THE U.S. IN BIBLE PROPHECY
Can We Read About the United States and Great Britain in Bible Prophecy?
Was the prosperity which the USA &
Great Britain have enjoyed, prophesied in the Old Testament? Many
British-Israelites have thought so. Moreover, this movement has had
some effect on those who celebrate Jesus as their saviour. Certainly
the movement is now in great decline, and yet, a number of people in
various sects continue to embrace it. The reasoning is that the great
blessings promised to Abraham, and to his children, could only have
been fulfilled through the British people, and those closely
associated with them. But is this really true?
During this
study let us take a close look at those Old Testament Scriptures
which - it is claimed - foretold the great rise to prominence of the
Anglo-Saxon peoples.
We need to start off in Genesis 12, at
the original calling of Abraham; "Get out of your country, from
your kindred and from your Father's house, to a land that I will show
you. I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your
name great; and you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless
you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families
of the earth will be blessed" (Gen 12: 1-3)
We should
immediately notice two things here;
a. The name of Abraham himself
is to be made great. (Vs 2), and,
b. All the families of the earth
will be blessed because of the work that God will do. In fairness, it
should be said that many (but not all) British-Israelites did admit
that this part of the promises referred to Christ (Vs 3.)
In
fact,there is no need even for a moments hesitation in asserting that
this is a reference to Christ since Acts 3: 19-25, especially verse
25, points this out quite clearly!
The promises to Abraham
are enlarged somewhat in Genesis 17: 1-8.
The promise of 'kings'
coming from Abraham is stated (Vs6) and Canaan is promised as an
'everlasting possession' (Vs 8.)
It soon becomes evident that
Isaac, the son of promise, is somehow involved in these promises. His
birth occurred, of course, as the result of a miracle. Again, the
promises are mentioned in Genesis 22. Because Abraham has
demonstrated his faithfulness - even to the point of being prepared
to take his own son's life, should God have required it - the
promises are now confirmed;
"In blessing I will bless
you; and in multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars
of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your
descendants shall possess the gates of their enemies. In your seed
all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have
obeyed my voice" (Vs 17-18)
Genesis 24: 60 makes it
plain that these promises would be passed on through Rebekah. When
she is later pregnant with her twin boys, she has an intriguing
experience and receives a revelation from thr Lord to explain it, but
we shall return to that later for we need to press on in tracing the
Abrahamic promises!
Now we find the promises passed on down
to Jacob. (It might initially seem, only as the result of trickery
but, in fact, there was a valid reason for the deception and the
Lord's will was certainly being done). Here is Jacob's
blessing;
"Surely, the smell of my son is like the smell
of the field which the Lord has blessed. Therefore may God give you
the dew of heaven, of the fulness of the earth, and plenty of grain
and wine. Let peoples serve you, and nations bow down to you. Be
master over your brethren, and let your mother's sons bow down to
you. Cursed be everyone who curses you, and blessed be those who
bless you" (Gen 27: 27-29)
We also may note an
interesting antithesis in that Esau, Jacob's twin brother,
necessarily receives an inferior blessing (Vs 39-40). Again, we must
return to give some further consideration to this later.
Isaac
repeats the substance of the blessings to Jacob in Gen 28: 3-4.
Finally, God appears to Jacob again in Gen 35: 9-13;
"Also
God said to him, 'I am God Almighty. Be fruitful and multiply; a
nation and a company of nations shall proceed from you, and kings
shall come from your body. The land which I gave Abraham and Isaac I
give to you; and to your descendants after you..." (Vs 11-12.)
Here then we see the lineage of the Abrahamic blessings,
culminating in Jacob. We should also note carefully that when the
promises are confirmed to Jacob by God Himself in Gen 35, Jacob's
name is now changed to Israel! (Gen 35: 10). We should, therefore,
reasonably expect to see some fulfillment of these promises in
Israel! This, after all, is simply what the inspired text would lead
us to expect. Too many times the biblically naive have presumptuously
imposed their own schemas and concepts upon these sacred Scriptures!
It has been stated by some that it is a simple fact of
history that these promises were never fulfilled in Israel - but is
that really so? We shall see.
Let us start to go a little
deeper;
It is too often not noticed that these promises strongly
echo the original blessing which God gave to Man. In the first
chapter of Genesis we already have this;
"God blessed
them and said to them, 'Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and
subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of
the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth"
(Gen 1: 28)
This is repeated, following the flood, in Gen 9:
1, 7.
