The Apostasy and Restoration

The Position of Nazarene Judaism
(The Apostasy and Restoration Part 1)
By
James Scott Trimm


Prologue: Biblical prophecy is being fulfilled among us.  The long night of the great apostasy is ending and the dawn of the restoration of the ancient sect of Nazarene Judaism is being fulfilled in our very days.  This is a restoration that will reunite the two houses of Israel and a restoration of the Word of YHWH to His people!  Do not just read this series, but share it with others.  In our days YHWH is performing a "marvelous work and a wonder" (Is. 29:14) among us!


There is a lot of talk these days about getting back to the "New Testament Church."  But the real truth is, there are two things the "New Testament Church" did not have:  A "New Testament" and a "Church".  The believers of the "New Testament Church" met in synagogues (Acts 15:21; James 1:1; 2:2) and had no book known as the "New Testament" because it had not been written and compiled yet.  Thus when a believer from the "New Testament Church" referred to "The Scriptures" he was speaking of the Tanak ("Old Testament") for they were the only Scriptures he had.  Thus when Paul wrote to Timothy:
  
    All Scripture is given by inspiration of God,
    and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof,
    for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
    That the man of God may be perfect,
    thoroughly furnished to all good works.
    (2Tim. 3:16-17)

Paul was referring to the Tanak, the only Scriptures they had.  Moreover when Paul spoke to the Bereans in Acts 17:11 we are told of them:

    These were more noble than those at Thessalonica,
    in that they received the word with all readiness of mind,
    and searched the Scriptures daily,
    whether those things were so.

Paul was saying that the Bereans were noble because they did not believe what Paul said simply on the authority of Paul.  They were looking to see if what Paul was teaching could be found in the Scriptures.  Remember, they were looking in the Tanak, the only Scriptures they had at the time.  Paul said that it was noble of them to only accept his teaching if it lined up with the Tanak.  That means that whenever we study the New Testament we should ask ourselves this question: "Can you get here from there?" (There being the Tanak).  If you think you understand something in the New Testament in such a way that it contradicts the Tanak, then you need to realize that you are misunderstanding it.

Yeshua (Jesus of Nazareth) came to be the Jewish  Messiah of Judaism and not to create a new religion.  Now I know that within many Christian circles there is a teaching that says that originally Judaism was the true faith but that it has now been replaced by a new faith "Christianity" which is now the true faith. This theology is totally counter to the teachings of the "New Testament". The "New Testament" is plain in telling us that there is one true faith (Eph. 4:5) which was given once and for all time (Jude 1:3). This means that the theology that claims that Christianity is a true faith which has replaced Judaism which had been the previous true faith is absolutely false! There is, according to the "New Testament" itself ONE TRUE FAITH and it was ONLY GIVEN ONCE. Christianity is to young to be that ONE true faith that was ONCE given, that ONE true faith that was ONCE given therefore MUST be Judaism!

The original believers in Yeshua were a Jewish sect known as "Nazarenes" or in Hebrew "Netzarim" (Acts 24:5). The "church father" Jerome (4th Cent.) described these Nazarenes as those "...who accept Messiah in such a way that they do not cease to observe the old Law." (Jerome; On. Is. 8:14).

Elsewhere he writes:

Today there still exists among the Jews in all the synagogues of the East a heresy which is called that of the Minæans,and which is still condemned by the Pharisees; [its followers] are ordinarily called 'Nazarenes'; they believe that Messiah, the son of God, was born of the Virgin Miriam, and they hold him to be the one who suffered under Pontius Pilate and ascended to heaven, and in whom we also believe."
(Jerome; Letter 75 Jerome to Augustine)

The fourth century "church father" Epiphanius gives a more detailed description:

But these sectarians... did not call themselves Christians--but "Nazarenes," ... However they are simply complete Jews. They use not only the New Testament but the Old Testament as well, as the Jews do... They have no different ideas, but confess everything exactly as the Law proclaims it and in the Jewish fashion-- except for their belief in Messiah, if you please! For they acknowledge both the resurrection of the dead and the divine creation of all things, and declare that Elohim is one, and that his son is Yeshua the Messiah. They are trained to a nicety in Hebrew. For among them the entire Law, the Prophets, and the... Writings... are read in Hebrew, as they surely are by the Jews. They are different from the Jews, and different from Christians, only in the following. They disagree with Jews because they have come to faith in Messiah; but since they are still fettered by the Law--circumcision, the Sabbath, and the rest-- they are not in accord with Christians.... they are nothing but Jews.... They have the Goodnews according to Matthew in its entirety in Hebrew. For it is clear that they still preserve this, in the Hebrew alphabet, as it was originally written.
(Epiphanius; Panarion 29)

There has been a great deal of confusion over the years over what the "church" is. Some have taught that the Church is a new entity which replaces Israel. Others have taught that the Church is a new body which is totally independent of Israel. Still others have taught that the Church and Israel are two different but overlapping entities. With all of the misconceptions about the identity of the "Church" the time has come to set the story straight and reveal what the "Church" really is.

The English word "Church" comes originally from the Old English word KIRKE. The Old English word KIRKE was the word the Anglo-Saxons used to refer to their pagan places of worship. When they became Christianized the Anglo-Saxons continued to call their places of worship KIRKES and as the language evolved "Churches". You may have heard that the word "Church" originally referred to the people and later came to refer to the building. This is not true. The word "Church" originally referred to the building and later came to refer to the people. Moreover the word "church" is of pagan origin

Now if you look up the English word "Church" in Webster's dictionary you will find the following meanings:

1. a building set apart or consecrated for public worship, esp. one for Christian worship.

2. All Christians as a whole.

3. A denomination of Christians.

In short a "church" is either a building or a group of Christians.

Now wherever we see the English word "church" in an English Bible we would expect the underlying Greek word would be a Greek word that also means "a group of Christians". Since the English uses such a technical theological term one would expect that the Greek has also used a technical theological term. But the reality is that the Greek word that appears wherever the English has "church" is not a technical theological term and DOES NOT mean "a group of Christians" at all. That’s right, a technical theological term of pagan origin meaning "a group of Christians" has been inserted in your English Bible despite the fact that the corresponding Greek word is not a technical theological term and does not mean the same thing as the word "Church".

The Greek word that appears where our English Bible's have "church" is EKKLESIA. EKKLESIA is just the Greek word for "assembly".  Although it comes from a root meaning "to call out" there is no special theological significance to this word. In fact this is the same Greek word which was used for "assembly" by the classical Pagan Greek writers. Inscriptions in ancient Greek auditoriums where pagan ritual dramas were performed by the Bachus cult have the audience section inscribed with the sign "EKKLESIA". This same Greek word EKKLESIA is used throughout the Greek Septuagint translation of the Tanak as the word for "assembly". There are also many places where the Greek word EKKLESIA appears in the NT but which the KJV and other translators did NOT translate the word as "church". This same Greek word is even used in Acts 19:32-41 to describe an unruly mob, yet here the translators suddenly translate the word as "assembly" rather than "church".

