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CHILDREN OF THE PROMISES
Who was Ezekiel told to warn? Were the cities of Israel laid waste?
What was Jeremiah's commission and did he fulfil it?
Are the lost tribes of Israel identifiable today? Are they still cursed? Will they suffer captivity again at the end of this age?
Was Israel a shadow of things to come? Did God remove His presence from them?
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Many believe that the prophet Ezekiel had a message for the modern day descendants of the lost tribes of Israel. Ezekiel was given a message to deliver to the House of Israel while he was in Babylon among the survivors of Judah and it is maintained that he could not deliver that message at that time. The Assyrians had taken Israel into captivity over one hundred years before Ezekiel was given the message so they conclude that his message must be for the future descendants of Israel, whom they identify as Britain and America today. And they claim that it is the role of the church today to deliver that message.
What does the Bible say about Ezekiel’s message? Was it delivered to the House of Israel in Ezekiel’s time, or not?
It should be noted that Ezekiel had a number of messages to various nations, but the message we are concerned with is the one addressed to the House of Israel.
Ezekiel was told to go to his people, the House of Israel who were in captivity, “Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, eat that thou findest; eat this roll, and go speak unto the house of Israel.” and “And he said unto me, Son of man, go, get thee unto the house of Israel, and speak with my words unto them,” and “ And go, get thee to them of the captivity, unto the children of thy people, and speak unto them, and tell them.” (Ezekiel 3:1, 4, 11). For verse 11 the Moffatt translation reads “Go to the exiles, to the members of your race”. The Tanakh JPS translation says “go to your people, the exile community.”. Verse 7 implies that his message was to the whole House of Israel, both Israel and Judah, “they will not hearken unto me: for all the house of Israel are impudent and hardhearted.”.
God said very plainly that He would require Ezekiel’s blood if he didn’t go and give the warning, “Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel: therefore hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from me. When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand. Yet if thou warn the wicked, and he turn not from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul. Again, When a righteous man doth turn from his righteousness, and commit iniquity, and I lay a stumbling block before him, he shall die: because thou hast not given him warning, he shall die in his sin, and his righteousness which he hath done shall not be remembered; but his blood will I require at thine hand. Nevertheless if thou warn the righteous man, that the righteous sin not, and he doth not sin, he shall surely live, because he is warned; also thou hast delivered thy soul.” (Ezekiel 3:17-21). Remember what happened to Jonah when he tried to run away from what God had told him to do.
God also said Ezekiel would be struck dumb except when God opened his mouth in prophetic utterances, “And I will make thy tongue cleave to the roof of thy mouth, that thou shalt be dumb, and shalt not be to them a reprover: for they are a rebellious house. But when I speak with thee, I will open thy mouth, and thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD;” (Ezekiel 3:26-27).
God said that Ezekiel was a sign to Israel and would not speak his own words until after the prophecies God spoke through him were accomplished, “Thus Ezekiel is unto you a sign: according to all that he hath done shall ye do: and when this cometh, ye shall know that I am the Lord GOD.” and “That he that escapeth in that day shall come unto thee, to cause thee to hear it with thine ears? In that day shall thy mouth be opened to him which is escaped, and thou shalt speak, and be no more dumb: and thou shalt be a sign unto them; and they shall know that I am the LORD.” (Ezekiel 24:24, 26-27). Either the things he prophesied were accomplished in his time, or he continued to remain silent for the rest of his life.
According to the Bible those prophesies were accomplished in his time, “And it came to pass in the twelfth year of our captivity, in the tenth month, in the fifth day of the month, that one that had escaped out of Jerusalem came unto me, saying, The city is smitten. Now the hand of the LORD was upon me in the evening, afore he that was escaped came; and had opened my mouth, until he came to me in the morning; and my mouth was opened, and I was no more dumb.” (Ezekiel 33:21-22). He must have accomplished his mission or God would not have opened his mouth.
To accomplish his mission he had to speak to the House of Israel. So where did he go? He went to the leaders (elders) of the exiled community of those taken captive from Judah who were in Babylon, “Then I came to them of the captivity at Telabib, that dwelt by the river of Chebar,” (Ezekiel 3:15). His main message was to do with the fall and destruction of Jerusalem, which was the last bastion of the Kingdom of Israel at that time. In the circumstances he could only have accomplished his mission if the remnant in Babylon contained representatives from the tribes of Israel as well as Judah and they fully represented the leadership of the remnant of Israel at that time!
In Chapter 12, Ezekiel addressed his message concerning Jerusalem to “……the prince (Zedekiah) in Jerusalem, and all the House of Israel that are among them.” (Ezekiel 12:10)He prophesied about the fall of Jerusalem and the capture of Zedekiah.
Even though the kingdom had split into two separate nations, Israel and Judah, they were still considered to be collectively the children of Israel, or alternatively the House of Israel, the House of Jacob, the House of Joseph or in the case of Israel they were sometimes referred to as Ephraim (and sometimes Samaria) as previously discussed. When the northern nation of Israel turned to idolatry, many who remained faithful to God from the various tribes including Ephraim, Manasseh and Simeon left Israel and resettled in Judah.
In comments relating to I Kings 12:17, Bullinger acknowledges that Judah was representative of ‘all Israel’. The concept of Judah being the remnant that in effect represented the whole House of Israel is further supported by the fact that many people from the northern ten tribes had resettled in the cities of Judah because Jeroboam changed the format of worship in Israel, “And he (Asa) 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,” (II Chronicles 15:9). Also in the time of Hezekiah, “And concerning the children of Israel and Judah, that dwelt in the cities of Judah, they also brought in the tithe” and “And when Hezekiah and the princes came and saw the heaps, they blessed the LORD, and his people Israel.” (II Chronicles 31:6, 8). And again from around the time of Judah’s captivity, “And in Jerusalem dwelt of the children of Judah, and of the children of Benjamin, and of the children of Ephraim, and Manasseh;” (I Chronicles 9:3).
Ezekiel referred to those in Jerusalem as the ‘residue of Israel’ (Ezekiel 9:8). Jeremiah also referred to Jerusalem as Jacob (Lamentations 1:17).
Therefore, at the time of the siege of Jerusalem there were Israelites from the northern tribes dwelling among the exiles of Judah. It was to this exiled community that Ezekiel was directed and that was where he went. When speaking to ‘them of the captivity’ (Ezekiel 11:25) he was addressing the ‘elders of Israel’ of the ‘House of Israel’ (Ezekiel 14:1, 5 - see also 8:1 and 20:1) who were present among the captives from Judah in Babylon indicating that there were recognised leaders of Israel among the Babylonian captives.
God was executing judgment on the whole of Israel in the sight of the nations. He had already destroyed Israel and most of Judah was in captivity. The fall of Jerusalem was another stage in the execution of that judgment. That is why Ezekiel was sent to address the whole of Israel (Ezekiel 3:7). God said that the siege of Jerusalem was a sign to the House of Israel, “Moreover take thou unto thee an iron pan, and set it for a wall of iron between thee and the city: and set thy face against it, and it shall be besieged, and thou shalt lay siege against it. This shall be a sign to the house of Israel.” (Ezekiel 4:3).