The Abrahamic promises are plainly telling us that God's
greatest blessings on mankind would be fulfilled through the line of
Jacob - but not that no others would receive some blessings. But
certainly, the greatest blesings would come to mankind through that
line. But what one can never say is, 'that nation or people is highly
prosperous so they must somehow be included in the promises of Jacob'
- in fact, this is plainly flawed logic!
The great mistake
which many make is to look at the Jews and expect to see the entirety
of the blessings fulfilled in them. Indeed, up to this point one can
agree with the British-Israelites! But now we must sharply deviate
from their approach in the interests of biblical integrity. For while
we can agree that these promises were not entirely fulfilled among
physical Israelites (though they were to a degree), we should be able
to perceive that they have indeed been fulfilled among spiritual
Israelites - the Church!
Let us start with the concept
of 'a nation and a company of nations';
It is too easily fogotten
that Israel were considered a company of nations; each tribe being a
separate nation in its own right. Matthew Henry is one of several
Bible expositors who have pointed this out. It is also overloked by
some, just how wealthy and powerful Israel became during the reigns
of its various kings, including Solomon! This was indeed a 'promised
land', a land 'flowing with milk and honey' In purely physical terms
(we must soon consider the spiritual!) one does not need to look
elsewhere for a fulfillment of the patriarchal promises. Again, kings
did indeed come from Abraham - many of them! The noblest surely
David, the most prosperous probably Solomon. The land of Canaan did
indeed come to belong to the people of Jacob and many of them
returned to it in the 20th century having been dispossessed by the
various captivities. Without doubt the Jews have also proven an
exceptionally fertile people (which they showed even during their
captivity in Egypt!) The tribes of Jacob have spread around the earth
and normally enjoyed great success, arousing the jealousy of many! In
business they have mostly been industrious and prosperous, frequently
heading banking and business empires. Can any seriously argue with
this?
Yet even many British-Israelites admitted that 'in your
seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed' is a plain
reference to Christ (which it is, as we have already noted). But
their great problem has been in failing to perceive that whatever
might not have been entirely fulfilled in physical Israel certainly
has been fulfilled in spiritual Israel. Sometimes it is the
dispensationalist teachings of JN Darby which have been to blame for
this (Darby insisted on maintaining a sharp biblical dichotomy
between Israel and the Church). An even more serious problem,
perhaps, has been the imposition of modern concepts of nationhood
upon the Scriptures. The truth is; the Bible has not concerned itself
with modern nations like the USA or Great Britain. Rather, it states
principles which can be applied to all peoples of all time. It paints
national pictures, sure, but is only interested in using the nations
and states of the periods of its various writers in doing so.
Therefore Daniel and Revelation, between them, identify such kingdoms
as Babylon, Greece, Persia & Rome quite clearly and God's final
punishment is pictured as being poured out on the final 'Babylon' -
but perhaps we are missing the point when we try to closely identify
modern nations with this 'Babylon'. The principles will apply to
whatever nation attacks God's people and attempts to prevent any
preaching of the Gospel!!
Another point is that it really is
not as easy to identify modern nations from their biblical ancestors
as some would have us believe! But we will not take the space here to
expose the so-called 'proofs' that Britain is descended from ancient
Israel, or from about a tribe and a half of it. Suffice it to say,
such 'proofs' are no proofs at all, neither do people with a
particular axe to grind tell you about all the contrary evidence
which is available!
It is now time to illustrate to the
reader what is clearly revealed about the Church by the patriarchal
promises.
Now, Abraham is clearly a type of God the
Father, Isaac is a type of Christ (hence the symbolism when Abraham
was asked to sacrifice his son, also his birth as the result of a
miracle). Isaac's wife Rebekah, in like fashion, is obviously a
symbol of the Church. (Christ is to marry His Church). Then, as Paul
makes clear, Hagar is symbolic of the Old Covenant and Sarah of the
New Covenant. These two Covenants cannot co-exist since one replaces
the other, therefore the enmity between the two women. Moreover
Abraham dismisses the Old 'woman' in order to bring in the New
'woman'. (Hebrews 8: 13 says that the Old Covenant is now obsolete).
Perhaps we are moving a little fast for the reader here, if
so, the reader is advised to look up such Scriptures as Galatians 4:
21-31, Romans 9 & Hebrews 11: 17-19. Romans 9, especially verse
13, also makes clear that Jacob, being renamed 'Israel', was typical
- not only of the Jews - but of the Church too. Jacob can be seen as
the type of every Christian, and Esau the type of every unbeliever!
