British Israelism - Tenets - Two House Theology

Two House Theology

British Israelites are advocates of Two House Theology. They believe while most modern Jews (Ashkenazi, Sephardi) are lineal descendants (purely or partly) of the tribe of Judah (or in some cases from the tribe of Benjamin) that the other tribes (see ten lost tribes) are not Jewish, but that the White British or Northern European related kindred descend from them. It is accepted by British Israelites that during the United Monarchy of Israel (1020 BCE - c. 930 BCE) all the tribes became known as Israel under King David. For example II Samuel 5: 5 mentions King David ruling over all Israel and Judah, while I Kings 2: 11 describes David ruling Israel for 40 years (meaning all tribes). Jacob who all twelve tribes of Israel descended from was also named Israel (Genesis 32: 28). British Israelites therefore assert that while all Jews are Israelites, not all Israelites are Jews. The Jews (Judahites) they point descend only from the tribe of Judah (or Benjamin) who split with the other ten tribes during the collapse of the United Monarchy (930 BCE). After the collapse of the United Monarchy during the succession of Solomon's son Rehoboam, the ten tribes formed the Kingdom of Israel in the north (with its first capital Shechem, followed by Samaria), while the tribe of Judah formed the Southern Kingdom of Judah (containing Jerusalem). British Israelites point out that after the split of United Monarchy and formation of the two kingdoms, the ten tribes of the Kingdom of Israel became known as a distinctive 'House' which differentiated them to the southern Judahites.

Old Testament passages which show the House of Israel (northern 10 tribes) to be distinct or separate from the House of Judah (Jews) are cited by British Israelites to support their Two House Theology. Examples include 1 Samuel 11: 8; Jeremiah 3: 18; 13: 11; 31: 31; 37; 33: 24; Ezekiel 8: 1; 14: 1. British Israelites also note that the House of Israel (ten lost tribes) were never called Jewish or Jews, and that the first place the Judahites (or Jews) appear in the Bible (II Kings 16: 6) is when they were at war with the House of Israel. British Israelites believe the two 'Houses' will be united during End Times and cite the prophecies in Ezekiel chapter 37 which notes that one day the two 'Houses' will be united under a King from the stock of David (see Davidic line). As further evidence, British Israelites cite the geographical description in Jeremiah 3: 18, which notes when the two 'Houses' will be united they will come from the far north, which British Israelites interpret to mean Northern Europe or Britain.

Critics of the above interpretation point out that Jeremiah 3: 18 describes both 'Houses' coming from the north (and not just the House of Israel). However British Israelites point out that according to II Kings 18: 13, a small portion of the tribe of Judah was deported with the House of Israel (10 lost tribes). This happened when Sennacherib invaded a portion of Judah in the 8th century BC during the reign of Hezekiah, but did not manage to capture its capital Jerusalem. Most Judahites (Jews) therefore were not captured and deported but remained in their land until the Babylonian Captivity (6th century BC). As secular evidence, British Israelites often quote from the prism of Sennacherib (see Taylor and Sennacherib Prisms) which records that 200,150 Judahites (Jews) were captured and deported by Sennacherib from 46 towns across Judah. Most archeologists today consider this number to be an exaggeration and that the figure was actually 2,150. Nonetheless the accuracy of II Kings 18: 13 of a real historic event has been verified by archeology. British Israelites believe that this small portion of deported Judahites (who joined the deported House of Israel, see II Kings 17), whether 2,150 or 200,150 founded a Davidic bloodline and monarchy in Ireland or Britain (confirming the north location of the House of Judah in Jeremiah 3: 18).

This small portion of Jews or Judahites who left Judah centuries before the Babylonian Captivity are contrasted by British Israelites to the Jews who remained there (from who the modern Jews they believe descend). British Israelites maintain that the physiognomy of the Jew changed when they were freed by Cyrus in 538 BCE and returned to Judah, where they mixed with other racial or ethnic types who had settled there when the Judahites had been deported by the Babylonians. As scriptural evidence, British Israelites point to Isaiah 3: 9 which notes that the people of Judah changed in countenance or their faces (i.e. skin complexion, or facial features). This teaching was first published by Edward Hine in his The British Nation identified with Lost Israel (1871). British Israelites therefore point out the physical appearance of Jews has changed, but that prior to the Babylonian Captivity, the Jews physically resembled the Israelites, and were a Nordic racial type.