Cato
04-24-2011, 01:00 PM
British Israelism: A Mirage
by R.P. Nettelhorst
(part one of two parts)
That the ten tribes were distinct and maintained their identity after the Assyrian captivity is an old idea. It goes back to at least the second century B.C.
ANOTHER QUEST FOR THE "TEN LOST TRIBES"
The romance of the ten northern tribes of Israel, apparently lost from the pages of history, has caught the fancy of numerous speculators. The same school of thought which imagined that the wandering Israelites turned into the Afgans, the Nestorians, the Japanese or the Indians of North America has given rise to the British-Israelite theory. They propose that the Anglo-Saxons are the physical descendants of the Israelites and that Great Britain with her daughter America has inherited all the covenant blessings given to Abraham.
A great conglomeration of Biblical passages, ancient texts, philological arguments and legends are offered as proof. As this study will show, British Israelism is like a mirage: from a distance it appears solid, but when it is approached and examined it disappears like a vapor.
Supporting Evidence
What is offered in support of British Israelism? On the basis of 2 Kings 17:18, its proponents insist that when the Northern Kingdom was destroyed in 721 B.C. ALL the people of the ten tribes were taken to Assyria. Only Judah, that is the Jews, were left in Palestine. Later Judah was exiled too. When, after seventy years, she returned to rebuild the temple, ONLY the tribes of Judah, Benjamin and Levi came back. Additional proof for the disappearance of the Northern tribes is supposedly found in 2 Esdras 13 and in Josephus' Antiquities.
What became of Israel? According to Worth Smith, a British Israel writer, the ten tribes remained captive in Assyria less than one hundred years. Becoming too numerous for their captors to control, they moved out of bondage about 661 B.C. and headed north toward southeastern Europe. Originally calling themselves "the Sons of Isaac," they ultimately became known as the Saxons and later invaded England.
One of the major proponents of British Israelism today is Herbert W. Armstrong, the leader of the cultic World- wide Church of God. He claims that there are many verses in the Bible which support Worth Smith's contention that Israel would move north to occupy a new promised land. According to him, Amos 9:8,9 indicates Israel will be sifted among the nations; Hos. 3:4 predicts that Israel will abide many days without a king; and 2 Sam. 7:10 and 1 Chron. 17:9 foretell that Israel will dwell in a permanent place of her own.
Taking off from these four passages Armstrong argues, "Notice carefully how all these prophecies fit together! After being removed from the Holy Land, after 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 . . . they are to moue no more!" Using an amalgamation of verses, Armstrong then tries to prove that the "faraway strange land" is England, and that "our white, English- speaking peoples today—Britain and America—are actually and truly the Birthright tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh of the 'lost' House of Israel. . . ."
Proof is supposedly offered by Gen. 17:4 which indicates Abraham was to be the father of many nations (obviously Britain and America) and by Gen. 28:14 which records his seed was to spread in all directions. British Israelites go on to declare that the promises to Abraham were twofold:
• First, there were the kingly and spiritual promises, consisting of the promised royal line and the promised Messiah. These are called the "scepter" promises; they went to Judah (Gen. 49:10). These promises which culminated in Christ are acquired by grace.
• Second, there were the material and national promises consisting of wealth, prosperity and power which are called the "birthright" promises. Birthright "has to do with RACE, not grace," according to Armstrong; it is acquired simply by being born. The right of the firstborn was never given to Judah (the Jews)—it was given to Joseph (1 Chron. 5:2)—therefore, according to the British-Israelite position, Judah was to receive none of the material promises. Joseph — who became Britain and America — received them all.
Other Biblical promises and blessings: Verses are presented which are intended to show the "obvious" parallels between Israel's promises and the blessings now upon the Anglo-Saxon peoples. Based on Gen. 22:17, British Israelites see that the descendants of Abraham clearly must possess the gate of their enemies. What is a gate? Armstrong explains that it 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, or the Strait of Gibraltar." To British Israelites, Gen. 28:13,14 indicates Israel will spread worldwide; Gen. 26:1-5 promises Israel "all these countries"; Micah 4:7 predicts Israel will become a powerful nation; Isaiah 24:15 foretells Israel will be an island or coast people; and Hosea 2:6 states that Israel will be blind to their origins. Therefore, to what could all these Scriptures refer but Britain and America?
