TODAY’S JEWS: WHO ARE THEY? – ARE THEY REALLY THE “CHOSEN PEOPLE” OF GOD?

By Colin G. Farquhar

READING: JOHN 8:12-59

WHEREVER we go in churches today there is a general assumption that Jews are God’s “chosen people”, and have descended from those Jews or Israelites we read about in the Bible. It is believed without question, they are the natural heirs of the promise given to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob: but is that assumption correct? Are they truly “God’s chosen people?”

This is a crucial and most important question to ask: for vast sums of money has been allocated by churches and govemments in support of the so-called “resettlement” of Jews in their presumed “promised land”; and to maintain their newly formed Israeli nation. Not only that, but Christians worldwide are focused on this people; and Christian organisations have been set-up specifically to pray for and give support to the interests of these Israeli Jews, their nation and spiritual wellbeing. Though there is merit in looking to the spiritual well-being of any people; yet, we might ask as regards today’s Jews and the exalted status attributed to them: have Christians been taken for a ride? Are they in a dream? Are they focused on the wrong people?

In my youth, I would occasionally listen to a late night Christian programme on Radio Luxembourg called Voice of Revival. Maybe some of you remember it. Evangelist John R Rice of Voice of Revival fame, said in his book False Doctrines,“the Jews of today, as the Jews in the time of Christ, represent all the twelve tribes. There is no distinction, then, between Jews and Israel. They are the same people.” In other words, what John Rice was saying is, that ‘Today’s Jews and first century Jews are the selfsame people as those of ancient Israel; and represent not only the tribe of Judah or House of Judah, but the whole of the 12 tribes.’

My intention therefore, is to challenge this assumption and to examine the evidence from all sources, including that from the assertions of the Jews themselves.

WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY ABOUT THE JEWS?

To begin we need some understanding of the origins of the Jews. Jews can be put into two main categories: those who are descendants by birth of Jacob-Israel; and those who are proselytes, having adopted the Jewish religion and customs, and call themselves Jews. In some cases it is not that clear cut, as some Jews have adopted the customs, yet are neither descendants nor religious.

NOT ALL JEWS ARE TRUE JEWS

The book of Revelation speaks of those who call themselves Jews but are not. Revelation 2:9 and 3:9 says, that they “lie” and are “of the synagogue of Satan.”

Jesus on occasion spoke strong words to the Jewish scribes and Pharisees. He said they were, “of their father the devil” in John 8:44. Yet the scribes and Pharisees make this statement in v.33, that they are ”Abraham’s seed, and were never in bondage to any man.” Jesus confirmed they were of ”Abraham’s seed.” Though we know if they had been of Israelite stock they could not have made the claim that they “were never in bondage to any man”, for they would have remembered Israel’s servitude in Egypt.

It seems likely therefore that Jesus knew they were of the seed of Esau, who also had Abraham for his father. For he would be aware of the admixture of Edomites, the descendants of Esau, amongst the Jews at that time; and as Edomites they were not rightful heirs of the promise, but rather usurpers and false Jews.

WHO THEN ARE THE TRUE JEWS?

Broadly speaking, from the evidence in the early chapters of Ezra, true Jews were the descendants of the southern house of Israel, called Judah. During the early reign of King Rehoboam, son of King Solomon, the Kingdom of Israel was divided. Two separate nations were born: the Kingdom of Israel in the north and the Kingdom of Judah in the south. Israel then comprised of ten tribes, and Judah two. The total number of tribes including the tribe of Levi was 13.This came about due to the tribe of Joseph being divided between his two sons Ephraim and Manasseh, as each were given an equal inheritance with the other tribes. Levi was the priestly tribe and was given no land inheritance as was allotted to the other tribes, in accordance with God’s command. They became dispersed throughout the two kingdoms; having as their portion 48 cities and suburbs from each of the 12 tribes in accordance to the size of their inheritance. True Jews therefore, had descended from the tribes of Judah, Benjamin and Levi, of the southern house of Israel, called Judah. In general, early Jews had not descended from the northern kingdom of Israel, and therefore could not be representative of the whole nation of Israel: that is, both of Israel of the north and Judah of the south: contrary to the claims of John R Rice .They had descended only from Judah, which forms only part of the complete nation of Israel. As for example: Scotland is only part of Britain. So it would therefore be incorrect to call all British people Scots; as it is similarly inaccurate to call all Israelites Jews, as many Christian ministers do.

