GENESIS 49:10 "....NOR A LAWGIVER FROM BETWEEN HIS FEET....."

THIS IS SOME GREAT STUFF GOING OVER THE HISTORY OF THE STONE OF SCONE AND JUDAH'S MIGRATION THROUGH THE NATIONS OF THE EARTH (CLICK LINK TO SEE GENESIS 49:10). IF YOU ARE NOT FAMILIAR WITH IT, YOU SHOULD BE; IT WILL DOMINATE THE HEADLINES SOMETIME IN THE NEXT TWO DECADES, OR SO:

JUDAH'S SCEPTRE AND JOSEPH'S BIRTHRIGHT
By J. H. ALLEN
Part Three

CHAPTER III

THE OTHER OVERTURNS

In connection with the prophecies concerning the removal of the crown of David from the head of Zede­kiah to the head of a prince who belonged to the hith­erto non-ruling branch of the royal family of Israel's race, the Lord said, "I will overturn, overturn, over­turn it; and it shall be no more (moved or overturned) until he comes whose right it is; and I will give it to him." These words teach that, after the removal of David's crown from the head of the then ruling prince, there were to be three overturns -- no more, no less -- and that after the third overturn the crown must rest, or stay in the place where it is left by the third over­turn, until that person comes to whom it belongs by right. Then at least one more overturn will be necessary, for that seat of power must yet go back to the city of David.

The first of these overturns we have already traced from Palestine to the islands of the north-west, which are in the "great waters." We now propose to show that the other two of these predicted overturns took place in those self-same islands, or, in other words, that these three overturns landed the sceptre and throne al­ternately in Ireland, Scotland and England; and that, even after the third overturn, the kingdom is still, as the word of God declares, "in the isles afar off," and in the sea."

It will be impossible to follow the history of the overturns of this kingdom, unless we again take up the thread of history as it concerns the pillar stone, upon which the kings of Israel were crowned; for, strange as it may seem to some people, both ancient and modern history come honestly to the rescue of prophecy, and follow that stone through each of these overturns.

We have already seen, according to Josephus, that, prior to the return of the Jews from Babylon, Ezra (Esdras) received a letter from Xerxes, which was so full of offered favors, love, and fraternal greetings, that he sent a copy of it to the ten tribes in Media-Persia, and asked them to return with the Jews to Jeru­salem. But the ten tribes refused this offer, and Jo­sephus tells us that the entire body of Israel remained in that country. On the other hand, Ezra (Esdras), who was in a position to know more about them, says that they decided not to return, and also that they took counsel among themselves, and resolved that they would go further away into an unknown country. In ac­complishing this, Esdras says, "They entered into Euphrates by the narrow passages of the river. For the Most High then shewed signs for them, and held still the waters till they were passed Over. For through that country there was a great way to go, namely, of a year and a half." This is in harmony with the fol­lowing: "The breaker is come up before them; they have broken up, and have passed through the gate and are gone out of it, and their king shall pass before them; and the Lord on the head of them," (Micah 2:13).

The clause, "They have passed through the gate," and the one by Ezra, "They have entered into the nar­row passages," are parallel, and refer to the same cir­cumstance and place. This gate, or narrow passage, which is up among the headwaters of the Euphrates, is now called the Caucasian Pass, or the Pass of Da­riel. As Israel goes out through this pass, Micah says that the Lord is on the head of them, but it is left for Ezra to say that the Lord gave Israel evidence of his presence, because he gave them signs and held still the floods, as he did at Jordan, until they passed over.

But while the Lord is with Israel, it is said of their king that he shall pass before, or precede them to that unknown country to which they are going. It is for this reason that Hosea says, "The children of Israel shall abide many days without a king, and without a sacrifice, and without an image," or, as the marginal reading gives it, "without a standing pillar." Young, in his Exhaustive Concordance, gives among other defi­nitions of the original Hebrew word, both that of memorial stone and pillar. Other scholarly men who have investigated this text, in connection with its con­text, even give us pillar-rock and pillar-stone as the correct rendering.

All this, supplemented by the fact that the word of God associates the absent king with the absent pillar­stone, justifies our conclusion, that the pillar in ques­tion is the Bcthel pillar stone which was used as a coronation stone, consequently it was left with the royal family which ruled over the Jews until the over­throw of Zedekiah.

We must also remember that Jeremiah and his little remnant were taken, against their will, and against the direct command of God, to Egypt, and that while there they dwelt in Taphanhes. Morton W. Spencer says, "It is an undeniable historical fact that about 580 B. C. (i.e., the very time of the captivity of the Jews in Babylon), that a princess from the East did arrive in the north of Ireland. Her name was Tephi, a pet name like "Violet," denoting beauty, fragrance. Tea Tephi was her full name, found in Hebrew. The Tea, a little one, and Tephi answering to a surname. Taph, the root word, is used in many scriptures (Gen. 34:29, and Deut. 1:39) (Vide Concordance). Her names were interchangeably used as Tea, Taffe, Taffes, Tephi, the Eastern Princess, the Daughter of Pharaoh, and Tea Tephi; either of these serve to identify her as "The King's Daughter." In Egypt she was offered protection, and from her the city of Taphanhes or Dahpne was named, doubtless, and to this day we are shown the site of "The Palace of the Jew's Daughter," by the Arabs. The fact that she fled the country is still preserved in her name, Tarah, meaning one ban­ished or flight.

The name of Pharaoh is neither a given nor a sur­name, but it is the Egyptian name for king or mon­arch. The very fact that Irish historians called Tea Tephi "The Daughter of Pharaoh" is proof that they knew her as "The King's Daughter." Also this name, "The King's Daughter," is the only one used in the Bible account of the first overturn to designate that daughter of Zedekiah who succeeded him to the inher­itance of David's throne, excepting, of course, that metaphorical name, "Tender twig," of Ezekiel's rid­dle. Since the name Tea means "little one," and since a tender twig is also a little one, it certainly takes no great stretch of faith to believe that these two names belong to one and the same person. Especially is this the case when we consider that in the Tea Tephi of Irish history we have a king's daughter, with a Hebrew name, who not only came from the East, but also from Egypt, and who is the daughter of a Jew.

But there are still other facts connected with the arrival of this princess in Ireland, which, as we con­sider them, will strengthen our faith more and more. Tea Tephi was accompanied by an aged guardian, who was called Ollam Folla, more Hebrew words which mean revealer, or prophet. The prophet was accom­panied by a man who was his scribe, whom the chron­icles of Ireland called Brug, or Bruch. Baruch was Jeremiah's scribe while they were in Judea; he went with the little remnant to Egypt, and escaped when the rest did; for his life, like the lives of the rest of his party, was to be preserved in all places whither he should go. This little company disappeared from Egypt, but surely they reappeared in Ireland, for, mar­vel of marvels! they brought with them a pillar-stone, which has ever since been used as the coronation stone of the kingdom.

Later, Tea (sometimes spelled Teah) Tephi herself was Crowned upon this pillar-stone, and the name of Erin's capital was changed from Cathair Crofin to Tara, which is also another Hebrew word. But at this juncture history comes to our help, and with unques­tioned authority declares that, from that time until the present, every king and queen who has reigned in Ire­land, Scotland or England has been crowned upon that self-same pillar or coronation stone. Queen Victoria herself was twice crowned upon that stone, the first time as Queen of England, and the second time as Empress of India.

On the occasion of Queen Victoria's coronation, June 28th, 1837, an article appeared in the London Sun, which gives a description of the coronation chair and the coronation stone, as follows: "This chair, com­monly called St. Edward's chair, is an ancient seat of solid hardwood, with back and sides of the same, vari­ously painted, in which the kings of Scotland were in former periods constantly crowned, but, having been brought out of the kingdom by Edward I, in the year 1296, after he had totally overcome John Baliol, king of Scots, it has ever since remained in the Abbey of Westminster, and has been the chair in which the suc­ceeding kings and queens of this realm have been inaugurated. It is in height six feet and seven inches, in breadth at the bottom thirty-eight inches, and in depth twenty-four inches; from the seat to the bottom is twenty-five inches; the breadth of the seat within the sides is twenty-eight inches, and the depth eighteen inches. At nine inches from the ground is a board, supported at the four corners by as many lions. Be­tween the seat and this board is enclosed a stone, com­monly called Jacob's, or the fatal Marble, Stone, which is an oblong of about twenty-two inches in length, thir­teen inches broad and eleven inches deep; of a steel color, mixed with some veins of red. History relates that it is the stone whereon the patriarch Jacob laid his head in the plains of Luz." This, as you see, was published more than sixty years ago, before it was thought possible that the Anglo-Saxons were the de­scendants of Joseph, the inheritor of the birthright blessing which God gave to his fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

This article further says that "this stone was con­veyed into Ireland by way of Spain about 700 years be­fore Christ. From there it was taken into Scotland by King Fergus, about 370 years later; and n the year 350 B. C., it was placed in the abbey of Scone, by King Kenneth, who caused a prophetical verse to be engraved upon it, of which the following is a transla­tion: "'Should fate not fail, where'er this stone is found, The Scots shall monarch of that realm be crowned."

