Twelve Tribes — A Witness to all the Nations
(or, Who is Israel, anyway?)

Dear Bob,

Thank you for your interest in our life. I will try to answer your questions as best I can, and hopefully give you clarity about the issues addressed.

The Twelve Tribes spoken of in the Old Testament do refer to the original, as you pointed out, but those spoken of in certain parts of the New Testament do not refer to the original.

In Acts 26:7 Paul refers to twelve tribes. There were no twelve tribes in his day. Paul lived well after the Diaspora. There were only two identifiable tribes left who returned from the captivity — Benjamin and Judah. Most took their identity in Judah, from which we get the word JEW, meaning one belonging to the tribe of Judah.

Paul was on trial for the hope he had in the crucified Messiah, which no Jew in his "right mind" would ever consider. Yet Paul said that the twelve tribes were hoping to attain to this hope as they earnestly serve (present tense) God night and day. Paul would never have said that the Jews of his day were earnestly serving God. His letters show that he thought quite the contrary, even though he loved his fellow countrymen.

So who were these twelve tribes? Who were these people earnestly serving God night and day?

Paul’s letters were always to the Church. He labored in Ephesians 2:11-22 to communicate that at one time we Gentiles were not part of Israel. We were considered Gentiles, uncircumcised, separate from Messiah, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, strangers to the covenants of promise, etc.

These statements allude to being outside of Israel. He equated being outside of Messiah with being outside of Israel.

In verse 13 the BUT indicates a change, something to the contrary. He makes it clear that, by the blood of Messiah, all those aforementioned negative things are no longer true for those who are in Messiah. Being in Messiah is being in Israel, no longer strangers and aliens, but now fellow citizens in God’s household. Ephesians 1:3-14 puts much emphasis on the matter of being in Messiah.

We have been grafted into Israel (Romans 11:17-24). God didn’t start something new with the Gentiles. He grafted them into what was already there — the root, the same root that Israel was part of. That root only produces Israel.

The Jews will be made jealous by those who will be the nation they were supposed to be (Romans 10:19-20). God wanted them to be a priesthood, a royal priesthood, and a holy nation. They failed to enter into this as a nation. Only one tribe qualified — Levi.

When Israel failed as a nation to enter into the priesthood, God was left with only one tribe of priests. This was never the desire of His heart, and He was not satisfied with that. He has an eternal purpose, and it will be accomplished. He wants a whole nation of priests. He wants a nation that will produce the fruit of the Kingdom.

Israel failed as a nation in the time of Moses, and they failed as a nation in the time of the Messiah (Matthew 21:43).

To what nation is He going to give the Kingdom?

To the nation that produces the fruit of it. This is the holy nation of 1 Peter 2:9 — the spiritual Israel, manifested in twelve visible tribes.

That is why the Jews will be jealous. There will be a nation producing the fruit of the Kingdom, which they themselves should have produced, but didn’t. That nation will be the light to the nations because of the fruit produced (Isaiah 49:6). That nation must express its life in twelve geographical locations, with tribes and clans all over the world, so that His Salvation can reach to the ends of the earth (Acts 13:47).

Today, in Messiah, we are the royal priesthood spoken of in 1 Peter 2:9-10 — the same royal priesthood that God wanted in Exodus 19:5-6. But how can you be a nation, a holy nation, unless there is a national identity and culture that makes you distinct from all other nations?

The Jews have to see a nation formed before they can be jealous. That nation must succeed where Israel failed. It has to be more than a doctrine, in order for the Jews to see it and become jealous.

There must be twelve tribes in unity, where Israel produced twelve tribes in dissension (John 17:22-23).

The angel told John that he would show him the Bride (Revelation 21:9-27). He didn’t show him a woman. He showed him a city with the name of the twelve tribes on its gates. The bride… the city… the names of the twelve tribes... the woman with the crown of twelve stars (Revelation 12). They all speak of the same entity — the Body of Messiah.

Isaiah 49:6 speaks of the twelve tribes being a light to the nations until His Salvation reaches to the ends of the earth. Has God’s Salvation reached to the ends of the earth? It must be done in this age in order for Messiah to return (Matthew 24:14). That light will be a visible demonstration, a life lived before men in such a way that there will be no excuse for not obeying the word of God, and for not obeying one’s conscience.

The life is the light of men. The twelve tribes will be a light to the nations, and it is the life of Messiah that they live together in unity that will be that light (John 1:4-5). That is why the judgment of John 3:19-21 will be righteous judgment, because the evidence will be so clear.

Try this: Read John 3:19-21, and each time you read the word light, try substituting the phrase "life together in complete unity." It will give you a clearer picture of how practical God is. Men will not be judged for something they don’t understand. There will be absolute clarity.

That’s what Messiah meant when He said that the end won’t come until the Gospel is preached as a witness to all nations in the whole world (Matthew 24:14).

A witness is not just a verbal declaration, as so many have rendered the meaning of the word. A witness is a clear testimony backed up by visible evidence. There has to be a light that one sees. Light is not heard, but seen. Its presence has to cast out darkness (John 1:5).

What more powerful, visible witness can there be than the life of a nation being lived out in complete unity for all to see? That is the life of the twelve tribes as described in Acts 2:37-47; 4:32-37. It is the very realization of Deuteronomy 15:4, being done by the strength that He supplies, through His Spirit (1 Peter 4:11).

This is the foundation and pattern of the Church. This is what the true Gospel produces. The life that the gospel produces must be lived in every place where God is establishing His name.

We know that there are many sincere Christians in the many churches around the world. Many of them are God’s people, and He has an appeal, or call, for them. His call is for them to come out of her (Revelation 18:4-5). Now there is a place for the sincere to come into. Every sincere one who wants to come out of organized religion must be baptized into the Body of God that is formed by obedience to the Gospel — being washed of their former life, and of their allegiance to what is false (1 Corinthians 12:12-13; Acts 19:3; Acts 2:37-45).

The Church described in Ephesians 1:22-23 will find its identity in being Israel. Israel is manifested only in twelve distinct tribes. Those twelve tribes will be a light to the nations. The Body of God in the Spirit is built in unity (Ephesians 2:22). It is only there that He will dwell among men. This is His Body (Revelation 21:3). He dwells in His Body, and His Body dwells among men.

He cannot and will not dwell in disunity. Some have dared to agree to disagree. They have willfully chosen to go against the very heart of the Messiah and of the Holy Spirit as expressed in John 17:20-23, and in 1 Corinthians 1:10. Can one honestly say that this is the fruit of the Kingdom?

There is much more to say on this theme, but I think it best to stop here, and give you time to consider what you have read.

I hope this bit of information will help you have a clearer understanding of what we are doing and why. If you have more questions, please don’t hesitate to ask. I will be more than happy to answer to the best of my knowledge, and if I can’t, I will let you know.

Sincerely,

Yochanan