ISRAEL POPULATION APPROXIMATIONS

We read in Numbers chapter 1 that Moses at the beginning of the second year of the exodus from Egypt numbered the congregation of Israel at the command of the Lord, every male from 20 years upward that was able to go to war. The total number given in verse 46, is 603,550.

From this figure, assuming some men were too young, too old, or incapacitated; and also taking into account women and children, it is estimated that the total population at this time, while in the wilderness of Sinai, was about 3 million.

During the reign of King Solomon it is estimated that the population at that time was approximately 9 million. This is based on the census that was wrongfully authorised by King David, that we read about in 2 Samuel 24. In verse 9 it says, the number of “valiant men that drew the sword” from both Judah and Israel was 1.3 million.

Then due to wars between themselves and other nations it is thought the population at the beginning of the captivities was reduced to about 5 million. Thus, when the 50,000 of Judah returned to Jerusalem at the time of Nehemiah, the vast majority of the 5 million, plus any increase during that period, never returned to the Land and were dispersed to other parts of the world.

TODAY’S JEWS ARE NUMERICALLY INSIGNIFICANT

Just over 100 years after the northern kingdom of Israel was taken into exile by the Assyrians, King Nebuchadnezzar defeated and expatriated the remaining inhabitants of Judah to Babylon. In fulfilment of the prophecy of Jeremiah God “stirred up the spirit” of Cyrus king of Persia, thus allowing the exiles of Judah to return to the land of Israel at the culmination of their 70 year term of captivity. So a remnant returned under the leadership of Zerubabbel, Ezra and Nehemiah to restore the temple, rebuild the city walls and re-inhabit the Land. The tribes represented according to Ezra 1:5 and 4:1 were Judah, Benjamin and the priestly tribe of the Levites. These are the same tribes that formerly made up the southern house of Judah; and from this remnant the true Jews of today are descended. It must however be remembered, that a large majority of the inhabitants of the southern house of Judah, which were taken captive to Assyria as well as Babylon, never returned to the Land and were never as far as is known, called by the name Jew. Today’s meagre population of those so-called ‘Jews’ both of Israelite and Gentile origin, is astonishingly less than 14 million worldwide. Compare that with a world population of 7 billion and the prophetic statement of Hosea that “the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured nor numbered”. John R Rice is then surely deluded to believe today’s Jews represent “all the twelve tribes” of Israel.

JEWS ARE A REMNANT OF A REMNANT

They are a remnant of Judah, which itself is a remnant of the whole nation Israel. Only those who returned to the Promised Land were termed Jews. The vast majority of the descendants of the Kingdom of Judah remained in Babylon. Eventually, they, like the 10-tribe nation of Israel lost their identity and migrated mainly to the northwest, many finding their way eventually to these British Isles. Donald T Kauffman says, in his Dictionary of Religious Terms: “Jews are Hebrews or Israelites. The name Jew derives from Judah, the Israelite tribe whose name was transferred to the Southern Kingdom.”

THERE WAS AN INFLUX OF EDOMITES INTO JUDAH Esau was Jacob’s twin. He also goes by the name Edom, meaning red. From Esau the Edomites, or Idumeans in its Greek form, descended. The Edomites previously occupied the land south-east of Judah, and took possession of the land of Judah when the Judahites were forcefully exiled to Babylon.

JUDAH AND JUDEAN AND JEW ARE NOT NECESSARILY SYNONYMOUS

Judah was the land of southern Israel and included Jerusalem. Whereas Judea was in a similar location in southern Palestine at the time of Christ, centred around Jerusalem, with an area of about 55 miles square. Following the captivity a remnant of the house of Judah returned from Babylon and settled in Jerusalem and the surrounding land. They became known as Jews. In time a small number of the nation of Israel and a sizeable contingent of Edomites and Gentile proselytes were interspersed. They became known also, as Judeans; and the land, Judea. A similar admixture of people is now known today as Jews.

WHO ARE THE HEBREWS?

The Hebrews derived their name and descent from Eber, who was a descendant of Noah through his son Shem, who was an ancestor of Abraham. Consequently, all the descendants of Eber were Hebrew. These include Abraham and his immediate family; descendants of Keturah Abraham’s second wife; Lot and his descendants, the Moabites and Ammonites; the descendants of Ishmael, the Ishmaelites; and the descendants of Jacob-Israel, the Israelites, who are a separate and the most important branch of the Hebrew people.