There is therefore no such thing as the "church" because the Greek word translated "church" does not mean "church" at all but “assembly".

There are some who claim that the "Church" was a new entity born in Acts 2 at Pentecost of 32 C.E. . However if we examine the events of Acts 2 we find that at that event persons were "added to" the "church" (Acts 2:47) which means that the "church" had to have already existed at that time. If we turn to Acts 7:38 we see that it speaks of Moses as "he that was in the church in the wilderness". Certainly this "church" could not have been a new "New Testament" entity.

While the term "church" is a mistranslation for a word simply meaning "assembly", there is an entity which is commonly referred to as "The Assembly" in the New Testament. Let us examine the Scriptures and determine what the true identity of this "Assembly" is.

To begin with we must understand that this Assembly is also known as the "Body of Messiah" as we read:

"And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence."
(Col. 1:18 - KJV)

"And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church,
Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all."
(Eph. 1:22-23 - KJV)

Now one may ask what "Assembly" is the allegorical Messiah? To find the answer to that question lets look at Matthew 2:14-15:

"When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt:
And was there until the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord
by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called my son. "
(Matthew 2:14-15 - KJV)

Now here Matthew is citing a prophecy in Hosea 11:1 and applying it to Messiah. Now let us go back and look at this prophecy in Hosea 11:1 in context:

"When Israel was a child, then I loved him,
and called my son out of Egypt."
(Hosea 11:1 - KJV)

Here Hosea is referring to Israel as the son who is called out of Egypt. This points us back to a passage in the Torah:

"And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD, Israel is my son, even my firstborn:
And I say unto thee, Let my son go, that he may serve me: and if thou refuse to let him go,
behold, I will slay thy son, even thy firstborn."
(Ex. 4:22-23 - KJV)

From these two passages we learn that Israel is the firstborn son of Elohim who is called out of Egypt. However in Matthew it is Yeshua the Messiah who is called up out of Egypt and in Col. 1:18 Messiah is the "firstborn". Moreover Hebrews speaks of the "church of the firstborn" (Heb. 12:23 - KJV).

Thus Israel is allegorically equivalent to the Messiah. There are some very important reasons for this allegorical relationship:


* Both are the "firstborn Son of Elohim".

* Both made a major impact on the world.

* Both were born through a biological miracle on their mother's womb.

* Both were taken into Egypt to save their lives.

* Both were called up out of Egypt.

* Both were despised and rejected by men.

* Rome attempted to destroy them both.

* Both are resurrected.

Thus Israel is the allegorical "Body of Messiah". Moreover in the Tanak, Israel is commonly called "The Assembly of Israel" and wherever the phrase "The Assembly of Israel" appears in the Tanak the Greek LXX has "EKKLESIA of Israel".

The so-called "church" which is the "Body of Messiah" is in reality "the Assembly of Israel". Yeshua did not come to create a new religion, but to be Messiah of the old one. Wherever your English New Testament refers to a "church" (i.e. a group of Christians) the Greek has "EKKLESIA a term which commonly refers to the "Assembly of Israel". The "Church" as most Christians have understood it never existed. All of the passage people have thought were talking about the "Church" were actually talking about the Assembly of Israel, not Christianity, but the Nazarene sect of Judaism.

(To be continued)
 I Dreamed a Dream
(The Apostasy and Restoration Part 2)
By
James Scott Trimm
Prologue: Biblical prophecy is being fulfilled among us.  The long night of the great apostasy is ending and the dawn of the restoration of the ancient sect of Nazarene Judaism is being fulfilled in our very days.  This is a restoration that will reunite the two houses of Israel and a restoration of the Word of YHWH to His people!  Do not just read this series, but share it with others.  In our days YHWH is performing a "marvelous work and a wonder" (Is. 29:14) among us!


At no other time since the first century, has so much enlightenment been upon us as we have obtained in just the last few years. Scripture tells us in many prophecies that in the last days Elohim will be removing the scales from people's eyes so that they will see truths they could not see before. You and I have been called at this time to prepare the way for this onslaught of truth seekers who are abandoning Churchianity and even Rabbinic Judaism for the truth of Torah and a Messiah who is the living Torah. Now more than ever, people seem hungry for truth.

When I was eighteen years old back around 1984 I first left Rabbinic Judaism and became a believer in Yeshua as the Messiah. I was an armature anti-missionary back then, debating with my Christian friends, arguing that "Jesus" could not have been the Messiah. I had all the arguments down pat. Then one day Wendy asked me to go to an evening church youth meeting with her. I agreed, largely because I wanted to go out with her. So there I was, wearing my kippah with my JPS Tanak in hand. I did not know anyone else there.  After the meeting Wendy was off socializing with other friends, and I was sitting there bored. Despite my anti-missionary arguments, I had curiosity about Yeshua, so I prayed, "If Yeshua is really your son, prove it to me." For the first time in my life a bat kol (voice from Heaven) spoke to me and said "John 1:34". I did not have a "New Testament" so I borrowed one off the pew and looked up John 1:34 "And I saw and bare record that this is the Son of God.". This revelation changed my life. I would have questioned it forever if the voice had answered my question with a direct answer, but instead it was a Scripture verse that I had to look up, that was an answer to my exact question. I knew for sure that Yeshua was Messiah and I found myself thrust into spiritual warfare that very first night, so I had to mature as a believer in Messiah fast. I immediately began studying the Messianic prophecies all over again, only now the scales were off of my eyes, and now I understood them. Of course Yeshua was the Messiah, why could I not see it before?

I began to read and study the so-called "New Testament" and to my surprise it had nothing to do with the things I associated with "Christianity". It had nothing to do with steeples, nuns, monks, Santa Clause etc. It was a Jewish book.

At first I continued to attend my old Rabbinic Synagogue on Friday nights and Saturdays, and visit Wendy’s Church on Sunday mornings.  This did not last very long as I was definitely a round peg in a square hole.  One day the pastor of the church came to me and told me that I might be happier at a Messianic Jewish congregation.

“What is a Messianic Jewish congregation?” I asked.  He directed me to a Messianic Jewish congregation which was meeting in Fort Worth, Texas at the time.  This was only a marginal improvement.  The leader of this group was an ordained Baptist minister who had become a Christian in the 70’s after an interaction with Jews for Jesus.  The congregation met on Friday nights and Sunday mornings and was officially a sponsored Baptist mission to the Jews.  I was still a round peg in a square hole.

It was during this time in the 1980’s that I had a dream which I recorded in a journal I was keeping at the time.  The following is taken from that journal:

In my dream I was rebuilding the ruins of an ancient stone alter.
As I finished rebuilding this alter, it shined with a great light so bright that I
could not look directly at it, brighter than the sun. I turned around
and saw several shafts of blue light shining down out of heaven. It was
shear beauty like I had never seen. Behind me was the Messianic
Synagogue I was attending at the time. I ran inside to tell all of my
friends in the synagogue about what I had seen, but most of them seemed
disinterested, and only a few were willing to come outside and see what I
had seen.

