Tribes were taken away in the Assyrian Diaspora, the Jews of the Southern Kingdom were carried away in an exile of their own. This second (Jewish) exile became known as the Exile to Babylon.
The Babylonian Exile lasted approximately seventy years. At the end of that time, roughly ten percent of the Jews came back to the Land, in the days of Ezra and Nehemiah.
The other ninety percent of the Jews remained out in Babylon, where living conditions were easier. Like the Ephraimites, they also intermarried, and ultimately assimilated into the surrounding culture. Then, as a result of military conquests, commercial trading and the like, Judah’s seed also spread to the four directions, just like the chlorine bleach in our earlier example. Because of this, Kefa likened their calling to that of their Ephraimite brothers:
13 “She who is in Babylon (meaning the 90% of Judah still out in the Babylonian Exile), chosen together with you (meaning the Lost Ten Tribes still in the Diaspora) greets you: also my son (meaning, my disciple), Mark.”
[Kefa Aleph (1st Peter) 5:13]
Kefa is not alone in writing in symbolism. In his second epistle, Yochanan (or John) uses Leah and Rachel as symbols of their respective children, Judah and Joseph. These two sons are, after all, symbolic of the Two Houses.
1 “The elder (brother, meaning the House of Judah), to a chosen lady (Rachel) and her children (meaning the House of Yosef/Ephraim), whom I love in truth; and not only I, but also those who have known the truth.”
[Yochanan Bet (2nd John) 1:1]
And remembering that Yochanan (John) was Jewish, and that Judah was born to Leah, we read:
13 “The children (meaning the House of Judah) of your chosen sister (Leah) greet you: Amein.
[Yochanan Bet (2nd John) 1:13]
Yeshua also gives us a prophecy about the return of the lost Ephraimites in the Parable of the Prodigal Son. The Church has always taught that this parable is nothing more than a beautiful story about a backslidden sinner who repents of his sin, and turns back to YHWH. However, when we understand the Two Houses, we see that it is much more.
Remembering that the name Ephraim literally means Prodigious, and that Judah is older than Ephraim, let us try to understand this parable as a prophetic picture of the Protestant Reformation, and the return of the Lost Ten Tribes. (The certain Man in the parable is YHWH):
11 And (Yeshua) said, “A certain Man (YHWH) had two sons. And the younger of them (Ephraim) said to the Father, “Father, give me that part of the goods falling to me;” and He divided the Inheritance between them.
13 “And not too many days after, gathering up all things, the younger son (Ephraim) went away to a distant country (in the Assyrian Dispersion); and there he wasted his goods (the Law and the Language), living dissolutely (and becoming a lawless “gentile.”)
14 “But having lost all his goods, a severe famine (meaning a famine of spiritual food, prophesied in Amos 8:11) came through that country; and he began to be in need. And going, he was joined to one of the citizens of that country (referring to the Pope); and he sent him into his fields, to feed the pigs (idols). And he longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs ate; but no one gave him anything (that would sustain him spiritually).
17 “But coming to himself (in the Protestant Reformation), he said ‘How many of my Father’s servants have plenty of loaves (as bread is symbolic of the Torah); but I am perishing with famine!
18 ‘Rising up, I will go to my Father and I will say to Him, “Father, I have sinned against the Heaven and against you, and am no longer worthy to be called Your son. (Please) make me as one of your hired servants!’ [Luke 15]
As we will show in the study Migrations, the Lost Ten Tribes did disperse to all four directions, fulfilling the Dream of Jacob’s Ladder. However, the bulk of Ephraim moved north and west by three separate migration routes. These three separate migration routes ultimately converged in what later became known as Protestant Northwestern Europe.
After the Ephraimites in Northwestern Europe threw off the Dark Ages of Catholicism (some 1260 years after they were given into the Little Horn’s hand) they began to seek YHWH more directly. As a result of this, YHWH blessed their entire culture with prosperity and technological achievement that had never before been known by man:
20 “And rising up (in the Protestant Reformation) he came to his Father; but he yet being far away (from the original Nazarene faith and the Torah) his Father saw him, and was moved with pity; and running, He fell on his neck and fervently kissed him (though he was still as yet only a Protestant Christian).
21 “And the son (Ephraim) said to Him, ‘Father, I have sinned against Heaven, and before You, and no longer am worthy to be called Your son.’
