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Foreword
This booklet is made available to the nations of Great Britain, the United States of America and other English-speaking peoples—part of the modern descendants of the ancient houses of Israel and Judah—as well as to everyone who is willing to heed God’s message of the imminent fall, and ultimate rise of, Britain and America. It is in true loving concern, but with a sense of urgency, that we seek to bring attention to the need to repent of the sin of rebellion against the great God and His way of life as revealed in the Holy Bible. Only by turning to God will ANYONE be saved from, or out of, the Great Tribulation that will strike this earth in the near future! This warning applies to God’s true Church, as well as to the modern descendants of the ancient house of Israel. The nations where these descendants are currently located are clearly identified in the Bible; therefore, this important message is being brought to the attention of these specific nations. The good news is that ultimately, most will listen to the warning; for many, however, serious lessons will first have to be learned the hard way.
Introduction – What Lies Ahead for Great Britain and the United States?
God gave Ezekiel a powerful message regarding his responsibility in warning the house of Israel in his time. He said to Ezekiel: “Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; therefore hear a word from My mouth, and give them warning from Me” (Ezekiel 3:17). Hosea confirms: “The watchman of Ephraim is with my God… Ephraim shall be desolate in the day of rebuke; Among the tribes of Israel I make known what is sure” (Hosea 9:8; 5:9).
According to comments made by the New Open Bible Study Edition Commentary, Ezekiel’s principal Godly-ordained mission was to speak out to the ancient Israelites, including the nation of Judah and those who were born during the days of Judah’s exile in Babylon; and to (a) tell them the reason for Judah’s destruction by a gentile nation and (b) encourage them regarding their future restoration. For although God punished them and all Israel for their national sins; He would not forever forget them because of His eternal abiding love and mercy.
It is important to understand that Ezekiel’s prophecies were dual in nature, thus they also foretell the forthcoming punishment, and rescue, of the modern houses of both Israel and Judah. Just who are these people today? What was it that Ezekiel was to warn them about, and what does it have to do with us today? Why should we be concerned about something that happened in “Old Testament times”? This booklet will address these issues and in doing so, will have cast forth the warning that God gave to Ezekiel, so that perhaps some might take heed and be saved from an otherwise certain demise.
Chapter 1 – Biblical Identity of the British Commonwealth and the United States
Overview
It is not the purpose of this booklet to give the reader ALL of the existing material available from archaeology, history and the Holy Scriptures that prove that the United States and the British Commonwealth nations belong, in fact, to the modern descendants of the ancient house of Israel. Many historians and scholars have understood this truth over the centuries and much has been written about it. The evidence is overwhelming and is readily available should one choose to pursue an in-depth study.
The focus of this booklet, instead, is to bring to the forefront the imminent downfall of the modern house of Israel, unless they turn to God and repent. At times, we will give the reader a sample of the evidence as to modern Israel’s identity, but the main intent of the booklet is to discuss what comes next in the near future for those nations.
The Modern House of Israel is Not the Present-Day Jewish Nation
We will explain later in this booklet how and why the modern house of Israel will play a major role, according to Biblical prophecy, in end-time events. It is important to note at this juncture, however, that the modern “Israelites” are not the Jewish people! As it will be explained in more detail, the Jewish people comprise just ONE tribe of the original TWELVE tribes of Israel. The present-day Jewish people are the descendants of the tribe of Judah. They, together with the tribe of Benjamin and parts of the tribe of Levi, formed the original house of Judah, which is altogether different from the house of Israel. The people of the present-day Jewish nation, known by the name of Israel, with its capital in Jerusalem, are actually descendants of the house of Judah, NOT the house of Israel. It is necessary for the reader to understand, then, that when we refer to the house of Israel in this booklet, we are not referring to the present-day nation of Israel and we include here just some of the references that substantiate this fact.
The ten tribes of the house of Israel were lost from public view by the time of Jesus. Jesus referred to them as the “lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Matthew 10:6). Today, most people still have no idea where these “lost” tribes of the house of Israel are located. As we will see, the modern nations of the United States and the British Commonwealth, mainly Great Britain, Canada, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand, have been identified as being major tribes of the house of Israel. As the Jewish Encyclopedia points out: “If the ten tribes… have not disappeared, obviously they must exist under a different name.”
Under King David and King Solomon, the house of Israel and the house of Judah were united as one nation. It is critical to understand, however, that under King Solomon’s son, Rehoboam, the nation of Israel became divided following the death of Solomon. Two separate nations began to develop, known as the “house of Israel,” with its capital at Samaria, north of Jerusalem, and the “house of Judah,” with Jerusalem as its capital. We read in 1 Kings 12:19–20 (Authorized Version): “So Israel (being ruled by King Rehoboam, son of King Solomon) rebelled against the house of David… And it came to pass, when all Israel heard that Jeroboam (a prominent officer) was come again, that they sent and called him unto the congregation, and made him king over all Israel: there was none that followed the house of David, but the tribe of Judah only.”
King Rehoboam of Judah tried to reunite the two kingdoms—the house of Israel and the house of Judah—by force, but God prevented him from doing so. We read in 1 Kings 12:21, 24: “And when Rehoboam came to Jerusalem, he assembled all the house of Judah with the tribe of Benjamin, one hundred and eighty thousand chosen men who were warriors, to fight against the house of Israel, that he might restore the kingdom to Rehoboam the son of Solomon… ‘Thus says the LORD: “You shall not go up nor fight against your brethren the children of Israel. Let every man return to his house, for this thing is from Me.”’ Therefore they obeyed the word of the LORD, and turned back, according to the word of the LORD.”
The two houses or kingdoms did not unite again throughout their history. They remained as two separate kingdoms. The “house of Israel” comprised the ten northern tribes and the “house of Judah” comprised the southern tribes of Judah. The house of Judah was later joined by the tribes of Benjamin and part of the tribe of Levi (compare 1 Kings 12:21).
We read also in 2 Kings 16:5–8 about a war between Israel and Judah. Later the northern ten tribes, led by the descendants of Ephraim and Manasseh, the sons of Joseph, became “lost” from public view. These two tribes can be found today mainly in English-speaking nations around the world, a provable fact that is not widely perceived around the world.
To reiterate, many people believe that the Jews are identical with the modern house of Israel, but this is simply not true. Christ spoke of the “LOST sheep (tribes) of the house of Israel” (Matthew 10:6). Note that the tribe of Judah was never “lost” from sight. James referred to all of Israel and Judah as “the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad” (James 1:1; compare Revelation 7:4–8). Note also that the tribe of Joseph, one of Jacob’s twelve sons, consists of Joseph’s sons, Ephraim and Manasseh. We read that at some point in the near FUTURE, the houses of Israel AND Judah will be reunified in the Promised Land. Note, once again, that this will be after they come out of the prophesied future captivity (Jeremiah 30:3, 33:7).
The ancient house of Israel went into captivity in 721–718 BC by the hand of the Assyrians (2 Kings 17:5–6, 23). The house of Judah did not go into captivity until about 120 years later by the hand of the Babylonians under King Nebuchadnezzar (2 Kings 25:1–10) for the same reason the northern tribes were deported; i.e., because of their persistent practice of disobeying God.
But the ancient house of Israel did not return to the Promised Land. Josephus wrote in about 100 AD: “The entire body of the people of Israel remained in that country, wherefore there are but two tribes in Asia and Europe subject to the Romans, while the ten tribes are beyond the Euphrates till now and are an immense multitude, and not to be estimated by numbers.” So we see that the ten tribes of the house of Israel did not return to the Promised Land after their captivity; only the house of Judah subsequently returned.
The Jewish Quarterly Review, vol. 1, p. 15, added: “The captives of Israel exiled beyond the Euphrates did not return as a whole to Palestine along with their brethren the captives of Judah; at least there is no mention made of this event in the documents at our disposal.”
And the Jewish Chronicle wrote: “The Ten Tribes are certainly in existence. All that has to be done is to discover which people represent them.”
Historical records show without doubt that after they were freed from their captivity by the ancient Assyrians, the ancient ten tribes of the house of Israel migrated to Western Europe and to the British Isles, where mainly the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh settled. Note from the Old Testament that Ephraim and Manasseh were two of the sons of Joseph. In time, the tribe of Manasseh migrated to the “New World,” which eventually became known as the United States, while the tribe of Ephraim stayed in the British Isles and, from there, colonized other countries, such as Canada, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand. The Bible shows that while Manasseh was to become one great nation, Ephraim was to become a company of nations (compare Genesis 48:19).
Notice carefully what happened in Genesis 32:28: Following his all-night wrestling match with the God of the Old Testament—the One who became Jesus Christ; the One who spoke with the prophets—Jacob’s name was changed to “Israel” by that same divine being: “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel; for you struggled with God and with men, and have prevailed.”
Birthright Blessings of Abraham Were Passed On
Israel (Jacob) had 12 sons, among whom were Joseph and Benjamin, the sons of Rachel (Genesis 35:22–26). In time, Joseph took his sons Manasseh and Ephraim to see their grandfather Jacob. Joseph had been told that Jacob was sick. When Joseph presented his sons to their grandfather, Jacob or Israel strengthened himself and sat up on the bed. Then Jacob told his son Joseph in Genesis 48:5: “And now your two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, who were born to you in the land of Egypt… are mine; as Reuben and Simeon, they shall be mine” [i.e., Jacob adopted the two lads.].
The account shows that Joseph, facing Jacob, took them both, Ephraim with his right hand toward Jacob’s left hand, and Manasseh (the firstborn) with his left hand toward Jacob’s right hand, and brought them near him. Then Israel, crossing his hands over the lads, stretched out his right hand and laid it on Ephraim’s head (who was the younger) and his left hand on Manasseh’s head, guiding his hands knowingly, for Manasseh was the first-born. This is notable because normally the first-born is given the greater blessing. So Jacob blessed Joseph and said: “Let my name [Israel] be named upon them” (verse 16). Now when Joseph saw that his father had laid his right hand on the head of Ephraim [his second-born], it displeased him; so he took hold of his father’s hand to remove it from Ephraim’s head and to lay it on Manasseh’s head. And Joseph said to his father: “‘Not so, my father, for this one [Manasseh] is the first-born; put your right hand on his head.’ But his father refused and said, ‘I know, my son, I know. He also shall become a people, and he also shall be great; but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his descendants shall become a multitude [or a company or a “Commonwealth”] of nations’” (compare Genesis 48:17–19).