Extra-Biblical materials are used by British Israelism to help shore up the contention that Britain is Israel.
• Philological "evidence" is offered: according to British- Israel adherents, the word British is derived from the Hebrew words Brit, covenant, and ish, man. Thus the word British means covenant man. In a similar way, the word Saxon is shown to have a hidden significance. Armstrong writes, "The name 'Isaac' is the English form of the Hebrew word more exactly transliterated Yishaq. How . . . [easy] for the . . . unstable, semi- vowel 'y' to drop, leaving Shaq or Saac. ... Is it only coincidence that 'Saxon' sounds the same as 'Saac's sons' -- sons of Isaac?"
• Tea Tephi: Another interesting "substantiation" of British Israelism is the legendary Tea-Tephi of Ireland, who is supposed to be the daughter of the last king of Judah. Jeremiah was responsible for getting her to Ireland, where she ultimately became the ancestor of the British Royal family.
• The coronation stone of England, the legendary Stone of Scone, is purported to be the stone Jacob used as his pillow. It was supposedly brought to Ireland by Jeremiah and is equated with the Lia Faif of Irish myth. Edward Hine explains that, "Tephi, herself, who became the Queen . . . was crowned upon it; so were all the monarchs to Fergus the First of Scotland, who had the stone taken there, and so were all the monarchs from Fergus to James the First, and from James the First to Victoria. ..."
The Origin of British Israelism
Tradition: That the ten tribes were distinct and maintained their identity after the Assyrian captivity is an old idea. It goes back to at least the second century B.C., the date of composition given to an apocryphal book called Tobit. The story in this book centers around Tobit, a member of the tribe of Naphtali, "who in the days of Shalmaneser, king of the Assyrians, was taken into captivity from Thisbe. ..." The action of the drama takes place primarily in Nineveh.
In the pseudepigraphal 2 Baruch, a composite work produced in the latter half of the first century A.D., the author claims to be Baruch, the secretary of Jeremiah (cf. Jer. 36:4). In 2 Baruch 78:1 the author begins a letter "to the nine and a half tribes, which were across the river Euphrates. ..."
In the apocryphal work 2 Esdras, composed toward the end of the first century A.D., there is mention of the ten tribes in 13:39-45: "These are the ten tribes which were led away from their own land into captivity in the days of King Hoshea, whom Shalmaneser the king of the Assyrians led captive; he took them across the river, and they were taken into another land. But they formed this plan . . . that they would ... go to a more distant region, where mankind had never lived . . . [to] Azareth." According to A. Cohen, it was generally believed by the rabbis of the Talmud that the ten tribes would come back and be united with the rest of Israel, usually through the work of the Messiah. There were a few rabbis, though —for example Tosifta (in Sanhedrin XIII. 12)—who stated that "The ten tribes will have no share in the World to Come." According to Jacob Meyers, writing in the Anchor Bible, 2 Esdras 13:45 evidenced the attitude of the Jewish people at the time of its composition, that the ten tribes were in a remote place, since for many years there had been no contact with them. The Mishna, in Sanhedrin 10:3, also expressed this idea.
Rabbi Louis Isaac Rabinowitz mentions the interesting old legend (also in the Talmud and in Ginzberg's series, the Legends of the Jews, Vol. 4) of why the ten tribes were unable to rejoin their fellow Israelites: they were exiled beyond the river Sambatyon. During the six days of the week the water was rough and impassable. On the Sabbath, the water was quiet, but the laws of the Sabbath made it impossible for Israel to cross then.
Josephus (first century A.D.) also mentions the ten tribes in his Antiquities: "Wherefore there are but two tribes in Asia and Europe subject to the Romans, while the ten tribes are beyond the Euphrates till now, and are an immense multitude, and not to be estimated by numbers" (XI, V, 2), Jerome, writing in the fifth century A.D., believed the ten tribes were still in the land of their captivity.
Why England? It is clear, therefore, that the belief in ten lost tribes has a long tradition behind it. Since the Middle Ages many works have been written "locating" the lost tribes among various peoples. But where exactly did the theory that the lost tribes are in England originate? Anton Damns writes that British Israelism can be traced back to a Protestant apologist, Dr. Abadie of Amsterdam who, in 1723, is quoted as stating: "Unless the ten tribes have flown into the air or have been plunged into the center of the earth, they must be sought for in the north and west, and in the British Isles."
