By COGwriter
Many people do not understand world events today. In the United States, for example, some people wonder why it is going into so much debt and why it is experiencing a variety of other problems.
Yet in the developing counties, some people wonder why the Americans, Canadians, British, Scottish, Welsh, Australians, New Zealanders, and Anglo-Southern Africans have prospered for so long.
The truth is that many of the events we see in the world have been prophesied. But for whom?
Well it is a fact that everyone had to descend from someone in the past, so having an idea of from whom the nations descended can assist in better understanding biblical prophecy--especially since the Bible gives a variety of genealogies and prophecies related to some mentioned in them.
Since there are other papers at the COGwriter.com website that describe where many groups came from (please see articles listed at the end of this paper in the Appendix), this brief paper will focus mainly on the twelve tribes of Israel, including the ten "lost tribes" of Israel and will focus more specifically on the descendants of two of those tribes, Ephraim and Manasseh (counting those as two makes it 13 tribes of Israel).
And it expects to basically identify several different peoples from the Bible and select historical sources.
As far back as the Book of Genesis, God promised Abram that he would be the father of many nations:
As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, and you shall be a father of many nations. 5 No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you a father of many nations. 6 I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you (Genesis 17:4-6).
Notice that the promise was for Abraham’s descendants to be “many nations”—this simply is not fulfilled by the split into the two nations of Judah and Israel (1 Kings 12:17-20) in the Old Testament.
Herbert W. Armstrong noted that the Bible taught something interesting about God's promises to Abraham:
Notice now again how God first called Abram, and the twofold nature of His promises: "Now the Eternal had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will show thee: And I will make of thee a GREAT NATION ... and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed" (Gen. 12:1-3).
Notice the twofold promise: 1) "I will make thee a GREAT NATION" -- the national, material promise that his flesh-born children should become a great nation … 2) "... and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed" -- the spiritual promise of GRACE. This same promise is repeated in Genesis 22:18: "And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed." This particular "one seed" refers to Christ, as plainly affirmed in Galatians 3:8, 16.
Right here is where those who profess to be "Christians" -- and their teachers -- have fallen into error and scriptural blindness. They have failed to notice the twofold promise God made to Abraham. They recognize the messianic promise of spiritual salvation through the "one seed" – Christ…
We have seen how both sets of promises, right of birth and gift of grace, were unconditionally made by God to Abraham. Both the birthright and the sceptre were repromised by the Eternal to Isaac and to Jacob. But the fact that should open your eyes, as a joyous truth newly discovered, is that from that point these two sets of promises became separated! The sceptre promises of the kingly line culminating in Christ, and of grace through Him, were handed on to JUDAH, son of Jacob and father of all Jews. But the astonishing truth is that the birthright promises were never given to the Jews!
Let that be repeated! Realize this! The birthright promises were never given to the Jews!
Turn to these passages -- read them in your own Bible!
"The sceptre shall not depart from Judah ..." (Gen. 49:10).
"... But the birthright was Joseph's" (I Chron. 5:2).
Of course it is well understood that the sceptre went to Judah and was handed down through the Jews. King David was of the tribe of Judah. All succeeding kings of David's dynasty were of the House of David, tribe of Judah. Jesus Christ was born of the House of David and the tribe of Judah (Armstrong HW. THE UNITED STATES AND BRITAIN IN PROPHECY. 1954, 1967, 1972, 1975, 1980 edition).
This is perhaps one of the biggest misunderstandings that mainstream theologians have—they simply do not realize that God gave both physical and spiritual promises to Abraham and that since the physical promises were NOT fulfilled by the Jews, that they had to somehow be fulfilled in these last days.
Notice that the Bible agrees with Herbert Armstrong as it is clear that the birthright through Abraham, Isaac and then Jacob was given to Joseph and not to Reuben (the firstborn) or Judah (from whom Christ traced His genealogy):
1 Now the sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel--he was indeed the firstborn, but because he defiled his father's bed, his birthright was given to the sons of Joseph, the son of Israel, so that the genealogy is not listed according to the birthright; 2 yet Judah prevailed over his brothers, and from him came a ruler, although the birthright was Joseph's (1 Chronicles 5:1-2).
Also, since Sarah Abraham's wife was promised to be the mother of “nations” (Genesis 17:16) this shows that there are nations descended from Sarah’s only son Isaac—hence the descendants of Abraham through Ishmael is not what God was referring to.
Note: The birthright, while conferring physical blessings, does NOT mean that only those who are of physical Israel can be saved. I, myself, am not a physical Israelite, and thus can proclaim that we in the Living Church of God do believe that salvation is available now and in the future (Revelation 7:9-10) to people of all races and ethnic groups. Hence, we in the Living Church of God are NOT part of the so-called "Christian Identity movement", even though we do teach a form of British-Israelism that understands that physical blessings (along with curses for disobedience) were promised to those that are now the primary Anglo-American nations in the world. But we do consider that those in the United Kingdom are British Israelites and that those in the United States, Canada, etc. are also Anglo-Israelites, but again we do not teach that the physical blessings promised to the descendants of Israel mean that non-Israelites are not now being saved--the Apostles were quite clear that salvation is available to Gentile peoples (Acts 11:1-18)--and since I am a Gentile, I am one who benefits from the biblical teachings here. Furthermore, those of the "Christian Identity movement" tend to advocate the destruction of other peoples and the rise of the Anglo-peoples--while we in the Living Church of God understand that the Anglo-American nations received blessings from God, but are likely to be destroyed soon without massive repentance.
Furthermore notice what was told to the wife of Isaac:
"Our sister, may you become
The mother of thousands of ten thousands;
And may your descendants possess
The gates of those who hate them" (Genesis 24:60).
For many years, the major sea gates of the world were possessed by the United States and the British Empire. And while that is no longer the case, they seem to have been prophesied to be taken away for disobedience as well (c.f. Deuteronomy 28)—and certainly these nations have disobeyed the God of Abraham.
Actually, it is believed that the term "Saxon" is derived from expressions meaning related to the descendants of Isaac, or Isaac’s sons.
According to Greek and Iranian sources the Assyrians planted colonies in the region of Kabul and Gandahara to the east of Hara…According to local tradition the eastern part of Hara (“Ghor”), where the Hara river rises was once settled by people referred to as “Asaakan” and Bnei Yisrael”. “Assakan” was shortened to “Sak” or “Sok” and local muslim lore equated the term the name “Isaac”, father of Israel…The Royal family, for instance, had a tradition that they had descended from the Tribe of Benjamin…The existence of these names are evidence that a section of the Israelite nation had once been in that area, and these are apparently to be identified with the historical “Sok” or “Sakae” (meaning Scythians) who were in the Hara region from at least around 600 b.c.e. (if not earlier)…In about 676 a new element known that the Ishkuza emerged from the Cimmerian ranks, these are identified with the Scythians whom the Persians and Babylonians referred to as “Saka”: Both the names “Ishkuza” and “Saka” may be understood as forms for the name “Isaac” (Davidy Y. The Tribes. Rabbinical approbation: Rabbi Abraham Feld of the Maccabee Institute Jerusalem, July 4, 1993. Russell-Davis Publishers, Hebron (Israel), pp. 22-23,28 ).
The Bible clearly teaches that the Assyrians captured the ten northern tribes of Israel and carried them away (2 Kings 17:5-8,23).
Furthermore, notice what God promised to Sarah’s grandson Jacob:
14 Also your descendants shall be as the dust of the earth; you shall spread abroad to the west and the east, to the north and the south; and in you and in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed (Genesis 28:14).
11 Also God said to him: "I am God Almighty. Be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall proceed from you, and kings shall come from your body (Genesis 35:11).
Thus it should be clear to those willing to see that the descendants of Jacob would include multiple nations, and not be limited to just the area of Palestine. The old British Commonwealth would seem to fit the description of “a company of nations”. And the nations of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand still do to this day. (Those with Anglo-Saxon minorities have since lost control to the non-Israelites among them, Deuteronomy 28:43).
And this expansion to a group of nations simply did not happen to the ancient nations of Judah and Israel.
Furthermore, notice these prophecies for the latter days by Jacob:
1 And Jacob called his sons and said, "Gather together, that I may tell you what shall befall you in the last days:
2 "Gather together and hear, you sons of Jacob, And listen to Israel your father…
22 "Joseph is a fruitful bough, A fruitful bough by a well; His branches run over the wall.
23 The archers have bitterly grieved him, Shot at him and hated him.
24 But his bow remained in strength, And the arms of his hands were made strong
By the hands of the Mighty God of Jacob (From there is the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel),
25 By the God of your father who will help you, And by the Almighty who will bless you
With blessings of heaven above, Blessings of the deep that lies beneath, Blessings of the breasts and of the womb.
26 The blessings of your father Have excelled the blessings of my ancestors, Up to the utmost bound of the everlasting hills.
They shall be on the head of Joseph, And on the crown of the head of him who was separate from his brothers (Genesis 49:1-2,22-26).
It is only the United States and the groups of English nations now composed of the UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand who have historically fulfilled these prophecies given to Abraham and his descendants (and they are separated from their "brothers" on continental Europe). Perhaps it should be pointed out that a "fruitful bough" with "branches run over the wall" implies a colonizing people--and perhaps no peoples did more colonizing than the British.
Jacob also taught:
16 Bless the lads; Let my name be named upon them, And the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; And let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth…
19 “…He also shall become a people, and he also shall be great; but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his descendants shall become a multitude of nations." 20 So he blessed them that day, saying, "By you Israel will bless, saying, 'May God make you as Ephraim and as Manasseh!' " (Genesis 48:19-20).
It should also be mentioned that since Jacob’s name was changed to Israel (Genesis 32:28), that in the first statement above he is clearly indicating that biblically one or both of the sons of Joseph could be referred to by the name Israel.
