THE UNITED STATES AND BRITAIN IN PROPHECY
Chapter 9
By Herbert W. Armstrong
1954, 1967, 1972, 1975, 1980 edition
Introduction
Chapter One - The Lost Master Key Has Been Found!
Chapter Two - Prophecies Closed Until Now
Chapter Three - National Greatness Promised Israel
Chapter Four - The Separation of the Birthright and the Septre
Chapter Five - The Davidic Covenant
Chapter Six - Children of Israel Become Two Nations
Chapter Seven - Jeremiah's Mysterious Comission
Chapter Eight - The Mysterious Breach
Chapter Nine - Israel's New Land
Chapter Ten - Birthright Withheld 2520 Years!
Chapter Eleven - Why Israel Lost Identity
Chapter Twelve - The Birthright - At it's Zenith - And Now
Chapter Thirteen - And Now What - The Prophecies for the Immediate Future
Chapter Fourteen - What's Prophesied to happen Now - To America and Britain?
Chapter 9
ISRAEL'S NEW LAND
WE ARE READY NOW TO SEARCH out the actual location of the lost
tribes of the outcast house of Israel. We know they exist today as
a nation, and a company of nations, powerful, looked upon as
Gentiles. And when we find them, we shall find the throne of David!
Many passages of prophecy tell of these people in these latter
days. Prophecies not to be understood until this "time of the end."
Prophecies containing a message to be carried to these people by
those to whom God reveals it!
First, fix in mind these facts:
The prophet Amos wrote, in the days of the 13th of the 19
kings of the house of Israel (Amos 1:1): "Behold, the eyes of the
Lord God are upon the sinful kingdom [house of Israel -- Judah had
not yet sinned], and I will destroy it [the kingdom, or government,
not the people] from off the face of the earth .... For, lo, I will
command, and I will sift the house of Israel among all nations,
like as corn is sifted in a sieve, yet shall not the least grain
fall upon the earth" (Amos 9:8-9).
This prophecy usually is applied to the scattered condition of
the Jews. But it has nothing to do with the Jews, or house of
Judah, but refers to the ten-tribed house of ISRAEL -- driven to
Assyrian captivity, then migrating from there and scattering among
other nations before the Jews were taken to Babylon. This prophecy
says that ISRAEL (not Judah) was to be sifted among other nations --
these Israelites losing their identity -- yet God has protected and
kept them: "yet shall not the least grain fall upon the earth."
A New Homeland
It was during this time that the children of the house of Israel
were to "abide many days without a king" (Hosea 3:4). That these
people did sift through all nations is clear. Many New Testament
passages indicate this. Although many of them still were scattered
among various nations in the first century A.D., a portion of them
had become established in a definite location of their own by
Jeremiah's time -- 140 years after their original captivity.
But these Israelites who possessed the birthright eventually
were to come to a new land of their own. The Eternal says, in II
Samuel 7:10 and I Chronicles 17:9: "Moreover I will appoint a place
for my people Israel, and will PLANT THEM [Jeremiah was
commissioned to do the PLANTING of the throne among them], that
they may dwell in a place of their own, and move no more." The
context of the whole passage shows this refers, not to Palestine,
but a different land where these scattered Israelites were to
gather after being removed from the promised land of Palestine,
while that land was lying idle and in possession of the Gentiles.
Notice carefully! After being removed from Palestine, being
sifted among all nations, abiding many days without a king, losing
their identity, they are to be "planted" in a faraway strange land
now to become their own. And, note it, after reaching this place
they are to move now more! That is, of course, during this present
world.
While other prophecies indicate these birthright holders were
to become a colonizing people, spreading around the world, it is
plain that the spreading out must be from this appointed place,
which must remain the "home" seat of government for David's throne.
Mark this clearly! Once this "place of their own" was reached,
and the throne of David planted there, THEY WERE TO MOVE NO MORE.
Therefore, the location of this people today is the place where
Jeremiah planted David's throne more than 2,500 years ago!
Therefore prophecies pertaining to this day, or to the
location of this people just prior to Christ's return, will tell us
the location of Jeremiah's planting. The house of Israel is yet to
return, at Christ's coming, to Palestine -- yet to plant grapes in
Samaria, their original country. Prophecies telling where they
shall, in that future day, migrate FROM will reveal the location of
"lost" ten-tribed ISRAEL! The two succeeding "overturns" of the
throne, too, must be located in this same general locale.