"This antique regal chair, having (together with the golden sceptre and crown of Scotland) been solemnly offered by King Edward I to St. Edward the Con­fessor, in the year 1297 (from whence it derives the appellation of St. Edward's chair), has ever since been kept in the chapel called by his name; with a tablet affixed to it, whereon several Latin verses are written, in old English characters. . . . The stone main­tains its usual place under the seat of the chair."

Prior to the time that King Kenneth had his verse engraved on that Coronation Stone, there was a prophetic verse which had attached itself to it, which Sir Walter Scott has rendered, one word excepted, as follows:

"Unless the fates are faithless grown,
And prophet's voice be vain,
Where'er is found this sacred stone
The Wanderers' Race shall reign."

Think of it! For more than seven hundred years this stone has been in Westminster Abbey. Dean Stanley, in his "Memorials of Westminster Abbey," says: "The chief object of attraction, to this day, to the innumer­able visitors to the Abbey, is probably that ancient Irish monument of the empire known as the Coronation Stone." He calls it a "Precious Relic," and says that King Edward I. said that "It is the one primeval mon­ument which binds together the whole empire." The Dean further adds: "The iron rings, the battered sur­face, the crack, which has all but rent its solid mass asunder, bear witness to its long migrations. It is thus embedded in the heart of the English monarchy, an element of poetic, patriarchal, heathen times, which like Araunah's threshing floor in the midst of the temple of Solomon carries back our thoughts to races and customs now almost extinct, a link which unites the throne of England with the traditions of Tara and lona, and connects the charm of our complex civilization with the favors of Mother Earth, the stocks and stones of savage nature. Faithful or foolish, the sentiment of the nation has, through three hundred gen­erations of living men, made it felt that Jacob's Pillar Stone was a thing worth dying for in battle. By the treaty of Northampton in 1328, the emeralds, pearls, and rubies were carried off without a murmur. But the Ragged Old Stone -- Oh no ! -- the Londoners would have died for that! The stone of Scone, on which it was the custom for the kings of Scotland to be set at their coronation, the Londoners would on no account suffer to be sent away."

Dr. Poole says: "This stone is a dull, reddish or purplish sandstone, with a few small embedded peb­bles; one of these is quartz and two others of a dark material. The rock is calcareous and is of that kind which masons call freestone. Chisel marks are visible on one or more of its sides." There is no rock of this kind in England, Ireland or Scotland. But the Rev. Canon Tristram says that there is a stratum of sand­stone near the Dead Sea just like this stone, which by the English people is called Jacob's Pillow Stone.

This stone is called by the Irish and by the Scotch "Lia Fail" and "The Stone of Destiny." In Irish Lia is stone and Fail is fate, hence, the stone of fate, or the stone of destiny. But it is that only because it is Jacob's Pillow-Pillar Stone. This is the reason that Tea Tephi was called "The Daughter of God's House." (Log, or Lug, Celtic for God, and Aidh, a house; hence the word Lughaidh.) Amergin, chief bard to King Dermod, monarch of Ireland in the sixth cen­tury, in the "Notes of the Annals of the Four Masters," refers to Tea Tephi as follows:

"A rampart was raised around her house,
For Teah, the daughter of Lughaidh,
She was buried outside in her mound,
And from her it was named Tea-mur."

The parentage here assigned to Tea Tephi could have been for no other reason than that she was the daughter of "God's house," to the people to whom she brought "God's house," the Stone, which was their Shepherd-stone, i.e., Bethel. Morton W. Spencer says that Lia (sometimes spelled Leag) is an Irish word and means "a stone," but that Phail is Hebrew, and is itself a Scripture word, and is of the deepest import, for it means wonderful, and is so translated in Isa. 9:6. This we have verified, and it clinches our thought that the Bethel stone, or Lia Fail, the Stone Wonderful, is indeed a symbol of that Divine Rock, that Wonderful One, THE ROCK OF OUR SALVATION.

The fact that there are iron rings in the stone which is in the Coronation Chair, and that they are worn, is remarkable. The question arises, How and when were they worn? It could not have been in the royal halls of Tara, or in the abbey of Scone, nor since it came to Westminster, nor in the temple of Jerusalem; but surely it could have been when, for forty years, Israel journeyed through the wilderness, and had both literal and spiritual drink from their Shepherd rocks that fol­lowed them.

The modern classic Hebrew uses little dots like pe­riods to represent the vowel sounds. These dots are placed in various positions about the alphabetical char­acters which represent the consonant sounds. But it is a well-known fact that in ancient Hebrew writings, both secular and sacred, there are no characters, not even the little dots, to represent the vowel sounds. Hence, the vowels are absolutely unwritten, and the consonants of a word are so arranged that the speaker is compelled to give the vowel sound while pronouncing the consonants. Take, for instance, the word Bethel. There, in the original, we have only that which is equivalent to the English B-th-l. At Bethel, as we have already shown, when Jacob set up the Bethel stone, he used it for an altar, at which he worshipped, and upon which he made his vow. Prof. Totten, of New Haven, says: "The altars of ancient Ireland were called Botal or Bothal, meaning the house of God." That is, it is the Hebrew word Bethel, and has the same meaning.

Thus the Bethel stone again proves itself to be a per­fect type of Christ, for although Christ is many other things, he is also the Christian's altar. Proof: Jesus said to the Pharisees: "Whether is greater, the gift or the altar that sanctifieth the gift?" In this we see that the altar is that which sanctifies. Elsewhere we are told that "Jesus Christ, of God, is made unto us sanctifica­tion." Since it is the altar which does the sanctifying, then he who sanctifies is the altar. Thus, it is written, "We have an altar, whereof they have no right to eat which serve the tabernacle. . . . Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people (i.e., do that which the altar does) with his own blood, suffered without the gate."

Yes, the Altar-Shepherd was smitten, and concern­ing that other rock, Dean Stanley speaks of the crack, which, he says, "has all but rent its solid mass asun­der." Could it be possible that rent was made when and because Moses smote the rock when he was told to speak to it? But, be this as it may, history has made it impossible to escape the fact that, like a true shepherd, this stone has followed the fortunes and misfortunes of its people for two thousand five hundred years.

Joshua, at one time, took a stone, set it up, and said unto all Israel. "Behold, this stone shall be a witness unto us; for it hath heard all the words of the Lord which he spake unto us: it shall be therefore a witness unto you lest ye deny your God." Thus we see that a stone may be a witness; and the historians of Great Britain, either wittingly or unwittingly, have made Lia Fail (sometimes spelled Leag Phail) a witness to an unbroken line of sovereigns, for it has been the throne upon which their rulers have been consecutively crowned, ever since it was landed in Ireland.

Further, there have been just three overturns of this kingdom. The first, as we have shown, was from Palestine to Tara, in the plantation of Ulster, through Tea Tephi, Jeremiah's ward, the "King's Daughter." The second overturn was from Ireland to Scotland, through Fergus, who sent for Lia Fail, the Stone of Destiny, and had it brought from Tara to lona, where he was crowned. The third OVERTURN was from Scot­land to England. At this time the throne was brought from Scotland and placed in Westminster Abbey, where it rests under the protection of the greatest monarchy on earth.

Hence, if this Coronation Stone which is in West­minster, which the English call Jacob's Pillow, and which their Scotch and Irish ancestors called "God's house," "B-th-l," "The Stone of Destiny," and "Leag Phail," "The Stone Wonderful," -- we say, if this stone is indeed what these names and what its history declare it to be, then it is indeed the veritable throne of Israel, upon which the sons of David were formally crowned in the Temple of God at Jerusalem. Consequently, in this also, God has kept faith with David, and preserved his throne through all generations that are past.

This makes us feel like singing the Doxology, because it is just as it should be. When the Bethel stone was in Bethel place, it was "God's house," in God's house; when it was in the Temple, it was still God's house, in God's house; when, as one of the jewels of empire, it was taken by Teah, the "tender twig," and placed in the heights of Israel in the islands of the sea, it was still God's house, in God's house. The de­scendants of Teah and Herremon are the custodians of that rock today, and their subjects possess all the distinguishing marks whereby prophecy declares the lost house of God shall finally be recognized and found. And in the midst of this great national or racial house there is a house of God, a "spiritual house," which is by some called "Spiritual Israel," and which is, like lit­eral Israel was, FOUNDED ON A ROCK.