Moses himself taught that God promised blessings to Joseph's sons:
And of Joseph he said:
"Blessed of the LORD is his land,
With the precious things of heaven, with the dew,
And the deep lying beneath,
14 With the precious fruits of the sun,
With the precious produce of the months,
15 With the best things of the ancient mountains,
With the precious things of the everlasting hills,
16 With the precious things of the earth and its fullness,
And the favor of Him who dwelt in the bush.
Let the blessing come 'on the head of Joseph,
And on the crown of the head of him who was separate from his brothers.'
17 His glory is like a firstborn bull,
And his horns like the horns of the wild ox;
Together with them
He shall push the peoples
To the ends of the earth;
They are the ten thousands of Ephraim,
And they are the thousands of Manasseh." (Deuteronomy 33:13-17).
Thus, blessings were promised to these peoples. These are blessings that history seems to show were given to the British and American-descended peoples. (Providing all the reasons why the American and British descended peoples are basically descended from Manasseh and Ephraim is beyond the scope of this paper but more details are available in a free booklet from the Living Church of God titled The United States and Great Britain in Prophecy.)
But because they are in Bible prophecy (and some of those prophecies are in other sections of this paper) understanding their original identity is an important key to understanding many events which will shortly come to pass.
While this article mainly focuses on the two tribes that descended from Joseph, when Jacob made his prophecy in Genesis 49 he mentioned all twelve tribes (though there are thirteen when Ephraim and Manasseh are counted separately).
Here is what the Bible records:
1 And Jacob called his sons and said, "Gather together, that I may tell you what shall befall you in the last days:
2 "Gather together and hear, you sons of Jacob,And listen to Israel your father.
3 "Reuben, you are my firstborn, My might and the beginning of my strength, The excellency of dignity and the excellency of power. 4 Unstable as water, you shall not excel, Because you went up to your father's bed; Then you defiled it--He went up to my couch.
5 "Simeon and Levi are brothers; Instruments of cruelty are in their dwelling place. 6 Let not my soul enter their council; Let not my honor be united to their assembly;For in their anger they slew a man, And in their self-will they hamstrung an ox. 7 Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce;And their wrath, for it is cruel! I will divide them in Jacob And scatter them in Israel.
8 "Judah, you are he whom your brothers shall praise; Your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies; Your father's children shall bow down before you. 9 Judah is a lion's whelp; From the prey, my son, you have gone up. He bows down, he lies down as a lion; And as a lion, who shall rouse him? 10 The scepter shall not depart from Judah, Nor a lawgiver from between his feet, Until Shiloh comes; And to Him shall be the obedience of the people. 11 Binding his donkey to the vine, And his donkey's colt to the choice vine, He washed his garments in wine, And his clothes in the blood of grapes. 12 His eyes are darker than wine, And his teeth whiter than milk.
13 "Zebulun shall dwell by the haven of the sea; He shall become a haven for ships, And his border shall adjoin Sidon.
14 "Issachar is a strong donkey, Lying down between two burdens; 15 He saw that rest was good, And that the land was pleasant; He bowed his shoulder to bear a burden, And became a band of slaves.
16 "Dan shall judge his people As one of the tribes of Israel. 17 Dan shall be a serpent by the way, A viper by the path, That bites the horse's heels So that its rider shall fall backward. 18 I have waited for your salvation, O LORD!
19 "Gad, a troop shall tramp upon him, But he shall triumph at last.
20 "Bread from Asher shall be rich, And he shall yield royal dainties.
21 "Naphtali is a deer let loose; He uses beautiful words.
22 "Joseph is a fruitful bough, A fruitful bough by a well; His branches run over the wall. 23 The archers have bitterly grieved him, Shot at him and hated him. 24 But his bow remained in strength, And the arms of his hands were made strong By the hands of the Mighty God of Jacob (From there is the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel), 25 By the God of your father who will help you, And by the Almighty who will bless you With blessings of heaven above, Blessings of the deep that lies beneath, Blessings of the breasts and of the womb. 26 The blessings of your father Have excelled the blessings of my ancestors, Up to the utmost bound of the everlasting hills. They shall be on the head of Joseph, And on the crown of the head of him who was separate from his brothers.
27 "Benjamin is a ravenous wolf; In the morning he shall devour the prey, And at night he shall divide the spoil."
28 All these are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father spoke to them. And he blessed them; he blessed each one according to his own blessing (Genesis 49:1-28).
Notice that each of the tribes had their "own blessing". Hence, biblically speaking, they should be looked for individually. Furthermore, it has been stated:
The nations identified...as being of the Israelite-seed of Abraham were those who mainly conducted European colonist policies from the eighteenth to twentieth centuries. (Davidy. The Tribes, p. 15).
Although I do not agree with all the conclusions in the book cited below, it has been written:
In Sercia (east Scythia) the RHABBANAEI of Reuben bordered the Garianaei of Gad...Ribuiari...is another form for Reuben...Ribuari may have been similar to the Franks own name for themselves (Davidy. The Tribes, pp. 161-162).
The "CHATAE SCYTHAE"...The Chinese records say that that portion of the Naphtalities who had been north of them moved westward prior to 450 c.e. They also say that they had previously been north of the Altai mountains and were part of the Massagete, blue-eyed and fair-haired (Davidy. The Tribes, pp. 199-200).
Finland has been identified...as...especially Issachar (Davidy. The Tribes, p. 217).
BENJAMIN also seems to have been represented by the NORMANS (Davidy. The Tribes, p. 232).
Britain was dominated by the Tribe of Joseph and especially the section of Ephraim...From Britain came many of the settlers of South Africa, New Zealand, Australia, and Canada (Davidy. The Tribes, pp. 377,390).
...characteristics of Menasseh are found in the U.S.A. (Davidy. The Tribes, p. 403).
...The Irish of today... have characteristics applicable to DAN and Simeon...The forefather of the Danes in Danish tradition was called DAN (Davidy. The Tribes, pp. 432,438).
THE STATE OF ISRAEL AND THE JEWS...Most Jews come from the tribe of Judah followed by the tribes of Benjamin and Simeon together with Levi...Judah is the determining factor (Davidy. The Tribes, p. 433).
The French descend mainly from Reuben (Davidy. The Tribes, p. 440).
We in the Living Church of God believe that the descendants of Israel traveled to many places, and while the following list may need some adjustment, it basically reflects where many of us have been taught those descendants went (even though some of each are scattered throughout many lands):
These are the countries that contain the physical cities of Israel that we believe that Jesus was referring to in Matthew 10:22-23. They probably are also where the 144,000 from Revelation will be chosen from (except Dan, which is missing from the list in Revelation 7:4-8; interestingly, the Catholic Church tends to believe that the antichrist will be from the tribe of Dan). Because of intermarriage and other factors, some of the countries are subject to debate--however, overall the peoples of northwestern Europe seemed to have descended from the tribes of Israel as well as the nations that came from those peoples.
And while most commentators understand these passages from Jacob to be prophetic, many seem to conclude that they have been fulfilled long ago. Notice what the renowned Protestant theologian John F. Walvoord wrote:
In general, the prophecies that Jacob bestowed on his children have been fulfilled in their subsequent history (Walvoord, John F. The Prophecy Handbook. Victor Books, Wheaton (IL), 1990, p. 33).
That statement above is outrageously inaccurate.
Not only have most not fulfilled historically, these prophesies were for the last days.
It was during the time of the New Testament that the last days began (Hebrews 1:2), and no commentator (outside of those who accept that there are still tribes of Israel that are not affiliated with the nation now called Israel) has been able to show how the prophecies of Genesis 49:1-27 were fulfilled in “the latter days”. Nor have I seen any of them explain who “the multitude of nations” that were to descend from Ephraim are.
On the other hand, the late John Ogwyn correctly noted:
There is no record of Ephraim and Manasseh ever becoming a great nation and company of nations prior to Israel’s captivity. They never became a blessing to all the nations of the world before they went into Assyrian captivity in the eighth century before Christ. Clearly, the fulfillment of the promises that God made to Abraham and reconfirmed to his descendants did not occur before ten-tribed Israel disappeared from the pages of your Bible and then from the pages of secular history (Ogwyn J. The United States and Great Britain in Prophecy. Living Church of God, Charlotte, 2006, p. 17).
While “disappeared” is how many view them, the fact is that they did fulfill the prophecies and have more still to fulfill.
Furthermore, the first major prophetic chapter in the Bible after those in Genesis was in Leviticus 26. In a sense it could be called the first major “blessings and cursings” chapter in the Bible. Without going into all the details, notice one verse:
I will scatter you among the nations and draw out a sword after you; your land shall be desolate and your cities waste (Leviticus 26:33).
And while God did allow the Assyrians to scatter the children of Israel in the Old Testament, they did not then destroy their cities. Instead, the cities remained and the Assyrians put other peoples in them (2 Kings 17:24).
And why is that relevant?
Because it shows that the “cities” becoming “waste” prophecy is still ready to be fulfilled. Hence, this is another Old Testament prophecy that is waiting to happen—and is likely to impact the descendants of Ephraim and Manasseh.
Interestingly, the Bible in other places distinguishes between the descendants of Judah and those of Joseph. Notice one such example:
As for you, son of man, take a stick for yourself and write on it: 'For Judah and for the children of Israel, his companions.' Then take another stick and write on it, 'For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel, his companions' (Ezekiel 37:16).
It may be of some historical interest to realize that when the monarch is crowned head of England, etc. the ceremony is similar to that of ancient Israel as Dr. Douglas Winnail writes:
Ancient Irish legends recount that in addition to the king’s daughters, Jeremiah brought with him "some national treasures from the Temple. The most important of these was the Lia Fail, or Stone of Destiny, Jacob’s stone" (Rogers, pp. 31–32). The Bible relates that Jacob, the forefather of the Israelite tribes, set up a stone pillar after making a covenant with God (Genesis 28:13–22). It was also a custom in ancient Israel to crown kings over a stone (Judges 9:6; 2 Kings 11:12–14).
The stone was later taken to Scotland by a king Fergus, and then to England. It has been used in all three countries for the coronation of monarchs—following the ancient Israelite custom. (Winnail D. Behind the Mists of Ireland. Tomorrow’s World magazine. Jan-Feb 2000).
