Ephraimite-Error.pdf
From Messianic Jewish Alliance of America: https://mjaa.org/
Conclusion
Through this analysis of the writings of two major ”Two House” spokespersons, we can observe that, for them, everything rests on their reinterpretation of the phrase, ”multitude of nations,” in Gen 17:4-5 and 48:19 and on their contention that post-exilic Israel did not formally include the former northern kingdom of Israel. These two propositions have been shown to be flawed due to faulty logic, poor grammar, inadequate knowledge of the sociology and history of ancient tribal groups, and subjective, pseudo-genealogies.
Moreover, we have observed that this teaching is fraught with inconsistencies and contradictions. On the one hand, we have seen them argue that every person on earth has some Israelite blood. On the other, the claim is made that only followers of Yeshua have Israelite blood. At one point it is stated that the former Ephraimites are concentrated in Western, Anglo-Saxon areas. But we know that the total number of Asian, African, and South American believers outnumbers the number of white, Anglo-Saxon believers. What of them?
Further, Wootten claims that direct descendants of the early Jewish followers of Jesus are the Ephraimites, a contradiction in itself – and that somehow all Christians today are biological descendants of those early Jews. But she compounds the confusion by arguing that Palestinians and Syrians, who have the greatest claim to direct descent from these earlier followers, are the enemy and are to be utterly destroyed.
Elsewhere we read that Ephraimites will take over the land of Israel (at least 10/12ths of it). But there are hundreds of millions of Christians in the world. How will they fit? How can these ”Ephraimites” take over the Galilee and lands now owned by Israelis without dispossessing them? And when is this conquest to take place?
At one point it is stated to be before the expected revival breaks out among Jews; at another point it is during the Messianic age. This confusion is an indication of the imprecision of thinking that is the hallmark of this movement.
Finally, Wootten and Koniuchowsky never explain to us what this new racial identity adds to any believer in Yeshua. What is lost to non-Jewish believers who do not see themselves as part of Ephraim?
Do they experience less of the grace of God? Do they experience less of the presence of God…less of the acceptance of God…less of the blessing of God? In all of these cases, the answer should be a resounding ”No.”
Yet Wootten and Koniuchowsky create false accusations against Messianic Jews of fostering ”second-class status” and feelings of inferiority among non-Jews that have no basis in fact in their attempt to stir up envy and discontent among today’s Christians.
The fact is, gentiles are free to participate fully in Messianic congregations; they are free to celebrate biblical holidays and shabbat; they are free to live a life consistent with the Torah as a free-will expression of their love for God. The only thing that non-Jewish followers of Yeshua cannot claim is a legitimate claim on the land of Israel. Can it be that this claim to the land is driving this movement?
Or can it be that the movement is driven by racist, race-bating motives in people who demand to be ”first-born,” who demand to have spiritual primacy and to see themselves as the center of the plan of God based only on their bloodline?
This racial element is perhaps the most disconcerting component of this teaching. For while the promises to Abraham were indeed made to his physical heirs, the door has never been shut to extending that promise to all who come and to all who believe, irrespective of their nationality. The Apostolic Writings reinforce this idea, opening the doors to all the nations by not requiring the covenantal obligations that Israel had taken upon itself.
Ultimately, the message is anti-gentile because it finds no validation in the non-Jew unless that person is physically an Israelite. For while inconsistent in this matter, both Wootten and Koniuchowsky admit that there are those among the followers of Yeshua who cannot claim physical descent from Abraham or Joseph.
Such individuals have no solid basis for justification in the Ephraimite camp. Finally, it is anti-Jewish for its attacks on Jews, its perpetuation of anti-Jewish stereotypes, and its claims of Jewish blindness.
The position of the I.M.J.A., then is that the Ephraimite, or ”Two House” movement is in error for the following reasons:
1. flawed, unwarranted, and dangerous interpretation of scripture
2. inconsistent logic and contradictory positions
3. racist and race-based theology
4. supersessionist theology
5. historically inaccurate depiction of Israel
6. dangerous, false, and militant claims to the land which threaten the stability of the
current State of Israel
It is not unusual for a group to construct a false genealogical myth, that is, one that is empirically unfounded, in order to create for itself a new story, a new mythic purpose in the world, a new ideology and sense of rootedness. It appears that this may be the impulse that gave birth to this teaching. What it tells us is that Messianic Jews have an important task ahead to offer to the Christian world a clearly-articulated theology of Israel.
We should not forget that, up until the time of the Holocaust, the only formally developed theology available to Christians was a supersessionist theology. Since the time of the Holocaust, several Christian theologians have made important efforts to contemplate the theology of the Apostolic Writings in light of a sincere and open dialogue with the Jewish world.192 The Messianic world would do well to encourage the dissemination of these theological works to the Christian world as well.
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