THE PRE-EMINENCE OF EPHRAIM AND JUDAH

Judah has the right to kingship and Ephraim has the right to lead (Priesthood).

I thought this good enough to shamelessly pull the best part of the message off of a web-site and re-post it here (copying is the best form of flattery....). I hope you all find it as informative as I did. BTW, Israel has formally requested the "coronation stone" back as it prepares to welcome the King of Kings back in a few short years or decades. We live in EXCITING times!

The United States and Britain in Prophecy

Chapter One
National Greatness Promised Israel --
Yet the Jews Never Received it -- Why?

WHERE ARE THE UNITED STATES AND BRITAIN mentioned in Bible prophecies? Or are we mentioned at all? We are the wealthiest of nations. And, potentially at least, the most powerful.

[Editor's note: the following three paragraphs are taken from the 1980 version of The United States and Britain in Prophecy]. It may into be generally realized -- but neither Britain nor the United States became great world powers until the nineteenth century Suddenly, in the very beginning of the nineteenth century, these two -- until then small, minor countries -- suddenly spurted to national power and greatness among nations, as no nations had ever grown and multiplied in wealth, resources and power before.

By 1804 London had become the financial hub of the world The United States had exploded out of its swaddling clothes of the 13 original states and had acquired the expansive Louisiana Purchase. It was fast sprouting up to become the mightiest nation of all time. But Britain burst forth to greatness first, and until the World Wars had become the greatest empire, or commonwealth of nations, in all history.

Between them the British and American peoples had acquired more than two-thirds -- almost three-fourths -- of all the cultivated physical resources and wealth of the world. All other nations combined possessed barely more than a fourth. Britannia ruled the waves -- and the world's commerce was carried on by water. The sun never set on British possessions.
Could Prophecy Ignore Us?

Consider, too, our people today constitute the HOME -- the last defense, of Christianity. It is our people who have sent missionaries into every land on earth -- our people who have printed and distributed the Bible by unbelievable millions of copies in the language of all peoples.

We know Bible prophecies definitely refer to the Russia, Germany, Italy, Turkey, Ethiopia, Libya, Egypt, of today. Could they then, ignore modern kingdoms like Britain and America? Is it reasonable?

Assuredly it is not. Nor are we ignored. The fact is, we are mentioned more often than any other race. Yet our prophetic identity has remained hidden to the many. Modern nations are not spoken of in their modern names, except in few cases. Usually they are referred to by the names of the ancient ancestor from which they sprang. Thus Turkey is referred to in prophecy as Esau or Edom, because the Turks are the descendants of Esau. In like manner, the Arabs are spoken of as Ishmael, the Russians are Magog.

The Bible story of our ancestry and our modern prophetic identity, is the most amazing -- yes, astounding -- the most fascinating and interesting story ever told. It is really the story-thread of the Bible itself, from Genesis to Revelation.
Our Wealth Promised Abraham

Centuries ago, this same wealth and power and national greatness was promised by the Almighty to Abraham. Yet few have ever noticed this astonishing fact of Scripture.

The promise of the Messiah and of salvation through Him is well known by the most superficial Bible student. They know that God gave the spiritual promise to Abraham of Christ to be born as Abraham's descendant -- and that salvation comes to us through Christ. But God made also another, entirely different, most amazing promise to Abraham. Notice how God called Abraham and the twofold nature of His promise: "Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will show thee: and I will make of thee a GREAT NATION . . . and in thee shall all the families of the earth to be blessed" (Genesis 12:1-3).

Notice the TWOFOLD promise: 1) "I will make of thee A GREAT NATION" -- the national, material promise that his flesh-born children should become a great nation -- a promise of RACE; 2) " . . . and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed" -- the spiritual promise of GRACE. The same promise is repeated in Genesis 22:18: "And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed." This particular "one seed" refers to Christ, as plainly affirmed in Galatians 3:8, 16.
Race, as well as Grace

But that the "great nation" promise refers alone to race -- not to the one seed, Christ, but to the plural, multiple seed of natural fleshly birth, is made certain by God's repetition of His promise in greater detail later.

"And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the Lord appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect. And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly . . . and thou shalt be a father of MANY NATIONS. Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of MANY NATIONS have I made thee" (Genesis 17:1-5).

Notice, the promise is now CONDITIONAL upon Abraham's obedience and perfect living. Notice, the "great nation" now becomes MANY NATIONS -- more than one nation. This cannot refer to the "one seed," Christ. The following verses prove that.

"And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make NATIONS of thee, and KINGS [more than one] shall come out of thee" (verse 6). Notice, these nations and kings shall come out of Abraham -- physical generation -- multiple seed, not just one descendent through whom scattered individuals may become Abraham's children by spiritual begettal through Christ (Galatians 3:29). The scattered, individual Christians do not form NATIONS. The Church, it is true, is spoken of as "a royal priesthood, an holy nation" (I Peter 2:9), but Christ's Church is not divided into "many nations." This is speaking of RACE, not grace.

"And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in THEIR generations . . ." (Genesis 17:7). The "seed" is PLURAL -- "in their generations."

"And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan [Palestine], for an everlasting possession; and I will be THEIR God" (verse 8).

Notice, the LAND -- material possession -- is promised to the PLURAL seed, of whom He is "their," not "his," God. The plural pronoun "their" is used again in verse 9: "and thy seed after thee in their generations."
Not Fulfilled in Jews

Again, notice carefully -- the JEWS have never been more than one nation. They are not, and never have been, MANY nations.

So here is an amazing prophecy, a solemn promise from Almighty God, that could not he fulfilled in Christ, in Christians, nor in the Jews. We must look for a number of NATIONS apart from either the Church or the Jews. Amazing as it is, we must do it or deny God's promise!

God put Abraham to the test, and Abraham, through faith, OBEYED -- even to being willing to sacrifice his only son, if need be. And after that the covenant no longer was conditional. Now it became UNCONDITIONAL.

"By myself have I sworn, saith the Lord, for BECAUSE thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son: that in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies [so far the material, national promises of RACE]; and in thy seed [Christ] shall all the nations of the earth be blessed [this promise spiritual, of GRACE]; BECAUSE thou hast obeyed my voice (Genesis 22:16-18).

The promise now is UNconditional. God has SWORN to make it good. God does not promise these things if Abraham or his children do certain things. He promises them to Abraham because he already has performed his part of the agreement. If these promises could be broken or annulled, then no promise in the Bible is sure! Abraham already has performed his part of the agreement. Now God MUST perform His part, without fail.

Notice an additional detail of the promise -- the nations who are Abraham's racial descendants are to possess the gates of their enemies. A gate is a narrow passage of entrance or exit. When speaking nationally, a "gate" would be such a pass as the Panama Canal, the Suez Canal, the Strait of Gibraltar. This promise is repeated in Genesis 24:60.
A Nation and a Company of Nations

These tremendous promises were re-promised to Isaac and to Jacob. Ishmael and Abraham's other sons were rejected from this birthright. Esau, Isaac's son and Jacob's twin brother, sold it and was rejected. The promise, as confirmed to Isaac, is recorded in Genesis 26:1-5. To Jacob in Genesis 27:26-29, where MATERIAL blessing of wealth in the things of the ground is added, with the prophecy that heathen nations shall be ruled by the birthright nations of Israel. And again in Genesis 28:13-14, where the still added detail that these nations of Israel shall eventually spread around the world is recorded.

Still later, God appeared unto Jacob, whose name was changed to ISRAEL, even further defining the makeup of these "many nations" thus: "And God said unto him, I am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply; A NATION and a COMPANY OF NATIONS shall be of thee, and kings shall come out of thy loins" (Genesis 35:11).

So the "many nations" are eventually to take shape as a NATION -- one great, wealthy, powerful nation; and another COMPANY OF NATIONS -- a group, or commonwealth of nations allied.

This promise never has been fulfilled in the Jews. It could not pertain to the Church, for there is but ONE true Church acknowledged in the Bible, and it is not a nation or a group of nations, but a collection of called-out individuals scattered through ALL nations. Yet this amazing promise MUST stand fulfilled, unless we are to deny the Bible and God's sacred Word!
The Birthright and the Sceptre

Now we come to a most vital distinction, and a bit of Bible truth, known to but very few. Note it carefully.

The spiritual promises -- the promise of the "one seed," Christ, and of salvation through Him -- the Bible calls "the SCEPTRE." This promise as nearly everybody knows, was handed down through the Jews. Jesus Christ was of the tribe of Judah and the house of David. "Salvation," Jesus said, "is of the JEWS" (John 4:22). "To the Jew first," explained Paul, "and also to the Greek" (Romans 1: 16).

