Israelite Church of God in Jesus Christ

The Israelite Church of God in Jesus Christ
Country USA
Website http://www.thecomforter.info/

"The Israelite Church of God in Jesus Christ" (ICGJC), formerly known as the "Israeli Church of Universal Practical Knowledge", is the second largest Black Hebrew Israelite organization in the United States. The first being Nation of Yahweh. ICGJC is also a Christian group and which accepts the Old and New Testaments as well as the Apocrypha, as inspired Scripture, believes in the virgin birth of Jesus, and which believes that specific people of Black American/Negro, West Indian, and Native American—South American Indian descent are the lost 12 tribes of Israel and are the true Biblical Hebrews/Jews. They have historically claimed national superiority to Edomites/Caucasians, and claim to have divine favor and inspiration. They've been branded a hate group by Civil Organizations Centers.

Black Hebrew Israelite Groups

This Israelite church, like most others, believe that they base their purported Israelite identity on the Bible, history, and archaeology. According to some Black Hebrew Israelite Groups, the twelve tribes of Israel are Blacks only and the understanding of the tribes is unknown. Those groups teach that according to Amos 9:7 “Are ye not as children of the Ethiopians unto me, O children of Israel? saith the LORD. Have not I brought up Israel out of the land of Egypt? and the Philistines from Caphtor, and the Syrians from Kir?” According to other groups, this means that all 12 tribes look like the Ethiopians which include children of the slave-trade including all Africans. This belief has led some to ask who were the Hamites, Egyptians Canaanites, Jebusites, Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Perizzites, and the Hivites who were originally in Africa in the days of Moses.

This Hebrew Israelite Group and most others teach that some of the twelve tribes of Israel are made up of lighter non-Spaniard Latin Americans and Native American Indians conquered and enslaved years ago; they are the northern kingdom of Israel that migrated to the Americas during the reign of Cyrus the Persian King according to 2 Esdras 13:40-45 and Deuteronomy 33:17. Some have mixed themselves among their captors which explains the lighter complexion and hair texture difference according to Hosea 7:8 “Ephraim, he hath mixed himself among the people; Ephraim is a cake not turned.” The Blacks who were enslaved in 1619 are the southern kingdom of Judah according to Joel 3:1-7. The list below they base upon Genesis 49 & Deuteronomy 33.

The 12 tribes of Israel (Black Hebrew Israelite)

Poster outlining the Black Hebrew Israelite identification of the Twelve Tribes of Israel with modern peoples of color

According to the beliefs of the Israelite Church of God in Jesus Christ, the twelve tribes of Israel have their order listing with their respective national identities below:

Ranking System

There are a number of positions in the Israelite church which may only be filled by a high priest. Among these are Bishop, Chief Priest, Apostle, and/or Holy Apostle. These leaders are primarily responsible for the spiritual welfare of the members and the administration of local church units.

Perhaps the most prominent, leader of the of church is Tazadaqyah a man who rose in to power of the church in the late 90's. Tazadaqyah is proclaimed by many of his followers to be the God-sent "Comforter" of the Nation of Israel. Tazadaqyah also holds the titles Holy Apostle, Chief Priest, and Bishop.

The Israelite Church and its various splinter groups can be loosely grouped together as sects, which advocate a Hebrew and Authorized King James Version-only approach to the Bible (i.e. they only endorse the Hebrew/Greek and AKJV versions of the Bible), and the notion that Caucasians are Edomites.[1] The Israelite Church is nontrinitarian, but believes that Jesus Christ is God's divine Son and Messiah, and Redeemer for the sins of Israelites. The ICGJC also hold to strong apocalyptic views of the end of the world.[2]

Lawsuit

According to a lawsuit filed in Manhattan, a Harlem church ordered action figures cast in the image of their leader (Chief High Priest Tazadaqyah) — and sued when the dolls they got didn't look like him and weren't black enough.The Israelite Church of God in Jesus Christ says the Connecticut toymaker put “pointed noses and faces” dolls. And half of them “were light brown” instead of “dark brown,” the court papers state. A prototype of a doll ordered by the Israelite Church of God in Jesus Christ that is the focus of a lawsuit because it is 'light brown,' not 'dark brown.'

Allegations of black supremacy and racism

In late 2008, the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) described as black supremacist what it called "the extremist fringe of the Hebrew Israelite movement". It wrote that the members of such groups "believe that Jews are devilish impostors and ... openly condemn whites as evil personified, deserving only death or slavery". The SPLC also said that "most Hebrew Israelites are neither explicitly racist nor anti-Semitic and do not advocate violence".[2]

The Black Hebrew groups characterized as black supremacist by the SPLC include the Nation of Yahweh[3] and the Israelite Church of God in Jesus Christ.[2] Also, the Anti-Defamation League has written that the "12 Tribes of Israel" website, maintained by a Black Hebrew group, promotes hatred and black supremacy.[4]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Black Hebrew Israelites (BHI) - Religious Tolerance. Retrieved 7 November 2011.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "'Ready for War'". Intelligence Report. Southern Poverty Law Center. Fall 2008. Retrieved 2008-11-22.
  3. ↑ Potok, Mark (Winter 2001). "Popularity and Populism". Intelligence Report. Southern Poverty Law Center. Retrieved 2011-11-16.
  4. ↑ "Poisoning the Web: African-American Anti-Semitism". Anti-Defamation League. 2001. Retrieved 2008-11-22.

External links