The end of Genesis Ch 48 and beginning of Ch 49 record Jacob's declaration of his last will and testament to his sons. According to the ancient law of primogenitor, Reuben, Jacob's first-born son, should have received the birthright promises. However, like the two preceding generations in the line from Abraham, the elder son failed to meet the standard and was passed over for a younger son. Thanks to Reuben's sins with his father's concubine, Bilhah, the birthright was re-directed to two of Israel's younger, but more prominent sons, Judah and Joseph. Judah was given guardianship of the law until the arrival of the Messiah. Joseph's sons got everything else, including the right to the name Israel. The other brothers missed out altogether. Judah's descendents took his name and are today still known by that name - Jews. Many Jews were born Israelites (descendants of Israel), but not every Israelite was a Jew (descendant of Judah), in the same way that every Scotsman is born a Briton but not every Briton is a Scotsman.
God appears to have directed Jacob/Israel to bestow the birthright promises upon Joseph and his sons, Ephraim and Manasseh. No doubt in passing on the covenant promises to Joseph's two sons, Jacob was greatly influenced by Joseph's dreams about God's elevation of Joseph above his brothers. Jacob began by adopting Ephraim and Manasseh, making them equal with his other sons, following which (Ch 48:16) he gave them the name "Israel". The phrase he used was that "his name would be perpetuated in them". This was not a suggestion, but an integral part of his last will and testament that he was in the process of declaring.
What he was literally saying was, "On them do I bestow the name of the House of Israel". Note that they were the only ones to whom he said this, therefore, of the twelve tribes, they were the only ones on whom Jacob conferred the right to refer to themselves as the House of Israel; that may be why thereafter we see some references in scripture to the House of Israel and others to the Children of Israel - the first would be to those identified by Israel as 'his line' and the latter to his actual children (remember that Ephraim and Manasseh were not his sons; they were his part-Egyptian grandsons).
Ephraim, the younger of Joseph's sons, was blessed over and above his elder brother, Manasseh, yet both were blessed over and above Jacob's actual sons. In this way, the birthright was bestowed on the House of Joseph and not Judah, as is commonly supposed. Ephraim and Manasseh were now named Israel, thereby identifying them as the line through which God's promises to Abraham would be fulfilled; Ephraim was told his line would be a "multitude of nations", or more accurately, a "company (commonwealth) of nations". Manasseh, on the other hand, would become a powerful country. Their descendants became the nobility of the 12-tribed Hebrew nation and led the Northern Kingdom after Judah and Benjamin withdrew to form the House of Judah. Ephraim and Manasseh were the sole heirs to the Abrahamic promise, and based on the aforementioned, it is to them that specific references to "The House of Israel", and the covenant promises they was destined to fulfill , were made by the prophets. Likewise, all references to 'The Children of Israel' and 'The 12 Tribes of Israel' encompass all twelve tribes.
Before moving on from Jacob's declaration of his last will and testament to his sons, let us briefly observe the prophesies spoken over Judah and over Joseph (via Ephraim and Manasseh) regarding the role of their offspring in the Last Days. Judah is the one his brothers will praise, his hand will be on the neck of his enemies, and his father's sons (the other brothers) will bow down before you. In today's Jewish community, the descendants of Judah (the Zionists claim this heritage) are certainly praised by other Jews and honoured as leaders of their nation as their faction has been elected to control the Israeli Knesset (Government). Having "his hand will be on the neck of his enemies" is a very accurate description of the way the modern day state of Israel is treating its Arab neighbours, who that nation sees as its enemies.
Of Joseph's offspring in the Last Days, Jacob prophesies that they will be a fruitful bow that will flow over the wall (flow over into other lands?), they will have strong bows, hands and arms made mighty by God (military strength), will be endowed with blassings from heaven above (spiritual), with blessings lying in the deep beneath (mineral wealth), blessing of the breasts and the womb (many children). These blessings will be greater than those bestowed on Jacob's forefathers (Issac and Abraham). Like Joseph, they will be the consecrated ones, set apart from his brethren to become the prince (royal leader) among them. We will return to this prophesy at the very end of this study.
After the Children of Israel settled the land of Caanan, they eventually split into two Kingdoms, the north and south. The descendants of Judah were predominant among the peoples of the Southern Kingdom, which is why it was known as Judea and not Israel. Today, the nation of Israel, which are descendants of the people of Judea of New Testament times (the Jews), occupies the same land as the tribes of the Southern Kingdom and the people of Judea (Jews) of New Testament times.
The Northern Kingdom, from which they seceded, was ruled after the split by descendants of Ephraim, hence their kingdom was known as The House of Israel, he being the recipient of the birthright from Israel/Jacob. All references in The Bible to The House of Israel are therefore not references to the forefathers of today's Jews. Isaiah 11:10-16 is one of many Biblical references to Israel and Judah which confirm that the Israelites and the Jews/Judahites are two different peoples. When the Jews re-established the Jewish state of Israel in 1948, it should really have been called Judea, as it was in Jesus' time, as the right to use that name had not been bestowed upon them or their ancestors by Israel back in the Book of Genesis. The incorrect use of the name has brought great confusion and clouded the truth in the eyes of many Christians today about who the prophets were talking about when they referred to Israel.