So the birthright of Abraham was passed to Ephraim and Manasseh, the sons of Joseph. Manasseh was to become a single great nation, known today as the United States. Ephraim was to become a multitude or a company of nations, which we know as the Commonwealth nations of the British Empire. The birthright was indeed Joseph’s and was passed on to his two sons. Notice: “Now the sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel [Jacob]—he was indeed the firstborn, but because he defiled his father’s bed, his birthright was given to the sons of Joseph, the son of Israel, so that the genealogy (in this case) is not listed according to the birthright… the birthright was Joseph’s” (1 Chronicles 5:1–2).
We also read in Genesis 27:28–29 that the blessings of the birthright to Jacob and his descendants (i.e., Joseph and his sons, Ephraim and Manasseh) included the following: “Therefore may God give you Of the dew of heaven, Of the fatness of the earth, And plenty of grain and wine. Let peoples serve you, And nations bow down to you. Be master over your brethren, And let your mother’s sons bow down to you. Cursed be everyone who curses you, And blessed be those who bless you!”
Blessings Withheld for Disobedience
It should be noted that because of their sins, the immediate descendants of Joseph did not receive the full blessings of the fabulous wealth and power of the birthright through Abraham. The kingdom of the house of Israel was taken captive by the Assyrian Empire as a result of God’s anger with them. “Therefore the LORD was very angry with Israel, and removed them from His sight; there was none left but the [southern] tribe of Judah alone” (2 Kings 17:18; emphasis added throughout Biblical quotations).
How long were the blessings of the birthright to be withheld from Ephraim and Manasseh (Great Britain and the United States) because of their disobedience of the laws of God?
The Bible teaches that because of ancient Israel’s continued disobedience, the blessings that God originally promised unconditionally to Abraham’s descendants (compare Genesis 17:5; 21:3; 22:17) would be withheld for a certain period of time, after they would first have to be punished by having to go into Assyrian captivity (in 721–718 BC). A principle of the withholding of a blessing because of sin can be found in Numbers 14:34 when ancient Israel was not allowed to enter the Promised Land for forty years after the spies had explored the Promised Land for forty days: “According to the numbers of the days… forty days, for each day you shall bear your guilt one year, namely forty years, and you shall know my rejection.”
Beginning with the Assyrian captivity (compare 2 Kings 17:23), God would withhold the birthright blessings for seven times (Leviticus 26:18), or seven years (the Hebrew words for “times” and “years” are used interchangeably). A year consists of 360 days, according to the Hebrew calendar. God’s blessing would be withheld for seven times 360 days, but since this is a prophecy, it would be withheld for seven times 360 years, or 2,520 years. In prophecy, a day represents a year. Compare Ezekiel 4:4-6: “I have laid on you a day for a year.” This principle of a day for a year, and vice versa, can be seen throughout the Bible. We read, for instance, that the restored Roman Empire would rule for 42 months (compare Revelation 13:5). Since a month has 30 days, the restored Roman Empire was prophesied to rule for 1,260 prophetic days or years, which it did from 554 AD under Justinian until 1814 AD when the fall of Napoleon I occurred. (For more information, please read our free booklet, “Europe in Prophecy.”)
God pronounced that Israel’s blessing to become a world-ruling power would be withheld for “seven times.” The 2,520 prophetic days, or literal years after the Assyrian captivity of the house of Israel, brings us to the beginning of the 1800’s. It is no coincidence that at that time, Great Britain, and then the United States, became world powers. Great Britain began her rise to tremendous wealth and power as the worldwide British Empire. At the same time, the United States more than doubled in size in 1803 through the Louisiana Purchase from France. Eventually the United States began to take over leadership of the birthright during World War II, which has continued even to this day.
Once God had fulfilled His promises that He had given to Abraham, He was no longer bound to continue to bless Israel, if they should continue to sin. Note that both Great Britain and the United States are now in a state of continuous decline, a decline that they can owe to their own persistent sins of disobedience to God; sins that they have literally “heaped up” against themselves. The United States, though still all-powerful from a military standpoint, has lost a great deal of prestige, especially in recent years. Many nations no longer have confidence in the United States because of its involvement in the conflicts of Korea, Vietnam, and more recently, Afghanistan and Iraq. Americans and Britons have also steadily reneged on their God-given responsibilities to observe God’s Commandments. They have progressively forgotten God as their leader, their provider and their protector.
As former American President Abraham Lincoln once said: “We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of heaven. We have been preserved these many years in peace and prosperity. We have grown in numbers, wealth and power as no other nation has ever grown. But we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious Hand which preserved us in peace, and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us, and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own. Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace; too proud to pray to the God that made us.”
Throne of David to Continue Until the Return of Christ
In addition to the birthright blessings, God promised that the kingly rule would not depart from Judah (Genesis 49:10), and that a descendant of the house of David (David was a descendant of Judah) would always rule over at least one tribe of Israel (2 Samuel 7:13; 2 Chronicles 13:5). When Nebuchadnezzar conquered the house of Judah and dethroned Zedekiah, a descendant of David, and killed all of his sons, it seemed like God’s promise failed. But the opposite is true.
Let us carefully notice what happened. God had promised King David: “… your house (dynasty) and your kingdom shall be established forever before you. Your throne shall be established forever” (2 Samuel 7:16). This promise was unconditional: “…I will set up your seed after you, who will come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom… If he commits iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men and with the blows of the sons of men. But My mercy shall not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I removed from before you” (2 Samuel 7:12, 14–15). God spoke to King David about his son Solomon in 1 Chronicles 22:10: “He shall build a house for My name, and he shall be My son, and I will be his Father, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel forever.”
This promise to King Solomon was conditional: “Only may the LORD give you [Solomon] wisdom and understanding, and give you charge concerning Israel, that you may keep the law of the LORD your God. Then you will prosper, if you take care to fulfill the statutes and judgments with which the LORD charged Moses concerning Israel…” (1 Chronicles 22:12–13).
King Solomon, however, broke his Coronation Oath. God later said to King Solomon: “Because you have done this [gone after other gods], and have not kept My covenant and My statutes, which I have commanded you, I will surely tear the kingdom away from you and give it to your servant” (1 Kings 11:11).
Although Solomon’s son remained king over the house of Judah, Solomon’s servant Jeroboam became king over the house of Israel. Also, we find that Mary, mother of Jesus, did not descend from Solomon, but from David’s son Nathan (compare Luke 3:31, explaining that Mary, the mother of Jesus, was a descendant of “Mattathah, the son of Nathan, the son of David, the son of Jesse…”).
Even in the very last generation, at the time of Christ’s return, there would still be a king sitting on the throne of David. God says, through the prophet Jeremiah: “‘Behold, I will fill all the inhabitants of this land—even the kings who sit on David’s throne, the priests, the prophets, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem—with drunkenness! And I will dash them one against another, even the fathers and the sons together’, says the LORD. ‘I will not pity nor spare nor have mercy, but I will destroy them’… Say to the king and to the queen mother, ‘Humble yourselves; Sit down, For your rule shall collapse, the crown of your glory’” (Jeremiah 13:13–14, 18).
And again: “Hear the word of the LORD, O King of Judah, you who sit on the throne of David, you and your servants and your people who enter these gates! Thus says the LORD: ‘Execute judgment and righteousness… But if you will not hear these words, I swear by Myself,’ says the LORD, ‘that this house shall become a desolation’…[Why?] “Because they have forsaken the covenant of the LORD their God, and worshipped other gods and served them” (Jeremiah 22:2–3, 5, 9).
The Coronation Oath, the condition by which King Solomon ruled in Israel, has been God’s measuring stick for the kings of the dynasty of David as to whether they are to be beaten with the rod of men: “Behold, I am setting a plumb line In the midst of My people Israel; I will not pass by them anymore” (Amos 7:8). Note that God’s people were expected to be true to His standards, but, as the New International Version Commentary put it, were completely “out of plumb” [not straight] when tested. “The high places (of pagan worship) of Isaac (Jacob’s father, and by extension, Jacob himself, i.e., Israel) shall be desolate, And the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste. I will rise with the sword against the house of Jeroboam” (Amos 7:9).
The prophet Amos continues: “On that day [alluding to a future restoration in the Millennium] I will raise up the tabernacle of David, which has fallen down, And repair its damages; I will raise up its ruins” (Amos 9:11). The word “fallen” in Hebrew means to cease, to perish or to become fugitives, according to Strong’s #5307. The word “ruin” in Hebrew means “demolished, destroyed, thrown down utterly” (Strong’s #2034, 2040). The final king of the house of David, prior to Christ’s return, may cease to rule for a very short period of time: “At dawn the king of Israel Shall be cut off utterly” (Hosea 10:15).
But this does not mean that the throne of David will ever cease to exist, as clearly explained in Scripture: “For thus says the LORD: ‘David shall never lack a man [a descendant or a person] to sit on the throne of the house of Israel’” (Jeremiah 33:17). God had promised David that a descendant of David would always occupy his throne. And this has been the case from the dynasty of David to the present dynasty of Queen Elizabeth II.
God promised David that a descendant of his line would rule over Israel from the time he put David on the throne until the actual return of Jesus Christ. This promise has seen fulfillment in the line of David ruling over at least one tribe from all the tribes of Israel, either, as was the case until the Babylonian captivity over the house of Judah, or has been the case thereafter, over the house of Israel.
David’s Throne Overturned?
The Bible foretells that the throne of David would be overthrown or transferred three times (compare Ezekiel 21:27). And so it happened. As we will discuss now, it was transferred from Jerusalem to Ireland, then from Ireland to Scotland, and finally from Scotland to England. Today, it is in ENGLAND, from where the Queen rules, sitting on the throne of David, over one of the tribes of Israel (i.e., Ephraim).
Ezekiel tells us: “And Thou, profane wicked prince of Israel, whose day is come, when iniquity shall have an end, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Remove the diadem, and take off the crown; this shall not be the same; exalt him that is low, and abase him that is high. I will overturn, overturn, overturn, it; and it shall be no more, until he come whose right it is; and I will give it [to] him” (Ezekiel 21:25–27, Authorized Version).
