Lost Tribes? Not so lost.
By Hezakiah Sammi Levinson on Wednesday, November 27, 2013 at 9:19am
It seems that more and more Christians are thinking they are part of "the lost tribes" adopting the nonsense idea that all Jews are the tribe of Judah since the Southern Kingdom had the name.The fact is the Tanakh records where most of the Northern Kingdom went during and after the Assyrian invasion.

There were members of all the tribes living in the Southern Kingdom.At the time of the disruption of the united kingdom in 930 B.C., Israelites from all the northern tribes joined their brethren in the south and continued their identity as part of the kingdom of Judah. Two books in Scripture that are strangely ignored by British-Israelites (Ephramites) are 1 and 2 Chronicles. These books make it clear that the tribes in the north continued their existence as part of Judah after 930 B.C. Consider 2 Chr 11:14, 16: “For the Levites left their suburban lands and their possession, and came to Judah and Jerusalem; for Jeroboam and his sons had cast them off from executing the priest’s office unto the LORD; …. And after them, out of all the tribes of Israel, such as set their hearts to seek the LORD God of Israel came to Jerusalem, to sacrifice unto the LORD God of their fathers.” These verses provide irrefutable proof that many individuals out of “all the tribes of Israel” rejected Jereboam’s idolatry and joined the southern kingdom. During the reign of Asa, others followed from Ephraim and Manasseh (2 Chr. 15:9).

Thus, it is evident that the kingdom of Judah absorbed many from the northern kingdom through the years. Scripture teaches that Israelites continued to live there after the captivity of 721 B.C. Again, Chronicles helps us in this regard. At Hezekiah’s invitation, many from the north settled in Judah after the destruction of the northern kingdom (2 Chr. 30). Even later, in 622 B.C., more godly Israelites came to Jerusalem to help repair the Temple (2 Chr. 34:9), and later to celebrate the Passover (2 Chr. 35:17–18). If the northern tribes had become lost, how could these representatives have joined in worship in Jerusalem one hundred years after the Assyrian destruction? Judah rapidly increased after the fall of the northern kingdom as a result of the many refugees mentioned in 2 Chr. 11:14–16. In the annals of the Assyrian Sargon, he describes how he he carried away only 27,290 people and 50 chariots. Since estimates of the population of the northern kingdom are around 500,000, around one-twentieth of the population was deported, primarily the leaders from the area around Samaria. The ten tribes, therefore, were never lost because they were never completely deported! Their kingdom was destroyed, but most of them stayed, with some around Samaria intermingling with new immigrants to form the Samaritans (2 Kings 17:24–41).

When the Jews returned from Babylonian captivity in 536 B.C., the Chronicler viewed the restored community as the remnant of all Israel, both north and south, and not just the tribe of Judah: “Now the first inhabitants who dwelt in their possessions in their cities were the Israelites, the priests, Levites, and the Nethinim. And in Jerusalem dwelt of the children of Judah, and of the children of Benjamin, and of the children of Ephraim, and Manasseh” (1 Chr. 9:2–3). According to these verses, we should look to find Ephraim and Manasseh, not in England and America, but in Jerusalem following the return from Babylon. Furthermore, the people at that time viewed themselves as part of all Israel, for they offered “twelve he-goats, according to the number of the tribes of Israel” (Ezra 6:17). Although British-Israelism confidently asserts that Judah and Israel are always separate and distinct, a concordance shows that in the Book of Ezra the restored community is called “Jews” only eight times and “Israel” fifty times. The writer viewed the terms as interchangeable, both terms applying to the same people after the captivity.

Besides in real scripture, even the Christian book shows there were all the tribes in the Kingdom of Judah.It clearly indicates that in the first century “Jews” still maintained their tribal identities—some of whom were members of those supposedly lost tribes. Consider, for example, the aged Anna who beheld the baby Jesus in the Temple. Luke 2:36 states that she was of the “tribe of Asher.” When Paul spoke of his Jewish brethren, he spoke of a common promise and a common hope: “Unto which promise our twelve tribes, earnestly serving God day and night, hope to come” (Acts 26:7). James addressed his epistle “to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad” (James 1:1). He made no distinction between Judah and the ten tribes. All Jews were part of a common body, the only difference being that some were in the land of Israel and some in the Diaspora. Evidently, members of all the tribes existed both inside and outside the Promised Land.

The Christian book uses the term “Jew” 174 times and the term “Israel” 75 times, clearly applying them to the same body of people. Paul referred to himself as both a “Jew” (Acts 22:3) and an “Israelite” (Rom. 11:1), and he never distinguished between Jews and Israel, as British-Israelism (Ephramites) does. If the so called lost tribes indeed resurfaced as the British people, and if Jeremiah eventually traveled to Britain to establish David’s throne there, one would expect some trace of these matters to be mentioned in their book. The silence of the writers in this regard, however, is deafening!