This fact is confirmed in Genesis 49:10: "The SCEPTRE shall not depart from Judah."

BUT -- and here is the astonishing vital fact so few ever seem to have noticed -- but the BIRTHRIGHT was Joseph's. Yes, Joseph, who was sold by his brothers down into Egypt, where he became food administrator and prime minister -- Joseph who was called "a prosperous man," even as his descendants were destined to become. "For Judah prevailed above his brethren, and of him came the chief ruler [sceptre promise]; BUT the birthright was Joseph's" (I Chronicles 5:2).

The birthright which Esau sold to Jacob -- the promise of national greatness and material wealth -- never was handed to the Jews who are of the tribe of JUDAH. So naturally we should not expect to find this promise fulfilled in the Jews today.
The Birthright is Joseph's

And just what is a birthright? It is that which comes by right of birth. The term "grace" means UNdeserved, UNmerited favor something that is NOT one's right, NOT inherited by birth, but bestowed as a free gift. But a "birthright" is inherited, by birth, as one's RIGHT. Consequently, the term "birthright" includes only the inheritance of MATERIAL blessings, passed on from father to son -- those blessings one cannot take with him, when he dies.

And what is a "sceptre"? It is the badge of royal power, kingly office. The sceptre was God's promise of a continuous dynasty of KINGS, culminating in Jesus Christ who shall be King of kings; and therefore the sceptre included the promise of eternal salvation THROUGH Christ.

So notice carefully, please! The sceptre, which is the spiritual promise of GRACE, through which ALL nations may be blessed, went to JUDAH, while the BIRTHRIGHT went to JOSEPH. And the birthright includes possession of the land, Palestine, possessing the material "gate" of material enemies, inheriting the heathen for a possession and ruling over heathen peoples, spreading and colonizing around the world! The two phases of the promises to Abraham now are separated into two different tribes of Israel!

The interesting story of the passing on of this birthright from the aged Israel to the two sons of Joseph is found in the 48th chapter of Genesis. You should read it there, entirely.

Notice, Jacob adopted these two lads, Ephraim and Manasseh. as his own legal sons because they had an Egyptian mother. Notice, verse 16, he says, "let my name be named on them." Hence, THEY were to be called, "the house of Israel." It is THEM who rightfully own the name of ISRAEL, not the Jews! " . . . and let THEM grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth," continues Jacob, administering the blessing. Let WHO grow into that promised multitude? Notice it -- NOT Judah, not the Jews -- but the sons of Joseph, Ephraim and Manasseh and THEIR DESCENDANTS.

Together they were to grow to a multitude. But eventually, as indicated by another prophecy, Isaiah 49:20, to be explained later, the descendants of these two lads were to separate, and Ephraim would lose Manasseh, then to become a separate nation. So, continuing, speaking of Manasseh, Jacob said, "he also shall become a people, and he also shall be GREAT: but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his seed shall become a multitude [or a company or commonwealth] of nations" (verse 19).

And so EPHRAIM, the son of Joseph became the BIRTHRIGHT holder. Who, today, are the descendants of Ephraim, and of Manasseh? Somewhere, Ephraim must be a group, or commonwealth of nations, while Manasseh must be the greatest single nation on earth! Either it is so, or the Bible is not true!
David Takes the Throne

After the death of Jacob and his twelve sons in Egypt, their children grew in about two and a quarter centuries to a population probably between two and three million in that land.

But Israel's children became slaves (Exodus 1:6-14). Then God raised up MOSES and fitted him in a special way to lead these children of Israel out of the bondage that had come to them in Egypt.

When they reached Mt. Sinai, in the peninsula wilderness, God made a covenant with them establishing them as a NATION -- His nation -- among the kingdoms of the world. Their government was theocratic, with the civil, as well as the spiritual and religious laws, given directly from God. God Himself was their King and He ruled them by a system of judges.

But soon the Israelites became dissatisfied with God as their King and demanded that a man should be their king as in the Gentile nations around them. And so God gave them Saul as their first human king. Saul, however, was not a good king, nor was his heart right with God. He refused obedience to God and was finally rejected. Saul was dethroned. His dynasty ended with him.

Then God placed David, a man after His own heart, of no relationship to Saul, upon the throne of Israel. David sat on the Eternal's throne. Because of his obedience and sincerity and honesty of heart, David, like Abraham, received a most astonishing UNCONDITIONAL promise from God, as little known as the birthright promises to Abraham.
The Davidic Covenant

We have space to quote but briefly from the scriptures setting forth this amazing Davidic covenant. Like the covenant with Abraham, God made the Davidic covenant UNconditional and unbreakable.

David wanted to build a great temple as God's house in Jerusalem. The Almighty replied, "And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom" (II Samuel 7:12). This, of course, was his son Solomon, who succeeded David to the throne.

"He," God continued, "shall build an house for my name" and it was Solomon who did build the temple -- "and I will establish the throne of his kingdom FOR EVER" (verse 13).

Notice it! The throne of David, occupied by Solomon, was to be established FOREVER! If that throne ever ceased to exist, then God's promise has failed!

But some say the promise was conditioned upon the obedience of Solomon and the future line of kings or their people. Notice the scriptural answer to this: "I will be his father, and he shall be my son. IF he commit iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the children of men: BUT" yes, notice this BUT -- "my mercy shall not depart away from him, AS I took it from Saul, whom I put away before thee" (verses 14-15). Saul's dynasty ceased. God promises He will never take away this throne from David's line in this manner. David's dynasty SHALL NEVER CEASE! Continuing, next verse, "And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established FOREVER before thee: thy throne shall be established FOREVER."
Through all Generations

Not only was that throne established FOREVER, it was to exist continuously forever -- through ALL GENERATIONS !

"I have made a covenant with my chosen, I have sworn unto David my servant, Thy seed [his dynasty] will I establish forever, and build up thy throne to all generations" (Psalm 89:3-4). Note it! That throne was to stand forever "as the moon, and as a faithful witness in heaven" (verses 28-37).

"For thus saith the Lord; David shall never want a man to sit upon the throne of the house of Israel" (Jeremiah 33:17). So far as is historically known, the last king of David's dynasty to sit upon that throne was King Zedekiah of Judah, who died in 585 B.C. with the Jews a captive people, with all his sons, and all the nobles of Judah killed. There is no historic record of any continuance of that throne from that year. Did David want for a man to sit upon his throne, and continue his dynasty, from that day on?

Some say Christ took over the throne. But He didn't. Instead He was crucified, resurrected, and ascended to heaven. He SHALL come, and soon now, to sit upon that throne as the King of kings and Lord of lords. But HOW can Jesus Christ, when He returns again to earth, take over and sit upon a throne that long ago ceased to exist?
Will Christ Come to a Nonexistent Throne?

IF the throne of David ceased with Zedekiah, then it does not exist today. And if it does not exist, how shall Christ sit upon a non-existent throne? (See Luke 1:31-32.) And, since it was to continue through all generations, how about those many generations between Zedekiah and the birth of Jesus?

"Thus saith the Lord; If ye can break my covenant of the day, and my covenant of the night, and that there should not be day and night in their season; then may also my covenant be broken with David my servant, that he should not have a son to reign upon his throne" (Jeremiah 33:20-21). Day and night still continues. Does David's throne?

But what do the people say? "Considerest thou not what this people have spoken, saying, The two families which the Lord hath chosen, he hath even cast them off? Thus they have despised my people, that they should be no more a nation before them" (verse 24).

But what does GOD say? "Thus saith the Lord; If my covenant be not with day and night, and if I have not appointed the ordinances of heaven and earth; THEN will I cast away the seed of Jacob, and David my servant, so that I will not take any of his seed [dynasty] to be rulers over the seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob" (verses 25-26). Strong words, those! Unless you can stop this old earth from turning on its axis-unless you can remove the sun and moon and stars from heaven, says the Almighty, you cannot prevent Him from keeping His covenant to maintain continuously, through all generations, FOREVER, from the time of David and Solomon, a descendant of David in one continuous dynasty on that throne!

He would not necessarily rule over ALL the house of Israel, or the Jews-but at least some of them, and enough to form a nation.

Remember again, the SCEPTRE promise, which includes this line of kings until it culminates in CHRIST at His second coming: "The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver [margin, ruler's staff] from between his feet, UNTIL SHILOH [Christ] COME; and unto Him shall the gathering of the people be" (Genesis 49:10).
The Test of Bible Truth

Has the sceptre departed from Judah? Has the throne ceased? Or does it, as God so bindingly promised, exist today so that Christ can take over and sit upon a functioning, continuous throne when He comes? The infallibility of the Bible is at stake! God's WORD is at stake!
Chapter Two
Children of Israel Become Two Nations

THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL is not Jewish! Those who constitute it are not JEWS, and never were! That fact we shall now see conclusively, beyond refute.