THE WORD ‘JEW’ IS OFTEN WRONGLY USED

Paul made a distinction between the various terms normally lumped together under the title ‘Jew.’ He claimed to be a Jew in Acts 21:39; an Israelite in Romans 11:1; and of the tribe of Benjamin and a Hebrew in Philippians 3:5. In fact he was quite rightly all that he claimed: a Jew, of the remnant of the kingdom of Judah; an Israelite, as part of the complete nation of Israel; a Benjamite, a faction of the southern house of Judah; and a Hebrew, of the ancient ancestry of the Patriarchs.

THOSE WITHIN JUDAH WERE NOT ALWAYS OF JUDAH

Anna, who greeted Jesus while he was a baby, though living amidst the Jews she could not claim to be a Jewess under the strict definition ‘a descendant of the nation of Judah.’ Anna was a prophetess and daughter of Phanuel of the tribe of Asher (Luke 2:36) which was part of the northern house of Israel, the so-called ‘Lost Tribes.’ The fact that Anna lived in Judea indicates that a remnant of the northern house of Israel was present amongst the Jews at that time. There are several scriptures that would support this fact. Let me give two examples: I. During the days of Asa king of Judah, we read in 2 Chronicles 15:9

”And he gathered all Judah and Benjamin, and the strangers with them out of Ephraim and Manasseh, and out of Simeon: for they fell to him out of Israel in abundance when they saw that the Lord his God was with him.”

This of course took place before the captivities. 2. The proclamation of Cyrus king of Persia, who as he proclaimed ruled “all the kingdoms of the earth”, was

“Who is there among you of all his people? his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem” (Ezra 1:3).

JESUS WAS A JEW

At the cross Jesus was given a title by Pilate in keeping with his status and lineage, “JESUS OF NAZARETH THE KING OF THE JEWS” (John 19:19). Jesus was of the house and lineage of David; and David was of the tribe of Judah, of the nation of Israel (Matthew I: I ,2). When Jesus returns as King of Kings and Lord of Lords he will assume a new title, ‘Jesus King of Israel’; for “he will reign over the house of Jacob for ever” (Luke 1:33). We read that Jesus “came unto his own, and his own received him not” (John I:11). He was rejected not only by the false Jew, but also, by the true.

THE JEWS BECAME A MIXED RACE

Throughout the history of the Jews, people of other nations have adopted the Jewish religion and called themselves Jews. We find reference to this in Esther 8:17

”And many of the people of the land became Jews; for the fear of the Jews fell upon them.”

During the occupation of the Promised Land by Israel, we read in Joshua 15:63 that Judah failed to drive out the Jebusites from Jerusalem. Benjamin too, failed to drive them out (Judges 1:21). Also, from the book of Judges chapter 1, we read that other tribes failed to drive out all the inhabitants of the Land as they were instructed by the Lord. Intermarriage with the previous occupants of the Land was therefore conceivable; and according to Judges 3:6 did take place

“they took their daughters to be their wives, and gave their daughters to their sons…”

There is suggestion of mixed marriage in Ezekiel 16:3,45, when God addresses Jerusalem, “thy father was an Amorite and thy mother an Hittite.”In Solomon’s time there were still Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites living in the land (2 Chronicles 8:7,8). Ezra 9:1, 2 records intermarriage between the priests and Levites and the people of the land, the Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Jebusites, Ammonites, Moabites, Egyptians and Amorites. Nehemiah 13:23, 24 also records intermarriage between the Jews and Ashdod, Ammon and Moab. Their children we read, “could not speak the Jews’ language.” They spoke half in the speech of Ashdod and of the language of each people. Nehemiah cursed them for taking foreign wives; and reminded them how Solomon had done likewise and his foreign wives had caused him to sin.

THERE ARE TWO MAIN CATEGORIES OF JEWS

There are Palestinian Jews known as Sephardi; and European Jews known as Ashkenazi. Sephardi Jews migrated to Spain and Portugal and are recognised for the most part as Judahites, or true Jews, who have retained their distinctive rites and organisations. Ashkenazi Jews on the other hand, are a mixed people: Judahites, Edomites and proselytes of other races. They migrated to Germany, Central Europe and Russia. These Jews are believed to have a high percentage of Esau-Edom and Gentile proselytes that represent 90% of the world Jewish population. The Khazars, according to the Encyclopedia Britannica, were originally located in the northern Caucasus region and were part of the western Turkic Empire; before emerging as an empire in their own right. The supreme ruler was called a Khagan. In about AD740 the Khazars adopted the Jewish religion at the command of the Khagan and ruling class, thus becoming a part of Jewry. Some scholars trace the origins of Ashenazi Jews to the conversion of the Khazars.

