Today, we’re diving into a topic that’s gained traction in recent years—the Hebrew Israelite movement. Many have been drawn to it, especially in the Black community, seeking identity, heritage, and purpose. But beneath the surface, we find a story filled with questionable beginnings, dream-driven doctrines, and assumptions dressed up as theology.
So let’s explore: Who really started this movement? And were their claims grounded in truth… or wishful thinking?
🔍 1: The Rise of a Movement Built on Dreams
The origins of the Hebrew Israelite movement trace back to the late 19th and early 20th centuries, specifically to individuals like Frank Cherry and William Saunders Crowdy. These men were not scholars. They weren’t biblical historians. They were men who claimed to receive visions and dreams from God revealing that African Americans are the true descendants of the biblical Israelites.
Frank Cherry, a former seaman, claimed that during a trip to the Middle East, God revealed to him in a dream that Black people in America were the real Hebrews. Cherry returned and started preaching this message in the early 1880s, founding the Church of the Living God, the Pillar Ground of Truth for All Nations.
Then came William S. Crowdy, a former slave and Civil War veteran, who also claimed to receive a divine vision directing him to teach that African Americans were the descendants of the ancient Israelites. He began a movement known as the Church of God and Saints of Christ around 1896.
Now, notice this: both of these founders didn’t arrive at their conclusions through Scripture or archaeological discovery—but through private dreams and subjective revelations.
And that’s the first red flag.
📜 2: The Problem with Dream-Driven Theology
The Bible warns us in Jeremiah 23:25:
“I have heard what the prophets say who prophesy lies in my name. They say, ‘I had a dream! I had a dream!’”
Dreams alone are never enough. In fact, God gave us a canon of Scripture, so we wouldn’t be led astray by private revelations or strange doctrines.
Yet this movement was born out of dreams, not doctrine. That’s not to say every dream is false—but when a major religious identity movement is based primarily on assumption and spiritual impressions, we must proceed with caution.
These founders assumed that Black suffering in America had to mean that we were God’s chosen people, forgotten and hidden. But suffering alone does not determine biblical heritage. If that were the case, every persecuted group could claim to be Israel.
🧬 3: DNA, Archaeology, and the Quest for Identity
Let’s be honest: many African Americans resonate with the Hebrew Israelite message because it offers dignity and purpose in a world that has stripped so much away.
But we cannot base our eternal identity on assumptions and conjecture.
To this day, no credible genetic, historical, or biblical evidence supports the idea that African Americans are directly descended from the 12 tribes of Israel. That’s not to say African heritage isn’t rich or divinely valued—it certainly is! But being in Christ is what makes us children of God—not our ancestry, not our skin tone, not our suffering.
Romans 9:6-8 makes this crystal clear:
“Not all who are descended from Israel are Israel… it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise.”
That promise came through faith in Jesus Christ, not bloodlines.
📖 4: The Real Israel and the Real Gospel
Jesus never told us to search for our identity through DNA kits or cultural revenge narratives. He told us:
“You must be born again.” (John 3:3)
The Apostle Paul went even further in Galatians 3:28:
“There is neither Jew nor Greek… for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”
The gospel breaks down walls of race and restores us to our Creator through faith. The Hebrew Israelite message—particularly the more radical One West factions—often reject the New Testament, deny the deity of Christ, and promote a racialized version of salvation. That is another gospel, and Paul said in Galatians 1:8:
“If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed.”
Strong words. But truth matters.
🧠 5: What We Should Learn
Many who join the Hebrew Israelite movement are searching. They’re not evil. They want truth, identity, and freedom from the lies of whitewashed history.
But Jesus offers something better than any identity movement.
He offers sonship.
He offers adoption into His eternal family.
Not by bloodlines—but by His blood.
Let’s not trade the true gospel for assumptions born in the dreams of 19th-century men. Let’s test every spirit, hold fast to what is true, and preach the uncompromised message of Jesus Christ.
Leave a comment