After David's death, his son Solomon succeeded to the throne. Solomon taxed the people excessively, reigned in a gorgeous splendor probably never equalled before or since. And because he also married Gentile wives, sacrificed to their idols, and committed other sins, God said, "I will surely rend the kingdom from thee, and will give it to thy servant . . . . Howbeit I will not rend away all the kingdom; but will give one tribe to thy son for David my servant' s sake" (I Kings 11 :11-13).
Israel Separated from David's Throne

Note it! It is THE KINGDOM, not part of it, which is to be rent away. It is the PART, one tribe, which is to remain. And note -- for right here is expressed the great WHY of this whole question though Solomon himself deserved to have it rent away, God will leave one tribe, not because of leniency toward Solomon, but "FOR DAVID'S SAKE"! David's dynasty cannot be broken. God will not break His covenant!

When Solomon died, his son Rehoboam succeeded to David's throne. The people at once demanded the heavy taxes imposed by Solomon be reduced. Their spokesman, Jeroboam (Solomon's servant), pleaded with Rehoboam: "Thy father made our yoke grievous: now therefore make thou the grievous service of thy father, and his heavy yoke which he put upon us, lighter, and we will serve thee" (I Kings 12:4).

"My father," came Rehoboam's reply, "chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions" (verse 11).

Israel rebelled. The command to the people was: "To your tents, O Israel!" The challenge to the royal family was: "Now, see to thine own house!" (verse 16).

"So Israel rebelled against the house of David unto this day [the day this was written]. And it came to pass, when all Israel heard that Jeroboam 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" (I Kings 12:19-20).

Then "Rehoboam . . . assembled all of the HOUSE OF JUDAH, with the tribe of Benjamin" (verse 21). Rehoboam started to fight to subdue and bring back the house of Israel, but God said, "Ye shall not . . . fight against your brethren the children of Israel . . . for this thing is from me" (verse 24).
Israel Divided into Two Nations

Notice it carefully! The house of Judah, now including the tribe of Benjamin, under King Rehoboam of David's dynasty, was about to fight against the other ten tribes, headed by Ephraim and Manasseh. DIFFERENT AND SEPARATE NATIONS. The term Jew is merely a nickname for "Judah." It applies to the one nation, or house of Judah ONLY -- never to the house of ISRAEL.

The first place in all the Bible where the word "JEW" is used is in II Kings 16:6. Notice it!

Ahaz began to reign as king of JUDAH (verse 1). He sat on David's throne (verse 2). At this time, a man named Pekah was king of ISRAEL. With King Rezin of Syria as an ally, this king of Israel came against Jerusalem in war, and besieged King Ahaz of Judah, but could not overcome him (verse 5). "At that time Rezin king of Syria [the ALLY of ISRAEL, fighting with ISRAEL against Judah] recovered Elath to Syria, and drove THE JEWS from Elath" (verse 6).

NOTE IT! The first place in the Bible where the word "Jew" is used, we find ISRAEL at war against THE JEWS! Israel's ally, Syria, drove THE JEWS out of the town of Elath!

Certainly this proves that the JEWS are a different nation altogether than ISRAEL. It is WRONG to call the Jews of today "Israel." They are not the nation Israel-they are JUDAH! And wherever ISRAEL is today, remember that ISRAEL as a national name does not mean JEW! Whoever the lost Ten Tribes of ISRAEL are today, they are not Jews! Wherever you see the name "Israel," or "house of Israel," or "Samaria," or "Ephraim" used in prophecy, remember this: IT NEVER REFERS TO THE JEWS, but to Israel, who was at WAR against the Jews!

No place in all the Bible does the term "ISRAEL" refer to the JEWS exclusively. When the sense is not national but individual, the term "Israel" alone, or "children of Israel," or "men of Israel" may, and sometimes does, include the Jews, where all twelve tribes are included. Jews are Israelites just as Oregonians are Americans. But MOST Israelites are not Jews, just as most Americans are not Oregonians. The Jews are the house of Judah only, a PART of the Israelites. But when these people are spoken of as NATIONS, rather than as collective individuals, the term "Israel" never refers to the Jews. "House of Israel" NEVER means "Jews." The three tribes at Jerusalem under the Davidic king are called, merely, the house of JUDAH.

But of Ephraim and Manasseh, sons of Joseph, the dying Israel had said, "Let my name be named on them" (Genesis 48:16). And truly they now bear the name of ISRAEL.

From here on, the tribe of Judah, with Benjamin and the tribe of Levi, is called "JUDAH" -- not Israel. The ten tribes, headed by Ephraim and Manasseh, from this time on are called "ISRAEL." They are not Jews and never were called Jews! From this time on, the children of Israel, twelve tribes in all, are divided into TWO NATIONS!

And now, for the first time, the BIRTHRIGHT goes into one nation, ISRAEL, headed by Ephraim-Manasseh, while the SCEPTRE remains in another nation, called the "House of JUDAH." The two phases of the promises to Abraham now are divided between TWO ENTIRELY SEPARATE NATIONS !

For many generations Israel and Judah remained as separate nations, in adjoining territories, having their own separate kings. Why should ministers and professed Bible students be in ignorance of this, when four whole books of the Bible, I andII Kings and I and II Chronicles, are devoted to explaining it and recording the history of these separate, rival kingdoms? Look at the maps in the back of your Bible. There you will see the territory of each nation plainly shown.

Judah retained the city of Jerusalem, its capital, and the territory known as Judea. Israel occupied the territory north of Judea. Samaria became its capital city, and the House of Israel often is called "Samaria" in prophecy. This, too, is a vital "key" to understanding prophecy. "Samaria" never refers to the Jews in prophecy -- but always the ten tribes, the house of ISRAEL.
House of Israel not Jews

We want to impress, here, that Israel and Judah are not two names for the same nation. They were, and still are, and shall be till the second coming of Christ, TWO SEPARATE NATIONS. The "house of Judah" ALWAYS means "Jew." This distinction is vital, if we are to understand prophecy. Because most so-called Bible students are in ignorance of this basic distinction, they are unable rightly to understand prophecy!

The next place where the term "Jew" is mentioned in the Bible, the House of Israel had been driven out in captivity, lost from view, and the term applies ONLY to those of the house of JUDAH.
Israel Driven out and Lost!

Immediately on becoming king over the house of Israel, Jeroboam (tribe of Ephraim) set up two golden calves, introducing idol worship in the kingdom. The account is found in I Kings 12:28-33.

This idolatry with Sabbath-breaking (Ezekiel 20:10-24) was the great national sin which became such a curse to Israel. Generation after generation God pleaded with the house of Israel to turn from tradition-from their fathers' ways -- and to return to keeping God's commandments. But through nine different dynasties under 19 kings, Israel continued these national sins -- sins so great in God's sight that finally God caused them to become a conquered, captive nation.

In the years 721-718 B.C., the house of Israel was conquered and its people were soon driven out of their own land-out of their homes and cities-and carried captives to Assyria, on the southern shores of the Caspian Sea! And then . . . lost from view!

"Therefore the Lord was very angry with Israel, and removed them out of his sight: there was none left but the tribe of Judah only" (II Kings 17:18).

The Eternal removed who? Israel! It is Israel which was removed and driven from the Eternal's sight until they became lost from view. Who is left? Judah ONLY -- only the Jews! Israel was now gone! They became known as the LOST Ten Tribes and are so designated today.

In Leviticus 26 we find God's solemn warning to all the children of Israel. IF they would worship Him alone, avoiding idolatry, and keep His Sabbath, walk in His statutes and keep His commandments, they would inherit the national material promises to Abraham. They would become a great, rich, and powerful -- the dominant nation of all earth. But, if they refused and rebelled, they were to be punished SEVEN TIMES -- a duration of 2520 years [to be explained later] -- in slavery, servitude, and want.

The house of Israel now entered -- 721-718 B.C. -- (remember this date) -- upon their 2520 long years of national banishment, to last until A.D. 1800-1803!

And BECAUSE the house of Israel lost their identifying SIGN the Sabbath -- the sign which identified them as ISRAEL -- they utterly LOST THEIR IDENTITY! They lost knowledge even of their national name. They came to be considered GENTILES!

