Before we begin our study let us un-muddle the situation a little with a few definitions.

The Children of Israel - these are the Children of the Promise that God made to Abraham

Genesis 17:1-4 | When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am Almighty God; walk before Me and be blameless. And I will make My covenant between Me and you, and will multiply you exceedingly.” Then Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him, saying: “As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, and you shall be a father of many nations.

The House of Israel - often refers to the ten northern tribes. It is also known as the House of Ephraim. This came about when Jacob whose name was changed to Israel adopted Joseph’s two sons as his own in Gen.48:5. Ephraim was the largest and leading tribe.

The House of Judah - Also known as the southern Kingdom is comprised of the tribes of Judah, Benjamin and Levi (this is the tribe of priests who were not given an inheritance in the land because they belong to the Lord).

These two houses are all of the tribes of Israel. Each one being a son of Israel. This is the whole Kingdom of Israel also known in scripture as the Children of Israel.

                                     RESTORING THE TWO HOUSES OF ISRAEL
The house of Israel AND of the house of Judah ..."
The house of Judah (Jews) is the root and natural branches of the olive tree of the G-d of Israel. The house of Israel (Christianity) is GRAFTED into this olive tree.

Romans 11:13, 17 "For I speak to you Gentiles [Christianity]... and thou, being a wild olive tree, wast grafted in among them [the natural root of the house of Judah]..."

From the viewpoint of the G-d of Israel, He only has one family (mishpochah) that consists of natural branches (house of Judah(Jews)) and wild branches (house of Israel (Christianity)). The wild branches have been grafted into the natural root - the Tree of LIfe.

Ephesians 4:3-6 "Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit [Ruach] in the bond of peace [shalom]. There is one body [kahal/congregation/ekklesia/church] ... one Lord, one faith [emunah] ... one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all, and in you all ."

Eddie Chumney, http://www.hebroots.org

The story of the two houses is rooted in historical events that occurred in Israel following the reign of King Solomon. After Solomon’s son assumed the throne, the kingdom remained united until a rebellion arose from the northern tribes led by the tribe of Ephraim. The rebels were unhappy with the level of taxation imposed by Solomon and asked the new king to reduce it. Unhappily, the king ignored the advice of the elder statesmen and instead listened to the younger advisors, who suggested increasing the taxes. The norther tribes, led by the tribe of Ephraim, responded by rebelling against the king, resulting in the formation of two distinct kingdoms; the northern kingdom and the southern kingdom. In response to prophets’ warnings against going to war with each other, the two kingdoms peacefully separated.

1 Kings 11:31-32, 34 | And he said to Jeroboam, “Take for yourself ten pieces, for thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘Behold, I am about to tear the kingdom from the hand of Solomon and will give you ten tribes (but he shall have one tribe, for the sake of my servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem, the city that I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel),…Nevertheless, I will not take the whole kingdom out of his hand, but I will make him ruler all the days of his life, for the sake of David my servant whom I chose, who kept my commandments and statutes.

There are many discussions surrounding why God allowed this particular event to occur. Remember we serve a God who sees the end from the very beginning. God allowed this to happen because He knew that one day, Israel, because of their idolatry, would fall into the hands of their enemies and would be forced to leave the land. God used the pattern established by Jacob who divided his family into two groups when he had to confront his brother Esau.

Genesis 32:7-8 | Then Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed. He divided the people who were with him, and the flocks and herds and camels, into two camps, thinking, “If Esau comes to the one camp and attacks it, then the camp that is left will escape.”

God divided the kingdom of Israel into two parts. There is so much understanding to gain from this event. When God scattered the northern kingdom out into the Diaspora it was directly connected to punishment for their idolatry.

Hosea 1:2 | When the Lord began to speak by Hosea, the Lord said to Hosea: “Go, take yourself a wife of harlotry and children of harlotry, For the land has committed great harlotry By departing from the Lord.”

The book of Hosea is an astonishing love story of betrayal, unfaithfulness, redemption and return of the House of Ephraim or the northern kingdom. Indeed, the House of Israel, the Northern Kingdom, was taken into Syrian captivity. The House of Judah, the southern kingdom, was first taken into Babylonian captivity, returned, and then later taken into Roman captivity. This resulted in both houses being scattered throughout the world, an event known as the Diaspora. Despite this, the prophets, both those who spoke to the House of Israel and those who spoke to the House of Judah, all prophesied of a day when God would restore and reunite both houses. The most well-known prophecies is found in Ezekiel 37, as written above.

There are numerous prophecies that discuss the restoration of the House of Jacob which is the whole Kingdom of Israel, with nearly every prophet addressing this subject in some way. In the Messianic movement today, it is apparent there is a physical return of the Jews to the land of Israel, as prophesied. There is also a spiritual return to the God of Israel by people who are scattered all over the nations and are not necessarily Jewish. According to the Jewish people and their religious leadership, they expect that the House of Ephraim(the ten northern tribes) are still dispersed among the nations, and that God will soon bring them back to be united with Judah, fulfilling this prophecy.

We can see and understand that the House of Ephraim was scattered abroad to punish them for their idolatry/adultery against God. Would you consider that God had another purpose? As seed is scattered from the hand of the sower so was the northern ten tribes scattered or sown into the nations. The evidence is found in many places. Even in the North American continent we can see that evidence in places like Los Lunas, New Mexico. As seed sown into the ground brings about a great harvest, so it will be with the Children of Promise.

While Judiaism believes that the restoration of all Israal is the work of Messiah, they have yet as a whole to accept Yeshua (Jesus) of Nazereth as Messiah. As such they regard the Messianic teaching of the Two Houses to be in error. The Christian church is not supportive of this prophecy since they subscribe to replacement theology and believe that the Church has replaced Israel. This in turn has led to a belief that we are not supposed to receive prophecies about what God will do with Israel at the end of days, instead we are taught regarding the establishment of the rapture, replacement theology and/or other similar events. It is your choice to either believe the Word of God written in scripture or the doctrines of men that are contrary to scripture.

There is ample scriptural evidence supporting the teaching of the Two Houses. The Restoration of all Israel is prophesied to be the Messiah’s work at the end of days before His second coming. The two house teaching is about the family of God being reunited at the end of the ages.