22 “But the Father said to His slaves, ‘Bring out the best robe and clothe him (literally, Joseph’s coat), and give a ring for his hand, and sandals for his feet! And bring the fattened calf, and slaughter it! And let us eat and be merry; for this son of Mine (Ephraim) was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found! And they began to be merry. [Luke 15:20-22]
In the parable, the Father saw Ephraim a long ways off, ran to him, fell on his neck, and kissed him. This is symbolic of how YHWH has blessed the Protestant nations beyond all others, simply for seeking His face. This, of course, is a source of frustration and resentment for Judah, who has kept the Torah for millennia without ever having received the same kinds of blessings of safety and easy prosperity:
25 “But his older son (Judah) was in the field; and coming, as he drew near to the House (i.e., the Temple) he heard music and dances.
26 “And having called one of the children to him, (Judah) inquired as to what this might be; 27 and he said to him, ‘Your brother (Ephraim) came, and your Father killed the fattened calf, because he received him back in health.’
28 “But (Judah) was enraged, and did not desire to go in. Then coming out, his Father begged him. [Luke 15]
Notice Judah’s indignation at Ephraim’s being welcomed back to the Land of Israel, in spite of having previously despised the Covenant (like Esau):
29 “But answering, he (Judah) said to the Father, ‘Behold, how many years have I served you, and never did I transgress a commandment of yours! But you never gave me a young goat, so that I might rejoice with my friends! 30 But when this son of yours came (he does not even call Ephraim his brother), the one having devoured your livelihood with harlots (idols, icons, false religious traditions, false feast dates, false feast sites, and etceteras) you killed the fattened calf for him!’
31 “But He said to him, ‘Child, you are always with me, and all of My things are yours. But to be merry and to rejoice was right! For this brother of yours was dead, and is alive again! And was lost, and is found.
[Luqa (Luke) 15:29-31]
Understand Judah’s incredulity. He has been faithful to the Torah for thousands of years, and has even suffered persecution at his brother’s hand in the many massacres, pogroms, Inquisitions, and Christian Crusades. His brother Ephraim walked away from the Covenant, worshipped golden calves, and tried to change the Torah; and yet the Father still orders His servants bring out the best robe (meaning Joseph’s multi-colored coat), give him a signet ring, and bring sandals for his feet, as only slaves went barefoot. Judah is furious and aghast at all this: How can such an injustice possibly be?
The key to understanding this unimaginable turn of events is to understand the allusion to Joseph’s many-colored coat, and all that it signifies.
In Scripture, it is sometimes said that the end is known from the Beginning. In the Book of Genesis, then, Joseph was sold into slavery due to no fault of his own; and was subsequently sent to prison for a crime he did not commit. This is symbolic of how the Nazarenes were driven from the synagogues and from the Temple in punishment for believing on Yeshua (which is the very farthest thing from a crime).
Joseph served Pharaoh honorably, and his Elohim-given abilities brought him great power and prestige. He was eventually able to use his position to save the lives of many people; including his father and other brothers. This can be seen as symbolic of the fact that the Christians are essentially the number-two power in America; and how they have even threatened to turn out of office any president who does not support their Jewish brothers in the State of Israel.
It might also be noted that separation from one’s own people (‘consecration’ in some versions) is highly regarded in Scripture, and it always carries a huge blessing. The reason for this is simple: YHWH created man as a social animal. It was not good for the man to be alone (Genesis 2:18). However, there are some circumstances in which men must be separated from their brothers (and even from normal life) in order to serve YHWH better. In the language of Scripture, these individuals are thought to be ‘set apart from the world’ (which is the actual meaning of the word ‘holy.’)
In the Hebrew mind, to be in the world but not of it, is to be ‘set apart’ from the world. Moreover, the greater the degree of separation (or set-apartness), the greater is the reward that accrues. This is because greater set-apartness requires greater devotion and effort to maintain the ‘living sacrifice.’ (These kinds of living sacrifices will be explored more fully in the study, Covenant Relationship.)
When set-apartness (or separation) is taken on voluntarily, it carries an enormous blessing. However, Joseph’s separation from Israel’s family was thrust upon him; and still he served honorably. An immense reward accrued to him, because of this.