Lost Israel Located
Without further suspense, let us see where prophecy locates these
birthright holders, now possessing the throne of David and having
received earth's richest national blessings. Remember they are
distinguished from Judah -- the Jews -- by various names: "Ephraim,"
"Joseph," "Jacob," "Rachel" (the mother of Joseph), "Samaria"
(their former home), "Israel."
According to Hosea 12:1: "Ephraim ... followeth after the east
wind." An "east wind" travels west. Ephraim must have gone west
from Assyria. When the Eternal swore to David that He would
perpetuate his throne, He said: "I will set his hand [sceptre] also
in the sea" (Ps. 89:25). The throne is to be "set," planted, "in
the sea."
Through Jeremiah the Eternal said: "Backsliding Israel hath
justified herself more than treacherous Judah. Go and proclaim
these words toward the NORTH, and say, Return, thou backsliding
Israel, saith the Lord" (Jer. 3:11-12). Israel is clearly
distinguished from Judah. Of course Israel was north of Judah while
still in Palestine -- but when these words were written by Jeremiah,
Israel had been removed from Palestine more than 130 years and had
long since migrated, with the Assyrians, north (and west) of
Assyria's original location.
And in these last days messengers are to go "toward the NORTH"
(of Jerusalem) inn order to locate lost Israel and proclaim this
warning. So the location, we now find, is toward the north, also
west, and in the sea.
The 18th verse, same chapter, says: "In those days the house
of Judah shall walk with the house of Israel [margin, to the house
of Israel], and they shall come together out of the land of the
north to the land that I have given for an inheritance unto your
fathers." At the future exodus, at Christ's coming, they are to
return to Palestine out of the land of the north!
After saying, "How shall I give thee up, Ephraim?" the
Eternal, speaking through Hosea, says: "Then the children shall
tremble from the west" (Hosea 11:8, 10).
Again: "Behold, I will bring them from the north country, and
gather them from the coasts of the earth" (Jer. 31:8). This
prophecy is for consideration in the "latter days" (Jer. 30:24;
31:1), and is addressed to "Israel" (verses 2,4,9), to "Ephraim"
(verses 6, 9), and "Samaria" (verse 5). Here is added another hint-
-"the coasts of the earth" (verse 8) -- evidencing they are dominant
at sea and indicating they have spread abroad widely by
colonization.
Referring to the house of ISRAEL, not Judah (Isaiah 49:3,6),
God says: "Behold, these shall come from far: and, lo, these from
the NORTH and from the WEST; and these from the land of Sinim"
(Isa. 49:12). In the Hebrew, the language in which this was
originally inspired, there is no word for "northwest," but this
term is designated by the phrase, "the north and the west." It
means, literally, the northwest! The Vulgate renders "Sinim" as
"Australi," or "Australia." So we now have the location northwest
of Jerusalem and even spreading around the world.
Hence, Israel of TODAY -- Israel of the day of Jeremiah's
"planting" of David's throne -- is located specifically as northwest
of Jerusalem and in the sea! Let us locate this land more
specifically!
The same 49th chapter of Isaiah begins with this: "Listen, O
isles, unto me." The people addressed, Israel, are called "O isles"
in the first verse and "O Israel" in the third verse. This term
"isles" or "island" is sometimes translated "coastlands."
The 31st chapter of Jeremiah, locating Israel in the "north
country," says: "I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my
firstborn. Hear the word of the Lord, O ye nations [Ephraim,
Manasseh], and declare it in the isles afar off ..." (Jer. 31:9-10).
Again: "Keep silence before me, O islands ... thou, Israel, art
my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen" (Isa. 41:1,8).
In Jeremiah 31:10, the message is to be declared "in the isles
afar off" and is to be shouted in "the CHIEF OF THE NATIONS" (verse
7). So, finally, today, as in Jeremiah's day, the house of Israel
is in the isles, which are "in the sea," the chief of the nations,
northwest of Jerusalem. A coast-dwelling, and therefore sea-
dominant people. Certainly there can be no mistaking that identity!
Take a map of Europe. Lay a line due NORTHWEST of Jerusalem
across the continent of Europe, until you come to the sea, and then
to the islands in the sea! This line takes you directly to the
British Isles!
Of proof that our white, English-speaking peoples today --
Britain and America -- are actually and truly the birthright tribes
of Ephraim and Manasseh of the "lost" house of Israel there is so
much we shall have space for but a small portion in this book.
