Multiplication and Re-unification
Two House groups also believe that many prophecies from the Hebrew Scriptures indicate that the descendant nations of the ancient Kingdom of Israel will be re-united with the descendants of the ancient Kingdom of Judah. They frequently reference Ezekiel 37 (as below) and similar prophecies:
"16 Moreover, thou son of man, take thee one stick, and write upon it, For Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions: then take another stick, and write upon it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim and for all the house of Israel his companions: 17 And join them one to another into one stick; and they shall become one in thine hand. 18 And when the children of thy people shall speak unto thee, saying, Wilt thou not shew us what thou meanest by these? 19 Say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I 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, and they shall be one in mine hand." (vs. 16–19, KJV).
They also frequently quote from the Book of Hosea (chapters 1–3). In the first chapter (verses 2–9) God instructed this prophet of the Northern Kingdom to marry a prostitute (symbolic of the unfaithfulness of the northern tribes) and then gave two of Hosea’s children from this union Hebrew names signifying his rejection of the northern tribes: Lo-Ruchamah (Unpitied) and Lo-Ammi (Not my people). In Hosea 2:3, the eventual reversal of this judgment was indicated by means of a change in these names; and an accompanying change in the meanings of the names: Ruchamah (Pitied) and Ammi (My people). Hosea was told (3:3–5) that the northern tribes would be scattered among the Gentiles, that they would be in seclusion for a long time and become too numerous to be counted; but that in the "latter days," they would return in repentance and come trembling to their God and his goodness.
Two House Theology probably becomes most controversial when the ramifications of the Hebrew prophets are taken literally. The prophecy most poignant in the controversy is Genesis 48:19 which indicates that the tribe of Ephraim, half-tribe of Joseph, would become a “multitude of nations” (peoples/goyim), sometimes translated as “fullness of the nations”:
"But his father refused, and said, "I know, my son, I know; he also shall become a people, and he also shall be great; nevertheless his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his descendants shall become a multitude of nations" (RSV).
According to advocates of Two House Theology, the passages above present a problem to those who think that the Jews are representative of all which is left of the twelve tribes of Israel. They argue, "the Jews have not become nor have they ever been a multitude of nations". For a Two House advocate, a common answer is: "no large contingents of Northern Kingdom tribes have been re-united with the Jews of the Southern Kingdom, thus they still exist as various nations/peoples in the world today". Also, someone sympathetic to the Two House ideals may say things like, "the problem is not: the Creator of the Universe lied about Ephraim becoming a multitude of nations/peoples, but simply: we have failed to unravel the mysteries of who is who in the nations today."
There are others, who are more moderate in their approach to the Two House controversy, who choose to see it as an overlooked element in the eschatological restoration of Israel. They disregard the speculation and "pseudohistory" from British-Israel and other Christian Identity groups, adhering to Paul's directive not to pay attention to "endless genealogies which promote speculations rather than the divine training that is in faith" (1 Timothy 1:4, RSV). They leave scattered Israel as a matter to be determined by God, and prefer instead to recognize all believers as participants in its restoration. This growing position has gained sympathy with some in Messianic Judaism among those holding to the "One Law" position, where individuals can "agree to disagree" because the Two House teaching is a matter of eschatology, and thus not of a core theological nature.
Still others will contend that seven-eighths of scripture is undiscernable without first understanding the two house reality, certainly making it into a core theology, and not simply a matter of eschatology. For example, Prof. C. A. L. Totten, of Yale University, was quoted:
"I can never be too thankful to the Almighty that in my youth he used the late Professor Wilson to show me the difference between the two houses. The very understanding of this difference is the KEY by which almost the entire Bible becomes intelligible, and I cannot state too strongly that the man who has not yet seen that Israel of the Scripture is totally distinct from the Jewish people, is yet in the very infancy, the mere alphabet, of Biblical study, and that to this day the meaning of seven-eighths of the Bible is shut to his understanding."
Read more about this topic: Two House Theology