Jesus and His Relationship To The House of IsraelIt is clear that Jesus' coming, crucifixion and resurrection had many effects on the world and history. But what was his Mission? When he prayed to His Father in the garden that night and stated that He's accomplished God's directive, He was praying this prayer before His crucifixion. So He wasn't talking about His redemptive work because that hadn't happened yet. Now that is not to say that to save us from our sins by dying wasn't part of his work on earth; it was just that - part of His work, part of a much larger mission. So what was that mission, what did he come to do?
Jesus spoke more about the Kingdom of God than any other subject; his words and actions show that his main objective was the establishment of the Kingdom. The way in which He intended to achieve this is clarified when He first sent His followers out on their first missionary journey (Matt 15:24) - "I am not sent but for the lost sheep of the House of Israel" ... "Take the message of the Coming Kingdom to the lost sheep of the House of Israel" was Jesus' explicit instructions to the disciples. The plan was to go to the lost sheep of the House of Israel first, who in turn would be given the task of taking the message to the Gentiles (Mark 16:15). There was a reason for this, as we will soon discover. The New Testament reveals that that the Apostles, and the most active one, the Apostle Paul, went only to the places where history tells us that the Lost Tribes of Israel had settled. With one missionary journey Paul had planned to go to Asia (east), but the Holy Spirit forbade him - so where did Paul end up going? West, to the lost sheep of the House of Israel.
Even though the Message of God's Kingdom has been relegated in Christianity to a position inferior to salvation, it is still God's Number One priority. In John 3, Jesus said, "Unless a man be born again He cannot see the Kingdom of God". Being part of God's Kingdom should be the number one goal - salvation is simply the means of getting into it. In the prayer Jesus taught his disciples, the first desire it expresses to God is not, 'save the world', but 'Thy Kingdom Come'. Setting up His Kingdom was the original plan that God began when He created the Angels and the Universe, a plan which was marred by Lucifer's Fall.
Ever since, God has been coaxing humanity along a path to accomplish that same objective. He found Abraham to be a man who was willing to obey him no matter what, a man in whom was a seed of faith that saw the scope and magnitude of God's Kingdom long before it became a reality. In making His covenant with Abraham, God was making a commitment that it would be through Abraham's seed - both physical and spiritual - that God would bless the people of the earth and allow then to become part of His Kingdom. Christ's role was to establish that Kingdom and open its gates; the role of the seed of Abraham was to take the good news of the Kingdom to the world.
Who that seed would be is clarified in Israel's blessing to his sons - they would be the descendants of Ephraim and Mansseh; who became the Northern Kingdom, who would be carried off into exile because of their spiritual infidelity and worship of Baal; who would be scattered throughout Europe and loose their identity as the people elected by God for this task, who in the days of the New Testament Church, were identified by the Apostles as those who had been 'exiled by the great dispersion'; who in the "Last Days", God would raise up in fulfillment of his covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and in fulfillment of their God-given destiny and birthright as the offspring of Ephraim and Manasseh - that through them all the world be blessed, that they would bring a light to the Gentiles (Isa 49:6).
Luke 2:32 identifies Jesus as that light, 2Cor 4:6 indicates how they would shine that light - "For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to [give] the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." There is no mention here of the modern day Jewish people, the descendants of Judah, only those described by the Apostles as the 'exiled by the great dispersion' and by Jesus as "the lost sheep of the House of Israel". Nowhere in the scriptures - Old or New Testamant - is there any "Last Days" promises concerning 'the lost sheep of the House of Judah".
God's plan of reconciliation with the House of IsraelJeremiah 3 talks of two groups of people, "backsliding Israel" and "her treacherous sister Judah", clearly identifying them as separate entities. V8 says … "(when) Israel committed adultery I had put her away, and given her a bill of divorce." If you want to see the terms of this divorce and the promise of a reconciliation, read the first chapter of Hosea. Jeremiah also speaks of a reconciliation in Ch 3 verse 12: "Go and proclaim these words towards the north and say, Return, faithless Israel, says the Lord, and I will not cause My countenance to fall and look in anger upon you, for I am merciful, says The Lord; I will not keep My anger forever (13) Only know and acknowledge your iniquity and guilt - that you have transgressed against the Lord your God ... return, O faithless children, says the Lord for I am the Lord and Master and Husband to you, and I will take you one from a city and two from a tribal family - and I will bring you to Zion".
This is not God speaking to the Jews (Judah); this is God speaking to the House of Israel (Ephraim and Manasseh), who have been scattered towards the north, and in doing so have lost their identity but not their calling as God's people. Note this Latter Days return by the House of Israel is not as a nation, but as hand-picked individuals called out from among the nation, "one from a city and two from a tribal family".
