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THERE NEVER WAS ANY LOST TRIBES..
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The Ten Lost Tribes of Israel supposedly refers to those tribes of ancient Israel that formed the Kingdom of Israel, and which disappeared from biblical and all other texts? The recorded history differs from this legend: no record exists of the Assyrians having exiled people from Dan, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun or western Manasseh. Descriptions of the deportation of people from Reuben, Gad, Manasseh in Gilead, Ephraim and Naphtali indicate that only a portion of these tribes were deported and the places to which they were deported are known locations given in the accounts. The deported communities are mentioned as still existing at the time of the composition of the books of Kings and Chronicles, and not wholly assimilated into the Assyrian populace. In the new testament, the tribes of various individuals are not mentioned very often. But on occasion, the tribes are given. For example, Jesus Christ and His earthly parents, Joseph and Mary, were all from the tribe of Judah (Matthew 1 and Luke 3). The apostle Paul was from the tribe of Benjamin (Philippians 3:5). Barnabas was from the tribe of Levi (Acts 4:36). Luke 2:36 says,”… there was one Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Aser: she was of a great age ….” So Anna was of the tribe of Asher, one of the ten northern tribes. Yet there she was, in Jerusalem, more than 700 years after the Assyrian invasion..
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In John 4:20, a woman of Samaria said to Jesus, “Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.” The Samaritans were descendants of the northern tribes of Israel. Later in the chapter, the woman told the Samaritans of her city about Jesus, “And many of the Samaritans of that city believed on him for the saying of the woman, which testified, He told me all that ever I did. So when the Samaritans were come unto him, they besought him that he would tarry with them: and he abode there two days …” and it was disproved by the Apostles themselves as all the tribes were present on the day of Pentecost.
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Matthew 10:6 But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
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Matthew 15:24 But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
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Acts 2:36 Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.
Acts 7:42 Then God turned, and gave them up to worship the host of heaven; as it is written in the book of the prophets, O ye house of Israel, have ye offered to me slain beasts and sacrifices by the space of forty years in the wilderness?
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Hebrews 8:8 For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah:
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For Jesus to make a new Covenant with all of the Jews during his time on earth they all had to be present in Jersualem at that time too.. now get real…
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10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:
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Christ told the Caananite Woman, in Matt 15:24 I am not sent BUT unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
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1 Cor 1:23 tells us, But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumbling block and unto the Greeks (Gentiles) foolishness.
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This verse refers to: Isaiah 8:14 11 For the LORD spake thus to me with a strong hand, and instructed me that I should not walk in the way of this people, saying,12 Say ye not, A confederacy, to all them to whom this people shall say, A confederacy; neither fear ye their fear, nor be afraid.13 Sanctify the LORD of hosts himself; and let him be your fear, and let him be your dread.14 And he shall be for a sanctuary; but for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offence to both the houses of Israel, for a gin and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.15 And many among them shall stumble, and fall, and be broken, and be snared, and be taken.16 Bind up the testimony, seal the law among my disciples.17 And I will wait upon the LORD, that hideth his face from the house of Jacob, and I will look for him.18 Behold, I and the children whom the LORD hath given me are for signs and for wonders in Israel from the LORD of hosts, which dwelleth in mount Zion.
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1 Peter 1:23 Being born again not of corruptible seed but of incorruptible, by the word of God which liveth and abideth forever. Once again, if the ten northern tribes of Israel just disappeared, ceased to exist or were never to be heard from again, then why are the twelve tribes mentioned in the New Testament at least five times?
It has been falsely taught by some Theologians that there is a continuing distinction made in the scriptures between the Jews and the Israelites. The little ditty that is often quoted is, ‘All Jews are Israelites, but all Israelites are not Jews.’ This may be a catchy phrase, but it is simply a demonstration of a lack of thorough study of scripture. It is true that there was a distinction in the original splitting apart (as we obviously saw) of the kingdoms, but this distinction did not continue. The people were called Jews because the land in the south was Judea, for it principally encompassed Jerusalem. The word Judah is derived from this word Judea, and because of the division between the northern tribes and Judah (or Jerusalem) in the south, it was spoken of by God in this contrast of Kingdoms. i.e., Judah or Jerusalem, and Israel. However, when the remnant returned, they again became one body. Ezra 7:12-14
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•Forasmuch as thou art sent of the king, and of his seven counsellors, to enquire concerning Judah and Jerusalem, according to the law of thy God which is in thine hand;”
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Artaxerxes’ decree specifically states that ‘all they of the people of Israel’ were free to return to Jerusalem, so why would anyone even attempt to argue that anyone from Israel was either excluded, or that they were somehow lost? A remnant assuredly returned, while the rest who were assimilated into other nations never did. Nor were they prophesied to. It is amazing that some Theologians surmise that because only a small portion or ‘remnant’ of people ever returned, that this somehow implies that the prophesy is not fulfilled. As if they all had to come back to qualify as a restoration. A Remnant is what was prophesied. That is the ‘all’ which Ezra 7 speaks about. An analogy would be like saying, ‘because the promises were made to Israel, but only a remnant obtained it, the promise is made of non effect.’ God doesn’t work like that! No, the fulfillment is as God defines, not as man defines. And the fact is, God for His own purposes chose a remnant, that the type would prefigure the anti-type. It was ordained that only a remnant would return, the like figure fulfilled in Christ bringing back a remnant.