Again, hence the discord between the two.
Let us now return
for a moment to the passing on of the patriarchal blessings to
Rebekah. It might seem strange to some that the blessing is passed
from Abraham to Rebekah and then on to Jacob, omitting Isaac. But the
answer is surely in our recognition that, as a type of Christ, Isaac
did not need the blessings to be passed on to him since he was the
source of them anyway!
Let us now return to the event during
Rebekah's pregnancy. Gen 25: 22 shows how the twin boys 'struggled'
within her womb. Why was this event recorded? Of course, fast growing
twin boys within their mother's womb might indeed struggle, but there
is obviously more to this;
"And the Lord said to her,
'Two nations are in your womb, two peoples shall be separated from
your body; one people shall be stronger than the other, and the older
shall serve the younger" (Vs 23)
When Isaac later passes
on Esau's 'blessing' we learn a little more;
"By your
sword you shall live, and you shall serve your brother; and it shall
come to pass, when you become restless, that you shall break his yoke
from your neck" (Gen 27: 40)
This proved to be the case.
David brought the Edomites (descended from Esau) into subjection for
many years until they revolted (2 Chronicles 21: 8). However the
statement that Esau's descendants would 'live by the sword' needs to
be seen in the light of the larger picture which shows Esau to be a
type of the unbeliever. Esau and Jacob ultimately 'strived' because
the one was symbolic of the unbeliever and the other (Jacob) symbolic
of the believer! Hence when talking about Election, God can say,
'Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated' (Roms 9: 13). In like
manner, in our day, it could be said that Esau and Jacob still
"strive". As Paul pointed out, it is not possible for
unbelievers to understand the mind of a believer in the Christ,
whereas those believers have little trouble understanding sinners!
Of course, in Gen 25, the text says of Rebekah's twins that one
would be stronger than the other, and that the older (Esau) would
serve the younger. While this indeed proved to be the case at the
time of David, it is also true that - eventually, within God's plan -
the Church does survive, but unbelievers will perish! So here too
there may be an application.
But let us now return to the
matter of Jacob's trickery and connivance with his mother in
obtaining the birthright - was that really fitting imagery for the
man who would be a type of every Christian? Many have pondered over
this. Why did God allow Esau the infidel to be born first? The answer
has to do with God's Election and free choice in that! The man who
was to be typical of the Christian could not bear any indications of
'achieving' or 'earning' on merit! Why? Because we are
justified by faith alone before God, works having no merit. Jacob was
not the 'firstborn' to whom certain rights and privileges were owed.
This demonstrates for us that we can never earn acceptance with God.
This was why God allowed the apparent deception to go
ahead;
"...Rebekah also has conceived by one man, even by
our father, Isaac (for the children not yet being born, not having
done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election
might stand, not of works but of Him who calls) it was said to her,
'The older shall serve the younger' - as it is written, Jacob I have
loved, but Esau I have hated" (Roms 9: 10-13.)
So Jacob,
like the Christian, was to be a child of grace. Of course, this is
not literally saying that God hated Esau as an individual - this
refers to his representation as the unbeliever!
So how may
the patriarchal promises said to be fulfilled in the Church and in
Christians?
Well, we are to be 'as the sand upon the seashore'.
Even though this is colourful and poetic language, it is hard to
escape the conclusion that this goes beyond what the 12 tribes have
achieved. It is hard not to think of Revelation 7: 9 here with its
description of the Church as,
'A great multitude which no one
could number'
Indeed, 'a nation and a company of nations' also
suggests a great number. Eventually we inherit, as physical
Israelites, the land of Canaan and, as spiritual Israelites, the
whole earth! Even the promise of 'kings' might well be applicable for
Christians since Revelation 5: 10 describes us as 'kings and
priests'!
Genesis 12: 3 says,
"I will bless those who
bless you, and I will curse him who curses you"
Surely
it is difficult not to think of Matthew 16: 19 here;
"And
I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you
bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on
earth will be loosed in heaven"
We know that this
refers to the Church - is there not a strong similarity? As a people,
we represent Christ who is a stumblingblock to many. We have -
according to this - the keys to the very gates of heaven in our
possession! Some who might strive to attain Eternal Life could be
very vexed that it is we who hold the keys!! In this connection we
also need to consider what Genesis 24: 60 says about Rebekah (again,
she was a clear type of the Church).
