Ephraimites: A History by Edward Chumney

A Reply to Yair with Remarks from the Same (10 September, 2014 , 15 Elul, 5774)

In reply to:
Ephraimites and Hebrew Nations. Why Brit-Am is No Longer Acceptable by the Ephraimite Movement
http://hebrewnations.com/articles/eph/anti.html
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Contents:
Preface by Yair Davidiy
The Article. Ephraimites: A History by Edward Chumney
1. Defining the Ephraimites
2. The Ephraimites Had Independent Origins! [They were not a breakaway movement].
3. Gripes Against Judah
4. Conclusion. Setting Things Straight
Afterword by Yair.
Appendix: Personal Letter from Eddie Chumney Published with his Permission.
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Preface by Yair Davidiy
Ephraimites may be defined as Messianic Christians who also believe they are descended from Israelites or at least part of the Israelite Nation.
Concerning the Ephraimites, we wrote an article on the subject. This actually was part of a series of articles we had already written on the subject in the past, all in the same vein. We defined who the Ephraimites were according to our understanding. We complained about the attitude of Ephraimites towards Jews, the Jewish Religion, the State of Israel, and ourselves. Apparently on some matters we had been inaccurate and on others mistaken or at least not sufficiently considerate of the other side. Eddie Chumney is a good friend of ours. He has written the article below to set things right according to his understanding of the Ephraimite perspective.
We would like to point out in advance that as far as we are concerned the main task should be to CONFIRM at all levels (Biblical and Secular) who the Ten Tribes are. It is not enough that we ourselves know. The available evidence may be sufficient for us BUT it needs to be brought to the attention of others.
It also needs to be upgraded and added to.
Brit-Am/Hebrew nations is working on this but without minimum financial support our possibilities are limited.
The following points are in order:
We are not running an evangelical democratic meeting of the minds here. We are posting the article below for public knowledge but we disagree with many points in it.
People can call themselves want they want BUT technically believers in the Christian Messiah are not necessarily Israelites, not from Judah nor from Ephraim. The determinative factor is the physical descent of a central core.

Eddie says:

# In Messiah, ALL non-Jews are adopted Israelites. #

Fair enough, this is one version of Christian Belief but we do not have to accept it.

Eddie says:

So, how do Ephramites get frustrated as Judah? When Judah says to Ephraim:

1) You don't have to follow the Torah
2) We don't recognize you as our brother even though you claim you are
3) You have to convert to Judaism

# When these things are said to Ephraim, then Ephraim regards Judah as NOT building a bridge. So, in frustration, Ephraim starts to attack Judah and do things independently from Judah. #

In reply we would repeat:
(1) There is NOTHING to talk about until more evidence is available, existing evidence is upgraded, and all evidence is made known more.
(2) Even if, and AFTER, more evidence is available etc conversion, or some type of Renewal of the Covenant in streamlined form, may still be expected BUT the parameters will be different. We have not reached that stage and at the present rate are not likely to do so.
Agreement may not be reached.
Why be so desperate to reach it? For YOUR OWN SAKES descendants of Lost Israelites should WANT a greater degree of certainty concerning their Hebrew origins. There is value in this knowledge as it is. At the least, it should be valued. The Available Knowledge is insufficient in the eyes of others. It could be improved upon. The more proofs available the more certain that in the long term the truth will become apparant. This is what we should want.
(3) Whether Ephraimites are frustrated or not, there are some attitudes that should not be taken. The Jews are justifiably super-sensitive on certain issues. Ephraim is the one asking for recognition or at least resenting lack of the same.

We have used the analogy of the family in the past: There was once a family who lost one of their sons way back in the Never-Never. Some say the son returned and may be identified with one of the brothers but exactly which one is not certain. Others say he remained lost. He was forgotten long ago apart from a few family records that occasionally get looked at. One day there is a knock at the door. A stranger enters and claims to be the lost son. He wants full rights in the family both concerning how they relate to him and what they have. He does not look so much like them nor does he act in the way they consider the family should. He lacks what they think are family characteristics. His behavior and beliefs are different. His demands are inappropriate. And so on.