The Hebrew word for “overturn” means to be overthrown for committing iniquity leading to ruin (Strong’s #5762). This happened three times to David’s dynasty from the time Ezekiel wrote this prophecy. The first “overturn” involved King Zedekiah, the last king of David’s dynasty in Jerusalem, who became exalted, but was to be made low. Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, and all of his army came against Jerusalem and besieged it. King Zedekiah fled out of the city but was captured by the Babylonians. The King of Babylon killed the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes in Riblah, as well as all the nobles of Judah. Moreover, he put out Zedekiah’s eyes and carried him off to Babylon (Jeremiah 39:1, 4–5, 6–7). “But Johanan (a warrior) took…the king’s daughters (of Zedekiah)…and Jeremiah the prophet and Baruch the son of Neriah [and] they went to the land of Egypt” (Jeremiah 43:5–7).
God stated that “none …shall return [from Egypt] except those who escape” (Jeremiah 44:14). Subsequently Jeremiah, Baruch and the king’s two daughters [known in history as Tea and Scota] did escape from Egypt. They were taken to Ireland.
It was Jeremiah’s commission to uproot and to plant (Jeremiah 1:10). He had to uproot the kingship of Zedekiah over Judah, and he had to plant the kingship of Zedekiah’s daughters over another tribe or tribes of Israel. According to Irish records, shortly after the time of Jerusalem’s fall in 600 B.C., two princesses arrived in Ireland from Egypt with two wise men. We are even told that the one princess, identified as Tea or Tea-Tephi, married the Irish king, Eochaidh, while Scota married into a noble family, perhaps giving her name to Scotland. Irish scholars maintain that the later kings of Ireland knew that they were descendants of King David. Both princesses feature in many Irish poems, songs and legends.
Thus David’s line continued the new dynasty in Ireland. This dynasty was later moved to Scotland, which, in accordance with prophecy, was the second time the crown was “overturned.” Ultimately, it was moved to England, thus fulfilling the prophetic third time it was “overturned,” when the Stewart line of David came to England in 1603 in the person of James I. Two monarchs of this line, Mary, Queen of Scots, and James II both tried to re-impose the Catholic religion on England, contrary to God’s plan. Satan also tried to thwart the blessings of the promised birthright of Abraham that were to be given to Great Britain and the United States of America in the course of time. But Satan could not prevent God from fulfilling His promise to bless Abraham’s descendants in due time. With regard to America, this did happen in 1803 with the Louisiana Purchase from France, greatly expanding the nation—after 2,520 years of the promised blessings being withheld because of Israel’s sins. The blessings were, indeed, finally given to modern Ephraim and Manasseh, not that they were righteous or deserving of these special blessings, but only because God had unconditionally promised Abraham that He would bless his descendants in due time.
But it doesn’t end there. Remember, this is a dual prophecy and the line of David was prophesied to continue ruling over the house of Israel up until the return of Jesus Christ, Who will then take over this same throne. God has this to say about this future event: “Your eyes will see the King in His beauty” (Isaiah 33:17).
Are the “Lost” Ten Tribes Really Lost?
Biblical prophecies tell us clearly where the ancient house of Israel would settle after their Assyrian captivity, and where the throne of David would be: “For surely I will command, And will sift the house of Israel among all nations, As grain is sifted in a sieve; Yet not the smallest grain shall fall to the ground” (Amos 9:9). Notice that this prophecy is talking about the house of Israel, not just the Jewish people. The house of Judah would be sifted among many nations as well, and we still find today many Jews outside the borders of the state of Israel, but the prophecy in Amos specifically addresses the modern descendants of the house of Israel, actually, the “lost” ten tribes.
How Do We Identify Today Where These “Lost” Ten Tribes Are?
The tribes of the house of Israel went to a new land. In prophetic context, God said to King David: “…I will appoint a place for My people Israel, and will plant them, that they may dwell in a place of their own and move no more; nor shall the sons of wickedness oppress them anymore, as previously…” (2 Samuel 7:10). When David wrote these words, ancient Israel had already taken possession of the Promised Land. But God inspired David to write that God would, in the future, appoint a place for the house of Israel from which they would no longer have to move. Where was this place to be located? “Listen, O isles (Ephraim)…Behold, these [tribes] shall come from far: and, lo, these from the north and from the west…” (Isaiah 49:1, 12, Authorized Version).
Keep in mind that geographical references are always to be judged from the location of Jerusalem. That is, when we read that someone appears “from the north,” we understand that the meaning is “north of Jerusalem.”
The appointed place was northwest of Jerusalem in the “isles of the sea;” that is, the British Isles (compare Isaiah 24:15 in the Authorized Version).
God prophesied that He would uproot the house of Israel from the Promised Land and “scatter them beyond the [Euphrates] River” (1 Kings 14:15). But they would not stay there. Rather, God’s Word was to be proclaimed in these last days to God’s people “toward the north” (Jeremiah 3:11–12). They would come back to the Promised Land, in the future, “from the north and the west” (Isaiah 49:12). That is, from an area “northwest” of Jerusalem. We are also told that Israel would have migrated to the west: “Ephraim… pursues [or follows] the east wind” (Hosea 12:1), the wind that comes from the east and blows west. David was also inspired to write that his throne would be established “over the sea” (Psalm 89:20, 25).
Also, Jeremiah 31:8 (Authorized Version) states that God would, in the future, gather modern Israel from “the north country, and gather them from the coasts of the earth,” and that He wants His word proclaimed in “the isles afar off” (verse 10). Isaiah 41:1 addresses modern Israel (compare verse 8) in saying: “Keep silence before me, O islands (Authorized Version).”
If we were to take a world map and draw a line from Jerusalem in a northwest direction, it leads us to the British Isles, where the throne would be located. But we are also told that once some of the ten tribes of the house of Israel, especially Ephraim and Manasseh, had reached the British Isles, they would continue to colonize other countries, to possess land and sea gates—strategically important ports and passages—controlling crucial military and trade routes, such as Gibraltar, the Suez and Panama canals (compare Genesis 22:17). And so we see that the modern tribe of Manasseh settled in the United States of America, while those from the modern tribe of Ephraim migrated to Australia, New Zealand, Canada, South Africa and other nations. Yair Davidy wrote in his book, “The Tribes: The Israelite Origins of Western People”: “In the course of time they [some of the tribes of Israel] reached the British Isles and north-west Europe.”
Even Christ told His early apostles to go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel (compare Matthew 10:6). It is interesting that historical records prove that the apostles Peter, Simon the Zelot, and James actually preached the gospel in Britain.
For instance, Caves wrote in Antiquitates Apostlicae that Peter stayed for a long time in Britain; that Simon the Zelot preached in Britain; and that James reached England and Ireland. Eusebius reports in Evangelical Demonstrations that some of the apostles preached the gospel in the British Isles. Jesus most certainly knew where the lost ten tribes were located, and so did the early apostles. James wrote his letter “to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad” (James 1:1). He undoubtedly knew where they were and felt confident that his letter would reach them.
So we can actually trace the migration of ancient Israel—under the names of Celts, Scythians and Anglo-Saxons—from Assyria (northeast of Jerusalem in what is now Iraq), passing northwest through Europe, and centuries later, to the British Isles. Ultimately, part of ancient Israel would then migrate to the United States of America. So the “lost” ten tribes are not lost at all. They are identifiable if one follows the records of history and the Biblical accounts.
In this chapter we have given you a brief overview of the roots of the peoples of Britain and the United States. This understanding provides the backdrop for the rest of this booklet, which is to show how the prophecies are unfolding for present-day Britain and its associated Commonwealth countries, as well as for the United States.
We still have available a full color, 66-page booklet, explaining in detail the identity of the nations of ancient Israel in today’s world. The booklet is titled, “America and Britain in Prophecy.” We are offering a copy of the same for distribution, free of charge, on a first come-first serve basis.
Chapter 2 – The Soon-Coming World War III
This booklet is a call to repentance to the nations of the British Commonwealth and the United States, as well as to everyone who is willing to listen and understand the gravity of the world scene. A call to repentance from what? As we will show, repentance from national AND personal sins that have been committed against the great God and Creator of all things visible and invisible. Why? So as to avoid total destruction, the inevitable penalty for sin. Sin is defined by God Himself in His Holy Word as “lawlessness” or “transgression of the law” (1 John 3:4, Authorized Version).
Romans 6:23 tells us that “…the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” As Solomon tells us, “There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death” (Proverb 14:12). God’s prophet Isaiah called for repentance: “Seek the LORD while He may be found, Call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, And the unrighteous man his thoughts; Let him return to the LORD, And He will have mercy on him… ‘For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways’”, says the LORD. “‘For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts’” (Isaiah 55:6–9).
If modern Israel and other nations REFUSE to repent, rejecting God’s way of life in favor of doing whatever they want to do, then they WILL BE DESTROYED by the prophesied rising superpower in Europe (the last and final resurrection of the ancient Roman Empire). The surviving peoples of the modern house of Israel will be scattered—actually enslaved by other nations. Ultimately, only one-tenth of the population will remain alive. Hard to believe? The Bible is unequivocal and does not lie. Israel’s sins will result in this disastrous punishment if they do not repent.
In the context of the commission God gave His prophet Isaiah to declare what is to come upon ancient AND modern Judah, as well as the nations of the house of Israel, Isaiah questioned God as to how long he must warn the people. God’s reply to him was: “Until the cities are laid waste and without inhabitant, The houses are without a man, The land is utterly desolate” (Isaiah 6:11). God said in Isaiah 6:12 and 13: “The LORD has removed men far away, And the forsaken places are many in the midst of the land. But yet a tenth will be in it, And will return…”
The New International Version completes verse 13: “it will again be laid waste.” These prophecies are dual. They pertained to ancient Israel, but they also pertain to the modern nations of Israel, including Judah, thus the reference “will again be laid waste.” This remnant will only be saved from death by the return of Jesus Christ to this earth as King of kings to take over rulership of the earth, along with His saints, following 3½ years of GLOBAL destruction!
Understanding the Prophecies of Ezekiel
In a Church of God member letter dated November 19, 1976, Herbert W. Armstrong (1892–1986), former human leader of the Worldwide Church of God, explained how he came to the vital understanding of the meaning of the prophecies of Ezekiel in the early years of his conversion and ministry:
“In those early days I was especially interested in the book of Ezekiel. A special reason was that I saw Ezekiel was first given God’s message in PROPHECY, while he was a Jewish slave, by the River Chebar in the land of Babylon. Now this was close to 120 years after the House of Israel had been taken captive to Assyria. My astonishment was aroused when I saw that his message was to be taken to the House of Israel. Now Ezekiel was a slave among the House of Judah—not Israel. By this time many of the ‘lost sheep of the House of Israel’ had migrated north and west from Assyria. They were, by Ezekiel’s time, in Britain and Western Europe.