Britain's Hebrew Names
A most interesting fact is the Hebrew meaning of the names of the
British people. The house of Israel is the covenant people. The
Hebrew word for "covenant" is beriyth, or berith. After Gideon's
death, Israel followed the false pagan god Baal. In Judges 8:33 and
9:4, the word "covenant" is used as a proper name coupled with the
name "Baal." This is quoted in the English text, Authorized
Version, without being translated, as "Baalberith," meaning
(margin) "idol of the covenant."
The Hebrew for "man" is iysh, or ish. In English, the ending
"-ish" means "of or belonging to (a specified nation or person)."
In the original Hebrew language vowels were never given in the
spelling. So, omitting the vowel "e" from berith, but retaining the
"i" in its anglicized form to preserve the "y" sound, we have the
anglicized Hebrew word for covenant, brith.
The Hebrews, however, never pronounced their "h's." Many a
Jew, even today, in pronouncing the name "Shem," will call it
"Sem." Incidentally, this ancient Hebrew trait is also a modern
British trait. So the Hebrew word for "covenant" would be
pronounced, in its anglicized form, as brit.
And the word for "covenant man," or "covenant people," would
therefore be simply "BRIT-ISH." And so, is it mere coincidence that
the true covenant people today are called the "BRITISH"? And they
reside in the "BRITISH ISLES"!
The house of Israel not only was to lose its identity, but its
name. It was to be called by a new name, since they no longer were
to know their identity as Israel, as God said plainly in Isaiah
62:2, referring to these latter days, and to the millennium.
To Abraham God said, "In ISAAC shall thy seed be called," and
this name is repeated in Romans 9:7 and Hebrews 11:18. In Amos 7:16
the Israelites are called "the house of ISAAC." They were descended
from Isaac, and therefore are Isaac's sons. Drop the "I" from
"Isaac" (vowels are not used in Hebrew spelling), and we have the
modern name "SAAC'S SONS," or, as we spell it in shorter manner,
"SAXONS"!
Dr. W. Holt Yates says, "The word "Saxons" is derived from the
"sons of Isaac," by dropping the prefix "I." "
Many confuse the Anglo-Saxons with the German or Old Saxons
who still live in Germany. The German Saxons derive their name from
an Old High German word, Sahs, meaning "sword" or "knife." These
sword-carrying Germans are an entirely different people from the
Anglo-Saxons who migrated to Britain.
Dan a Serpent's Trail
As the Eternal intended that "lost" Israel was to be located and
found in these last days, we should expect some kinds of signs or
waymarks to have been left along the trail by which ancient Israel
journeyed from Assyria, the land of their original captivity.
Speaking to Ephraim (verse 20), the Eternal says in Jeremiah
31:21: "Set thee up waymarks, make thee high heaps: set thine heart
toward the highway, even the way which thou wentest." In Scripture
we find the "waymarks," or highway signs, which they set up along
the road they traveled.
In Genesis 49:17, Jacob, foretelling what should befall each
of the tribes, says: "Dan shall be a serpent by the way." Another
translation of the original Hebrew is: "Dan shall be a serpent's
trail." It is a significant fact that the tribe of Dan, one of the
Ten Tribes, named every place they went after their father Dan.
The tribe of Dan originally occupied a strip of coast country
on the Mediterranean, west of Jerusalem. "And the coast of the
children of Dan," we read in Joshua 19:47, "went out too little for
them: therefore the children of Dan went up to fight against
Leshem, and took it ... and called Leshem, DAN, after the name of Dan
their father."
In Judges 18:11-12, it is recorded that Danites took Kirjath-
jearim, and "called that place Mahaneh-dan unto this day." A little
later the same company of 600 armed Danites came to Laish, captured
it, and "they called the name of the city DAN, after the name of
Dan their father" (verse 29). So notice how these Danites left
their "serpent's trail" by the way -- set up waymarks by which they
may be traced today.
Remember, in the Hebrew, vowels were not written. The sound of
the vowels had to be supplied in speaking. Thus, the word "Dan" in
its English equivalent could be spelled, simply, "Dn." It might be
pronounced as "Dan," or "Den," or "Din," or "Don," or "Dun" -- and
still could be the same original Hebrew name.