God gave the Old Testament prophet Isaiah a similar vision of how God would recover, restore and use His "lost people of the House of Israel" in the Last Days. The picture begins to come together in chapter 8:13-18 which tells us that the "rock of offense" (Jesus) will be sent to look out the divorced and hidden Israel (see also Jeremiah 3:6-12). Isaiah 14:1-3 then tells what will happen to the House of Israel in their home away from home as they are being prepared for their task. Israel will get:
Mercy
Chosen
Their own land
Strangers will serve them in that land
They will take captive their captors
They will rule their oppressors
They will have rest from sorrow, fear, and bondage.
Those who believe these verses refer to the modern day Jews rather than the as-yet unrevealed Lost House of Israel must ask, "Do all these promises fit the Jews of history?"
Mercy: No
Chosen: No, they were never un-chosen
Their own land: No, not until 1948
Strangers will serve them in that land: No
They will take captive their captors: No
They will rule their oppressors: No
They will have rest from sorrow, fear, and bondage: No - the Jews have been on the edge of their seats since they became a nation in 1948
In Isaiah 37:31, God makes a reference to Judah and their part in this, telling how the kingly lines of Zarah and Pharez will join in the development of the House of Israel. "A remnant of Judah shall take root down, and bear fruit up." This reference is followed up in another study.
Where Does God Find The House of Israel?The book of Isiaiah from chapter 40 onwards tells of God's End Times reconciliation with the House of Israel. To examine every verse would be too time consuming, so we will just look at some of the highlights of these chapters. Isaiah 41:1-9 gives the first Biblical inference to where the divorced and hidden of Israel would be when God goes looking for them. The first verse verse tells us they are the peoples of islands and regions bordering on the sea. This is repeated in verse 5. The second half of the verse indicates that these islands and coastlines are in the vicinity of the ends of the Earth. To get the idea of where the ends of the earth might be to someone living in Palestine, which is where Isaiah lived, simply look at a map of the then-known world. You will see that there is only one "end of the earth" that has islands and regions bordering on the sea, and that is Western Europe.
Anyone with a knowledge of history knows that it was this very same 'end of the earth' that Chrisopher Columbus was expected to sail off when he headed across the North Atlantic Ocean to the east of the British, French and Spanish coasts. It's interesting to note that the name of the biggest country in the islands in the vicinity of this "end of the earth" is called England. The name is derived from the French "angle-land" meaning "end land". Even its name identifies it as being the land at the end of the earth!
In V. 4 of chapter 42, referring to the people of the isles, God says that they will wait upon His law. It is interesting to note that, during the revivals of 19th century Britain and the formative years of the Charismatic movement there, the most important meetings on a church's weekly calendar were what were referred to as tarrying (waiting) meetings. These meetings, where Christians came and waited in silence in prayer before God, were instigated for the purpose of waiting on the Lord in accordance with the scripture, for the purpose of receiving divine direction in their day-to-day living and walk with The Lord. Truly could it be said of them that they literally "waited upon His law".
Isaiah 49:12 furtner clarifies the locality and identity of these islands and coasts from which God will raise up the lost House of Israel - "from the north and from the west and from the land of Sinim". Let's look at the the locality to "the north and the west" first. Today, to describe a place as being "to the north and to the west" at the same time, we say it is to the north-west. But in Bible times, it was not shortened in that way. By saying "to the north and to the west", Isaiah is saying that these islands at the end of the earth are to the north-west of Israel. Go back to your map of the then known world and you'll see that the ends of the earth to the north-west of Israel are those you have already identified - western Europe - and the islands at the end of the earth can refer to none other than the British Isles.
Looking back in time from where we are, we can see that the prophesy of Isaiah was spot on. "A light to the Gentiles" is exactly what the British and north-west European descended peoples have been comparatively speaking to the rest of the world, despite frequent moral mistakes. On the whole these nations have been the best civilizing influence the world has ever known, their principles of law, justice and democratic governmental systems have been adopted and copied the world over and are accepted universally as the fairest systems available. Their classical arts (music, painting, sculpture, literature) are accepted the world over as the standard by which all others are judged; it is from among them that the greatest scientific discoveries and inventions throughout the ages have come; their languages have become the second languages of most non-English speaking peoples of the world, in particular English, which is today the universal language though which all nationalities communicate one with another.
And to what land is the reference to the land of Sinim? In Old Testament times, Sinum referred to a people living at the eastern extremity of the known world, and has often been identified with the inhabitants of southern China. The word in fact means "South" and was used by the ancients to describe a large relatively unknown land to the south of China. During the era of European discovery, it was called Terra Australis Inconita, the Great Southland. After its discovery and the exploration of its coasts by Britsh navigator Matthew Flinders, he suggested its name by changed from Terra Australis to Australia. So, not only will the Messiah raise up the lost House of Israel from the peoples of the British Isles, they will be raised up out of Sinim - Terra Australis - Australia also!
gling their destinyThe first four verses of Isaiah 42 talk clearly of Christ, and then after four and a half verses, say that, "the isles shall wait for his law." In verse 6 it says that God will give the Messiah for a covenant to these people (the House of Israel which occupies these islands) for a light to the nations. This verse is saying that the Messiah is given to them by God so that they can take Him and His kingdom as a light to the nations, to open the eyes of the blind, to bring out prisoners from the dungeon and those who sit in darkness from prison. This all sounds remarkbly similar to Jesus' charge to his disciples to "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature ..." It is also a remarkably accurate description of the British church's fulfillment of its missionary vision in taking the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the nations of the world during the 19th and 20th centuries.
