GOD’S SALVATION AND “LOST ISRAEL” REVEALED
SIR Isaac Newton the famous physicist once remarked:-
“I am like a child playing on the beach while the vast ocean of truth is before me”.
He believed in a creator God and had discovered many scientifical, mathematical, and Theological truths. He was a most gifted and honourable man. When he died in 1727, he was buried in Westminster Abbey in London.
His statement above surely also must apply to God’s Word in the King James Bible which also has a ‘vast ocean of truth’ in its pages from Genesis chapter 1 to the end of Revelation 22.
Psalm 12:6-7 in referring to the Bible tells us:-
“The words of the Lord are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. Thou shalt keep them, O Lord: thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever”.
Reading these holy words, we must remember that every single word in the Bible came from God who inspired or perhaps told the Bible writers what they should write.
God also warned them and us in Revelation 22 verses 18-19:-
“…. If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life ……. “
The whole chapter should be read.
THE ENSIGN TRUST has a twofold Trust duty to spread the Word of God from His Holy Bible.
(1) The Salvation of Jesus The Christ
and
(2) The story of true Israel from Abraham’s time to the present day and the near future.
(1) To be worthy of God’s free and magnificent gift to ALL mankind-His Salvation, we must REPENT from our sins; this means; change our actions and our minds permanently from all evil and sin to righteousness; and obey all of God’s precepts without exception. Most important of all, we must believe in the whole story of how Jesus, The Holy Son of God, offered HIMSELF to pay the penalty of the Holy Law (which states that the penalty for all sin is death for the sinner) on behalf of all mankind of all time and space.
Jesus, who was pure and sinless, took upon Himself to die and in the punishment for all the sins of all mankind, He died on the cross of Calvary. As an infinite Being, He could personally pay the whole price, for all the world’s sins. The Bible tells us that He rose from the dead in three days, and subsequently ascended to heaven to join His Father; from where He is due to return to the World in His second advent in the near future!
(2) Today we can be sure that the descendants of the true children of Israel still exist in large numbers! Why? Because God’s Holy Bible (which consists of pure truth from cover to cover) tells us so, and not just once, but many times!
Isaiah, looking prophetically to the now approaching time of the Second Advent of Jesus the Christ, in his chapter 11 verses 11-12 tells us:-
“And it shall come to pass in that (latter) day(s) that the Lord shall set His hand again the second time to recover the remnant of His people (Israel), which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathos, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shiner; and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea (the British Isles as we shall see later) and He shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the Earth”:
One big problem today is that the Israel peoples have largely forgotten God and that they are Israelites! God in His wisdom knew that this would happen and records it in His Bible, where in Isaiah 42:19 we read:-
“Who is blind, but my servant? or deaf, as my messenger that I sent? who is blind as he that he is perfect, and blind as the Lord’s servant”?
Again in Isaiah 43:8 God says –
“Bring forth the blind people that have eyes and the deaf that have ears”.
Paul, writing about 60AD from Romans 11:25 says:-
“…..that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in” (this dates to just before the Second Advent).
Can we identify these, so called, lost people of Israel? Where else but in God’s Holy Bible. One magnificent solution, is to refer back to the Davidic Covenant, where God told Nathan the prophet to go to King David and say, as we read in II Samuel 7:16:-
“…..thine (David’s) house and the kingdom shall be established for ever before thee: thy throne shall be established for ever”.
Note that God said ‘David’s throne AND KINGDOM’ which of course was Israel.
Previously in II Samuel 7 God had said that if any future King committed iniquity they would be punished, but God’s mercy would not depart from them.
In view of the above Davidic Covenant, we now must identify this everlasting throne and kingdom. It must exist somewhere today. God’s Bible contains only truth, God does not lie!
Since David’s time about 1040 BC up to about 580 BC a constant line of Judean and Israelite Kings reigned. The last Judean King in Jerusalem was Zedekiah. He was taken captive to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar king of the Babylonians. His sons were killed, and Jeremiah the prophet took the remaining children of Zedekiah – two daughters named Scota and Tea Tephi – to Egypt and subsequently to Ireland, where some descendants from Judah had previously settled. So through the Irish Kings, then the Scottish Kings and then to King James VI of Scotland. The Royal line was maintained and then in 1603 AD King James became King James I of England and all Great Britain. Today the present Israel Monarch is Queen Elizabeth II here in England.
King James I was the king who authorized the translation of the bible into English and gave his name to the King James Bible in 1611.
Do not be led astray in thinking that the Jews, especially the present Israelis in Palestine are the true children of Israel. There may be a few true Israelites there among them, even as there may be a few Israelites in almost every country in the world.
What does the Bible tell us about the identity of true Israel and about pseudo Israel?
(l) True Israel were to have an everlasting kingdom and royal throne, which we have here in Great Britain. Today’s Jews have never had a royal throne or an everlasting kingdom. The Israelis have set up a kingdom but it is far from everlasting. But the Bible does not record in prophecy True Israel returning to Palestine until about the Second Advent time, which is yet to come.
(2) We read above how true Israel would forget who they are, The present pseudo Israelis in Palestine think they are Israel but are not!