WHAT WOULD YOU SAY IF YOU WERE A MEMBER OF THE FAMILY?

In my opinion the first point to be clarified is to ascertain once and for all, IS HE A MEMBER OF THE FAMILY OR NOT? After that other matters may be considered. Before then everything else is hypothetical. Ephraimites seem to be jumping in and demanding to discuss other matters first!
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The Article. Ephraimites: A History by Edward Chumney

[Quoted Remarks Below are from the Article,

"Ephraimites and Hebrew Nations. Why Brit-Am is No Longer Acceptable by the Ephraimite Movement"
http://hebrewnations.com/articles/eph/anti.html ]
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1. Defining the Ephraimites

Yair,

I read your article on the "Ephraimite Movement". In describing the history of the movement, you write:

[1. Foundation of the Ephraimites.

>The Ephraimites may be considered as a break-off movement from the Jews for Jesus otherwise >known as Jewish Messianics.

This is not an accurate statement. Most Jews don't take the time to understand the various Messianic Jewish movements. They tend to call all Jews who believe in Yeshua as Messiah as "Jews for Jesus". I heard things described this way in a Reform Jewish congregation that I attended for about 5 years in Canton, Ohio, also. I had to correct their ignorance at the time. When it comes to "Jesus", most Jews just like to repeat what other Jews say instead of investigating the facts. When Jewish organizations started calling ALL Jews who believe in Yeshua as the Messiah as "Jews for Jesus" then this is the term that Jews began to use among themselves but it isn't really totally accurate. "Messianic Jewish" is NOT a substitute name for "Jews for Jesus".

"Jews for Jesus" is an organization started by Moishe Rosen. It is based in San Francisco. Moishe Rosen had a Baptist background. This means he didn't teach following the Torah and most certainly not anything to do with the 2 houses. Baptists teach that grace has replaced the Torah. It is called the "doctrine of dispensationalism".

"Jews for Jesus" isn't really "Jewish Messianics" either. The MJAA (Messianic Jewish Alliance of America) and UMJC (Union of Messianic Jewish Congregations) are known as "Jewish Messianics". Originally, Jews for Jesus taught that you shouldn't follow the Torah. They were in essence "Jewish Baptists". The MJAA and the UMJC did teach that Jews should follow the Torah. So for years, the "Jews for Jesus" didn't get along with the MJAA and UMJC because "Jews for Jesus" wanted to be Jewish Baptists. The MJAA and UMJC wanted to be Jewish Torah observant. The MJAA and UMJC wanted to keep Shabbat and Passover. The "Jews for Jesus" did not.

So, the modern Ephraimite movement really didn't have anything to do with these organizations.

>Many Gentile Christians were attracted to the Jewish Messianic movement of Jews or pretended >Jews acting as Christians.>

It is true that Gentile Christians (Biblically, there really isn't such a thing) were attracted to the Jewish Messianic movement BUT mainly because they could express their "love for Israel and the Jewish people" toward these Jewish believers. They also liked the "Jewish Messianic" and Israel music and dance that were done at the national meetings of the MJAA and UMJC. They could NOT have been attracted to the Torah through them as they taught that non-Jews should not keep the Torah. They certainly weren't taught anything about Ephraim and Judah.

Furthermore, one only adds to the religious confusion of things by using the terms "Jews" and "Christians". These are words of separation and division. In a large sense, there are two groups who LIKE using these terms. They are Jews and Christians. Jews like these terms because they can say that they aren't Christian. Christians like these terms because they can say that they aren't Jews. These terms only perpetuate the exile.

If you want to NEVER end the exile then we should keep calling people "Jews" and "Christians".

The CORRECT Biblical term is the "house of Jacob". It was the "house of Jacob" who was at Mount Sinai (Exodus 19:3) who consisted of BOTH physical descendents of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and those NOT physically descended from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (called the 'stranger' or 'ger' in the Torah).

