Answering Critics of the British-Israel (or Anglo-Israel) Belief:
A PRIMER IN UNDERSTANDING
THE PROMISES OF GOD IN LIGHT OF ANGLO-ISRAEL TRUTH.
People sometimes ask us how to answer the arguments of
unbelievers, sceptics, and critics of our teaching. Recently we were
directed to an internet site calling into question the Anglo-Israel,
or British-Israel belief, and asked to comment. We have reproduced this
web article below in black ink in its entirety,
adding our answers in bold blue type. We have left out the identity of
the critic, since this is a good general representation of the usual
issues involved
in any criticism of our beliefs. It will serve as a good primer and instruction
manual in your own discussions with enquirers and critics.
SOME KEY POINTS: COMMON MISTAKES OF THE CRITICS!
1.
ISRAEL
WAS ONLY LOST SPIRITUALLY, THEY INSIST, YET THEIR RETURN WAS LITERAL,
NOT SPIRITUAL! HOW COULD ISRAEL PHYSICALLY RETURN FROM BEING SPIRITUALLY LOST?
IF ISRAEL WAS ONLY LOST SPIRITUALLY, THEN THEY COULD ONLY RETURN SPIRITUALLY!
The true answer below.
2.
INSISTENCE THAT ANCIENT ISRAEL WAS ONLY DISPERSED EASTWARD, WITH
NO WESTERN MIGRATION AT ALL. YET THE BIBLE SPEAKS OF ISRAEL BEING REGATHERED
FROM THE WEST, AND INDEED, FROM ALL FOUR DIRECTIONS AS WELL. Evidence
below.
3.
IGNORING SCRIPTURAL STATEMENTS SHOWING THAT THE REUNION OF THE
TWO HOUSES OF ISRAEL AND JUDAH WOULD TAKE PLACE AT THE END OF THIS AGE
AND DAWN OF THE MILLENNIUM. THE TWO HOUSES CANNOT BE REUNITED WITHOUT
HAVING THE NEW HEART AND NEW SPIRIT REQUIRED BY THE OLD TESTAMENT PROPHECIES.
Evidence below.
4.
NOT UNDERSTANDING THE PURPOSE, TIMING, AND EFFECTS OF THE NEW
COVENANT. THE OLD COVENANT HAS COME TO A COMPLETE END AND IS NO LONGER
IN EFFECT FOR ANYONE, INCLUDING THE JEWISH PEOPLE. Evidence below.
5.
READING INTO SCRIPTURE TEXTS NON-EXISTENT
WORDS AND TEACHINGS. THIS “WISHFUL THINKING” IS NICELY TAILORED TO FIT
THEIR OWN DENOMINATIONAL PRECONCEIVED NOTIONS, BUT BETRAYS A LACK OF
TEXTUAL HONESTY AND SCRIPTURE EVIDENCE TO BACK UP THEIR BELIEFS. Evidence below.
6.
INSISTENCE THAT THE PHYSICAL ISRAELITES IN THE WORLD TODAY ARE
FOUND ONLY WITHIN JUDAISM (INCLUDING MESSIANIC). WHAT ABOUT THOSE WHO
ACCEPTED CHRIST AND WHOSE DESCENDANTS TODAY ARE NO LONGER KNOWN AS JEWISH?
THERE ARE A SIGNIFICANT AND GROWING NUMBER OF SUCH. Evidence below.
7.
INSISTENCE THAT THE JEWISH PEOPLE ARE A “PURE UNMIXED RACE.” THIS
IS DISPROVED BY LEADING JEWISH SCHOLARS. THIS RACIAL THEOLOGY LEADS TO
THE DISPENSATIONALIST “DUAL COVENANT” BELIEF THAT JEWS ARE “SAVED BY
RACE, NOT BY GRACE” WHICH IS FALSE SALVATION DOCTRINE. The true answer
below.
8.
IGNORING THE SCRIPTURAL PROPHECIES THAT ISRAEL WOULD BE KNOWN BY A
NEW NAME. The evidence below.
9.
IGNORING
THE PROMISE IN THE ABRAHAMIC COVENANT THAT ISRAEL WOULD BECOME A COMPANY
OF NATIONS, NOT JUST ONE SMALL NATION IN THE MID-EAST. Evidence
below.
Where Are The Ten Lost Tribes Of Israel?
It
is an unusual paradox that, while the Jews are so often hated, reviled,
and persecuted, there are so many groups of people trying to claim
that they are Jews!
For
example, the Mormon church teaches that Native Americans are descended
from Israelites who left Jerusalem for the New World before their city
was destroyed by the Babylonians. Others say the Israelite tribes fathered
the Oriental or Black races.
British
Israelism, the most popular of these theories, teaches that the English-speaking
people of England, western Europe, and America descended from the ten "lost"
tribes of the Northern Kingdom of Israel. Supporters are bent on proving
that the British and American people are specially favored by God, and
heirs to Israel's precious covenant promises. COMMENT:
WE IN FACT TEACH THAT ISRAEL’S COVENANT PROMISES WERE FOR A DIVINE PURPOSE
NOT PRIDE, AND FOR SERVICE NOT SUBJUGATION, AND ARE EXPANDED UNDER THE
NEW COVENANT SO THAT PEOPLE OF ALL NATIONS COME UNDER THE COVENANT BLESSINGS
THROUGH FAITH IN CHRIST. THE APOSTLE PAUL MAKES THIS CLEAR IN SEVERAL
PASSAGES. FOR EXAMPLE, ROMANS 2:28-29, “FOR HE IS NOT A JEW WHO IS ONE
OUTWARDLY (i.e., racially)… BUT HE IS A JEW WHO IS ONE INWARDLY… BY THE
SPIRIT.” THIS IS THE TRUE TEST TODAY OF WHO IS ISRAEL. ISRAELITES WERE
TO BE – AND ARE – A PEOPLE OF FAITH IN THIS NEW COVENANT ERA. (Gal. 3:7,
16, 29) PHYSICAL ISRAEL HAS PROVIDED THE CORE FOUNDATION OF THE CHRISTIAN
CHURCH, AND IS JOINED (note, augmented, not a replacement for Israel)
UNDER THE NEW COVENANT BY PEOPLE FROM ALL NATIONS WHO BECOME A “SPIRITUAL
ISRAEL” WORSHIPPING THE GOD OF ISRAEL IN FAITH. (See our website articles,
“THE HEBREW FOUNDATION OF CHRIST’S CHURCH” AND “DID ISRAEL REJECT CHRIST?”
This Biblical belief has been expounded at least since the early 20th
century by British-Israel leaders such as Rev. Basil Stewart, and others.)
Bizarre
and unbiblical as this teaching is, defenders are eager to convince
the gullible with their "evidence." COMMENT:
NOTICE THAT WHENEVER A WEAK OR NON-EXISTENT ARGUMENT IS PUT FORTH,
ITS AUTHOR REALIZES THE NEED TO BUTRESS IT WITH EVIL-SOUNDING LABELS
OR NAME-CALLING! YOU WILL SEE THIS WEAKNESS OF OUR OPPONENTS ARGUMENT
AS WE PROCEED.
