by Leonard V. Johnson
I just finished putting together Minister Michael C. Garrett’s in-depth God-inspired free online booklet “God’s Promises To Abraham.” A PDF booklet, which is a transcription of his 2016 seven-part series of sermons by the same title. Well, in this personal for June 2022, I briefly want to go over our roots as Anglo-Saxon Americans and Britons.
Now, to be sure our Jewish brethren know their roots. Within God’s living word - the Holy Bible – it’s traced all the way back to Judah the 4th son of Jacob. Also, assuredly, nearly every Arab knows that they are descendants of Ishmael – a son of Abraham’s. The Turkish people, generally, know that they are descendants from Esau – born of Abraham’s son Isaac and brother to Jacob.
But where are our roots!?
And it is of interest to note that it is highly believed that the term “Saxon” is derived from the expression relating to the descendants of Isaac – or rather Isaac’s sons.
Now, my wife likes to say that she is “heinz 57” – a person that’s a born mixture of at least 2 or more different races. And in a sense, she’s correct. I’ve studied her genealogy, and her 5th great-grandfather Josephus Spruytte was born in Stadan, Belgium in 1688 – a direct descendant from Asher, a son of Jacob (whose name was later changed by God to Israel - Genesis 32:28). Her maternal side, however, becomes a little muddled.
Since the early beginnings of my research into my roots, I have made wonderful discoveries! Having believed most of my life in being of Irish descent, it was exciting to learn the revelation that I am descended from John de Johnstone of Dumfriesshire, Scotland of 1120 – my 22nd great-grandfather – a direct descendant from Benjamin, a son of Jacob (though certainly there is some ethnic intermingling).
So, with a little time and some elbow grease one can certainly discover their roots, and can come to see and know who they are and where they came from.
As I said earlier, our Jewish brethren – from the tribe of Judah – pretty well recognize who they are because of their recognition and their continued recognition of God’s holy Sabbath – the seventh day of the week; what we call Saturday. Most of our peoples in America and Britain know of it as the “Jewish Sabbath.” Unfortunately, the majority of our peoples observe Sunday – the first day of the week. And, I’ve gone over it with you in previous articles, and I’ve certainly spoken before of the Sabbath being a sign – such as in the article “’ It is a sign.’” But, as the apostle Paul says to us –
“Therefore He [our Lord Jesus Christ] says: ‘Awake you who sleep, Arise from the dead, And Christ will give you light.’” – Ephesians 5:14.
Our Roots Revealed
We read in 2nd Kings 16:6, the first instance where the name Jews is used – “At that time Rezin king of Syria recovered Elath to Syria, and drave the Jews from Elath …” – KJV. The southern kingdom had retained Jerusalem as its capital and had seceded from Israel. They were led by the tribe of JUDAH – hence they are called Jews. Now, the term “children of Israel” refers to all twelve tribes – the House of Israel and the House of Judah.
And, reading verse 5, notice that Remaliah king of Israel (one of the last kings of Israel) was at war against THE JEWS. Can you imagine that!? The Jews at war against Israel! But, doesn’t nearly everybody teach that the Jews are Israel!? Yet, the TRUTH is they are not! The Jews are not Israel at all.
Notice this: King Solomon’s successor was his son Rehoboam. And under King Solomon, the people had been taxed greatly. The people of Israel sent their representative to the new king who said, “Your father made our yoke heavy; now therefore, lighten the burdensome service of your father, and his heavy yoke which he put on us, and we will serve you.” – 1 Kings 12:4.
Doesn’t this sound familiar!? Before the American colonies seceded from Britain a group of colonial representatives wrote down all the reasons why. And one reason being: “For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent.”
King Rehoboam consulted the elders who had stood before his father and they advised him, “If you will be a servant to these people today, and serve them, and answer them, and speak good words to them, then they will be your servants forever.” But the king rejected their advice, consulting the young men he had grown up with. They, answering him thus – “say to them: ‘My little finger shall be thicker than my father’s waist! 11) And now, whereas my father put a heavy yoke on you, I will add to your yoke; my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scourges!” – 1 Kings 12:6-11.
Then the people of ISRAEL rejected him as their king. The people took a man who was the “superintendent” under King Solomon, Jeroboam I, and made him their king. And they set up their capital in Samaria – north of Jerusalem. So, the tribe of Judah seceded from Israel and became the Kingdom of Judah. And the tribe of Benjamin went with them.