The NEW (renewed) covenant was made with the house of Israel and the house of Judah (Jeremiah 31:31 and Hebrews 8:8). In Luke 1:33, we are told that Yeshua will rule over the HOUSE OF JACOB FOREVER. It does not say that He will rule over the "Christians" forever as opposed to the Jews.

Biblically speaking, "Christians" are members of the "house of Jacob". Jews are members of the "house of Jacob". Christians see themselves as belong to the REDEEMED house of Jacob while Jews belong to the PHYSICAL house of Jacob.

So, in reality, the "religious dispute" regarding being Jewish or Christian is actually a FAMILY dispute within the HOUSE OF JACOB wherein Jews refuse to recognize that "Christians" are members of the "house of Jacob" and Christians think that Jews don't have a modern covenant with the Almighty because they are not redeemed in Messiah.

This dispute perpetuates the exile.

Until we start talking about and speaking of Ephraim and Judah and accepting each other as Ephraim and Judah then the exile will last FOREVER because we have an exile MIND.

When we explain to the non-Jews who they are through the New Testament then they want to be called Ephraimites (a more accurate Biblical term) and not a Christian.
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2. The Ephraimites Had Independent Origins! [They were not a breakaway movement].

>Some of these Gentiles in the past were not pleased with how the Messianic Jewish organizers >related to them.

True but this had nothing to do with the modern Ephraimite movement itself as the MJAA and UMJC views the Ephraimite movement as being cultic, that non-Jews shouldn't follow Torah and that ALL 12 tribes are JEWS today and were united in the days of the kings of Israel.

>They broke away and set up the Ephraimite Movement.

This statement is not true. It is erroneous. The modern Ephraimite movement is an independent grass-roots movement. The INDEPENDENT movement was initially inspired in the 1970', 1980' and the early 1990's by various books written by Batya and Angus Wooten. It really didn't catch on until the days of the internet in the late 1990's. Perhaps people like myself and Monte Judah can be regarded as "fathers" of the independent grass-roots movement as we began to share with Christians that the New Testament teaches that believers in Yeshua as the Messiah SHOULD follow Torah and that Yeshua died on the tree to gather and unite the 12 tribes of Israel. BOTH of our ministries started in the mid 1990's. The MIA (Messianic Israel Alliance) was not birthed until 1999. So, the MIA is SEPARATE from my ministry and the ministry of Monte Judah. We have INDEPENDENT ministries. In order to further spread this message, I wrote my book, "Restoring the Two Houses of Israel" which opened up the eyes of many to this understanding. In addition, as the internet made communicating the message easier to others, there were people all around the world especially in the USA who were ready to hear the message.

The INDEPENDENT movement had NO CONNECTION with the "World Wide Church of God" and the Armstrong church. However, when the "World Wide Church of God" broke up in 1996, there were those who belonged to the "World Wide Church of God" church who joined the INDEPENDENT movement. Those who did often still held onto the doctrines and teachings of the "World Wide Church of God" under Armstrong.

When traditional Christians (Sunday church / Protestant) received the message, they began to ask themselves, "Who am I?" Biblically, am I a Christian ? Well, since the NAME of the family of Yeshua is the HOUSE OF JACOB (Luke 1:33) and since Yeshua made a covenant with the HOUSE OF JACOB then you must belong to the HOUSE OF JACOB through grafting or adoption. If you are not Jewish then you must belong to the non-Jewish side of the family which is Ephraim. Thus is how the modern awaking of Ephraim was born. It came from ACCURATELY teaching what the New Testament says and people seeing the TRUTH of what the New Testament REALLY says.

So, as more and more people began to understand the message, congregations, ministries and other teachers were raised up to proclaim the message. Orthodox Jews in Israel run into those claiming to be Ephraimites but for the most part give equal weight to those who claim to be Ephraimites or Ephraimite leaders. In truth, the modern movement was birthed by a SMALL group of leaders and teachers. Something that Orthodox Jews in Israel find hard to grasp because there is no central organization or hierarchy that represents it.