It was a sign because Jerusalem the former capital of the once great kingdom of Israel, was the last part of the House of Israel to fall, “And thou, son of man, take thee a sharp knife, take thee a barber’s razor, and cause it to pass upon thine head and upon thy beard: then take thee balances to weigh, and divide the hair. Thou shalt burn with fire a third part in the midst of the city, when the days of the siege are fulfilled: and thou shalt take a third part, and smite about it with a knife: and a third part thou shalt scatter in the wind; and I will draw out a sword after them. Thou shalt also take thereof a few in number, and bind them in thy skirts. Then take of them again, and cast them into the midst of the fire, and burn them in the fire; for thereof shall a fire come forth into all the house of Israel. Thus saith the Lord GOD; This is Jerusalem: I have set it in the midst of the nations and countries that are round about her.” (Ezekiel 5:1-5).
God had extended the hand of mercy to them time and time again, but they refused to obey and because of their continual sin He finally said enough is enough. He had already told Israel that they were no longer His people, “Then said God, Call his name Loammi: for ye are not my people, and I will not be your God.” (Hosea 1:9). After Israel had been destroyed and taken captive He focused His attention on Judah, but they too turned away from Him.
Eventually God removed His presence from the temple, “Then the glory of the LORD departed from off the threshold of the house, and stood over the cherubims. And the cherubims lifted up their wings, and mounted up from the earth in my sight: when they went out, the wheels also were beside them, and every one stood at the door of the east gate of the LORD’S house; and the glory of the God of Israel was over them above.” (Ezekiel 10:18-19).
He was now going to execute judgment on what was left of the House of Israel, i.e. Jerusalem, without delay, “……the days are at hand, and the effect of every vision.” and “For I am the LORD: I will speak, and the word that I shall speak shall come to pass; it shall be no more prolonged: for in your days, O rebellious house, will I say the word, and will perform it, saith the Lord GOD.” and “Thus saith the Lord GOD; There shall none of my words be prolonged any more, but the word which I have spoken shall be done, saith the Lord GOD.” (Ezekiel 12:23, 25, 28).
Through Ezekiel God said, “In all your dwelling places the cities shall be laid waste, and the high places shall be desolate; that your altars may be laid waste and made desolate, and your idols may be broken and cease, and your images may be cut down, and your works may be abolished.” and “And the cities that are inhabited shall be laid waste, and the land shall be desolate; and ye shall know that I am the LORD.” (Ezekiel 6:6, 12:20). According to the British Israelite theory it was not possible for the cities of Israel to be laid waste until the advent of nuclear weapons, therefore they maintain that the prophecy is for modern times. Was this prophecy fulfilled in ancient times, or is it for today?
According to Jeremiah the cities of the northern kingdom of Israel have already been laid waste: “Is Israel a servant? is he a homeborn slave? why is he spoiled? The young lions roared upon him, and yelled, and they made his land waste: his cities are burned without inhabitant.” (Jeremiah 2:14-15).
After the fall of Jerusalem Jeremiah wrote Lamentations, in which he said, “How hath the Lord covered the daughter of Zion with a cloud in his anger, and cast down from heaven unto the earth the beauty of Israel, and remembered not his footstool in the day of his anger! The Lord hath swallowed up all the habitations of Jacob, and hath not pitied: he hath thrown down in his wrath the strong holds of the daughter of Judah; he hath brought them down to the ground: he hath polluted the kingdom and the princes thereof. He hath cut off in his fierce anger all the horn of Israel: he hath drawn back his right hand from before the enemy, and he burned against Jacob like a flaming fire, which devoureth round about.” and “The Lord was as an enemy: he hath swallowed up Israel, he hath swallowed up all her palaces: he hath destroyed his strong holds, and hath increased in the daughter of Judah mourning and lamentation.” (Lamentations 2:1-3, 5).
The Tanakh JPS translation actually uses the words ‘laid waste’, “(the Lord) Has cast down from heaven to earth the majesty of Israel, He did not remember His footstool on His day of wrath. The Lord has laid waste without pity all the habitations of Jacob;” and “In blazing anger He has cut down all the might of Israel;” and “He has ravaged Jacob like a flaming fire, consuming on all sides,” and “The Lord has acted like a foe, He has laid waste Israel,” (Lamentations 2:1-3, 5). The different Hebrew words used by both Ezekiel and Jeremiah have similar meanings: ‘charah’ meaning destroyed, desolate, waste, and ‘bela’ meaning swallow, destroy, devour, ended.
Obviously, God accomplished what He set out to do to the House of Jacob at that time. He ‘laid waste’ to all the dwelling places of the House of Jacob to the extent He intended. It is not a prophecy for the descendants of Israel today. These things happened to the House of Israel at that time for all the nations of the world to see. The judgment on the House of Israel included the destruction of Jerusalem in Ezekiel’s time, just as God had prophesied.
God destroyed the House of Israel because of their abominations, “Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I, even I, am against thee, and will execute judgments in the midst of thee in the sight of the nations. And I will do in thee that which I have not done, and whereunto I will not do any more the like, because of all thine abominations.” (Ezekiel 5:8-9). When He said that He would 'not do any more the like' what did God mean?
God was executing judgement upon the whole House of Israel. The nation of Israel had already gone into captivity followed by Judah and now the capital was to be destroyed. God made it clear that the execution of His judgement would continue to pursue the remnant in their captivity, “And I will scatter you among the heathen, and will draw out a sword after you: and your land shall be desolate, and your cities waste.” and “And upon them that are left alive of you I will send a faintness into their hearts in the lands of their enemies; and the sound of a shaken leaf shall chase them; and they shall flee, as fleeing from a sword; and they shall fall when none pursueth. And they shall fall one upon another, as it were before a sword, when none pursueth: and ye shall have no power to stand before your enemies. And ye shall perish among the heathen, and the land of your enemies shall eat you up. And they that are left of you shall pine away in their iniquity in your enemies’ lands; and also in the iniquities of their fathers shall they pine away with them.” (Leviticus 26:33, 36-39). As long as they continued in those abominations the judgement was to continue. Centuries later when they rejected and killed Jesus Christ, Jerusalem was again destroyed as part of that judgement. The only clearly identifiable remnant of Israel, the Jews, have suffered persecution since that time and more recently at the hands of the Nazis. Even today Israel is a nation under siege surrounded by enemies. That judgement will continue to have effect until such time as they accept Christ as their saviour.
At this time the only identifiable remnant of the ancient House of Israel today is the Jews and they are no longer God’s chosen people. He is now dealing directly with the Church – spiritual Israel.
When God said, “I will do in thee that which I have not done, and whereunto I will not do any more the like,” He was emphasising the magnitude of an unprecedented event that will not happen again. He is not going to reject the church (spiritual Israel) as he has rejected ancient Israel. This does not mean that the church will not have its adversaries, or its people suffer persecutions, it simply means that God will not reject spiritual Israel en masse as He did ancient Israel.
Ezekiel not only prophesied doom and gloom for those living in his time, he also brought a message of hope for the future, for all people.
