June 11, 1999
Modern day Zionism came into being during the nineteenth century, inspired, at least in part, by contemporary nationalistic movements, which were prevalent in Europe of that day. But perhaps still greater was the contribution made by a few Spirit-filled Christian (Gentile) visionaries, who began to realize the importance of the Torah, the prophets, and the Jewish people's return to the ancient land of their ancestors. Relationships between these Gentile Christians (Zionists) and the Jewish community in Europe started developing already in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries (ref. The Vision Was There by Franz Kobler, 1956). The Zionist movement, however, was not really acknowledged by nineteenth century historians as a viable, or a definable phenomenon. Jewish identity was still very much attached to religion, which preserved the uniqueness of the Jews as a people while in the "Galut" (diaspora, or exile). But the religious traditions left them with only a very slight hope of realizing any national aspirations. Saying "next year in Jerusalem," every Passover was not enough to extricate them from their host countries. Their identity was defined more by default than by anything positive. It wasn't until the time of Rabbi Alkalai and Kalishcher (two Jewish "prophets" of the 1800's) that seeds of national identity began to be sown. They were followed by Moses Hess, Ben-Yehudah, Pinsker, Herzl, Nordau, Ahad-Ha-am, Bialik and others, whose names and writings have lost their prophetic significance today, and have become (in the eyes of most Israelis) mere signs posted on street corners in the cities of Israel.
The transformation, from religion to nationalism, began to grow in the hearts and minds of a remnant, ultimately resulting in the birth of the State of Israel, albeit not without tribulation (pogroms, persecutions and the Holocaust). The return of Judah (the Jews), as a nation, to the Land of Promise is a direct fulfillment of the End Time prophetic scriptures. It testifies to the fact that the God of Israel neither slumbers nor sleeps (Ps. 121:4), but "watches over His word to perform it" (Jer.1:12).
However, this is only half of the story. Zionism, as a national movement was not only evident amongst a remnant of Judah, but also began to surface in Ephraim, who is the other "witness" of the God of Israel's unending mercies and covenant keeping faithfulness. It was at about this time (i.e. the nineteenth century), that a few born-again, spirit-filled believers in Europe, especially in the UK, received prophetic insight into the history of the Two Houses, the two witnesses, the two olive branches, the two sticks, the two families, the two kingdoms and the two nations, spoken of in the Bible. Many believed that the nations that made up Europe were primarily of the lost tribes of Israel. Intense studies of languages, culture, religion etc. began to emerge. In 1887, a work by M.M. Eshelman, called The Two Sticks, was published. Later, another, by J.H. Allen called Judah's Scepter and Joseph's Birthright, 1917. These works were evidence that the Spirit of the Lord was (and still is) working to turn the hearts of the children to the fathers, and to restore the national identity of both houses of Israel (Ephraim and Judah).
In the covenant that God made with Abraham, He promised him a land and a nation (Goy) which was to come out of his own loins, (Gen 12:1-3). God would never forget the covenant, although He would scatter this nation into all the nations, and thus it is written that Ephraim is "well mixed into all nations" (Hos. 7:8), and that he would become their "fullness" (Gen 48:19). Yet, in Ezekiel 37:22 we read: "I will make them one nation in the land," (as well as in Jer 3:18). God's redemptive plan for this earth was, and still is, a united, redeemed, single nation of "Israel", living in the land that God promised to the patriarchs.
Religious identity has kept the Two Houses divided. However, with the restoration of our national identity we can begin to tear down the age-old divisions of enmity and jealousy and build, under the guiding hand of the Messiah, the commonwealth that will be a light to the rest of the nations, a royal priesthood and a holy nation. Both houses need to return to Zionism, to the Zionism of the Torah. This Zionism is a very simple concept; it involves a land, a nation ("goy"), and a kingdom government.
It all started with the covenant that God made with Abraham, and it will end with the prophesied redeemed remnant (progeny of Abraham) returning to live in the Land of Promise. United Israel, under the lordship of the Messiah who is King of the kings, and High Priest of the priesthood, will yet become a reality. This is the reason for the strong exhortation to "remember the Torah and My servant Moses, and the statutes and ordinances…for all Israel" (Mal. 4:4), at the end of the age.