Acts 1:6 “When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?”
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They were asking Jesus when Israel would again become a restored Kingdom. Unlike man today, they understood the literal Israel was not lost. And Indeed Christ had promised the 12 Apostles that they would sit judging the 12 tribes of Israel in the regeneration. They could hardly sit judging these tribes of Israel, if the 12 tribes were lost or not accounted for.
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Matthew 19:28 “And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.”
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It is pretty clear Jesus is declaring that when He sits to rule on the throne of His Glory, the apostles would also sit as Kings and priests unto God to rule. And Christ clearly identifies the time of His sitting to rule in His Glory as, “in the regeneration.”
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Ephesians 2:6 “And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:”
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When the apostles were regenerated, born again from above, they were raised up in Christ to sit and rule with Him on His throne in heaven. When Jesus Christ ascended to the throne of David to rule the kingdom, this fulfilled the prophesy of the restoration of the Kingdom of David, and Christ sitting on that throne of Glory. As is clearly illustrated in Acts:
Acts 2:29-31
•”Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day.
•Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne;
•He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption.”
Matthew 15:24 “But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”
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A very open testimony to the fulfillment that this was the Messiah, and He came to fulfill the prophesy of restoring the Kingdom of Israel. Not in literal Israelites lost in some foreign land, but Spiritual Israel lost in a foreign land, which the lost northern tribes merely prefigured. Some ‘cut off,’ but a remnant returning. This also seen in the angel speaking to Mary of His purpose and His reign.
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Here is the reality how are the tribes of Israel lost, when God identifies the lost as in that nation? They were lost in that they were separated from God, ‘not’ that they were a people who were not yet accounted for. He has come to restore the Kingdom to the lost sheep of Israel, not gentiles, not the dispersed in Samaria, but it’s plain Jesus is addressing the Jews as Israel, his lost people. Jew and was Israel synonymous. As after the restoration of the dispersed from captivity we find the terms ‘Jews and Israel,’ are synonymous. They are used to identify the exact same people. Ezra after the restoration, the exact same people are called of God “Jews” and “Israel,” and the exact same thing in Nehemiah .. The fact of the matter is, the New Testament gives no hint of alleged lost tribes of Israel. And the terms “Hebrew,” “Jew,” and “Israelite” were and are used synonymously for the same people, as Paul himself so clearly demonstrated in his ministry
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Matthew 15:24-28 “But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
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Was Jesus Looking all over the world for a lost race? Was He saying He came but for the house of Britain, of but for the house of japan, or the now America for the house of Ethiopia? No, it is quite obvious that the lost of Israel are not another particular race, they were right there in that nation. Others were considered dogs and swine! Yes, they eat of the crumbs off the masters table, but Israel was of the Jews. To the Jew first, and then to the Gentiles.
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Luke 1:68-69 “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed his people, And hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David;
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Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he hath visited and redeemed his people. There is no distinction anymore. When the remnant from those 10 tribes returned with the remnant of Judah with Ezra they continued as the nation, and we see that there is not again that distinction. Judea and Jews have become totally synonymous with Israel. This could not be true if God wanted Israel different from Jews. The terms are used interchangeably, as Jesus plainly illustrates all through His ministry.
The truth is, the Hebrew words b’rith and ish simply translate as “covenant” and “man,” not “covenant man,” and certainly not “man of the covenant.” If we were to translate it as a phrase, the closest we could get is “covenant of man.” Connections between similar sounding words in Hebrew and English are not supported by The Oxford Dictionary, Webster’s Dictionary, or any other study of English word derivatives (etymology), for the two languages are linguistically unrelated. Now. let’s go ahead and take a short break here for questions or comments before we continue.