The British Israelism Heresy
Lacking
any biblical or historical proof for their doctrine, supporters of
British Israelism have produced maps describing fictitious migrations
of the "ten"
Israelite tribes from the Babylon area across Europe to England. COMMENT:
THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL BECAME LOST TO HISTORY FROM THE AREA OF ASSYRIA (2
Ki. 17:6), AND SOURCES SUCH AS THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA PROVE THAT ISRAELITES
FLED NORTHWARD INTO THE CAUCASUS AT THE TIME OF ASSYRIA’S FALL. (SEE
THE EVIDENCE PRESENTED IN “THE STORY OF CELTO-SAXON ISRAEL.”) THE VAST
MAJORITY OF THEM ARE NO LONGER IN THE CAUCASUS MOUNTAINS. IT IS NO STRETCH
OF THE IMAGINATION TO SHOW THAT THESE TRIBES WOULD NOT HAVE REMAINED
IN THE ROCKY CAUCASUS, BUT CONTINUE NORTH INTO EUROPE. ISRAEL’S SCRIPTURAL
MARKS IDENTIFY THEM WITH THE EARLY “CAUCASIAN” TRIBES, WHOSE MIGRATIONS
FROM ASIA TO EUROPE ARE KNOWN, SO THAT NO FICTITIOUS MAPS ARE NECESSARY.) They
also have tried to connect Queen Victoria with the House of David, saying
that the English coronation stone is the stone Jacob slept on at Bethel
(Gen. 28:11), but the English stone is a type of red sandstone which
is not found anywhere near Bethel. COMMENT:
THE KINGS OF IRELAND WERE CROWNED ON THE ABOVE-MENTIONED STONE, LIA FAIL,
FROM B.C. 580 TO A.D. 487, WHEN IT WAS REMOVED TO DUNSTAFFNAGE CASTLE
IN SCOTLAND BY FEARGUS MORE, AND USED FOR THE SAME PURPOSE. IT IS CALCAREOUS
RED SANDSTONE, A DISTINCTIVE TYPE OF ROCK NOT FOUND ANYWHERE IN IRELAND
WHERE THE VENERABLE STONE SUPPOSEDLY ORIGINATED. CHRISTIAN ARCHAEOLOGIST,
DR.E. RAYMOND CAPT, EXAMINED THE STONE AND INSTEAD FOUND SIMILAR ROCKS
IN EXCAVATIONS IN PALESTINE. (See further discussion in his book, "Jacob's
")
British
Israelism has also concocted a peculiar kind of verbal evidence. It
is argued that the word "British" is derived from two Hebrew
words: (b'rith, meaning "covenant") and (ish, meaning "man").
B'rith is pronounced "Brit" since the Hebrews never say a "th" sound.
Thus, "Brit-ish" is said to come from the Hebrew for "covenant
man" or "man of the covenant." The Hebrew words b'rith
and ish simply translate as "covenant" and "man," not "covenant
man," and certainly not "man of the covenant." If we
were to translate it as a phrase, the closest we could get is "covenant
of man."
Connections between similar sounding words in Hebrew and English are
not supported by The Oxford Dictionary, Webster's Dictionary, or any
other study of English word derivatives (etymology), for the two languages
are linguistically unrelated. COMMENT: HEBREW
SCHOLARS SUCH AS DR. ISAAC E. MOZESON HAVE LONG COMPLAINED THAT DICTIONARIES
LEAVE OUT THE HEBREW DERIVATION OF WORDS, EVEN WORDS WITH OBVIOUS HEBREW
ORIGINS SUCH AS “JUBILEE” AND “JUBILATION,” INSTEAD GIVING THE ORIGIN
OF THESE WORDS AS LATIN! GENUINE LANGUAGE SCHOLARS NOW ADMIT THAT HEBREW
AND ENGLISH ARE RELATED AND HAVE A COMMON ORIGIN. (SEE FOR INSTANCE,
“LANGUAGE, AN INTRODUCTION” BY DR. LOUIS HJELMSLEV, PUBLISHED BY UNIV.
OF WISCONSIN PRESS, AS WELL AS DR. ISAAC MOZESON’S BOOK, “THE WORD: THE
DICTIONARY THAT REVEALS THE HEBREW SOURCE OF ENGLISH,” RECENTLY REPUBLISHED)
British
Israelism originated in the mid-1600s as a political argument to persuade
Oliver Cromwell to allow the Jews to return to England. Appealing to
Cromwell's British pride and nationalism, influential patrons convinced
him that the Jews represented the southern tribe of Judah, and Anglo-Saxons
were descended from the ten northern tribes, which were said to have
been scattered and "lost"
after being conquered by Assyria in 722 BC. These two groups (the Northern
and Southern Kingdoms)-God's Chosen People-should work together until
the Throne of England would rule the world with the help of the Jews. COMMENT:
THIS IS INSULTING TO THE GODLY DR. JOHN SADLER, MINISTER TO OLIVER CROMWELL,
AND AN ANGLO-ISRAEL BELIEVER. IT WAS NOT PRIDE AND NATIONALISM (TWO BUZZ-WORDS
CRITICS LOVE TO USE JUST FOR THEIR NEGATIVE CONNOTATIONS TODAY) BUT A
GENUINE BELIEF IN THE SCRIPTURES THAT LED DR. SADLER AND CROMWELL TO
READMIT THE JEWS TO ENGLAND. DESPITE WHAT OUR OPPONENT HERE SEEMS TO
THINK, THIS WAS NOT A BAD THING! THE JEWS MIGHT HAVE LONG BEEN BANNED
FROM ENGLAND IF IT HAD NOT BEEN FOR ANGLO-ISRAEL BELIEF. A LITTLE APPRECIATION
IS IN ORDER? NOR IS THERE ANY EVIDENCE THAT CROMWELL SOUGHT TO “RULE
THE WORLD.” A LOT OF NONSENSE IS PRESENTED TO US HERE UNDER THE GUISE
OF FACTS. UNLIKE OUR CRITIC, WE HAVE READ JOHN SADLER'S IMPORTANT WORK, "RIGHTS
OF THE KINGDOM," (Published in 1649) AND FIND HIM TO BE A GODLY
AND SPIRITUAL MAN. THE CHRISTIAN MORALS OF DR. SADLER AND OLIVER CROMWELL
SHOULD NOT BE WRONGFULLY TRASHED BY OUR OPPONENT JUST TO PROMOTE HIS
WEAK ARGUMENT.
By
the end of the 19th century, British Israelism claimed two million
supporters-mostly Church of England members. In the 20th century, Herbert
W. Armstrong's Worldwide Church of God preached these doctrines. He
identified the tribe of Ephraim with Great Britain, Manasseh with the
United States, the other Israelite tribes with various European nations,
and Judah with the Jews. Since Armstrong's death, the Anglo-Israel
teaching has been repudiated by his church, along with most of his
other heresies. A November 1995 Worldwide Church of God study paper, "United
States and Britain in Prophecy," reported that Anglo-Israelite
literature depends on "folklore, legends, quasi-historical genealogies,
and dubious etymologies." It went on to say there is no recorded
eyewitness to any Israelite tribal migrations across Europe and that
no medieval or ancient genealogies have ever linked the royal families
of the British Isles with the Israelites. COMMENT:
THIS STATEMENT BEGS THE FACT THAT VERY LITTLE WRITING OF ANY KIND HAS
SURVIVED FROM ANCIENT TIMES, OTHER THAN THE BIBLE ITSELF. HOWEVER,
SOME EVIDENCE HAS SURVIVED SUCH AS THE ANCIENT ARMENIAN AND GEORGIAN
CHRONICLES. THE UNIVERSAL JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA (vii:26) GIVES THESE
AS EVIDENCE THAT THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL MIGRATED NORTH INTO THE CAUCASUS
REGION. (QUOTED IN “THE STORY OF CELTO-SAXON ISRAEL”) THE BIBLE ALSO
GIVES EVIDENCE, SUCH AS 2 ESDRAS 13 IN THE APOCRYPHA.
British
Israelism crosses denominational lines and has no official church organization.