One of the first things which the newly crowned King Jeroboam did was to change the seventh-month festivals of Israel – which is the Feast of Tabernacles – to the eighth month (cf. 1 Kings 12:32). Now, mind you, certainly the Northern Kingdom – the House Of Israel – was guilty of breaking the holy Sabbath throughout most of its history – even before being taken captive by Assyria – but there is not one iota of evidence in God’s living word (which I can find) that states that King Jeroboam changed the seventh-day Sabbath to the first-day – Sunday. However, we do know that Constantine the Great had!
But, another blasphemous thing that King Jeroboam did – because of fear that if “the people go up to [Jerusalem] to offer sacrifices in the house of the LORD, then the heart of this people will turn back to their lord, Rehoboam king of Judah, and they will kill him” – is that he had built two state temples with golden calves – one in Bethel and the other in Dan. “He made shrines on the high places, and made priests FROM EVERY CLASS of people, who were not of the sons of Levi.”
And so the tribes of Levi, Judah, and Benjamin became known as the Kingdom of Judah. They are not Israel.
Kingdom of Israel Taken Captive – 734-732 BC
In the span of 19 different kings and seven dynasties, the kings of Israel rebelled against the Lord our God, the Creator of heaven and earth. And finally, the LORD God warned them that He would drive them out. And He did. The HOUSE OF ISRAEL was taken captive to Assyria on the southern shore of the Caspian Sea. In 2nd Kings chapter 17, we read of this very thing!
“Now the king of Assyria [King Tiglath-Pileser III] went throughout all the land, and went up to Samaria and besieged it for THREE YEARS. 6) In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria took Samaria and carried Israel [not the Jews] away to Assyria, and placed them in Halah and by the Habor, the River of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes.” – 2 Kings 17:5-6.
Verse 18 – “Therefore the LORD was very angry with Israel, and removed them from His sight; there was none left but the tribe of Judah alone.”
So, only the Kingdom of Judah remained.
Verse 23 – “Until the LORD removed Israel out of His sight, as He had said by all His servants the prophets. So Israel was carried away from their own land to Assyria, as it is to this day [meaning, as it was when this was written]. 24) Then the king of Assyria brought the people from Babylon, Cuthah, Ava, Hamath, and from Sepharvaim, and placed them in the cities of Samaria instead of the children of Israel; and they took possession of Samaria and dwelt in its cities.”
In other words, the people called ISRAEL were forcibly relocated by the Neo-Assyrian Empire! They were all moved from their farms, from their cities, and from their homes!
So now they were the ones being called Samaritans in the time of our Lord Jesus. The Jews in the time of our Lord Jesus were from the Kingdom of Judah.
So the Kingdom of Israel lost its identity.
They were driven away from the LORD God, and became known as the “Lost Ten Tribes.”
The Holy Sabbath – ‘it is a sign between Me and you’ (Exodus 31:13)
Our LORD God had made an everlasting sign with the children of Israel. It’s recorded for us in the Book of Exodus chapter 31 –
“And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 13) ‘Speak also to the CHILDREN OF ISRAEL [again, meaning all twelve tribes – including Ephraim and Manasseh; between God and His people], saying: ‘Surely My Sabbaths you shall keep [see Ex. 20:8], for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I AM the LORD who sanctifies you.’” – Exodus 31:12-13.
Another way of saying: ‘I AM the LORD that sets you apart from all other nations.’
“’ Therefore the CHILDREN OF ISRAEL shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath THROUGHOUT their generations as a perpetual covenant.’” – verse 16.
So, it is an agreement. And it is perpetual, which means endless or never-ending! This had NOTHING to do with the Old Covenant!
“’ It is a sign between Me and the children of Israel FOREVER; for in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, and on the SEVENTH DAY He rested and was refreshed.’” – verse 17.
The Hebrew word used for “sign” is ‘ôt, which means “mark, or symbol.”
This should remind us of Ezekiel chapter 14 in this end-time in which the LORD God tells the prophet Ezekiel (and in this end-time an EZEKIEL WATCHMAN) –
“’ Therefore say to the HOUSE OF ISRAEL …’” – recall, the prophet Ezekiel was a prisoner. Here, his country, Judah, had been invaded, and he was among the prisoners of war in a prison camp next to the River Chebar in the nation of Babylon when he was writing this. But the HOUSE OF ISRAEL – the very nation to which he was being sent to – had been taken captive more than a hundred and forty years before!
“ … ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: ‘Repent, turn away from your idols, and turn your faces away from all your abominations. 7) For ANYONE of the House of Israel, or of the strangers who dwell in Israel [the House of Israel], who separates himself from Me and sets up his idols in his heart and puts before him what causes him to stumble into iniquity, then comes to a prophet [certainly, a false prophet] to inquire of him concerning Me, I the LORD will answer him by Myself. 8) I will set My face against that man [or even a self-proclaimed prophetess] and make him A SIGN and a proverb, and I will cut him off from the midst of My people. Then you shall know that I AM the LORD.’” – Ezekiel 14:6-8.
It should also remind us of Ezekiel chapter 9 –
Verse 2 – “ … One man among them was clothed with linen and had a writer’s inkhorn at his side. They went in and stood beside the bronze altar. … 4) and the LORD said to him, ‘Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and put A MARK on the foreheads of the men who sigh and cry over all the abominations that are done within it.’ 5) To the others He said in my hearing, ‘Go after him through the city and kill; do not let your eye spare, nor have any pity. 6) Utterly slay old and young men, maidens and little children and women; BUT do not come near anyone on whom is the mark; and begin at My sanctuary.’”
The House of Israel Does Not Have the Sign
So, during those 19 different kings and seven dynasties, their captivity, their migration, and integration into other nations, the people of the LORD God have lost their sign – they have lost their identity.
But here only the Kingdom of Judah remained. They were all that remained in the land of Palestine – the tribe of Judah, Benjamin, and Levi. In 597 BC King Nebuchadnezzar II laid siege to Jerusalem which lasted some THREE MONTHS! The city fell! And forced exile and detention began of the people of the LORD our God.
Again, the Kingdom of Judah retain their identity; because they have retained the SEVENTH DAY SABBATH, which is a sign that identifies. The Jews today keep the Sabbath sign. Yet, they suppose that they are ISRAEL. They have even called their nation by the name ISRAEL. Yet, they are only JUDAH.
Israel – the Kingdom of Israel – was driven out and became “lost.” They also lost the Sabbath.
The Assyrian Empire “reached its height in the eighth and seventh centuries under Sargon II (722-705 B.C.), Sennacherib (705-681), and Assurbanipal (668-626). It had come to include nearly all of the civilized world of that time. One after another, Syria, Phoenicia, the Kingdom of Israel, and Egypt had fallen victim to Assyrian military prowess. Only the little Kingdom of Judah” remained. 1
The death blow [to the brilliant and successful Assyrian Empire] was delivered by the Kaldi, or rather the Chaldeans – the Neo-Babylonian Empire – in 612 BC. Under the leadership of Nabopolassar - the founder and first king of the Neo-Babylonian Empire – who had served the Assyrian kings, he organized a revolt and finally captured Nineveh. Now the Assyrians themselves had been taken into captivity – together with the Israelites. Where the Israelites would eventually migrate and be “sifted” into other lands – moving west and northwest. And by the time the Kingdom of Judah was taken captive to Babylon, they had already been captured and annexed more than a hundred and forty years before.
The Assyrians would later migrate into the land known today as GERMANY.
Here is an excerpt from the controversial Dr. Herman L. Hoeh from his Compendium of World History, Volume 1 –
“The Hebrew root “heth” (from whence Hittite is derived) signifies “warrior.” The Canaanite Hittites were famous warriors. As the Assyrians were a war-making nation, the world also attached the name “Chatti” – meaning “warrior” or “men of war” to them when they anciently migrated to the Halys River basin in Asia Minor.” 2
Roman authors believed that a people of mixed Belgic and Germani descent had somehow migrated to the Iberian Peninsula 3 around the fourth century BC.
To Note:
“The construction ‘Ger-man’ breaks down into ‘ger’ (still used in English as ‘gar’) … meaning spear, and ‘man’ which is unchanged in meaning. ‘Her-man’ is another form of the word. It was likely to have been formed of ‘ger’ for spear and ‘ker’ for an army of spearmen, for which ‘k’ was softened to an ‘h.’ … the possessors of this name were tough, fierce killers … The Romans introduced Germani …” 4
The Left-leaning “politically correct” Wikipedia writes of Germani, “many scholars consider the term problematic since it suggests identity with present-day Germans.”
Yet, they never quote the illustrious Sir William Smith –
“The Germans regarded themselves as indigenous in the country; but there CAN BE NO DOUBT that they were a branch of the great Indo-Germanic race, who, along with the Celts, migrated into Europe from the Caucasus and the countries around the Black and Caspian seas, at a period long anterior to historical records.” 5
Truly, the Germans of today have their roots back in ancient Assyria. They appear not to know that they don’t know who they are. The Ten Tribes of Israel migrated into Western Europe and into the British Isles. And, as I went over in the article “Freedom – A True Blessing From God,” it has been well identified that the majority of the founding stock of France are descendants of the tribe of Reuben. And that the founding stock of the British people were descendants of Joseph – divided into two tribes: Ephraim and Manasseh.
