In Ephraim's Footsteps

Note

Although much has been said about the House of Israel, there has been relatively nothing about the existence of three separate Houses by the same name, each with its own set of characteristics and circumstances. Yet in regard to this illustrious family and organization, it definitely is one which has a past, present, and future, including not just several thousand years of world history, but a much larger span comprising premortal life, earth life, and the hereafter.

Introduction - The Three Houses of Israel

With the commencement of the resurrection three days after the death of Jesus, the three Houses of Israel came into existence. For the first time in the long span of history covering pre-earth, earth, and post-earth life, three separate and distinct organizations were in full operation, all functioning independently and at the same time.

Of course, it might be stated that there was still just one house by the same name, operating in three different stages or time periods. Yet in a very real sense, there are now nevertheless three, each one with its individual set of conditions and circumstances, and each very different from the others.

In the first place, many Israelite people in the premortal life are still waiting for a transfer to earth, some scheduled to come before the Millennium and some after. Second, an assembling of people of the same lineage is taking place in world society today, consisting of those who accept certain rules and commandments and are willing to be gathered. And finally, there are those who have already met the necessary qualifications for celestial living and eternal life and following death have been resurrected and admitted into the Celestial Kingdom.

Three Hoses of Israel, therefore, exist simultaneously, but at separate levels or spheres and according to different time reckonings. All of them at one time or another have exhibited high levels of spirituality. And yet the first two still remain very tentative, their members not having been completely tried and tested. The third House only, as far as a long-range program is concerned, is the only group that might be regarded as a permanent House of Israel. Only in this last organization, which has residence in the Celestial Kingdom, is there a guarantee of Israelite citizenship that will continue forever.

This last group, being the third station in mankind's progress and development is both the time and place where eternal life begins, the final destination for those who regain the presence of the Father and the Son. Here in the very center of the universe, at a distant location near the planet Kolob , faithful men and women reach a rendezvous point where they realize a long-awaited goal and destiny. In this place, until a celestialized earth later becomes their permanent heaven, the long journey of a covenant people finally comes to an end.

And so it is that the story of the three Houses of Israel is also brought to a close. From premortal life to earth life to resurrection in the Celestial Kingdom, the account of Israelite people moving across a vast territory of time and space finally reaches a conclusion. Those sent forth on a mission to earth return home again with honor. Certainly in no other phase of human history is there a more important and meaningful story.

All who have been in these famous Houses, carrying out heaven's plan, constitute a very unusual society, being of the same lineage or background and sharing a common goal and purpose. Each person possesses a royal heritage. Whether descended from one of Jacob's twelve sons or any of their righteous progenitors, it is always the same as far as the name of Israel is concerned. Everyone is potentially a king or a queen, a priest or a priestess, in a kingdom. All are chosen subjects of the Most High.

And yet among all of these, there is still one particular name which has a unique and special meaning, in many ways standing out above the rest. In a very significant way it is representative of all Israelite history and of the House of Israel itself.

It is the name of the man who was born in Egypt many centuries ago, far from his father's homeland in Palestine, and who, despite his Israelite ancestry, was as much Egyptian as he was Hebrew. His life, in fact was oriented more toward the standing of a prince than a shepherd or herdsman, and one also that was very close to the throne of Pharaoh himself. Yet at the same time, and for some unknown reason, he was chosen to be the elite person among all of his Israelite brethren, the one who was given the family birthright and who inherited the prestigious title of firstborn.

Surely this was Ephraim, son of Joseph and Aseneth and a descendant of the patriarch Abraham. This was the man who was placed ahead of his older brother Manasseh and declared to be the preferred son. He also was the one whose numerous posterity became a great people and a multitude of nations, passing through many generations and eventually producing a society in the last days that initiated the vast movement of gathering. Again this was Ephraim, who symbolically has been at the head of the Israelite people from the beginning, even back to the time of premortal life, and in whose custody today is the operation and general management of the entire House of Israel!