(3) True Israel were to spread the gospel of salvation of Jesus world wide which has been done by true Israel through the Holy church. The Jews and pseudo Israel in Palestine, do not believe in our Christianity or Jesus and His Salvation.
(4) In Matthew 15:24 Jesus (then in Palestine) says:-
“I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel”.
And in Matthew 10:6 Jesus says to His disciples:-
“But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel”.
Jesus knew where true Israel were living and so did His disciples, and except for a few, it certainly was not in Palestine.
(5) In Revelation 2:9 Jesus states:-
“I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan”
And in Revelation 3:9 Jesus also states:-
“Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie…..”
These Revelation quotations almost certainly refer to the present day Israelis and other latter day descendants from Esau which the Bible calls Idumeans, Mount Seir or Edomites, plus Ishmaelites, Moabites, Philistines, Ammonites and others. See Psalm 83, Ezekiel 36:5, Obadiah. These and other nations possibly went into Israel’s and Judah’s almost empty lands after the Babylonians under King Nebuchadnezzar conquered and took most of the Judeans prisoners to Babylon. The Edomites and other immigrants eventually called themselves Jews!
Previously in about 721 BC. the ten-tribed House of Israel in Samaria had been conquered by King Shalmaneser of Assyria and taken prisoners to Assyria.
Shalmaneser then repopulated Samaria with people from Cuthah, Ava, Hamath and Sepharvaim. The House of Israel never returned again, but wandered westward through the land that is present Europe, to Scandinavia and the British Isles where they have been settled for many many years.
In II Samuel 7 above, reference was made to the Davidic Covenant in verse 16, where God promised King David an everlasting throne and Kingdom.
In verse 10 of that chapter 7 God had said:-
“Moreover I WILL APPOINT A PLACE FOR MY PEOPLE ISRAEL and will plant them, that they may dwell in a place of their own, and move no more: neither shall the children of wickedness afflict them any more, as before time”.
Remembering this II Samuel 7 quotation, we turn to a remarkable similar quotation in Revelation 12 parts of verses 1 to 6 and 13 to 17:-
“there appeared a great wonder in heaven, a woman (Israel) clothed with the sun … and upon her head a crown of twelve stars (The children of Israel) .… And she (representing the Judean Virgin Mary) being with child (Jesus the Son of God) … pained to be delivered. And behold a great red dragon (Satan) stood before the woman … to devour her child as soon as it was born. And she brought forth a man Child (Jesus) who was to rule ALL nations … and her child was (eventually) caught up unto God and to His throne and the woman fled into the wilderness WHERE SHE (ISRAEL) HATH A PLACE PREPARED OF GOD”
“And there was war in heaven ….. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil and Satan … I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, now is come Salvation … and the kingdom of our God … And they overcame him by the blood of the lamb …Woe to the inhabiters of the earth… the Devil is come down (to earth) … he (the Devil) knoweth he hath but a short time … he (the dragon) persecuted the woman … And to the woman were given two wings…. that she might fly into the WILDERNESS , into her place… And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed WHICH KEEP tne COMANDMENTS OF GOD AND HAVE THE TESTIMONY OF JESUS CHRIST”
Her seed here represents the faithful remnant of Israel referred to in Zephaniah 3:13:-
“The remnant of Israel shall not do iniquity, nor speak lies; neither shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth; for they shall feed and lie down, and none shall make them afraid”.
The two quotations of II Samuel 7:10 and Revelation 12: 1-17 above are remarkably similar and yet different. They both refer to the place in the wilderness which is most important for Israel’s security. The Samuel version is short, straight forward, and simple.
The Revelation version records the place in the wilderness for Israel but in beautiful symbolic language and includes much other spiritual treasure well worth the extra space needed. The whole chapter of Revelation twelve should be read.
Where then is this wilderness place of safety for Israel? The text mentions flood twice indicating much water. Another clue in the Bible is the use of the word ‘island’ which occurs 36 times in its various forms. Twenty of these usages is in the context of Israel. The logical conclusion must be that this place of safety must be an Island or group of Islands with the natural sea safety factor.
The British Isles were known of by Israel as shown by many legends and facts. The mining of tin and other metals in Cornwall, England was known to be active as early as 5000 B C. These metals may well have been used by Solomon in building the Temple in Jerusalem.
The Bible does not record any of Jesus’s activities from when he was twelve and some seventeen or eighteen years after. Jesus had an uncle, Joseph of Arimathea, who was a metal merchant. Jesus, as the Son of God and part of the Holy Trinity would have been aware of the place of safety in the wilderness where Israel would be. Probably his uncle brought tin from Cornwall by ship and could well have taken the young man Jesus by ship with him.
The legends of Cornwall and south west England confirm this. Many writers have investigated these claims that Jesus came to Cornwall and probably other parts of South West England and they consider these legends to be almost certainly true.
Sadly, as always in their history, the children of Israel have ignored God and misbehaved down through the ages. God had warned them time and time again that they would be punished for their iniquities, as they frequently were and still are. But always, again as God promised, He has never abandoned them and never will! Their descendants are still present in large numbers in the world today .