V 9 refers to former things that have now come to pass. What former things are these? The promises of the covenant to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. given many years ago, that through their seed - those nemnants of the House of Israel who inhabit these islands at the end of the earth and the coastal regions in the Last Days - will all the nations of the world be blessed?
These people are then exorted to sing a new song, and His Praise from the end of the earth (v10), giving glory and praise to God with a song that the heathen world has never heard before. Is it coincidence that singing - hymns (Amazing Grace etc), Negro spirituals, gospel music - has been the most effective mediums whereby the English speaking nations has spread the gospel message? Isaiah prophesied it; we are witnesses to it.
V 10 - "Sing unto the LORD a new song, [and] his praise from the end of the earth, ye that go down to the sea, and all that is therein; the isles, and the inhabitants thereof". Again there is a reference to the isles, and to singing, but now we learm they "go down to the sea" - they are a seafaring nation. Modern day Isreal has never been considered a seafaring nation, however Britain has always been, having the world's biggest and most powerful merchant and military navies throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries, with the distinction of being the only navy in the history of the world never to have lost a war.
God himself will cry out like a woman in travail - something new and exciting is being birthed here, but the next few verses show that the people aren't aware of what is going on. They are blind to their calling (v19), they do not observe or comprehend the true meaning of what is happening - that they are the fulfillment of the covenant of God with Abraham. They are blind to their true identity - the lost sheep of the House of Israel. Isaiah then describes them as a people robbed and plundered who, the children of Jacob and Israel with an inheritance in God as covenant servants (v. 24) who were robbed by who else but The Lord Himself, because of their sin - for not walking with Him and not being obedient to His law and teaching as they had covenanted to be. And what was their sin? The worship of idols, in particular, Baal.
It is interesting to note that during the early days of the Roman Catholic Church (the church of these people in the days after the New Testament), as a means of integrating Europe's vast number of Baal worshippers into the church after Christianity became the state religion and other faiths were banned, the Roman Catholic Church integrated many aspects of Baal worship into the Catholisism - the feast days of Baal, including Easter, Christmas, and replacing the Jewish Sabbath with Sunday (another Baal religious day); the worship of a mother-God figure; Baal worship symbols (the Sun God symbol) and efigies (gargoyles etc); the burning of insense; absolution through local priests. By doing this, the sins of the House of Israel were brought into the Christian church, and as prophesied in the book Daniel and revealed in the book of Revelation, would remain in the Church for 1,260 years until 1798, the year in which Israel's 2,530 years of punishment expired and God came looking for His lost people.
Isaiah 43 says that, in spite of God's past judgement which has left them robbed of their inheritance, their identity and covenant promises, God is now doing a new thing (v. 19) with and in them. In the first 6 verses of the next chapter, God tells how He will pour out His Spirit on Israel.
In the first six verses of Isaiah 49, reference again is made to the islands and coastlands that are afar during this continued address to the House of Israel, indicating that this is where His people now are (v3). Then He reveals his plan for Israel - these peoples of the islands and coastlands (v6) - and that His Servant (Christ) will bring these things to pass:
He will raise up the tribes (of the Earth)
He will restore the preserved of the House of Israel
He will be a light (that they will take) to the Gentiles
He will be God's salvation to the ends of the earth.
Isaiah 49:19-20 reiterates how Israel's former enemies will now be far away, and then gives another interesting clue as to their identity. The place that is now Israel's abode is too narrow to accommodate the population, so those who once 'swallowed her up' will be far away. In the 1700s, A look at a map of Britain reveals it is long and narrow. But more to the point being made here, Britain's overcrowded cities lost large sections of its populations to her American colonies which swallowed them up. The term "we can swallow them up" was actually used by the pre-War of Independance states of America on a number of occasions when pleading with the Britsih Government for more migrants to fill their empty land. In the 18th century, Britain actually referred to her American colonies as being 'far and away' (Hollywood has made a film about this, using this common phrase of the day as the film's title).
V 21 then gives reference to Zion having 'lost her offspring' - which, in the context of what we are saying, would be a reference to the American War of Independence when Britain lost the first of her many 'children. We know that Britain gained its children (the nations of the British Empire) only after if had lost its 'other' child (the US), and that one by one all the members of the Empire have also pushed Britain for their independence. Could this be what Isaiah was talking about in verse 20? - "the children you will have after you have lost the other, shall say again, 'The place is too small for me; give me a place where I can live". Britain ran out of room to store the delinquents of her population in the 1770s after America closed its doors to convicts immigrants, so Britain had to establish a new colony 'far away' on the shores of Australia, the land of Sinim, to give them a place to live.