Some British Israelite groups go so far as to say God's chosen race,
the "true Israel," includes only white Anglo-Saxon, Germanic,
and kindred peoples. Adam is said to be the father of the white race
only, and whites alone have the divinely implanted spirit. All nonwhite
peoples are excluded from the redemptive work of Christ. Jews are a "race
of vipers," "Satan's seed," "Christ killers," and
persecutors of God's "true Israel." These ideas have been
adopted by the so-called Christian Identity Movement and Revival Centre
International, and other extreme conservative religious organizations,
as well as extreme right-wing political groups and survival groups,
such as the Ku Klux Klan. Oher organizations sharing these beliefs
include the American Nazi Party, Aryan Nation, National Association
for the Advancement of White People, and many more. COMMENT:
OUR OPPONENTS ALMOST ALWAYS HAVE TO RESORT TO McCARTHYISM, GUILT BY
ASSOCIATION. BUT IT IS STILL A FALSE STATEMENT; WE HAVE NOTHING TO
DO WITH ANY GROUPS THAT HATE ANYBODY. IN FACT, MESSIANIC JEWS HAVE
BELONGED TO OUR ASSOCIATION THROUGH THE YEARS (AND WE HAVE AT LEAST
TWO OR MORE MESSIANIC JEWISH MEMBERS TODAY). FOR MANY YEARS, OUR JEWISH
SECRETARY WAS THE PRINCIPAL PERSON RESPONDING TO EMAIL AND PHONE INQUIRIES;
SHE RECENTLY RETIRED BUT STILL STOPS IN OCCASIONALLY. REALLY NOW: IF
A BAPTIST GOES OUT AND ROBS A BANK, DOES THAT MAKE THE BAPTIST CHURCH
WRONG? LET’S STICK TO THE FACTS.
Not
all British Israelism supporters endorse these anti-Semitic extremes.
But racist ideas are easily derived from British Israelism because
it demotes the Jews and exalts Anglo-Saxons as "true Israel." Racist
groups do not hesitate to rewrite history, mistranslate words, and
ignore Paul's warning: "Neither give heed to fables and endless
genealogies, which minister questions, rather than godly edifying which
is in faith: . . ."
(1 Tim. 1:4; see also Titus 3:9). COMMENT: The
Apostle Paul warned us of “Jewish fables,” not Anglo-Israel belief. (Titus
1:14) Could our critics unbiblical teachings have been foreseen by the
Apostle?
The Mystery of the "Lost" Israelite
Tribes
Central
to British Israelism is the contention that the ten tribes that constituted
the Northern Kingdom of Israel were scattered and lost after the Assyrians
invaded Samaria. It is said that those ten tribes (excluding Judah
and Benjamin, which made up the Southern Kingdom) were not represented
when Ezra and Nehemiah brought the captives back to the land around
444 BC. We will see that there is no biblical support for that view
which, ironically, appears to have been invented by Jews in the Middle
Ages.
The
Jewish Encyclopedia says Diaspora Jews may have invented this theory,
hoping to avoid persecution as "Christ killers." These Jews
claimed innocence, saying they never returned to the Holy Land after
deportation to Assyrian captivity centuries before Christ (1901, Vol.
12, p. 250).
Actually,
the ancient tribes of Israel have never been lost, except spiritually.
Isaiah prophesied that, although the Hebrew people would be scattered
among the Gentiles, their nationality would never be lost, nor their
identity unknown (Isa. 61:9). COMMENT: THERE
ARE TWO PARTS TO THIS VERSE. “KNOWN AMONG THE NATIONS IS THEIR SEED,
AND THEIR OFFSPRING IN THE MIDST OF THE PEOPLES...” (Literal translation) THIS
VERSE DOES NOT SAY THAT ‘THEIR NATIONALITY WOULD NEVER BE LOST’ (INDEED,
ISRAEL WAS TO HAVE A NEW NAME, ISA. 62:2; 65:15; HOS. 1:10; ROM. 9:26),
BUT THAT 1. THEIR DESCENDANTS WOULD BE RECOGNIZED “BY PROMINENT MARKS
OF BLESSING.” (Keil-Delitzsch) AND 2. THEY WOULD BE THE PEOPLE MOST
BLESSED BY GOD IN THE EYES OF THE WORLD. “…ALL WHO SEE THEM SHALL ACKNOWLDEGE
THEM, THAT THESE ARE THE PEOPLE WHOM THE LORD HAS BLESSED.” (NAS translation)
BY THIS STANDARD, WHO IS ISRAEL? THE PROPHECY INDEED HAS BOTH A SPIRITUAL-PHYSICAL
FULFILLMENT. WHAT PEOPLE HAS BEEN MOST BLESSED BOTH SPIRITUALLY AND
MATERIALLY? IT IS INHERENTLY A CHRISTIAN PEOPLE SPOKEN OF HERE.
IMPORTANT:
IT WAS PROPHESIED THAT ISRAEL WOULD BE KNOWN BY A “NEW” AND THEREFORE
DIFFERENT NAME. THE PROPHET HOSEA SPOKE OF OUR DAY WHEN HE SAID
“YET THE NUMBER OF THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL SHALL BE AS THE SAND
OF THE SEA, WHICH CANNOT BE MEASURED NOR NUMBERED; AND IT SHALL
COME TO PASS, THAT IN THE PLACE WHERE IT WAS SAID UNTO THEM, YE
ARE NOT MY PEOPLE, THERE IT SHALL BE SAID UNTO THEM, YE ARE THE
SONS OF THE LIVING GOD.” (HOS. 1:10; ROM. 9:26) THIS CANNOT BE
THE HOUSE OF JUDAH, THE JEWS, FOR THEY HAVE BEEN NUMBERED CONTINUALLY;
ANOTHER STUDY HAS JUST BEEN COMPLETED SHOWING A TREMENDOUS DECLINE
IN JEWISH POPULATION, THE OPPOSITE OF THE PROPHECY. IT IS CLEAR
THAT THE JEWS ARE NOT THE PEOPLE SPOKEN OF IN THIS PROPHECY: HOSEA
WAS A PROPHET TO THE TEN TRIBES, THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL! (1:1,4, etc.)
HIS PROPHECY HAS BEEN FULFILLED IN THE WORLD TODAY, WHERE EUROPEAN
CHRISTENDOM IS TOLD THAT THEY ARE NOT GOD’S PEOPLE, ISRAEL, BUT
THAT THEY ARE “THE SONS OF THE LIVING GOD,” CHRISTIANS! (CHRIST
IS THE SON OF GOD, AND CHRISTIANS ARE THE SONS OF THE LIVING GOD)
Jews
have always been recognizable as Jews and have never lost their Jewishness. COMMENT:
WRONG! JEWS COME IN ALL NATIONALITIES, LOOKS, AND HAIRCOLORS AND CANNOT
BE IDENTIFIED AS A RACIAL TYPE; THEY ARE NOT A PURE RACE TODAY. However,
they are indeed lost spiritually, as the prophets described (Isa. 29:10-14).
Over 2500 years ago, God told us that the political revival of Israel
would be a spiritually dead revival until a later time when God would
breathe life into His people (Ezek. 37:8-9). COMMENT:
THIS PASSAGE ON THE DRY BONES IS SPECIFICALLY WRITTEN TO “THE HOUSE
OF ISRAEL” NOT TO “THE HOUSE OF JUDAH” THE JEWS.The Lord
also promised to regather all the Jews and unite His beloved people
into one great kingdom at Christ's return (Isa. 11:11-13). COMMENT:
THIS SCRIPTURE SPEAKS OF THE REUNITING OF “ISRAEL” AND “JUDAH” (verse
12) AND THE TIME IT WILL TAKE PLACE (verse 9). YET OUR DISPUTER SKIPPED
THE IMPORTANT VERSE NINE OF THIS PASSAGE; IT SPECIFICALLY SAYS THAT
THE TIME PERIOD FOR THE REUNITING OF ISRAEL AND JUDAH IS WHEN “THE
KNOWLEDGE OF THE LORD COVERS THE EARTH AS THE WATERS COVER THE SEA.”
THIS HAS NOT YET TAKEN PLACE! THIS TIME-PERIOD IS THE DAWN OF THE MILLENNIUM
– IT IS YET FUTURE, AND THE TWO HOUSES OF ISRAEL THEREFORE CANNOT YET
BE FULLY UNITED!
