WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?
THE KINGDOM OF GOD ON EARTH
The Migration of the House of Israel from East to West
GOD’S PLAN
WHAT do we know of God’s plan for this world? Most of us, very little, I fear. There is only one place to go to for information and that place, of course, is the Bible. Here we will find everything that is necessary for the orderly working of God’s world.
First, God created the world and all that is in it; then he created man and woman, in His image. They, and all things, were made perfect, but God did not want the human beings He had created to be puppets, forced to obey His wishes, so they were given free-will to make their choice between good and evil. We all know what happened and how Man has exercised this choice. We only have to look round the world to see the chaos due to Man’s greed and pride.
Not carrying out God’s will is called sin and sin has brought disease and, finally, death into the world. This seems to be eminently reasonable. No machine will operate properly if the builder’s instructions are not followed. If you do not put oil and water into your motor car, it soon ends up with a seized engine. Similarly with God’s Creation of Man. When man fell away from God’s Grace, He put into action His plan for saving and redeeming him, which, in His fore-knowledge, He had prepared. This is in two parts, the one complimentary to the other.
Firstly, a special nation was gradually formed in order to be the nucleus of Christ’s Kingdom on earth and to receive our Lord Jesus Christ, Who was to be the Saviour of the world. The Nation is, of course, Israel, but NOT the nation that at present occupies Palestine, which I will come to later.
The National Israel, descended from Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and his twelve sons was very carefully selected, formed and straightened over hundreds of years, including 400 years of captivity in Egypt. This Nation was formed to be God’s servant in the world, to lead other nations to God and be a blessing to them. In order to accomplish this, certain privileges were to be given to Israel. Genesis 22:15-19 shows us that Israel was “to possess the gates of their enemies”– in other words, strategic outposts together with sea power to protect them.
Where today is this Nation of Israel? It cannot have been obliterated with its work undone. I can tell you where it is; today, the name has been changed to British. This nation with its Scandinavian cousins and Commonwealth, together with the U.S.A. are the direct descendants of the ten lost Tribes of Israel. This I propose to prove.
After Israel came out of bondage in Egypt and settled, at last, in Palestine, which God had given them for all time, the people were led by priests and judges and later, by kings of whom King David was the greatest. On the death of David’s son, King Solomon, the Nation split into two parts – Judah and Benjamin in the south with Jerusalem as their capital and the other ten Tribes in the north. There was often war between them and they, again, disobeyed God’s will. As punishment, God allowed them to be overrun by foreign nations and taken captive away, out of their lands. The Northern 10 Tribes were taken to Assyria and Media, and the Southern 2, rather later, to Babylon. From here, the Northern 10 Tribes have been “lost” to the world and neither the Bible nor secular history records their further movements; at least, not under their previous name of Israel.( I Kings 12; 2 Kings 17 & 18; 2 Kings 24 & 25 )
The Southern two Tribes fared very differently. They were allowed by King Cyrus to return to Palestine to set up, what is known for the first time, a Jewish State. The word, ‘Jew’ is used to describe these people in Ezra 4:12 & 6:13.This was the Nation who were to receive our Lord at Bethlehem and because of their rejection of Him, were cast out and scattered throughout the whole world, to become a curse and a taunt among all nations. (Ezra 1; Jeremiah 44:8)
During the period of return to Palestine before our Lord’s birth and right up to A.D. 600 the Jews accepted into their religion and consequently into the race many proselytes from other nearby nations, mainly Eurasians from around the Middle East. It is this influx of blood that has given the Jew an unmistakable facial look. It can be proved from paintings and sculptures in Egypt and Assyria that Israelites captured in battle were of a fair skin and Nordic resemblance. King David is described in the Bible as fair and red haired as also are some of the Israel women.