Using highly symbolic language, Ezekiel described the fate of a number of nations at that time. In Ezekiel 29, he likened Egypt of old to the great dragon that lies in the midst of its rivers, only to be plucked up and flung in the wilderness and buried among the slain. Assyria, in Ezekiel 31, is likened to a mighty cedar exceeding the stature of other trees only to be brought down in its greatness to be buried amongst the slain. Both these mighty nations were eventually brought down.
On the other hand, Israel who by Ezekiel’s time had become so despised that her enemies did not even bother to bury her slain (Jeremiah 8:1-2) was likened to a valley of dry bones (Ezekiel 37). Israel was given a message of hope in their time of punishment and captivity specifically through the allegory of the valley of dry bones. But it is a message for all people, a message of restoration to the greatness that God has always wanted for His creation. We will read more about the restoration of Israel and its implications in Part III of this paper.
Ezekiel was given a number of messages to deliver to various peoples and nations. He was a contemporary of Jeremiah. While Jeremiah was in Jerusalem, Ezekiel was with the captives, who were a mix of the northern tribes and Judah, in the land of the Chaldeans (Babylonians) where he was instructed to go and where he went. The fall of Jerusalem was the part of the execution of judgment on the rebellious House of Israel (Jacob).
Israel fell in three stages: the major portion was taken captive when the northern kingdom of Israel fell to the Assyrians then Judah (a mix of all tribes) fell to the Babylonians and finally Jerusalem. Once Jerusalem fell, the prophecy that the cities of Jacob would be laid waste had been fulfilled as far as God was concerned.
As instructed Ezekiel delivered his message to the leaders of the House of Israel at that time held captive by the Babylonians. His message was about the next stage of the execution of God's judgment which was the fall of Jerusalem. He also said that the execution of judgment would pursue the survivors even in their captivity. Centuries later when they rejected and killed Jesus Christ Jerusalem was once again destroyed with huge loss of lives. Since then they have been persecuted and even today have no peace. They are a nation surrounded by enemies constantly at war. The judgement will continue until such time as they accept Christ as their saviour.
According to the British Israelite teachings Jeremiah’s commission was to tear down and uproot the throne of David and replant it among the lost tribes of Israel. They say he accomplished this by taking Zedekiah’s daughters to Ireland where one of them married a king Herremon who was supposed to have descended from the line of Zarah, dwelling with the lost tribes of Israel. Jeremiah is also supposed to have brought with him the ‘stone of destiny’, reputed to be Jacob’s pillar-stone (Genesis 28:18) on which the kings of Ireland, Scotland and England were crowned. It is claimed that God commissioned Jeremiah to uproot the throne of David from Judah and plant it in Ireland.
But what does the Bible say about Jeremiah’s commission? Did it have anything to do with transplanting the throne to the British Isles, or not?
In the 13th year of Josiah’s reign Jeremiah was appointed as a prophet to nations and kingdoms (plural), “Before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.” and “I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant.” (Jeremiah 1:5,10). His commission was to pronounce God’s judgment on nations and kingdoms.
The execution of judgment upon the nations and kingdoms was symbolized by making the nations drink of the cup of God’s wrath, “For thus saith the LORD God of Israel unto me; Take the wine cup of this fury at my hand, and cause all the nations, to whom I send thee, to drink it. And they shall drink, and be moved, and be mad, because of the sword that I will send among them.” (Jeremiah 25:15-16).
Jeremiah did as he was told, he pronounced God’s judgment on his own nation Judah first, “Then took I the cup at the LORD’S hand, and made all the nations to drink, unto whom the LORD had sent me: To wit, Jerusalem, and the cities of Judah, and the kings thereof, and the princes thereof, to make them a desolation, an astonishment, an hissing, and a curse; as it is this day;” (Jeremiah 25:17-18).
After judgement was executed on his own nation he went to the other nations including: Egypt, Uz, Askelon, Gaza, Ekron, Ashdod, Edom, Moab, Ammon, Tyre, Sidon, Dedan, Tema, Buz, Arabia and the mixed peoples of the desert, Zimri, Elam, Media, the nations of the north and finally Sheshack (Jeremiah 25:19-26). They were Jacob’s adversaries and were to be punished because of what they did to God’s people, “Therefore thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Drink ye, and be drunken, and spue, and fall, and rise no more, because of the sword which I will send among you. And it shall be, if they refuse to take the cup at thine hand to drink, then shalt thou say unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Ye shall certainly drink.” (Jeremiah 25:27-28).
According to Jeremiah 51:41 Sheshack is Babylon. And Babylon, significantly, was to drink of the cup of wrath after the other nations. Many of the nations mentioned were destroyed and absorbed by the Babylonian empire and they never rose to power again. The fate of Babylon, however, is crucially linked to the future events spoken about in Revelation, as we shall see later in this paper.
To see Jeremiah’s commission in context we need to review some of the history of the execution of God’s judgment on His people – the House of Jacob.
Right from coming out of Egypt they had provoked God to anger, “Because they have done that which was evil in my sight, and have provoked me to anger, since the day their fathers came forth out of Egypt, even unto this day.” (II Kings 21:15). But there were times when Israel pleased God and consequently they were greatly blessed. During the time of King David and the early years of his son Solomon the kingdom reached the peak of its prosperity. God kept his promises to make the nation great, rich and powerful. But when Solomon, swayed by his many wives, eventually led the people of back into idolatry and God pronounced judgment on the House of Israel (Jacob).
That judgment began to take effect when the kingdom was wrenched from the hands of Solomon’s son Rehoboam. He was left with the remnant – Judah. The major portion of the House of Israel, the ten northern tribes, was given to Jeroboam. Jereboam’s nation retained the name Israel, “And he said to Jeroboam………… I will rend the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon, and will give ten tribes to thee: (But he shall have one tribe for my servant David’s sake, and for Jerusalem’s sake, the city which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel:) Because that they have forsaken me, and have worshipped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and Milcom the god of the children of Ammon, and have not walked in my ways, to do that which is right in mine eyes, and to keep my statutes and my judgments, as did David his father.” and “But I will take the kingdom out of his son’s hand, and will give it unto thee, even ten tribes. And unto his son will I give one tribe, that David my servant may have a light alway before me in Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen me to put my name there.” (I Kings 11:31-33,35-36).
Instead of obeying and trusting in God, Jeroboam was more concerned about maintaining control of the people and took the northern tribes further into idolatry by changing the format of worship. He set up his own priesthood, places of worship and feast days, “Whereupon the king took counsel, and made two calves of gold, and said unto them, It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem: behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. And he set the one in Bethel, and the other put he in Dan. And this thing became a sin: for the people went to worship before the one, even unto Dan. And he made an house of high places, and made priests of the lowest of the people, which were not of the sons of Levi. And Jeroboam ordained a feast in the eighth month, on the fifteenth day of the month, like unto the feast that is in Judah, and he offered upon the altar. So did he in Bethel, sacrificing unto the calves that he had made: and he placed in Bethel the priests of the high places which he had made. So he offered upon the altar which he had made in Bethel the fifteenth day of the eighth month, even in the month which he had devised of his own heart; and ordained a feast unto the children of Israel: and he offered upon the altar, and burnt incense.” (I Kings 12:28-33).