To see if we are really on the right track, let us look back to the promise given by Jacob to Ephraim and Manasseh, the last individual persons to be given the covenant promise that had been passed down from Abraham through Isaac and Jacob. According to Genesis 48:19, in the Last Days, Joseph's first-born, Manasseh, "shall become a people and shall be great", but Ephraim, who was the heir to the birthright, "shall be greater than He (Manasseh), and his descendants shall become a multitude of nations".
In the world today there is only one country that can legitimately call itself a multitude of nations, and it is not modern day Israel, but Britain and its Commonwealth. It is 'one people', as Ephraim's descendants would be, yet it is a multiplicity of many nations; what better way to describe this compilation of many individual, otherwise unconnected nations that are bound together as one by having a single common monarch, than as 'a great nation' (singular) that is in reality 'a multitude of nations' (plural). If Britain is Ephraim, who might the brother who shall be great be? Who else but Britain's next of kin - the United States of America!
Isaiah then says that the justice this Law will bring will be a "light to the peoples." It was in the British Isles and its colonies that these revivals and the accompanying divine visitations from God were mainly experienced, and it has been mainly missionaries from the British Isles and Commonwealth that have taken the light of the Law of Christ to every continent on the globe. God then implores them to discover and examine from whence they came - learn about Abraham their father and Sarah who bore them, learn about the covenant blessing that belongs to them, look to the Heavens and wait on God because He has put His Law in their hearts, He will protect them from the reproach that men will have towards them for preaching the message of His Kingdom for He is the Lord their God. What God told Abraham in Genesis 15:1 - "Fear not, Abram, I am your shield and your exceeding great reward" - is also God's promise to them.
Isaiah 50:1 links the people he is talking about with the self-same Israel that was divorced by God in Jeremiah 3:6-12. Thoughout Isaiah 52, God announces more good things he has in store for Zion and Jerusalem (the place where God meets with His people) before speaking in greater detail about His "servant" who will accomplish this (v13). The rest of the chapter and all of the next one is a very detailed account of what will happen to the Messiah. It is so detailed, there is little doubt as to who Isaiah is talking about. Chapter 53 is the famous Suffering Servant chapter, the one on which Handel based his "Messiah" oratorio. God's own law states that a divorced person cannot remarry until the death of the other spouse. Now, with the death of Christ, the bill of divorce that He gave the House of Israel has expired. When Jesus, as God, died, the door was re-opened for Him to re-marry Israel, which is why His stated mission for coming to earth wasn't to save it, but to seek out for the lost of the House of Israel. With Chapter 53 having documented His mission's completion, that's why the next chapter starts out, "Sing oh ye barren."
Isaiah 54:1-3 says that, when God goes out and finds her, the divorced wife Israel is barren, but she will eventually have a multitude of children; many more than when she was married to God. Israel's Maker is now again her Husband (v.5-6) and she, His wife who again, having lost that position in her youth because of her unfaithfulness. Isaiah 54:13-17 contains another list whereby we can identify the 'Israel' his is talking about.
Israel's children will be taught of God.
They will be at peace.
Shall be righteous.
Shall be far from oppression.
Shall not fear.
Their enemies shall fall.
Never be totally conquered "no weapon formed…shall prevail." (Cf Jer 51:20)
Shall condemn those who judge her.
The modern day state of Israel fulfills few if any of the above.
The rest of Isaiah 54 gives more detail of God's return to the forsaken Israel. In verse 3 we see their offspring proceeding from their homeland, going to the left and right to possess the nations and desolate areas and make them inhabited. This is an acurate description of the growth and development of the British Empire, which went every from the east (Australia) to the west (Canada), taking possession of nations and establishing cities (habitations) where previously there were none, in places such as Canada, South Africa and Australia. All the while, they will have no remembrance or recollection of their shameful times before their widowhood when God had to divorce them all those years ago, allowing them to take taken first into captivity, and then scattered.
Verse four of Isaiah 62 re-iterates that Israel shall no longer be lost, 'forsaken' or 'desolate'. (V2) Israel shall be called by a new name (not Israel any more, so it can't possibly be referring to modern day Israel, which has revived the old name of Israel). One name will be Hephzibah, which means "My delight is in her." Another name will be Beulah, meaning 'Married'. In v5, we have the term often associated with Christ, "the bridegroom." All nations will see the House of Israel's Godliness and vindication (righteousness and justice) - V.2. Of relevance here is the motto of Britain: 'For God and Justice" which is word for word how God said the world would view the new House of Israel - Righteous and just. Around the world, Britiain's justice system is seen as the fairest and best in the world, and the one against which all others are measured.