MIGRATIONS OF THE NORTHERN HOUSE OF ISRAEL (10 TRIBES)
At the time of the captivity of the Northern House of Israel in Assyria and Media, the Nation had become completely pagan. God declared that for a time, as punishment, they would not be known as His people, would be spread abroad and would not know their identity – be blind and as Gentiles. God also stated that in the end they would be sifted through the other nations and brought to a place of their own, to move no more. (Isaiah 43:8; Romans 11)
One of the great kings of Israel was called OMRI, pronounced ‘Ghomri’. The House of Israel was often known by the surrounding nations as ‘The People of Ghomri‘. The Assyrians pronounced this as ‘Ghumri’ or ‘Khumri’, and called the people of Northern Palestine, ‘Beth-Khumri’. (Amos 9; Hosea 1; Hosea 4:17; Isaiah 11:12; Jeremiah 31: 35-37; Jeremiah 33:17-26; Isaiah 54:7 & 56:6)
After the Northern Tribes were taken captive by the Assyrians, the name of ‘Ghumri’ changed in later Assyrian records to ‘Gimira’ (This is a reversal of the final syllable often met with as in Cambria and Cumberland). The English equivalent of Gimira is Cimmerian.
Assyrian records also have another name for the House of Israel which is Iskuza and this is Assyrian for Isaac. (In Persian this is Sacae or Sakka. In Latin : Saxon). From the name, Iskuza comes the later name of Scythian. It will be seen that Israel was known as Iskuza-Scythian Gimira-Cimmerian and Sakka, Sacae or Saxon. These names appear together on a number of ancient monuments in the area, in particular on the Behistun rock, proving they refer to the same people. The tribes who were taken captive into Assyria are known as Cimmerian and those into Media as Scythian, on the west and east of the Black Sea respectively.The Cimmerians remained in their area until the sixth Century B.C.when a migration began north and west towards the Ukraine. The Scythians also started to move towards the Ukraine, keeping to the east of the Black Sea.
After a number of battles between themselves, the Cimmerians and Scythians joined forces in the fifth Century B.C. and continued their migration from the Black Sea, up the rivers Dneister, Dneiper and the Danube to the Baltic Sea and the Western Seaboard. These migrations are easily traced by the archaeologist in the type of burial chamber used and the various Eastern treasure, jewellery and weapons found in them. Middle Eastern art is quite distinctive and is found all the way into Ireland and Scotland. What is now Norway and Denmark were occupied and later, Belgium and Normandy. Other migrations started in 300 B.C. to Britain and these people were some of the ancestors of the ‘ancient Britons’ and the Welsh, who, on occasions, still call themselves Cymry, pronounced ‘Kumry’. The Romans referred to them all as Celts.
In A.D.800 the Welsh historian, Nennius, called the home of the then invading Saxons (Sacae), Scythia. Waves of Angles, Saxons, Vikings and Jutlanders invaded Britain from about A.D. 450 up to the Normans (Norsemen), in A.D.1066. It will be seen now, that the Celt, Ancient Briton and the later invaders are all from the same basic stock, but arriving in these islands at different times. Therefore the British people are not the ‘mongrel race’ that most of us are brought up to believe .
It is interesting to know that the word, ‘British’, in Hebrew, means ‘Man of the Covenant’. Significant, too, is the fact that when Scotland was united with England in 1603, the Union Flag was called the Union Jack, or in other words, the Union of Jacob. Since that time, Great Britain and the Commonwealth have fulfilled the prophesies in Genesis 12:1-3; 35:11, and 48:17, that Israel would become ‘a nation and a company of nations’ and that their name would be ‘Great’.
We must not forget the small migration of Israel people at the time of the exodus from Egypt, westwards along the coast of North Africa as far as Morocco. These people were most probably traders, as later they traded and settled in Cornwall and Ireland. They came by land through Spain and France as well as by sea. These migrations can easily be followed by means of the stone circles or dolmens that they and earlier Shemites left behind and which were used in their religious rites, Stonehenge being the greatest of them all. These Shemites were also ancestors of the ‘Ancient Briton’ and the original inhabitants of Britain.
The Druidic religion which came with these people into Britain was very similar to the Hebrew ceremonies and traditions of old. It is noteworthy that the Druids very quickly accepted Christianity when it was brought to these islands, as will be shown later.
