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Ephraim’s Awful Religion
Brian Hennessy
If there is an idolatry gene,
something hidden in our DNA that causes us to have a religious
proclivity towards idolatry, then Ephraim has it. And judging by the
enormity of the misery it has brought Abraham’s family, it must be
Ephraim’s dominant gene.
But before we examine the awful religion Ephraim repeatedly spawns,
let’s get reacquainted with Ephraim. He is introduced to us in the
Bible as the second-born son of Joseph, who was awarded first-born
status by his grandfather Jacob while in Egypt. In a moment of divine
inspiration, Jacob/Israel gave Ephraim his coveted patriarchal
blessing over his older brother Manasseh, declaring that “his
descendants shall become a multitude of nations” (Gen. 48: 19). The
ramifications of that redirected blessing reverberate down to today.
In addition to awarding Ephraim first-born status, Jacob also promoted
him and his brother Manasseh to be equal with his sons as tribes in
Israel. Which is amazing when you consider their mother was an
Egyptian. And by today’s Orthodox matriarchal reckoning wouldn’t even
qualify to be part of the family, Joseph or no Joseph.
By the time Moses delivered Israel from Egypt and they had reached the
Promised Land some 440 years later, Ephraim had become recognized as
one of Israel’s most powerful tribes. Joshua, the man who took over
for Moses and led the family into the Land, was himself an Ephraimite.
All through the time of the Judges, and later under the united
monarchies of Saul, David and Solomon, the tribe of Ephraim maintained
its recognized leadership among the northern tribes. That honorary
position became official, however, when another Ephraimite named
Jeroboam was tapped by God to rule over a separate kingdom in Israel
as a judgment for the idolatry of King Solomon (see 1 Kings 11). It
occurred when Solomon’s son, Rehoboam, took the throne and foolishly
announced he would make his father’s harsh reign even harsher. In
response, Jeroboam took the ten northern tribes and broke from the
House of David, dividing the nation into two separate kingdoms.
In the north, Jeroboam’s ten-tribe kingdom became known as the House
of Israel, and was later referred to by the prophets as “Ephraim” in
recognition of that tribe’s size and influence. The remaining two
tribes, Judah and Benjamin, stuck with David’s house in Jerusalem and
became known as the House of Judah (from whom the “Jews” are
descended).
That set the stage for Ephraim’s evil gene to kick in.
Mendacity
Ensconced in his new capital at Shechem, King Jeroboam looked ahead
and saw a huge potential problem. He realized when his people started
to travel south to celebrate the feasts in Jerusalem as required by
Moses, they might get too cozy with their cousins in Judah and want to
reunite. That would mean the end of his reign. So he decided to nip
that threat in the bud.
His solution was to invent a new religion. One that would allow his
people to feel they had satisfied their religious obligations, but
without leaving home.
First thing he did was make two golden calves and place them in two
locations in his kingdom, Dan and Bethel, saying, “It is too much for
you to go up to Jerusalem; behold your gods, O Israel, that brought
you up from the land of Egypt” (1 Kings 12:28). In one day, Jeroboam
overthrew Israel’s foundational belief that God was one. As Moses had
cried out, “Hear O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one!”
(Deut 6:4). Now Israel’s God had become two gods. You’d think the
people would have balked, especially when God was fashioned as a
golden calf. Didn’t they remember the display of divine anger when
Aaron tried that after exiting Egypt? The fact that they still went
for it shows how powerful that gene is.
Next on Jeroboam’s list - set up some sanctuaries on the surrounding
hills, and ordain a priesthood to assist the people in their worship
and sacrifice. “And he made houses on high places, and made priests
from among all the people who were not of the sons of Levi” (12:31).
For the finishing touch he instituted a special feast day for the
nation to celebrate. Although unnamed, Jeroboam decides it should take
place around the Feast of Tabernacles, but in the following month. The
King even offered the first sacrifice to the new gods, in effect
appointing himself to the priesthood - probably as high priest. And by
uniting the office of king and priest in one man, a role reserved
exclusively to Israel’s coming Messiah, he became a type of
antichrist.
His plan worked perfectly, because for the next 200 years Israel
stayed home and worshipped God in the way of Jeroboam. He had
successfully severed his people from their “Jewish roots,” squelching
any ideas about reuniting as one nation again. When God had finally
had enough of Ephraim’s idolatry He sent them the prophet Hosea with a
writ of divorce. It was short and to the point. “You are not My
people, and I am not your God” (Hos. 1:9). They had been
disenfranchised from having any further covenant inheritance in the
land. Soon afterwards judgment fell in the form of the Assyrians.