Because Israel continued in idolatry judgment was pronounced when God said He would destroy them, “After this thing Jeroboam returned not from his evil way, but made again of the lowest of the people priests of the high places: whosoever would, he consecrated him, and he became one of the priests of the high places. And this thing became sin unto the house of Jeroboam, even to cut it off, and to destroy it from off the face of the earth.” (I Kings 13:33-34).
Through the prophet Ahijah God said he would root up and scatter the people of Israel, “Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Forasmuch as I exalted thee from among the people, and made thee prince over my people Israel, And rent the kingdom away from the house of David, and gave it thee: and yet thou hast not been as my servant David, who kept my commandments, and who followed me with all his heart, to do that only which was right in mine eyes; But hast done evil above all that were before thee: for thou hast gone and made thee other gods, and molten images, to provoke me to anger, and hast cast me behind thy back: Therefore, behold, I will bring evil upon the house of Jeroboam,” and “For the LORD shall smite Israel, as a reed is shaken in the water, and he shall root up Israel out of this good land, which he gave to their fathers, and shall scatter them beyond the river, because they have made their groves, provoking the LORD to anger. And he shall give Israel up because of the sins of Jeroboam, who did sin, and who made Israel to sin.” (I Kings 14:7-10,15-16). And all these things occurred as God said they would. The Assyrians took Israel into captivity.
More than one hundred years later when Judah followed Israel into idolatry, Jeremiah was called to pronounce God’s judgment on Judah, “And I saw, when for all the causes whereby backsliding Israel committed adultery I had put her away, and given her a bill of divorce; yet her treacherous sister Judah feared not, but went and played the harlot also.” (Jeremiah 3:8). When the Babylonians took Judah into captivity, Jerusalem was spared from destruction. For a number of years it remained intact under a vassal king (Zedekiah) who was set up by Nebuchadnezzar.
Many people from the tribes of Israel had come to dwell in the cities of Judah including Jerusalem. Those to whom Jeremiah uttered his prophetic warnings represented the whole House of Israel also called the House of Jacob. He was instructed to, “cry in the ears of Jerusalem” (Jeremiah 2:2), and address the whole House of Jacob, “Israel was holiness unto the LORD, and the firstfruits of his increase: all that devour him shall offend; evil shall come upon them, saith the LORD. Hear ye the word of the LORD, O house of Jacob, and all the families (tribes) of the house of Israel:” (Jeremiah 2:3-4).
The two separate nations Israel and Judah were collectively referred to as God’s people ‘Israel’. For example, Jeremiah referred to both the Assyrian and Babylonian captivities as something that happened in a collective sense to Israel, “Israel is a scattered sheep; the lions have driven him away: first the king of Assyria hath devoured him; and last this Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon hath broken his bones,” (Jeremiah 50:17).
When Israel was destroyed Judah was, in effect, the remnant of the House of Jacob.
God’s purpose in retaining the remnant was to fulfill His promise about the coming Messiah who will sit on the throne of David ruling God’s people, and in whom all nations will be blessed, “The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.” (Genesis 49:10). He also said, “Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth.” (Jeremiah 23:5). He said, “And unto his son (Rehoboam) will I give one tribe, that David my servant may have a light alway before me in Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen me to put my name there.” (I Kings 11:36). That one tribe was Judah and of course any who were willing to align themselves with them, for example Levi, Benjamin and members from other tribes like Ephraim, Manasseh and Simeon who resettled in Judah.
When that remnant (Judah) turned from God and was also taken into captivity and the city of Jerusalem finally fell to the Babylonians, God spared a remnant from them throughout the Babylonian captivity in order to keep His promises, “For out of Jerusalem shall go forth a remnant, and they that escape out of mount Zion: the zeal of the LORD of hosts shall do this.” (II Kings 19:31).
By the grace of God, that remnant was spared until their descendants were able to return in the time of Ezra and Nehemiah, to rebuild Jerusalem and establish a community that existed, although under occupation, until the coming of the Messiah, “Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace.” (Romans 11:5). All this happened so that Christ the Son of God and heir to the throne of David, could be born of the tribe of Judah. And it is through Christ that all nations are to be blessed by having access to the true God to receive His grace and His kingdom. This is how God fulfilled the promise to Abraham: that in his seed all the families of the earth would be blessed (Galatians 3:8, 16).
Although the name Jew may have originally referred to those of the tribe of Judah it has come to be associated with those of the nation of Judah or the land of Judea. Just as people from Europe or elsewhere who emigrate to the US for example become US residents and are called Americans, those from other tribes of Israel who became residents of Judah became known collectively as Jews. It had become a common name for what is now the only identifiable remnant of Israel (Jacob). For example Paul was of the tribe of Benjamin and yet is referred to as a Jew, indicating that the term Jew meant more than direct descendants of the patriarch Judah, “I more: Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin,” – “But Paul said, I am a man which am a Jew of Tarsus,” (Philippians 3:4-5 and Acts 21:39).
When the Jews, who represented all that remained of the remnant of Jacob, did not accept Christ they brought further judgment on themselves. .
Once God’s purpose had been fulfilled by Christ opening up the way for all of mankind to have access to God the Father the New Testament church was established, then dispersed from Jerusalem, and the city was once again sacked - this time by the Romans.[3]
Having briefly reviewed the history of the execution of judgment on God’s people we can see that Jeremiah’s commission only spanned part of that time - from the days of Josiah, king of Judah until after the fall of Jerusalem. During that time Jeremiah not only pronounced God’s judgment on Judah and Jerusalem, he also pronounced judgment on Jacob’s adversaries.
Jeremiah’s commission was to pronounce judgment on the other nations listed in Jeremiah 25, because of their adversity toward God’s people. For example, Edom was one of those nations. The Edomites were descendants of Esau, Jacob’s brother and when the children of Israel came out of Egypt, Edom was supposed to give them passage but didn’t (Numbers 20:20-21). They were hostile toward Israel throughout the nation’s history and their animosity was reinforced when David’s army killed every male in Edom (I Kings 11:14-15) and others like Amaziah (II Kings 14:7) and Jehoram (II Kings 8:20-23 and II Chronicles 21:8-10) subsequently oppressed the Edomites.
That hatred for Jacob still existed among Esau’s descendants at the time of the fall of Jerusalem, “Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because that Edom hath dealt against the house of Judah by taking vengeance, and hath greatly offended, and revenged himself upon them;” (Ezekiel 25:12). “Because thou hast had a perpetual hatred, and hast shed the blood of the children of Israel by the force of the sword in the time of their calamity, in the time that their iniquity had an end:” and “And thou shalt know that I am the LORD, and that I have heard all thy blasphemies which thou hast spoken against the mountains of Israel, saying, They are laid desolate, they are given us to consume.” and “As thou didst rejoice at the inheritance of the house of Israel, because it was desolate, so will I do unto thee: thou shalt be desolate, O mount Seir, and all Idumea, even all of it: and they shall know that I am the LORD.” (Ezekiel 35:5,12,15). After the fall of Jerusalem the exiles in Babylon remembered Edom’s enmity, “Remember, O LORD, the children of Edom in the day of Jerusalem; who said, Rase it, rase it, even to the foundation thereof.” (Psalm 137:7).