“The first message, or instruction from God, comes, beginning [with] the second chapter [of the book of Ezekiel, AV], ‘And He said unto me, son of man, I send thee to the children of Israel, to a rebellious nation… [and they shall know] that there hath been a prophet among them’ (Ezekiel 2:3, 5. In Chapter 3:1 God says,’…GO speak unto the House of Israel.’ Again in verse 4, ‘Son of man, GO, get thee unto the House of Israel, and speak with My words unto them.’ NOWHERE in the Bible are JEWS called ‘the House of Israel.’ This term applies ONLY to the TEN-tribe Kingdom of Israel taken into Assyrian captivity more than a hundred years before Ezekiel and the Jews of the House of JUDAH. Nowhere in the book does Ezekiel record his journey from where he was in Babylon to those of the House of Israel who were then in Britain and Western Europe. Nowhere does he record his giving of the message to them. He merely RECEIVED the message. He merely RECORDED IT IN WRITING. There is no reason to think his message was ever delivered to the House of Israel in Ezekiel’s time. The message in fact is dual and is for us at this end-time—and contained a WARNING of things to happen to Britain, America and the other Israelite nations including parts of western Europe NOW in OUR DAY.”
What we should notice very carefully from the foregoing is that Ezekiel, a young Jew, was in captivity in Babylon when he received messages from God to be delivered to the house of Israel and other nations, including the ancient Ammonites (Ezekiel 25:2), Moabites (Ezekiel 25:8), Edomites (Ezekiel 25:12), the Philistines (Ezekiel 25:15), and the people of Tyre (Ezekiel 26:2–3) and Egypt (Ezekiel 29:2)—all a great distance from his location in Babylon. Note, too, that Ezekiel saw visions of impending destruction upon Israel “in the fifth day of the month,” which was the fifth year of king Jehoiachin’s captivity” (Ezekiel 1:1–3). Jehoiachin went into captivity in 596 B.C. The fifth year brings us to about 592 B.C—over 125 years AFTER the removal and captivity of the house of Israel in 721–718 B.C.! Ezekiel, then, was given a future prophetic message for the modern house of ISRAEL, including a message about their future punishment and slavery. This message had been given AFTER the removal and captivity of the ancient house of ISRAEL. The ancient house of Israel had already been punished and gone into captivity. Ezekiel’s prophetic message was never delivered to the ancient house of Israel.
As explained in our free booklet, “The Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord,” the modern tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh are comprised of mainly the English-speaking nations in the world, including the United States of America, Great Britain, Canada, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand. God has given His end-time Church the commission to proclaim the “Ezekiel warning message” in Ezekiel 3:16–21 to those very peoples! This is a charge that we in God’s Church MUST take seriously! It is part of the gospel message of the Kingdom of God that must be preached before the wonderful world tomorrow can be ushered in (Matthew 24:14). The Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord, which will be a time of terrible trouble for the modern nations of the houses of Israel AND Judah, as well as the entire world, must first be fulfilled. Notice what Paul told Timothy, “…know this that in the last days perilous times will come” (2 Timothy 3:1).
In Ezekiel 2:3–5 we find this commission from God to His prophet Ezekiel: “…Son of man, I am sending you to the children of Israel, to a rebellious nation that has rebelled against Me; they and their fathers have transgressed against Me to this very day. For they are impudent and stubborn children. I am sending you to them and you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God.’ As for them, whether they hear or whether they refuse—for they are a rebellious house—yet they will know that a prophet has been among them.”
This warning from God, through Ezekiel, was written for OUR day! It MUST BE PROCLAIMED to the people whom God designated. The responsibility to proclaim the message has been passed along to the true Church of God, which is still in existence today. You are reading that message in this booklet.
Watchman for the House of Israel
The prophet Ezekiel is referred to as a “watchman” (Ezekiel 3:17). And since this prophecy is for OUR time, it is, therefore, God’s end-time Church that is to function as “a watchman” or “watchmen.” Notice, for example, Ezekiel 33:7, “So you, son of man, I have made you a WATCHMAN for the HOUSE OF ISRAEL; therefore you shall hear a word from My mouth and warn them for Me.”
Additionally, consider these Scriptures that explain the job of a watchman: “I have set WATCHMEN on your walls, O Jerusalem; THEY shall never hold THEIR peace day or night. You [plural in Hebrew] who make mention of the LORD, do not keep silent” (Isaiah 62:6).
“Yes, proclaim against Jerusalem, that WATCHERS come from a far country. And raise THEIR voice against the cities of Judah” (Jeremiah 4:16).
“Thus says the LORD: ‘Stand in the ways and see, and ask for the old paths, where the good way is, and walk in it; then you will find rest for your souls.’ But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’ Also, I set WATCHMEN over you, saying, ‘Listen to the sound of the trumpet!’ But they said, ‘We will not listen.’ Therefore hear, you NATIONS, and know, O congregation, what is among them. Hear, O EARTH! Behold, I will certainly bring calamity on this people, even the fruit of their thoughts, because they have not heeded My words nor My law, but rejected it’” (Jeremiah 6:16–19).
God’s Church, then, is to WATCH current events all around us (Matthew 24:42), discerning the times in order to be effective WATCHMEN in God’s service (compare Amos 3:7), warning others of what will surely come to pass. Notice Hosea 5:9: “Ephraim [modern Great Britain] shall be DESOLATE in the day of rebuke; among the TRIBES OF ISRAEL I make known what is sure.” Hosea 7:12 adds, “I will CHASTISE THEM [the people of Ephraim] according to what their congregation HAS HEARD.”
Ezekiel 33:2–6 explains to us WHY God’s Church is to proclaim His warning message: “When I bring the sword upon the land, and the people of the land take a man from their territory and make him their WATCHMAN, when he sees the sword coming upon the land, if he blows the trumpet and warns the people, then whoever hears the sound of the trumpet… [and] takes the warning will save his life. But if the WATCHMAN sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet, and the people are not warned, and the sword comes and takes any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at the WATCHMAN’S hands.”
God instructs His Church to teach that God’s Kingdom will be established here on this earth, one element of the true Gospel message. (For more information on this subject, please read our free booklet, “The Gospel of the Kingdom of God.”) This assignment includes “blowing the trumpet” and warning of impending disaster. Some will listen and change their ways so that they, too, may ultimately enter the Kingdom. Many others, however, will not heed the message. Still, if God’s Church shrinks back from its God-given responsibility, God will have no pleasure in it (Hebrews 10:37–39).
World War III
God is completely fair in His dealings with men. He will give them time to repent of their sins and false way of life and turn to Him and the true way of life that yields blessings. Failure to heed His warnings and repent will eventually bring on the most destructive time in all of human history—World War III. It will be a time of GLOBAL DESTRUCTION and it is ominously near at hand! As Christ warned: “For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be [again]. And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved [alive], but for the elects’ sake those days will be shortened” (Matthew 24:21–22).
Who are the “elect”? Those whom God has called, chosen and sanctified to be His “firstfruits” (compare Romans 8:23). They will be part of the Kingdom of God, ruling under Christ on this earth (not in heaven) following Christ’s return (Revelation 5:10; 20:6).
A prophesied World War will occur just prior to the return of Jesus Christ. As the prophet Ezekiel warned, “…prophesy against the land of Israel; and say to [them], ‘Thus says the Lord: “Behold, I am against you, and I will draw My sword out of its sheath and cut off both righteous and wicked from you… You therefore, son of man, prophesy, And strike your hands together (a sign of grief). The third time let the sword do double damage (in punishment)… I have set the point of the sword against all their gates, That the heart may melt and many may stumble…’” (Ezekiel 21:2–3, 14–15). God’s warnings are not mere words! They have great force!
God’s servants, His true ministers, must “Cry aloud, spare not; Lift up your voice like a trumpet; Tell My people their transgression, And the house of Jacob [Israel—as noted, Jacob’s name was changed by God to Israel] their sins” (Isaiah 58:1). This is what they are to tell the people: “‘Cast away from you all the transgressions which you have committed, and get yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. For why should you die, O house of Israel? For I have no pleasure in the death of one who dies,’ says the LORD God. ‘Therefore turn and live!’” (Ezekiel 18:31–32).
Why? Because God yearns for the modern houses of both Israel and Judah to turn to Him and repent. Speaking of the house of Judah, the house of Israel, and, in fact, all nations, God says through the prophet Jeremiah: “It may be that the house of Judah will hear all the adversities which I purpose to bring upon them, that everyone may turn from his evil way, that I may forgive their iniquity and their sin… It may be that they will present their supplication before the LORD, and everyone will turn from his evil way. For great is the anger and fury [a reference to the seven last plagues in the book of Revelation, compare Revelation 15:1] that the LORD has pronounced against this people” (Jeremiah 36:3, 7).
Satan Deceives the Whole World
The cherub Lucifer, now called Satan the devil (“Satan” meaning “adversary”), started today’s evil way of rebellion against God. This created spirit being is described in Scripture in this way: “You were the seal of perfection, Full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God; Every precious stone was your covering…[They were] prepared for you on the day you were created. You were the anointed cherub who covers [over- shadowing and protecting the world prior to the creation of man]; I established you; You were on the holy mountain of God… You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created Till iniquity was found in you…You became filled with violence within, And you sinned; Therefore I cast you as a profane thing Out of the mountain of God…Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty; You corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor; I cast you to the ground…” (Ezekiel 28:12-17).
The prophet Isaiah confirms: “How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning!… For you have said in your heart: ‘I will ascend into heaven…’ Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol” (Isaiah 14:12-13, 15).
The Scriptures also report about another spiritual war to occur in the end-time, just prior to Christ’s return: “And war broke out in heaven…and the dragon and his angels fought, but they did not prevail… So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and
Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels [demons] were cast out with him” (Revelation 12:7-9).
How does Satan deceive the whole world? Paul, one of Christ’s apostles, gives us the answer when addressing the former lifestyles of those who had become converted: “…you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience” (Ephesians 2:2).