Founders of the movement: Generally though, the British-Israel theory itself is traced back to Richard Brothers, born in 1757. Brothers was a lieutenant in the British navy for awhile, but quit the service in 1789. Because he refused to accept his half-pay on account of religious scruples, he found he was forever short of money; ultimately he was forced to labor in a workhouse.
In 1790 Brothers says he received his first call from God. On May 12, 1792, he sent letters to the King of England, the ministers of state, and the Speaker of the House of Commons. In these letters he warned them that on May 17 he would declare the imminent fulfillment of Daniel 7. Sometime later Brothers proclaimed that the king would die and that the crown would be given to him, "the nephew of the Almighty, and prince of the Hebrews, appointed to lead them to the land of Canaan."
Soon after predicting the king's death he was committed to Newgate, where he claimed to have received poor treatment. He did not remain there long, and the experience did not seem to hurt his career. He wrote fifteen books, most arguing for an Israelite ancestry for the English, including A Correct Account of the Invasion and Conquest of This Island by the Saxons. Because he made a series of political predictions, some of which came true, he was able to attract numerous followers. These he talked into selling their property so they could accompany him to his New Jerusalem, which he planned to build on both sides of the Jordan River beginning in 1795. Though his followers included mainly the poor and ignorant, he did attract a few educated and respectable people, such as Nathanial Brassey Halhed, the orientalist; a member of Parliament from Lymington; and Sharp, an engraver.
Things did not continue to go well for Brothers, for by order of the government he was finally committed to Bedlam as a dangerous lunatic. Released in 1806, he lived for nearly two more decades, but when he died in 1824 his New Jerusalem was still unbuilt.
In 1840, following the path blazed by Brothers, John Wilson of England published Lectures on Our Israehtish Origin. Apparently fairly popular, the book went through several editions, the fifth being issued in 1876.
Five years before Wilson's fifth edition appeared, Edward Hine published his Identity of the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel With the Anglo-Celto-Saxons, in which he expounded the basic tenets of British Israelism. Hine's book was very successful, selling more than 250,000 copies. Like Brothers, he occasionally got carried away with his own importance. While he was editor of a magazine called The Banner of Israel, a peculiar statement appeared on its pages: the reference in Isa. 60 which indicates a deliverer would come out of Zion to bring the glory of the Lord to Israel was applied to Hine himself—a rather strange exegesis of the Scripture, to say the least.
Its Modern Proponents
Today there are many groups and individuals promoting British Israelism.
• One of the foremost proponents is Herbert W. Armstrong and his Worldwide Church of God. Armstrong's presentation is different from that of most teachers of the doctrine, as he is the head of a cult, and British Israelism is simply one part of his mixed-up theology. Therefore, some other peculiar doctrines are added to the standard British-Israel message. Armstrong's teachings are propagated through the Plain Truth magazine and on The World Tomorrow broadcast. His book, The United States and British Commonwealth in Prophecy contains the major elements of British Israelism as preached by Armstrong.
• Bertrand Comparet, a British Israelite who lives in San Diego, has a radio program and has written some literature on the subject of British Israelism.
• Howard Rand, head of Destiny Publishers, a firm that specializes in printing literature dealing with British Israelism, has written some literature on the subject.
British Israelism is not a sect nor is it a cult in the normal sense of the term. The movement is interdenominational and normally does not try to persuade its members to abandon other beliefs. The movement is loosely organized, being divided into widely scattered groups, therefore there is generally little control over the members. According to John Wilson, British Israelism is "an appendage to orthodoxy, existing on the periphery of what is normally believed. , . ." Not too surprisingly, therefore, British Israelites will often remain members of orthodox churches.
An examination of British Israelism and its dangerous errors will be made in the next issue.
REFERENCES
Pro-British Israel Sources
Armstrong, Herbert W., The United States and British Commonwealth in Prophecy. Pasadena: Ambassador College Press, 1972 pp.125-35; 1975, pp. 20-24, 37-39.
Hine, Edward. Identity of the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel With the Anglo-Celto-Saxons (abridged). New York: Maranatha Publ., nd pp 15; 44-45.
————. England's Coming Glories. New York: James Huggins, publ. 1880, p. 203.