THE CROWN
On the death of Saul, King of Israel, God chose David to be king over the whole nation and declared that the throne and nation would endure for ever. (2 Samuel 7:10-16, Jeremiah 33:17-26)
When the House of Judah was taken into captivity in Babylon, the sons of King Zedekiah were slain but the two royal princesses, Tea and Scota, escaped with the prophet, Jeremiah and Baruch, his wise man and scribe, to Tahpanhes in Egypt. (Jeremiah 44:14, Jeremiah 52, Jeremiah 43:1-7, Jeremiah 45:5)
In Israel as in Britain, (but not in most countries) a female may inherit and also take the throne if there is no male heir. This is an Israel Statute, authorised by God. (Numbers 27:6-11)
At about this time, 600 B.C., two princesses arrived in Ireland from Egypt with two wise men. Tea married the Irish king, Eochaidh, the High King of Tara and they became the ancestors of all the future Irish kings. Scota also married into a noble family and there is little doubt that she eventually gave Scotland her name.
The father of Galileo, in his writings, states that the later kings of Tara knew they were descended from King David. Both princesses feature in many Irish poems, songs and legends. It is, of course, well known that our Royal family is descended from these Irish kings through the Scottish kings. It is also remarkable that to this day, our Sovereigns are crowned upon the Coronation Stone (or Stone of Scone) which was brought from Ireland via Scotland and which legend tells us was the pillow of Jacob when he experienced his memorable dream. (Genesis 28:22)
There are a number of Irish records confirming that a venerable stone was brought to Ireland from Egypt with the two princesses, Jeremiah and Baruch.
The old kings of Israel were also crowned on or at the side of a stone or pillar. (2 Kings 11:12-14)
The heraldic lion of Judah (now of Scotland and the Royal Family) and the harp of David (now of Ireland and the Royal Family) were also brought by the two princesses. The unicorn which supports one side of the British Royal Coat of Arms also has strong Israel connections in heraldry.
It is no coincidence that British Common Law, which is based on the Old Testament Laws and Statutes, was in no way affected by Roman Law during 400 years of Roman occupation in Britain and which was later codified by King Alfred the Great, commencing with the 10 Commandments, in A.D. 890.
THE EARLY BRITISH CHURCH
As I have previously mentioned, the Druids very quickly adopted Christianity. This is not surprising when one realises that they already believed in one God and were also expecting a Saviour to come into the world. Children are still taught in school that Augustine first brought Christianity to Britain in A.D. 597. This is absolutely untrue. The early Church was brought here to Glastonbury in AD. 37 and was thriving throughout the land 120 years later. Let me give a list of recognised historians who completely support this.
1. A.D. 192-222 Tertullian – Roman Christian author
“The extremities of Spain, various parts of Gaul, the regions of Britain which have never been penetrated by Roman arms, have received the religion of Christ.” (Def. Fides p.179).
2. A.D. 254-340 Eusebius – Historian
“The Apostles passed beyond the ocean to the isles called the Britannic Isles.” (De Demonstratione Evangelii, lib 111).
3. A.D. 303 St. Dorotheus, Bishop of Tyre
”Aristobulus,whom Paul saluted when writing to the Romans, was Bishop of Britain.” (Synop. de Apostol. Synops 23 ‘Aristobulus’).
4. A.D. 435 Theodoret the Blessed, Bishop of Cyprus in Syria
“Paul, liberated from his first captivity in Rome, preached the Gospel to the Britons and others in the West – and the Cymry (the Welsh)”. (D. Civ.Gracae Off. Lib. W).
5. A.D. 516-570 Gildas – British writer
“Christ the True Son, afforded His light, the knowledge of its precepts, to our Island in the last year, [Some authorities render this at the latter part which could not be later than 37] as we know, of Tiberius Caesar..” This was in A.D. 37, six years after the Crucifixion. After all, the disciples were told to “Go first to the House of Israel” and it seems that this is exactly what some of them did.
Church Councils were held at Pisa in AD. 1409, Constance in 1417, Sienna in 1424 and Basle in 1434. It was held at all these conferences that the Church of Britain was founded by Joseph of Arimathea, immediately after the passion of Christ, at Glastonbury.
Three British Bishops – York, London and Caerleon attended the Council of Aries in A.D.314.