In Exodus 31:12-17 it is recorded that God made the Sabbath the covenant sign between Him and Israel. A sign identifies. At creation God rested on, blessed, made holy, and set apart for man the one day for man's rest and worship which could keep him always in the true worship of the true God -- the day that pointed back to creation. Creation is the PROOF of God. It identifies Him as the true God. It was intended to keep man in the true knowledge of the true God. When Israel threw aside God's Sabbath, Israel soon threw aside God Himself, and went into idolatry. The Sabbath identified Israel as God's own people because all other nations long since had departed from its observance and gone into idolatry. Israel was the only nation which kept it. Because they rejected this SIGN, they were driven out, and lost their identity (read Ezekiel 20:10-24).

Judah, too, went into captivity largely because of Sabbath rejecting (see Jeremiah 17). But those Jews who returned 70 years later under Ezra and Nehemiah had learned their lesson. They became legalistically-strict Sabbatarians -- adding so many of their own restrictions to it that Jesus had to sweep aside this maze of manmade rules, saying, "The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath" (Mark 2:27). To this day orthodox Jews have retained the original Sabbath. And because those Jewish people who descend from the Ezra-Nehemiah leadership have retained God's covenant identifying SIGN, the world today looks upon them as ISRAEL! And yet they actually are only a part of JUDAH! Those of the captivity who did not return under Ezra and Nehemiah lost their identity, too, though the world does not realize it.

So "the Lord removed Israel out of His sight . . . . So was Israel carried away out of their own land to Assyria" (II Kings 17:23). They LEFT the land of Samaria, never yet to return! Gentiles were placed in their homes and cities (verse 24), and it is these Gentiles who were known as Samaritans in the time of Christ.

A more detailed account of the captivity of Israel is found in II Kings 18:9-12, and 17:5-18.

Now the House of Israel began to "abide many days without a king" (Hosea 3:4). Since THEY were the people who carried the title "Israel," it is THEY, not Judah, who must become LOST in identity! Now they must lose their language, their religion, their land (Isaiah 8:17; 28:11; 40:27; 62:2; Jeremiah 16:13; Hosea 1:8-10; 2:5-6).
Israel Never Returned

The House of Israel did NOT return to Palestine with the Jews in the days of Ezra and Nehemiah, as some erroneously believe. Those who returned to rebuild the temple and restore worship in Jerusalem at that time, 70 years after JUDAH'S captivity, were only those of the house of Judah whom Nebuchadnezzar had carried to Babylon.

Note well these facts.

1) In 721-718 B.C. ISRAEL began to be "carried away out of their own land to Assyria" (II Kings 17:23). They were soon all removed completely. "There was none left but the tribe of Judah only" (II Kings 17:18). JUDAH, only, remained.

2) More than 130 years later, Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon carried the Jews -- JUDAH -- who only remained in Palestine away to Babylon. So none of the house of Israel dwelt in Palestine at the time of this captivity of Judah.

3) Those who returned to Palestine to rebuild the temple and restore worship 70 years after Judah's captivity were ALL of the house of Judah -- all JEWS -- ALL of those whom Nebuchadnezzar had carried away. They returned again "unto Jerusalem and Judah, every one unto his city" (Ezra 2:1).

Only those of the tribes of Judah, together with remnants of Benjamin and Levi, who constituted the house of JUDAH, returned at that time (Ezra 1:5). Consequently those in Jerusalem in the time of Christ were of these three tribes, NOT of the house of ISRAEL. And most, if not all, of those converted were of the tribe of Benjamin, as Paul said he was.

The House of Israel became known as the LOST Ten Tribes! Now known by ANOTHER name, speaking a different language!

By WHAT name are they known today? Whoever they are, wherever they are, it is THEY, and not the Jews, who are the BIRTHRIGHT possessors. It is THEY, not the Jews, who, after the ending of their punishment in A.D. 1800-1803, must inherit the UNbreakable promises to Abraham of national greatness, resources, wealth and power. It is MANASSEH who, after A.D. 1800-1803 was to become the world's greatest single nation; Ephraim a great COMMONWEALTH of nations! Who can they be today?
Chapter Three
Jeremiah's Mysterious Commission

WHEN THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL WAS DRIVEN into Assyrian captivity, 721-718 B.C., the Kingdom of Judah had not yet rejected the government and religion of God. Before Judah's apostasy, God had said, through the prophet Hosea, "Though thou, ISRAEL, play the harlot, yet let not Judah offend . . . " (Hosea 4:15).

But later her treacherous sister Judah feared not, but went and played the harlot also," and God finally said, "The backsliding Israel hath justified herself more than treacherous Judah" (Jeremiah 3:8, 11). And so, more than 130 years after Israel's captivity, the time came when God drove out the Jews, too, in national captivity and slavery. They were taken as slaves to Babylon -- not to Assyria, where ISRAEL had been taken.

For this purpose God raised up a very special prophet, whose real call and commission few indeed understand. This prophet was Jeremiah. He was one of the three men, only, who were sanctified before they were born. The other two were John the Baptist and Jesus Christ (see Jeremiah 1:5).

Jeremiah, when first given his vital call and commission, was a young lad. Some evidence indicates he was seventeen years of age. By the time his commission was completed, he was an aged, white-haired patriarch. The commission is recorded in Jeremiah 1:10: "See," God says to Jeremiah, "I have this day set thee over the nations and over kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, TO BUILD, AND TO PLANT.

There it is! Jeremiah was set over NATIONS -- more than one kingdom. He was a Jewish lad, living in Judah. He was set a prophet over Judah-but not Judah alone. Over NATIONS -- over KINGDOMs! He was set over these kingdoms to do two things: first, to "pluck up," or "root out," to "pull down," or to "overthrow," and second, TO BUILD, AND TO PLANT.

Jeremiah was used of God as a prophet to warn the nation Judah of their transgressions against God's government and ways. He was sent to warn this rebellious nation of impending punishment -- their invasion and captivity at the hands of Chaldean armed forces -- unless they repented. He was used as a go-between -- an intermediary -- between the kings of Judah and Babylon. It is well known that Jeremiah was used in warning Judah of the impending captivity, and the ""pulling down" or "overthrowing" of the throne of David in the Kingdom of Judah.

But -- note it in your Bible! -- he also was commissioned to PLANT and to BUILD! To build and to plant what? Why, naturally, that which he was used in "rooting out" of Judah-the THRONE OF DAVID. He was set over THE KINGDOMS -- the Kingdom of Israel as well as Judah. He was used in "rooting out" that throne from Judah. Then what was Jeremiah commissioned to do in ISRAEL? Ah! Note it! The second half of his strange and little-understood commission -- to PLANT AND TO BUILD!

So far as the world knows, the last king to sit on that throne of David was Zedekiah of Judah. He was thrown down off the throne and the throne rooted out of Judah in the year 585 B.C. -- nearly 600 years before Christ!

What, then! Did God forget His covenant with David? Did the throne CEASE? True, the KINGDOM -- the GOVERNMENT of Judah ceased, as had the kingdom of Israel more than 130 years before! But see what else Jeremiah was commissioned to do -- to PLANT AND TO BUILD! To plant and to build, then, of necessity, among the house of Israel, lo, these many days without a king -- among LOST Israel, now supposing herself to be GENTILE! Therefore the identity and location of the replanting must remain hidden to the world until this time of the END in which we live!
Judah Taken Captive to Babylon

The life and work of Jeremiah is a most fascinating story. The first chapters of the book of Jeremiah are devoted to his ministry, warning of the impending captivity of the Jews. Then God caused their captivity.

It is generally known that Babylon took Judah in three different stages. The first siege was in 604 B.C., a date about two years later than has been commonly reckoned, but a date now firmly established. The land did not completely pass into the hands of these Gentile Babylonians, however, until a full time-cycle of 19 years later, or 585 B.C. You can read the part played by Jeremiah in this captivity in the book of Jeremiah.

But now notice an interesting fact. The last and final king recorded either in Bible or secular history as having sat on the throne of David was King Zedekiah of Judah (II Kings 25:18). When the Chaldean armies besieged Jerusalem, the city was broken up, the palace and temple destroyed. ALL the sons of King Zedekiah were killed before his eyes. That there would be no man to carry on his dynasty, all the princes of Judah were killed. King Zedekiah's eyes were put out and he was bound in chains and carried to Babylon where he died. You will read of all this captivity in II Kings 25, II Chronicles 36, Jeremiah 39, and 52.
Jeremiah's Mysterious Movements

And now the first part of Jeremiah's mysterious commission is accomplished! So far as the world could see, or has seen since, the dynasty of David had ENDED! No king remained on the throne. Judah's last king was dead. All his sons were dead. All other princes who might be possible heirs to carry on the dynasty, had been killed. No possible heir to the throne, so the world then believed, remained alive.

But how about the SECOND part of Jeremiah's important commission? Was God able to keep His covenant with David?