In Judah, Zionism was dealt a deathblow in 1978, with the first Camp David accords. Staggering and reeling from this first hit, it took another stab in the back at Madrid, and the final shot was fired in Oslo. Many of us who have been living in the Land over this period of time, watched and felt this crushing process destroy the Zionistic ideal, turning it into a word devoid of meaning on the lips of a dying nation. Now it only remains for the United Nations to vote in a Palestinian State, whose territory is the heartland of Israel, Judea and Samaria. Israel was birthed by a UN vote, will the Palestinian national aspirations not be fulfilled in like manner? Mind you, I'm not against a state for the Palestinians, but couldn't something be found for them within the four million square miles of Arab lands?
The present situation in Judea is highly reminiscent of the days of Nehemiah, when Judah was heard saying: "The strength of the laborers is failing, and there is so much rubble, that we are not able to build the wall." To that her adversaries responded: "They will neither know nor see anything, till we come into their midst and kill them and cause the work to cease" (Neh. 4:10). This very reality is upon us today.
Does our destiny as a nation lie in the democratic process, in the form of a vote cast in the United Nations, where the majority rules and is backed up by the combined military forces of the Security Council? "Who can make war with the beast?" (Rev. 13:4). What is our answer to this present situation? THE WORD OF GOD, and our ability to believe and trust in the Rock of our salvation, as we, the two olive branches of Zechariah 4:3, 11-14 and Romans 11:24 experience the "grace" (Zech 4:7) that comes not by might, nor by power but by God's Spirit (Zech. 4:6). Ephraim must repent and return to Zion; Judah must repent and come to know the King and Messiah of Zion. Together we must consecrate ourselves as a nation before the Holy one of Israel, and worship Him in spirit and in truth. Let us sing the song of Zion; the song of Moses and the song of the Lamb. "Great and marvelous are Your works, Lord God Almighty! Just and true are Your ways, O King of the saints! Who shall not fear You, O Lord, and glorify Your name? For You alone are holy. For all nations shall come and worship before You, for Your judgments have been manifested" (Rev.15:3-4).
Ephraim
Behold how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell (shevet achim) together in unity…for in this God commands the blessing "life eternal" (Ps. 133).
Modern day Zionism came into being during the nineteenth century, inspired, at least in part, by contemporary nationalistic movements, which were prevalent in Europe of that day. But perhaps still greater was the contribution made by a few Spirit-filled Christian (Gentile) visionaries, who began to realize the importance of the Torah, the prophets, and the Jewish people's return to the ancient land of their ancestors. Relationships between these Gentile Christians (Zionists) and the Jewish community in Europe started developing already in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries (ref. The Vision Was There by Franz Kobler, 1956). The Zionist movement, however, was not really acknowledged by nineteenth century historians as a viable, or a definable phenomenon. Jewish identity was still very much attached to religion, which preserved the uniqueness of the Jews as a people while in the "Galut" (diaspora, or exile). But the religious traditions left them with only a very slight hope of realizing any national aspirations. Saying "next year in Jerusalem," every Passover was not enough to extricate them from their host countries. Their identity was defined more by default than by anything positive. It wasn't until the time of Rabbi Alkalai and Kalishcher (two Jewish "prophets" of the 1800's) that seeds of national identity began to be sown. They were followed by Moses Hess, Ben-Yehudah, Pinsker, Herzl, Nordau, Ahad-Ha-am, Bialik and others, whose names and writings have lost their prophetic significance today, and have become (in the eyes of most Israelis) mere signs posted on street corners in the cities of Israel.
The transformation, from religion to nationalism, began to grow in the hearts and minds of a remnant, ultimately resulting in the birth of the State of Israel, albeit not without tribulation (pogroms, persecutions and the Holocaust). The return of Judah (the Jews), as a nation, to the Land of Promise is a direct fulfillment of the End Time prophetic scriptures. It testifies to the fact that the God of Israel neither slumbers nor sleeps (Ps. 121:4), but "watches over His word to perform it" (Jer.1:12).