Augustine himself wrote a letter to Pope Gregory, who had sent him to Britain, saying, “in the western confines of Britain there is a certain Royal Island of large extent, (this is Avalon or Glastonbury) …..found a Church constructed by no human art, but by the hands of Christ Himself, for the salvation of His people.” (Spelman, Concilia p.5).
The first Bishop of Rome, a contemporary of St.Paul, was a British Prince called Linus, son of Caractacus, King of Siluria; he, with all his family were prisoners in Rome and mentioned by name by St Paul in his epistle to Timothy. (2 Timothy 4:21)
Britain acknowledged Christianity nationally, at a National Council at Winchester in A.D. 155 (Sabellius Enno. Lib.VII.C.5).This was 150 years before the Roman Empire professed Christianity under Emperor Constantine, who was the son of a British mother, Helena, of the same royal line as Linus. Constantine received his education in Britain.
6. Cardinal Pole, in an address to Parliament during the reign of William and Mary, said,
“Britain was the first of all countries to receive the Christian faith.” (St Paul in Britain p.112 – Morgan).
It is said that Joseph of Arimathea first came to Cornwall and the Scilly Isles as a merchant seeking tin and other metals and that Jesus came with him as a boy before starting His ministry. Joseph was a very influential member of the Sanhedrin and was the only member to defend Jesus when He was brought to trial before them. There is also the strong and generally accepted legend that St. Paul, himself, addressed the people of London at the top of Ludgate Hill,where the cathedral stands today. (His journey to the extremities of the West is supported by Clement, Second Bishop of Rome in A.D.96).
When the pagan Angles, Jutes and Saxons invaded, the Church was driven back to the north and west. It was to these later arrivals that Augustine was sent by Pope Gregory. Britain was finally brought back again to the Christian faith by British and Celtic missionaries from the west, north and, of course, Ireland, to which many travelled in order to study for the ministry.
It is well known that Britain and America together have sent out by far the greatest number of missionaries over the past 100 years; this is Israel continuing to do God’s will, however inadequately.
CONCLUSION
Why does it matter whether all this is fact or not?
Well, let us turn again to God’s Plan. It is clear from the Bible that Israel has great duties to perform here on Earth. She is to be:
1 A nucleus to God’s Kingdom on Earth.
2. A blessing to all nations and a light to them.
3. A witness to God’s glory throughout the whole world.
In other words, Israel has a vitally important and far reaching destiny and I believe Britain and the other British Nations (including the people of the U.S.A) have been and are carrying this out, albeit poorly, at the present time.
If you will read the Biblical references listed at the end, you will see for yourself, not only proof of our identification with the ‘lost 10 Tribes of Israel’, and the tremendous promises made to them which are still to be fulfilled, but God’s perfect blue-print for a healthy, prosperous life. God’s laws do not stop at the 10 commandments; there are clearly laid down rules concerning diet, dress, economics; method of farming, justice, rest periods and other matters designed entirely to ensure our well-being. When will the vast nation which disappeared so incredibly from history books, under their own name, come to realise once again, their identity? We are, indeed, a proud and stiff-necked people. (Exodus 32: 9-10; 34: 9-10)
One day, we shall be forced, perhaps, to turn again to God, in repentance and faith and then we shall receive forgiveness and the unimaginable blessings that come from living in harmony with Him.