There are many more verses in Isaiah that tell of the relationship Jesus has with the House of Israel in the Last Days. They all make it very clear who the recipients of the promise are, and it is not the present day state of Israel. Isaiah and the other prophets clarify how God would accomplish His plan to set up a kingdom here on earth. He needed to get that information out to the rest of the world; the Jews were clearly not taking that message. They were having trouble accepting it themselves, and were too overcome with self righteousness at being God's chosen people to take on the mantle of servant and bring the message of God's Kingdom to the world. So it was up to the forgotten or lost remnant of his people, the House of Israel, to be brought out from their wicked ways and accept his invitation to become his bride once more. From this union He could then establish His Kingdom among the peoples of the earth by their proclamation of the gospel of Jesus Christ. As Isaiah had predicted, the 'isles at the ends of the earth to the north-west of where Isaiah lived when he wrote his book of prophesy - Britain - have been at the forefront of this activity.
Your Seed Will Possess The Gate of Their EnemiesThere is one part of the fourth covenant with Abraham that we have yet to look at which appears at first to have been said almost in passing and thus have little or no consequence, yey it is perhaps the most convincing evidence of all that our conclusion as to the identity of the lost House of Israel in the Latter Days is correct. It is found in Genesis 22:17: "your seed (offspring) shall possess the gate of his enemies". The first thing to note about this seemingly insignificant promise is that the same words would also be prophesied a few years later over Rebekah by Rebekah's brother and her mother. Just before Rebekah left her home with her nurse, Abraham's servant and his men, Rebekah's brother and her mother blessed her and said to her (Gen 24:60-61) "You are our sister, may you be the mother of thousands of millions, and let your seed (offspring) possess the gate of those which hate them". So what was that all about? My suspicon is that it was just another brick in our wall, another clue for us in the Last Days to correctly identity the people about whom the End Time prophesies about Israel were spoken.
Never in the history of the kingdoms of this world has a nation or pair of nations ever possessed and controlled the gates of its enemies like Britain and the United States have in the last two centuries. In a most remarkable way, they have managed to occupy and control just about every transport gateway between one continent and another in the world, right under the noses of their enemies and surrounding non-allied nations. Britain's list includes Aiden, Port Said and the Suez Canal, which are the gateways not only from the Mediterranean Sea to the Indian Ocean, but also to the Arab nations; Singapore, the gateway to south-East Asia; Hong Kong, the gateway to China and the far east; the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa, the gateway between the Atlantic and Indian Oceans and to the southern section of the African continent; Gibraltar, the gateway from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea and the gateway between Europe and Africa; West Berlin (throughout the Cold War of the 1960-80), which was stuck right in the middle of Communist East Germany; The Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic; scientific bases on the Continent of Antarctica.
The US has Military Bases in The Phillippines, Bahrain, Iraq, Oman, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Yemen, Kuwait, Hungary, Albania, Bosnia, Turkey, Liberia, Macedonia, Kosovo, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Guam, Japan (Okinawa), Korea; Australia, Peru, Equador, Bolivia, Panama, Honduras, Kenya, Ethiopia; Djibouti. Guantanamo Bay Base is actually located on enemy soil in Cuba itself. The US also controls Ramstein Air Base, Germany; The Panama Canal, the man-made gateway between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and the gateway between North and South America. All have been and in many instances are still occupied by Britain and the United States, all are important transport gateways to non-Allied nations and in many cases nations who see them as enemies. The modern-day nation of Israel controls no gateways of any of its neighbours.
Known by their forefather's namesAccording to Genesis 48:16, the descendants of Ephraim and Manasseh would have Jacob's name perpetuated in them, that is, they would be known by his name, and the names of Abraham and Issac. If the descendents of Ephraim and Manasseh are in fact Britain and her 'daughters' - this includes the United States of America, which has its origins as a British colony - then Britain and the United States should be known by the names, Jacob, Issac and Abraham.
Abraham: Biblical (Genesis 14:13) and historic records show that Abraham was alternatively known as the Hebrew, that name meaning 'foreigner'. The early inhabitants of Britain called themselves and were termed by others 'Iberi', meaning Hebrew, because they believed themselves to be of the lineage of Abraham. The Spanish peninsula still bears the original name of its first migrants of the Lost Tribes - Iberia - and Ireland's original name is Ibernia, also a reference to the early Hebrew settlers who adopted it as their new homeland.
Isaac: Names given to the Lost Tribes known as the Scythians included Isaac-Gulu, Ishkuza, Zohak, Saca, Sak, Saksin and Saxon - all of which are derivatives of Isaac. The Saxons in fact settled England and became the base stock for the nation of Britain.
Jacob: The name Jacob is recalled in the flag of Britain - The Union Jack - the name of which means the Uniting of Jacob, given when England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales were united under a single monarchy. The naming of the Union Jack was not accidental - the monarchy of the day had traced their roots back to King David, they were proud of their Biblical heritage, and were not afraid to identify themselves with it. They in fact believed they were fulfilling Isaiah 49:6 in which the raising up the of the tribes of Jacob in the end times is prophesied. In this verse, the servant of God (Israel) is entrusted with raising up the Tribes of Jacob who will be a light unto the nations and bring salvation unto the ends of the earth.