Hence we in the Living Church of God believe that there is a connection between the old throne of Israel and the current throne of the British royal family.
Perhaps this would be a good time to explain that although we in the Living Church of God believe that the American and British descended peoples are basically descended from Manasseh and Ephraim respectively, we are not part of the “Christian Identity Movement” and teach against racial prejudice (Overcoming Racial Prejudice. Official Statement of Fundamental Beliefs. © 2008 Living Church of God) Additionally, we do teach that God is calling some now who have Israelite or Gentile backgrounds and that ultimately God will offer salvation to everyone in every possible ethnic group. Furthermore, perhaps it should be mentioned that I personally believe that I am ethnically of Gentile stock and that I am not a descendant of Israel.
FWIW, I own a book which attempts to explain why Zebulun is the Netherlands, and several books explaining why Manasseh is the United States, and Ephraim is the British-descended peoples of the old British Commonwealth, so the reader may wish to check other references for additional details.
The Old Testament shows that the tribes were to be split with ten becoming part of the northern tribes:
29 Now it happened at that time, when Jeroboam went out of Jerusalem, that the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite met him on the way; and he had clothed himself with a new garment, and the two were alone in the field. 30 Then Ahijah took hold of the new garment that was on him, and tore it into twelve pieces. 31 And he said to Jeroboam, "Take for yourself ten pieces, for thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: 'Behold, I will tear the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon and will give ten tribes to you 32 (but he shall have one tribe for the sake of My servant David, and for the sake of Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel), 33 because they have forsaken Me, and worshiped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and Milcom the god of the people of Ammon, and have not walked in My ways to do what is right in My eyes and keep My statutes and My judgments, as did his father David. 34 However I will not take the whole kingdom out of his hand, because I have made him ruler all the days of his life for the sake of My servant David, whom I chose because he kept My commandments and My statutes. 35 But I will take the kingdom out of his son's hand and give it to you--ten tribes (1 Kings 11:28-35).
These ten tribes have long been called "the ten lost tribes" of Israel. After they rebelled against King Rehoboam (the son of Solomon) the Bible calls the kingdom of the ten tribes Israel:
16 Now when all Israel saw that the king did not listen to them, the people answered the king, saying:
"What share have we in David?
We have no inheritance in the son of Jesse.
To your tents, O Israel!
Now, see to your own house, O David!"So Israel departed to their tents. 17 But Rehoboam reigned over the children of Israel who dwelt in the cities of Judah (1 Kings 12:16-17).
Israel is NOT Judea as the Bible shows. Furthermore, from the time of Jeroboam until the captivity of Israel, the Bible shows a different set of kings for Judah and Israel in the books of Kings and Chronicles.
Notice that it was because of their sins of using pagan forms of worship that God allowed the Assyrians to take over Israel:
5 Now the king of Assyria went throughout all the land, and went up to Samaria and besieged it for three years. 6 In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria took Samaria and carried Israel away to Assyria, and placed them in Halah and by the Habor, the River of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes.
7 For so it was that the children of Israel had sinned against the LORD their God, who had brought them up out of the land of Egypt, from under the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and they had feared other gods, 8 and had walked in the statutes of the nations whom the LORD had cast out from before the children of Israel, and of the kings of Israel, which they had made...
23 So Israel was carried away from their own land to Assyria, as it is to this day (2 Kings 17:5-8,23).
A non-canonical book, called Tobit, around 721 B.C. records:
1: The book of the words of Tobit, son of Tobiel, the son of Ananiel, the son of Aduel, the son of Gabael, of the seed of Asael, of the tribe of Nephthali;
2: Who in the time of Enemessar king of the Assyrians was led captive out of Thisbe, which is at the right hand of that city, which is called properly Nephthali in Galilee above Aser.
3: I Tobit have walked all the days of my life in the ways of truth and justice, and I did many almsdeeds to my brethren, and my nation, who came with me to Nineve, into the land of the Assyrians.
4: And when I was in mine own country, in the land of Israel being but young, all the tribe of Nephthali my father fell from the house of Jerusalem, which was chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, that all the tribes should sacrifice there, where the temple of the habitation of the most High was consecrated and built for all ages.
5: Now all the tribes which together revolted, and the house of my father Nephthali, sacrificed unto the heifer Baal.
6: But I alone went often to Jerusalem at the feasts...
What Tobit shows is that he was the only one from the tribe of Naphtali (spelled Nephthali above) that kept the biblical Feats in Jerusalem, while others (including his father) began worshipping heathen gods (a practice that occurs to this day).
Notice that both the Bible and Tobit record that those of Israel ended up being mixed with those of Assyria. This is similar to the fact that many of those of the "lost ten tribes" are near Germany and even came to other lands by way of Germany.
Perhaps it should be mentioned that Judah was NOT part of this particular captivity as God delivered Judah from the king of Assyria when Assyria later attempted to take Jerusalem during the time of King Hezekiah (Isaiah Chapters 36 and 37). And while Judah has its own set of problems, the Bible shows that it was able to return to the area of Jerusalem (Nehemiah 1:1-3; 2:5).
And Jesus, of course, was of the tribe of Judah (Hebrews 7:14). And at first told His disciples to reach the lost of Israel:
5 Do not go into the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter a city of the Samaritans. 6 But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel (Matthew 10:5-6).
One important point to note is that Jesus did not consider that the Samaritans were then part of the lost of Israel. Samaria was another name for northern Israel, as well as the capital of the nation of Israel (1 Kings 16:28) with Jerusalem the capital of the nation of Judah.
After the ten tribes were deported (eighth century B.C.), notice what happened in Samaria:
24 Then the king of Assyria brought people from Babylon, Cuthah, Ava, Hamath, and from Sepharvaim, and placed them in the cities of Samaria instead of the children of Israel; and they took possession of Samaria and dwelt in its cities. 25 And it was so, at the beginning of their dwelling there, that they did not fear the LORD; therefore the LORD sent lions among them, which killed some of them. 26 So they spoke to the king of Assyria, saying, "The nations whom you have removed and placed in the cities of Samaria do not know the rituals of the God of the land; therefore He has sent lions among them, and indeed, they are killing them because they do not know the rituals of the God of the land." 27 Then the king of Assyria commanded, saying, "Send there one of the priests whom you brought from there; let him go and dwell there, and let him teach them the rituals of the God of the land." 28 Then one of the priests whom they had carried away from Samaria came and dwelt in Bethel, and taught them how they should fear the LORD.
29 However every nation continued to make gods of its own, and put them in the shrines on the high places which the Samaritans had made, every nation in the cities where they dwelt. 30 The men of Babylon made Succoth Benoth, the men of Cuth made Nergal, the men of Hamath made Ashima, 31 and the Avites made Nibhaz and Tartak; and the Sepharvites burned their children in fire to Adrammelech and Anammelech, the gods of Sepharvaim. 32 So they feared the LORD, and from every class they appointed for themselves priests of the high places, who sacrificed for them in the shrines of the high places. 33 They feared the LORD, yet served their own gods--according to the rituals of the nations from among whom they were carried away. 34 To this day they continue practicing the former rituals; they do not fear the LORD, nor do they follow their statutes or their ordinances, or the law and commandment which the LORD had commanded the children of Jacob, whom He named Israel (2 Kings 17:24-34).
Thus those the Assyrians sent to Samaria and the surrounding areas blended pagan worship along with some biblical practices--but this did not make them descendants of Israel.
Dr. Douglas Winnail has written:
Records of History
The Bible and history record that Assyrians carried the ten tribes of Israel into captivity, into what is today northern Iraq, northwestern Iran and Armenia—the area between the Black Sea and Caspian Sea. The Black Obelisk from Nineveh in ancient Assyria (now in the British Museum) refers to the Israelites as the Khumri or the people of Omri (the name of the Israelite king who built Samaria—the capital city of the northern kingdom of Israel, as noted in 1 Kings 16:21–27). The Babylonians referred to these same people as the Gimiri. Around 500bc, the Persian king Darius carved an inscription of his conquests in three different languages on a rock face at Behistun in northwestern Iran. This inscription refers to the Gimri as the Sacae (who historians also identify with the Scythians who spread over Europe). Archeologist George Rawlinson stated, "We have reasonable grounds for regarding the Gimirri, or Cimmerians… and the Sacae of the Behistun Rock… as identical with the Beth-Khumree of Samaria, or the Ten Tribes of the House of Israel" (The Story of Celto-Saxon Israel, Bennett, p. 151).
Clear historical and biblical evidence traces the ancient Israelite tribes’ migration through the lands of Armenia as well as northern Iraq and Iran. This agrees with historical records that trace the origins of people now living in Britain. The Declaration of Abroath (the "Scottish Declaration of Independence"), written in 1320ad, states that the Scots’ ancestors came from Greater Scythia (around the Black Sea) through the Mediterranean Sea to Spain and then to Britain "twelve hundred years after the people of Israel crossed the Red Sea" (Bennett, pp. 159–161). The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, written around 800ad, traces the origins of the Saxon peoples to the region of Armenia (ibid., p. 209). In his work The Ruin of Britain, the early British writer Gildas (475–550ad) refers to the British people as Israelites. Irish legends call some of the first Irish settlers the tuatha de Danann (The Story of the Irish Race, MacManus, p. 5). Cyrus Gordon, a leading American archeologist, recognized the tuatha de Danann as the biblical tribe of Dan, and connected these Israelite peoples with Ireland and Denmark (Bennett, p. 79). These Danite peoples first arrived in Ireland around the time of the Israelites’ exodus from Egypt. It is also interesting that the Welsh refer to themselves as the Cymri or Cymru—after the Assyrian name for the people of Israel. The records of history link the national identities of England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales and Denmark with the Israelites of the Bible (Winnail D. Modern Nations and God’s Ancient Plan. Tomorrow's World Magazine, Volume 8, Issue 4. July-August, 2006).
Hence, history shows some of the travels of the tribes of Israel.