Obadiah records that an envoy (ambassador) was sent among the nations to pronounce judgment. He said, “Thus saith the Lord GOD concerning Edom; We have heard a rumour from the LORD, and an ambassador is sent among the heathen, Arise ye, and let us rise up against her in battle. Behold, I have made thee small among the heathen: thou art greatly despised.” (Obadiah 1:1-2). He then recites a similar judgment to the one given by Jeremiah (Jeremiah 49:7-22). It is highly likely that this was Jeremiah fulfilling his commission to the nations.
The judgment pronounced by Jeremiah and repeated by Obadiah was, according to Malachi, fulfilled. He said that Esau’s descendants were laid waste, “I have loved you, saith the LORD. Yet ye say, Wherein hast thou loved us? Was not Esau Jacob’s brother? saith the LORD: yet I loved Jacob, And I hated Esau, and laid his mountains and his heritage waste for the dragons of the wilderness. Whereas Edom saith, We are impoverished, but we will return and build the desolate places; thus saith the LORD of hosts, They shall build, but I will throw down; and they shall call them, The border of wickedness, and, The people against whom the LORD hath indignation for ever. And your eyes shall see, and ye shall say, The LORD will be magnified from the border of Israel.” (Malachi 1:2-5). Edom was destroyed because of its animosity toward God’s people both in the past and during the punishment that fell on Jerusalem.
Other nations on which Jeremiah pronounced judgment, such as Moab and Elam for example received a similar fate, “And Moab shall be destroyed from being a people, because he hath magnified himself against the LORD.” and “And upon Elam will I bring the four winds from the four quarters of heaven, and will scatter them toward all those winds; and there shall be no nation whither the outcasts of Elam shall not come.” (Jeremiah 48:42, 49:36). They were destroyed by the Babylonians and scattered among all nations.
(For further reading see the article Jacob's Adversaries).
Babylon, the last of the nations mentioned by Jeremiah on which the judgment was to be executed, fell to the Medes and Persians. The city of Babylon survived under captivity until after 312 BC when Seleucus built a new city 50 miles to the north.
The influence of the Babylonian Empire on the rest of the world was significant. Its political, religious, economic and social systems were absorbed and provided the pattern for the modern nations of this world. According to one interpretation of the Book of Revelation, Babylon represents the political, religious, economic and social systems of the end-time world power. That world power will be an alliance between a powerful religious leader - the false prophet, and a political leader - the “beast”.
The end-time Babylon representing the nations of this world is Jacob’s adversary. Jacob represents God’s people – the saints, “I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters: With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication. So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication: And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration.” (Revelation 17:1-6).
The British Israelite theory maintains that the modern day descendants of the lost tribes of ancient Israel will be the prime target of the beast’s power which will once again take them into captivity. However, as we shall see, there is no clear evidence in the Bible that the lost tribes can be identified as specific nations in the modern world. Rather, the prime target will be God’s people who are clearly identified as those of the faith of Christ, “For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” (Galatians 3:26-29).
God made it plain through Jeremiah that having dealt with His own people (ancient Israel) He would then be dealing with the rest of the world, “For, lo, I begin to bring evil on the city which is called by my name, and should ye be utterly unpunished? Ye shall not be unpunished: for I will call for a sword upon all the inhabitants of the earth, saith the LORD of hosts. Therefore prophesy thou against them all these words, and say unto them, The LORD shall roar from on high, and utter his voice from his holy habitation; he shall mightily roar upon his habitation; he shall give a shout, as they that tread the grapes, against all the inhabitants of the earth.” (Jeremiah 25:29-30).
In ancient times God’s people were a physical nation and the other nations of the world were their adversaries. The Babylonian empire being the most dominant power in the world at that time, was Jacob’s chief adversary. In this day and age God’s people are not a nation, but a body of spirit-begotten people known as the saints. Their chief adversary is Satan (the name Satan means adversary) who is the spirit behind the world power symbolically portrayed in Revelation as Babylon.
As foretold by Jeremiah and confirmed in Revelation, God will finally execute judgment on Babylon (Sheshach) and Babylon will be made to drink of the cup of God’s wrath, “And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.” and “And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath.” (Revelation 14:8, 16:19). That is the final fulfilment of the destructive part of Jeremiah’s commission.
On one hand Jeremiah’s commission was to announce the rooting out, pulling down, and destruction of the nations and kingdoms of the ancient world; on the other hand he announced the restoration of Israel which is the building and planting, “I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant.” (Jeremiah 1:10).
We have already seen how the remnant of Jacob in the time of Ezra and Nehemiah restored Jerusalem to fulfil the promise of the Messiah. But it is obvious that Jeremiah spoke about a more significant restoration that would occur in the end-time, “At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the LORD; and all the nations shall be gathered unto it, to the name of the LORD, to Jerusalem: neither shall they walk any more after the imagination of their evil heart.” (Jeremiah 3:17). And “Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.” (Jeremiah 23:5-6). And “For I will set mine eyes upon them for good, and I will bring them again to this land: and I will build them, and not pull them down; and I will plant them, and not pluck them up. And I will give them an heart to know me, that I am the LORD: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God: for they shall return unto me with their whole heart.” (Jeremiah 24:6-7). And “Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: Not according to the 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 the LORD: But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.” (Jeremiah 31:31-33).
Jeremiah’s message was not only one about destruction and captivity; it was also about hope for the future. The Hebrew words translated ‘build’ and ‘plant’ mean to establish. And what God was taking about through Jeremiah was establishing His Kingdom on this earth. The nation of Israel comprising God’s people in ancient times was a physical nation that foreshadowed God’s spiritual Kingdom. It is obvious that something far greater than a physical kingdom is to be restored. He was talking about restoring His people to a spiritual kingdom, the Kingdom of God after Christ returns. We will have more to say about that restoration later in this paper.
Jeremiah’s commission was to announce to Judah and the other nations of the world at that time what God had in store for them. They were to be destroyed in their immediate future with the exception of Babylon. According to one interpretation of the Book of Revelation Babylon represents the political, economic and religious systems of government that have infiltrated the world. Eventually even Babylon is to drink of the cup of wrath and be destroyed when Christ returns to establish God’s Kingdom here on earth.
The nation of Judah and its capital Jerusalem represented what was left of the House of Jacob. It was to be destroyed, but a remnant survived to provide the way for God’s promises about the Messiah to be fulfilled.
Jeremiah’s commission to plant and build is a message of hope for all people. It referred to the coming Messiah and eventually the restoration of Israel, as part of the God’s Kingdom after Christ returns as ruler.
There is no evidence to suggest that Jeremiah’s commission was to take the throne of David from Judah and to transplant it in the British Isles.
It is worth noting here that with the final fall of Jerusalem in 70AD the age of patriarchs and prophets ended. The era of the Babylonian system was fully ushered in and it continues to be the backbone of the world today. It will be finally destroyed with the return of Christ.
Many believe that the descendants of the lost tribes of Israel can be identified as separate nations today. They also believe that because these nations are descendants of ancient Israel the curses of Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28 still apply to them and that they will soon go into a ‘latter-day’ captivity. Does the Bible support these beliefs?