Well I had no idea then how completely this dream would one day be fulfilled. Looking back, I know now that the ancient stone alter in ruins was Nazarene Judaism, and “rebuilding” it represented the work of restoration.

In the months that followed I studied everything I could to help me understand the so-called “New Testament” as a Jewish book. I learned that the original followers of Yeshua were an ancient sect of Jews called "Nazarenes".  I found several references to these "Nazarenes" in the writings of the so-called "Church Fathers". I realized that I was a Nazarene Jew. I knew my people did not write religious literature in the first century in Greek, so I sought out, and found, the original Hebrew and Aramaic text of the "New Testament". I found that the books know as the "Apocrypha" are Jewish, not Catholic.

One day around 1988 we had a visitor at the Messianic Jewish congregation, Rabbi Moyal.  Rabbi Moyal was an Orthodox Rabbi from Israel who had come to the conclusion that Yeshua is the Jewish Messiah of Judaism, thru his studies of the Talmuds, midrashim and the Zohar.  The leader of the Messianic congregation warned us all to stay away from this man, so I quickly befriended him.  Rabbi Moyal lived near my home and I went to his home nearly every day to study under him.  I soon began hosting a Torah study taught by Rabbi Moyal at my home.

Rabbi Moyal’s Torah study was not taught on a night conflicting with the Messianic congregations meetings, no one from the Messianic Congregation was attending, and the meetings were held about twenty miles away from the Messianic congregation.   None the less one day the leader of the Messianic congregation showed up at my door with one of his “elders”. The leader told me that they were serving as two witnesses and were there to tell me that I must choose whom is to be my “covering”.  I looked him straight in the eye and asked him if he knew what the Hebrew word for “covering” is.  He looked at me dumbfounded and I told him “the Hebrew word is ‘Kippur’, it also means “atonement”.  I then told him that he was not my atonement and never would be!  I told him that I was therefore withdrawing any “membership” I might have in his congregation.  The following Wednesday I was disfellowshipped on the charge of “seeking his own way apart from the congregation.”

By the late 1980'a I began teaching the restoration of Nazarene Judaism and found this was resonating with many others, and a resurgence of Nazarene Judaism was born.

The truths of Nazarene Judaism have always been in the Scriptures waiting to be discovered. We are living in a truly exciting age. Elohim is going to reward us with even more wisdom, knowledge and understanding concerning his plan for us as believers, as well as for the people of this world. We have been called not only to understand who we are (Nazarenes), where we are going, but we are also chosen to realize the responsibilities that Elohim has placed on us. We are His people and YHWH wishes all of us to have a partnership in bring both Torah and Messiah to the world. We at the WNAE are doing our part (and I believe Elohim is pleased with our efforts—yours and mine). Let us keep up the good work, and Elohim, I truly believe will reward us abundantly.

(To Be Continued)

How the Church Fathers Invented a New Religion
(The Apostasy and Restoration Part 3)
By
James Scott Trimm

Prologue: Biblical prophecy is being fulfilled among us.  The long night of the great apostasy is ending and the dawn of the restoration of the ancient sect of Nazarene Judaism is being fulfilled in our very days.  This is a restoration that will reunite the two houses of Israel and a restoration of the Word of YHWH to His people!  Do not just read this series, but share it with others.  In our days YHWH is performing a "marvelous work and a wonder" (Is. 29:14) among us!

Jerome's Admission
Yeshua did not come to create a new religion, but to be the Jewish Messiah of the old one.  What many Christians do not know, is that the Church Fathers admitted that the original followers of Yeshua as Messiah, including Paul, were Jews of the sect of the Nazarenes, and that Gentile Christianity was their own invention.

Of course the New Testament tells us Paul was a “ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes” (Acts 24:5).  The so-called church fathers tell us quite a bit about these “Nazarenes”.

The fourth century “church father” Epiphanius gives a detailed description:

But these sectarians… did not call themselves Christians–but “Nazarenes,” … However they are simply complete Jews. They use not only the New Testament but the Old Testament as well, as the Jews do… They have no different ideas, but confess everything exactly as the Law proclaims it and in the Jewish fashion– except for their belief in Messiah, if you please! For they acknowledge both the resurrection of the dead and the divine creation of all things, and declare that God is one, and that his son is Yeshua the Messiah. They are trained to a nicety in Hebrew. For among them the entire Law, the Prophets, and the… Writings… are read in Hebrew, as they surely are by the Jews. They are different from the Jews, and different from Christians, only in the following. They disagree with Jews because they have come to faith in Messiah; but since they are still fettered by the Law–circumcision, the Sabbath, and the rest– they are not in accord with Christians…. they are nothing but Jews…. They have the Goodnews according to Matthew in its entirety in Hebrew. For it is clear that they still preserve this, in the Hebrew alphabet, as it was originally written. (Epiphanius; Panarion 29)

The “church father” Jerome (4th Cent.) described these Nazarenes as those “…who accept Messiah in such a way that they do not cease to observe the old Law.” (Jerome; On. Is. 8:14).

But in a letter to Augustine, Jerome makes an amazing admission concerning the Nazarenes:

“The matter in debate, therefore, or I should rather say your opinion regarding it, is summed up in this: that since the preaching of the gospel of Christ, the believing Jews do well in observing the precepts of the law, i.e. in offering sacrifices as Paul did, in circumcising their children, as Paul did in the case of Timothy, and keeping the Jewish Sabbath, as all the Jews have been accustomed to do. If this be true, we fall into the heresy… [of those who] though believing in Christ, were anathematized by the fathers for this one error, that they mixed up the ceremonies of the law with the gospel of Christ, and professed their faith in that which was new, without letting go what was old. …In our own day there exists a sect among the Jews throughout all the synagogues of the East, which is called the sect of the Minæans, and is even now condemned by the Pharisees. The adherents to this sect are known commonly as Nazarenes; they believe in Christ the Son of God, born of the Virgin Mary; and they say that He who suffered under Pontius Pilate and rose again, is the same as the one in whom we believe. But while they desire to be both Jews and Christians, they are neither the one nor the other. I therefore beseech you, who think that you are called upon to heal my slight wound, which is no more, so to speak, than a prick or scratch from a needle, to devote your skill in the healing art to this grievous wound, which has been opened by a spear driven home with the impetus of a javelin. For there is surely no proportion between the culpability of him who exhibits the various opinions held by the fathers in a commentary on Scripture, and the guilt of him who reintroduces within the Church a most pestilential heresy. If, however, there is for us no alternative but to receive the Jews into the Church, along with the usages prescribed by their law; if, in short, it shall be declared lawful for them to continue in the Churches of Christ what they have been accustomed to practice in the synagogues of Satan, I will tell you my opinion of the matter: they will not become Christians, but they will make us Jews.
(Jerome; Letter 75)

(1) “Minæans” apparently Latinized from Hebrew MINIM (singular is MIN) a word which in modern Hebrew means “apostates” but was originally an acronym for a Hebrew phrase meaning “Believers in Yeshua the Nazarene”.