Houghton, Henry D. The New World Coming. Toronto: Commonwealth Publ,, Ltd., 1941, pp. 106-10.
Smith, Worth. The House of Glory. New York: Wise & Co 1939 pp. 70-72.
Anti-British Israel Sources
Darms, Anton. The Delusion of British Israelism: A Comprehensive Treatise. New York: Our Hope, n.d., pp. 15, 16; 157,58.
Kellogg, Howard W. British-Israel Identity. Los Angeles: American Prophetic League, n.d., pp. 9, 10, 21.
May, H.G. "The Ten Lost Tribes," Biblical Archaeologist no. 16, Sept. 1943, pp. 55-60.
McQuaid, Elwood. "Who Is a Jew? British-Israelism versus the Bible", Israel My Glory, Dec./Jan. 1977-78, p. 35.
Wilson, John. "The Relation Between Ideology and Organization in a Small Religious Group: The British Israelites," The Review of Religious Research, Fall, 1968, pp. 51-60.
General Sources
Charles, R.H., ed. The Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha of the Old Testament in English, vol. 2. 1913; rpt. London: Oxford University Press, 1963, pp. 470, 521.
Cohen, A. Everyman's Talmud. New York: E.P. Dutton, 1949 p. 354 Jacobs, Joseph. "Tribes, Lost Ten," The Jewish Encyclopedia, vol 12 New York: Funk & Wagnalls, 1916, p. 250.
Josephus, Flavius. The Complete Works: Antiquities of the Jews XI V,2. Philadelphia: John E. Potter & Co., n.d.
Keil, C.F. The Book of Kings: Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publ Co 1950 p. 421.
McClintock, John and Strong, James. Cyclopaedia of Biblical. Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature. New York- Harper & Bros 1890, p. 897.
Metzger, Bruce M., ed. The Oxford Annotated Apocrypha. New York: Oxford University Press, 1965, pp. 55, 63.
Meyers. Jacob M.,trans. 1 & 2 Esdras: The Anchor Bible. Garden City, NY: Doubleday & Co., 1974, p. 312.
Peck, H.T., ed. The International Cyclopaedia, vol 3 New York: Dodd, Mead & Co., 1894, pp. 101,2.
Rabinowitz, Louis Isaac. "Ten Lost Tribes," Encyclopaedia Judaica, vol. 15. Jerusalem: Keter Publ. Hse., 1971, p. 1006.
Thorne, J.O. Chamber's Biographical Dictionary, new ed New York: St. Martin's Press, 1961,62, p. 179.
by R.P. Nettelhorst
(part one of two parts)
That the ten tribes were distinct and maintained their identity after the Assyrian captivity is an old idea. It goes back to at least the second century B.C.
ANOTHER QUEST FOR THE "TEN LOST TRIBES"
The romance of the ten northern tribes of Israel, apparently lost from the pages of history, has caught the fancy of numerous speculators. The same school of thought which imagined that the wandering Israelites turned into the Afgans, the Nestorians, the Japanese or the Indians of North America has given rise to the British-Israelite theory. They propose that the Anglo-Saxons are the physical descendants of the Israelites and that Great Britain with her daughter America has inherited all the covenant blessings given to Abraham.
A great conglomeration of Biblical passages, ancient texts, philological arguments and legends are offered as proof. As this study will show, British Israelism is like a mirage: from a distance it appears solid, but when it is approached and examined it disappears like a vapor.
Supporting Evidence
What is offered in support of British Israelism? On the basis of 2 Kings 17:18, its proponents insist that when the Northern Kingdom was destroyed in 721 B.C. ALL the people of the ten tribes were taken to Assyria. Only Judah, that is the Jews, were left in Palestine. Later Judah was exiled too. When, after seventy years, she returned to rebuild the temple, ONLY the tribes of Judah, Benjamin and Levi came back. Additional proof for the disappearance of the Northern tribes is supposedly found in 2 Esdras 13 and in Josephus' Antiquities.
What became of Israel? According to Worth Smith, a British Israel writer, the ten tribes remained captive in Assyria less than one hundred years. Becoming too numerous for their captors to control, they moved out of bondage about 661 B.C. and headed north toward southeastern Europe. Originally calling themselves "the Sons of Isaac," they ultimately became known as the Saxons and later invaded England.