Summary of Main Ideas

1. Typically the House of Israel refers to the huge posterity of Abraham's grandson Jacob, whose name according to the Bible was changed to Israel.
2. Following Egyptian bondage the Israelites journeyed to the promised land in Palestine and commenced several hundred years of history, which included the well-known reigns of Saul, David, and Solomon.
3. The House of Israel divided into two kingdoms in the 10th Century B. C. and during the 8th and 6th Centuries were conquered by foreign nations, one by Assyria and the other by Chaldea.
4. The House of Israel existed as a religious and political organization for several hundred years, much of the time as separate kingdoms or nations known as the Kingdom of Judah and the Kingdom of Israel, the latter also being referred to as the ten tribes.
5. Also within a broader concept and framework, Israel's overall existence might well be referred to as comprising three separate divisions or entities, three individual Houses of Israel instead of just one.
6. According to this viewpoint, the first House would be composed of so-called Israelites living as a separate and distinct group in premortal life, the lifetime which existed prior to earth existence.
7. Even though the man named Israel had not been born yet, the initial organization might still be regarded as bearing his name.
8. The second House of Israel refers to modern-day Israelites on earth, the definition of Israelite having a definition different from that of Israeli.
9. Finally, the third House of Israel would comprise Israelites who die and pass on and pass on to a postmortal existence, always maintaining an Israelite standing and membership.
10. The concept of three houses embraces the idea of the so-called gathering of Israel, the idea that people are willing to be gathered together as a group which subscribes to a particular religious doctrine and set of circumstances.
11. Consequently, the broader concept of one who is an Israelite might designate someone who at one time or another belongs to not just one House of Israel but possibly two or three. It all depends on whether or not he or she is in good standing in the organization.
12. An important principle is always individual agency, meaning that people might lose their membership, either permanently or temporarily, but also that those who have never been a member could maybe come in at a late stage and gain membership for the first time.
13. Whatever the different situations might be, the panoramic history and drama of the House of Israel is an extremely interesting subject, especially when viewed within in a historical, as well as eternal, perspective.

Chapter 1 - Formation of a Kingdom

In the beginning, even before the creation of the earth, there was the House of Israel. Long before the time of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, when the famous house supposedly began, there was an earlier people who bore Israel's name.

They might not have been called such in the place where they used to be. But in a premortal existence, the lifetime before this earth, they apparently were regarded as a separate and distinct group that later was to be known as the children of Israel.

During that early time period, earth's inhabitants lived as spirit children of God. It was there that"each person had the opportunity to grow and develop, to fashion for himself or herself an individual character and personality, and to prepare for an earth life that lay ahead.

It was also a time when there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels, who represented the views of deity, fought against Satan and his angels. Billions of people took sides in a dispute, and as a result Satan and a third part of the people in heaven were cast out.

Down through the ages of premortal life, men and women - had progressed to a point where they were ready to go through the experience of earth life and mortality. But because of a difference of opinion as to how things should be done, a conflict arose, and all who supported Satan were banished from heaven forever.

Among those who remained, which was the huge majority of the people, there was general agreement, but also a wide range Qf intellect and ability. All agreed with the plan for beginning earth life, and yet because of the many different levels of human development, everyone would not be starting out under the same conditions. Especially in regard to spirituality, one part of heaven stood out noticeably above the rest and would be given extra preference. This was the House of Israel!

As a just reward for achievement and obedience, these people were to receive and be placed in personal circumstances on earth that generally would be more favorable for their spiritual development. The idea was to use earthly experience not only to gain a physical body but to develop personality and intellect as well, especially as they related to religion and the degree of spirituality which would ensure an eventual return to the kingdom of heaven.

The House of Israel, therefore, was an elite group, a kingdom within a kingdom, composed of those who had been most valiant in pre-earth life. They were the ones who potentially would be foremost on earth in promoting righteousness and carrying out heaven's plan. All were in the institution in heaven that the Lord would later characterize as an unusual people as he spoke to the children of Israel when they came out of Egyptian bondage.

He told them on that occasion, Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine: and ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation.!

Certainly this was an unusual group, and from among its most prominent members in premortal life came the ecclesiastical leadership, including the Lord Jesus Christ at the head, and others such as Adam, Enoch, and Noah, as well as Moses and Abraham. And besides these, all of whom were chosen beforehand, there were many more, such as the prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah. The latter, in fact, at the very beginping of his ministry, referred specifically to himself as having an earlier lifetime and calling.

Then the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Before I formed thee in the belly, I knew thee; and before thou earnest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations."

Along with religious leaders, men and women in other fields were also undoubtedly chosen in advance. Based upon talent and capability, along with obedience and faithfulness, a huge structure of leadership was established in heaven long before it materialized on earth, people coming from many different segments of society, both within and outside the House of Israel.

A large number of those selected, in other words, especially the ones qualified in areas such as politics, economics, and the arts and sciences, would logically come from other groups in addition to those known as Israelites.

The important thing was to prepare for the future, and also to reward those who were ready for positions of leadership.

Clearly it was a matter of choosing the right individual for the right kind of mission. In regard to religion, these people were often clearly defined, one of them being the patriarch Abraham who was recognized by the Lord as being one of the noble and great ones among premortal spirits and, as in the case of Jeremiah, was chosen to be a prophet before he was born.3 But at the same time there were many others whose circumstances were not so clearly defined.

Two of these, for example, were Jacob, also known in the Bible as Israel, and one of his many grandsons whose name was Ephraim!