Jerome repeats Augustine, saying of the Nazarenes: “since the preaching of the gospel of Christ, the believing Jews do well in observing the precepts of the law, i.e. in offering sacrifices as Paul did, in circumcising their children, as Paul did in the case of Timothy, and keeping the Jewish Sabbath, as all the Jews have been accustomed to do.” (Jerome; Letter 75 Jerome to Augustine)

Jerome responds saying of the Nazarenes “though believing in Christ, [they] were anathematized by the [church] fathers for this one error, that they mixed up the ceremonies of the law with the gospel of Christ, and professed their faith in that which was new, without letting go what was old.”  (ibid)

In other words Augustine and Jerome tell us that the Nazarene doctrine that the Torah should still be observed began with “the preaching of Christ” and was the doctrine kept by Paul, but that the church “fathers” of Christianity declared this to be an error and a heresy.



Ignatius Invents Anti-Nomian Christianity

Up until the time of Ignatius (in the late first century), matters of dispute that arose at Antioch were ultimately referred to the Jerusalem Council (as in Acts 14:26-15:2). Ignatius usurped the authority of the Jerusalem council, declaring himself as the local bishop as the ultimate authority over the assembly of which he was bishop, and likewise declaring the same as true of all other bishops and their local assemblies. Ignatius writes:

…being subject to your bishop…
…run together according to the will of God.
Jesus… is sent by the will of the Father;
As the bishops… are by the will of Jesus Christ.
(Eph. 1:9, 11)

…your bishop…I think you happy who are so joined to him,
as the church is to Jesus Christ and Jesus Christ is to the Father…
Let us take heed therefore, that we not set ourselves
against the bishop, that we may be subject to God….
We ought to look upon the bishop, even as we would
upon the Lord himself.
(Eph. 2:1-4)

…obey your bishop…
(Mag. 1:7)

Your bishop presiding in the place of God…
…be you united to your bishop…
(Mag. 2:5, 7)

…he… that does anything without the bishop…
is not pure in his conscience…
(Tral. 2:5)

…Do nothing without the bishop.
(Phil. 2:14)

See that you all follow your bishop,
As Jesus Christ, the Father…
(Smy. 3:1)

By exalting the power of the office of bishop (overseer) and demanding the absolute authority of the bishop over the assembly, Ignatius was actually making a power grab by thus taking absolute authority over the assembly at Antioch and encouraging other Gentile overseers to follow suite.

Moreover Ignatius drew men away from Torah and declared the Torah to have been abolished, not only at Antioch but at other Gentile assemblies to which he wrote:

Be not deceived with strange doctrines;
nor with old fables which are unprofitable.
For if we still continue to live according to the Jewish Law,
we do confess ourselves not to have received grace…
(Mag. 3:1)

But if any one shall preach the Jewish law unto you,
hearken not unto him…
(Phil. 2:6)

It is also Ignatius who first replaces the Seventh Day Sabbath with Sunday worship, writing:

“…no longer observing sabbaths, but keeping the Lord’s day
in which also our life is sprung up by him, and through
his death…”
(Magnesians 3:3)

Having seceded from the authority of Jerusalem, declared the Torah abolished and replacing the Sabbath with Sunday, Ignatius had created a new religion. Ignatius coins a new term, never before used, for this new religion which he calls “Christianity” and which he makes clear is new and district religion from Judaism. He writes:

…let us learn to live according to the rules of Christianity,
for whosoever is called by any other name
besides this, he is not of God….

It is absurd to name Jesus Christ, and to Judaize.
For the Christian religion did not embrace the Jewish.
But the Jewish the Christian…
(Mag. 3:8, 11)

Conclusion

By the end of the first century Ignatius of Antioch had declared  that the Nazarene doctrine that the Torah should still be observed which Augustine admitted began with “the preaching of Christ” and was the doctrine kept by Paul to be an error and a heresy.

He seceded from Judaism and founded a new religion which he called “Christianity”. A religion which rejected the Torah, and replaced the Seventh Day Sabbath with Sunday Worship.

Yeshua did not come to create a new religion, he came to be the Messiah of Judaism.  The original followers of Yeshua as the Messiah were a sect of Judaism called the sect of the Nazarenes (Acts 24:5).


(To Be Continued)

The Great Apostasy
(The Apostasy and Restoration Part 4)
By
James Scott Trimm

Prologue: Biblical prophecy is being fulfilled among us.  The long night of the great apostasy is ending and the dawn of the restoration of the ancient sect of Nazarene Judaism is being fulfilled in our very days.  This is a restoration that will reunite the two houses of Israel and a restoration of the Word of YHWH to His people!  Do not just read this series, but share it with others.  In our days YHWH is performing a "marvelous work and a wonder" (Is. 29:14) among us!



1  Now the Spirit plainly says that in the last times some men shall depart from the faith and shall go after deceiving spirits and after teachings of shadim,
2  those who deceive by false appearance and are speaking a lie, and are seared in their conscience,
    (1Timothy 4:1-2)

What does it mean "depart from the faith"?  There is only one true  faith (Eph. 4:5) which was once and for all delivered (Jude 1:3).  In fact that faith is inseparable from Torah:

    Remove the false way from me,
    and graciously grant me your Torah.
    I have chosen the way of faith;
    I have placed your ordinances before me.
    (Psalm 119:29-30)

Now when he was on trial before Pilate Yeshua said:

37  Pilate said to him, Then are you a king?  Yeshua said to him, You have said that I am a king.  I was born for this, and for this I came into the world that I might testify concerning the truth .  Every man who is of the truth hears my voice.
38  Pilate said to him, What is truth?   And after he had said this he went out again to the Judeans and said to them, I do not find even one fault in him.
    (John 18:37-38)

To this Pilate asked the all important question:

    What is truth?
    (John. 18:38)

Let us look back to the Tanak to find the answer to Pilate's question:

    Your righteousness is an everlasting righteousness,
    and your Torah is truth.
    (Psalm 119:142)

    You are near, O YHWH,
    and all your commandments are truth.
    (Psalm 119:151)

This definition explains many phrases in the New Testament:

    "Obey the truth" (Gal. 3:1)

    "But he that does truth..." (Jn. 3:20)

4  I rejoice greatly that I found some of your sons walking in truth,  as we have received commandment from the Father.
    (2Jn. 1:4)

Yeshua came to bear witness of the Torah, those who hear the Torah hear his voice.  This leads us to another important saying from Yeshua:

31  And Yeshua said to those Judeans who trusted in him, If you will remain in my word, you are truly my talmidim.
32  And you will know the truth,  and the truth will set you free.
(John 8:31-32)

Paul, however, speaks of those "who changed the truth of God into a lie" (Rom. 1:25)  Now if Messiah came to bear witness of the truth then what has HaSatan to bear witness to?  The scriptures tell us:

44  You are from your father, the ‘Akel Kartza.  And you want to do the lust of your father, who from the beginning killed men and did not stand in the truth because the truth was not in him.  When he speaks a lie, he speaks from himself because he is a liar, even its father.
    (John 8:44)


    ...HaSatan, who deceives the whole world...
    (Rev. 12:9)

When HaSatan speaks a lie, he is merely speaking his native language.