One of the major proponents of British Israelism today is Herbert W. Armstrong, the leader of the cultic World- wide Church of God. He claims that there are many verses in the Bible which support Worth Smith's contention that Israel would move north to occupy a new promised land. According to him, Amos 9:8,9 indicates Israel will be sifted among the nations; Hos. 3:4 predicts that Israel will abide many days without a king; and 2 Sam. 7:10 and 1 Chron. 17:9 foretell that Israel will dwell in a permanent place of her own.
Taking off from these four passages Armstrong argues, "Notice carefully how all these prophecies fit together! After being removed from the Holy Land, after 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 . . . they are to moue no more!" Using an amalgamation of verses, Armstrong then tries to prove that the "faraway strange land" is England, and that "our white, English- speaking peoples today—Britain and America—are actually and truly the Birthright tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh of the 'lost' House of Israel. . . ."
Proof is supposedly offered by Gen. 17:4 which indicates Abraham was to be the father of many nations (obviously Britain and America) and by Gen. 28:14 which records his seed was to spread in all directions. British Israelites go on to declare that the promises to Abraham were twofold:
• First, there were the kingly and spiritual promises, consisting of the promised royal line and the promised Messiah. These are called the "scepter" promises; they went to Judah (Gen. 49:10). These promises which culminated in Christ are acquired by grace.
• Second, there were the material and national promises consisting of wealth, prosperity and power which are called the "birthright" promises. Birthright "has to do with RACE, not grace," according to Armstrong; it is acquired simply by being born. The right of the firstborn was never given to Judah (the Jews)—it was given to Joseph (1 Chron. 5:2)—therefore, according to the British-Israelite position, Judah was to receive none of the material promises. Joseph — who became Britain and America — received them all.
Other Biblical promises and blessings: Verses are presented which are intended to show the "obvious" parallels between Israel's promises and the blessings now upon the Anglo-Saxon peoples. Based on Gen. 22:17, British Israelites see that the descendants of Abraham clearly must possess the gate of their enemies. What is a gate? Armstrong explains that it 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, or the Strait of Gibraltar." To British Israelites, Gen. 28:13,14 indicates Israel will spread worldwide; Gen. 26:1-5 promises Israel "all these countries"; Micah 4:7 predicts Israel will become a powerful nation; Isaiah 24:15 foretells Israel will be an island or coast people; and Hosea 2:6 states that Israel will be blind to their origins. Therefore, to what could all these Scriptures refer but Britain and America?
Extra-Biblical materials are used by British Israelism to help shore up the contention that Britain is Israel.
• Philological "evidence" is offered: according to British- Israel adherents, the word British is derived from the Hebrew words Brit, covenant, and ish, man. Thus the word British means covenant man. In a similar way, the word Saxon is shown to have a hidden significance. Armstrong writes, "The name 'Isaac' is the English form of the Hebrew word more exactly transliterated Yishaq. How . . . [easy] for the . . . unstable, semi- vowel 'y' to drop, leaving Shaq or Saac. ... Is it only coincidence that 'Saxon' sounds the same as 'Saac's sons' -- sons of Isaac?"
• Tea Tephi: Another interesting "substantiation" of British Israelism is the legendary Tea-Tephi of Ireland, who is supposed to be the daughter of the last king of Judah. Jeremiah was responsible for getting her to Ireland, where she ultimately became the ancestor of the British Royal family.
• The coronation stone of England, the legendary Stone of Scone, is purported to be the stone Jacob used as his pillow. It was supposedly brought to Ireland by Jeremiah and is equated with the Lia Faif of Irish myth. Edward Hine explains that, "Tephi, herself, who became the Queen . . . was crowned upon it; so were all the monarchs to Fergus the First of Scotland, who had the stone taken there, and so were all the monarchs from Fergus to James the First, and from James the First to Victoria. ..."
The Origin of British Israelism
Tradition: That the ten tribes were distinct and maintained their identity after the Assyrian captivity is an old idea. It goes back to at least the second century B.C., the date of composition given to an apocryphal book called Tobit. The story in this book centers around Tobit, a member of the tribe of Naphtali, "who in the days of Shalmaneser, king of the Assyrians, was taken into captivity from Thisbe. ..." The action of the drama takes place primarily in Nineveh.