Jeremiah was among these captive Jews. Yet he must remain free to carry out the second part of his commission. So, "the captain of the guard took Jeremiah, and said unto him . . . behold, I loose thee this day from the chains which were upon thine hand. If it seem good unto thee to come with me into Babylon, come; and I will look well unto thee: but if it seem ill unto thee to come with me into Babylon, forbear: behold, all the land is before thee: whither it seemeth good and convenient for thee to go, thither go . . . . So the captain of the guard gave him victuals and a reward [expense money], and let him go" (Jeremiah 40:2-5).

Jeremiah was left absolutely FREE to perform the second half of his commission. Where did he go? We come now to an amazing, fascinating, thrilling part of the book of Jeremiah which has been almost entirely overlooked.

"Then went Jeremiah unto Gedeliah . . . to Mizpah; and dwelt with him among the people that were left in the land" (verse 6).

Now this Gedeliah had been made governor over a remnant of Jews in the land by the king of Babylon, and since Jerusalem was destroyed, he had made Mizpah his headquarters. But the king of Ammon plotted with a Jew named Ishmael to assassinate Gedeliah. The plot was executed; the governor, and part of the Jews were slain. Jeremiah was among the survivors.

"Then Ishmael carried away captive all the residue of the people that were in Mizpah, even the king's daughters, and all the people that remained in Mizpah, whom Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard [from Babylon] had committed to Gedeliah . . . and carried them away captive, and departed to go over to the Ammonites" (Jeremiah 41:10).

Ah! Did you catch it? Read that passage again. Among these Jews were the king's daughters! Daughters of Zedekiah, king of Judah, and of David's dynasty!

King Zedekiah had died in prison in Babylon (Jeremiah 52:11). All his sons had been killed. All the princes of Judah had been killed. All possible heirs to David's throne had been killed -- except the king's daughters! Now we see why Jeremiah went to Mizpah!
Jeremiah, with Royal Seed for Replanting, Escapes

Soon a man named Johanan replaced Ishmael as leader. And in fear of reprisals from Nebuchadnezzar and the Chaldean army, they appealed to the prophet, "and said unto Jeremiah the prophet, Let, we beseech thee, our supplication be accepted before thee, and pray for us unto the Lord thy God . . . that the Lord thy God may shew us the way wherein we may walk" (Jeremiah 42:2-3).

The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, and He told them not to fear, that He would protect and deliver them. But the people wanted to flee to Egypt. This the Lord warned them not to do. If they did, the sword of Nebuchadnezzar which they feared would overtake them there, and they would die (Jeremiah 42:7-16).

But, as people usually do, they rejected God's warning. "Thou speakest falsely," Johanan answered Jeremiah (Jeremiah 43:2-3).

And so Johanan "look all the remnant of Judah . . . even men, and women, and children, and the king's daughters . . . and Jeremiah the prophet, and Baruch the son of Neriah [Jeremiah's scribe, or secretary]. So they came into the land of Egypt" (Jeremiah 43:5-7).

On reaching Egypt, God warned these Jews again through Jeremiah that they should die there by the sword and famine, and "none shall return but such as shall escape" (Jeremiah 44:14). Yes, a few in this company are under divine protection. A divine mission is to be performed. They shall ESCAPE! The Lord continues: "Yet a small number that escape the sword shall return out of the land of Egypt into the land of Judah" (Jeremiah 44:28).

Baruch was Jeremiah's constant companion and secretary. It is important to note here God's promise of protection to him: "Thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel, unto thee, O Baruch . . . . Behold, that which I have built I will break down, and that which I have planted I will pluck up, even this whole land . . . but thy life will I give unto thee for a prey in all places whither thou goest" (Jeremiah 45:2-5). Baruch's life, like Jeremiah's, was under divine protection!

Jeremiah, Baruch, and the royal seed for replanting and rebuilding David's throne, all under divine protection, were to escape, and return to the land of Judah!

Then Jeremiah and his company were to journey to a strange land which they knew not (Jeremiah 15:11-14).

Now let Isaiah complete this prophecy: "For out of Jerusalem shall go forth a remnant, and they that escape out of mount Zion: the zeal of the Lord of hosts shall do this . . . . And the remnant that is escaped of the house of Judah shall AGAIN TAKE ROOT DOWNWARD, AND BEAR FRUIT UPWARD" (Isaiah 37:32, 31).

This remnant with Jeremiah -- at least one of the king's daughters -- shall take root downward! That is, BE REPLANTED!

And then bear fruit upward! Be BUILT! Has God failed in His solemn covenant to keep alive David's throne? Where was this planting and building? Can we find it in God's Word? We can! The place and the people among whom the throne was reestablished are clearly identified!
Chapter Four
The Mysterious Breach

WHERE DID JEREMIAH GO with Baruch his secretary and one or more of the royal daughters of the king? History stops short at this point. Enlightened students of Bible history have long known that the Ten Tribes called by the name "House of ISRAEL" -- have been lost in identity and historic knowledge, and exist today among the Gentile nations, unrecognized. Their identity and location God has hidden from the world.

Yet, in this end time, when knowledge is to increase, when the wise are to UNDERSTAND (Daniel 12:4, 10), we shall find the secret revealed through PROPHECY which could not be understood until now. But first, we must now consider a mysterious "breach" that occurred in the days of Judah, son of Jacob.

Judah was the father of twin sons. The firstborn was royal seed, for through him the SCEPTRE promise was to be carried down. It seems the midwife knew twins were about to be born. It is recorded that just before birth, one of the twins "put out his hand: and the midwife took and bound upon his hand a scarlet thread, saying, This came out first." But the child drew back his hand, and the other was actually born first. The midwife exclaimed, "How hast thou broken forth? This breach be upon thee [margin, wherefore hast thou made this breach against thee?]: therefore his name was called Pharez," meaning "breach." The other twin was named Zarah (Genesis 38:27-30).

WHY should this strange occurrence be recorded in Bible history unless this breach was to be healed between the sons or their descendants at some future time? Yet it never occurred in their lifetime.

Zarah, of the scarlet thread, had five sons (I Chronicles 2:6). Did a descendant of Zarah finally get the throne, in a manner healing the breach? David, Zedekiah, Christ -- all were of the PHAREZ branch -- none of Zarah.

(Now consider: 1) the fact of the breach means the transfer of the sceptre from the Pharez to the Zarah line. 2) Such transfer never occurred before King Zedekiah of Judah, who was descended from Pharez. 3) Therefore it had to occur after Zedekiah's death. 4) Since David's line (Pharez) is to remain on the throne through all generations FOREVER, it could only occur at an OVERTURN of the throne by a marriage between a Pharez heir to the throne and one of the Zarah line, thus healing the breach.
The Three Overturns

History shows the descendants of Zarah became wanderers, journeying to the north within the confines of the Scythian nations, their descendants later migrating to Ireland in the days of King David.

But meanwhile, the Pharez-David-Zedekiah line possessed the sceptre -- was HIGH -- exalted. The Zarah line, feeling it rightfully should possess the sceptre, and some day would, was low, abased-so far as royal power was concerned.

Now consider a much misunderstood passage of prophecy: If you will begin reading at the 18th verse of the 21st chapter of Ezekiel, you will see plainly that the Eternal is here speaking of the captivity of Judah by the king of Babylon. And, beginning with the 25th verse, He says: "And thou, profane wicked prince of Israel [Zedekiah], whose day is come, when iniquity shall have an end, thus saith the Lord God; remove the diadem, and take off the crown [as did happen, through the first half of Jeremiah's commission]: this [the crown] 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 him" (verses 25-27).

Let us understand that clearly. "Remove the diadem, and take off the crown." King Zedekiah, of David's dynasty, had the crown. This says it is to be removed. IT WAS REMOVED. He died in Babylon; his sons and all the nobles of Judah were killed.

"This shall not be the same." The diadem is not to cease, but a change is to take place-the throne is to be overturned- another is to wear the crown. God's promise to David is not to go by default!

"Exalt him that is low, and abase him that is high." Who is "high"? King Zedekiah of Judah. Now he is to be abased. He is to lose that crown. Judah has been "high," while Israel has been "low" -- these many years without a king (Hosea 3:4). The Pharez line has been "high"; the Zarah line "low."

"I will overturn, overturn, overturn, it: and it shall be no more, until he come whose right it is." What was to be overturned? The diadem, and the throne. Not once -- it is to be OVERTURNED three times. Overturned by abasing Zedekiah, the house of Judah, the Pharez line, and exalting, now, the house of Israel, and one of the Zarah line! The first of the three overturns was performed as the first half of Jeremiah's commission.