Now if the Torah is truth, then what is HaSatan's lie?  His lie is that there is not a Torah, that the Torah has been done away with.

Now that we know what these terms "the faith" as opposed to "a lie" mean lets look again at 1Tim. 4:1-2:

1  Now the Spirit plainly says that in the last times some men shall depart from the faith and shall go after deceiving spirits and after teachings of shadim,
2  those who deceive by false appearance and are speaking a lie, and are seared in their conscience,
3  and forbid to marry, and require abstinence from foods which Eloah created for use and for thanksgiving for those who believe and know the truth;
4  because everything which was created by Eloah is good, and there is not a thing which should be rejected, if it is received with thanksgiving,
(1Timothy 4:1-2)

Now we can see that 1Timothy 4:1-2 refers to a departure from the Nazaerene faith of Torah to a new faith which is without the Torah.

Now lets look at 2Timothy 3:1-7:

1  But this know, that in the last days, difficult times will come.
2  And sons of men will be lovers of their nefeshot, and lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, those who are not obedient to their parents, ungrateful, wicked,
3  slanderers, slaves to lust, cruel, haters of good,
4  betrayers, unrestrained, proud, lovers of lusts more than the love of Eloah,
5  those who have the form of the awe of Eloah,  but are far removed from his power.  Those who are thus thrust them out from you.
6  For from them are those who creep from house to house and captivate women who are loaded down with sins and are led away by various lusts,
7  who always are learning and are not ever able to come to the knowledge of the truth.

Once again Paul writes to Timothy about a great apostasy, which he associates with a lack of Torah observance by those "Who always are learning and are not ever able to come to the knowledge of the truth".  Remember, the Torah is truth (Ps. 119:142, 151).

A few verses down Paul writes:

3  For the time will come when they will not hear sound teaching, but according to their lusts, they will multiply teachers to their nefeshot with the itching of their hearing,
4  And they will turn their ear from the truth,  and they will turn aside to myths.
(2Tim. 4:3-4)

Once again he associates this great apostasy with a rejection of the Torah.

Kefa also speaks of this last days apostasy as follows:

1  But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive sects, even denying the Adon who redeemed them, and bring on themselves swift destruction.
2  And many will follow their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth  will be blasphemed.
    (2Kefa 2:1-2)

Then a little further down he writes:

19 While they promise them liberty, they themselves are slaves of corruption; for by whom a person is overcome, by him also he is brought into bondage.
(2Kefa 2:19)

Remember we learned that the Torah is Truth (Ps. 119:142) and that Yeshua said:
  
31  And Yeshua said to those Judeans who trusted in him, If you will remain in my word, you are truly my talmidim.
32  And you will know the truth,  and the truth will set you free.
    (John 8:31-32)

Therefore the Torah brings freedom.  This is completely contrary to what most people have been taught.  The common wisdom is that the Torah is bondage and that "freedom in Christ" means freedom from Torah.   However as we shall see the scriptures teach that exactly the opposite is true.

    The central story of Judaism  is that of the Exodus from Egypt.  The children of Israel were in bondage in Egypt.  Elohim promised to bring them out of bondage and give them freedom.  Upon leading the children of Israel out of Egypt, YHWH led them to Mt. Sinai where he delvered the Torah to them.  Note that the theme of this central story is that God promised freedom from bondage and gave the children of Israel Torah.  Now why would YHWH lead the people out of bondage in Egypt, lead them to Mt. Sinai, and deliver them right back into bondage again?  And why would he at the same time promise them freedom.  God is no liar.  He promised the people freedom and he gave them Torah because the Torah is freedom from bondage.  The Torah is truth (Ps. 119:142) and the truth will make you free (John 8:31-32).

This truth is proclaimed by the Psalmist:

    So shall I keep your Torah continually forever and ever,
    And I will walk in freedom: for I seek your precepts.
    (Psalm 119:44-45)

As well as by Ya'akov HaTzadik (James the Just) who called the Torah "the Torah of freedom" (James 1:25; 2:12).


So as we look once again at 2Kefa:

19 While they promise them liberty, they themselves are slaves of corruption; for by whom a person is overcome, by him also he is brought into bondage.
    (2Kefa 2:19)

Two entire books of the New Scriptures, 2Peter and Jude, are dedicated to combating this apostate teaching.  These books warn us of men who will promise "freedom" but turn from the "holy commandment" (the Law) (2Pt. 2:18-21) turning "the grace of our God" into a license to sin (Jude 1:4, 14-18).

Now you may be saying to yourself: "Ok, so Christendom teaches lawlessness, but don't the lawless teachers of 2Peter & Jude go so far as to teach sexual immorality? Surely the lawless teachers of Christendom would never use their "the Law is not for today" teaching to promote sexual immorality." Wrong! Some of Christendom's teachers have already carried the "the Law is not for today" reasoning to its fullest and logical conclusion. In the 1980's a sect of Christendom known as "The Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches" published a tract which does just that.  The nameless author of the tract writes:

    Another Scripture verse that is used
    to show that the Bible condemns the gay lifestyle
    is found in the Old Testament Book of Leviticus, 18:22,
    "Thou shalt not lie with a man as thou would with a
           woman." Anyone who is concerned about this prohibition
    should read the whole chapter or the whole Book of Leviticus:
    No pork, no lobster, no shrimp, no oysters, no intercourse
    during the menstrual period, no rare meats, no eating blood,
    no inter-breeding of cattle, and a whole host of other laws,
    including the law to kill all divorced people who remarry.

    As Christians, our law is from Christ. St. Paul
    clearly taught that Christians are no longer under the
    Old Law (for example in Galatians 3:23-24);
    that the Old Law is brought to an end in Christ
    (Romans10:4); and its fulfillment is in love
    (Romans 13:8-10, Galatians 5:14). The New Law
    of Christ is the Law of Love. Neither Jesus, nor Paul,
    nor any of the New Testament Scriptures implies that
    Christians are held to the cultic or ethical laws
    of the Mosaic Law.
    (Homosexuality; What the Bible Does and Does not Say;
    Universal Fellowship press, 1984, p. 3)

These arguments were largely restricted to the MCC in 1984, but today they are infecting major deonominations of Chritianity.

Thus Christendom's teaching that "the Law is not for today" is already being used to "turn the grace of our God into perversion." (Jude 1:4; see also 2Pt. 2:18-21)

The Scriptures forewarn us about a coming "apostasy":

3  Do not let anyone deceive you in any way, because [it will not come] except an apostasy  should come first and the son of man of sin be revealed, the son of destruction,
    (2Thes. 2:3)

The scriptures abound with prophecies about this great apostasy.  We read in the Tanak:

11  Behold, the days come, says the Adonai YHWH, that I will send a famy in the land, not a famy of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of YHWH.
12  And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east; they shall run to and fro to seek the word of YHWH, and shall not find it.
(Amos 8:11-12)

Now just what is "The Word of YHWH"?  In Isaiah we read:

    ...For the Torah will go out from Zion;
    and the word of YHWH from Jerusalem.
    (Isaiah 2:3)

Thus the "Word of YHWH" would seem to be the Torah.