WHAT VARIOUS WRITERS HAVE SAID ABOUT THE JEWS

Josephus, who was a Jewish historian at the time of Christ, said: “So the Jews prepared for the work (Antiq. XI, v7).” He called them by the name Jew, which was the name the remnant from Babylon became known by.

ISRAEL DID NOT RETURN according to Josephus, for he wrote:

“And when these Jews had understood what piety the king had towards God, and what kindness he had for Esdras, they were all greatly pleased; nay, many of them took their effects with them, and came to Babylon, as very desirous of going down to Jerusalem; but then the entire body of the people of Israel remained in that country; wherefore 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 (Antiq. Xl, v2).”

Quoting from the author CF Parker:

“The time of John Hyrcanus, 125BC saw the Jews again faced with the hostility of the Idumeans; he reduced their chief cities and incorporated the seed of Esau in the Jewish state so that from that time onward the Idumeans came to be known also as Jews, Josephus p.357. “

Josephus informs us that, Jerusalem was desolate 70 years (after 584BC) until 50,000 people returned with Zerubbabel, Ezra and Nehemiah. The number that returned according to Ezra 2 and Nehemiah 7 was 42,360 plus 7,337 servants. Dean Inge is quoted to have said,

“The Assyrians deported most of the Ten Tribes in 720BC They never returned, and foreigners from the East were brought in to replace them.”

In actual fact the Assyrians also took a large portion of Judah into captivity as well as the Ten Tribes. For in 2 Kings 18:13 we read,

“Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the fenced cities of Judah, and took them.”

Now from information gained from monuments relating to this event, 46 fenced cities were taken and 200,150 men of Judah were deported to Assyria.

WHAT DO THE JEWS SAY ABOUT THEMSELVES?

The following quotations are from Alan Campbell’s booklet, British Israel fact or fiction: The Jewish Quarterly Review, July 1903, reveals that, “the Jews can be traced without difficulty … until the present day, but Israelites … seem to have passed from human knowledge.” A former Chief Rabbi, Dr H Adler says, “You are quite right to assume that the Ten Tribes did not return to the Holy Land.” Dr Hertz, Chief Rabbi in 1918 said, “The people known as Jews are the descendants of the Tribes of Judah and Benjamin, with a certain number of the Tribe of Levi. So far as is known, there is not any further admixture of other tribes. The Ten Tribes have been absorbed among the nations of the world. The Jews look forward to the gathering of all the tribes at some future date.” Rabbi A H Fink of Temple Immanuel, Spokane, USA, states: “The Jews do not claim to represent the Twelve Tribes for the Ten Tribes never returned from captivity and are lost to history.” Quotes from “A Short Study of Esau Edom in Jewry”, by C F Parker In the words of Dr A Neubauer: “The captives of Israel exiled beyond the Euphrates did not return as a whole to Palestine along with their brethren the captives of Judah; at least there is no mention made of this event in the documents at our disposal (Jewish Quarterly Review, 1888).” The Jewish Encyclopedia, 1925 edition states: “As a large number of prophecies relate to the return of ‘Israel’ to the Holy Land, believers in the literal inspiration of the Scriptures have always laboured under a difficulty with regard to the continued existence of the tribes of Israel, with the exception of those of Judah and Levi (of Benjarnin), which returned with Ezra and Nehemiah. If the Ten Tribes have disappeared, the literal fulfilment of the prophecies would be impossible; if they have not disappeared, obviously they must exist under a different name.”

WHAT CONCLUSION CAN WE ARRIVE AT FROM THE EVIDENCE PRESENTED?

Jesus makes it clear in the book of Revelation that there are those that call themselves Jews but are not. I have tried to show from the evidence available that some have entered Jewry by adopting the Jewish religion and customs, such as the Khazars. Others due to convenience or force have become Jews, as we read in the book of Esther, or like the ultimatum given to the Idumeans by John Hyrcanus. Also, there was intermarriage between Jews and non-Jews. Finally, legitimate Israelites entered Jewry through desertion from the northern house of Israel, so it was, during the reign of Asa, King of Judah.