Although some Israelites escaped into Judah, most of the ten tribes
were captured and taken away, eventually melting into the nations and
disappearing. It was just as Jacob had prophesied concerning Ephraim –
“his descendants would become a multitude of nations” - or
“Gentiles.”
The only thing that now stood between them and total extinction as a
people were the words of the prophets. They declared that one day
Ephraim would be found, restored to God and reunited with Judah to
form one nation again. But that would be a long time in coming.
He’s baaaack!
Now fast forward 1000 years to the fourth century AD. Jesus has
ascended to heaven, Jerusalem lies in ruins, and the Jews (the
descendants of Judah and Benjamin) have been exiled and scattered by
Rome’s armies. The gospel baton has now passed from Jewish hands to
Gentile hands, and history is about to repeat itself. A new king has
arisen in the mold of Jeroboam, and he has Ephraim’s bad gene. The
king’s name is Constantine, the year is 325 AD, and the occasion is
the Council of Nicea, the first ecumenical Church gathering.
To fully appreciate the irony of this parallel situation one must
understand that the Gentiles coming into the New Covenant promises
through faith in Jesus represent the remnant of Ephraim. We know this
is true, whether you take it literally as I do, or figuratively,
because Paul applied Hosea’s very words to us. “[God] made known the
riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy...whom He also called, not
from among Jews only, but also from among Gentiles, as he says also in
Hosea, ‘I will call those who were not My people, My people’” (Rom.
9:25). Furthermore, Jeremiah stated that the New Covenant was
specifically for the remnant of the House of Israel [Ephraim] and the
House of Judah, and no one else (see Jer. 31:31; Heb. 8:8).
We should understand also that when the lost sheep of Ephraim were
being drawn to the gospel, it appeared for awhile we’d finally be
reunited with Judah (the Jews) in Messiah, the son of David, as all
the prophets had spoken. But it never happened because the Jews soon
“became enemies of the gospel” (Rom. 11:28). So again the two groups
split apart as they did in the tenth century BC. This division had
even been prophesied by Zechariah about 400 years after the first
division, showing the prophet could not have been referring to that
earlier separation.
Zechariah’s shepherds
Zechariah was told by God to mimic the role of two shepherds, the
first to “pasture the flock doomed to slaughter.” The second, to lead
Israel astray. I will quote most of the passage, because it throws a
lot of light on everything that happened in the early centuries of the
Church.
“So I pastured the flock doomed to slaughter, hence the afflicted of
the flock. And I took for myself two staffs: the one I called Favor
and the other I called Union...Then I took my staff Favor and cut it
in pieces, to break My covenant which I had made with all the peoples.
So it was broken in that day, and thus the afflicted of the flock who
were watching me realized that it was the word of the Lord. I said to
them, ‘If it is good in your sight, give me my wages; but if not,
never mind!’ So they weighed out thirty shekels of silver and threw
them to the potter in the house of the Lord....Then I cut in pieces my
second staff Union, to break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.
The Lord said to me, ‘Take again for yourself the equipment of a
foolish shepherd. For behold I am going to raise up a shepherd in the
land who will not care for the perishing, seek the scattered, heal the
broken, or sustain the one standing, but will devour the flesh of the
fat sheep and tear off their hoofs. Woe to the worthless shepherd who
leaves the flock! A sword will be on his arm and on his right eye! His
arm will be totally withered and his right eye will be blind.” (Zech.
11:7-17)
We know the first pastoral prophecy was fulfilled in the first century
by Jesus, because of the mention of the thirty pieces of silver, which
is a clear reference to Judas’ betrayal. I believe the breaking of the
first staff Favor signified the withdrawal of the mercy and grace that
God extended to Jewish Israel after they rejected Jesus and the
blessings of the New Covenant. As a result, they also lost His divine
hand of protection. They would always be His people, but they would
now become subject to the power of their enemies. It would start with
the sack of Jerusalem by the Romans in 70AD.
The breaking of the second staff Unity, as I suggested earlier,
referred to the dashed hope of a restored brotherhood. A small remnant
of Jews, namely the disciples, did unite with the believing Gentiles
at first. But as a whole, the Jews wanted no part of those who
eventually became known as “Christians.” So for the next 2000 years
Ephraim evolved into “the Church,” and Judah remained as “the Jews” no
matter where they lived in the world. Of course, in 1948 they regained
their national identity as Israel.
But what of the last half of Zechariah’s prophecy, where he was told a
second time to act out the role of “a foolish shepherd?” I believe
this second “shepherd” represents antichrist who will arise out of
Ephraim and evolve into the full and final incarnation of evil on
earth. And that brings us to the Council of Nicea in 325 AD.