However, this is only half of the story. Zionism, as a national movement was not only evident amongst a remnant of Judah, but also began to surface in Ephraim, who is the other "witness" of the God of Israel's unending mercies and covenant keeping faithfulness. It was at about this time (i.e. the nineteenth century), that a few born-again, spirit-filled believers in Europe, especially in the UK, received prophetic insight into the history of the Two Houses, the two witnesses, the two olive branches, the two sticks, the two families, the two kingdoms and the two nations, spoken of in the Bible. Many believed that the nations that made up Europe were primarily of the lost tribes of Israel. Intense studies of languages, culture, religion etc. began to emerge. In 1887, a work by M.M. Eshelman, called The Two Sticks, was published. Later, another, by J.H. Allen called Judah's Scepter and Joseph's Birthright, 1917. These works were evidence that the Spirit of the Lord was (and still is) working to turn the hearts of the children to the fathers, and to restore the national identity of both houses of Israel (Ephraim and Judah).
In the covenant that God made with Abraham, He promised him a land and a nation (Goy) which was to come out of his own loins, (Gen 12:1-3). God would never forget the covenant, although He would scatter this nation into all the nations, and thus it is written that Ephraim is "well mixed into all nations" (Hos. 7:8), and that he would become their "fullness" (Gen 48:19). Yet, in Ezekiel 37:22 we read: "I will make them one nation in the land," (as well as in Jer 3:18). God's redemptive plan for this earth was, and still is, a united, redeemed, single nation of "Israel", living in the land that God promised to the patriarchs.
Religious identity has kept the Two Houses divided. However, with the restoration of our national identity we can begin to tear down the age-old divisions of enmity and jealousy and build, under the guiding hand of the Messiah, the commonwealth that will be a light to the rest of the nations, a royal priesthood and a holy nation. Both houses need to return to Zionism, to the Zionism of the Torah. This Zionism is a very simple concept; it involves a land, a nation ("goy"), and a kingdom government.
It all started with the covenant that God made with Abraham, and it will end with the prophesied redeemed remnant (progeny of Abraham) returning to live in the Land of Promise. United Israel, under the lordship of the Messiah who is King of the kings, and High Priest of the priesthood, will yet become a reality. This is the reason for the strong exhortation to "remember the Torah and My servant Moses, and the statutes and ordinances…for all Israel" (Mal. 4:4), at the end of the age.
In Judah, Zionism was dealt a deathblow in 1978, with the first Camp David accords. Staggering and reeling from this first hit, it took another stab in the back at Madrid, and the final shot was fired in Oslo. Many of us who have been living in the Land over this period of time, watched and felt this crushing process destroy the Zionistic ideal, turning it into a word devoid of meaning on the lips of a dying nation. Now it only remains for the United Nations to vote in a Palestinian State, whose territory is the heartland of Israel, Judea and Samaria. Israel was birthed by a UN vote, will the Palestinian national aspirations not be fulfilled in like manner? Mind you, I'm not against a state for the Palestinians, but couldn't something be found for them within the four million square miles of Arab lands?
The present situation in Judea is highly reminiscent of the days of Nehemiah, when Judah was heard saying: "The strength of the laborers is failing, and there is so much rubble, that we are not able to build the wall." To that her adversaries responded: "They will neither know nor see anything, till we come into their midst and kill them and cause the work to cease" (Neh. 4:10). This very reality is upon us today.
Does our destiny as a nation lie in the democratic process, in the form of a vote cast in the United Nations, where the majority rules and is backed up by the combined military forces of the Security Council? "Who can make war with the beast?" (Rev. 13:4). What is our answer to this present situation? THE WORD OF GOD, and our ability to believe and trust in the Rock of our salvation, as we, the two olive branches of Zechariah 4:3, 11-14 and Romans 11:24 experience the "grace" (Zech 4:7) that comes not by might, nor by power but by God's Spirit (Zech. 4:6). Ephraim must repent and return to Zion; Judah must repent and come to know the King and Messiah of Zion. Together we must consecrate ourselves as a nation before the Holy one of Israel, and worship Him in spirit and in truth. Let us sing the song of Zion; the song of Moses and the song of the Lamb. "Great and marvelous are Your works, Lord God Almighty! Just and true are Your ways, O King of the saints! Who shall not fear You, O Lord, and glorify Your name? For You alone are holy. For all nations shall come and worship before You, for Your judgments have been manifested" (Rev.15:3-4).
Ephraim
Behold how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell (shevet achim) together in unity…for in this God commands the blessing "life eternal" (Ps. 133).