The blessings spoken over Joseph indicate that Joseph would inhabit a land that strongly resembles America, with all its manifold blessings:
25 By the Elohim of your father who will help you, and by the Almighty who will bless you with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lies beneath, blessings of the breasts and of the womb.
26 The blessings of your father have excelled the blessings of my ancestors, up to the utmost bound of the everlasting hills.
These shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him who was separated from his brothers.
[Breisheet (Genesis) 49:22-26]
Moshe the Prophet also gives Joseph a special blessing, for having been consecrated to his task:
13 And of Joseph he said:
"Blessed of YHWH is his land, with the precious things of heaven, with the dew, and the deep lying beneath,
14 With the precious fruits of the sun, with the precious produce of the months,
15 With the best things of the ancient mountains, with the precious things of the everlasting hills,
16 With the precious things of the earth and its fullness, and the favor of Him who dwelt in the bush.
Let this blessing come upon the head of Joseph, and upon the crown of the head of him who was separated from his brothers.’
[Devarim (Deuteronomy) 33:13-16]
These blessings certainly do seem reminiscent of the land of America, that multi-colored (multi-racial) Protestant land that has been blessed above all others. It also harmonizes with what we know about America being the modern-day representative of the Tribe of Ephraim, serving as the lead tribe for the House of Ephraim worldwide (for more details, see the upcoming study Migrations: The Lost Ten Tribes of Israel).
At the human level, Judah sold Joseph into slavery. At the level of Divine Providence, However, YHWH had Judah send Joseph into Egypt ahead of his brothers, so that life could be preserved, by means of a great deliverance:
5 But now, do not therefore be grieved or angry with yourselves because you sold me here; for Elohim sent me before you to preserve life….
7 And Elohim sent me before you to preserve a posterity for you in the earth; and to save your lives by a great deliverance.
[Breisheet (Genesis) 45:5, 7]
Joseph’s great deliverance is a prophetic shadow of Yeshua, the blessing that would be given to Joseph’s multi-racial children so that they could provide for all the people of the world; as well as the Jews and the Nation of Israel. It also tells us why America’s Protestant (Ephraimite) Christians are basically the only friends that the modern-day State of Israel has. And, as galling as the Jews may find the fact, Ephraim will be welcomed home to the Land of Israel by a rejoicing and dancing Father, whose shouts of merriment will be heard above His elder son’s protests.
To extend the analogy further, we can also surmise that Ephraim’s sin in leaving the Covenant was not altogether his own fault. Ephraim did sin, but Ephraim was also a hybrid child. His mother Asenath was the daughter of the Egyptian High Priest, and her Egyptian priestly genetics essentially gave Ephraim’s multi-racial children a genetic predisposition to stray from the Covenant.
YHWH allowed Joseph to be sent into Egypt so that he would marry Asenath; thereby ensuring that Ephraim would sin (and be spread to the four corners of the earth). This would give all of Adam’s fallen children the opportunity to take hold of Yeshua.
However, in being spread to the four corners of the earth, Ephraim suffered a continuous backward slide. In order to stop their backslidden sinning, they needed a New Covenant to be written on their hearts, so that they might once again turn back to Zion.
On the one hand, everyone needs Salvation in Messiah Yeshua. On the other hand, however, the lost and scattered Ephraimites needed Yeshua far more desperately than the Jews did. This is why Yeshua tells us that He was only sent for the House of Ephraim (or Israel) on His first trip: because Joseph’s pluralistic children were much more in need of His help:
24 And answering, (Yeshua) said, “I was not sent (at this time), except to (call) the lost sheep of the House of Israel (back to the Covenant).”
[Mattithyahu (Matthew) 15:24]
We have already seen that the Apostles were aware of Ephraim’s role in fulfilling Scripture Prophecy. It is also clear that the Apostles knew the Two Houses would some day be re-united, which is why:
6 Therefore, when they had come together, they asked (Yeshua), saying, "Master, will You at this time restore the kingdom to (House of) Israel?"
[Ma’aseh (Acts) 1:6]
The time to restore the literal Kingdom to the House of Israel was not then at hand. It was only then time for Yeshua’s disciples to begin regathering Joseph’s children, who had been sent ahead of them to the four corners of the earth. When the descendants of the disciples had found Ephraim’s lost and wayward children, they would begin bringing them slowly back into the Covenant, generation by generation, by means of Yeshua, the Great Deliverance.