The Lost Ten Tribes of Israel
By Liaf
Oftentimes we hear about the lost ten tribes of Israel in various theological discussions or teaching. What is this subject about? The belief in the lost ten tribes (hereby condensed to the acronym LTT) credits other nations as coming from the ten Northern tribes of Israel after they were taken captive by Assyria. The united kingdom of Israel once had twelve tribes and then divided into TWO nations after the time of King Solomon thus becoming the house of Israel and the house of Judah. The ramifications of this are intense. It allows Biblical prophecy to be applicable to other nations supposedly descended from the Israelites. The application of prophecy therefore has a wider scope regarding the fate of other nations other than the Jew only. Furthermore, it seeks to explain worldwide historical and current events from a biblical setting. Such events escape the understanding of mainline Christendom. In addition, this belief in the LTT encompasses the preservation (and perhaps reestablishment) of ancient Hebrew relics such as the Ark of the Covenant, Jacobs pillar, King David’s harp, etc.
Unfortunately, this belief prevails in more cult groups than orthodox teaching and therefore is rejected as untrue. Such groups are often legalistic and some are even racial supremacist groups! Because cults often overemphasize certain truths or distort known truths, the "baby is thrown out with the bath water" solely on the basis of the cult’s reputation instead of objectively looking at the evidence in what the cult teaches. To add fuel to the fire, well-meaning but misinformed "cult watchers" try to silence those who proclaim this solid biblical truth about the LTT by branding them as hate groups, racists, or whatever. For sure zealots are on one end of the pendulum’s swing while orthodoxy is on the other end. We choose to remain somewhere in the middle by acknowledging truth on both sides.
There exists three main points to consider regarding Israel. Before these are discussed, however, one must realize the biblical teaching that the house of Israel and the house of Judah were considered TWO groups of people in God’s eyes. The Bible makes their distinctions very clear. The "Jew" descended from the house of Judah (hence the origin of the name "Jew"). The house of Israel on the other hand, contained the ten Northern tribes of Israel and are, strictly speaking, not Jews.
The three main points regarding this Israel/Judah distinction are hereby cited:
The Biblical setting that separated Judah from Israel is found in Genesis 49:10,49:22-26 and First Chronicles 5:1-2. Judah had the scepter (the kingly line) while the tribe of Joseph (later to become one of the LTT) had the birthright. What was the birthright? It was all the good things promised to the patriarchs in Genesis e.g. to become a mighty nation, to become many nations, to become very populous, to have and to give blessings, to be militarily mighty, etc. When Jacob (renamed Israel) blessed each of his sons before his death in these passages, he split the birthright into a kingly line and blessed line of the birthright. Previously, it was passed to a certain descendant as one unit of blessing. By the way, theologians can see the promise of the coming Christ as ruler in these passages but the birthright portion is minimized and virtually glossed over without much thought.
The historical setting shows the two nations splitting after the reign of King Solomon (because of the biblical reasons) but this goes over the heads of mundane historians. Nevertheless, after the Assyrian captivity, these ten tribes to the North became "lost" to history and thus were known as the LTT to historians. The Jew from the tribe of Judah, however, did not become "lost" to history by their separate captivity in Babylon. The people from the house of Judah in other words were mostly from the tribes of Judah, Benjamin, and even Levi. They were primarily from TWO tribes, not twelve. See Ezra 10:9 regarding the presence of ALL the returned exiles. Even a child’s encyclopedia Britannica (1960, vol. VIII, p. 209) states that the "fate of these [ten] tribes is unknown. They are called the Lost ten tribes of Israel. There we have it in black and white. Who can accuse the encyclopedia Britannica of being inaccurate and racist?
The prophetic setting regarding their preservation and eventual return is recorded in Ezekiel 37 (and mention of all the tribes are also mentioned in Revelation). These tribes may be "lost" to history but NOT to God! Ezekiel 37 clearly portrays God’s people as TWO sticks, even at the end times. The Jew is the one stick and Joseph (the dominant birthright tribe of the ten tribes) is the other stick. This other stick of Joseph clearly represents the people of the LTT wherever or whoever they may be in the end times. Also, apocryphal references such as II Esdras 13 mention the LTT as to the direction they went, and of their eventual return in the end times.
We can therefore come to these three indisputable conclusions:
Therefore if these people were not assimilated and destroyed by their captors, they must exist as people of other nations in order for them to be restored again someday. That poses the question whom or what did these people of the LTT become. This is were there is much controversy. Because of the biblical promises, descriptions, and attributes of these people, we believe the CELTS and ANGLO-SAXONS originated from the LTT. There are literally SCORES of biblical references that indicate this (although the people were not called Celts or Anglo-Saxons back then). These include people from Northwest Europe, Britain and ultimately the United States. But unlike racists, we do not downplay the rightful privilege of the Jews and even other peoples originating from them such as some Ethiopians (and their monarchy that originated with King Solomon), Oriental folks or whoever.
If we were to stop here, one could argue vehemently about the LTT as being other people such as the native Americans or whoever else. Biblically, because of a prophecy that the author will not elaborate in detail here, the Bible was supposed to have been quiet as to their whereabouts until about the year 1800. Just at that time, a lost chapter of Acts 29 was discovered (by a Frenchman no less) and published for public knowledge as to who these people were. In there it said, "[Paul] had heard… that certain of the children of Israel, about the time of the captivity, had escaped to the ‘isles afar off’ as spoken by [Ezra] the prophet, and called by the Romans—Britain.". There we have it. This ancient manuscript linked the British with the house of Israel! They were one and the same people. There the apostle Paul went to preach the gospel to them according to this manuscript. (By the way, a Frenchman was a mortal enemy to the British back then. Why would a Frenchman perpetuate a false manuscript that would glorify the British?)
Once again, the ramifications of this are great. British, Americans, and certain Europeans can be included in biblical prophecy to Israel! This is only meant to be an introduction to this complex subject. However, this opens a window of greater understanding. If these people are part of the LTT, this would be why they became so populous, wealthy, and powerful. God keeps His word even when people fail Him! This would also explain why Britain and the United States once were great missionary and founders of great Bible Societies of the world. God’s people "Israel" truly became a light and a blessing to many nations. But we also believe, alas, that during the Tribulation these nations will also come under the same persecution that Israel will receive i.e. sword, captivity, plundering, etc. as part of the "seven times" punishment prophesied in the Bible. Nevertheless, because God is faithful, this excites one into praising God for His faithfulness even when people fail Him! That is the whole point of this message. God is ever so faithful and He can be depended upon.
Finally, for those who would take offence at the term "chosen", let's elaborate more on that. "Chosen" always implied a responsibility with God, never a reason to boast. The Bible makes it clear that those He chose was not because of some inherent superiority with His chosen people. On the contrary, the Bible often calls the Israelites "stiff-necked". Rather, it was for God's glory and purpose that He made a choice. Isaiah 43:21 wraps it up nicely by saying: "This people have I formed for myself; they shall shew forth my praise." In other words, God's purpose and Kingdom will be done through His chosen in spite of themselves. This is a reason for praise and awe of God!
One good reference that addresses the subject of this message is a book by E. Raymond Capt.
"Missing Links Discovered in Assyrian Tablets" is his archeological work that traces the migrations of the
House of Israel. You can obtain his book by this link http://www.artisanpublishers.com