The controversy
The Council met in northern-central Turkey, and was convened by
Constantine, the Emperor of Rome. Over 300 Christian bishops from
across the region attended, making it the first ecumenical Church
council ever. Its purpose was primarily to settle a raging theological
debate concerning the divinity of Jesus.
One group of theologians from Alexandria, headed by a certain bishop
named Alexander, argued that Jesus was divine. Influenced by a Greek
mindset that had no problem accepting men as gods and gods as men,
they represented the largest group.
Opposing this view was a smaller group who held strongly to the
Hebraic monotheistic view of one God. Championed by a man named Arius,
he declared that Jesus was not divine, but a unique sinless man
created by God to be our savior - “the firstborn of all creation”
(Col. 1:15). Or as he put it, “the Son cannot be without a beginning,
for [if he has no beginning] he would then be a brother to the Father,
not a son.” (Justin Gonzalez, The History of Christian Thought,
p.270).
Now Constantine was himself a recent convert to the faith, although
most historian’s agree his conversion was more form than substance.
Nevertheless, he‘d officially declared Christianity to be an
acceptable religion in the Empire and had ended the terrible
persecution. As Emperor, he hoped Christianity would become “the
cement of the Empire.” And this whole divinity controversy was keeping
that cement from hardening. He therefore convened the Council to
resolve the issue once and for all. And in doing so birthed a
totalitarian state religion that would brutally dominate Western
civilization for centuries, until it was finally broken by the
American Revolution.
Now keep in mind that the Church at this time had been separated from
Jewish influence for over 200 years. With the Gentiles now in the
majority, the Church had taken on a distinctly non-Hebraic look. A
hierarchy of religious leaders had formed, separating the Church into
clergy and laity classes. Church buildings were beginning to appear as
sanctuaries of worship. Theologies were being developed that rested
more on Greek philosophy and the idolatrous religious practices that
abounded in that day, than on truths found in the Scriptures.
Constantine himself had already proclaimed Sunday to be the official
day of rest in the Empire, which dovetailed nicely with the growing
practice of honoring Sunday as the Christian Sabbath.
In short, the simple faith community of apostolic times was evolving
into a major organized Gentile religion with all the bells and
whistles. But it was at this Council of Nicea where the last major
cord linking the Church to its Hebraic roots would be severed.
Ephraim’s gene had blossomed again into full maturity.
The curse of Nicea
Draped in gems and regal finery, Constantine sat upon a chair of gold
and displayed himself as “a heavenly messenger of God” (Eusebius). He
opened the proceedings and presided over the final arguments, urging
the Council to decide. When the Council finally voted, Alexander’s
theology was affirmed, and Arius’ monotheism, now called Arianism,
condemned as heresy and punishable by death. The Council then
concluded with a statement of belief to be accepted by all Christians,
known as the Nicene Creed, that declared Jesus was Deity. It began...
“We believe in one God, the Father Almighty, the maker of all things
visible and invisible, and in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the Son of God,
the only begotten of the Father, that is of the substance of the
Father, God from God, light from light, true God from true God,
begotten, not made, of one substance with the father...”
As under Jeroboam, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob was transformed
into two gods, this time presented to the people as God the Father and
God the Son. Furthermore, as Jeroboam had also done, Constantine
assigned a new time for a traditional feast day to be celebrated. He
ruled that Christianity, which had begun to annually celebrate the
resurrection of Jesus known as Easter, would do so on the first Sunday
following the full moon each Spring, rather than tie it to the Jewish
Passover when Jesus was crucified. This further distanced us from our
Hebraic beginnings.
As time passed, this method of determining true doctrine by majority
rule at a Council became the accepted way, leading to the supremacy of
the Catholic Church. Indeed, in 381, a second council was called at
Constantinople where the Holy Spirit (the spirit of Father God) was
declared to be a third member of the godhead. Now Christianity had
three separate gods in one God, a mystery known as the doctrine of the
Blessed Trinity. Although this doctrine is nowhere taught in
Scripture, which even the most ardent Trinitarian teachers admit, it
is unquestionably accepted as gospel truth today by most Christians.
And to say otherwise is still considered heresy.
If you hear His voice
I
can well understand how you must feel dear reader if you are hearing
this so-called “heresy” for the first time. Indeed, until the summer
of 2010, I myself believed Jesus was deity, the second person of the
Godhead. But God in His mercy impressed on me one day that Jesus was a
man, one of our own, who was now seated at “the right hand of God.” He
was not God, or another god - but a being created so perfectly that
he would perfectly reveal God’s heart and character to a dying world.
