DNA Does Not Lie

February 8, 2010

A one state solution may be the proper way to settle the Israeli-Palestinian dispute,
according to some people. For most Israelis, the merest mention of this term is like
a dose of ethnic poison, a premonition of their demise as a nation.

For most Israeli Jews, the prospect of dwelling among millions of Palestinians in a
single bi-national state would be the fulfillment of their darkest nightmares. The
Jewish character of their country would eventually be overwhelmed by a faster
growing Arab population. Israel as a Jewish state would be unlikely to survive.

Israel has been walling itself off from the West Bank, partly for security reasons but
also to fortify its own identity as a sovereign Jewish state while not worried about
what happens to Palestinians, and the one-state concept has not found legs to
stand on.

Palestinians most assuredly have rights to land in Israel and the West Bank, and
that according to the Bible. Perhaps this revelation of an old truth will set us free from
harmful theology preached by many Christians today. Peter said there “will be false
teachers among you, and that false teachers would spread heresies "denying the
sovereign Lord who bought them--" That's always a good test of false teachers.. A
servant of Christ WILL NOT DENY Christ's words. Never.

A heresy rampant in Christian eschatology is causing tremendous damage. This
heresy is a key element of Satan's deception, a powerful lie that many have
embraced. A case of mistaken identity has caused Christianity to break God's
covenants with Abraham by dividing the Israelites and encouraging one tribe of
Israelites to oppress another. It's not a question of Jew vs. Arab, Edomite, Ammonite,
Philistine, and the like. It's not a matter of cousins feuding. It's right in the same
family: Get this - Jacob's descendants, the heirs of Abraham's covenant, include
Palestinians! They're Israelites in Bible history along with the tribe of Judah of whom
we already recognize as being Israelites.

Now, no one can rightly deny that the blood of Edomites, Philistines, and Arabs is
present in the Palestinian gene pool. If this were the Palestinians' only heritage it
would be impossible to say they have rights to land in the West Bank or elsewhere in
Israel. But - with emphasis, BUT - it makes all the difference in the world that they're
also descended from Ephraim and Manasseh, the two tribes descended from
Joseph. Ancient history overwhelms in a brief lesson, but if this bears out as true,
boy, this is good stuff!

To the Bible - John 4, verses 1-30, describes Jesus' encounter with a Samaritan
woman at a place known as "Jacob's well". You know the story. Jesus asked the
Samaritan woman for a drink of water. The woman said to him, "You are a Jew and I
am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” Jews did not normally
associate with Samaritans, and she was surprised that Jesus spoke to her.

Stop. Now, who are the Samaritans? This opens up an entire debate, and it
demands that we examine it honestly and without prejudice. No one can deny that a
small sect of Samaritans live in Palestine today, but the exact historical origins of the
Samaritans are disputed to this day. Jewish tradition claims that Samaritans arrived
by the hands of the Assyrians in order to replace the Israelites . 2 Kings 17 is the
reference used to support that claim. Jewish historian Josephus claims that the
Samaritans are descendants of mixed ancestry, BOTH of Israelite lineage and of
deportees brought into the region of Samaria by the Assyrians. This is true, but there
is more.

The Samaritans have always claimed to be the descendants of Israelites of the
Northern Kingdom who remained behind during the Babylonian Captivity. Some
modern scholars agree. I did some personal research and discovered that a genetic
study (ref: Shen, et al., 2004) concluded from Y-chromosome analysis that
Samaritans descend from the Israelites (including the Cohen family, or priests), and
other DNA analysis shows descent from Assyrians and other foreign women,
effectively validating both local and foreign origins for the Samaritans. They are
Israelites of mixed blood line according to those test results. I am told that DNA does
not lie, but this does not identify all Palestinians as descendants of Israel. As of
November 1, 2007, there were 712 Samaritans living in Kiryat Luza near the city of
Nablus in the West Bank, and in the city of Holon in Israel. The Samaritans speak
either Modern Hebrew (in Holon) or Palestinian Arabic (in Nablus) as their mother
language.

About the Arab Palestinian - Results of another DNA study by geneticist Ariella
Oppenheim matched historical accounts that Arab Israelis and Palestinians together
as the one same population, represent modern "descendants of a core population
that lived in the area since prehistoric times", albeit they were Christianized and later
largely Islamized, then both ultimately becoming culturally Arabic. Referring to those
of the Muslim faith more specifically, DNA tests reaffirmed that Palestinian "Muslim
Arabs are DESCENDED from Christians and Jews who lived in the southern Levant,
a region that includes Israel and the Sinai." This indicates that the Arab Palestinian
is also descended from the house of Israel. So how many times removed must one
be before he is excluded from the House of Israel? I think this is the real question at
hand. Do Arab Palestinians represent a remnant of one of the lost tribes of Israel?