Notice additional information from Dr. Winnail:
Though many modern scholars have lost track of the Israelite tribes, the identity and location of the tribes of Israel have not really been lost!...osephus, a Jew writing in the first century ad, recorded that “the ten tribes are beyond the Euphrates till now, and are an immense multitude” (Antiquities of the Jews, 11:5:2). The phrase “beyond the Euphrates” reveals that the ten tribes were in Parthia—an area south of the Caspian Sea—where the Israelites had gone into captivity centuries earlier. Oxford Professor George Rawlinson noted that the Parthians were part of the Scythians, that their name “Parthi” meant “exiles” and that they had been under the dominion of the Assyrians and the Medes (The Sixth Great Oriental Monarchy, pp. 19, 26)—a description that fits the Israelites! Parthians heard Peter speak in Jerusalem on Pentecost (Acts 2:9). The early church historian Eusebius (263–339ad) relates that Christ’s disciple Andrew went to Scythia, and that Thomas went to Parthia (The History of the Church, 3:1:1). Early traditions also link Bartholomew and Philip with these same areas—which shows that the Apostles knew the location of the Israelite tribes in their day.
Historians connect the Scythians with a people called the Sacae. In his translation of Herodotus’ The Histories, Rawlinson connected the Sacae—mentioned in inscriptions that Darius commissioned ca. 500bc on the Behistun Rock in northwestern Iran—“with the Beth-Khumree of Samaria, or the Ten Tribes of the House of Israel” (p. 378). In the Apocrypha, the book of 2 Esdras states that (after the fall of the Assyrian empire) “the ten tribes… took this counsel among themselves… [to] go forth into a further country… and they entered into the Euphrates by the narrow passages of the river” (2 Esdras 13:40–45)—they headed north through the gorges to the Crimea. Nineteenth century London historian Sharon Turner wrote, “The emigrating Scythians crossed the Araxes [a river between the Black and Caspian Sea], passed out of Asia, and invading the Kimmerians, suddenly appeared in Europe, in the seventh century before the Christian era” (The History of the Anglo-Saxons, vol. 1, p. 98). Turner also described how the Scythians and a related people, the Kimmerians (Kimbri or Kumri or Cymry), eventually reached Britain, and that “The Welsh, who are their descendants, have always called themselves Cymry” (ibid., p. 34)—indeed, that name is on their postcards today!...
Gildas, a Briton writing in the early 500s ad, describes the Anglo-Saxon invasion as God’s punishment on “these His Israelites”—the Britons (De Excidio Britanniae). The early annals of Ireland call some of the Emerald Isle’s first inhabitants the “Tuatha de Danann” (The Story of the Irish Race, MacManus, pp. 2–6; The Flowering of Ireland, Scherman, pp. 51–55), which easily translates as “tribe of Dan”—one of the tribes of Israel. The Tuatha de Danann of Ireland appear to be the same peoples as the Danoi of Greece, who according to local legends came from Egypt around 1500bc—about the time of the Exodus of the Israelites. One of the traits of the tribe of Dan was to rename places where they settled or traveled (Joshua 19:40–48; Judges 18:11–12, 26–29). The Danites were seafaring people (Judges 5:17) who were prophesied to leave their mark in place names: Cyprus was called the Ia-Dnan (Island of Dan), the Danube, the Dardanelles, Danzig and Denmark (see Bennett, pp. 76–79).
Additionally, in the 17th century, Vatican librarian Cardinal Baroneous and Archbishop Ussher of Ireland—one of the greatest scholars of his day—both presented evidence that the Apostles James, Paul, Simon Peter, Simon Zelotes, along with Joseph of Arimathea, preached the gospel in the British Isles (see The Whole Works of James Ussher, vol. 5, chap. 1). This gives further credence to the understanding that the Apostles did heed Jesus’ instruction to “go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”
Prophetic Significance
But why is it important, today, to know the identity and location of the tribes of Israel? Bible prophecies record traits of the tribes of Israel that will become obvious and recognizable “in the last days” (Genesis 49:1). Moses prophesied that the descendants of the Israelites would become utterly corrupt and face difficult times “in the latter days” (Deuteronomy 4:27–30; 28:26–29). Jeremiah warns of a coming period of tribulation and chastisement for sinful Israelite nations that he calls a time of “Jacob’s trouble” (Jeremiah 30:1–15). God’s servants have the duty to warn His people of dangers that lie ahead (Isaiah 58:1; Amos 3:7). Understanding the location and identity of modern Israelite nations is a key to understanding Bible prophecies about their future, and it helps to target our message as these prophecies come alive today! (Winnail D. Finding the “Lost” Tribes of Israel. Tomorrow's World magazine, Nov-Dec 2008, pp. 14-15)/
After His resurrection, Jesus told the disciples:
Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations (Matthew 28:19).
And while the Apostle Paul was the apostle to the Gentiles, it was the Apostle Peter who was the apostles to those of Israel (the circumcision) as Paul wrote:
7 But on the contrary, when they saw that the gospel for the uncircumcised had been committed to me, as the gospel for the circumcised was to Peter 8 (for He who worked effectively in Peter for the apostleship to the circumcised also worked effectively in me toward the Gentiles) (Galatians 2:6-8).
Peter did not ignore the fact that he was sent to those of Israel. Notice what the Apostle Peter wrote:
1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To the pilgrims of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, 2 elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father (1 Peter 1:1-2).
The “Dispersion” or the Diaspora had been a term used to refer to those Israelites who are not located in the area of Palestine.
The author of the Book of James also wrote to those who were scattered:
James, a bondservant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ,
To the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad (James 1:1).
Thus James was apparently acknowledging that the twelve tribes of Israel (or possibly their spiritual descendants) were scattered in many places.
Also in the first century, the historian Josephus noted:
...[W]herefore there are but two tribes in Asia and Europe subject to the Romans, while the ten tribes are beyond Euphrates till now, and are an immense multitude, and not to be estimated by numbers (Flavius Josephus. Antiquities of the Jews, 11:5:2).
Hence, in the first century, it was known that there were descendants of the tribes of Israel that were not Jewish and were in many lands. And the fact that they would be likely to have descendants that are alive today is not considered to be of major consequence to many “theologians”.
However, those who reach such conclusions are ignoring prophecies that the Bible teaches must somehow come to pass.
The reality is that the apostles were at first told to go the lost of Israel (Matthew 10:6). After Jesus' death and resurrection Peter and some others were to reach the non-Gentiles (Galatians 2:7-9) while Paul and Barnabas were reaching the Gentiles (Galatians 2:9). And while the original apostles went into many lands, they specifically tried to reach the scattered tribes of Israel (though apparently some of them who were not mentioned as attending the conference discussed in Galatians 2 also were trying to reach Gentiles as well then).
Notice Hippolytus in the third century (that may or may not be valid), makes the following claims about the apostles:
1. Peter preached the Gospel in Pontus, and Galatia, and Cappadocia, and Betania, and Italy, and Asia ...
2. Andrew preached to the Scythians and Thracians, and was crucified, suspended on an olive tree, at Patrae, a town of Achaia; and there too he was buried.
3. John, again, in Asia, was banished by Domitian the king to the isle of Patmos, in which also he wrote his Gospel and saw the apocalyptic vision; and in Trajan's time he fell asleep at Ephesus, where his remains were sought for, but could not be found.
4. James, his brother, when preaching in Judea, was cut off with the sword by Herod the tetrarch, and was buried there.
5. Philip preached in Phrygia, and was crucified in Hierapolis with his head downward in the time of Domitian, and was buried there.
6. Bartholomew, again, preached to the Indians, to whom he also gave the Gospel according to Matthew, and was crucified with his head downward, and was buried in Allanum, a town of the great Armenia.
7. And Matthew wrote the Gospel in the Hebrew tongue, and published it at Jerusalem, and fell asleep at Hierees, a town of Parthia.
8. And Thomas preached to the Parthians, Medes, Persians, Hyrcanians, Bactrians, and Margians, and was thrust through in the four members of his body with a pine spears at Calamene, the city of India, and was buried there.
9. And James the son of Alphaeus, when preaching in Jerusalem was stoned to death by the Jews, and was buried there beside the temple.
10. Jude, who is also called Lebbaeus, preached to the people of Edessa, and to all Mesopotamia, and fell asleep at Berytus, and was buried there.
11. Simon the Zealot, the son of Clopas, who is also called Jude, became bishop of Jerusalem after James the Just, and fell asleep and was buried there at the age of 120 years.
12. And Matthias, who was one of the seventy, was numbered along with the eleven apostles, and preached in Jerusalem, and fell asleep and was buried there.
13. And Paul entered into the apostleship a year after the assumption of Christ; and beginning at Jerusalem, he advanced as far as Illyricum, and Italy, and Spain, preaching the Gospel for five-and-thirty years. And in the time of Nero he was beheaded at Rome, and was buried there (Hippolytus. On the Twelve Apostles. In Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume V by Robert & Donaldson. 1885 Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody (MA), printing 1999, pp. 254-255).
Thus, the disciples traveled to many lands and most likely encountered descendants of the various tribes of Israel on their many journeys.
Another document, apparently from the third century, called The Epistula Apostolorum states:
But he said unto us: Go ye and preach unto the twelve tribes, and preach also unto the heathen, and to all the land of Israel from the east to the west and from the south unto the north...(Epistula Apostolorum, verse 30. excerpted from Montague Rhode James in The Apocryphal New Testament (Oxford: Clarendon Press 1924), pp. 485-503. Copyright © 2001 Peter Kirby).
Thus the above indicates that those of Israel were believed to be in many lands.
While it is not absolutely certain that Paul or any of the twelve apostles actually made it to Britain, some people think so.
Eusebius wrote that Jesus' disciples reached the British Isles:
His disciples…to preach to all the Name of Jesus, to teach about His marvellous deeds in country and town, that some of them should take possession of the Roman Empire, and the Queen of Cities itself, and others the Persian, others the Armenian, that others should go to the Parthian race, and yet others to the Scythian, that some already should have reached the very ends of the world, should have reached the land of the Indians, and some have crossed the Ocean and reached the Isles of Britain (Eusebius of Caesarea: Demonstratio Evangelica, Book 3, Chapter 5. Translated by W.J. Ferrar. Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge. London. The Macmillan Company. New York 1920, p. 113).