As mentioned in an earlier chapter, a great deal of reliance has been placed on the blessing of Jacob’s children to identify nations today as descendants of the tribes of Israel in the end-time, “And Jacob called unto his sons, and said, Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the last days.” (Genesis 49:1). However, the assumption that ‘last days’ means ‘end time’ is not supported by the numerous versions that translate the words ‘last days’ as ‘days to come’ (Tanakh JPS translation, RVS, NIV, Living Bible, MKJV, LIT), or ‘in future times’ (BBE) that indicate a future time but not necessarily the end-time.
The covenant God made with the children of Israel through Moses just before they entered the Promised Land was conditional. If they obeyed God they would be blessed, “And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the LORD thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth: And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God.” (Deuteronomy 28:1-2).
If they did not obey they would bring disaster upon themselves, “But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee:” (verse 15).
From the outset God said that if they turned from Him the kingdom would be destroyed, they would be left few in number and scattered among the nations where their identity would be lost, “I said, I would scatter them into corners, I would make the remembrance of them to cease from among men:” (Deuteronomy 32:26). Also, “For the LORD thy God is a consuming fire, even a jealous God. When thou shalt beget children, and children’s children, and ye shall have remained long in the land, and shall corrupt yourselves, and make a graven image, or the likeness of any thing, and shall do evil in the sight of the LORD thy God, to provoke him to anger: I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that ye shall soon utterly perish from off the land whereunto ye go over Jordan to possess it; ye shall not prolong your days upon it, but shall utterly be destroyed. And the LORD shall scatter you among the nations, and ye shall be left few in number among the heathen, whither the LORD shall lead you. And there ye shall serve gods, the work of men’s hands, wood and stone, which neither see, nor hear, nor eat, nor smell.” (Deuteronomy 4:24-28).
He said, “And ye shall be left few in number, whereas ye were as the stars of heaven for multitude; because thou wouldest not obey the voice of the LORD thy God. And it shall come to pass, that as the LORD rejoiced over you to do you good, and to multiply you; so the LORD will rejoice over you to destroy you, and to bring you to nought; and ye shall be plucked from off the land whither thou goest to possess it. And the LORD shall scatter thee among all people, from the one end of the earth even unto the other; and there thou shalt serve other gods, which neither thou nor thy fathers have known, even wood and stone. And among these nations shalt thou find no ease, neither shall the sole of thy foot have rest: but the LORD shall give thee there a trembling heart, and failing of eyes, and sorrow of mind: And thy life shall hang in doubt before thee; and thou shalt fear day and night, and shalt have none assurance of thy life: In the morning thou shalt say, Would God it were even! and at even thou shalt say, Would God it were morning! for the fear of thine heart wherewith thou shalt fear, and for the sight of thine eyes which thou shalt see. And the LORD shall bring thee into Egypt again with ships, by the way whereof I spake unto thee, Thou shalt see it no more again: and there ye shall be sold unto your enemies for bondmen and bondwomen, and no man shall buy you. These are the words of the covenant, which the LORD commanded Moses to make with the children of Israel in the land of Moab, beside the covenant which he made with them in Horeb.” (Deuteronomy 28:62- 29:1).
Later through Hosea, God said the kingdom of Israel would cease to exist, “I will avenge the blood of Jezreel upon the house of Jehu, and will cause to cease the kingdom of the house of Israel.” He said He would no longer extend His mercy toward them, “for I will no more have mercy upon the house of Israel; but I will utterly take them away.” (Hosea 1:4, 6).
The same warning was given to the remnant of the House of Jacob in Jeremiah’s time, “Therefore will I scatter them as the stubble that passeth away by the wind of the wilderness. This is thy lot, the portion of thy measures from me, saith the LORD; because thou hast forgotten me, and trusted in falsehood.” and “And I will fan them with a fan in the gates of the land; I will bereave them of children, I will destroy my people, since they return not from their ways.” and “They shall die of grievous deaths; they shall not be lamented; neither shall they be buried; but they shall be as dung upon the face of the earth: and they shall be consumed by the sword, and by famine; and their carcases shall be meat for the fowls of heaven, and for the beasts of the earth. For thus saith the LORD, Enter not into the house of mourning, neither go to lament nor bemoan them: for I have taken away my peace from this people, saith the LORD, even loving kindness and mercies. Both the great and the small shall die in this land: they shall not be buried, neither shall men lament for them, nor cut themselves, nor make themselves bald for them:” and “Therefore will I cast you out of this land into a land that ye know not, neither ye nor your fathers; and there shall ye serve other gods day and night; where I will not shew you favour.” and “I will scatter them as with an east wind before the enemy; I will shew them the back, and not the face, in the day of their calamity.” (Jeremiah 13:24-25, 15:7, 16:4-6, 13, 18:17).
Prior to entering the Promised Land God spelt out the conditions of the covenant He made with His people and constantly warned them of the consequences of disobedience through His prophets. Eventually the kingdom ceased to exist, the people were scattered, becoming absorbed by other nations into their religions and Israel lost its identity - just as God proclaimed.
The emphasis on serving other gods during their captivity shows that the captivity was to be spiritual as well as physical. Hosea made it clear that a spiritual change would be required for their release when he said that they would no longer be God’s people until it could be said to them that they are the sons of the living God, “For ye are not my people, and I will not be your God. Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured nor numbered; and it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people, there it shall be said unto them, Ye are the sons of the living God.” (Hosea 1:9-10, see also Romans 10:25-26). That change will only come through the process of repentance when they will receive God’s Holy Spirit and become His children.
Those whom God calls His sons and daughters have His Holy Spirit, “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.” (Romans 8:14). And, “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.” (II Corinthians 6:14-18). It is through the sacrifice of Christ that they become sons and daughters of God, “But as many as received him (Christ), to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:” (John 1:12). For most that opportunity to truly repent will not come until the time of the Great White Throne Judgment spoken of in Revelation 20:11-15.
From the outset God said that He would only bring Israel out of captivity when they turn to Him and obey His command(ment)s, “And it shall come to pass, when all these things are come upon thee, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before thee, and thou shalt call them to mind among all the nations, whither the LORD thy God hath driven thee, And shalt return unto the LORD thy God, and shalt obey his voice according to all that I command thee this day, thou and thy children, with all thine heart, and with all thy soul; That then the LORD thy God will turn thy captivity, and have compassion upon thee, and will return and gather thee from all the nations, whither the LORD thy God hath scattered thee. If any of thine be driven out unto the outmost parts of heaven, from thence will the LORD thy God gather thee, and from thence will he fetch thee: And the LORD thy God will bring thee into the land which thy fathers possessed, and thou shalt possess it; and he will do thee good, and multiply thee above thy fathers. And the LORD thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live. And the LORD thy God will put all these curses upon thine enemies, and on them that hate thee, which persecuted thee. And thou shalt return and obey the voice of the LORD, and do all his commandments which I command thee this day. And the LORD thy God will make thee plenteous in every work of thine hand, in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy land, for good: for the LORD will again rejoice over thee for good, as he rejoiced over thy fathers: If thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to keep his commandments and his statutes which are written in this book of the law, and if thou turn unto the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul.” (Deuteronomy 30:1-10).
These are the conditions of the covenant God made with ancient Israel. If they had repented and turned to Him with all their heart and obeyed everything He commanded, He would have gathered them, given them their land back and blessed them beyond what their fathers had been blessed with. The blessings were conditional on obedience.