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3. Gripes Against Judah

>This said that Christians could also consider themselves Israelites since they had been either >spiritually adopted into Israel and/or were physical descendants of Israelites through the Ten >Tribes.

First of all, no one can claim on an individual basis if they are descended from the Ten Tribes. Furthermore it is CONFUSING to use the expression "Christians" who CONSIDER themselves "Israelites".

In Messiah, ALL non-Jews are adopted Israelites. In Romans 11:17, we are told that the wild branches (non-Jews) are GRAFTED to the olive tree (which is the house of Israel and the house of Judah ... Jeremiah 11:16-17).

So, there are Israelites who believe in Yeshua as the Messiah and Israelites who don't. IN Messiah, if you are non-Jewish then you are NOT a Gentile. You may be a non-Jew physically but you are Israel spiritually in Messiah.

For Judaism, in order to be regarded as Israel spiritually, you have to have a conversion. Then the physical Gentile becomes a "spiritual Israelite" or they say in conversion, "a Jew". So, in Judaism, they call you a Jew (a non-Jew convert) even though you are NOT physically Jewish. So, in Judaism, a person can be called a Jew even though they aren't physically Jewish. How can Judaism follow this concept and yet NOT understand the SAME concept using slightly different terminology in Christianity ?

The New Testament teaches that you DON'T have to have a (Jewish) "conversion" to belong to the commonwealth of Israel. You just need to believe that Yeshua is the Messiah and you become adopted into HIS FAMILY which is the HOUSE OF JACOB. This would be the REDEEMED house of Jacob as opposed to the LITERAL house of Jacob. You can belong to the REDEEMED house of Jacob but NOT be from the physical house of Jacob. You can be from the physical house of Jacob and NOT be part of the REDEEMED house of Jacob.

Most Jews don't understand this because they don't take the time to read the New Testament, understand the New Testament or the beliefs of "Christianity". Instead, they prefer to only try to understand things from their own world view. So, as result, there aren't any bridges that are built to bring together Ephraim and Judah.

When the bridges AREN'T built then Ephraimites get frustrated at Judah and lose their patience and begin to act to do things to antagonize Judah. Judah gets frustrated and says and does things to antagonize Ephraim. So, Isaiah 11:13 continues to be fulfilled (the vexing) and the exile continues.

So, how do Ephramites get frustrated as Judah? When Judah says to Ephraim:

1) You don't have to follow the Torah
2) We don't recognize you as our brother even though you claim you are
3) You have to convert to Judaism

When these things are said to Ephraim, then Ephraim regards Judah as NOT building a bridge. So, in frustration, Ephraim starts to attack Judah and do things independently from Judah.

This is why we are STILL in exile and DON'T understand each other even though we are calling ourselves now Jews and Ephraimites.
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4. Conclusion. Setting Things Straight

So, Yair, I didn't want you to look ignorant of your knowledge of the Ephraimite movement because much of what you described about the history of the modern movement was not accurate.

Since I have been in the movement since the mid to late 1990's and in many regards am considered a "father" figure of the modern movement in addition to a few others, I could provide much DETAIL regarding how everything has evolved and developed since the 1990's (in the last 20 years).

The bottom line is that the modern Ephraimite movement is a grass-roots movements that came about through the teaching of a variety of independent yet small number of ministries working outside the formal Christian (Sunday) church system.

It is definitely not connected to the "Jews for Jesus" or the Jewish Messianic movements of the MJAA and UMJC neither is it a branch that broke off from these movements.

I just wanted to set a few things straight historically since I have been involved in the modern independent Ephraimite movement since the mid to late 1990's.

Your friend,

Eddie

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Afterword by Yair.

Dialogue can ONLY be held based on the possibility of a shared ancestry.
The Jews will not compromise about basic beliefs.
Do not expect them to do so.
In our opinion,
Any progress that is to be made can only go forward along the lines of Hebrew Nations Research, or something like it. We are the ones doing the good deed here in so far as they who are of Israelite descent should want to know about it and have as much proof of it as possible.