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We don’t have time to go into great detail about the origin of these theories, but briefly, British Israelism originated in the mid-1600s as a political argument to persuade Oliver Cromwell to allow the Jews to return to England. The theory gained renewed support in the 20th century, when Herbert W. Armstrong’s Worldwide Church of God preached these doctrines. He identified the tribe of Ephriam with Great Britain, Manasseh with the United States, the other Israelite tribes with various European nations, and Judah with the Jews.
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On a side note, since Armstrong’s death, the Anglo-Israel teaching has been repudiated by his church, along with most of his other heresies. A November 1995 Worldwide Church of God study paper, “United States and Britain in Prophecy,” reported that Anglo-Israelite literature depends on “folklore, legends, quasi-historical genealogies, and dubious etymologies.” It went on to say there is no recorded eyewitness to any Israelite tribal migrations across Europe and that no medieval or ancient genealogies have ever linked the royal families of the British Isles with the Israelites.
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“Neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which minister questions, rather than godly edifying which is in faith: . . .” (1 Timothy 1:4; see also Titus 3:9).
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Central to British Israelism is the contention that the ten tribes that constituted the Northern Kingdom of Israel were scattered and lost after the Assyrians invaded Samaria. It is said that those ten tribes (excluding Judah and Benjamin, which made up the Southern Kingdom) were not represented when Ezra and Nehemiah brought the captives back to the land around 444 BC. We will see that there is no biblical support for that view which, ironically, appears to have been invented by Jews in the Middle Ages.
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The Jewish Encyclopedia says Diaspora Jews may have invented this theory, hoping to avoid persecution as “Christ killers.” These Jews claimed innocence, saying they never returned to the Holy Land after deportation to Assyrian captivity centuries before Messiah (1901, Vol. 12, p. 250).
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Actually, the ancient tribes of Israel have never been lost, except spiritually. Isaiah prophesied that, although the Hebrew people would be scattered among the Gentiles, their nationality would never be lost, nor their identity unknown (Isaiah 61:9).
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Jews have always been recognizable as Jews and have never lost their Jewishness. However, they are indeed lost spiritually, as the prophets described (Isaiah 29:10-14). Over 2500 years ago, God told us that the political revival of Israel would be a spiritually dead revival until a later time when God would breathe life into His people (Ezekial 37:8-9). The Lord also promised to regather all the Jews and unite His beloved people into one great kingdom at Messiah’s return (Isaiah 11:11-13).
After Solomon’s death, the ten northern tribes set up a separate kingdom (Israel) under King Jeroboam, who was not of the House of David (1 Kings 12:20). During the time of the divided kingdom, many Israelites in the Northern Kingdom identified themselves with the House of David (2 Chronicles 11:14-17; 15:9; 19:4). The terms “Israel,” “Judah,” and “Jacob” became interchangeable (Isaiah 1:1-3; 48:1; 2 Chronicles 19:1; 21:2)
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The Assyrians took the Northern Kingdom captive in 722 BC, and the Southern Kingdom was captured by Babylon in 586 BC. Following both invasions, the Jews were deported to the same general geographical area (modern-day Iraq and Iran). Because Babylon and Assyria ruled largely the same territory, the Israelite and Judean captives commingled. Both groups lived as captives under similar conditions and during this time, the divisions, enmity, and rivalry between Judah and Israel ended. Jeremiah says the captors made no distinction between Israel and Judah (Jeremiah 50:33). Later, the Book of Esther records that the Jewish people were scattered throughout the Persian Empire, and that Esther (along with her uncle Mordecai) thwarted Haman’s plot to destroy all the Jews. They not only survived, but they attained some prominence and prosperity in those regions of the empire. They did not need to migrate to Russia, Eastern Europe, or distant parts of Asia
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After the captivity, when Ezra and Nehemiah led the dispersed Jews back to the land of Israel from Persia, those who returned were called “all Israel” or “the children of Israel” or “the seed of Israel” (Ezra 6:16-17; 8:25, 35; 10:1; Nehemiah 7:73; 9:2). Artaxerxes’ decree specified that “all they of the people of Israel” were free to return to Jerusalem (Ezra 7:13). Surely no one could argue that the ten tribes were excluded from that return from captivity. In fact, the evidence shows that some returned from all of the tribes-while many remained in positions of influence in Persia
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In 458 BC, Artaxerxes allowed Ezra the scribe and the Children of Israel to return to Zion with the priests and Levites (Ezra 7:7, 13; 8:35). Ezra’s caravan of over 1800 families was made up of all the “children of Israel,” with no mention of tribal distinctions. The Book of Nehemiah likewise reveals that both kingdoms participated in the restoration. The word “Jew” is used eleven times and “Israel” twenty-two times, referring to the same people
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After return from captivity, “Jew” and “Israelite” became synonymous terms, referring to the physical descendants of Abraham through Jacob. Forgetting earlier national differences, purity of the bloodline was the critical issue. Ezra required that all Gentile wives be put away (10:2-11).
