Anglo-Israel Belief: The Bible and secular history
OUR BELIEFS
Anglo-Israel Alliance
George Orwell, in his novel “1984” wrote, “He who controls the past, controls the future.” There is no question that our historic memory of past events shapes our expectations concerning the future. Perhaps this explains best why there are so many dozens of websites purporting to refute the Anglo-Israel, or British-Israel, belief. This should be no surprise, because our teaching totally conflicts with, and upends, their historic denominational theological platforms. Yet when carefully examined, their arguments against the separate destinies of the Two Houses of Israel are an empty mixture of confusion and error, as we will explain more fully in coming months on our “Answering Critics” page.
Our critics may insist on being disagreeable, but current demographics are ultimately proving us correct concerning the historic fulfillment of the Two Houses of Israel. A recent article in the Wall Street Journal reported, “Before 1970, only 13% of married American Jews were married to non-Jews. By the turn of the 21st century, that figure was 47%, according to the National Jewish Population Survey. As a result, interfaith couples and families have had a growing presence…” (4-15-11, A11) Over a decade later, other surveys are suggesting that the number of Jewish intermarriages is now over 50% and continuing to rise significantly.
These facts raise two very significant questions. Where does the Bible speak of this Jewish intermarriage? And who does the Bible say the Jews, the modern House of Judah, were to unite or join together with through intermarriage? The answer is found in the prophet Ezekiel, who spoke of the “joining” of the “Two Sticks”—the intermarriage—of Judah and Joseph-Ephraim that would occur, he wrote, at the time of the Messiah, the son of David. This is surely a sign of the approach of the end of the present age and the dawn of the Millennial reign of the Messiah, which makes this message we teach so important for our present time.
For centuries there was relatively little intermarriage of Jews with the European nations they dwelt among. Even as recent as 1970, as confirmed by the above study, the Jews remained largely separate. Suddenly, within the past few years, Jews and European-American Caucasians are uniting through marriage as never before. Curiously, Evangelical scholars have totally ignored the Biblical implications of this—yes, totally!—and have no answer for it in their theology. In fact, the honest truth of the matter is that it contradicts and refutes their theology. You need wonder no longer as to why there are so many websites spending so much time and effort to try to refute the Anglo-Israel / British-Israel / Two-House teaching.
It is significant to note that our critics blindly ignore the prophecies and promises of Scripture that conflict with their denominational theology. Foremost among these is the end-time prophecy of Ezekiel relating to the Jewish people—the House of Judah—joining or intermarrying with their long-lost brethren of the House of Israel, known as Joseph or Ephraim, and becoming one reunited people at the dawn of Messiah’s Millennial reign. This is a wonderful and inspiring prophecy that should stimulate many sermons, but our critics do not know what to do with it.
In Ezekiel 37:15-28 we read, “Moreover, thou son of man, take thee one stick, and write upon it, For Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions: then take another stick, and write upon it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel his companions: And join them one to another into one stick; and they shall become one in thine hand. And when the children of thy people shall speak unto thee, saying, Wilt thou not shew us what thou meanest by these? Say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel his fellows, and will put them with him, even with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they shall be one in mine hand. And the sticks whereon thou writest shall be in thine hand before their eyes. And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land: And I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all: and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all: Neither shall they defile themselves any more with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions: but I will save them out of all their dwellingplaces, wherein they have sinned, and will cleanse them: so shall they be my people, and I will be their God. And David my servant shall be king over them; and they all shall have one shepherd: they shall also walk in my judgments, and observe my statutes, and do them. And they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob my servant, wherein your fathers have dwelt; and they shall dwell therein, even they, and their children, and their children's children for ever: and my servant David shall be their prince for ever. Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them: and I will place them, and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore. My tabernacle also shall be with them: yea, I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And the heathen shall know that I the LORD do sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for evermore.”
Notice several important points concerning this prophecy. Ezekiel gives at least four signs indicating that it will be fulfilled at the dawn of Messiah’s reign at the end of this age. First, he speaks of the Jews being brought into their own land, an event that only took place in 1948, not in the pre-Christian centuries during or just after the Babylonian captivity (as our critics teach). Second, “their transgressions” shall be put away and God will “cleanse them.” This speaks of their sins being washed away in the blood of the Lamb, the Messiah, through faith. We see this happening today with the recent tremendous growth of the Jewish-Christian Messianic Movement throughout the world, including in the Israeli state. Third, we read that “David my servant shall be king over them.” Even Jewish expositors have traditionally interpreted this as relating to the coming Messiah, and Christian expositors do as well. The prophecy says that “David shall be their prince for ever,” which again points to Messiah’s eternal rule. Fourth, Ezekiel tells us that God’s “tabernacle also shall be with them,” which is explained to us by the Apostle Paul in the New Testament in First Corinthians 3:16-17. It reads, “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.” The Divine Temple, or Tabernacle, will be dwelling "with" the Jewish people in the form of the infilling of the Holy Spirit through faith in the Messiah.
On our home page are listed seven main points that form the foundation of Anglo-Israel / British-Israel teaching. We also explain our mission on the “About Us” page. We invite you to read through these for a better understanding, not just of our teaching, but of the teaching of Scripture. We hope that a correct understanding of this subject will foster a renewed era of cooperation and understanding between the Two Houses of Israel, Joseph-Ephraim and Judah.