In the time of Jesus, Jews had nothing to do with Samaritans, and they were treated
as a lower class of people. Samaritans worshiped the God of Abraham, and read
from the Torah. Efforts made to disassociate Samaritans from Israel are DISPUTED
BY JESUS HIMSELF, and HIS TESTIMONY is what should make the difference about
who they really are.

This takes us back to the well in John 4:10. Jesus answered her, "If you knew the gift
of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he
would have given you living water." "Sir," the woman said, "you have nothing to draw
with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? Are you greater than
OUR father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his
sons and his flocks and herds?" By referring to Jacob as the Samaritans’ "father",
the woman announced her Israelite heritage.

No one but an Israelite is descended from Jacob, and Jesus didn't correct her on
that point. If, as some believe, Samaritans are full-blooded Gentiles put there
hundreds of years earlier by the Assyrians after every last Israelite was exiled, then
Jacob (or his heirs) could not have given the well to the Samaritans. The Samaritans
would have taken possession of a deserted town and their "father" would have been
the king of Assyria, not Jacob. JESUS ACCEPTED the Samaritan woman's claim to
Israelite heritage by first listening to her testimony, and then making no attempt to
correct her. This is not in the Bible by accident. Samartians were from the family of
Jacob, an Israelite.

Verses 9-13 relates Jesus' testimony that Palestinians are Israelites, descendants
of Joseph's sons Ephraim and Manasseh. The meeting at Jacob's well took place in
a town named "Sychar", which is situated in the "mountains of Israel,“ and confirms
connecting proof of the Palestinians' IDENTITY WITH THE LAND.

A detailed explanation of how these Israelite tribes came to be known collectively as
"Samaritans" and later, "Palestinians.” follows shortly. Before that, we need JESUS
TO TESTIFY a second time. After the Samaritan woman told her friends about Jesus,
many of them accepted him as the Messiah. This explains why Jesus said what he
did as he sent the apostles out on their missions.

Matthew 10:5-6, Jesus; "Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the
Samaritans. Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel." If Samaritans were strictly
Gentiles, Jesus would have included them with other Gentiles and just said "Do not
go among Gentiles". By declaring Samaritans a separate category, Jesus indicated
they were Israelites, too. Since the Samaritans were accepting his gospel, they
weren't "lost". Instead, Jesus sent the apostles to the Israelites who hadn't accepted
him, the tribes associated with Judah. JESUS WAS CLEAR about Samaritans being
Israelites. I like this.

An essential part of his mission was to establish proof of their identity so that at the
"End of the Age" salvation would come through his gospel. Other examples of this
theme are found in Luke 9, 10, 17, and John 8. We begin with Luke 9:52-56; “And he
sent messengers on ahead, who went into a Samaritan village to get things ready for
him; but the people there did not welcome him, because he was heading for
Jerusalem. When the disciples James and John saw this, they asked, "Lord, do you
want us to call fire down from heaven to destroy them?" But Jesus turned and
rebuked them, and they went to another village."

For some reason many Christian commentaries refer to this incident as though
Samaritans opposed Jesus. That's not the case. They didn't reject Jesus--they were
disappointed he chose to go to Jerusalem instead of staying with them. Jesus
understood this, which is why he rebuked James and John, who wanted to deal
harshly with the Samaritans. Next, there's the parable of the "Good Samaritan" in
Luke 10. Jesus presents a non-Jew Samaritan as worthy of salvation. Because
Palestinians are the Samaritans' descendants, this could just as well be called the
parable of the "Good Palestinian.”

There's not a single example of Jesus condemning Samaritans. Every example
Jesus presented put them in a favorable light.

In 66 A.D., the Jews of Judea and Galilee revolted against Rome, which led to the
siege of Jerusalem and destruction of the Temple in 70 A.D. Sixty two years later, the
Jewish tribes of Judea and Galilee again revolted against the Romans in the "Bar
Kochba" rebellion. This was put down in 135 A.D., after which the tribes associated
with Judah were expelled from both Galilee and Judea. Samaritans did not revolt in
135 AD. Consequently, they weren't exiled. They remained in Samaria (later to
become "Palestine") as the "stump in the land" as revealed in prophecy.

Isaiah 6:13, “And though a tenth remains in the land [during the Babylonian captivity],
it will again be laid waste [by the Romans]. But as the terebinth and oak leave
stumps when they are cut down, so the holy seed [Ephraim—the Samaritans] will be
the stump in the land."… …where "stump" means the common people remaining
after the lofty upper branches, the ruling class, have been cut down. After the
Romans drove out the Jewish Israelites, their brothers, the Samaritans, moved in,
along with Edomites and later, Arabs. The early Samaritan Christians centuries later
were the Christians in the Holy Land the crusaders were supposedly coming to
save. Centuries later the land was called "Palestine" and the people first known as
Ephraimites, then Samaritans, according to DNA analysis, now became known as
“Palestinians.” Same people, name change only.