So that he could even be called God’s son. He was “the image of the
invisible God (an image is not the thing itself), the firstborn of all
creation” (Col. 1:15). He was not the Creator but the “beginning of
the creation of God” (Rev. 3:14). That is, before the world began, God
had him in mind as the perfection of His entire creation.
Supernaturally born into this world through a virgin Jewish girl, he
lived a sinless life in order to fulfill the Law and deliver us from
the consequence of our sins. He was so filled with
the “fullness of deity” (Col. 2:9), we thought he was deity. But he
wasn’t. He was the second Adam. “The first man, Adam, became a living
soul. The last Adam became a life-giving spirit.” (1 Cor. 15:45) He
had God’s Spirit to the max, but he wasn’t God. Or even one third of
God. “For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men,
the man Christ Jesus” (1Tim. 2:5).
We are living in profound
times. The restoration of the entire planet is at hand, which itself
hinges on the restoration of God’s Israel. I believe Father God is
showing all those who are Ephraim that we are still walking in the
false ways of our forefathers. That the time has come “to worship the
Father in spirit and in truth” (John 4:23). Until now, our ignorance
was covered by the blood of Jesus. But once we hear the truth we
become accountable to God. He said, “have no other gods before Me”
(Ex. 20:3). We dare not. Even if we call his name “Jesus.”
As for Zechariah’s second
prophecy of the “foolish shepherd,” I believe it was initially
fulfilled by Constantine. As Emperor he carried the title of “Pontifex
Maximus,” appointing him the chief priest of all religions in Rome,
including Christianity. The term meant “bridge-builder,” the idea
being that this man alone bridged the worlds between men and gods.
When the Roman Empire
collapsed and morphed into the Roman Catholic Church the Popes assumed
the same title, declaring themselves Christ’s sole representative on
earth. In so doing they revealed themselves to be a line of
antichrists, although they were never able to fully dominate the power
of the throne. But that will be accomplished by the man to come. Who,
when, where and how this “man of lawlessness” will be revealed is
still unknown. But he’ll no doubt be another king “who’ll take his
seat in the temple” like Constantine and Jeroboam, “displaying himself
as being God” (2 Thess. 2:3,4).
And in case you thought
the Reformation had aborted the religion of Ephraim in the 16th
Century, it did not. It only reformed it by eliminating some of its
worst doctrines and practices. But the religious system itself was
left in tact - along with its worship of three gods. And I believe the
time of the Father’s tolerance for Ephraim’s idolatry has expired.
Our iniquity uncovered
Hosea, the prophet of God who spoke the first judgment upon Ephraim
long ago, also gave another prophecy. He declared: “When I would heal
Israel, the iniquity of Ephraim is uncovered” (Hos. 7:1) Well God is
certainly in the process of healing Israel today, which is why
“Ephraim’s harlotry” (Hos. 6:10) is now being revealed. He is showing
His people the awful religion Ephraim’s idolatrous gene has wrought.
And He is saying, “come out of her My people” (Rev. 18:4).
One of the last
impediments to reuniting with Judah is our insistence that Jesus is
God. One truth the Jews have held fast to above all others is, “the
Lord is God, the Lord is one” (Ex. 14:6). That’s why Jesus informed
the Samaritan woman at the well, “Salvation is from the Jews” (John
4:22). They alone possessed the revelation of the one, true God. And
that’s why Father wants us to get rid of this false doctrine of Jesus
divinity imposed upon us by a pagan king and the compliance of weak
clerics so long ago. This “mistake” is not that different from what
the Jews did when their corrupt priesthood in compliance with a Roman
king declared Jesus a false Messiah in the First Century
Jesus never called
himself God, but always directed his prayers and worship (and ours) to
the Father. The apostle Paul called Jesus a man 20 times in his
epistles, and never once called him God. He opened almost every letter
with the words, “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the
Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Cor. 1:2)..
The best way I know to
understand the relationship of Jesus to the Father is to look at the
story of Joseph. As Joseph was to Pharaoh, Jesus is to the Father.
Joseph was made Lord over all Egypt, but he was still not Pharaoh.
“You shall be over my house, and according to your command all my
people shall do homage; only in the throne I will be greater than you”
(Gen 41:40). Likewise Jesus is Lord of all – but he is not Father God,
or any form of deity.
If you are hearing
Father’s voice (the Holy Spirit) stirring you concerning this matter,
I recommend you prayerfully reread the Scriptures and ask Him to show
you the truth of this matter.
And may God have mercy
and deliver us all from this generational curse, once and for all.
December, 2010 (revised 7/11)
www.bhennessy.com
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