It has been observed:
II. EARLY PLANTING OF CHRISTIANITY IN THE BRITISH ISLES
That Christianity was established in Britain between the years A.D. 51 and A.D. 61, either by the Apostle Paul himself or by converts made by him during his Roman imprisonment, is the testimony of many credible historians. Gildas the earliest British writer of history, born A. D. 520, says of the introduction of Christianity into the islands: "Meanwhile these islands, stiff with cold and frost, and in a distant region of the world, remote from the visible sun, received the beams of light, that is, the holy precepts of Christ - who is the true Sun, and who shows to the whole world his splendor, nor only from the temporal firmament, but from the height of heaven, which surpasses everything temporal - at the latter part, as we know, of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, by whom his religion was propagated without impediment." Comparing this with the previous passage, the events mentioned appear to be limited by the 'meanwhile' to a period between the defeat of Boadicea, A.D. 61, on the one hand, and on the other to events not far distant - such as the defeat of Caractacus, A.D. 51. Therefore the testimony of Gildas is to the effect that the gospel was preached in Britain before the year 61. (Yeowell, p. 22.) (Gamble J.L., Greene C.H. THE SABBATH IN THE BRITISH ISLES; Reprinted from "Seventh Day Baptists in Europe and America" Volume 1, 1910 pp 21-39).
Dr. Winnail has written:
Early writings trace the apostles’ movements. Andrew traveled to Scythia, near the Black Sea. Bartholomew went to Armenia. Thomas and Jude headed to Parthia, south of the Caspian Sea, and beyond, into regions where the ten tribes of Israel had gone. Many early writers confirm that Paul, Peter, Joseph of Arimathea, Simon Zelotes and others all spent time in Britain—knowing that there were Israelites there. Vatican librarian Cardinal Baronius (1538–1607ad) and Anglican archbishop Ussher (1581–1656ad) both mentioned that several of the apostles and their companions traveled to the Isles of the West (Winnail D. Modern Nations and God’s Ancient Plan/ Tomorrow's World Magazine, Volume 8, Issue 4. July-August, 2006).
Hippolytus, in the early third century seems to have claimed that one of the seventy that Jesus sent out to preach ended up in Britain:
These two belonged to the seventy disciples who were scattered…
Aristobulus, bishop of Britain (Hippolytus. Where Each oF Them Preached, And Where He Met His End ).
If that is so, Aristobulus could have have been placed in charge by one of the apostles as the seventy (Luke 10:1,17) had to have known the original apostles.
But it is clear that by the early third century, it was known that some version of Christianity had made it into the British Isles. And as others have indicated, this could have occurred earlier.
Whether or not the apostles went to Britain, perhaps it should be mentioned that the forms of Christianity originally found in Britain and Ireland were more "Jewish" than the forms practiced by the Roman Catholics when they finally made it to that part of the world.
Here is a report related to the period 549-1049, by the famous historian Philip Schaff:
The term Culdee has been improperly applied to the whole Keltic church, and a superior purity has been claimed for it.
There is no doubt that the Columban or the Keltic church of Scotland, as well as the early Irish and the early British churches, differed in many points from the mediaeval and modern church of Rome, and represent a simpler and yet a very active missionary type of Christianity.
The leading peculiarities of the ancient Keltic church, as distinct from the Roman, are:
1. Independence of the Pope. Iona was its Rome, and the Abbot of Iona, and afterwards of Dunkeld, though a mere Presbyter, ruled all Scotland.
2. Monasticism ruling supreme, but mixed with secular life, and not bound by vows of celibacy; while in the Roman church the monastic system was subordinated to the hierarchy of the secular clergy.
3. Bishops without dioceses and jurisdiction and succession.
4. Celebration of the time of Easter.
5. Form of the tonsure.
It has also been asserted, that the Kelts or Culdees were opposed to auricular confession, the worship of saints, and images, purgatory, transubstantiation, the seven sacraments...(Schaff, Philip, History of the Christian Church, (Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.) 1997. This material has been carefully compared, corrected¸ and emended (according to the 1910 edition of Charles Scribner's Sons) by The Electronic Bible Society, Dallas, TX, 1998).
The Catholic monk and historian Bede in the eighth century wrote about a group of church leaders in Britain:
They do not keep Easter Sunday at the proper time, but from the fourteenth...They did other things too which were not in keeping with the unity of the Church. After a long dispute they were unwilling, in spite of the prayers, exportations, and rebukes of Augustine and his companions to give their assent, preferring their own traditions to those which all the churches throughout the world agree in Christ (Bede. The Ecclesiastical History of the English People. Judith McClure and Roger Collins, editor. Oxford University Press, 1999, pp. 71-72).
In other words, from the time of Augustine (late fourth/early fifth century) it was clear that there were those in Britain who kept the Passover on the 14th and who held to practices that the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox confederation of churches did not hold.
Furthermore, notice what Catholic priest and theologian R. McBrien wrote:
Pope Vitalin...supported efforts of the king of Northumbria, following the Synod of Whitby (664), to establish in England the Roman, as opposed to the Celtic, date for Easter (that is the Sunday after the Jewish Passover, rather than the Passover itself) and other Roman practices as well. (McBrien, Richard P. Lives of the Popes: The Pontiffs from St. Peter to Benedict XVI. Harper, San Francisco, 2005 updated ed., p.109).
Notice that the above account (written by a Catholic priest and scholar) acknowledges that Rome changed Passover in Britain from the biblical date (which apparently the Celts still observed into at least the seventh century) to the Roman date. Rome would not have felt that this was necessary if it originally installed an Easter Sunday tradition into the British/Irish regions in the first or second century. Thus they either got some of these practices from their ancestral origins or from Christians not part of the Greco-Roman confederation.
Sabbath-keeping was also occurring in the Celt dominated regions until at least 886:
The Celtic Church which occupied Ireland, Scotland, and Britain, had the Syriac (Byzantine) scriptures instead of the Latin vulgate of Rome. The Celtic Church, with the Waldenses and the Eastern empire, kept the seventh-day Sabbath...
“Adomnan’s use of sabbatum for Saturday, the seventh day of the week, is clear indication from ‘Columba’s mouth’ that ‘Sabbath was not Sunday.’ Sunday, the first day of the week is ‘Lord’s day.’ Adomnan’s attitude to Sunday is important, because he wrote at a time when there was controversy over the question whether the ritual of the Biblical Sabbath was to be transferred to the Christians’ Lord’s-day.’ — A.O. and M.O. Anderson (editors) Adomnan’s Life of Columba, Thomas Nelson’s Medieval Texts, 1961, pages 25-26.
“The Old Testament required seventh-day Sabbath observance and, reason Adomnan’s editors, since the New Testament nowhere repealed the fourth commandment, the seventh-day was observed by all early Christians. The evidence they adduce suggests that no actual confusion between Sunday and ‘the Sabbath’ occurred until the early sixth century, and then in the writings of the rather obscure Caesarius of Arles. (Ibid., page 26.)...
The Roman ‘movement’ to supersede the Celtic Sabbath with Sunday ‘culminated in the production of an (apocryphal) ‘Letter of Jesus’, or ‘Letter of Lord’s day’, alleged to have been found on the altar of Peter in Rome; and is said in the annals to have been brought to Ireland by a pilgrim (c. 886). Upon this basis laws were promulgated, imposing heavy penalties for those that violated on Sunday certain regulations derived from Jewish prohibitions for Sabbath. . . . There is in fact no historical evidence that Ninian, or Patrick, or Columba, or any of their contemporaries in Ireland, kept Sunday as a Sabbath.’ (Ibid., page 28.) (Celtic Sabbath-Keeping Study No. 264, from Cherith Chronicle, April-June 1998, pp. 46-47. http://www.giveshare.org/BibleStudy/264.celtic-sabbath-keeping.html 6/24/06).
Thus "Jewish" practices were long part of the worship practices of those in the British Isles.
Although this article has mainly focused on the positive aspects promised to the tribes of Israel, both blessings and cursings are recorded for them in the Bible.
First let's look what the Bible records in Leviticus 26, starting with blessings:
3'If you walk in My statutes and keep My commandments, and perform them, 4 then I will give you rain in its season, the land shall yield its produce, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit. 5 Your threshing shall last till the time of vintage, and the vintage shall last till the time of sowing; you shall eat your bread to the full, and dwell in your land safely. 6 I will give peace in the land, and you shall lie down, and none will make you afraid; I will rid the land of evil beasts, and the sword will not go through your land. 7 You will chase your enemies, and they shall fall by the sword before you. 8 Five of you shall chase a hundred, and a hundred of you shall put ten thousand to flight; your enemies shall fall by the sword before you.
9'For I will look on you favorably and make you fruitful, multiply you and confirm My covenant with you. 10 You shall eat the old harvest, and clear out the old because of the new. 11 I will set My tabernacle among you, and My soul shall not abhor you. 12 I will walk among you and be your God, and you shall be My people. 13 I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that you should not be their slaves; I have broken the bands of your yoke and made you walk upright (Leviticus 26:3-13).
Blessings were promised first.
But cursings were also warned about if they did not obey God's laws:
14'But if you do not obey Me, and do not observe all these commandments, 15 and if you despise My statutes, or if your soul abhors My judgments, so that you do not perform all My commandments, but break My covenant, 16 I also will do this to you: I will even appoint terror over you, wasting disease and fever which shall consume the eyes and cause sorrow of heart. And you shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it. 17 I will set My face against you, and you shall be defeated by your enemies. Those who hate you shall reign over you, and you shall flee when no one pursues you (Leviticus 26:14-17).
Thus terrors (like terrorism) are prophesied for those who were blessed because of God's promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And these curses have began.