The nickname of the American peeoples is 'Yankee', which is a derived form of the name Jacob in Yiddish. The origin of the name is suject to much conjecture: The New England Dictionary, published in 1790, says the name has its origins in a British officer, Thomas Tanbury, serving under Burgoyne, who in his journal derived the name from the Cherokee Indians meaning slave or coward which was the name applied by the Indians to the New Englanders by Virginians because the former refused to aid the Viginians in their war against the Cherokee. The most widely accepted explanation was advanced by H.L. Mencken, a well-known newsman-scholar, who argued that Yankee derives from the expression Jan Kaas, literally "John Cheese." This supposedly was a derogatory nickname bestowed on the Dutch by the Germans and the Flemish in the 1600s. The English later applied the term to Dutch pirates, and later still Dutch settlers in New York applied it to English settlers in Connecticut, who were known for their piratical trading practices.
During the French and Indian War the British General James Wolfe took to referring derisively to the native New Englanders in his army as Yankees, and the term was widely popularized during the Revolutionary War by the song "Yankee Doodle." By the war's end, of course, the colonists had perversely adopted the term as their own. Southerners used Yankee pejoratively to describe Northerners during the Civil War, but found themselves, along with all other Americans, called thus by the English during world wars I and II. If that is the true origin, then Isaiah's prophesy is proved accurate as 'John' ('Jack as the British have shorten it or 'Jan' as the Dutch pronounce it), is derived from the name 'Jacob'. That Yankee is derivable from a possible pronunciation of the Hebrew name Yaacov or Jacob rendered as "Yankel" in Yiddish holds true regardless how it came to be used as a reference to the citizens of the United States of America.
Israel: Isru is considered one of the great ancestors of the Irish and Scottish. The name Isru is derived from Israel. The monarchs and leaders (such as Cromwell) of England throughout history have referred to their people as Israel. It matters not whether they considered this term to be applicable for spiritual reasons rather than physical ones they nevertheless did apply the term to their people. The same may be said concerning the early Puritan settlers of America.
Britain: Though Britain is not a name given to the forefathers of the Children of Israel, without a shadow of a doubt it is an accurate description of them and their descendants. The Hebrew word "berith" or "birth" means "covenant"; it occurs over one hundred times in the Old Testament and is always translated "covenant." What covenant? The covenant promising national greatness unconditionally (Gen. 15:18; 17:4-8). "ish" is the Hebrew word for "man;" Hence, "British" means "covenant man."
Also the Hebrew word "ain" means "land" and the Hebrew sound "annia" means "ships" so "Britain" is the "Land of the covenant" and "Britannia" is "ships of the covenant." The name "Britain" in the Middle Ages was sometimes written in England as "Britammia." Isaiah 42:6 says, "I, the Eternal ... will keep thee, and give thee for Britam (a covenant of the people), for a light of the nations." Isaiah 49:8 says, "I will preserve thee, and give thee for Britam (a covenant of the people), to establish the earth, to cause to inherit the desolate heritages." According to Jakob Grimm, "M" and "N" are interchangeable nasal sounds. In ancient Hebrew the two letters look almost identical and could be mistaken for one another.
Ptolemy mentions Birtha and Barathena as being towns in Arabia (5:18). Parthia could be derived from Barthia. But wherever the Israelites were taken, we find this name. From the Bretti near Lake Baikal (Procopius 4:24) they escaped to Berytus Lebanon -- situated on St. George Bay, an old Phoenician city once home to Britain's patron saint, St. George -- then to southern Italy, known as Bruttium, and then to EburoBrittium in Spain and a town called Britonia (the present Mondonedo) in the north-west of Spain (Dr. Karl von Spruner's maps of France and Spain for the sixth century) to Brittany and Bretange Also Pliny 4:106 mentions the "Continental Britanni" living on the banks of the Somme. In about 540 A.D.,France and the continental Brittones and Denmark, anciently called Brittia. Pliny says the Britanni composed the inhabitants of the Low Countries (Nat. Hist. 4:31:106).
Hyginus, who wrote De Castrorum Munitione during the reign of Trajan, mentions (ch. 29 & 30) the Brittones as furnishing allies to the Romans, together with the Cantabri, Getoe and Dacians -- all Goths. The Brittones in Juvenal, 15:124 and "Britannia" in Martial 11:3 relate to Brittia, not Albion. The "Britannia" conquered by Augustus (Georgics, 3:25) were Netherlanders, not Islanders, for Augustus never was in Britain. On a bronze diploma of Domitian. A.D. 85, both Britannica and Brittonum occur -- proof they are two different peoples. Procopius in Gothic Wars 4:20 mentions the isle (the peninsula of Jutland was then deemed an island) of "Brittia," which is situate between Britain (Albion) and Thule (Scandinavia), about 200 stadia from the Rhine. It is inhabited by Angles and Frisians called "Brittones. The ancient Welsh upon arriving in Wales called themselves "Bryth y Brythan" or Brits of Britain."The first inhabitants (of England) were Britons, who came from Armenia" (Anglo-Saxon Chronicle -- c.891 A.D.) where Cappadocian and Galatian Israelites dwelt (Her. 1:72; 2:104) Gildas the historian referred to the British as "these his Israelites" (De Excedio Britania, 2:26). .