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The returned remnant grew in numbers during Greek rule (330-167 BC), the Maccabean period (167-63 BC), and Herodian-Roman rule (beginning in 63 BC). By the first century, “the Jews” were a relatively large nation numbering in the millions. Additionally, more Jews lived in Diaspora settlements than in the Promised Land. Those in the dispersion still looked to Jerusalem as their national center, cherished the same history and traditions, grew up under the same laws and institutions, and anticipated a common future.
In the New Testament, there is no hint of any “lost tribes of Israel.” In fact, the term “Hebrew” was used interchangeably with the terms “Israelite” and “Jew.” For example, Nicodemus is referred to as a “ruler of the Jews” and a “master of Israel” (John 3:1, 10). In Mark 15:26 and 15:32, Yeshua is called “King of the Jews” and “King of Israel.” Paul (a Benjamite) calls himself a Jew in Acts 21:39 and 22:3, an Israelite in Romans 11:1, and a Hebrew in Philippians 3:5. We might also note that Anna the prophetess, mentioned in the book of Luke, was of Asher, one of the purportedly, “lost tribes.”
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Paul also spoke of all twelve tribes having hope in the resurrection (Acts 26:7). James, Yeshua’s brother, addresses his epistle to “all the twelve tribes scattered abroad” (1:1). Peter spoke to the “men of Judea,” addressing them as “fellow Israelites” (Acts 2: 14, 22)
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In Scripture, we see that “Hebrew,” “Israelite,” and “Jew” all refer to the physical descendants of the patriarch Jacob. There is a very important reason why these three names are used synonymously in Scripture: to emphasize that all of Israel – all twelve tribes – were and still are God’s covenant people, sharing the same promises, blessings, curses, and destiny.
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The Jewish historian Josephus, writing nearly one hundred years after Messiah, knew that the ten Israelite tribes were not “lost.” He said these “. . . tribes are beyond the river Euphrates till now, and are an immense multitude, not to be estimated by numbers” (Antiquities of the Jews, Book XI, Chapter 5, Section 2). He stated that the Israelites remained “beyond the Euphrates” east of Jerusalem, not west in Britain or the Americas as British Israelism argues. Also, we have much extra biblical evidence of an ongoing Jewish presence in the region of Babylon.
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In his commentary on the Book of James, Jerome, the translator of the Latin Vulgate, remarked that the ten tribes were still in Persia in his day (AD 331-420). As late as AD 1835, a medical missionary, Dr. Asahel Grant, placed the ten tribes in the region of Assyria and Media or modern-day Iraq and Iran. In very recent times (after the Islamic revolution in Iran), the Ayatollah Khomeini expelled hundreds of Persian Jews, who resettled in America.
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So, where are the Tribes of Israel now? God’s Word answers this question so clearly that no one should go astray. God declared through Moses that Israel would be plucked from the Promised Land and scattered to the ends of the earth (Deuteronomy 28:63-64). With the Assyrian-Babylonian captivities, God fulfilled this word, and did so again after Rome took Jerusalem in AD 70. But despite unbelievable persecution and tribulation, a remnant of Israel has always survived with their Jewish identity intact.
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The end of it all? God’s Israelites are by Grace, not Race! The unconditional promises made to Israel have been fulfilled in Abraham’s Seed! Not seeds as of many, but Seed as one one, Christ (Galatians 3:16). Those who are in Christ are the blood-bought Israel of God, and these are those who constitute God’s Elect, or Chosen people. Lost, but now found. Bound, but now free. Brought out of captivity in the Son Israel, called out of Egypt. This Son is not a geographical area nor a race, but Christ Jesus.
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No one finally but the Christians have fulfilled the promises made to Abraham. They were to be as many as the stars in the heavens and they were to be a BLESSING to all people. God’s word is true, every promise has been and is being fulfilled as foretold by all the prophets. Praise be to God.
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NO ONE IS EVER LOST TO GOD.. NOT EVEN YOU
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Revelation 7:1-3 says, “And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree. And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea, Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.”
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Revelation 7:4-8 tells who these servants of God will be. “And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel. Of the tribe of Juda were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Reuben were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Gad were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Aser were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Nepthalim were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Manasses were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Simeon were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Levi were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Issachar were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Zabulon were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Joseph were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Benjamin were sealed twelve thousand.”
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SEE ALSO http://www.mountainretreatorg.net/eschatology/10tribes.html
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