It needs to be understood that some of the cursings in the "Old Testament" of the Bible are to occur at the latter time of the end:
... evil will befall you in the latter days, because you will do evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke Him to anger through the work of your hands (Deuteronomy 31:29).
And since national repentance has not occurred, these matters will worsen:
18'And after all this, if you do not obey Me, then I will punish you seven times more for your sins. 19 I will break the pride of your power; I will make your heavens like iron and your earth like bronze. 20 And your strength shall be spent in vain; for your land shall not yield its produce, nor shall the trees of the land yield their fruit.
21'Then, if you walk contrary to Me, and are not willing to obey Me, I will bring on you seven times more plagues, according to your sins. 22 I will also send wild beasts among you, which shall rob you of your children, destroy your livestock, and make you few in number; and your highways shall be desolate.
23'And if by these things you are not reformed by Me, but walk contrary to Me, 24 then I also will walk contrary to you, and I will punish you yet seven times for your sins. 25 And I will bring a sword against you that will execute the vengeance of the covenant; when you are gathered together within your cities I will send pestilence among you; and you shall be delivered into the hand of the enemy. 26 When I have cut off your supply of bread, ten women shall bake your bread in one oven, and they shall bring back your bread by weight, and you shall eat and not be satisfied.
27'And after all this, if you do not obey Me, but walk contrary to Me, 28 then I also will walk contrary to you in fury; and I, even I, will chastise you seven times for your sins. 29 You shall eat the flesh of your sons, and you shall eat the flesh of your daughters. 30 I will destroy your high places, cut down your incense altars, and cast your carcasses on the lifeless forms of your idols; and My soul shall abhor you. 31 I will lay your cities waste and bring your sanctuaries to desolation, and I will not smell the fragrance of your sweet aromas. 32 I will bring the land to desolation, and your enemies who dwell in it shall be astonished at it. 33 I will scatter you among the nations and draw out a sword after you; your land shall be desolate and your cities waste. 34 Then the land shall enjoy its sabbaths as long as it lies desolate and you are in your enemies' land; then the land shall rest and enjoy its sabbaths. 35 As long as it lies desolate it shall rest--for the time it did not rest on your sabbaths when you dwelt in it (Leviticus 26:18-35).
The Bible also prophecies captivity:
36'And as for those of you who are left, I will send faintness into their hearts in the lands of their enemies; the sound of a shaken leaf shall cause them to flee; they shall flee as though fleeing from a sword, and they shall fall when no one pursues. 37 They shall stumble over one another, as it were before a sword, when no one pursues; and you shall have no power to stand before your enemies. 38 You shall perish among the nations, and the land of your enemies shall eat you up. 39 And those of you who are left shall waste away in their iniquity in your enemies' lands; also in their fathers' iniquities, which are with them, they shall waste away.
40'But if they confess their iniquity and the iniquity of their fathers, with their unfaithfulness in which they were unfaithful to Me, and that they also have walked contrary to Me, 41 and that I also have walked contrary to them and have brought them into the land of their enemies; if their uncircumcised hearts are humbled, and they accept their guilt-- 42 then I will remember My covenant with Jacob, and My covenant with Isaac and My covenant with Abraham I will remember; I will remember the land. 43 The land also shall be left empty by them, and will enjoy its sabbaths while it lies desolate without them; they will accept their guilt, because they despised My judgments and because their soul abhorred My statutes (Leviticus 26:36-43).
But that ultimately God will be merciful to them:
44 Yet for all that, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not cast them away, nor shall I abhor them, to utterly destroy them and break My covenant with them; for I am the LORD their God. 45 But for their sake I will remember the covenant of their ancestors, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt in the sight of the nations, that I might be their God: I am the LORD' " (Leviticus 26:44-45).
As will be shown below, it apparently is a confederation of Islamic peoples who begin a plan to destroy the descendants of Israel, and most likely the descendants of Judah, Ephraim, and Manasseh.
However, as shown in Leviticus 26:44-45 and elsewhere, eventually they will stop.
Britain in Prophecy: The British are People of the Covenant
It may be of interest to note that the Hebrew term often translated as "covenant" in Leviticus and elsewhere in the Old Testament is "beriyth" and the word for "man" is "iysh"--together they are pronounced similar to the term "British".
It may be that the British considered themselves the people of the physical covenant God made to Joseph.
It may also be of interest to note that the expression translated as "covenant of the people" in Isaiah 49:6 is made up of the word "beriyth" and "am", brit-am:
In Hebrew, Brit-am in northern dialects and in later spoken Hebrew would have become "Brit-aN" the final "m" being pronounced as "N"...Britain itself in old documents was sometimes rendered by the English as "Britammia" (Davidy. The Tribes, p. 413-414).
At minimum, the above suggests a link between the Hebrew language and the term British. And likely, it means even more than that.
The Bible shows that in the last days, the descendants of Assyria will be used to punish some of the children of Israel.
But first notice that a confederation of primarily Arabic peoples will come up with a plan to destroy Israel (more on their specific identities Is There A Future King of the South?) , and that Assyria will decide to become part of this plan.
2 For behold, Your enemies make a tumult;
And those who hate You have lifted up their head.
3 They have taken crafty counsel against Your people,
And consulted together against Your sheltered ones.
4 They have said, "Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation,
That the name of Israel may be remembered no more."5 For they have consulted together with one consent;
They form a confederacy against You:
6 The tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites;
Moab and the Hagrites;
7 Gebal, Ammon, and Amalek;
Philistia with the inhabitants of Tyre;
8 Assyria also has joined with them;
They have helped the children of Lot (Psalm 83:2-8).
And while this essentially Arab/Turkish group will have the plan, other parts of the Bible indicate that it will actually be the Assyrians that truly succeed in destroying several nations--apparently several nations descended from Israel, such as the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.
Notice Isaiah 10:5-12
5 "Woe to Assyria, the rod of My anger
And the staff in whose hand is My indignation.
6 I will send him against an ungodly nation,
And against the people of My wrath
I will give him charge,
To seize the spoil, to take the prey,
And to tread them down like the mire of the streets.
7 Yet he does not mean so,
Nor does his heart think so;
But it is in his heart to destroy,
And cut off not a few nations.
8 For he says,
'Are not my princes altogether kings?
9 Is not Calno like Carchemish?
Is not Hamath like Arpad?
Is not Samaria like Damascus?
10 As my hand has found the kingdoms of the idols,
Whose carved images excelled those of Jerusalem and Samaria,
11 As I have done to Samaria and her idols,
Shall I not do also to Jerusalem and her idols?'"12 Therefore it shall come to pass, when the LORD has performed all His work on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem, that He will say, "I will punish the fruit of the arrogant heart of the king of Assyria, and the glory of his haughty looks."
Also notice that the Assyrian does not really intend to do it (verse 7), but will end up doing it anyway.
Dr. Winnail wrote:
Future of Germany
The Bible indicates that at the end of this age, the Israelite nations’ chief antagonist will be Assyria (Isaiah 10). God will use Assyria and its allies to punish Israelite nations that have forgotten their God (Isaiah 10:5–7; 24–25). Just like their ancient ancestors, the modern Assyrians have espoused a "master race" philosophy, have acquired a reputation for a certain aloofness and arrogance and have executed military operations with deadly precision and efficiency (Isaiah 10:8–14). Though few modern scholars look to the Bible for clues to understand geopolitics, the Bible’s prophetic references to Assyria in the "last days" do indeed point to modern Germany.
Legends indicate that Germany’s oldest city, Trier, grew from an Assyrian colony founded on the site around 2000bc. Arab sources in the 1400s refer to the Germans as Assyriana. The Assyrians and their allies were the earliest nations to use iron weapons, and iron has played a notable role in German social history. Charlemagne ruled from Aachen in present day Germany. He wore a suit of iron armor and "took the iron crown of Lombardy" to become the king of the Franks and Lombards (Germany, Her People and their Story, Gifford, p. 35). From 1813 through the end of World War II, German soldiers were awarded the Iron Cross for their meritorious service in war. German leader Otto von Bismarck acquired the nickname "the Iron Chancellor" for his memorable words that the great problems of the age would be solved by "blood and iron."
Prophecies in Daniel indicate that "at the time of the end" the German-led European "beast power" (called "the king of the North") will engage in military operations (Winnail D. Modern Nations and God’s Ancient Plan/ Tomorrow's World Magazine, Volume 8, Issue 4. July-August, 2006).
The King of the North will invade and destroy the United States, Great Britain, etc. And many in Europe, some associated with the tribes of Israel, and others from various Gentile peoples, will be aligned with this German-driven European power at the time of the end.
Herbert W. Armstrong made it clear in his later years that he believed that the King of the North (the one mentioned in Daniel 11:40-41 which is the same one who places the abomination mentioned in Daniel 11:31) would destroy the British and American peoples. Notice some of what he wrote about that in 1979:
The indication is the armies of the "beast" of Revelation 17, entering Jerusalem (Dan 11:41, Zech. 14:2), will stop this "daily sacrifice"...And the abomination that maketh desolate set up." What is this abomination? This refers to Daniel 11:31 and Matthew 24:15...That will be a time when the UNITED Europe shall appear--the revival of the medieval "Holy Roman Empire." We shall then be warned, and readied to be taken to a place of refuge and safety from the Great Tribulation. Forty-five days later "the beasts armies" will surround Jerusalem. Thirty days later the Great Tribulation will probably start with a nuclear attack on London and Britain--and possibly the same day or immediately after, on the United States and Canadian cities. The GREAT TRIBULATION, we shall fully then realize, is the time of "Jacob's Trouble," spoken of in Jeremiah 30:7. And Jacob's name was named on Joseph's sons, Ephraim and Manasseh (Gen. 48:16). At that time a third of the people in our nations will die, or shall have died, by famine and disease epidemics; another third will dies of the war--our cities being destroyed (Ezek. 6:6), and the remaining third will be carried to the land of our enemies as slaves (Ezek. 5:12). Armstrong HW. The Time We Are In, Now. Pastor General's Report-Vol 1, No. 15, November 20, 1979, Page 2).