History of the Ten Tribes
Are
the Jews of today descended only from the southern tribes (Judah and
Benjamin) that remained loyal to Solomon's son Rehoboam? The Bible
clearly shows that was not the case. After Solomon's death, the ten
northern tribes set up a separate kingdom (Israel) under King Jeroboam,
who was not of the House of David (1 Kings 12:20). During the time
of the divided kingdom, many Israelites in the Northern Kingdom identified
themselves with the House of David (2 Chron. 11:14-17; 15:9; 19:4).
The terms "Israel," "Judah," and
"Jacob" became interchangeable (Isa. 1:1-3; 48:1; 2 Chron.
19:1; 21:2). COMMENT: ALL OF THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL
AND MOST OF THE “FENCED CITIES” OF JUDAH WERE CONQUERED BY ASSYRIA AND
THEIR INHABITANTS REMOVED AND TAKEN IN THE ASSYRIAN DISPERSION. (2 KINGS
18:13), EXCEPT FOR THE JEWISH CITIES OF JERUSALEM AND LIBNAH. (2 Ki.
19:8) THUS, MOST OF THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL DWELLING IN JUDAH WERE REUNITED
BY ASSYRIA WITH THEIR BRETHREN IN DISPERSION.
Judah's
godly kings (particularly Asa, Jehoshaphat, Hezekiah, and Josiah) addressed
all twelve tribes and offered up sacrifices on their behalf (2 Chron.
15:8-15; 19:4; 29:24; 35:18). This is the point where British Israelites
err most seriously. COMMENT: PRAYING AND SACRIFICING
FOR ALL TWELVE TRIBES DOES NOT MEAN THAT THEY WERE ALL REUNITED! They
wrongly insist that the two-kingdom division between Israel and Judah
never ceased. History shows otherwise. COMMENT: THE VAGUE
APPEAL TO “HISTORY” ATTEMPTS TO OVERRULE SCRIPTURE. HOW CAN THE DISTINCT
PROMISES TO EACH OF THE 12 TRIBES BE FULFILLED IF THEY WERE ALL REUNITED
AND INTERMIXED RIGHT AFTER THE DIVISION OF THE KINGDOM AND WERE NEVER
SEPARATE?
Were the Ten Tribes Lost After the Captivity?
The
Assyrians took the Northern Kingdom captive in 722 BC, and the Southern
Kingdom was captured by Babylon in 586 BC. Following both invasions,
the Jews were deported to the same general geographical area (modern-day
Iraq and Iran). Because Babylon and Assyria ruled largely the same
territory, the Israelite and Judean captives commingled. Both groups
lived as captives under similar conditions. During this time, the divisions,
enmity, and rivalry between Judah and Israel ended. Jeremiah says the
captors made no distinction between Israel and Judah (Jer. 50:33). THIS
VERSE IN FACT SAYS NO SUCH THING! READ IT AND SEE FOR YOURSELF. IT
SPEAKS OF “THE SONS OF ISRAEL” (THE 10 TRIBES) AND “THE SONS OF JUDAH”
(THE 2 TRIBES) AS STILL SEPARATE. THIS SCRIPTURE TWISTING IS A HALLMARK
OF OUR OPPONENTS.
Later,
the Book of Esther records that the Jewish people were scattered throughout
the Persian empire, and that Esther (along with her uncle Mordecai)
thwarted Haman's plot to destroy all the Jews. They not only survived,
but they attained some prominence and prosperity in those regions of
the empire. They did not need to migrate to Russia, eastern Europe,
or distant parts of Asia. After the captivity, when Ezra and Nehemiah
led the dispersed Jews back to the land of Israel from Persia, those
who returned were called "all Israel"
or "the children of Israel" or "the seed of Israel" (Ezra
6:16-17; 8:25, 35; 10:1; Neh. 7:73; 9:2). Artaxerxes' decree specified
that
"all they of the people of Israel" were free to return to Jerusalem
(Ezra 7:13). Surely no one could argue that the ten tribes were excluded
from that return from captivity. COMMENT: GOD
COULD DISPUTE THIS, AND DOES! “THEREFORE, BEHOLD, I WILL HEDGE UP THY
WAY WITH THORNS, AND MAKE A WALL, THAT SHE SHALL NOT FIND HER PATHS.”
(HOSEA 2:6) In fact, the evidence shows that some returned from all of the tribes
while many remained in positions of influence in Persia. COMMENT:
WHAT EVIDENCE? THE NEW TESTAMENT ONLY SPEAKS OF A SINGLE PERSON, ANNA
THE PROPHETESS, OF THE TRIBE OF ASHER. THIS DOES NOT INDICATE THAT ALL
12 TRIBES RETURNED, NOR THAT ANY OTHERS RETURNED AT ALL. NOTICE THAT
NO PROOF IS GIVEN FOR THIS ASSERTION BECAUSE NONE EXISTS.
Exiles
from both kingdoms looked forward to a unified national future. COMMENT:
YES AND IT WOULD TAKE PLACE AT THE DAWN OF THE MILLENNIUM, AS WE HAVE
SHOWN ABOVE. BUT THIS AUTHOR HAS TRIED TO CONVINCE US THAT THEY WERE
NEVER SEPARATE. NOW HE SUDDENLY SWITCHES AND SAYS THAT THEIR UNITY
WAS FUTURE. WHICH IS IT? They
were conscious of a common destiny based upon God's promises to the
patriarchs and to the House of David. The Israelite Prophets Joel,
Amos, and Hosea had prepared the way earlier when they spoke of national
unity and the centrality of Jerusalem or Zion (Amos 9:11). Ezekiel
spoke about unification and the coming rule by a descendant of David
(Ezek. 37:15-25). COMMENT: EZEKIEL’S TEMPLE
AND SACRIFICES ARE CONSIDERED MILLENNIAL AND FUTURE BY ALL EVANGELICALS
AND DISPENSATIONALISTS. YET OUR CRITIC SOMEHOW THINKS THIS INFORMATION
PROVES THAT ISRAEL AND JUDAH ARE UNITED NOW?!! REMEMBER, EZEKIEL SPOKE
OF THE UNITING OF THE TWO STICKS OF ISRAEL AND JUDAH (37:16-38) AND
PLACED THIS UNITING IN THE TIME FRAME OF THE LAST GREAT BATTLE AT THE
END OF THE AGE (Ezekiel chapters 36 to 38); IN OTHER WORDS, THE UNION
OF ISRAEL AND JUDAH IS STILL FUTURE EXACTLY AS WE TEACH. MANY ADDITIONAL
SCRIPTURE PROOFS ARE IN OUR BOOK, “THE STORY OF CELTO-SAXON ISRAEL.”
"Jew" and "Israelite":
Interchangeable Names
In
458 BC, Artaxerxes allowed Ezra the scribe and the Children of Israel
to return to Zion with the priests and Levites (Ezra 7:7, 13; 8:35).
Ezra's caravan of over 1800 families was made up of all the "children
of Israel,"
with no mention of tribal distinctions. The Book of Nehemiah likewise
reveals that both kingdoms participated in the restoration. The word "Jew"
is used eleven times and "Israel" twenty-two times, referring
to the same people. COMMENT: OVER FIVE MILLION
ISRAELITES WERE LOST (SEE McCLINTOCK & STRONG’S ENCYCLOPEDIA iv:695,
1052), YET LESS THAN 50,000 RETURNED. (Ezra 2:64; Neh. 7:66) THIS IS
LESS THAN ONE PERCENT! WHERE ARE ALL OF THE REST? ARE THE 99% NOT IMPORTANT
IN GOD’S EYES? (See MATT. 18:12-13 and LUKE 15:4-7 for the answer)
After
return from captivity, "Jew" and "Israelite" became
synonymous terms, referring to the physical descendants of Abraham
through Jacob. Forgetting earlier national differences, purity of the
bloodline was the critical issue. Ezra required that all Gentile wives
be put away (10:2-11), and the mongrelized Samaritans were spurned
(2 Kings 17:24; Neh. 4-6). The returned remnant grew in numbers during
Greek rule (330-167 BC), the Maccabean period (167-63 BC), and Herodian-Roman
rule (beginning in 63 BC). By the first century, "the Jews" were
a relatively large nation numbering in the millions. Additionally,
more Jews lived in Diaspora settlements than in the Promised Land.