As I mentioned earlier, I have my ancestry (as far back as I could research without going overseas) – my ancestors migrated from Aberdeenshire, Scotland, and settled in Virginia in the United States in about 1675. One source claims that they were Quakers back in Scotland. 6
God’s Promises To Abraham
Again, I have just finished putting together Minister Michael C. Garrett’s in-depth God-inspired free online booklet “God’s Promises To Abraham.” A PDF booklet, which is a transcription, of his 2016 seven-part series of sermons by the same title. Following are links to those God-inspired sermons –
6-25-16 – God’s Promises To Abraham
7-02-16 – God’s Promises To Abraham – Part 2
7-09-16 – God’s Promises To Abraham – Part 3
7-16-16 – God’s Promises To Abraham – Part 4
7-23-16 – God’s Promises To Abraham – Part 5
7-30-16 – God’s Promises To Abraham – Part 6
8-06-16 – God’s Promises To Abraham – Part 7
And, the reason for this short article is to announce this complimentary PDF online booklet. This series of sermons along with this free no-obligation PDF booklet will help you with some amazing information about our ancestry. About our roots. And not only that, but it is also a KEY needed to help unlock and understand biblical prophecy. And it WARNS of a Coming Last Crusade involving a United Europe in these end-times, along with the subjugation of the United States of America in the next few years!
You may wonder, Where Are We Headed? This world is in trouble and the United States of America is heading for her collapse. And it is all foretold within the pages of your Bible.
Now, at this same time, I want to mention to you another free online PDF booklet “The Confusion About Death.” I have mentioned it surely in many sermons. It is sad to know that the greater majority of our peoples are deathly afraid of death. Even though our beloved apostle Paul writes, “But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope [meaning, the hope of salvation and of the resurrection].” – 1st Thessalonians 4:13. This booklet will help you understand just what is death and just what will happen in the “afterlife.”
Now also, a most wonderful website – www.owensborocojc.com – is available. And you are more than invited to come and visit us. “Church of Jesus Christ Online Ministries” website. Over 370 posts. It reaches around the world.
Here is one of our latest articles “Why So Many Don’t Understand Pentecost.” A great many throughout the remnant churches of God just simply observe these festivals because their congregation does, yet DO NOT fully understand why – the true meaning along with GOD’S PLAN in commanding them to be kept.
Here is another article, a commentary from Guy LaMar, “A One Ruling Government Is Coming!” There are a growing number of people who believe that there will be a ONE WORLD GOVERNMENT before the return of our Lord Jesus. Yet, God's living word DOES NOT teach this and will never happen before His glorious and powerful return.
Now here is another article, “Is This ‘the Beginning of Sorrows’?” Are the ‘troubles’ we are witnesses around the world today the beginning of this prophesied ‘beginning of sorrows’ spoken of by our Lord Jesus!?
The website – www.owensborocojc.com – is not a website that begs for money, it’s absolutely free. It’s already nearing its 11th year. It is one of only a few websites that is explaining the Word of God, the Truth of God, and helps understand more fully the Plan of God.
So, thank you for your time, your love, and your support. Until next time, this is Leonard V. Johnson.
Bibliography:
1) Burns M. E. and Ralph P., World Civilizations Fifth Edition, Vol. I, The Mesopotamian and Persian Civilizations, W.W. Norton & Co., New York, © 1974, pp. 55. Illustration on the page from the same source.
2) Hoeh, L.H., Compendium of World History, Vol. I, 1962 - http://www.herbert-armstrong.org/Miscellaneous/Compendium%20Vol%201.pdf.
3) Pliny the Elder, Naturalis Historia, III, 29.
4) The History Files, European Kingdoms Germanic Tribes, Cherusci (Germans) - https://www.historyfiles.co.uk/KingListsEurope/BarbarianCherusci.htm. Retrieved 10 June 2022.
5) Smith, W., A Classical Dictionary of Biography, Mythology, and Geography, 1858, pg. 281 - https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.48044/page/n5/mode/2up.
6) Johnson, Dr. Lorand V., https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1298796/pdf/taos00013-0034.pdf. Retrieved 10 June 2022.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Be sure to leave a comment and tell us what you think.