In the pseudepigraphal 2 Baruch, a composite work produced in the latter half of the first century A.D., the author claims to be Baruch, the secretary of Jeremiah (cf. Jer. 36:4). In 2 Baruch 78:1 the author begins a letter "to the nine and a half tribes, which were across the river Euphrates. ..."
In the apocryphal work 2 Esdras, composed toward the end of the first century A.D., there is mention of the ten tribes in 13:39-45: "These are the ten tribes which were led away from their own land into captivity in the days of King Hoshea, whom Shalmaneser the king of the Assyrians led captive; he took them across the river, and they were taken into another land. But they formed this plan . . . that they would ... go to a more distant region, where mankind had never lived . . . [to] Azareth." According to A. Cohen, it was generally believed by the rabbis of the Talmud that the ten tribes would come back and be united with the rest of Israel, usually through the work of the Messiah. There were a few rabbis, though —for example Tosifta (in Sanhedrin XIII. 12)—who stated that "The ten tribes will have no share in the World to Come." According to Jacob Meyers, writing in the Anchor Bible, 2 Esdras 13:45 evidenced the attitude of the Jewish people at the time of its composition, that the ten tribes were in a remote place, since for many years there had been no contact with them. The Mishna, in Sanhedrin 10:3, also expressed this idea.
Rabbi Louis Isaac Rabinowitz mentions the interesting old legend (also in the Talmud and in Ginzberg's series, the Legends of the Jews, Vol. 4) of why the ten tribes were unable to rejoin their fellow Israelites: they were exiled beyond the river Sambatyon. During the six days of the week the water was rough and impassable. On the Sabbath, the water was quiet, but the laws of the Sabbath made it impossible for Israel to cross then.
Josephus (first century A.D.) also mentions the ten tribes in his Antiquities: "Wherefore there are but two tribes in Asia and Europe subject to the Romans, while the ten tribes are beyond the Euphrates till now, and are an immense multitude, and not to be estimated by numbers" (XI, V, 2), Jerome, writing in the fifth century A.D., believed the ten tribes were still in the land of their captivity.
Why England? It is clear, therefore, that the belief in ten lost tribes has a long tradition behind it. Since the Middle Ages many works have been written "locating" the lost tribes among various peoples. But where exactly did the theory that the lost tribes are in England originate? Anton Damns writes that British Israelism can be traced back to a Protestant apologist, Dr. Abadie of Amsterdam who, in 1723, is quoted as stating: "Unless the ten tribes have flown into the air or have been plunged into the center of the earth, they must be sought for in the north and west, and in the British Isles."
Founders of the movement: Generally though, the British-Israel theory itself is traced back to Richard Brothers, born in 1757. Brothers was a lieutenant in the British navy for awhile, but quit the service in 1789. Because he refused to accept his half-pay on account of religious scruples, he found he was forever short of money; ultimately he was forced to labor in a workhouse.
In 1790 Brothers says he received his first call from God. On May 12, 1792, he sent letters to the King of England, the ministers of state, and the Speaker of the House of Commons. In these letters he warned them that on May 17 he would declare the imminent fulfillment of Daniel 7. Sometime later Brothers proclaimed that the king would die and that the crown would be given to him, "the nephew of the Almighty, and prince of the Hebrews, appointed to lead them to the land of Canaan."
Soon after predicting the king's death he was committed to Newgate, where he claimed to have received poor treatment. He did not remain there long, and the experience did not seem to hurt his career. He wrote fifteen books, most arguing for an Israelite ancestry for the English, including A Correct Account of the Invasion and Conquest of This Island by the Saxons. Because he made a series of political predictions, some of which came true, he was able to attract numerous followers. These he talked into selling their property so they could accompany him to his New Jerusalem, which he planned to build on both sides of the Jordan River beginning in 1795. Though his followers included mainly the poor and ignorant, he did attract a few educated and respectable people, such as Nathanial Brassey Halhed, the orientalist; a member of Parliament from Lymington; and Sharp, an engraver.
Things did not continue to go well for Brothers, for by order of the government he was finally committed to Bedlam as a dangerous lunatic. Released in 1806, he lived for nearly two more decades, but when he died in 1824 his New Jerusalem was still unbuilt.