There is one thing in common with all these people, that is their religion. The distinctive mark of a Jew no matter where they are in the world is religion, rather than nationality. Jews are a mixed people. There are black people from South Africa and Ethiopia; white people from North America, and swarthy skinned people from Palestine all claiming to be Jews. Though there are true descendants of Judah-Israel among the Jews of today, Judaism is largely more of religious significance than lineal descent.

At the time of Christ, Edomite-Idumeans had risen to power under the control of Rome. The Herodians, client kings of the Romans, were of Idumean descent. C F Parker believes this same power is being exercised by the Zionist Jews of today.

Who are ‘Today’s Jews?’ They are a small contingent of the descendants of the nation of Judah, with a remnant of fellow Israelites from the northern house of Israel, including a large percentage of Edomite and other Gentile peoples. They are unable to officially represent ‘all Israel’, nor are they at the least qualified to represent even the southern kingdom of Judah.

These are the marks we would expect to see in a nation

declaring to be Today’s ‘chosen nation’ Israel:

a Great Name – a Great Nation – a Company of Nations – a Kingdom – a Monarch – a Throne – a Messiah – a Gospel to proclaim.

The following promises must have been fulfilled in today’s Israel:

GREAT NAME: “I will bless thee, and make thy name great” (Genesis 12:2).

GREAT NATION: “I will make of thee a great nation” (Genesis 12:2).

COMPANY OF NATIONS: “A nation and a company of nations shall be of thee “ (Genesis 35:11).

KINGDOM: “the sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a law-giver from between his feet until Shiloh come” (Genesis 49:10).

MONARCH: “David shall never want a man to sit upon the throne of the House of Israel” (Jeremiah 33:17).

THRONE: “I will stablish the throne of His kingdom forever” (2 Samuel 7:13).

MESSIAH: The Lord Jesus Christ

GOSPEL TO PROCLAIM: The Gospel of Jesus Christ, or the Gospel of the Kingdom.

The Jews of today identify with none of these promises

They have NO great name.

They are NOT a great nation, but are comparatively feeble and numerically insignificant.

They do NOT form part of a company of nations.

They have NO kingdom, monarch, or throne.

They REJECT Jesus the true Messiah.

They have NO Gospel, for they offer NO sacrifice, and REJECT “the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” For “Without shedding of blood is no remission” says Hebrews 9:22.

IF THE JEWISH NATION IS UNABLE TO MEASURE-UP TO THE PROPHETIC CRITERIA

FOR THE IDENTIFICATION OF ISRAEL IN TODAY’S WORLD, WHICH NATION CAN?

Our own British Isles might at least be allowed to enter the arena to see how it fares. Britain has a great name, hence the title Great Britain. Britain means, Covenant People. We have gained great respect in the history of our nation; and held great influence throughout the world, in areas of finance, politics and in the defence and proclamation of the Christian faith. The English language is spoken in every corner of the globe. We were and still are a great nation. Though a dot on the map, God has made us one of the most powerful and self-sufficient nations on earth. We have also spawned a great and mighty nation, the United States of America; who has proved to be our closest ally.We are a company of nations, the British Commonwealth of Nations; and have formed the greatest empire the world has seen. We are an ancient kingdom; the United Kingdom of Great Britain. We have a monarch, our Queen: who is able to trace her ancestry back to the tribe of Judah, thus fulfilling the prophecy that “the sceptre shall not depart from Judah.” We have a throne, and in it would normally be housed the title deeds of marriage to Israel, the Coronation Stone (presently kept in Edinburgh Castle). This stone is Jacob’s pillow and was anointed by him when he realised that God’s presence was in that place: the place that he then called Bethel, meaning “house of God.” Jesus is to return to receive that throne, as we read in Luke 1:32,33:

“He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.”

As a Christian nation we believe that Jesus is the Messiah, and as such we have have been zealous in the proclamation of the Gospel of the Kingdom throughout the world. We have produced and distributed more Bibles and sent out more missionaries than possibly any other country in the world.

WHO ARE TODAY’S JEWS?

Was Evangelist John R Rice correct to identify the Jews of today with ancient Israel? I think not: the evidence is stacked up against them. That is why I do boldly say: As the ecumenical church headed by the Pope of Rome represents the false church; so Today’s Jews represent the false Israel. They have deceived the world; and almost the elect.