Those in the dispersion still looked to Jerusalem as their national
center, cherished the same history and traditions, grew up under the
same laws and institutions, and anticipated a common future.
In
the New Testament, there is no hint of any "lost tribes of Israel."
In fact, "Hebrew" was used interchangeably with "Israelite"
and "Jew"-of the same people. COMMENT:
CHRIST (YESHUA) SPOKE TWICE OF “THE LOST SHEEP OF THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL.”
HE DID NOT MEAN THIS ONLY SPIRITUALLY, FOR THE HOUSE OF JUDAH (JEWS)
WERE ALSO LOST SPIRITUALLY, SO HE MUST HAVE BEEN SPEAKING OF THE PHYSICAL LOST
CONDITION OF THE TEN TRIBES. CHRIST SPECIFICALLY SPEAKS HERE ONLY OF
THE TEN TRIBES OF THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL. (see Matthew 10:5-6; 15:24)
For
example, Nicodemus is referred to as a "ruler of the Jews" and
a
"master of Israel" (John 3:1, 10). In Mark 15:26 and 15:32,
Jesus is called "King of the Jews" and "King of Israel." Paul
(a Benjamite) calls himself a Jew in Acts 21:39 and 22:3, an Israelite
in Romans 11:1, and a Hebrew in Philippians 3:5. COMMENT:
THE TRIBE OF BENJAMIN WAS INDEED OF THE HOUSE OF JUDAH (JEWS), SO PAUL
WAS CORRECT IN CALLING HIMSELF A BENJAMITE, A HEBREW, AND A JEW. ALL
12 TRIBES WERE ISRAELITES. THE DISTINCTION WE AND JEWISH SCHOLARS MAKE
IS THAT THE TERM “HOUSE OF ISRAEL” REFERRED TO THE TEN TRIBES IN THE
NORTH.
He
also spoke of all twelve tribes having hope in the resurrection (Acts
26:7). James, Jesus' brother, addresses his epistle to "all the
twelve tribes scattered abroad" (1:1). Peter spoke to the "men
of Judea,"
addressing them as "fellow Israelites" (Acts 2: 14, 22). In
Scripture, we see that "Hebrew," "Israelite," and "Jew"
all refer to the physical descendants of the patriarch Jacob. There is
a very important reason why these three names are used synonymously in
Scripture: to emphasize that both houses of the nation (all twelve tribes)
were and still are God's covenant people, sharing the same promises,
blessings, curses, and destiny. COMMENT: WE
DO NOT DENY AT ALL THAT BOTH HOUSES OF ISRAEL WERE AND STILL ARE GOD’S
COVENANT PEOPLE. WE ONLY DENOTE THAT THE TWO HOUSES ARE YET SEPARATE
PEOPLES.
The
Jewish historian Josephus, writing nearly one hundred years after Christ,
knew that the ten Israelite tribes were not "lost." He said
these
". . . tribes are beyond the river Euphrates till now, and are an
immense multitude, not to be estimated by numbers" (Antiquities
of the Jews, Book XI, Chapter 5, Section 2). He stated that the Israelites
remained "beyond the Euphrates" east of Jerusalem, not west
in Britain or the Americas as British Israelism argues. Also, we have
much extrabiblical evidence of an ongoing Jewish presence in the region
of Babylon. COMMENT: THE FACT THAT THE TEN TRIBES
WERE “BEYOND THE EUPHRATES” RIVER SHOWS THAT THEY WERE NOT ALL REGATHERED
AND REUNITED IN PALESTINE! YET OUR CRITIC COMPLETELY MISSES THIS VERY
IMPORTANT POINT. FURTHER, “BEYOND THE EUPHRATES” WOULD HAVE MEANT TO
THE NORTH BEYOND THE HEADWATERS OF THE EUPHRATES, AS THE PROPHET JEREMIAH
SAYS, “Go and proclaim these words toward the north, and say, Return,
thou backsliding Israel, saith the LORD.” (Jer 3:12)
As
late as AD 1835, a medical missionary, Dr. Asahel Grant, placed the
ten tribes in the region of Assyria and Media or modern-day Iraq and
Iran. In very recent times (after the Islamic revolution in Iran),
the Ayatollah Khomeini expelled hundreds of Persian Jews, who resettled
in America. COMMENT: PROOF THAT CHRIST WAS
RIGHT IN CALLING THE TEN TRIBES OF THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL “LOST” IS THAT
INDIVIDUALS WERE SCATTERED IN ALL DIRECTIONS. NOTICE THAT OUR CRITIC
HAS NO PROBLEM ACCEPTING AS FACT ANY AUTHOR’S STATEMENT THAT ISRAELITES
WERE SCATTERED TO THE EAST, YET IS ADAMANT THAT NO ISRAELITES MIGRATED
WEST. WHAT DOES SCRIPTURE SAY? “Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Behold,
I will save my people from the east country, and from the west country;
And I will bring them, and they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem:
and they shall be my people, and I will be their God, in truth and
in righteousness.” (Zech 8:7-8) “Fear not: for I am with thee: I will
bring thy seed from the east, and gather thee from the west.” (Isa
43:5) “Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, whom he hath redeemed from
the hand of the enemy; And gathered them out of the lands, from the
east, and from the west, from the north, and from the south.” (Psa.
107:2-3) See also Matthew 8:11
and Luke 13:29 in the New Testament. ISRAEL INDEED WAS SCATTERED
NORTH AND WEST AS WELL AS EAST, YET OUR CRITIC SAYS “THE ISRAELITES
REMAINED…EAST…NOT WEST.” THIS IS A KEY POINT AND CENTRAL TO THEIR ERROR.
IF YOU UNDERSTAND NOTHING ELSE HERE, REMEMBER THAT SCRIPTURE SAYS THAT
THE ISRAEL TRIBES MIGRATED TO THE NORTH AND WEST AS WELL AS EAST. (See
also Isa. 11:14; 49:12; 59:19) IF SO, WHAT IS NORTH AND WEST OF PALESTINE?
IF WE BELIEVE SCRIPTURE, THEN A SIGNIFICANT NUMBER OF ISRAEL TRAVELLED
TO EUROPE IN THE NORTH AND WEST BEFORE, DURING, AND AFTER THE ASSYRIAN
AND BABYLONIAN CONQUESTS.
Where Are the Tribes of Israel Now?
God's
Word answers this question so clearly that no one should go astray.
God declared through Moses that Israel would be plucked from the Promised
Land and scattered to the ends of the earth (Deut. 28:63-64). COMMENT:
OUR CRITIC SEEMS HOWEVER TO THINK THAT THE ENDS OF THE EARTH DO NOT
INCLUDE THE WEST AND EUROPE!With the Assyrian-Babylonian
captivities, God fulfilled this word, and did so again after Rome took
Jerusalem in AD 70. But despite unbelievable persecution and tribulation,
a remnant of Israel has always survived with their Jewish identity
intact. COMMENT: YES, WE AGREE, A REMNANT
OF 1% (see above) OF ISRAEL HAS SURVIVED WITH THEIR JEWISH IDENTITY
INTACT. NO DISAGREEMENT ON THE REMNANT, BUT WHAT ABOUT THE OTHER 99%?