But Paul continued: “…God… made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved)” (verses 4-5).
Satan deceives and influences all of mankind by his spirit of disobedience toward God. Those being called are told to “[r]epent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall re- ceive the gift of the Holy Spirit”— the Spirit of understanding spiritual matters (Acts 2:38). Satan is still on his earthly throne and the true people of God (those called and sanctified by the Holy Spirit) can and must resist him at all times through the help of the Holy Spirit: “Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you” (James 4:7; compare 1 Peter 5:8-9). All of mankind is continually faced with fighting against the wiles of Satan, and in this modern world of loathsome sins, he is manifesting his power of persuasion! But not for much longer!
Blessings and Cursings
Today the birthright blessings that God bestowed on modern Israel because of Abraham’s obedience are being gradually removed from Great Britain and the United States and the other Israelite “birthright” nations of Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. There is a reason for this. In the context of blessings for obedience and cursings for disobedience, God told the ancient Israelites, and He is likewise telling the modern-day Israelites: “The LORD will send on you cursing, confusion, and rebuke in all that you set your hand to do, until you are destroyed and until you perish quickly, because of the wickedness of your doings in which you have forsaken Me” (Deuteronomy 28:20).
We cannot avoid noticing the burgeoning tide of wars, sexual perversion, crimes, abortions, hedonistic and homosexual lifestyles, and idolatry. These various forms of evil fill our theaters and TV screens and news reports. God promised vast blessings upon the nation of Israel IF they obeyed Him, and contrasted these blessings with curses for disobedience (compare chapter 28 of the book of Deuteronomy). We are now witnessing the blessings being removed and, as a result, inevitable cursings.
Notice also Leviticus 26:14–20 where God warned the Israelites following their release from slavery in Egypt, giving them specific instructions on how to worship Him. He also told them—as He is telling modern Israel and Judah today—that if they disobeyed Him, they would suffer certain penalties: “But if you do not obey Me, and do not observe all [My] commandments, and if you despise My statutes, or if your soul abhors My judgments, so that you do not perform all My commandments, but break My covenant, I also will do this to you: I will even appoint terror over you, wasting disease and fever which shall consume the eyes and cause sorrow of heart. And you shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it. I will set My face against you, and you shall be defeated by your enemies. Those who hate you shall reign over you, and you shall flee when no one pursues you. And after all this, if you do not obey Me, then I will punish you seven times more for your sins. I will break the pride of your power; I will make your heavens like iron (hot and without rain) and your earth like bronze. And your strength shall be spent in vain, for your land shall not yield its produce, nor shall the trees of the land yield their fruit.”
God states in 2 Chronicles 7:14: “… if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sins and heal their land.” But to the United States and Great Britain, as well as modern Judah, He says: “For Israel has forgotten his Maker, And has built temples; Judah also has multiplied fortified cities; But I will send fire upon his cities, And it shall devour his palaces… Ephraim provoked Him to anger most bitterly; Therefore his Lord will leave the guilt of his bloodguilt upon him, And return his reproach upon him” (Hosea 8:14; 12:14).
God has been preparing for the prophesied end-time events, “…that he may do his work, his strange work; and bring to pass his act, his strange act…for I have heard from the Lord GOD of hosts a consumption [destruction], even determined upon the whole earth” (Isaiah 28:21–22, Authorized Version). The United States and Great Britain, as well as the rest of the world, will not escape, unless they repent of their sins.
On the international level, and being mindful that Biblical prophecy is quite frequently dual in nature, an ancient fulfillment and a modern end-time fulfillment become evident by historic events: “Look among the nations and watch—Be utterly astounded! For I will work a work in your days Which you would not believe, though it were told you. For indeed I am raising up the Chaldeans [originally referring to ancient Babylon, but in modern times, it is referring to the descendants of the Babylonians, which can be found today in Europe], A bitter and hasty nation Which marches through the breadth of the earth, To possess dwelling places that are not theirs. They are terrible and dreadful…” (Habakkuk 1:5–7).
The end result of this is explained in Hosea 8:8–10: “Israel is swallowed up; Now they are among the Gentiles… For they have gone up to Assyria [prophetically alluding to modern Germany and other German-speaking nations], Like a wild donkey alone by itself; Ephraim has hired lovers. Yes…they have hired among the nations…” This might be a prophetic reference to the temporary present-day relationship between Ephraim—the United Kingdom—and the developing European Union.
We also read that “… the Assyrian shall be his [captor] king, Because they [Israel] refused to repent” (Hosea 11:5). A descendant of ancient Assyria—a modern German-speaking leader—will conquer and rule over Great Britain and the United States. Judah also will fall to them. “Therefore Israel [mainly Manasseh—the United States] and Ephraim [Great Britain] stumble in their iniquity; Judah also stumbles with them” (Hosea 5:5).
On the national level, in the northern ancient kingdom of Israel, prior to their captivity, the people settled into spiritual demise and a state of apostasy, riddled with sin and idolatry. God spoke to them through His prophet Hosea: “…I will be like a lion to Ephraim [the major tribe of the house of Israel at that time, but since this is a dual prophecy, it refers today to Great Britain], And like a young lion to the house of Judah [the southern kingdom of the house of Judah, today the modern Jewish nation]. I, even I, will tear them and go away; I will take them away, and no one shall rescue” (Hosea 5:14). Prophetically national destruction will likewise come upon the modern houses of Israel and Judah in the days ahead if they do not repent of their sins.
On the personal level, God is testing every individual. “Go over what is left of Israel’s vineyard, scan her as a gardener scans twig after twig; is there a man whom I can warn…?” (Jeremiah 6:9–10, Moffatt translation). A twig represents an individual person, as Ezekiel 17:22 explains: “I (the LORD) will crop off from the topmost of its young twigs a tender one, and will plant it on a high and prominent mountain.”
From these passages we see that God is greatly concerned and occupied with carrying out His master plan. The modern houses of Israel and Judah will most likely reject God’s warning messages, if we judge based on the experience of history, although, if they were to repent, God’s terrible punishment would not have to be carried out. Notice Jeremiah 18:7–8: “The instant I speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, to pull down, and to destroy it, if that nation against whom I have spoken turns from its evil, I will relent of the disaster that I thought to bring upon it.”
But looking at history, God warned ancient Judah by the prophet Jeremiah over a period of 40 years of their many sins: “…I set watchmen over you, saying, ‘Listen to the sound of the trumpet!’ But they said, ‘We will not listen’” (Jeremiah 6:17). The same warning, and likely response, applies to the houses of Judah and Israel today.
The question for you, the reader, is this: Will you personally reject these warnings given by a loving God? Notice Solomon’s blunt assessment: “… he who hates correction is stupid” (Proverb 12:1). God says in Hosea 7:8–11: “Ephraim [Great Britain and the former Commonwealth nations] has mixed himself among the peoples; Ephraim is a cake unturned [a metaphor describing unwise policies, as the NIV commentary points out]. Aliens have devoured his strength, But he does not know it; Yes, gray hairs are here and there on him, Yet he does not know it. And the pride of Israel testifies to his face, But they do not return to the LORD their God, Nor seek Him for all this. Ephraim also is like a silly dove, without sense—They call to Egypt, They go to Assyria.”
In the context of political idolatry, God says in Hosea 8:9: “Ephraim has hired lovers.” Hosea 7:12 adds: “Wherever they go, I will spread My net on them; I will bring them down like birds of the air; I will chastise them According to what their congregation has heard.”
The only solution for the nations of Israel and Judah; for the entire world; and for individuals—whatever their heritage, ethnic background, color, race, or religion—is to sincerely and fully repent for their transgressions of God’s way of life. This must include rejection of the customs and norms of this world, if they are in contradiction to God’s standards. The Bible refers to this process of repentance as change or RETURN. We are called upon to RETURN to God whom we have forsaken. If this world repents, then there is hope. If it refuses to repent and to return to God, destruction and desolation WILL come. The Bible leaves no doubt about that.
Chapter 3 – Impending Downfall of Great Britain, the United States and Other English-Speaking Nations
At this point, you might be wondering why God would be so angry with the modern houses of Israel—including Great Britain and the United States—and Judah; that He would ultimately bring them to their knees, literally.
Listen to this indictment from God: “Hear the word of the LORD, You children of Israel, For the LORD brings a charge against the inhabitants of the land: There is no truth or mercy Or knowledge of God in the land. By swearing and lying, Killing and stealing and committing adultery, They break all restraint, With bloodshed upon bloodshed. Therefore the land will mourn; And everyone who dwells there will waste away With the beasts of the field And the birds of the air; Even the fish of the sea will be taken away. Now let no man contend, or rebuke another; For your people are like those who contend [strive] with the priest. Therefore you shall stumble in the day; The prophet also shall stumble with you in the night; And I will destroy your mother [the whole nation of the modern house of Israel]. My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being priest for Me; Because you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children” (Hosea 4:1–6).
Note what the prophet Isaiah said when he spoke of the house of Israel, both ancient and modern: “Behold, the LORD’s hand is not shortened, That it cannot save; Nor His ear heavy, That it cannot hear. But your [Israel’s] iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden His face from you, So that He will not hear. For your hands are defiled with blood, And your fingers with iniquity; Your lips have spoken lies; Your tongue has muttered perversity. No one calls for justice, Nor does any plead for truth. They trust in empty words and speak lies; They conceive evil and bring forth iniquity” (Isaiah 59:1–4).
Those in ancient Israel who contended with the priest were sentenced to death. We read in Deuteronomy 17:12: “Now the man who acts presumptuously and will not heed the priest [today God’s true ministers who rightly teach God’s Law and teach the people to obey God] who stands to minister there before the LORD your God, or the judge, that man shall die. So you shall put away the evil from Israel.” This sentence of death was, and still is, upon the modern houses of Israel and Judah. It even applies to God’s true end-time Church. In Revelation 3:16, Christ condemns those among His Church who are complacent. He says to them: “…because you are lukewarm…, I will vomit you out of My mouth.”
How will God’s awesome sentence of death be carried out upon the modern nations of Israel? This is revealed in Ezekiel 5:2 and 6:6: “You [God, compare Ezekiel 5:8] shall burn with fire one-third in the midst of the city, when the days of the siege are finished; then you shall take one-third and strike around it with the sword, and one-third you shall scatter to the wind: I will draw out a sword after them… In all your dwelling places the cities shall be laid waste, and the high places shall be desolate, so that your altars may be laid waste and made desolate, your idols may be broken and made to cease, your incense altars may be cut down, and your works may be abolished.”