In Isaiah 29:13 we read:-
“Wherefore the Lord said, For as much as this people (Israel) draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear towards me is taught by the PRECEPTS OF MEN.”
This quotation fits very neatly in with Amos 8: 11:-
“Behold, the days come, saith, the Lord God, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord”.
Amos goes on to say “they will run to and fro seeking it and SHALL NOT FIND IT’ (God’s Word).
Now then, a survey carried out in England and Ireland three years ago among church goers and would-be church goers asking them what if any, problems they had about church going, revealed that there was an almost universal lack of Bible teaching from the pulpit. This showed that people want to hear about God’s Word from the Bible, not THE PRECEPTS OF MEN, even as God says in Isaiah 29: 13 above. Another survey several years ago among church ministers revealed that some among them had a lack of belief themselves in many major points of supreme truth in the Bible.
Reference was made at the beginning of this article to the many times the Bible confirms the permanent existence of the children of Israel; hereafter follows several quotations that establish this truth eliminating all doubt.
We start with Paul who was a major source of conveying God’s truth, having been taught by Jesus Himself.
In Romans 11:1 & part 2 Paul tells us:-
“I say then, Hath God cast away His people? (Israel) God forbid, for I am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. God hath not cast away His people which HE FOREKNEW… “.
As quoted above, Israel have largely forgotten who they are as Paul states in Romans 11:25 repeated here:-
“….that blindness in part is happened to Israel …… “
Some Christian people are well aware of this true Identity; in Great Britain, Scandinavia, United States of America, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and other small groups abroad. Among many believers here in Great Britain we can include Queen Elizabeth I, Sir Francis Drake, Queen Victoria and many others. The Hymn writer Edward Ferronet 1726-92 wrote the Hymn ‘All hail the power of Jesus name’. In verse three he wrote:-
‘Ye seed of Israel’s chosen race
Ye ransomed of the fall,
Hail Him who saves you by His grace
And crown Him Lord of all.’
He knew that the British were a large part of the children of Israel.
Paul in Romans 9:3-5 tells us:-
“….my kinsmen according to the flesh; who are Israelites to whom pertaineth the adoption (by God), and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises; whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever Amen.”
I Samuel 12:22 also tells us 1155 years before Paul:-
“For the Lord will not forsake His people for His great name’s sake: Because it hath pleased the Lord to make you His people”.
In Deuteronomy 10:12-13 Moses passes on to Israel God’s requirements of them:-
“And now, Israel, what doth the Lord thy God require of thee, but to fear the Lord thy God, to walk in all His ways, and to love Him, and to serve the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul. To keep the commandments of the Lord, and His statutes, which I command thee this day FOR THY GOOD”.
It should be. noted that all of the commandments were given ‘for Israel’s good.’ It should also be noted that the biblical phrase ‘the fear of the Lord’ certainly does not mean being afraid of the Lord, but it means having a reverential trust in the Lord and haying a hatred of all evil.
In about 712 BC Isaiah in his chapter 54 verses 7-8 records God’s words to IsraeI:-
“For a small moment have I forsaken thee (because of Israel’s iniquity), but with great mercies will I gather thee. In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the Lord thy Redeemer”.
In Isaiah 41:8-9 God tells us Israelites:-
“But thou, Israel, art my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, seed of Abraham my friend. Thou whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, and called thee from the chief men thereof, and said unto thee, “Thou art my servant; I have chosen thee, AND NOT CAST THEE AWAY”.
In Jeremiah 31: 35 -37, God confirms Israel’s permanence in a most dramatic manner:-
“Thus saith the Lord, which giveth the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, which divideth the sea when the waves thereof roar; The Lord of hosts is His name: If these ordinances depart from before Me, saith the Lord, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before Me. Thus saith the Lord; if heaven above can be measured, and the foundations of the Earth searched out beneath I will also cast off all the seed of Israel for all they have done, saith the Lord”.
Similarly in Jeremiah 33: 24-26 the prophet in an alternative way tells us much the same story:-
“Considerest thou not what this people (some Christian churches?) have spoken saying. The two families (Israel and Judah) which the Lord hath chosen, He hath even cast them off? thus they have despised my people, that they should be no more a nation before them. Thus saith the Lord, if my covenant be not with day and night, and if I have not appointed the ordinances of heaven and earth. Then I will cast away the seed of Jacob, and David my servant, so that I will not take any of his seed to be rulers over the seed of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; for I will cause their captivity to return, and have mercy on them.”
Can there be any doubt, in view of the above outstanding evidence, that Israel are still a numerous people and servants of the Most High God in this World today.
Jeremiah in his chapter 23 verse 6 reveals:-
“In His days (The Lords Second Advent) Judah shall be saved and Israel shall dwell safely; and this is His name whereby He shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS”:
This undoubtedly means all the redeemed of The Lord will be possessors of a part of our Lord’s infinite righteousness. Not our own, we have little if any!
Lastly we must not forget a significant truth from Paul in Romans 10:17
“So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God”.
The use of the Word, reading as well as hearing is of value as well.
Paul leaves us a wonderful benediction from Ephesians 3:20-21
“Now unto Him that is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, Unto Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end”.
Amen.