Ephraimites or Ephra might nots? Gentile theft of Israelite Identity.
By Hezakiah Sammi Levinson on Saturday, November 9, 2013 at 7:48pm
The Ephramite Cult are Gentiles claiming to be the remains of the Northern Kingdom of Ephraim or Israel based on they feel it is so.No proof of linages, no ancient traditions such as you find among the people in Syria and other countries that still have these traditional legends and stories dating back thousands of years.The "Ephramites" base their beliefs almost completely along the lines of British Israelism, keeping their Christian beliefs in Jesus, denigration of Judaism,and thinking all Jews are Judah.

Even some of the biggest Jewish supporters of the idea that prophesy about the reunion of Judah and Ephraim are showing disappointment.To quote Yair Davidy of Brit AM,
"First of all what really are the so-called Ephraimites? Recent developments have suggested that they may not be so interested in spreading knowledge of physical origin from Israel especially when the ancestry of concrete groups is specified.
If such is the case they are in effect Christian enthusiasts who at best have replaced Replacement Theology with fraternalism. Unlike advocates of Replacement Theory they may not say they are the True Israel who have replaced the Jews as the Chosen People. They rather claim to be brothers of the Jews by virtue of religious inspiration. Some of them are very pro-Jewish but others are not and seem anti-Jewish and wallowing in Pseudo-Karaite notions and sinister Conspiracy Theories as well as in some cases having fanatical missionary convictions.

We say the Lost Ten Tribes are mainly amongst Western Peoples BUT NOT ALL these peoples are Israelites.
So a certain overlap concerning Israelite Ancestry between us AND the Ephraimites exists. Many of them however may not like us that much and may not really be interested in what we have to say.
In other words the Ephraimites have been presenting themselves to us, and those like us, as one thing while really being more of something else."

Ephraimites or Ephra I am nots? (originally in the Cleveland Jewish News)
Imagine the outrage if a practicing Jew were to don a Roman collar, assume the title “priest,” and open his own “Catholic church,” interpreting its holidays and symbols however he liked, says Rabbi Tovia Singer, talk-show host, and founder and national director of Outreach Judaism.
But that is exactly what “Hebraic Roots” adherents (also known as “Israelites” or “Ephraimites,” among other names) do. These groups are led by self-taught individuals who use the title “rabbi” and/or “congregational leader,” as well as “synagogue” (complete with Hebrew names like Beth HaKavod) for their churches.
These gentiles in Jewish clothing actually claim to be the “true Israelites” in direct, biological descendants of the lost tribe of Ephraim. Of course there are no DNA or blood tests to confirm this unsubstantiated claim.