Notice Ezekiel 5:12 and 13: “One-third of you shall die of the pestilence, and be consumed with famine in your midst; and one-third shall fall by the sword all around you; and I will scatter another third to all the winds, and I will draw out a sword after them. Thus shall My anger be spent, and I will cause My fury to rest upon them, and I will be avenged; and they shall know that I, the LORD, have spoken it in My zeal, when I have spent My fury [God’s seven last plagues mentioned in the book of Revelation] upon them.”
This great siege is described prophetically in Deuteronomy 28:47–48, 52: “Because you did not serve the LORD your God with joy and gladness of heart, for the abundance of everything, therefore you shall serve your enemies, whom the LORD will send against you, in hunger, in thirst, in nakedness, and in need of everything; and He will put a yoke of iron on your neck until He has destroyed you… They shall besiege you at all your gates until your high and fortified walls, in which you trust, come down throughout all your land; and they shall besiege you at all your gates throughout all your land which the LORD your God has given you.”
Notice the very graphic horror spoken of in verse 53: “You shall eat the fruit of your own body, the flesh of your sons and your daughters whom the LORD your God has given you, in the siege and desperate straits in which your enemy shall distress you.” Can you believe that the world will come to such devastation that people will actually be eating their own children in order to stay alive? God says it WILL happen!
About 60 million people live in the British Isles. How can one-third, as Ezekiel 5:12 said, that is, about 20 million die within a short period of time? In addition to famine and disease, Psalm 91:3 refers to modern Israel’s eventual deliverance from “the noisome pestilence” (Authorized Version). Strong’s Concordance (Hebrew #1942) defines the Hebrew word for “noisome” as “rushing, falling, ruin, calamity and very wickedness.” It seems to refer to a disaster from the sky, conceivably from rockets, missiles and bombs, and would most likely include chemical and biological substances. By this means around 20 million—one-third of the nation of Ephraim—will die, in addition to the proportionate deaths of those of the other tribes of the houses of Israel and Judah. Such a horrendous punishment is certainly difficult to contemplate!
Now consider these staggering figures: About 296,530,000 people live in the United States; about 32,508,000 live in Canada; about 19,913,000 live in Australia; almost 4,000,000 live in New Zealand; and almost 43,000,000 people live in South Africa. According to
Biblical prophecy, one third of all of those will die within a short period of time.
But wait, that’s not all!
The next one-third of the people will be struck with the sword [weapons of war], thus another 20 million of the people of the British nation, and also one-third of the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa will die, presumably by hydrogen or atomic bombs or other weapons exploding onto the modern cities of the United States, Great Britain and other English-speaking nations in the world. So now, we can envisage a very extreme scenario with a full two-thirds of the people DEAD! What happens next?
The final third will be sold as slaves around the world. The Scriptures tell us that “…the LORD will scatter you [the modern houses of Israel and Judah] among all peoples, from one end of the earth to the other, and…you shall find no rest…Your life shall hang in doubt before you; you shall fear day and night, and have no assurance of life” (Deuteronomy 28:64–66).
Why will God bring on such terrible punishment? Because of SINS—personal and national sins! Let’s take a look at what some of those specific sins are.
Idolatry
One of the sins about which God is very angry is the sin of idolatry—denying God by replacing the true God with idols, and worshipping the work of our own hands. We commonly tend to think of idolatry as having a statue of some sort and kneeling before it in worship. Although certainly included, idolatry manifests itself in many additional different forms. Idolatry is placing your trust in, or having your mind set on, anything or anyone other than God. It takes the form of worshipping almost anything that we have created. But God told ancient Israel: “Thus says the LORD: ‘…because they (Israel) have forsaken Me and burned incense [succumbed to idolatry] to other gods, that they might provoke Me to anger with all the works of their hands. Therefore My wrath shall be aroused against this place and shall not be quenched’”
(2 Kings 22:16–17). The message is the same for us today, because God is the same yesterday, today and forever. He does not change.
Sabbath-breaking
Breaking the Sabbath is also a sin! God tells us very clearly in Isaiah 58:13–14: “If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath, From doing your pleasure on My holy day, And call the Sabbath a delight, The holy day of the LORD honorable, And shall honor Him, not doing your own ways, Nor finding your own pleasure, Nor speaking your own words, Then you shall delight yourself in the LORD; And I will cause you to ride on the high hills of the earth, And feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father. The mouth of the LORD has spoken.”
Notice that the true Sabbath [the time from Friday sunset to Saturday sunset] is equated with the seventh day of the week, Saturday, not with the first day, Sunday (compare Genesis 2:2–3; Ezekiel 20:12–13, 16, 19–20; Mark 2:27–28). Christ NEVER observed Sunday as the true Sabbath. Recognition of Sunday as “the Lord’s Day” has caused mainstream Christianity to SIN! How? By working and/or engaging in pleasure on the true Sabbath day—Saturday, the seventh day—thus BREAKING the Fourth Commandment! By extension, orthodox Christianity has also abolished God’s annual Holy Days, which are also called “Sabbaths” in the Bible, and has replaced them with holidays that are totally rooted in paganism, days which God says we are not to keep! Please read, for more information, our free booklets, “God’s Commanded Holy Days,” and “Don’t Keep Christmas.”
Killing
Another sin that God is very angry about, is killing in all of its gruesome forms including killing in war, murder in times of peace and abortions! God tells us in Exodus 20:13 that we are not to murder; that is, we are not to take human life. Only God, the One Who gave us life has the right to take it. This is especially true for the killing of innocent children, born or unborn. Notice 2 Kings 24:3–4: “Surely at the commandment of the LORD this came upon Judah, to remove them from His sight because of the sins of Manasseh [an evil King of Judah], according to all that he had done, and also because of the innocent blood that he had shed; for he had filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, which the LORD would not forgive.”
Punishment for the spilling of innocent blood of unborn children—a viable human being at conception—will be required of our nations. Notice what King David confirms in Psalm 139:16: “Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed.” God is fully aware of the formation of a human life form from the very moment of conception! Notice also Matthew 1:20, where the angel of the Lord said to Joseph: “…do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.” The Bible clearly teaches that a conceived baby is a human being. In this case it was Jesus Christ Himself, following a miraculous conception. Why would God, by using the power of His Holy Spirit, create a non-viable human being? Life begins at the moment of conception; therefore, abortion at any stage of gestational development breaks the Sixth Commandment. A woman’s purported right to do as she pleases with an embryo or a fetus does not negate the sin of murder, whether we agree with that or not! It is God who has put down the law—for our good—so that we can know right from wrong. He hasn’t kept it a secret, but He does give us the choice. We had better be sure that we CHOOSE to do the right thing, from God’s point of view.
There were 181,600 abortions in the United Kingdom in 2003, 80% of which were funded by the NHS (National Health Service), thus directly implicating the government! About 46 million abortions were performed worldwide between the years 1973 and 2000, and about 20 million of these were carried out in “backroom” clinics. In the United States, in the year 2000 alone, there were 1.31 million abortions! In January of 2005 in the United Kingdom, academics were calling for a scrapping of the 24-week limit on legalized abortions. The Pro-Choice Forum argued that this idea was “little short of legalized infanticide,” with babies aborted for CONVENIENCE. How gruesomely true! God instructed Jeremiah to proclaim to Judah: “Behold, I will bring such a catastrophe on this place, that whoever hears of it, his ears will tingle… [for having] filled this place with the blood of the innocents…” (Jeremiah 19:3–4). Are not abortionists guilty of the blood of innocent children? Indeed they are! But, of course, so are those who kill in war; especially when we consider the “casualties” of war, a “nice” description for totally innocent civilians being slaughtered by friend or foe. And included in the innocent tally are the murder victims of such a rampant trend of senseless killings, including genocide, in our generation. For an additional discussion on the subject of killing and abortion, please read our free booklets, “Are You Already Born Again?”, and “Should You Fight in War?”
Sexual Perversion
God hates ALL forms of sexual perversion, including prostitution, sodomy, pedophilia and homosexuality. Notice carefully God’s words: “There shall be no whore of the daughters of Israel, nor a sodomite of the sons of Israel” (Deuteronomy 23:17, Authorized Version). God states emphatically: “You shall not lie with a male as with a woman. It is an ABOMINATION” (Leviticus 18:22). Contrary to what God has to say about sexual perversion, it is sadly tolerated or even promoted in our present day societies. In fact, those who do condemn the acts of homosexuality are labeled as “homophobic.” Would they dare label God Almighty likewise? The nations of Manasseh and Ephraim have, in effect, sanctioned the “gay” life style, and in a growing number of cases, even within their churches! The education authorities in the United Kingdom recently promoted, and financed, lessons for young students on the gay lifestyle.
But, for a moment, let’s go back to the beginning to get our bearings on the subject. Notice in Genesis 1:27–28: “…God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Then God blessed them, and God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply…’” Two men or two women cannot be fruitful and reproduce in the same manner that a man and a woman can reproduce. Further to that, physical marriage is a figurative pattern—a type—of the spiritual marriage between Christ and His Church. And it is by the means of physical marriage and reproduction that we can understand that God will ultimately add to His own spiritual Family. It is the potential of man to become—through a future resurrection at the return of Christ—a spirit being, a member of the God Family, provided that humans repent of their sins so that they can be forgiven through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Does this amaze you? This is precisely why God is so concerned, and so angry, with those nations who promote and succumb to such sexual practices which He labels as “ABOMINABLE!”
Adultery and Fornication
God is also very angry about the sins of adultery and fornication. God commands us in Exodus 20:14: “You shall not commit adultery.” Yet the act of adultery in this modern age is rife—it is prevalent everywhere! Christ expanded the definition of adultery in His Sermon on the Mount. Notice: “You have heard that it was said…‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Matthew 5:27–28). And in verse 32, Christ tells us: “…whoever divorces his wife for any reason except sexual immorality causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a woman who is divorced commits adultery.” Notice James 1:14–15, “…each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death (Compare Romans 6:23: “For the wages of sin is death…”).”