See Also: My Friend, Eddie

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Appendix: Personal Letter from Eddey Chumney Published with his Permission.

Yair,

Just wanted to make 100% sure that you understood that I wrote the response to you as a friend. I just wanted to clarify some erroneous statements / assumptions that was made saying that the modern Ephraimite movement somehow was associated with or was a break away of the "Jews for Jesus" or "Messianic Jewish" movements (which were two different movements). Once you allow an erroneous statement to be believed by others then they are likely to spread it.

Given that you try to reach a Christian audience and to a large measure rely on a Christian audience for support, please let me share with you how the Christian community sees themselves. Christianity (believing in Yeshua as the Messiah) and being members of His family is NOT based upon physical descent. So, physical descent is NOT an issue for Christianity. In fact, the traditional Christian perspective (like Baptists, Pentecostals, Evangelical Christians etc) is that trying to make ANY connection to physical descent is regarded as being on the "fringe" and as being "cultic" in approach. In Christianity, you CANNOT be "born a Christian". It is impossible.

This is why it was POSSIBLE for a FALSE ACCUSATION to be made about ME in 2011 on the former Christian TV station (GLC) whereby I was accused that I taught that believers in Yeshua as the Messiah MUST have a physical descent connection to the 10 Tribes in order to be members of His family. This false accusation was received as being true which caused me to be taken off the TV station.

So, any efforts to reach Christians that there is an importance to a physical descent in the end ultimately falls on deaf ears. It becomes interesting information but not important to faith in Yeshua.

In practical reality, physical descent (as it pertains to the non-Jewish world) is NOT important to Judaism either. If a non-Jew claims to be a physical descendent from the Ten Tribes then Judaism won't accept this as sufficient evidence of the claim. For Judaism, if a non-Jew claims to be from the Ten Tribes or if a non-Jew doesn't claim to be from the Ten Tribes, in both instances, Judaism REQUIRES the same --- conversion --- for the Jewish world to accept them to be a part of the family.

However, if the issue of physical descent is non-negotiable to Judaism as you say then I guess that we will forever remain in exile because if it is REQUIRED that Judaism's connection to the non-Jewish world (Ephraimites) centers on PHYSICAL descent then there is NO CHANCE that you can make a connection to the non-Jewish world that will have any meaningful results (meaning making any progress to build a bridge to end the exile of the 12 tribes).

The REAL common ground is MUTUAL RESPECT. Without it, our efforts won't be successful.

Here is an example how Ephraimites receive the message of MUTUAL RESPECT:

Hanoch Young


Hanoch Young
View on www.youtube.com
Preview by Yahoo

They LOVE it. They ask you to speak at their conferences. They ask you to speak at their meetings. When they find that there is NO mutual respect then dialogue stops.

Mutual respect is an ABSOLUTE requirement to end the exile.

Insistence on "conversion" by Judah toward Ephraimites is seen by many Ephraimites as "missionary" activity. Even as Judah doesn't like to be "missionized" neither does Ephraim like to be "missionized" by Judah. This is why so many Ephraimites seem to act independently from Judah.

So what contributes to the vexing of Ephraim by Judah? (Isaiah 11:13)

1) No mutual respect
2) Judah insisting that Ephraim must be "missionized" to be accepted

When Ephraimites ask Judah to receive them with mutual respect and Judah says, 'No', then Ephraimite starts to act disrespectfully toward Judah. This is why you have examples of Ephraimites who you would regard as being anti-Judah (as you would see it) even though they may not necessarily be anti-Judah. It is just that Judah refuses to look at things through any other set of glasses other than his own world view.

Yair, on a PERSONAL level, you have ALWAYS been respectful of me. This is why I enjoy being around you and regard you as my loyal friend.

HaShem willing, I would enjoy seeing and meeting with again in Israel at some future time.

I will remain a supporter of Brit-Am.

Eddie Chumney
Hebraic Heritage Ministries Int'l