Angus Wootten, one of the movement’s grandaddies, explains in his book Restoring Israel’s Kingdom how someone can find out if he or she is a biological member of the tribe of Ephraim: You simply “have a ‘conviction,’ a knowing that we know.”
While this David Koresh-sounding theology appears ridiculous to both Jews and the vast majority of Christians, the sobering fact is that their numbers are growing constantly. From their websites and links, it would appear there are about 30 Ephraim-style groups in Ohio alone, although it’s hard to get an exact count because they use so many names n Ephraimites, Hebraic Roots Christians, Lost Tribes, Northern Kingdom, Israelites, House of Israel, Messianic Christians, and House of Joseph.
.
Rabbi Melvin Granatstein of Green Road Synagogue says there are all kinds of ersatz groups like these. “Catholics have to follow certain scriptural interpretation, but Protestants can pick up a Bible and interpret on their own,” he explains. “Some (Protestants) are very respectable, but others just focus on the parts of scripture they like, and the Bible can have very diverse interpretations.”
Saying you’re from a lost tribe has a certain “romantic appeal,” continues Granatstein. “The neat thing about claiming to be part of a lost tribe is, if it’s lost, who’s going to be able to prove me wrong?”
While Hebraic Rooters claim to “unite Jews and Christians” as their ultimate goal, in reality, they seem to hold both groups in disdain. Jews seem to think they are “Cokes” (the real thing), says Wootten in his book Restoring. He questions Jewish ancestral lines “(that have) been affected by conversions, adoptions and extramarital sex (fornication, adultery or rape).” He seems to have particular disdain for the Orthodox, labeling them, among other things, as mean-spirited rock-throwers. Christians fare no better under Wootten’s scathing pen: They are guilty of “Esau’s folly” n throwing away their birthright as the “biological heirs of the tribe of Ephraim.”
Tired of being “second-class citizens,” these self-proclaimed “Ephraimites” demand that Jews “recognize” them as “Israelites” and that would include rights to the Middle East real estate.
In 1948, “... instead of naming this Jewish state ‘Judah’ ... they named it Israel,” Wooten writes. “Now, in one fell swoop, the Jews grabbed the title back.” Wootten is appalled that these Jews had the chutzpah to name their country “Israel” when those of his “tribe” knew it was partially theirs!
Eddie Chumney, who was a computer specialist before going full-time into “the ministry” almost a decade ago, heads a “synagogue” in Stark County; his members, he claims, come from Tuscarawas, Carrol, Stark, Wayne, Summit and Cuyahoga counties. Chumney also founded “Hebraic Roots International,” which claims a database network of subscribers in all 50 states and in 55 foreign countries. He travels extensively, both nationally and internationally, at the invitation of gentile groups who want to hear about their “lost (but now found!) heritage.”
Raised Protestant, Chumney says he was “awakened” to what the New Testament “really” teaches after studying Jewish texts and taking Torah classes from a Reform rabbi in Akron. Chumney accuses Jews of “blindness” for not acknowledging their “Northern Kingdom” relatives. He threatens that peace will only come to Israel when they do so. He also says that Christians are “drunkards like Ephraim,” who have been lied to over the millennia n mostly because of the Catholic Church n as to what Jesus really taught.
The gospel according to Chumney is that Jesus came to “unite the two kingdoms” (i.e., Jews and “Israelites”) and teach the “Israelites” (gentile Christians) to observe Jewish law. Of course, this is contrary to halachah (Jewish law), which actually says gentiles are forbidden to observe Shabbat, a doctrine which Chumney asserts is false and put forth by “the rabbis.” It’s a title he occasionally uses himself. (See sidebar, p. 29.)
While Chumney alludes to both Jewish texts and the New Testament scriptures, mixing doctrines and beliefs from both, he chafes at the accusation that he has made up his own religion. He simply wants “the house of Judah” to recognize “the house of Joseph” (his house) and for the latter to recognize Jesus’s “true” mission “foreshadowed in the Torah when those who received the law at Mt. Sinai were the only ones who escaped Egypt because they had put the blood on their doorposts.”
Chumney asserts that “obviously, there’s not going to be paper documentation” for the Ephraimite/Northern Kingdom/Lost Tribe/ House of Joseph connection. The only “proof,” it seems, is that one adheres to Chumney’s instruction.
The Chumney/Wootten type of teaching is mushrooming. Rick Ross, an internationally-recognized cult expert, and a former Clevelander, calls it “a growing phenomenon in the United States.”
Ross “runs into these groups all the time,” but says the “Hebraic Roots” movement is really just an old teaching with a facelift. He points out that the Worldwide Church of God, founded by Herbert Armstrong in 1934, taught that Anglo-Saxons are direct descendants of the 10 lost tribes of Israel, and that church viewed that teaching as the key, unlocking a true understanding of biblical prophecy. At its peak, there were 65,000 Armstrongists, says Ross.
“These groups are very misleading and very disingenuous,” he cautions. “They have an affinity for Jewish holidays and symbols but have no Jewish background whatsoever,” says Ross. “It really becomes a shanda (shame), as my grandmother would say, when they start parading around with Torah scrolls and trotting out Jewish symbols.”
Actually, says Ross, there is a psychological component as to why certain types of people are attracted to these types of groups. “It gives them a sense of elite identity. In fact, there is a Yiddish phrase that sums it up perfectly: kol mamzer melech n Every bastard wants to be a king.”
Will the real rabbi please stand up?
“Anyone can invent his own religion,” says Tovia Singer, founder and director of Outreach Judaism. “But the reason these movements are dangerous is that they don’t respect boundaries. They are not Jewish at all, and (its leaders and adherents) have no rabbinic background whatsoever; they are simply playing with Jewish beliefs and rituals.”

Certainly one of the ways the Hebraic Rooters play with Judaism is with their cavalier use of the title “rabbi.” For example, in the advertisement for Eddie Chumney’s “2005 Midwest Feast of Tabernacles” event to be held in Ohio next month, three of the four speakers are listed as rabbis, although not one of them has any rabbinic training at all.
If, as the former computer specialist-turned-self-proclaimed-minister says, people will be coming from as far as Florida to attend the weeklong event, they will paying to attend something where the rabbis are not rabbis at all, and the Succot experience is certainly not going to be a very “Jewish” one.
If someone were to call him or herself an attorney or physician and attempt to practice as such, that individual would be thrown in jail, says Rabbi Singer. Using the title “rabbi” won’t get someone thrown in jail, but it is consumer fraud, he adds.
“The parameters of Jewish identity exclusively and historically lay within the Jewish community,” says cult expert Rick Ross. “Unless you recognize the parameters of a religion’s identity, you are going down a slippery slope and opening the doors to anything and everything, such as Catholics for Krishna, Mormons for Mohammed, Baptists for Buddha.”