A related sin is that of fornication. While adultery includes at least one married person, fornication involves two unmarried partners. But the principles and consequences apply equally. Paul tells us very clearly: “Flee fornication” (1 Corinthians 6:18).
Sometimes, perhaps far too many times, adultery and fornication can result in either of the people involved contracting a case of HIV and AIDS or other sexually transmissible diseases. Paul tells us in Hebrews 13:4: “Marriage is honorable among all, and the bed undefiled; but fornicators and adulterers God will judge.” Adultery within marriage hurts both partners, their children (if any), and their immediate families. Fornication hurts the future marriage. Notice in Exodus 34:7 God’s warning of the continuing consequences of such “iniquity of the fathers [including sexually transmissible diseases] upon the children and the children’s children to the third and the fourth generation.” This is no idle warning! The God-ordained institution of marriage is holy; so much so that, as noted previously, it is used in God’s Word to typify the spiritual relationship between Christ and His Church (Ephesians 5:22–33). [For more information, please read our free booklet, “The Keys to Happy Marriages and Families.”]
Man’s whole way of life must change and conform to God’s way of life, such that God left an instruction book for us to understand how to do that. The Ten Commandments are the basis of those instructions. God has not kept it a secret from man. When man deviates or turns his back on God’s instructions, God will punish those involved. In the very near future, Great Britain, the United States, Canada, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand, as well as the whole world, will eventually be confronted with the need to repent of their evil ways by having experienced a period of 3½ years of utter turmoil, initially brought on by Satan’s wrath. God will allow this to occur to bring about His purpose, but He will ultimately intervene so that they will come to know who He is.
God specifically warns modern Judah in no uncertain terms. He says in Hosea 5:10: “The princes of Judah are like those who remove a landmark [or boundary]; I will pour out wrath on them like water.”
Hosea 5:13 tells us: “When Ephraim saw his sickness, And Judah saw his wound [apparently inflicted in a war yet to come], Then Ephraim went to Assyria [inferring the modern German-speaking people] and sent to King Jareb [the future king or leader over the German-speaking people and the United States of Europe]; Yet he cannot cure you nor heal you of your wound.”
The word “Jareb” in Hebrew connotes a fighter, one who is quarrelsome or one who will contend, and he certainly will do just that! This prophecy seems to indicate that Ephraim and Judah are on good terms initially with modern Assyria [German-speaking people]. They even ask them for help, but it won’t come to pass. Soon thereafter, any friendly relationship will soon dissipate, to the utter surprise of many. Today continental Europe enjoys a fairly good relationship with Great Britain and the United States, although recently there has been a degree of political animosity, particularly over the invasion of Iraq and EU farm subsidies. But this semi-cozy relationship will not last, and the whole world will be astonished at the change that will occur!
In view of Judah’s sins, God’s instructions to Judah are these: “O Jerusalem, wash your heart from wickedness, That you may be saved. How long shall your evil thoughts lodge within you? For a voice declares from Dan [Southern Ireland or Denmark] And proclaims affliction from Mount Ephraim [Great Britain]” (Jeremiah 4:14–15).
God said of ancient Judah through the prophet Jeremiah: “…do not pray for this people, nor lift up a cry or prayer for them, nor make intercession to Me, for I will not hear you” (Jeremiah 7:16). Also: “So do not pray for this people… I will not hear them” (Jeremiah 11:14). But this was not just an instruction for ancient Judah. The time will come, just prior to the Great Tribulation, when God will utter the same warning for modern Judah: “Do not pray for this people… I will consume them by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence” (Jeremiah 14:11–12). But note that this time spoken of has not arrived yet, so we are still to pray for modern Judah. God said to Jeremiah in Lamentations 1:9, which is also a prophecy for our times: “…her (Jerusalem’s) collapse was awesome.”
As Ezekiel 23:4–5 says in a parable about two sisters, again in both an historical and a prophetically future sense: “Their names: Oholah the elder and Oholibah her sister; They were Mine, And they bore sons and daughters. As for their names, Samaria [capital of ancient Israel] is Oholah, and Jerusalem [Judah] is Oholibah. Oholah played the harlot even though she was Mine; And she lusted for her lovers, the neighbouring Assyrians.”
Verses 11, 12, 22 and 25 continue: “…although her sister Oholibah saw this, she became more corrupt in her lust [inordinate love] than she, and in her harlotry more corrupt than her sister’s harlotry. She lusted for the neighbouring Assyrians, Captains and rulers, Clothed most gorgeously, Horsemen riding on horses, All of them desirable young men… Therefore, Oholibah, thus says the LORD God: ‘Behold I will stir up your lovers against you, From whom you have alienated yourself, And I will bring them against you from every side… I will set My jealousy against you, And they shall deal furiously with you; They shall remove your nose and your ears, And your remnant shall fall by the sword; They shall take your sons and your daughters, And your remnant shall be devoured by fire.’”
The Coming European Superpower
The United States, Great Britain and the State of Israel in the Middle East will suffer at the hands of the rising superpower which is now developing in Europe. Scripture identifies the superpower as the prophesied seventh and last revival of the Holy Roman Empire in the form of ten nations or groups of nations. Europe will be led by an Assyrian king (“King Jareb”), that is, by a powerful German-speaking leader. God will use Europe and especially the modern Assyrian “king” to punish modern Israel and Judah for their spiritual treachery toward Him. Hosea 6:7 states: “… they (Ephraim and the modern house of Israel, as well as modern Judah, compare verse 4) transgressed the covenant…they dealt treacherously with Me.” Notice, too, Hosea 8:7: “They sow the wind, And reap the whirlwind.”
God prophesies through Hosea: “As for Ephraim, their glory shall fly away like a bird…Though they bring up their children, yet will I bereave them, that there shall not be a man left…when I depart from them!” (Hosea 9:11–12, Authorized Version). As Hosea 9:17 prophesies: “My God will cast them away, because they did not hearken unto him: and they [modern Ephraim, verse 16] shall be wanderers among the nations” (Authorized Version).
As if to emphasize God’s wrath for the sins of modern Israel and Judah, let us prayerfully and soberly consider what will happen to Israel’s lands and cities. God warned His prophet Jeremiah that for ancient Israel’s sins their lands and cities would be “waste”: “…His cities are burned, without inhabitant” (Jeremiah 2:15). Again God warned Judah that they are “wasted and desolate” (Jeremiah 44:6). And this will happen again to modern Israel and Judah. Note God’s anger against Jerusalem: “…In the day of the LORD’S anger There was no refugee or survivor,” or as the Authorized Version reads, “… none escaped nor remained [in the land]” (Lamentations 2:22).
In light of Manasseh’s (America’s) current superpower status and their close relationship with Ephraim (UK), will there be any retaliation against the rising end-time European superpower by the United States and Great Britain? The answer is, No. Modern Israel won’t be in a position to retaliate. In the context of the ancient Babylonian conquest of Israel, God gave Ezekiel a vision for the future—for our days: “…the vision [of what is to happen] concerns the whole multitude, And it shall not turn back; No one will strengthen himself Who lives in iniquity. They have blown the trumpet [for war] and made everyone ready [for war], But no one goes to battle; For My wrath is on all their [Israel’s] multitude” (Ezekiel 7:13–14). God will thwart any attempts of the modern house of Israel to retaliate.
The end result for those who proclaim God’s warnings will make it all worthwhile since God WILL accomplish His purpose: “How beautiful upon the mountains Are the feet of him who brings good news, Who proclaims peace, Who brings glad tidings of good things, Who proclaims salvation, Who says to Zion, ‘Your God reigns!’” (Isaiah 52:7).
Who is charged by God to proclaim this message of warning and the physical and spiritual salvation to come, including deliverance from a future physical captivity? God’s true Church—the modern Ezekiel—is prophesied to bring, and NOW IS bringing this vital message directly to you, the reader. God says of His Church in Revelation 3:8, 11: “I know your works. See, I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it; for you… have kept My word and have not denied My name… Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown.”
Hosea 9:8 (NIV) adds the following thoughts about the end-time Work of God’s Church: “The prophet, along with my God, is the WATCHMAN over Ephraim, yet snares await him on all his paths, and hostility in the house of his God.”
In this context, it should be noted that the true Church of God, to which, in part, these warnings are addressed, is a spiritual organism, comprised of all baptized members who have been sanctified by the Holy Spirit, after genuine repentance and faith in Christ and His Sacrifice, through the laying on of hands by a true minister of God (compare Romans 8:9).
Take note that those of God’s true servants who do this work of warning the nations won’t have an easy job. Both those who proclaim the kingdom of God and those who diligently support them in this task, will encounter snares and hostility, even in “the house of God”—the Church. We are also told that God’s true disciples will be protected at a place of safety during the 3½ years of the Great Tribulation. For God says: “Because you have kept My command to persevere, I will also keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth” (Revelation 3:10). And again: “But the woman [the Church of God] was given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness to her place, where she is nourished for a time and times and half a time [3½ years], from the presence of the serpent [Satan]” (Revelation 12:14).
Chapter 4 – The Return of Jesus Christ to this Earth to Save All of Israel
God Extends His Mercy When Israel Repents
We read in Hebrews 12:7: “If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten?” Ultimately, those few of the modern nations of Israel and Judah who survive the terrible punishment of God (first by allowing Satan to torment them, and then through God directly) will repent and change! In this context, note God’s promise to restore to Israel the blessings and the birthright. God’s servant Hosea prophesied for modern Israel: “Ephraim shall say, ‘What have I to do anymore with idols?’” (Hosea 14:8)
He also wrote that repentant Israel will say in the future: “…Nor will we say anymore to the work of our hands, ‘You are our gods…’ [And God will answer:] ‘I will heal their (Israel’s) backsliding, I will love them freely, For My anger has turned away from him’” (Hosea 14:3–4).
At that time, the way of salvation will be opened and the blessings of Israel’s birthright will be restored. As Scripture says: “His [Israel’s, including Ephraim’s] branches shall spread; His beauty shall be like an olive tree, And his fragrance like Lebanon. Those who dwell under his shadow shall return; They shall be revived like grain, And grow like the vine…” (Hosea 14:6–7).