If their descendants had repented and obeyed God’s commandments to receive the blessing in modern times as some believe, then clearly we would be able to identify them because they would be keeping the commandments, including the fourth commandment regarding the Sabbath. When did the nations of the British Commonwealth or America ever keep the Sabbath? There has been no true repentance. Not one nation in this world today even knows the true God, let alone obeys Him. None have turned to God with all their heart and soul except a small handful of individuals whom God has chosen and whom He calls His elect - the saints.
Many believe that God preserved the descendants of the lost tribes for over 2,520[4] years throughout their captivity so they could later be separated and given new lands and blessings. A verse commonly used to support the concept is found in Amos, “For, lo, I will command, and I will sift the house of Israel among all nations, like as corn is sifted in a sieve, yet shall not the least grain fall upon the earth.” (Amos 9:9).
According to Strongs the Hebrew word tser-ore, translated ‘grain’ (or stone in some translations), also means a parcel or kernel. In other words a lump or clump.
A sieve is not only used to separate a coarse material from a finer one, it is also used to spread a substance evenly and consistently with no lumps or clumps forming. For example sifting flour or icing sugar into a baking mix so that there are no lumps. In this case God was saying that He would scatter the Israelites throughout the nations so that they would be thoroughly absorbed into their cultures where they would worship other gods (Jeremiah 23:24-25) and not form ghettos or enclaves in which they could retain their former identity. They were to be scattered and lost.
When studied in context, this verse is merely reiterating what God said at the beginning of chapter nine - that not one of them will escape the punishment God is bringing upon Israel at that time, not even if they try to flee or hide, He will seek them out and make sure they are completely absorbed into the gentile nations where they will lose their identity.
It has nothing to do with the concept of their descendants being gathered throughout the centuries so that in modern times they are found clumped together in specific nations like Britain and America today. Their captivity was spiritual as well as physical and they will remain in spiritual captivity until they are resurrected and can, through repentance, be restored, not to a physical Israel, but to a spiritual Israel. At that time all of mankind will have the opportunity to become part of that spiritual nation that is God’s Kingdom.
Not only do many believe that after 2,520 years God gathered their descendants out of captivity and blessed them with lands and prosperity, they also believe that He is going to send them back into another captivity in the end-time because they have since sinned.
Certain passages seem to support the concept of a second captivity, “I will bring again the captivity of my people Israel and Judah,” (Jeremiah 30:3). However, this verse and others like it have been mistranslated in the King James Version. The meaning can better be seen in other translations where it is interpreted more correctly e.g. the RSV. “For behold, days are coming, says the LORD, when I will restore the fortunes of my people, Israel and Judah, says the LORD,” and in the Tanakh JPS Translation, “when I will restore the fortunes of My people Israel and Judah,”. Similarly in Jeremiah 30:18 and Joel 3:1. Bullinger describes the phrase ‘I will bring again the captivity’ as an idiom, which actually means that God will restore Israel - bringing them out from their original captivity rather than bringing a new captivity on them.
Because Israel turned to idolatry and lost knowledge of the true God, He said that He would also forget their descendants, “Hear the word of the LORD, ye children of Israel: for the LORD hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land.” and “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.” (Hosea 4:1, 6). That is why the lost tribes of Israel are not clearly identifiable today. They were scattered among the Gentiles and absorbed into other religions until such time as God calls them to repentance. Their captivity was spiritual as well as physical. Unless they turned to God and repented they were to be rejected and their descendants forgotten.
There will come a day when all of Israel will be saved, “For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.” (Romans 11:25-27).
In the New Testament Paul reiterated Hosea’s words saying that Israel were no longer God’s people until they are called to repentance, “As he saith also in Osee, I will call them my people, which were not my people; and her beloved, which was not beloved. And it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people; there shall they be called the children of the living God.” (Romans 9:25-26).
The salvation and restoration of their people is not something that will happen to Jacob alone. Jeremiah says that the peoples of other nations will also be restored, “But I will restore the fortunes of Moab in the days to come - declares the LORD,” and “But afterward I will restore the fortunes of the Ammonites - declares the LORD.” and “But in the days to come I will restore the fortunes of Elam - declares the LORD.” (Jeremiah 48:47, 49:6 and 39 Tanakh JPS Translation; see also NKJV, RSV and Young’s Literal Translation).
Ezekiel tells us that the restoration of other nations will occur at the same time Israel is restored, "I will restore their fortunes – the fortunes of Sodom and her daughters and the fortunes of Samaria and her daughters – and your fortunes along with theirs.” (Ezekiel 16:53 Tanakh JPS Translation).
The restoration of the people of these ancient nations and their descendants will take place during the Great White Throne Judgment period when all those who have not been called to spiritual salvation will be resurrected. This will include both Jacob (Israel and Judah) and his adversaries.
Jesus Christ came to “Preach deliverance to the captives” – to liberate those who are spiritually blinded to their own captivity, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.” (Luke 4:18-19, also Isaiah 61:1-2). The Jews in Christ’s day were blind to the fact that they were in spiritual captivity. Jesus said to them, “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. They answered him, We be Abraham’s seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free? Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin. And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever. If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.” (John 8:32-36).
The deliverance Christ brings is release from sin – it was sin that sent Israel and Judah into captivity. To be released they must be forgiven – this means they must accept Christ as their Lord and King and receive the Holy Spirit so they can become true children of God in His Knigdom. “Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham. And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed. So then they, which be of faith, are blessed with faithful Abraham.” (Galatians 3:7-9). All nations are to be delivered from that same spiritual captivity that grips the whole world.
The true children of Abraham are those of the faith who are released from the spiritual captivity. They are given liberty when they turn from sin. They become part of the spiritual Israel, which will be that Kingdom. The lost tribes will not become part of that spiritual Israel until they individually accept Christ as their saviour, repent and receive God’s Spirit. Until that happens they are still in spiritual captivity scattered among the Gentiles (those peoples or nations who don’t know the true God).
Many seem to think that the disciples were told to seek out the scattered descendants of the lost tribes. But when Jesus told his disciples to go to the lost sheep of the House of Israel, he was telling them to go to the remnant among whom they lived who were spiritually lost. They were the lost sheep of the House of Israel because they no longer knew their God, “These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not: But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” (Matthew 10:5-6).
Peter addressed his audience in Judea as “Ye men of Israel” (Acts 2:14, 22) because the remnant among whom he lived included people from other tribes beside Judah, Levi and Benjamin. While the Bible indicates that those who rebuilt Jerusalem may have been selected because of their tribal affiliation to Judah, Levi or Benjamin it seems highly likely that some from other tribes dwelling in Babylonia would have joined them during the 490 years until the fall of Jerusalem. The Apostle Luke mentions one such person from the tribe of Asher, “And there was one Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Aser: she was of a great age, and had lived with an husband seven years from her virginity;” (Luke 2:36).