Perhaps this would be a good time to mention that private Catholic prophecies foretell a time when a Great Monarch will rise up and that he will destroy the English peoples (more details, including some prophecies from Nostradamus, are in the article Who is the King of the North?).
Now some may be asking themselves, how can modern Germany somehow represent Assyria since the United States has so many of German heritage that it was almost more German than English at its inception?
That is an excellent question.
As mentioned before, there was a commingling of the ten tribes of Israel with Assyria. But the commingling was not complete, in that while undoubtedly some interbreeding occurred, this was not complete--ethinic distinctions still remained for many.
Since God had Jacob give the prophecies for the tribes, it should be clear that somehow God would make it come to pass. Notice the following:
11'For thus says the Lord GOD: "Indeed I Myself will search for My sheep and seek them out. 12 As a shepherd seeks out his flock on the day he is among his scattered sheep, so will I seek out My sheep and deliver them from all the places where they were scattered on a cloudy and dark day (Ezekiel 34:11-12).
So even though they were scattered and their locations "cloudy and dark", this does not mean that they would not fulfill God's plan.
Raymond McNair looked into the origins of the British and European peoples and reported a variety of research findings as follows (any bolding his):
The Britannica states, "Celt...the generic name of an ancient people, the bulk of whom inhabited the central and western parts of Europe" ("Celt," 11th ed., vol. 5).
The World Book Encyclopedia says, "...Little is known of the Celts until about 500 B.C. Then they were found mainly in south-western Germany..."...
Sharon Turner (1768-1842)...says, "Europe has been populated by three great streams of population from the East...The earliest of these...comprised the Cimmerian and Celtic race. The second consisted of the Scythian, Gothic, and Germanic tribes; from whom most of the modern nations of continental Europe descended...third and most recent...Slavonian and Sarmatian nations...who established themselves in Poland, Bohemia, Russia, and their vicinities. It is from the first two generations of European population [Celts and Scythians] that the ancient inhabitants of England successively descended... The earliest of these that reached the northern and western confines of Europe, the Cimmerians and Celts, may be regarded as our first ancestors; and from the German or Gothic nations who formed, with the Scythians, the second great flood of population into Europe, our Anglo-Saxon and Norman ancestors proceeded" (McNair R. America and Britain in Prophecy. Global Church of God, San Diego, 1996, pp. 29-30).
There is one verse in the Bible that mentions the Scythians by that name:
where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all and in all (Colossians 3:11).
What the above verse is doing is CONTRASTING Israelites and non-Israelites. Or specifically between Greeks and Jews, Israelites and Gentiles, barbaric Gentiles and the lost tribes of Israel (Scythians--essentially barbaric Israelites), slaves (to sin, Gentiles) and free (spiritual Israelites). Thus there is evidence in the Bible that the tribes of Israel should be associated with the Scythians.
But is there any evidence outside the Bible that when "Germans", for example, came to the United States, that they were closer ethnically to Israel than Germany?
Actually yes.
Raymond McNair also looked into this and reported the following (any bolding his):
Most true Germans are characterized by "Alpine" round skulls...Yet ethnologist Madison grant writes, "In the study of European populations the great and fundamental fact about the British Isles is the almost total absence there of true Alpine round skulls" (p.137).
Ripley, in The Races of Europe says, "The most remarkable trait of the population of the British Isles is its head form; and especially the uniformity in every respect which is everywhere manifested. The prevailing type is that of the long and narrow cranium, accompanied by an oval rather than broad or round face" (p.303). Remember that this is the same type as the northern Celtic type. It is also the same as the Teutonic, Scandinavian type--the Scythian type!
In a 1915 article--"Are We Cousins to the Germans?"--Sir Arthur Keith wrote that "the Britons and German represent contrasted and opposite types of humanity" (The Graphic, Dec 4, p. 720). He explained, "The radical difference in the two forms leaps to the eye. In the majority of the Briton--English, Welsh, Scottish and Irish--the hinder part of the head, the occiput, projects prominently backwards behind the line of the neck; the British head is long in comparison with its width" (p. 720).
Keith then pointed out that "in the vast majority of Germans," the back of the head is flattened"--indicating "a profound racial difference"...
"The explanation," according to Keith, "is easy. With the exodus of the Franks to France and the Anglo-Saxons to Britain in the fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth centuries of our era, Germany was almost denuded of her long-headed elements in her population" (McNair, pp. 31-32).
When I attempted to verify some of the above, I found an older study from R.F. Parsons that showed that the German heads were indeed more rounded than the British heads. The study also reported:
In 1925 Germans the glabello-maximal length averages 189 mm., and the breadth 155.
In 127 British soldiers they are 191 mm. and 149 respectively, and in 103 medical students of British parentage, 194 and 192 (Parsons, R.F. Anthropological observations on German prisoners of war. The Journal of the Royal Anthropologic Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, Vol. 49, Jan-Jul 1919, pp. 20-35).
And as far as Germans go (bolding in the source) notice:
Britannica:...The total number of those who sailed for the United States from 1820 to 1900 may be estimated at more than 4,500,000. The greater number of the more recent immigrants was from the agricultural provinces of northern Germany...(11th ed., vol. 11)...It is clear then that the Anglo-Saxon peoples are not Germanic--at least in the modern sense of the term (McNair R, p. 33-34).
A separate study, in the case of Germany at least those who went to the U.S.A. in the 1800s were somehow different from those who stayed behind and German officials themselves remarked on such a difference. The claim is that the distinction is based on consideration of physical types, areas-of-origin with Germany, religious orientation and social outlook (Davidy Y., The Tribes. Rabbinical approbation: Rabbi Abraham Feld of the Maccabee Institute Jerusalem, July 4, 1993. Russell-Davis Publishers, Hebron (Israel), p. 430).
Thus, there are reasons to believe that many of those who came to the United States were ethnically different than those that did not. And because God's promises were made to physical descendants, it is logical that this type of separation would have occurred.
Notice that the Bible clearly teaches that Joseph's sons were to take on Jacob's name and that the time of Jacob's trouble is coming--a time that will thus affect the descendants of those sons:
Jacob said to Joseph:..."I had not thought to see your face; but in fact, God has also shown me your offspring!... Bless the lads; Let my name be named upon them, And the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; And let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth." (Genesis 48:3,11,16).
Alas! For that day is great, So that none is like it; And it is the time of Jacob's trouble (Jeremiah 30:7).
Those who have received the blessings given to the descendants of Joseph, should not be surprised if they will also be the recipient of biblical curses if they do not walk uprightly as a people. Those that are called Saxons (Isaac's sons) should not be surprised if biblical prophecies apply to them.
Other than the cursings mentioned to fall upon those who received the promised blessings in Leviticus and Deuteronomy, why would Europe destroy the U.S.A. and its Anglo-allies?
Because it is the nominally Protestant U.S.A. (and essentially "officially Protestant UK) that most stands in the way of the goals of a future Catholic-influenced Europe to dominate the world (see also Europa, the Beast, and the Book of Revelation). There are many Catholic private prophecies that show the destruction of the English (note: the nation was not known as "England" when some of the prophecies were originally claimed, hence the term "England" was probably a translation of a term referring to the Anglo peoples):
Saint Cataldus of Tarentino (c. 500): "The Great Monarch will be in war till he is forty years of age....he will assemble great armies and expel tyrants from his empire. He will conquer England {the Anglo-Saxons, possibly referring to the USA} and other island empires {possibly referring to the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand}" (Connor, Edward. Prophecy for Today. Imprimatur + A.J. Willinger, Bishop of Monterey-Fresno; Reprint: Tan Books and Publishers, Rockford (IL), 1984, p.30).
St. Senanus (d. 560): They (English) themselves will betray each other: in consequence their sovereignty will be broken...One monarch will rule in Ireland over the English (Culleton, R. Gerald. The Prophets and Our Times. Nihil Obstat: L. Arvin. Imprimatur: Philip G. Scher, Bishop of Monterey-Fresno, November 15, 1941. Reprint 1974, TAN Books, Rockford (IL), p. 128).
Merlin (7th century): After destruction of England...shall come a dreadful man...he shall set England on the right way and put out all heresies (Culleton, p. 132).
St. Malachy (12th century): ... the English in turn must suffer severe chastisement. Ireland, however, will be instrumental in bringing back the English to the unity of Faith." (Dupont, Yves. Catholic Prophecy: The Coming Chastisement. TAN Books, Rockford (IL), 1973, p.15)
Ancient Irish source: England will again injure the Irish...This will be a sign for the frightful punishment of England...England suffers the same degradation as she meted out to her neighbor, and for the same length of time. Not the smallest fraction of time in this long period shall be remitted...Never shall world power be hers again...France restores order in England (Culleton, pp. 234,235).
St. Columbine (d. 597): The enemies of the English shall be aroused in battle--they who reside in the eastern and western parts of the world...the English shall be defeated...After the English shall be defeated in this battle, they shall be harassed by every quarter; like a fawn surrounded by a pack of voracious hounds, shall be the position of the English amidst their enemies. The English afterwards shall dwindle down to a disreputable people. (Culleton, R. Gerald. The Prophets and Our Times. Nihil Obstat: L. Arvin. Imprimatur: Philip G. Scher, Bishop of Monterey-Fresno, November 15, 1941. Reprint 1974, TAN Books, Rockford (IL), pp. 131,132).
St. Francis of Paola (Born in Italy, 15th century). "By the grace of the Almighty, the Great Monarch will annihilate heretics and unbelievers. He will have a great army, and angels will fight at his side. He will be like the sun among the stars. His influence will spread over the whole earth. All in all, there will be on earth twelve Kings, one Emperor, one Pope and a few Princes. They will all lead holy lives." (Dupont, p.38)
Saint Edward (d. 1066) “The extreme corruption and wickedness of the English nation has provoked the just anger of God. When malice shall have reached the fullness of its measure, God will, in His wrath, send to the English people wicked spirits, who will punish and afflict them with great severity…” (Culleton, p. 137).