In 1840, following the path blazed by Brothers, John Wilson of England published Lectures on Our Israehtish Origin. Apparently fairly popular, the book went through several editions, the fifth being issued in 1876.
Five years before Wilson's fifth edition appeared, Edward Hine published his Identity of the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel With the Anglo-Celto-Saxons, in which he expounded the basic tenets of British Israelism. Hine's book was very successful, selling more than 250,000 copies. Like Brothers, he occasionally got carried away with his own importance. While he was editor of a magazine called The Banner of Israel, a peculiar statement appeared on its pages: the reference in Isa. 60 which indicates a deliverer would come out of Zion to bring the glory of the Lord to Israel was applied to Hine himself—a rather strange exegesis of the Scripture, to say the least.
Its Modern Proponents
Today there are many groups and individuals promoting British Israelism.
• One of the foremost proponents is Herbert W. Armstrong and his Worldwide Church of God. Armstrong's presentation is different from that of most teachers of the doctrine, as he is the head of a cult, and British Israelism is simply one part of his mixed-up theology. Therefore, some other peculiar doctrines are added to the standard British-Israel message. Armstrong's teachings are propagated through the Plain Truth magazine and on The World Tomorrow broadcast. His book, The United States and British Commonwealth in Prophecy contains the major elements of British Israelism as preached by Armstrong.
• Bertrand Comparet, a British Israelite who lives in San Diego, has a radio program and has written some literature on the subject of British Israelism.
• Howard Rand, head of Destiny Publishers, a firm that specializes in printing literature dealing with British Israelism, has written some literature on the subject.
British Israelism is not a sect nor is it a cult in the normal sense of the term. The movement is interdenominational and normally does not try to persuade its members to abandon other beliefs. The movement is loosely organized, being divided into widely scattered groups, therefore there is generally little control over the members. According to John Wilson, British Israelism is "an appendage to orthodoxy, existing on the periphery of what is normally believed. , . ." Not too surprisingly, therefore, British Israelites will often remain members of orthodox churches.
An examination of British Israelism and its dangerous errors will be made in the next issue.
REFERENCES
Pro-British Israel Sources
Armstrong, Herbert W., The United States and British Commonwealth in Prophecy. Pasadena: Ambassador College Press, 1972 pp.125-35; 1975, pp. 20-24, 37-39.
Hine, Edward. Identity of the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel With the Anglo-Celto-Saxons (abridged). New York: Maranatha Publ., nd pp 15; 44-45.
————. England's Coming Glories. New York: James Huggins, publ. 1880, p. 203.
Houghton, Henry D. The New World Coming. Toronto: Commonwealth Publ,, Ltd., 1941, pp. 106-10.
Smith, Worth. The House of Glory. New York: Wise & Co 1939 pp. 70-72.
Anti-British Israel Sources
Darms, Anton. The Delusion of British Israelism: A Comprehensive Treatise. New York: Our Hope, n.d., pp. 15, 16; 157,58.
Kellogg, Howard W. British-Israel Identity. Los Angeles: American Prophetic League, n.d., pp. 9, 10, 21.
May, H.G. "The Ten Lost Tribes," Biblical Archaeologist no. 16, Sept. 1943, pp. 55-60.
McQuaid, Elwood. "Who Is a Jew? British-Israelism versus the Bible", Israel My Glory, Dec./Jan. 1977-78, p. 35.
Wilson, John. "The Relation Between Ideology and Organization in a Small Religious Group: The British Israelites," The Review of Religious Research, Fall, 1968, pp. 51-60.
General Sources
Charles, R.H., ed. The Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha of the Old Testament in English, vol. 2. 1913; rpt. London: Oxford University Press, 1963, pp. 470, 521.
Cohen, A. Everyman's Talmud. New York: E.P. Dutton, 1949 p. 354 Jacobs, Joseph. "Tribes, Lost Ten," The Jewish Encyclopedia, vol 12 New York: Funk & Wagnalls, 1916, p. 250.
Josephus, Flavius. The Complete Works: Antiquities of the Jews XI V,2. Philadelphia: John E. Potter & Co., n.d.
Keil, C.F. The Book of Kings: Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publ Co 1950 p. 421.
McClintock, John and Strong, James. Cyclopaedia of Biblical. Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature. New York- Harper & Bros 1890, p. 897.
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