Micah writes:

5  Thus says YHWH concerning the prophets that make my people to err; that cry: 'Peace', when their teeth have any thing to bite; and whoso puts not into their mouths, they even prepare war against him:
6  Therefore it shall be night unto you, that you shall have no vision; and it shall be dark unto you, that you shall not divine; and the sun shall go down upon the prophets, and the day shall be black over them.
7  And the seers shall be put to shame, and the diviners confounded; yes, they shall all cover their upper lips; for there shall be no answer of Elohim.
11  The heads thereof judge for reward, and the cohanim thereof teach for hire, and the prophets thereof divine for money; yet will they lean upon YHWH, and say: 'Is not YHWH in the midst of us? No evil shall come upon us'?
(Micah 3:5-7, 11)    

And Isaiah says:

1  Behold, YHWH makes the earth empty and makes it waste, and turns it upside down, and scatters abroad the inhabitants thereof.
2  And it shall be, as with the people, so with the cohen; as with the servant, so with his master; as with the maid, so with her mistress; as with the buyer, so with the seller; as with the lender, so with the borrower; as with the creditor, so with the debtor.
3  The earth shall be utterly emptied, and clean despoiled; for YHWH has spoken this word.
4  The earth faints and fades away, the world fails and fades away, the lofty people of the earth do fail.
5  The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, violated the statute, broken the everlasting covenant.
6  Therefore has a curse devoured the earth, and they that dwell therein are found guilty; therefore the inhabitants of the earth waste away, and men are left few.
(Is. 24:1-6)

The authors of the "New Testament" also refer to this great apostasy:


11 And many false prophets will arise,
and will lead many astray.
12 And because apostasy will abound,
the love of many will wax cold.
(Mt. 24:11-12 DuTillet Hebrew text)

Do not let anyone deceive you in any way,
because [it will not come] except
an apostasy should come first
and the son of man of Torah-less-ness be revealed,
the son of destruction ,
(2Thes. 2:3)

Now the spirit plainly says that in the last times
some men shall depart from the faith
and shall go after deceiving spirits
and after teachings of shadim,
Those who deceive by false appearance
and are speaking a lie,
and are seared in their conscience,
(1Timothy 4:1-2)

Paul also said to the Ephesians on his last visit to them:

I know that after I am gone fierce wolves will enter in among you without mercy upon the flock.
And also from among you there will rise up men speaking
perverse things, so that they might turn away the talmidim
to follow after them.
(Acts 20:29-30)

Paul seems to indicate that after his death leaders would begin to rise up from the overseers [Bishops] in his stead that would draw people to follow themselves and draw them away from Torah. In fact Paul died in 66 C.E. and the first overseer (Bishop) of Antioch to take office after his death was Ignatius in 98 C.E.. Ignatius fulfilled Paul's words precisely. After taking the office of Bishop over Antioch Ignatius sent out a series of epistles to other assemblies. His letters to the Ephesians, Magnesians, Trallianns, Romans, Philadelphians and Smyrnaeans as well as a personal letter to Polycarp overseer of Smyrnaea have survived to us.

The Ancient Nazarene Historian and commentator Hegesippus (c. 180 CE) writes of the time immediately following the death of Shim'on, who succeeded Ya'akov HaTzadik as Nasi of the Nazarene Sanhedrin and who died in 98 CE:

Up to that period (98 CE) the Assembly had remained like a virgin pure and uncorrupted: for, if there were any persons who were disposed to tamper with the wholesome rule of the proclaiming of salvation, they still lurked in some dark place of concealment or other. But, when the sacred band of Emissaries had in various ways closed their lives, and that generation of men to whom it had been vouchsafed to listen to the inspired Wisdom with their own ears had passed away, then did the confederacy of godless error take its rise through the treachery of false teachers, who, seeing that none of the emissaries any longer survived, at length attempted with bare and uplifted head to oppose the proclaiming of the truth by proclaiming "knowledge falsely so called."
(Hegesippus the Nazarene; c. 185 CE; quoted by Eusebius in Eccl. Hist. 3:32)

Hegisippus indicates the apostasy began the very same year that Ignatious became bishop of Antioch!

By the end of the first century Ignatius of Antioch had fulfilled Paul's warning. He seceded from Judaism and founded a new religion which he called "Christianity". A religion which rejected the Torah, and replaced the Seventh Day Sabbath with Sunday Worship. (As detailed in Part 3)

Now Paul's prophecy was being fulfilled. Gentile leaders were causing men to follow after themselves and drawing people away from Torah, and it was springing forth from the first Gentile assembly. The result was the birth of a new Gentile religion that had effectively rebelled against Torah based Judaism, a religion known as “Christianity”.

Thus the Ancient Nazarene Historian and commentator Hegesippus (c. 180 CE) writes of the time immediately following the death of Shim'on, who succeeded Ya'akov HaTzadik (James the Just) as Nasi of the Nazarene Sanhedrin and who died in 98 CE:

Up to that period (98 CE) the Assembly had remained like a virgin pure and uncorrupted: for, if there were any persons who were disposed to tamper with the wholesome rule of the preaching of salvation, they still lurked in some dark place of concealment or other. But, when the sacred band of Emissaries had in various ways closed their lives, and that generation of men to whom it had been vouchsafed to listen to the Godlike Wisdom with their own ears had passed away, then did the confederacy of godless error take its rise through the treachery of false teachers, who, seeing that none of the apostles any longer survived, at length attempted with bare and uplifted head to oppose the preaching of the truth by preaching "knowledge falsely so called."
(Hegesippus the Nazarene; c. 185 CE  Eusebius; Eccl. Hist.3:32)

Hegesippus indicates the apostasy began the very same year that Ignatious became bishop of Antioch!

 The Sealed Book and the Olive Tree
(Apostasy and Restoration Part 5)
By
James Scott Trimm
The Sealed Book

One of the most important prophecies of the apostasy is the prophecy concerning the sealed book in Isaiah 29.  This prophecy says:

9 Stupefy yourselves, and be stupid! Blind yourselves, and be blind: you that are drunken, but not with wine; that stagger, but not with strong drink.
10 For YHWH has poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep, and has closed your eyes: the prophets and your heads, the seers, has He covered.
11 And the vision of all this is become unto you as the words of a writing that is sealed, which men deliver to one that is learned, saying, Read this, I pray you. And he says, I cannot, for it is sealed.
12 And the writing is delivered to him that is not learned, saying, Read this, I pray you. And he says, I am not learned.
13 And YHWH said: Forasmuch as this people draw near, and with their mouth and with their lips do honor Me, but have removed their heart far from Me, and their fear of Me, is a commandment of men learned by rote,
14 Therefore behold, I will again do a marvelous work among this people, even a marvelous work and a wonder. And the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the prudence of their prudent men shall be hid.
(Is. 29:9-14 HRV)

Then we read of the restoration as follows:

18 And in that day shall the deaf hear the words of a book, and the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity and out of darkness.
19 The humble also shall increase their joy in YHWH, and the neediest among men shall exult in HaKadesh of Yisra’el.
20 For the terrible one is brought to nought, and the scorner ceases, and all they that watch for iniquity are cut off:
21 That make a man an offender by words, and lay a snare for him that reproves in the gate, and turn aside the just with a thing of nought.
(Is. 29:18-21 HRV)
The Olive Tree

This portion of Isaiah is cited by Paul in Romans 11:

8 Thus it is written: Eloah gave them a blinding spirit, and eyes that they might not examine, and ears that they might not hear, until this very day. (Dt. 29:4; Is. 29:10)
9 And David again said, Let their table be a snare before them, and their reward a stumbling stone.
10 Let their eyes be darkened that they not see, and their back always be bowed. (Psalm 69:23-24 (22-23); Isa. 29:9-10)
(Romans 11:8-10 HRV)

Then Paul goes on to prophecy about the restoration of Israel with the Parable of the Olive Tree:

11 Now I say, Have they stumbled so as to fall? Absolutely not! But in their stumbling, life has come to the Goyim; for their jealousy. (Dt. 32:21)
12 And if their stumbling became riches for the world, and their loss, riches to the Goyim: how much more therefore, their fullness?
13 But I speak to you Goyim--I, who am the emissary of the Goyim. I am glorifying my service,
14 That perhaps I might provoke my kinsmen to jealousy, (Dt. 32:21) and give life [to] some of them.
15 For if their reprobation was reconciliation to the world, how much more therefore, their return, but life that is from among the dead?
16 And if the first is Set-Apart, the lump of dough is also: and if the root is Set-Apart, the branches [are] also.
17 And if some branches were broken off, and you who are a wild olive [tree], were grafted into their place and became partakers of the root and of the oil of the olive [tree],
18 Do not boast against the [natural] branches. But if you boast, you are not bearing the root, but the root bears you!
19 And perhaps you should say of the branches that were broken off, I will be grafted in their place.
20 These [matters] are beautiful. They were broken off because they did not have trust, but you stand, by trust. Do not be exalted in your mind, but fear:
21 For if Eloah did not spare the natural branches, perhaps He will also not spare you.
22 See then the gentleness and the harshness of Eloah: upon those who fell, harshness, but upon you, gentleness, if, you remain in the gentleness. And if not, you will also be broken off.
23 And those, if they do not remain in their lack of trust, also will be grafted in: for Eloah is able to graft them in again.
24 For if you, who are from the olive [tree] that was wild by your nature, were cut off and were grafted--contrary to your nature--into the good olive [tree], how much more then, those, if they be grafted in their natural olive [tree]?
25 For I want you to know this mystery, my brothers, so that you will not be wise in the thought of your nefesh: that blindness of the heart, in part, has happened to Yisra'el until the fullness of the Goyim (Gen. 48:19) should come.
(Rom. 11:11-15 HRV)

To understand this parable we must first look back to Romans 9:23-27

23 And poured forth His mercy upon the vessels of mercy, that were prepared to Eloah to glory,
24 Which we are … the called; not only from the Jews, but also from the Goyim.
25 Thus also He said in Hoshea: I will call those who were not My people, My people: and to whom I have not shown mercy, I will show mercy.
26 For it will be, [that] in the place where they were called, Not my people: there they will be called, sons of the Living Eloah. (Hosea 2:1 (1:10); 2:25 (23))
27 And Yesha’yahu proclaimed concerning the B’nai Yisra’el, that even though the number of the B’nai Yisra’el should be like the sand that is in the sea, a remnant of them would be saved.
(Romans 9:23-27 HRV)

And to understand this portion of Romans 9 we must understand the portion of Hosea Paul is referencing:

24 (2:22) And the earth shall respond to the grain, and the wine, and the oil–and they shall respond to Yizre’el.
25 (2:23) And I will sow her unto Me in the land, and I will have compassion upon her that had not obtained compassion. And I will say to them that were not My people: You are My people, and they shall say, You are my Elohim.
(Hosea 2:24-35 (2:22-23) HRV)

This passage from Hosea brings us to a most overlooked thread of prophecy, that of the ultimate restoration of the House of Israel.

The name Yizre’el (Jezreel in the KJV) is the key to this overlooked thread.  In Hosea 1:4 Hosea’s wife bears a son and YHWH names the son “Yizre’el”.  Throughout Hosea the names of Hosea’s sons had special prophetic meaning.  The name “Yizre’el” is a word play on “Yisra’el” (Israel) but has the maning “El sows” or “El scatters”:

4 And YHWH said unto him: Call his name Yizre’el, for yet a little while and I will visit the blood of Yizre’el upon the house of Yahu, and will cause to cease–the kingdom of the House of Yisra’el.
(Hosea 1:4 HRV)

The prophetic meaning of this name is revealed in Hosea chapter 2 where Elohim scatters Yisra’el.

At this point it is absolutely essential to distinguish the two houses of Israel in this book.  In these first two chapters of Hosea it is clear that it is not the House of Judah who are facing this chastisement.  In fact Hosea specifies that while he is punishing the House of Israel, He will have compassion on the House of Judah:

7 But I will have compassion upon the House of Y’hudah, and will save them by YHWH their Elohim: and will not save them by bow, nor by sword, nor by battle, nor by horses, nor by horsemen.
(Hosea 1:7 HRV)

By contrast the House of Israel will lose their identity as the people of YHWH.  His second and third sons are named “Lo-Ruchmah” (“not compassioned”) and “Lo-Ammi” (“Not My People”).

Finally YHWH tells us that at a time when the number of the descendants of Israel is as the “as the sand of the sea,  which cannot be measured nor numbered.” (Hosea 2:1 (1:10)) that this group known as Lo-Ammi “Not My People”  will come to be known as “Sons of the Living El.”

In other words these people would realize that they are not Gentiles after all, but members or the Ten Lost Tribes.

We read of this realization in the Apocrypha in the book of Baruch:

… but in the land of their captivities they shall remember themselves. And shall know that I am YHWH their Elohim: for I will give them a heart, and ears to hear: And they shall praise me in the land of their captivity, and think upon my name, And return from their stiff neck, and from their wicked deeds: for they shall remember the way of their fathers, which sinned before YHWH. And I will bring them again into the land which I promised with an oath unto their fathers, Avraham, Yitzchak, and Ya’akov, and they shall be masters of it: and I will increase them, and they shall not be diminished. And I will make an everlasting covenant with them to be their Elohim, and they shall be my people: and I will no more drive my people of Israel out of the land that I have given them.
(Barukh (Baruch) 2:30-35)

Romans 9 begins the contrast of the “Jews” and “Gentiles” by quoting Hosea 2:25(23); 2:1 (1:10) in Rom. 9:25-26.