The point is, Jesus clearly indicated who the Samaritans are, and he placed great
importance upon them. The fact that today’s Arab Muslim population are
descendants of Jews and Christians of mixed bloodlines identifies them as
CHILDREN OF JACOB instead of Ishmael. It also clearly supports the suggestion
that Arab Palestinians have a long history in the land.

This is what God has said and prophesied about Ephraim in scripture:

Remember as you read these prophecies, "Ephraim" means, "Palestinian" .
Jeremiah 31:6- 9, “There will be a day when watchmen cry out on the hills of
Ephraim, 'Come, let us go up to Zion, to the LORD our God. I will lead them beside
streams of water on a level path where they will not stumble, because I am Israel's
father, and Ephraim is my firstborn son."
Hosea 11:8-9, "How can I give you up, Ephraim? How can I hand you over, Israel? I
will not carry out my fierce anger, nor will I turn and devastate Ephraim. For I am God,
and not man--the Holy One among you. I will not come in wrath. They will follow the
LORD…" [This and other passages foretell a return to Christ by Palestinians. ]
Zechariah 10:6, “I will strengthen the house of Judah and save he house of Joseph
(Ephraim/Palestinians).

Certainly, God loves "Ephraim". His prophecies promising salvation must be fulfilled.

Ezekiel 37:16-22, says, "Son of man, take a stick of wood and write on it, 'Belonging
to Judah and the Israelites associated with him.' Then take another stick of wood,
and write on it, 'Ephraim's stick, belonging to Joseph and all the house of Israel
associated with him.' Join them together into one stick so that they will become one
in your hand." "When your countrymen ask you, 'Won't you tell us what you mean by
this?' say to them, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I am going to take the
stick of Joseph--which is in Ephraim's hand-- and of the Israelite tribes associated
with him, and join it to Judah's stick, making them a single stick of wood, and they
will become one in my hand."  ***[God clearly intends the Palestinians and Israelis
be united as one new man in Christ.]***

Continuing.; v 20 “Hold before their eyes the sticks you have written on and say to
them, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I will take the Israelites out of the
nations where they have gone. I will gather them from all around and bring them
back into their own land. I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of
Israel. There will be one king over all of them and they will never again be two
nations or be divided into two kingdoms."

There it is. It appears that the Bible confirms Palestinians as "Ephraim" and God
promised them deliverance. This is a central theme of Old Testament prophecy. As
this is the case, what are Christians doing? Do we serve God by giving one-sided
support to one Israelite tribe while encouraging both tribes to break God’s covenant?
According to the Bible, Christians' support of the modern-day state of Israel’s
settlement building policy in the West Bank defies God's Law. Christians are helping
one Israelite tribe break a sacred covenant by stealing land allocated to another
Israelite tribe. This is so important an issue that it impacts our personal salvation,
too.

Saints, this requires serious investigation and great care in handling the word of
God. Let’s not throw this away because its new. It’s actually much older than today's
Zionist movement that recognizes secular Israel and denies life to Palestinians.
Saints, let’s preach and proclaim Christ crucified to both people groups and pray for
reconciliation of the two nations - that they shall become one under Messiah Jesus.
Judaism will not reconcile the two - Islam will not reconcile the two -Christian
Zionism will not reconcile the two. It’s going to take Jesus, and he has a plan.

Anything else is dangerous and leads to harm of the individual, Israel, Palestine, and
to our own nation. God forgive us for putting politics first. God forgive us for religious
bigotry and racial prejudice. God empower us to show Christ like love and mercy to
Palestinians as well as Israelis as we seek the welfare of both peoples. It is a
wonderful & magnificent thing that the Lord has done and is doing. ~End~

September 27, 2009

THE JESUS HOUSE OF PRAYER IN JERICHO IS 13 YEARS
OLD ON SEPTEMBER 27.

THE FIRST DAY


The Jesus House of Prayer in Jericho opened on Sept. 27,
1996 in the midst of much violence and bloodshed.
Arrangements had been made to host the first meeting while
the owners were still in the House, and it had been
advertised to open on this particular day. A small number of
Palestinian Christians from Taybeh planned to join us for the
official opening, scheduled for 6 PM. I was staying at the
House of Bread in Bethlehem, the small fellowship that we
had planted in 1994, and was excited about the new work
birthing in Jericho.

Three or four days prior to the scheduled first meeting,
violence erupted all over the Holy Land in the wake of the
Israeli opening of an exit to the Hasmonean tunnel in
Jerusalem's Old City. It was the most violent and bloody
confrontation between the Jews and the Palestinians since
the Intifada in 1988. Seventy-eight people were killed, and
they were on the verge of unrestrained war!

The entrance to Bethlehem near Rachel's Tomb was a battle
zone. Driving a Jewish rental car, I tried unsuccessfully to
navigate through, but it was a closed military zone. Stones
lined the road leading into Bethlehem, the result of rock
throwing Palestinians confronting armed Israeli soldiers at
the checkpoint.

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