WHAT HAPPENED TO THEM? UNDER THE UNCONDITIONAL ABRAHAMIC COVENANT,
ISRAEL WAS TO BE AS THE SAND OF THE SEA, THE DUST OF THE EARTH, AND
THE STARS OF HEAVEN! (Gen. 13:16; 15:5; 22:16-18; 28:14; 32:12, etc.)
ISAAC’S WIFE, REBEKAH, WAS PROMISED TO BE “THE MOTHER OF THOUSANDS
OF MILLIONS.” (Gen. 24:60) THE
DESCENDANTS OF ISHMAEL (THE ARABS) NUMBER OVER 400 MILLION, OR ALMOST
30 TIMES THE NUMBER OF JEWS IN THE WORLD TODAY! YET ISHMAEL WAS NOT
PROMISED A MULTITUDINOUS SEED, ONLY ISRAEL WAS, SO WHAT HAPPENED? THE
USUAL DISPENSATIONALIST ARGUMENT IS THAT THE JEWS WOULD HAVE HAD GREAT
NUMBERS EXCEPT FOR PERSECUTION; AS IF MAN COULD OVERRULE GOD’S UNCONDITIONAL
COVENANT! THE TRUTH IS THAT ISRAEL IN ITS TWO BRANCHES DID INDEED BECOME
A GREAT MULTITUDE IN THE EARTH, AND IS NOW FURTHER AUGMENTED BY A SPIRITUAL
ISRAEL CALLED OUT OF ALL NATIONS IN FAITH. INTERESTINGLY, DUE TO CHRISTIAN
CONVERSION AND OTHER FACTORS, THE JEWISH POPULATION OF THE WORLD IS
DECLINING TODAY AT A RAPID RATE, ACCORDING TO STUDIES OVER THE LAST
TEN YEARS; IF THE JEWS ARE ALL OF ISRAEL IN THE WORLD TODAY, THEN THIS
IS THE EXACT OPPOSITE OF THE PROMISE IN THE ABRAHAMIC COVENANT. WE
BELIEVE IN THE TRUTH OF THE SCRIPTURES. DISPENSATIONALIST FRIENDS,
YOU ARE MISSING THE ENTIRE HOUSE OF ISRAEL IN YOUR PROPHETIC UNDERSTANDING.
God
said He would return Israel to their land (Deut. 30:1-5), and now He
has done so. With the reestablishment of Israel in 1948, we saw an
amazing fulfillment of prophecy. How many other nations have been conquered
and scattered, only to reoccupy their ancient territory and gain statehood
thousands of years later? Who, witnessing Hitler's madness during World
War II, would imagine the Jews could survive and reestablish themselves
in the Holy Land? But as was divinely foretold, Israel would endure
and become one nation (Ezek. 36:24; 37: 16-22; Jer. 23:8; 31:1ff). COMMENT:
WE NEED TO POINT OUT HERE THAT DISPENSATIONALISTS LIKE TO JUMP BACK
AND FORTH BETWEEN UNDERSTANDING INDIVIDUAL PROPHECIES AS LITERAL OR
SPIRITUAL, WITH NO CONSISTENCY. ISRAEL WAS ONLY LOST SPIRITUALLY, THEY
INSIST, YET THEIR RETURN WAS LITERAL, NOT SPIRITUAL! HMMM!!! READER,
UNDERSTAND THAT THEIR HANDLING OF THE PROPHETIC SCRIPTURES IS FULL
OF ILLOGIC, ERROR AND CONTRADICTION. WE WOULD SAY FURTHER THAT GOD
OPERATES IN BOTH DIMENSIONS, THE PHYSICAL AND THE SPIRITUAL, NOT JUST
ONE OR THE OTHER. LOOK AT THE PROPHECIES AND SEE IN THEM BOTH THE LITERAL
AND THE SPIRITUAL MEANING AND FULFILLMENT.
How Un-Jewish Those British Are!
Even
with all their wonderful and endearing qualities, the British do not
act like Jews-lost or otherwise. Beloved, look at the evidence. COMMENT:
REALLY NOW, WHAT DO JEWS “ALL” ACT LIKE? THIS IS NONSENSE! THEY ACT
LIKE HUMAN BEINGS, LIKE THE REST OF US, OF COURSE! SINCE WHEN DO ALL
JEWS ACT ALIKE?
Historically,
the Anglo-Saxon peoples are an uncircumcised race which, according
to Genesis 17:14, excludes them from any national blessing promised
to Abraham. COMMENT: DISPENSATIONALISTS HAVE
NO REAL UNDERSTANDING OF THE NEW COVENANT AND THE CHANGES IT WROUGHT.
UNDER THE NEW COVENANT, EVERYTHING IS TRANSFORMED. THE NEW JERUSALEM
REPLACED THE OLD JERUSALEM (HEB. 13:14), THE MOSAIC LAW IS NOT “ABOLISHED”
AS SOME TEACH, BUT IS “SPIRITUAL” AND INTERNALIZED, WRITTEN ON OUR
HEARTS. (ROM. 7:14; HEB. 8:8-11), THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS NOT IN ABEYANCE,
NOR ARE WE IN AN “INTERREGNUM” OR NO-KINGDOM PERIOD AS THEY FALSELY
TEACH; IT IS A SPIRITUAL KINGDOM IN EXISTENCE NOW. (Col. 1:13; Heb.
12:22; Mat. 12:28; Luke 17:21, etc.) SCRIPTURE CLEARLY STATES THAT
THE KINGDOM OF GOD WAS ESTABLISHED ON MOUNT SINAI (Ex. 19:6) AND IS
EVERLASTING. (Dan. 4:3, 34-35)
THE APOSTLE PAUL ALSO SAYS, “But he is
a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart,
in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men,
but of God.” (Rom 2:29) DISPENSATIONALISTS TOTALLY REJECT THIS
TEACHING OF THE APOSTLE; THEY NEITHER ACCEPT THAT THE TRUE JEW-ISRAELITES
ARE CHRISTIAN TODAY, NOR THAT CIRCUMCISION OF THE HEART WAS PROMISED
FOR ISRAEL UNDER THE OLD COVENANT SIGN OF PHYSICAL CIRCUMCISION.
FRIEND, THE NEW COVENANT IS NOT THE OLD COVENANT WITH JESUS TACKED
ON! THE OLD COVENANT HAS BEEN CHANGED INTO THE NEW COVENANT AND
IS NO LONGER IN EXISTENCE AT ALL: “THE OLD HAS GONE, THE NEW HAS
COME!” (2 Cor. 5:17, lit.) IF YOU BELIEVE PAUL, YOU MUST REJECT
MODERNIST DISPENSATIONALIST THEOLOGY.
The
English are a mixed race descending from many peoples: Angles, Saxons,
Picts, Germanic tribes, and many others. Numbers 23:9 tells us that
Israel is "a people who dwell apart," meaning they maintain
racial purity. Jews have always frowned upon intermarriage with other
peoples, viewing this as a form of racial adultery and betrayal. COMMENT:
THIS STATEMENT IS PURE IGNORANCE! STUDIES SHOW THAT OVER 50% OF JEWS
MARRY OUTSIDE OF THE JEWISH SECT. IN FACT, THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS
A PURE RACE, JEWISH OR OTHERWISE -- THIS IS RACIST NONSENSE. WERE THE
ISRAELITES A PURE RACE? THE MOTHER OF THE PATRIARCHS EPHRAIM AND MANASSEH
WAS AN EGYPTIAN! (See Genesis 41:45, 50; 46:20) THE LEADING JEWISH
SCHOLAR ON THIS SUBJECT IS DR. PAUL WEXLER, DEPARTMENT OF LINGUISTICS,
TEL-AVIV UNIVERSITY. HIS TWO RECENT BOOKS DEBUNK RACIST MYTHOLOGY CONCERNING
THE JEWS: “THE ASHKENAZIC JEWS: A SLAVO-TURKIC PEOPLE IN SEARCH OF
A JEWISH IDENTITY,” (Slavica Publishers, 1993) AND “THE NON-JEWISH
ORIGINS OF THE SEPHARDIC JEWS.” (State University of New York Press,
1996) HIS BOOKS WERE FAVORABLY REVIEWED IN LEADING JEWISH JOURNALS,
ARE WELL-RESEARCHED, AND HEAVILY DOCUMENTED. WE HAVE REVIEWED BOTH
BOOKS OURSELVES. THEY PROVE THAT THE ASHKENAZIC AND SEPHARDIC BRANCHES
OF JEWRY ARE HEAVILY MIXED WITH NON-HEBREW PEOPLES. WE AGREE THAT DESCENDANTS
OF THE TRIBES OF JUDAH AND BENJAMIN ARE FOUND WITHIN THE JEWISH PEOPLE,
BUT AS A WHOLE, JEWS ARE A RELIGIOUS CULTURE-GROUP, NOT A PURE RACE.