23 And poured forth His mercy upon the vessels of mercy, that were prepared to Eloah to glory,
24 Which we are … the called; not only from the Jews, but also from the Goyim.
25 Thus also He said in Hoshea: I will call those who were not My people, My people: and to whom I have not shown mercy, I will show mercy.
26 For it will be, [that] in the place where they were called, Not my people: there they will be called, sons of the Living Eloah. (Hosea 2:1 (1:10); 2:25 (23))
27 And Yesha’yahu proclaimed concerning the B’nai Yisra’el, that even though the number of the B’nai Yisra’el should be like the sand that is in the sea, a remnant of them would be saved.
(Romans 9:23-27 HRV)

If we look up the context of the people “which were not my people” which he calls “my people” in Hosea we find that they are the “children of Israel”:

1 (1:10) Yet, the number of the children of Yisra’el shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured nor numbered. And it shall come to pass that, instead of that which was said unto them, You are not My people: it shall be said unto them, You are the children of the living El.
(Hosea 2:1 (1:10))

as opposed to “the children of Judah”:

2 (1:11) And the children of Y’hudah and the children of Yisra’el shall be gathered together, and they shall appoint themselves one head, and shall go up out of the land: for great shall be the day of Yizre’el.
(Hosea 2:2 (1:11))

So if Paul is quoting Hosea in context and contrasting Jews and Gentiles (Rom. 9:24) using Hosea 2:1-2 (1:10-11) then the “Jews” of Rom. 9:24 are the “Children of Judah” of Hosea 2:2 (1:11) and the “Gentiles” of Rom. 9:24 are the  “children of Israel” of Hosea 2:1 (1:10).

If this is true then as this contrasting pair advances into Rom. Chapter 11 the two trees are the two Houses.  This prophecy parallels the two “sticks” prophecy of Ezekiel 37 (note that the word STICK in Ezek. 37 is ETZ which also means “tree”).

Now the question is: What is the prophetic hope of the House of Israel? Is there to be a last days restoration of a distinct and separate House of Israel (as opposed to the House of Judah) or is the hope of divorced Ephraim to be joined to the House of Judah?

One of the most beautiful prophecies of the reunion of the two houses of Israel is the “two sticks” prophecy in Ezekiel 37:15-20. In this prophecy each of the two houses of Israel are symbolized by two “sticks” which are brough together and made as one (Ezek. 37:15-18) the text goes on to specify that YHWH will:

…take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel his fellows, and will put them with him, even with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick,…
(Ezek. 37:19)

Now lets look at another prophecy in Zech. 8:23:

Thus said YHWH of hosts, ‘In those days ten men from all languages of the nations take hold, yea, they shall take hold of the edge of the garment of a man, a Yehudite, saying, “Let us go with you, for we have heard that Elohim is with you .”

Now lest anyone think that the “Jew” (Yehudite) in this passage is a certain Jew, such as the Messiah, I must point out that in the Hebrew the word “you” in “let us go with “you” and “Elohim is with you” is PLURAL and therefore refers not to an individual Jew, but to the House of Judah. No doubt the number “ten” here implies the lost ten tribes of Ephraim. Not that Ephraim says to Judah:

“let us [Ephraim] go with you [Judah]
for we [Ephraim] have heard that YHWH is with you [Judah].”

Finally let us look at the olive tree prophecy of Romans 11. This prophecy parallels the two “sticks” prophecy of Ezekiel 37 (note that the word STICK in Ezek. 37 is ETZ which also means “tree”).

Rom. 9 begins the contrast of the “Jews” and “Gentiles” by quoting Hosea 2:25(23); 2:1 (1:10) in Rom. 9:25-26. But if we look up the context of the people “which were not my people” which he calls “my people” in Hosea we find that they are the “children of Israel” (Hosea 2:1 (1:10)) as opposed to “the children of Judah” (Hosea 2:2 (1:11)) So if Paul is quoting Hosea in context and contrasting Jews and Gentiles (Rom. 9:24) using Hosea 2:1-2 (1:10-11) then the “Jews” of Rom. 9:24 are the “Childern of Judah” of Hosea 2:2 (1:11) and the “Gentiles” of Rom. 9:24 are the “children of Israel” of Hosea 2:1 (1:10). If this is true then as this contrasting pair advances into Rom. Chapter 11 the two trees are the two Houses.

Now the uncultivated olive tree in Romans 11 is clearly therefore Ephraim and the cultivated olive tree is clearly that of Judah. This prophecy tells us that branches from the tree/stick of Ephraim will be broken off and grafted into the tree/stick of Judah, are to be fed by the root of the tree/stick of Judah and are not to boast against the natural branches (Jews).”

The Root

In verses 16-18 we find the root of the tree mentioned.  What does this mean?  What is the root? verse 16 tells us that the holiness of the branches is wholly dependant on the holiness of the root.  Verses 17 and 18 tell us that the root of the tree is that which supports the branches which partake of it.  Further down in the text, verse 24 indicates that the root is of the same nature as the "natural branches" which are clearly the Jews. It is logical to conclude, then, that the root is Israel [in this context Judah].  This is supported by the fact that this parable is drawn from the Book of Enoch (a Jewish apocalypse quoted by Jude (Jude 1:14-15 = Enoch 1:9)), from a section commonly called "The Apocalypse of Weeks" (Enoch 93:3-17). In which we read:

And thereafter, in the Third Week, at its close,
A man shall be chosen as a plant of righteous judgment;
And his posterity shall come forth as a plant of eternal righteousness;
(Enoch 93:5)

Several scriptures support this understanding that the root is Israel (Rom. 4:16; Gal. 3:7, 29), and that Gentiles are to turn to Israel for the oracles of Elohim (Rom. 3:1-2; Jn. 4:22; Ex. 19:6; Zech. 8:23).  As long as grafted in branches continued to be fed by the holy root (Israel) then they would remain holy (Rom. 11:16-18), however, if grated branches turned from that root, then they also would apostatize.


The Final Restoration: Restoration of Judah

The concept of the Two House message was an important message for the world and it generated a good deal of excitement, but it was not the last stage of restoration. The Two House message had to do with the grafting in of “wild branches” (Ephraimites) into the cultivated olive tree (Judah).

Now Romans 11 does discuss this stage of the restoration, but it also tells us that an even more powerful stage will involve Judah being grafted back into its own olive tree:

And if their stumbling became riches for the world, and their loss, riches to the
Goyim: how much more therefore, their fullness?
(Rom. 11:12 HRV)

For if their reprobation was reconciliation to the world, how much more therefore,
their return, but life that is from among the dead?
(Rom. 11:15 HRV)

23 And those, if they do not remain in their lack of trust, also will be grafted in: for Eloah
is able to graft them in again.
24 For if you, who are from the olive [tree] that was wild by your nature, were cut off and
were grafted--contrary to your nature--into the good olive [tree], how much more then,
those, if they be grafted in their natural olive [tree]?
(Rom. 11:23-24 HRV)

Paul says here: You think the restoration of Ephraim is great, wait until you see the restoration of Judah!

That is what the WNAE is about, not just the grafting in of Ephraim (although that is part of it) but the restoration of Judah, the restoration of the ancient sect of Nazarene Judaism!

(To Be Continued)