The Scriptures promise that the modern house of Israel will say: “For the LORD is our Judge, The LORD is our Lawgiver, The LORD is our King; He will save us” (Isaiah 33:22). And again: “For thus says the LORD: ‘Sing with gladness for Jacob, And shout among the chief of the nations; Proclaim, give praise, and say, “O LORD, save Your people, The remnant of Israel!” Behold, I will bring them from the North country [north and northwest of Jerusalem where they are going to be held captive], And gather them from the ends of the earth…For I am a Father to Israel, And Ephraim is My firstborn’” (Jeremiah 31:7–9).
Once the modern nations of Israel and Judah repent of their whole wrong way of life, as the great city of Nineveh did at the preaching of Jonah, they will be saved out of the awful punishment that will come upon them, the worst punishment in all of human history! Note the story of Nineveh: “…Jonah began to enter the city…Then he cried out and said, ‘Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!’ So the people of Nineveh believed God…from the greatest to the least of them…Then God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God relented from the disaster that He had said He would bring upon them, and He did not do it” (Jonah 3:4–5, 10). God is a merciful God, but to receive that mercy, Israel needs genuinely to repent of their sins.
God does not change. God said to the nations of ancient Israel, and He is saying the same thing to us today: “For I am the LORD, I do not change…” (Malachi 3:6). God will bless the modern-day Israelite nations when they sincerely repent. Sadly, though, it appears they will repent only after they have first been severely punished by God. God says: “I will strengthen the house of Judah, And I will save the house of Joseph [the father of the birthright tribes of Israel]…” (Zechariah 10:6). Although it is highly unlikely that these nations will repent prior to their great punishment—beginning with the Great Tribulation—you, as an individual, can and should repent prior to that terrible time. Once they are in captivity, they will repent, and God has promised that He will eventually bring modern Israel and Judah back into the Promised Land, extending His great mercy to them. Verse 6 continues: “… They shall be as though I had not cast them aside; For I am the LORD their God, And I will hear them.”
God will do this for His great name’s sake. In the context of Israel returning to the LORD, we read in the book of Ezekiel: “Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord GOD: ‘I do not do this for your sake, O house of Israel, but for My holy name’s sake, which you have profaned among the nations wherever you went. And I will sanctify My great name, which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned in their midst; and the nations shall know that I am the LORD,’ says the Lord GOD, ‘when I am hallowed in you before their eyes… Then you will remember your evil ways and your deeds that were not good; and you will loathe yourselves in your own sight, for your iniquities and your abominations’” (Ezekiel 36:22–23, 31).
Those from the modern houses of Israel and Judah shall say in their state of desolation and slavery: “Come, and let us return to the LORD; For He has torn, but He will heal us; He has stricken, but He will bind us up. After two days He will revive us; On the third day He will raise us up, That we may live in His sight. Let us know, Let us pursue the knowledge of the LORD. His going forth is established as the morning; He will come to us like the rain, Like the latter and former rain to the earth” (Hosea 6:1–3).
Jeremiah, once again, prophesies in a letter to Israelite exiles, pointing out that God will say to the nations and peoples of the modern houses of Israel and Judah: “…I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. I will be found by you, says the LORD, and I will bring you back from your captivity; I will gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you, says the LORD, and I will bring you to the place from which I cause you to be carried away captive” (Jeremiah 29:11–14).
Here is yet another prophecy by Jeremiah for Israel’s future: “… I will bring them back to this place (the Holy Land)… And I will make an everlasting covenant with them… I will put fear in their hearts SO THAT they will not depart from Me” (Jeremiah 32:37, 40).
Isaiah 54:10: “‘For the mountains shall depart and the hills be removed, But My kindness shall not depart from you (Israel), nor shall My covenant of peace be removed,’ says the LORD, who has mercy on you.’”
On this great day of Israel’s restoration, Zechariah prophesied: “Behold, the day of the LORD is coming…And in that day His (Christ’s) feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, Which faces Jerusalem on the east. And the Mount of Olives shall be split in two…And the LORD shall be King over all the earth…The people shall dwell in it; And no longer shall there be utter destruction, But Jerusalem shall be safely inhabited” (Zechariah 14:1, 4, 9, 11).
Of Ephraim God passionately asks the question: “Is Ephraim My dear son? Is he a pleasant child? For though I spoke against him, I earnestly remember him still; Therefore, My heart yearns for him; I will surely have mercy on him, says the LORD” (Jeremiah 31:20).
Restoration and Rulership in the Millennium
When Christ returns to this earth in a few years from now, He will not only free modern Israel and Judah from captivity and bring them back into the Promised Land, but He will also give possession of this earth and rulership over this earth to those who qualified in this life for such a tremendous task. Notice the following examples from Scripture:
Psalm 37:9–11: “For evildoers shall be cut off; But those who wait on the LORD, They shall inherit the earth. For yet a little while and the wicked shall be no more… But the meek [who are of a humble, obedient nature] shall inherit the earth, And shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace” (Compare Matthew 5:5).
Revelation 5:9–10: “For You [Christ] were slain, And have redeemed us to God by Your blood Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, And have made us kings and priests to our God; And we shall reign on the earth.”
Daniel 7:27: “Then the kingdom and dominion, And the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people, the saints of the Most High. His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, And all dominions shall serve and obey Him.”
Revelation 20:4–5: “… then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God… And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years… This is the first resurrection…”
When Christ’s rule over this earth begins at His Second Coming, and those who have qualified in this life to rule with and under Him, modern Israel and Judah, as well as all nations, will want to learn God’s Way and live under His government:
Isaiah 2:2–4: “Now it shall come to pass in the latter days That the mountain [government] of the LORD’S house Shall be established on top of the mountains [above all governments], And shall be exalted above the hills; And all nations shall flow to it. Many people shall come and say, ‘Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, To the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, And we shall walk in His paths.’ For out of Zion shall go forth the law, And the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. He shall judge between the nations, And shall rebuke many people; They shall beat their swords into plowshares, And their spears into pruning hooks; Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, Neither shall they learn war anymore.”
Following the initial 1,000-year time period of Christ’s rule on this earth, a new Jerusalem will ultimately become the universal headquarters of God the Father and Jesus Christ (Revelation 21:1–6). Notice verse 4 in particular: “And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have
passed away.” What a joyful thought! These blessings are for the righteous—those who repent of their sins and overcome them, and those who joyfully obey God and apply His way of life. In contrast, note carefully Revelation 21:8: “But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.” These people will be dead permanently—forever—without consciousness, not burning consciously forever in a hell fire. They will have ceased to exist, never again to be resurrected! Think about it! Is that where you want to end up?
To the righteous God says: “… he who is righteous, let him be righteous still; he who is holy, let him be holy still… Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city” (Revelation 22:11, 14).
And again by the prophet Hosea, God says: “How can I give you up, Ephraim? How can I hand you over, Israel? …My heart churns within Me; My sympathy is stirred… I will not again destroy Ephraim… They shall walk after the LORD…” (Hosea 11:8–10).
Notice the following Scriptures that give hope for the future of Israel and the whole world after the Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord, when Jesus Christ returns to restore a very devastated earth and disheartened peoples.
Jeremiah 46:27–28: “‘But do not fear, O My servant Jacob, And do not be dismayed, O Israel! For behold, I will save you from afar, And your offspring from the land of their captivity; Jacob shall return, have rest and be at ease; No one shall make him afraid. Do not fear, O Jacob My servant,’ says the LORD. ‘For I am with you; For I will make a complete end of all the nations To which I have driven you… I will rightly correct you, For I will not leave you wholly unpunished.’”
Jeremiah 50:6, 20: “‘My people have been lost sheep. Their shepherds have led them astray; They have turned them away on the mountains. They have gone from mountain to hill; They have forgotten their resting place… In those days and in that time,’ says the LORD, ‘The iniquity of Israel shall be sought, but there shall be none; And the sins of Judah, but they shall not be found, For I will pardon those whom I preserve.’”
Jeremiah 33:7–9, 14: “‘And I will cause the captives of Judah and the captives of Israel to return, and will rebuild those places as at the first. I will cleanse them from all their iniquity by which they have sinned against Me, and I will pardon all their iniquities by which they have sinned and by which they have transgressed against Me. Then it shall be to Me a name of joy, a praise, and an honor before all nations of the earth, who shall hear of all the good I do to them; they shall fear and tremble for all the goodness and all the prosperity that I provide for it… Behold, the days are coming,’ says the Lord, ‘that I will perform that good thing which I have promised to the house of Israel and to the house of Judah.”
Joel 3:20: “…Judah shall abide forever, and Jerusalem from generation to generation.”
You have now read how Biblical prophecies have manifested themselves through the pages of history. Therefore, no valid reason exists to doubt that the end-times prophecies pertaining to the years just ahead of us, will also be fulfilled, exactly as foretold in Scripture.
Jesus Christ will return to earth and rescue the house of Israel and the house of Judah, as well as all mankind, from an otherwise complete annihilation. Christ said that if He were not to return, no flesh would be saved alive (Matthew 24:22). But just before His return, God will protect 144,000 of the tribes of the children of Israel from His wrath (compare Revelation 6:17; 7:1-8). This is the beginning of the promise that God made to Israel through Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ. Right now, the modern nations of Israel and Judah, have “not attained to the law of righteousness” (Romans 9:31). They are described today as “a disobedient and contrary people” (Romans 10:21). But Paul tells us that “God has not cast away His people whom He foreknew” (Romans 11:2). “For God has committed them all to disobedience, that He might have mercy on all” (verse 32). “And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: ‘The Deliverer will come out of Zion, And He will turn away the ungodliness from Jacob; For this is My covenant with them, When I take away their sins’” (verses 26–27).
God forgives upon repentance. As a nation, Israel will not repent, it seems, until they have been severely punished. But these things don’t have to happen to you. With so much encouragement to repent of sins, can you afford to ignore these warnings?
God asks: “Can two walk together, unless they are agreed?” (Amos 3:3). Can the nations of Israel—can the world itself—walk with God if they do not agree with God’s ways? Christ tells us in Luke 21:36: “WATCH therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man.”
God tells us what to watch. We are to watch events, which are surely coming to pass. But notice: “Surely the Lord GOD does nothing, Unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets… The LORD GOD has spoken! Who [of God’s true servants] can but prophesy?” (Amos 3:7–8).
For further vital information on this subject, please request our free booklets, “Europe in Prophecy” and “The Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord.”
You, the reader, have been warned! You are called upon to DO something with this warning! We urge you to CHOOSE to do the right thing—to turn to God and repent.