MARKS OF IDENTIFICATION OF ISRAEL
1. To be a Great Nation and a Company of Nations Name to be ‘Great’ – to be a blessing to other nations and a light to them. (Genesis 12:1-3, 15:1-5, 17:6-7, 26:4, 35:11, 48:17-22, Isaiah 49:6, Acts 3:25-26)
2. To possess the gates of their enemies – i.e. Strategic places and sea power (Genesis 22:15-19, Deuteronomy 33:29)
3. David’s Throne and Kingdom to last for ever. (2 Samuel 7:10-16, Jeremiah 33:17-26,31:35-37, Chronicles 17:9-15, Daniel 2:28 with 44-45, Psalms 89:1-37)
4. Israel to be blind as to their identity – will be restored later. (Isaiah 42:19-20,43:1-13 (see v.8), Amos 9:9-15, Romans 11, Isaiah 54:7,65:17-25,66:22, Hosea 1:10, 4:17)
5. Israel to spread to the west, east, north and south and inherit the desolate places. (Genesis 28:14 (Jacob’s Dream), Isaiah 54:2-3, 49:8-9)
6. Israel to be a stiff-necked, stubborn people. (Exodus 32:9-10, 34:9-10, Hosea 4:16)
7. Israel to accept and be fair to all strangers in the land. (Leviticus 19:33-34,25: 5, Isaiah 56:3-8, Deuteronomy 10:17-19,23:15-16,24:14-17)
8. Israel to be in Coastlands and Islands in the West. (Isaiah 24:15, 42:4, 42:10, 49:1, 51:5, 59:18-19, 60:9, Jeremiah 31:10)
9. Israel to be God’s worldly weapon. (Jeremiah 51:19-23, Isaiah 41:8-12, 54:15-17, 58:6-12)
10. God’s witnesses and missionaries. (Isaiah 43:10-12, 44:8, 49:3-6, Acts 13:47, Mark 13:10, Peter 2:9-10)
11. Importance of Sabbath. (Isaiah 58: 13-14)
12. Jesus came to confirm all the Law, Prophets and Promises as is clearly shown in: (Matthew 5:17-19, Hebrews 6:12-18)
LAWS, STATUTES, JUDGEMENTS
1. Laws regarding food: (Leviticus 11; 17:10-16; Deuteronomy 14:3-21; 1 Corinthians 10:27-28)
2. Economics: Tithing, debt release, usury forbidden, state officers not to receive gifts or bribes. (Deuteronomy 14:22 to end, 15:1-12,16:19,23:19-20)
3. Dress: Clothes and the sexes, linen and wool not to be mixed, hair and beards, tattooing. (Deuteronomy 22:5, Leviticus 19:19, 19:27-28)
4. Sabbath: Keeping the Sabbath, Jubilee years. (Leviticus 25, Exodus 31:12-18, Isaiah 58:13-14)
5. Various: Inheritance, fortune-telling. (Exodus 21-23, Numbers 27:6-11, Leviticus 19:26 and 31)
GOD’S COVENANTS (PROMISES) WITH MAN
1. Edenic Covenant: Death caused by eating the forbidden fruit. (Genesis 2:16-17)
2. Covenant with Noah: Saved from death by the ark. (Genesis 6:18)
3. Covenant with Noah: Adamic Man would not be obliterated by flood again. (Genesis 9:12-17)
4. Abrahamic Covenant: Great Nation – Name great-blessing. (Genesis 12:1-3. Land: Descendants as dust of the earth. Genesis 13:14-18)
5. Abrahamic Covenant confirmed: Descendants as stars in the sky. (Genesis 15:1-21)
6. This Covenant again confirmed and established with his son, Isaac. (Genesis 17: 1-19)
7. Again confirmed: Isaac offered, covenant confirmed unconditionally. The oath of God cannot be broken. (Genesis 22:1-18, Hebrews 6:13-20)
8. Confirmed to Isaac and Jacob. (Genesis 26:1-5 and 24 ,28:10-15,35:9-12)
9. Mosaic Covenant: Conditional on obedience – Sabbath to be kept. (Exodus 19:1-25, 31:12-18,35:1-3)
10. Previous Covenants confirmed: Conditional. (Deuteronomy 29:1-29, 30:1-20)
11. Davidic Covenant: Kingdom for ever – unconditional. (2 Samuel 7:1-17, Jeremiah 31:31-37, 33:19-26)
12. The promised Saviour: to be King over Israel at the Second Coming. (Luke 1:26-35, and 67-80)
13. Blessings available to all in faith. (Galatians 3:6-29)
14. New Covenant in place of old rituals: Christ sacrificed once, for all – will come again. (Hebrews 9:1-28)
15. Israel’s future Deliverer. (Isaiah 59:20-21, Romans 11:25-27)
16. Final consummation of God’s Plan. (1 Corinthians 15:24-28)