There were very strong ties between the captives in Babylonia and those in Judah. We have already established that many from the northern ten tribes such as Simeon, Ephraim and Manasseh resided in Judah prior to the captivity and would have been taken into exile by the Babylonians. While Jerusalem was being rebuilt the remaining captives in Babylonia flourished and had regular contact with those in Jerusalem. In the “Antiquities of the Jews” Josephus said that temple donations were sent from Babylonia to Jerusalem, under the protection of ‘many ten thousands of men’ (Antiquities of the Jews XVIII, ix, 6-9).
Those who are known as Jews today not only dispersed from Judah when it fell in 70 AD but also from Babylonia. According to the Catholic Encyclopaedia (under ‘diaspora’), after the fall of Jerusalem in 70 AD, ‘the colony in Babylonia remained a stronghold of orthodox Judaism and produced its famous Talmud’. Other historic sources indicate that over the next thousand years many whom we now refer to as Jews, dispersed from Babylonia. They included, as we have already established, people from other tribes besides Judah.
When God destroyed the House of Jacob He did promise that a remnant would survive to rebuild Jerusalem. That was necessary to fulfil the promises regarding Christ and provide the right environment for his ministry. After he was crucified the city was once again sacked and the temple destroyed - it had served its purpose.
God destroyed the Kingdom of Israel and scattered its people among all nations where they were to be forgotten. Their modern day identity is not important. The only identifiable physical remnant of the House of Jacob in this age, (known collectively as Jews and who represent all twelve tribes) along with the rest of the world, does not know the true God. When God executed judgment on Israel, Judah and finally Jerusalem most of them went into captivity where they are still scattered among the Gentiles worshipping false gods. They have in effect become Gentiles themselves. A Gentile is one who does not know the true God.
While certain promises made to Abraham may have been unconditional, his descendants certainly had conditions imposed on them when they received the blessing. The blessings of greatness and prosperity promised to Abraham’s descendants were received and long ago lost. Because they turned from God they lost their knowledge of God, they also lost their kingdom, their lands and identity. God said He would only bless them if they turned to Him with all their hearts in sincere repentance and obey all his commandments. There is no evidence of Britain and America, or any other nation ever having done that.
Although the prophecies about Jacob’s children applied to their future there is no evidence that they applied to the end-time.
The argument that Britain and America must be descendants of ancient Israel because they have prospered does not stack up when the prosperity of other nations is considered. As discussed earlier in this paper, the predominantly European nations including Spain, Germany, Greece and Italy who are not considered to be of Israelite descent, have prospered as well.
This whole world has been in spiritual captivity for the last six thousand years. God called ancient Israel out of captivity when they left Egypt and returned them back into captivity when they rejected Him. That captivity was both physical and spiritual.
Why do so many expend so much time, energy and resources trying to find what God declared shall be lost and forgotten!
God said that the Kingdom of Israel will eventually be restored and the people of ancient Israel and their descendants will be freed from captivity. They, along with every one else, will be resurrected. The restitution of all things will be discussed in Part III of this paper.
The House of Jacob comprises both Israel and Judah and is often referred to as Israel. There are many passages in the Bible that talk about the restoration of Israel at a future time, a subject that will be addressed in chapter 8. However, before discussing the restoration of Israel it is important to understand the significance of what Israel lost.
Israel was the nation through whom God chose to reveal His plan of salvation to the world. He had promised Abraham that all nations would be blessed by his seed.
God considered Israel to be His first fruits, they were the apple of His eye, “Israel was holiness unto the LORD, and the firstfruits of his increase: all that devour him shall offend; evil shall come upon them, saith the LORD.” (Jeremiah 2:3). “For the LORD’S portion is his people; Jacob is the lot of his inheritance. He found him in a desert land, and in the waste howling wilderness; he led him about, he instructed him, he kept him as the apple of his eye.” (Deuteronomy 32:9-10).
When He brought Israel out of slavery in Egypt God called them His people and dwelt among them, “And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them.” and “And I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will be their God. And they shall know that I am the LORD their God, that brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, that I may dwell among them: I am the LORD their God.” (Exodus 25:8, 29:45-46). The temple was God’s house, “For the glory of the LORD had filled the house of the LORD. Then spake Solomon, The LORD said that he would dwell in the thick darkness. I have surely built thee an house to dwell in, a settled place for thee to abide in for ever.” (I Kings 8:11-13).
God dwelling among them symbolized a future time when He will put His Spirit within individuals to begin their personal salvation. In New Testament times God made His Spirit available to those whom He called into the early church. He regarded those with His Spirit to be His temple, “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?” and “If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are,” (I Corinthians 3:16-17). Eventually the Holy Spirit will be available to all mankind.
God’s Spirit helps us to understand His spiritual concepts and appreciate the things He gives us, “For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” (I Corinthians 2:11-14).
In Old Testament times it seems that only those who were called for a specific purpose had God’s Spirit. Because the general populace of ancient Israel did not have God’s Spirit, spiritual concepts were expressed to them in physical terms through the way of life God required of them. This not only included the way they worshipped, but also the way they were governed. Their law, the temple and the priesthood were physical reflections of the spiritual things God had in store for mankind. These things represented God’s Kingdom in physical form.
Both the tabernacle and the temple were constructed according to the pattern of God’s temple in heaven, “And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them. According to all that I shew thee, after the pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of all the instruments thereof, even so shall ye make it.” (Exodus 25:8-9) and “And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament:” (Revelation 11:19. See also Revelation 14:17 and 15:5.)
The priests were a shadow of things to come, “For if he were on earth, he should not be a priest, seeing that there are priests that offer gifts according to the law: Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount.” (Hebrews 8:4-5). The High Priest foreshadowed the Messiah (Christ) and the temple priests represented his saints who will rule with him when he returns, “But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building;” (Hebrews 9:11) and “and hast made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on earth.” (Revelation 5:10 RSV).
God’s Holy Days portrayed God’s plan of salvation, “Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: Which are a shadow of things to come;” (Colossians 2:16-17).
The Sabbath represents God’s spiritual rest, “Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it. For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world. For he spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from all his works. And in this place again, If they shall enter into my rest.” and “ For if Jesus had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day. There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his. Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.” (Hebrews 4:1-5, 8-11).
God’s law codified what will eventually be written in the hearts of men spiritually, “For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect.” (Hebrews 10:1).
Israel was governed as a single nation with twelve tribes. The number twelve is believed to symbolize completeness in structure - twelve tribes, twelve disciples and twelve gates in the city of Jerusalem etc. The significance of the number points toward the one hundred and forty four thousand mentioned in Revelation 7:4-9, which is a multiple of twelve (12x12) symbolizing Christ’s perfect government of the future.
The Book of Revelation shows quite clearly that the one hundred and forty four thousand are the resurrected saints redeemed from among men, “And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father’s name written in their foreheads - the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth. These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb. And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of God.” (Revelation 14:1-5).
The resurrected saints will rule with Christ when he returns, “And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.” and “Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.” ( Revelation 20:4, 6).
The long history of Israel’s rebellion and reversion to idolatry and the continued extension of God’s mercy and forgiveness are recorded for us in the Bible. When God finally said that enough was enough He withdrew from Israel. This took place in stages. First the kingdom split in to two nations, then God removed His protection from the nation of Israel, then Judah and finally Jerusalem. The final stage of God’s withdrawal was shown to the prophet Ezekiel in a vision.