THEY ARE IN NEED OF SALVATION ONLY THROUGH YESHUA THE CHRIST, NOT THROUGH
RELIANCE ON A SUPPOSED PURE RACE PEDIGREE!
IMPORTANT: JUDAISM NEVER TEACHES EITHER
THAT JEWS ARE A PURE RACE OR THAT PEOPLE MUST PROVE PHYSICAL DESCENT
FROM ABRAHAM TO BE JEWISH. INSTEAD, THEY HAVE WHAT HAS BEEN CALLED
A “SPIRITUAL ISRAEL” VIEW THAT BY ACCEPTING THE FAITH OF ABRAHAM
A PERSON SPIRITUALLY BECOMES A CHILD OF ABRAHAM. (See the Encyclopedia
of Myth and Magic, article: Lost Ten Tribes) THE NEW TESTAMENT
REJECTS THIS AS SEEN IN THE APOSTLE PAUL'S STATEMENTS THAT A NEW
COVENANT ISRAELITE IS ONE WHO HAS THE FAITH OF CHRIST, THE
SEED OF ABRAHAM. (Rom. 2:28-29; Gal. 3:7, 16, 29)
Wherever
the Children of Israel dwelt, they were to keep (and whenever possible,
did keep) the Sabbath Day holy (Ex. 31:16-17). Have the British ever
kept the seventh-day Sabbath? COMMENT: ISRAEL
WAS COMMANDED TO KEEP THE LAW, BUT THEY INSTEAD BROKE IT, LIVED AND
WORSHIPPED LIKE THE HEATHEN, AND WERE REMOVED FROM PALESTINE FOR THIS
REASON IN PUNISHMENT BY GOD. THEY WERE NOT A GODLY SABBATH OR LAW-KEEPING
PEOPLE WHEN THEY WENT INTO CAPTIVITY IN THE FIFTH THROUGH EIGHTH CENTURIES,
B.C., OR THEY WOULD NEVER HAVE BEEN PUNISHED AND DISPERSED! (Hosea
9:15-17, etc.)
The
Jews were to abide ". . . many days without a king and without
a prince, . . ." (Hosea 3:4). This can be said of the Jews, especially
after AD 70-but certainly never of the British, many of whom pride
themselves on their royal family! COMMENT:
THE TEN LOST TRIBES TRAVELLED ON THEIR WAY WESTWARD OVER MANY CENTURIES
AS MANY SEPARATE TRIBES WITHOUT A COMMON KING OR PRINCE OVER THEM.
THE PROPHET HOSEA PREACHED DURING THE REIGN OF JEROBOAM II IN THE SECOND
HALF OF THE 8TH CENTURY, B.C., AND SCRIPTURE STATES THAT
HOSEA’S PROPHECIES WERE CONCERNING THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL (Hosea 1:4,
6, etc.), NOT THE JEWS.
The
Jews were commanded to keep the Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread.
Have the British, as a nation, ever observed the Passover? COMMENT:
ABSOLUTELY THEY HAVE, INDIVIDUALLY THROUGH BELIEF IN CHRIST WHO IS
OUR PASSOVER. (I Cor. 5:7) THE OLD COVENANT RITUALS CAME TO THEIR FULNESS
IN CHRIST. (Matt. 5:17) THEY WERE TYPES AND SHADOWS POINTING TO CHRIST
AND CHANGED UNDER THE NEW COVENANT. THE DISPENSATIONALIST’S INCORRECT
VIEW THAT THE OLD COVENANT RITUALS CONTINUE IN FORCE TODAY (AND THAT
JEWS WILL PERFORM THE BLOOD RITUALS DURING THE MILLENNIUM!) IS IN TOTAL
IGNORANCE OF THE TIMING, PURPOSE, AND EFFECTS OF THE NEW COVENANT.
THE APOSTLE PAUL CLEARLY SAYS THAT NOW, “CIRCUMCISION IS THAT OF THE
HEART.” (Rom. 2:29) EVEN DURING OLD COVENANT TIMES, THE HEBREWS DISOBEYED
THE LAW AND RITUALS. FOR INSTANCE, SCHOLARS BELIEVE THAT THE YEAR OF
JUBILEE IN THE LAW (Lev. 25) MAY NEVER HAVE BEEN ACTUALLY KEPT AT ALL.
YET THEY WERE STILL ISRAELITES!
Many
promises made to Israel are connected with restoration to their own
land from the lands of dispersion (Ezek. 36:24-28). How can these promises
possibly apply to the British? COMMENT: BRITISH-ISRAEL
TEACHING HAS ALWAYS SPOKEN OF A REPRESENTATIVE RETURN ONLY. THIS LITERAL
FULFILLMENT OCCURRED IN 1917 WHEN BRITAIN GAINED CONTROL OF THE HOLY
LAND. EVEN DISPENSATIONALISTS DO NOT FORSEE THE RETURN OF EVERY JEW
IN THE WORLD TO PALESTINE; THEY ALSO MAKE THIS REPRESENTATIVE (AS OUR
CRITIC HIMSELF HAS IN AN ABOVE PARAGRAPH!) HOWEVER, THE PARALLEL SPIRITUAL
FULFILLMENT WAS EVEN MORE IMPORTANT, AS EZEKIEL SAYS IN THE VERSES
GIVEN: “I WILL GIVE YOU A NEW HEART AND PUT A NEW SPIRIT WITHIN YOU…”
(36:26) WE CANNOT UNDERSTAND HOW OUR CRITICS CAN QUOTE THIS PASSAGE
AND NOT SEE ANY SPIRITUAL MEANING! IF WORDS MEAN ANYTHING, THIS PROPHECY
WAS IN FACT PRIMARILY SPIRITUAL. WHO THEREFORE WAS IT FULFILLED
IN? WHAT PEOPLE WERE GIVEN THIS “NEW SPIRIT” ON THE DAY OF PENTECOST
AND AFTER, BECOMING KNOWN AS CHRISTENDOM, OR CHRIST’S KINGDOM ON EARTH?
FURTHER, THE PASSAGE OUR CRITIC GIVES
US SPEAKS (36:16-38) OF THE JOINING OF THE TWO STICKS OF JUDAH
AND ISRAEL, AND SPECIFICALLY CONNECTS IT WITH THE NEW COVENANT
AND THE COMING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. NOTE THIS: THE TWO HOUSES OF
ISRAEL AND JUDAH ARE REUNITED THROUGH FAITH IN CHRIST, AS WE QUOTED
ABOVE. UNTIL THE JEWS COME TO FAITH IN CHRIST, THE TWO HOUSES ARE
NOT REUNITED! (AS CHRIST ALSO SAYS IN JOHN 11:51-52) READER, PLEASE
NOTE THE BLINDNESS OF OUR CRITICS ON THESE POINTS! HOW COULD THE
TWO HOUSES HAVE BEEN REUNITED IN ANCIENT TIMES WITHOUT HAVING THE
NEW HEART AND NEW SPIRIT REQUIRED BY THE PROPHECY? WOULD SOMEONE
AMONG THE DISPENSATIONALIST CROWD PLEASE LET US KNOW HOW THEY CAN
JUSTIFY SUCH FALSEHOOD?!!