Mother Shipton (d. 1551) “The time will come when England shall tremble and quake…London shall be destroyed forever after . . . and then York shall be London and the Kingdom governed by three Lords appointed by a Royal Great monarch…who will set England right and drive out heresy (Culleton, p. 163).
Werdin d' Otrante (13th century): "The Great Monarch and the Great Pope will precede Antichrist...All the sects will vanish. The capital of the world will fall. The Pope will go over the sea carrying the sign of redemption on his forehead...The Great Monarch will come and restore peace and the Pope will share in the victory" (Connor, p. 33).
Father Laurence Ricci, S.J. (died 1775): ... a valiant duke will arise from the ancient German house which was humiliated by the French monarch. This great ruler will restore stolen Church property. Protestantism will cease... This duke will be the most powerful monarch on earth. At a gathering of men noted for piety and wisdom he will, with the aid of the Pope, introduce new rules, and ban the spirit of confusion. Everywhere there will be one fold and one shepherd." (Connor p.37)
The one they often refer to as the Great Monarch appears to be the same one that the Bible warns about as the final King of the North. Only by eliminating the vast bastions of Protestantism (which as various Catholic prophecies show is a goal), such as the U.S.A. and its Anglo-allies, can this ecumenical Catholic domination be attained. (It would appear that the eastern and western parts of the world are the future Arab-Muslim King of the South power and the future European King of the North power, this is also consistent with the confederation of peoples in Psalm 83. It would also be logical that the United States might be considered as "the capital of the world")
Why would God allow some of the greatest nations of all time to be destroyed as the Anglo-Americans have been in the forefront of distributing Bibles, helping in humanitarian matters, assisting with international disasters, etc.?
Because the New Testament clearly teaches:
For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required (Luke 12:48).
The U.S.A. and its Anglo-allies have been given much.
The Old Testament teaches:
6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.
Because you have rejected knowledge,
I also will reject you from being priest for Me;
Because you have forgotten the law of your God,
I also will forget your children.7 “The more they increased,
The more they sinned against Me;
I will change their glory into shame.
8 They eat up the sin of My people;
They set their heart on their iniquity.
9 And it shall be: like people, like priest.
So I will punish them for their ways,
And reward them for their deeds (Hosea 4:6-9).
Notice that God promises to turn the glory of a people (like the Anglo-American powers) into shame because they have REJECTED knowledge and the law of God.
The religious leaders in these nations have by and large failed to warn their followers that they need to keep the law of God. This is knowledge that the people and the leaders should have as the Anglo-American powers have likely printed up more Bibles than the rest of the world combined.
Notice what happened between Jesus and the religious leaders of His day:
Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you say, ‘We see.’ Therefore your sin remains…”(John 9:41).
We in the Anglo-American nations do not have the excuse that we did not have the word of God freely available and discussed for generations.
We need national repentance. Otherwise, we have no excuse.
The prophesied shame is starting to come upon the Anglo-American powers. Without repentance, increased pride is likely to occur, then the prophesied destruction of our nations.
People individually and the nations collectively need to repent, because truly the end is near. Those who think that they will be able to wait until the last moment (which will probably be sometime in the next decade) are deceiving themselves as a strong delusion will come upon the world then.
The New Testament further teaches:
16 But now you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. 17 Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin (James 4:16-17).
Anglo-American religious leaders should all know that they need to denounce sin, but most have compromised on several points.
The Bible also teaches:
5 O Assyrian, the rod of mine anger, and the staff in their hand is mine indignation. 6 I will send him against an hypocritical nation (Isaiah 10:5-6, KJV).
Christians all need to realize that when Jesus came, He clearly condemned the hypocritical religious leaders of His day (e.g. Luke 11:44), more directly than the more obvious sinners (Matthew 9:10-13). This is not to say that non-Anglo peoples do not have sin or that they will not be punished (for the European Assyrians will clearly also be punished, per Isaiah 10:12), but that the punishment will begin first on those that should have known better—those who claimed to live by the Bible but have repeatedly failed to do so.
And while the gospel warning message will be made quite clear to the English-speaking peoples (especially since the Living Church of God is based in the English-speaking U.S.A.) prior to Daniel 11:38, because the Anglo-American nations are not likely to heed that warning, they will have to answer for their lack of response (cf. Ezekiel 33:7-9).
Let’s briefly look at another warning in Isaiah 30:12-13:
12 Therefore thus says the Holy One of Israel:
“Because you despise this word, And trust in oppression and perversity, And rely on them, 13 Therefore this iniquity shall be to you Like a breach ready to fall, A bulge in a high wall, Whose breaking comes suddenly, in an instant.
Of course, more and more, the Anglo-American nations are trusting in policies that encourage perversity. While there is oppression in these nations (especially racial), the Hebrew word for it can also be translated “unjust gain”. This can include not just the historical exploitation of of various peoples, but can probably also include the fact that the economies of the Anglo-American nations for the past few decades has been benefiting from the gains of foreigners loaning money to it.
Habakkuk 2:3,6,7, which is consistent with Isaiah 30:12-13, also teaches that the destruction will be sudden. And that it will occur at the end times:
3 For the vision is yet for an appointed time; But at the end it will speak, and it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; Because it will surely come, It will not tarry...
6 "Will not all these take up a proverb against him, And a taunting riddle against him, and say, 'Woe to him who increases
What is not his--how long? And to him who loads himself with many pledges'? 7 Will not your creditors rise up suddenly? Will they not awaken who oppress you? And you will become their booty. 8 Because you have plundered many nations, All the remnant of the people shall plunder you (Habakkuk 2:3,6-8).
The United States and its Anglo-allies have loaded pledges of debt in these end times that they really do not expect to pay back. In that respect they have recently plundered many nations.
One of the many cursings that were prophesied was that of accumulation of debt:
43 The alien who is among you shall rise higher and higher above you, and you shall come down lower and lower. 44 He shall lend to you, but you shall not lend to him; he shall be the head, and you shall be the tail. 45 Moreover all these curses shall come upon you and pursue and overtake you, until you are destroyed, because you did not obey the voice of the LORD your God, to keep His commandments and His statutes which He commanded you (Deuteronomy 28:42-45).
As the Anglo-American nations have not kept God's commandments, they have become the greatest debtor nations of all time!
This destruction will most likely happen next decade (see Can the Great Tribulation Begin in 2009, 2010, or 2011?, though not before 2012, see Might 2012 Mean Something?) unless massive repentance occurs soon.
Perhaps it should be mentioned that there are at least eight reasons why Barack Obama is Apocalyptic. There may even be Kenyan writings that seem to be about Barack Obama, Prophecy, and the Destruction of the United States. Additionally, there is a seventeenth century Shiite prophecy that seems to forecast the rise of a black man in the West who will lead to the rise of the final Muslim Mahdi (one that the Bible seems to refer to as the King of the South), see Barack Obama in Islamic Prophecy?
The time for repentance of the Anglo-American nations is now as the proverbial handwriting is now on the wall (Daniel 5:26).
The Bible shows that there were prophecies given in the Book of Genesis and elsewhere related to all the tribes of Israel. These prophecies were NOT fulfilled prior to Jesus' first coming, thus since "Scripture cannot be broken" (John 10:35), they must have had a fulfillment in the last days or in days soon to come.
Those who teach otherwise are clearly ignoring the Bible and the reality of recorded history.
Understanding the identity of these peoples helps people to better understand the Bible as well as other prophecies still to be fulfilled.
The Americans, Canadians, British, Scottish, Welsh, Australians, and New Zealanders were recipients of many blessings. And unless they quickly turn back to God, they will reap what they have sown and thus also receive the many cursings (including utter destruction) that God warned His people they would receive if they turned from Him.
That time of destructive punishment will most likely begin in the next decade.
(More biblical information about what is expected to happen to the descendants of Ephraim and Manasseh is discussed in the article Who is the King of the North?. Information about what is expected to happen to the Europeans and the descendants of the ancient Assyrians can be found in the article Europa, the Beast, and Revelation. Information about when the Bible indicates the end may be can be found in the two articles End of Mayan Calendar 2012--Might 2012 Mean Something? and Does God Have a 6,000 Year Plan? What Year Does the 6,000 Years End?)
Thiel B. Where Are the Lost Ten Tribes of Israel? www.cogwriter.com/britishisrael.htm (c) 2008 1219
Appendix: Information on other peoples not discussed in this article can be found in the following articles:
Is There A Future King of the South? Some no longer believe there needs to be. Might Egypt, Islam, Iran, Arabs, or Ethiopia be involved? What does the Bible say?
The Arab World In the Bible, History, and Prophecy The Bible discusses the origins of the Arab world and discusses the Middle East in prophecy. What is ahead for the Middle East and those who follow Islam?
Africa: Its Biblical Past and Prophesied Future What does the Bible teach about Africa and its future? Did the early Church reach Africa? Will God call all the Africans?
India, Its Biblical Past and Future, Part I: Any Witness? The Bible discusses the origins of those of Indian heritage and discusses some of the witness to them.
China, Its Biblical Past and Future, Part 1: Genesis and Chinese Characters This article provides information showing that the Chinese peoples must have known about various accounts in the Book of Genesis up until their dispersion after the Tower of Babel.
China, Its Biblical Past and Future, Part 2: The Sabbath and Some of God's Witness in China When did Christianity first come to China? And is there early evidence that they observed the seventh day sabbath?
Asia in Prophecy What is Ahead for China? Is it a "King of the East"? What will happen to nearly all the Chinese, Russians, and others of Asia? China in prophecy, where?
Japan, Its Biblical Past and Future, Part 1: Any Witness? This is a draft of an in-process article about Japan. Have they had any witness?
Japan, Its Biblical Past and Future, Part 2: Prophecy Japan in prophecy. What is prophesied for Japan. Will God save the Japanese?
Islands and Bible Prophecy What's ahead for islands? What does the Bible prophesy about them?
Modern Nations and God’s Ancient Plan Many peoples are mentioned in the Bible. And other than the fact that the modern nation of Israel represents the ancient kingdom of Judah, do you know who any of these people are now?