The tribe of Dan occupied two different districts, or
provinces, in the Holy Land before the Assyrian captivity. One
colony lived on the seacoast of Palestine. They were principally
seamen, and it is recorded Dan abode in ships (Judges 5:17).
When Assyria captured Israel, these Danites struck out in
their ships and sailed west through the Mediterranean and north to
Ireland. Just before his death, Moses prophesied of Dan: "Dan is a
lion's whelp: he shall leap from Bashan" (Deut. 33:22). Along the
shores of the Mediterranean they left their trail in "Den," "Don,"
and "Din."
Irish annals and history show that the new settlers of
Ireland, at just this time, were the "Tuatha de Danaans," which
means, translated, "Tribe of Dan." Sometimes the same appears
simply as "Tuathe De," meaning the "people of God." And in Ireland
we find they left these "waymarks": Dans-Laugh, Dan-Sower, Dun-
dalk, Dun-drum, Don-egal Bay, Don-egal City, Dun-gloe, Din-gle,
Dunsmor (meaning "more Dans"). Moreover, the name Dunn in the Irish
language means the same as Dan in the Hebrew: judge.
But the northern colony of Danites was taken to Assyria in the
captivity, and thence with the rest of the Ten Tribes they traveled
from Assyria by the overland route.
After leaving Assyrian captivity, they inhabited for some time
the land just west of the Black Sea. There we find the rivers
Dnieper, Dniester, and the Don.
Then, in either ancient or later geography, we find these
waymarks: Dan-au, the Dan-inn, the Dan-aster, the Dan-dari, the
Dan-ez, the Don, the Dan, and the U-don; the Eri-don, down to the
Danes. Denmark means "Dan's mark."
When they came to the British Isles they set up the "waymark"
names of Dun-dee, Dun-raven; in Scotland the "Dans," "Dons" and
"Duns" are as prolific as in Ireland. And so the "serpent's trail"
of Dan sets up waymarks that lead directly to the British Isles!
Ancient Annals of Ireland
Now briefly let us consider what is found in the ancient annals,
legends, and history of Ireland, and we shall have the scene of
Jeremiah's "planting" and the present location of "lost" Israel.
The real ancient history of Ireland is very extensive, though
colored with some legend. But with the facts of biblical history
and prophecy in mind, one can easily sift out the legend from the
true history in studying ancient Irish annals. Throwing out that
which is obviously legendary, we glean from various histories of
Ireland the following: Long prior to 700 B.C. a strong colony
called "Tuatha de Danaan" (tribe of Dan) arrived in ships, drove
out other tribes, and settled there. Later, in the days of David,
a colony of the line of Zarah arrived in Ireland from the Near
East.
Then, in 569 B.C. (date of Jeremiah's transplanting), an
elderly, white-haired patriarch, sometimes referred to as a
"saint," came to Ireland. With him was the princess daughter of an
eastern king and a companion called "Simon Brach," spelled in
different histories as Breck, Berech, Brach, or Berach. The
princess had a Hebrew name Tephi -- a pet name -- her full name being
Tea-Tephi.
Modern literature of those who recognize our national identity
has confused this Tea-Tephi, a daughter of Zedekiah, with an
earlier Tea, a daughter of Ith, who lived in the days of David.
This royal party included the son of the king of Ireland who
had been in Jerusalem at the time of the siege. There he had become
acquainted with Tea-Tephi. He married her shortly after 585 -- when
the city fell. Their young son, now about 12 years of age,
accompanied them to Ireland. Besides the royal family, Jeremiah
brought with them some remarkable things, including a harp, an ark,
and a wonderful stone called "lia-fail," or "stone of destiny." A
peculiar coincidence (?) is that Hebrew reads from right to left,
while English reads from left to right. Read this name either way --
and it still is "lia-fail."
Another strange coincidence -- or is it just coincidence? -- is
that many kings in the history of Ireland, Scotland, and England
have been coronated sitting over this stone -- including the present
queen. The stone rests today in Westminster Abbey in London, and
the coronation chair is built over and around it. A sign beside it
labels it "Jacob's pillar-stone" (Gen. 28:18).
The royal husband of the Hebrew princess Tea was given the
title Herremon upon ascending the throne of his father. This
Herremon has usually been confused with a much earlier Gede the
Herremon in David's day -- who married his uncle Ith's daughter Tea.