Both
the Bible and history make it clear that the Anglo-Saxons and the Israelites
are completely different peoples, whose different customs, legends,
living patterns, and names reveal separate origins. It does no good
to confuse the issue with the racial-transference ideas that British
Israelism (and Mormonism) propose. These doctrines distort Scripture
and history, and tend to stimulate racism-often against Jews. COMMENT:
ARE WE TO REJECT TRUTH BECAUSE SOME MISUSE IT? THIS TRUTH, WHEN BIBLICALLY
TAUGHT, UNITES THE TWO HOUSES OF ISRAEL (EPHRAIM AND JUDAH). THE REAL
DIVISION COMES FROM THE DISPENSATIONALIST TEACHING OF “DUAL COVENANT
THEOLOGY” WHICH SAYS THAT JEWS AND CHRISTIANS WILL NEVER BE UNITED,
AND THAT JEWS ARE SAVED RACIALLY WITHOUT FAITH IN CHRIST. OUR CRITICS
RACIAL PURITY TEACHING IS THE FOUNDATION OF THE FALSE SALVATION THEOLOGY
THAT PEOPLE CAN BE SAVED BY RACE INSTEAD OF BY GRACE.
Such
theories are devilish distractions designed to divert our attention
from the most important issue in this dispensation; namely, that each
person's eternal destiny depends not on racial descent or nationality,
but only on being "in Christ." Paul tells us in Galatians
3:28 that there are only two significant classes of people: believers
(the saved) and unbelievers (the unsaved). All other distinctions are
unimportant to God insofar as salvation is concerned. COMMENT:
WE WISH OUR DISPENSATIONALIST FRIENDS TRULY BELIEVED THIS STATEMENT.
WE DO! SALVATION IS NOT BY RACE, BUT BY FAITH IN CHRIST ALONE FOR JEW
AND GENTILE ALIKE. INSTEAD, DISPENSATIONALISTS DO NOT PRACTICE WHAT
THEY PREACH. READ AGAIN WHAT WE SAID ABOVE ABOUT THEIR “DUAL COVENANT
THEOLOGY.” QUESTION: IF RACIAL DESCENT OR NATIONALITY IS NOT IMPORTANT,
WHY IS THE “PURE JEWISH RACE” SO CENTRAL, INDEED CRUCIAL, TO THEIR
TEACHING?
Nonetheless,
the New Testament distinguishes the Jews from other unbelievers (1
Cor. 10:32) in order to emphasize that God has not forgotten His unique
relationship with the Jews-nor indeed can He. God still loves the Jews
and has a special plan for them (Isa. 49: 14-16). COMMENT:
THIS SAME CHAPTER OF ISAIAH ALSO TELLS US THAT ISRAEL WOULD TAKE THE
GOSPEL (“WORD OF THE LORD”) TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH! (49:6) WHO IS
THE ISRAEL THAT HAS DONE IT? THIS WAS THE REASON FOR THEIR “UNIQUE
RELATIONSHIP” -- GOD WOULD USE THEM AS HIS SERVANT PEOPLE. AGAIN, WHAT
PEOPLE HAS THIS BEEN FULFILLED IN?
Let
us follow God's leading and not try to rob Israel of her God-given
privileges. It is unscriptural and simply wrong to take the promises
that God gave to Israel and apply them to other people. The Bible assures
us that God will fulfill every vow He made to the Jews: ". . .
the gifts and calling of God are without repentance" (Rom. 11:29). COMMENT:
THIS IS TRUE! BUT, ARE OUR CRITICS THE ONES GIVING THE PROMISES SPECIFICALLY
TO THE “HOUSE OF ISRAEL” TO OTHER PEOPLE?
God told Abraham, ". . . I will bless
them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee
shall all families of the earth be blessed" (Gen. 12:3). This
promise to Abraham, and to the chosen descendants through Jacob, has
never been repealed. Indeed, God's vow has been fulfilled in history
so many times that, if men were logical, self-interest alone would
spur everyone to bless the Jews-and anti-Semitism would have disappeared
entirely! COMMENT: IT IS INTERESTING HOW THIS
CRITIC SAYS THAT, “THIS PROMISE TO ABRAHAM… HAS NEVER BEEN REPEALED.”
HOW ABOUT THE OTHER PROMISES? WILL HE INFORM US IF HE THINKS ANY OTHER
OF ABRAHAM’S UNCONDITIONAL PROMISES HAS BEEN REPEALED? WE BELIEVE THAT
ALL OF THEM HAVE BEEN FULFILLED! FOR EXAMPLE, ISRAEL WAS TO BE “MANY
NATIONS,” “A COMPANY OF NATIONS.” (Gen. 35:11; 17:5) HOW WAS THAT FULFILLED?
OUR CRITICS ARE VERY SELECTIVE ON QUOTING THE PROMISES TO ABRAHAM;
OFTEN, LIKE THIS AUTHOR, IGNORING MOST OF THEM. WHY? BECAUSE PROPHECIES
THAT WERE SPECIFICALLY GIVEN TO THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL WERE NOT FULFILLED
IN THE HOUSE OF JUDAH. WE HAVE FOUND DISPENSATIONALISTS THROUGH THE
YEARS THAT BELIEVE THAT SOME OF THE ABRAHAMIC PROMISES WERE ANNULLED
BECAUSE OF ISRAEL’S SIN, OR PUT ON HOLD BECAUSE OF THE JEWS REJECTION
OF CHRIST. THIS IS AN UNSCRIPTURAL POSITION. REMEMBER THAT THE ABRAHAMIC
COVENANT WAS UNCONDITIONAL; IT WAS BASED UPON ABRAHAM’S PRIOR FAITH
AND OBEDIENCE AND WOULD BE 100% FULFILLED IN ALL OF ITS PROMISES REGARDLESS
OF ISRAEL’S SIN OR DISOBEDIENCE. (See our study, "The Abrahamic
Covenant"
Both
Jew haters and Jew baiters may continue to curse Israel. Regardless
of how our efforts are received, we can rest in the knowledge that
God's Word shall not return void; it shall not return without accomplishing
what God desires and without succeeding in the matter for which it
was sent (Isa. 55:11). AMEN!!!
The
ten tribes are only "lost" in that they have never been born
again. They are spiritually lost, not physically. COMMENT:
YET THEY CERTAINLY BELIEVE THAT ISRAEL PHYSICALLY RETURNED IN 1948.
HOW COULD ISRAEL PHYSICALLY RETURN FROM BEING SPIRITUALLY LOST? WE
WOULD LOVE TO HAVE OUR CRITICS GIVE US AN ANSWER! READ AGAIN OUR COMMENTS
ABOUT OUR CRITICS CONFUSION ON THE LITERAL VERSUS SPIRITUAL FULFILLMENT
OF PROPHECY.
Won't
you try to tell a Jew about Jesus today and help them to be "found?" COMMENT:
YES, WE ARE DOING THAT, AND INFORMING THEM THAT ALL HAVE SINNED AND
COME SHORT OF THE GLORY OF GOD. (Rom. 3:23; 5:12) WITHOUT CHRIST, THERE
IS NO HOPE FOR JEW OR GENTILE ALIKE. MAY THE TWO STICKS OF ISRAEL AND
JUDAH COME TOGETHER THROUGH FAITH IN YESHUA (JESUS) THE CHRIST EXACTLY
AS THE PROPHETS DECLARED! AMEN!!!
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