"And it shall be no more." Does this mean the throne -- the crown -- is to cease to exist? Not at all! How could it be overturned two more times -- that is, TRANSFERRED from one to another, if it ceased to exist? How, after these three transfers of the crown, could it be given to Him -- Christ -- whose right it is, at His second coming, if it ceased altogether to exist? How could he who was "low" now be exalted by the crown, if that crown was to be no more? No, the meaning is: "It shall be no more overturned until the second coming of Christ!" And then it shall be given to Him!

God will not break his unalterable promise made to David! Through every generation David shall have a descendant wearing that crown! The second half of Jeremiah's commission must now be performed. That throne must be transPLANTED, and again BUILT. The crown must be overturned -- transferred to another!

But WHERE? To WHOM?
A "Riddle" and a "Parable" Tells!

The strange truth of the PLANTING and the REBUILDING of David's throne is revealed in a "riddle and a parable," couched in symbolic language never understood until this latter day. Yet it stands today so clearly explained a little child could understand!

It fills the 17th chapter of Ezekiel's prophecy. The whole chapter should be carefully read. Notice, first, this prophetic message is addressed, NOT to Judah, the Jews, but to the house of ISRAEL. It is a message to give light to the lost ten-tribed house of ISRAEL in these latter days!

First, Ezekiel is told to speak a riddle, and then a parable. The riddle is found in verses 3 to 10. Then, beginning in verse 11, the Eternal explains its meaning. "Say now to the rebellious house [God says, the "rebellious house" being ten-tribed ISRAEL (Ezekiel 12:9), to whom Ezekiel is set a prophet (Ezekiel 2:3; 3:1, etc.)], Know ye not what these things mean? tell them . . . ." And then the riddle is clearly explained.

A great eagle came to Lebanon and took the highest branch of the cedar. This is explained to represent King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon who came to Jerusalem and took captive the king of Judah. The cropping off of the cedar's young twigs and carrying them to a land of traffic is explained to picture the captivity of the king's sons. "He took also of the seed of the land" means Nebuchadnezzar took also of the people, and the mighty of the land of Judah. He "set it as a willow tree. And it grew, and became a spreading vine of low stature" means the Jews were given a covenant whereby, although they were ruled over by the Chaldeans, they might live in peace and grow. The other "great eagle" is explained to represent Pharaoh of Egypt.

Thus, the riddle covers the first half of Jeremiah's commission. Now notice what is revealed concerning the second part -- the PLANTING of David's throne! It comes in the parable, verses 22-24. "Thus saith the Lord God; I will also take of the highest branch of the high cedar." From God's own explanation we have learned that the cedar tree represents the nation of Judah; its highest branch is Judah's king. The riddle told us Nebuchadnezzar took the highest branch-the king. The parable now tells us God -- not Nebuchadnezzar, but God -- will take of the highest branch. Not the branch, but OF the branch -- of Zedekiah's children. But Nebuchadnezzar took, and killed, all his SONS.

God, through his prophet Jeremiah, is now going to take OF this highest branch and "SET IT" (verse 22). "I will crop off from the top of his young twigs a tender one, and will plant it upon a high mountain and eminent," continues the Almighty! Ah! "A tender young twig!" The twigs of this highest branch represent the children of King Zedekiah! Certainly a tender young twig, then, represents a DAUGHTER! . . . and will PLANT it. Could symbolic language say plainer this young Jewish princess is to become the royal seed for the PLANTING again of David's throne? Where? " . . . upon a high mountain and eminent," says the Eternal! A "mountain" in symbol always represents a NATION.
But Which Nation?

"In the mountain of the height of ISRAEL will I plant it," answers the Eternal! David's throne now is to be planted in ISRAEL, after being thrown down from JUDAH! Could language be PLAINER? " . . . and it [the tender young twig -- the king's daughter] shall bring forth boughs, and bear fruit, and be a goodly cedar."

Did David's throne cease with Zedekiah of Judah? Did God forget His covenant? NO! Compare this language with the passage in Isaiah 37:31-32: "The remnant that is escaped of the house of Judah shall again take root downward [be planted], and BEAR FRUIT UPWARD. It was PLANTED in ISRAEL, who removed from Judah! After this Hebrew princess is "planted" on the throne, now in ISRAEL, lost from view -- that throne is to BEAR FRUIT. She is to marry, have children, and her sons are to continue David's dynasty!

" . . . and under it shall dwell all fowl of every wing; in the shadow of the branches thereof shall they dwell" (Ezekiel 17:23). "Lost" Israel, now having acquired the throne and become again a self-ruling nation, shall, in time, spread around the earth gaining dominance and power. They shall inherit the unconditional promises of the BIRTHRIGHT, according to God's covenant with Abraham!

"And all the trees of the field . . . " (verse 24). A "tree" in this riddle and parable is likened to a nation. In other words, "all the nations of the earth." " . . . shall know that I the Lord have brought down the high tree." Judah, the high tree, having the throne 130 years after Israel had been taken captive, now is brought down to the low stature of slavery. " . . . have exalted the low tree." For 130 years Israel had been a "low tree." Now Israel is exalted, becomes again a thriving nation with a Davidic king. " . . . have dried up the green tree [JUDAH] and have made the dry tree [ISRAEL] to flourish."

Compare that language with Ezekiel 21:26: "Remove the diadem, and take off the crown . . . exalt him that is low, and abase him that is high. I will overturn . . . " etc. It is speaking of transferring the throne from Judah to Israel.

Israel had already been independent in Ireland for four centuries. Israel in Ireland already had a kingly line onto which Zedekiah's daughter was grafted. The Irish Israelites were an ancient colony and had not gone into Assyrian captivity.

ISRAEL, headed by the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh, who possessed the BIRTHRIGHT, now would flourish, become prosperous in due time. "I the Lord have spoken and have done it" (Ezekiel 17:24). Yes, that BIRTHRIGHT is in ISRAEL. Though lost, though supposed to be a Gentile nation, they are the people who were to grow into the promised multitude -- the great nation and the company of nations, possessing the gates of their enemy nations, becoming a colonizing people spreading around the world, being blessed with national resources and wealth. And, when they become thus powerful and nationally dominant, remember, David's throne will be found transplanted among them!

But WHERE did Jeremiah, with his royal seed for the transplanting, go to find the lost house of Israel? WHERE are they today? How was the "breach" healed, and how did a son of Zarah ascend to the throne? Can we tell?

We CAN! The exact, precise location is revealed in Bible prophecy! We can pick up Jeremiah's trail in actual history, besides!
Chapter Five
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 it is necessary to 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 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 the house of JUDAH, but refers to 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, and while that land was lying idle and in possession of 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 far away strange land now to become their own. And, NOTE IT! -- after reaching this place, they are to move no 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." And "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" (Psalm 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" (Jeremiah 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) in 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, 19).

Again: "Behold, l will bring them from the north country, and gather them from the coasts of the earth" (Jeremiah 31:8). This prophecy is for consideration in the "latter days" (Jeremiah 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" (Isaiah 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 3rd verse. This term "isles" or "islands" 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 . . . " (Jeremiah 31:9- 10).

Again: "Keep silence before me, O islands . . . thou, Israel, art my servant Jacob whom I have chosen" (Isaiah 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!
Chapter Six
The "Serpent's Trail"

OF PROOF THAT OUR WHITE, English-speaking peoples of 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 of that proof in this booklet.

A most interesting fact is the Hebrew meaning of the names of the British people.
Britain's Hebrew Names

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, "BRITISH." 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 the seed be called," and this name is repeated in Romans 9:7 and Hebrews 11:18. In Amos 7:16 they 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, Yale University, says, "The word Saxons' is derived from sons of Isaac,' by dropping the prefix I'."
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 and better 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 Daniel.

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 Kirjathjearim, 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" (Deuteronomy 33:22). And David declared of Dan, "He breaketh [driveth] the ships of Tarshish with an east wind." An east wind travels west. 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 Daniel" 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, Dundalk, Dun-drum, Don-egal Bay, Don-egal City, Dun-glow, Dingle, 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, Dnister, 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 Danez, 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 and 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 the 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. Until recently, a sign beside it labeled it "Jacob's pillar-stone" (Genesis 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 has 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 plantedin 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). God's word still stands! Almighty God has kept all His promises!

King George of the British Commonwealth, the king who ruled before Queen Elizabeth II, possessed a chart showing his ancestry, every generation, back to Herremon and Tephi, to Zedekiah, on back to David. and through the scriptural genealogy clear to Adam! The writer has a copy of this chart, and also his own genealogy for each generation back into the line of ancient British kings, and therefore has the complete record of his genealogy through the house of David clear to Adam -- believe it or not!

Very soon, I will post this exact genealogical chart - I have a copy in my possession and have now found a way to post it online using some nifty software. Can't wait to share it!