The son of this later king Herremon and Hebrew princess continued
on the throne of Ireland and this same dynasty continued unbroken
through all the kings of Ireland; was overturned and transplanted
again in Scotland; again overturned and moved to London, England,
where this same dynasty continues today in the reign of Queen
Elizabeth II.
Another interesting fact is that the crown worn by the kings
of the line of Herremon and the other sovereigns of ancient Ireland
had twelve points!
Queen Elizabeth on David's Throne
In view of the linking together of biblical history, prophecy, and
Irish history, can anyone deny that this Hebrew princess was the
daughter of King Zedekiah of Judah and therefore heir to the throne
of David? That the aged patriarch was in fact Jeremiah, and his
companion was Jeremiah's scribe, or secretary, Baruch? That King
Herremon was a descendant of Zarah, here married to the daughter of
Pharez, healing the ancient breach? That when the throne of David
was first overturned by Jeremiah, it was REPLANTED in Ireland,
later overturned a second time and replanted in Scotland,
overturned a third time and planted in London? When Christ returns
to earth to sit on that throne, He shall take over a live, existing
throne, not a nonexistent one (Luke 1:32).
And the British Commonwealth of Nations is the only COMPANY OF
NATIONS in all earth's history. Could we so exactly fulfill the
specifications of the birthright, and not be the birthright people?
The United States expanded rapidly in national resources and
wealth after 1800, but reached world dominance among nations later
than the British Commonwealth. It became a giant world power by the
end of World War I.
The United States Is Manasseh
From the prophetic blessings passed on by the dying Jacob, it is
apparent that Ephraim and Manasseh were in a large measure to
inherit the birthright jointly; to remain together for a long time,
finally separating.
In Genesis 48 Jacob first passed the birthright on to the two
sons of Joseph jointly, speaking of them both together. Then,
finally, he spoke of them separately -- Manasseh was to become the
single great nation; Ephraim, the COMPANY of nations.
And in his prophecy for these latter days Jacob said, "Joseph
is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well; whose
branches run over the wall" (Gen. 49:22). In other words, Joseph --
Ephraim and Manasseh jointly and together -- was to be a colonizing
people in this latter day, their colonies branching out from the
British Isles around the earth.
Together Ephraim and Manasseh grew into a multitude, then
separated, according to Jacob's prophetic blessing of Genesis 48.
Our people have fulfilled this prophecy.
But how can we be Manasseh when a large part of our people
have come from many nations besides England? The answer is this: A
large part of Manasseh remained with Ephraim until the separation
of NEW England. But our forefathers were to be sifted through many
nations, as corn through a sieve, yet not a grain to fall to the
earth or be lost (Amos 9:9). Our people did filter through many
nations. Ephraim and much of Manasseh finally immigrated to England
together, but many others of Manasseh who had filtered into and
through other nations did not leave them until they came, as
immigrants, to the United States AFTER the New England colony had
become the separate nation. This does not mean that all foreigners
who have immigrated into this country are of the stock of Manasseh,
but undoubtedly many are. Israel, however, always did absorb
Gentiles, who became Israelites through living in Israel's land and
intermarrying.
Thus we have become known as the "melting pot" of the world.
Instead of refuting our Manasseh ancestry, this fact actually
confirms it. The proof that we are Manasseh is overwhelming.
Manasseh was to separate from Ephraim and become the greatest,
wealthiest single nation of earth's history. We alone have
fulfilled this prophecy. Manasseh was in fact a thirteenth tribe.
There were twelve original tribes. Joseph was one of these twelve.
But when Joseph divided into two tribes and Manasseh separated into
an independent nation, it became a thirteenth tribe.
Could it be mere coincidence that it started, as a nation,
with thirteen colonies?
But what about the other tribes of the so-called "Lost Ten
Tribes"? While the birthright was Joseph's, and its blessings have
come to the British Commonwealth of Nations and the United States
of America, yet the other eight tribes of Israel were also God's
chosen people. They, too, have been blessed with a good measure of
material prosperity -- but not the dominance of the birthright.
We lack space for a detailed explanation of the specific
identity of all of these other tribes in the nations of our
twentieth century. Suffice it to say here that there is ample
evidence that these other eight tribes have descended into such
northwestern European nations as Holland, Belgium, Denmark,
northern France, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Sweden, Norway. The
people of Iceland are also of Viking stock. The political
boundaries of Europe, as they exist today, do not necessarily show
lines of division between descendants of these original tribes of
Israel.