"Our sister, may
you become the mother of thousands of ten thousands; and may your
descendants possess the gates of those who hate them"
Okay,
I am speculating a little now, but could that just be a reference to
the gates of heaven? Of course, British-Israelitism would see this
differently; the ardent British-Israelite and founder of the WCG
cult, Herbert W. Armstrong, had little doubt that these gates were
places like the Suez Canal and Straits of Gibraltar which came into
the possession of the British. And this is one of the great problems
with this movement; in trying to find purely national fulfillments of
such prophecies, these people have blinded themselves to the truly
wonderful spiritual fulfillments! Moreover, Genesis 27:28's reference
to the luxuriant dwelling places of Jacob, as being in 'the fatness
of the earth' with 'plenty of grain and wine' can certainly be
compared to the prophecies in books like Isaiah and Micah which
describe the spiritual joys of the revelation of Christ and the
Church as well as the New Heavens and New Earth to come in very
similar language. (Premillenialists would apply much of this to the
millenium).
So we can see that the divine promises to the
patriarchs, culminating in the divine instruction that Jacob should
henceforth become known as 'Israel' have indeed been fulfilled, and
are continuing to be fulfilled in Israel - both on a national level,
but more so on the level of spiritual Israel! Again, putting all of
the Scriptures together, this is what we would be led to believe, and
expect, and look for. We are not disappointed! We need look no
further.
Let us now look again at a point raised earlier in
this study; In the original exposition of these promises in Genesis
12: 1-3, two of the promises seem pretty specific;
1. That
through the fulfilment of these promises Abraham's name would be made
'great'.
2. That through them, 'all the families of the earth
shall be blessed'.
Now one could, we suppose, argue a long
time about what a 'Nation and company of nations' could be said to
comprise, but surely here are two points which should - in our day -
be clear to all! In opposition to the claims of British-Israelitism
we must now ask the following;
Has the great power and prosperity
which has come to nations like the USA & Great Britain during the
last 200 or so years, been associated with the name of Abraham? Has
that great patriarchs name been made 'great' because of the
power of these nations?
Secondly, can it really be concluded
that 'all the families of the earth' have been blessed through the
British and Americans? Certainly our peoples have been stalwart
supporters of international charities, but surely this promise looks
beyond these factors. The true answer, of course, is that Abraham's
name has been made great through the Bible and through Judaism, but
then, and mainly, through Christianity!! On a purely national level,
Abraham is even more associated with the Jewish people than his
grandson Jacob, even though Jacob was the first to actually bear the
name of Israel! But Abraham is also justly famous for his association
with Christianity! He is known as 'The father of the faithful' among
Christians. Paul is very careful that Christians should see Abraham
as an example to them, much more so than Moses! For instance;
"That
the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus,
that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith...now
to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He does not say, 'And
to seeds' as of many, but as of one, 'And to your seed', who is
Christ. And this I say, that the law, which was four hundred and
thirty years later, cannot annul the covenant that was confirmed
before by God in Christ, that it should make the promise of no
effect. For if the inheritance is of the law, it is no longer of
promise; but God gave it to Abraham by promise" (Galatians3:
14-18.)
We see therefore that while a partial fulfillment of
these promises was enjoyed by the Jews, their true and ultimate
fulfillment can only be expected among Christians! We also see how
both Israel and the Church (Spiritual Israel) are stamped with the
name of Abraham. It should also be clear to all that 'all the
families of the earth' are only blessed through Christ and the
message of salvation, as the Scriptures clearly show; (John 3: 16-17,
Luke 16: 16, Revelation 7: 9-10 etc.)
So does this study
conclude that there are no connections - race wise - between ancient
Israel and the Anglo-Saxons? Not necessarily, but we do conclude that
it is largely irrelevant! But let us be clear that so-called 'proofs'
that British-Israelites have produced to back up their arguments were
never really 'proofs' at all, but - at best - evidences; but often
'evidence' highly reliant on folk-lore and legend and refusing to
consider counter-evidence!
Let us take joy in the wonderful
revelation of Israel - both physical and spiritual - which is
confirmed in our day by what we witness all around
us.
Museltof
1995, 2001.
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MY
CHRISTIAN WORLD
MUSELTOF
COUNTERCULT AND APOLOGETICS