Eschatological aspects of the Twelve Tribes’ teachings: A theological perspective

Abstract

In this text, I offer a basic description of the theology of the Twelve Tribes movement based both on a research study of relevant written sources and on participant observation and in­ terviews with the members of the Twelve Tribes community of Mšecké Žehrovice. I focus espe­ cially on the eschatological expectations. The study explains the core motivations of the mem­ bers’ beliefs, such as the intent to return to the ideal of God’s creation. In their endeavors, they use two portions of the biblical tradition – the first four generations of Abraham’s family and, again, first four generations of the Early Church. According to the Twelve Tribes, both traditions represent historically successful intents to form God’s true people. The article explains the evolu­ tion of the covenant between God and his peo­ ple and the way the movement recognizes it in history. I concentrate both on the content the Twelve Tribes adopted from its sources in Old and New Testament and on its critical evalua­ tion. Nevertheless, the core emphasis of the arti­ cle is the movement’s eschatology. It is precisely this dimension of their teachings that represents the main ambition of the Twelve Tribes: that is, to help with the transformation of the eras and earn the right to call themselves God’s true peo­ ple. The theological view of this New Religious Movement’s belief and practice, which I present in this study, also covers the controversial topics of child training and closed community life.