Other scriptures which concur with Isaiah'sprophesy regarding the identity of the House of Israel in the Last Days:
Numerous Old Testament prophets give vital clues as to their identity:
1. Israel was to spread abroad to the West, East, North and South. (Gen. 28:14; Isaiah 42:5,6) - This is the only one of the ten clues that fits modern day Israel. Britain has.
2. Israel was to have a new home (other than Palestine where they were already living when these prophecies were given). (II Samuel 7:10; I Chronicles 17:9)
- modern day Israel has never had a new home as a nation. In the last days they have returned to their old home. The lost tribes have - in Britain and the coastal lands of western Europe.
3. Israel was to live in islands and coasts of the earth to the north and west of their location in Old Testament times. (Isaiah 41:1; 49:1-3; 51:5; Jeremiah 31:7-10)
- before returning to Palestine, modern day Isael lived in southern Russia and the German states, not the islands and coasts of the earth to the north and west of their location in Old Testament times. Britain fits the description.
4. Israel was to become a company of nations. (Gen. 17:4-6; 15, 16; 35:11; 48:19; Ephesians 2:12) - modern day Israel has not become a company of nations, nor is their any indication of that ever happening. Their intent is in fact exactly the opposite, to re-unite the Jews from all over the globe back to Palestine as one people again. Britain has become a company of nations.
5. Israel was to colonize and spread abroad. (Gen. 28:14; 49:22; Deut. 32:8; 33:17; Psalm 2:8; Isaiah 26:15; 27:6; 54:2; Zechariah 10:8-9)
- modern day Israel has not done this, in fact they have done exactly the opposite. Their focus is to return to Palestine, not colonize and spread abroard from it. Britain has.
6. Israel was to have a new name and identity. (Isaiah 62:2; 65:15; Hosea 2:17)
- modern day Israel has selected its old name and identity. Britain has (it is called a Christian nation).
7. Israel was to have a new language. (Isaiah 28:11; Zeph. 3:9)
- the language of modern day Israel is Hebrew, which is their old language. Britain has - English.
8. Israel was to have a new religion (New Covenant). (Hebrews 8:10-13; 9:17; Matthew 10:5-7; Luke 1:77; 2:32; 22:20; John 11:49-52; Galatians 3:13)
- modern day Israel still has its old religion - Judaiism. Britain has - Christianity.
9. Israel was to be no longer called God's people, but called the sons of the living God. (i.e. Christians) (Hosea 1:10-1
- modern day Israel's identity claim is that they are God's people. They reject the notion of being fellow sons with Christ. Britain is not called God's people but a Christian nation (Christ's ones).
10. Israel was to possess God's Holy Spirit as well as have His Word written on their hearts. (Isaiah 44:3; 59:21; Haggai 2:5)
- modern day Israel rejects the Baptism of the Holy Spirit as being of God, and believes the word of God exists in written form as the Talmud. Britain and its colonies were the first to witness the modern day Charismatic renewal, and have taken it to other nations.
As well as helping us identify the House of Israel today, these ten pointers make it quite clear who it is not, and that is modern day Israel. None of the ten attributes above describe modern day Israel, which is hardly surprising since the spiritual destiny of the House of Isreal to which they refer was never prophesied over the House of Judah. Jeremiah does speak of a new covenant God makes with both houses, however, which is not according to the Mosaic covenant.
Behold, the days come, saith God, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: Not according to the [Mosaic] covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith God. (Jeremiah 31:31-32)
This is His covenant of Salvation through Christ, which much of the House of Israel today recognises, but as yet the house of Judah rejects, resulting in it being cut off (Romans 11, in which the fallen branches are identified as The Jews v14. V3 speaks of them killing the prophets. Jesus accused the House of Judah of killing the prophets).
In closing, let us now return to the prophesy that Jacob spoke over Joseph pertaining to his offspring (the lines of Ephraim and Manasseh) in the Last Days. In summary, Jacob prophesied that
they will be a fruitful bow (this is in line with the apostle Paul's description of Israel in Romans 11)
they will have stong bows, hands and arms (in warfare) made mighty by God
they will be endowed with blessings from heaven above (spiritual)
they will be endowed with blessings lying in the deep beneath (mineral wealth)
they will be endowed with blessings of the breasts and the womb (offspring)
they will be the consecrated ones, like Joseph, set apart from his brethren to become the prince (royal heirs, but not the king) among them these blessings will be greater than those bestowed on his forefathers (Issac, Abraham and Joseph himself)
If we examine the British Commonwealth's spead into all continents of the world, military strength, spritual blessings; its incredible mineral wealth (calculated by economists as being around 70% of the world's total mineral wealth); its many people (25% of the world's population, with more member nations than any other empire or commonwealth of nations in the history of the world); the number of consecrated Christian spritual leaders produced that has set Britain apart from the descendants of the other tribes of Israel; we see that Britain fulfills in every way the prophesy of Jacob, Isaiah and the other Old Testament prophets like no other nation in the Last Days.
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