The Prophetic Ten Today
We’ve often mentioned to our readers to go to Genesis 49 for a list of the nations of Israel today. So let’s take a look. Israel, the patriarch, was prophetically speaking to his twelve sons. Of course, we all know about those of Judah, the Jews. But Judah is only one of Israel’s twelve sons. And as we know, today they are the nation-state of Israel. Yet, most Christians and Christian leaders have been deceived, thanks in large part to misunderstanding John 3:16, thinking the Jews are Israel as in all Israel. But this is simply not the case, as we will see for ourselves. So, who are the others?
Let’s go to Genesis 49 to find out. And let’s begin by reading verses one and two.
“And Jacob called to his sons and said, ‘Gather yourselves together that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the last days.’” God changed Jacob’s name to Israel as you can read in Gen. 32:27, 28. He gathered his sons, plural, together for the express purpose of telling them what would be their lot in life in the last days. This timing event tells us that his sons, all of them, are around today. Israel is not just Judah, or the Jews. Today’s nation-state of Israel is but one of Israel’s twelve sons. In the Biblical record’s prophecies, the other sons of Israel are the indigenous Christian nations in the last days. [See the Feature article, Galilee Of The Gentiles].
“Gather yourselves together and hear, you sons of Jacob, and listen to Israel your father.” Keep in mind, Israel addressed this to his sons, plural, not son as in Judah alone. You can read the chapter in detail yourself. But we’ll go through the list to mention key points.
In verse 3, we read that Reuben was Israel’s first born. However, in terms of the birthright and inheritance, it was taken from him and given to Joseph, and his sons Ephraim and Manasseh [See Gen. 48]. For details about this read the Feature article, Is The US And (UK) In End-times Bible Prophecy?
In verse 5, Simeon and Levi are lumped together. Today they do not have national identities, as do their brothers. They are scattered throughout all the nations of Israel in the last days. In the days following Solomon’s reign over all Israel, the twelve nations of Israel were divided into the House of Israel and the House of Judah. Levi remained as priests to both houses. After the House of Israel was divorced from God and taken away from their land during the Assyrian captivity, Levi remained as priests only to the House of Judah. This is a reason why Christ, as our high priest [Heb. 4:14; Heb. 2:17], said he was sent only to the lost sheep of the House of Israel in these last days. [Mat. 15:24].
In verse 8, we read of Judah or the Jews. The first time the word Jews is used in the Biblical record [2 Kng. 16:5, 6], they are at war with Israel and Syria. That is, the House of Judah is fighting the House of Israel. Judah is only one of the twelve sons of Israel, not all Israel as we have mistakenly come to believe in the last days.
In verse 13, we read of Zebulun. Zebulun had the distinction of being the first nation of Israel taken into captivity by the Assyrians as their land was in the north of Israel. And this is why Christ, as Israel’s redeemer and savior, began his ministry in the land of Zebulun and Naphtali.
In verse 14, we read of Issachar. In verse 16, we read of Dan. See our Sneakers article, Who Is Dan, And Where Did He Go?
In verse 19, we read of Gad. And in verse 20, of Asher and verse 21, Naphtali.
In verse 22, we read of Joseph. His sons, Ephraim and Manasseh became the firstborn of Israel, replacing Reuben, and therefore had the lion’s share of the birthright inheritance in the last days. And as discussed in Is The US In End-times Bible Prophecy? they are Great Britain and the US in prophecy today, the last days. Of the sons of Joseph, in verse 25, it was prophesied for the last days, “By the God of your father who will help you, and by the Almighty who will bless you with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lies beneath, blessings of the breasts and womb … they shall be on the head of Joseph and on the crown of his head ….” To this day, Joseph’s son Ephraim is the monarchical line of the House of Israel.
In verse 27, we read of Benjamin. Benjamin was the youngest of Israel’s twelve sons. The first king over all Israel was Saul who was a descendant of Benjamin [1 Sam. 9:21], as was the apostle Paul [Rom. 11:1].
And we read in verse 28, “All these are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father spoke to them. “
As Simeon and Levi are scattered throughout the nations of their brothers in the last days, this means ten of the twelve nations of Israel have identities today. And the reason why we have difficulties understanding the prophecies of the beast and the ten horns is because we think of all Israel as being Judah only. When we realize it is a reference to the ten nations of Israel in the last days, as we read in the chapters of Revelation 12, 13 and 17, then pieces of the puzzle start falling into place for us.
And while some may question the existence of these ten nations of the House of Israel outside the pages of the Biblical record, we can consult the history books. In the footnotes to Rawlinson’s translation of the History Of Herodotus, we read, "We have reasonable grounds for regarding the Gimirri, or Cimmerians, who first appeared on the confines of Assyria and Media in the seventh century B.C., and the Sacae of the Behistun Rock, nearly two centuries later, as identical with the Beth-Khumree of Samaria, or the Ten Tribes of the House of Israel ... The Sacae or Scythians, who were termed Gimirri by their Semitic neighbors, first appear in the cuneiform inscriptions as a substantive people under Esar-Haddon in about B.C. 684." History of Herodotus, translated by George Rawlinson, book vii, p. 378.
Correctly, from the Biblical perspective, there are nine tribes of the House of Israel. That which is referred to the as the West, or the collective West, are the House of israel. The single Levant nation state of Israel is the House of Judah.
See the Feature articles: Why Was Jesus Jewish, But Not Moses?; Ten Horns, Ten Nations; and Revelation 17: Big Brother. For an easy to follow history of the nations of Israel throughout the Biblical record to our current day, see the Flow Chart in The Curious Elephant and read chapter six in The Blind Man’s Elephant.
Let’s go to Genesis 49 to find out. And let’s begin by reading verses one and two.
“And Jacob called to his sons and said, ‘Gather yourselves together that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the last days.’” God changed Jacob’s name to Israel as you can read in Gen. 32:27, 28. He gathered his sons, plural, together for the express purpose of telling them what would be their lot in life in the last days. This timing event tells us that his sons, all of them, are around today. Israel is not just Judah, or the Jews. Today’s nation-state of Israel is but one of Israel’s twelve sons. In the Biblical record’s prophecies, the other sons of Israel are the indigenous Christian nations in the last days. [See the Feature article, Galilee Of The Gentiles].
“Gather yourselves together and hear, you sons of Jacob, and listen to Israel your father.” Keep in mind, Israel addressed this to his sons, plural, not son as in Judah alone. You can read the chapter in detail yourself. But we’ll go through the list to mention key points.
In verse 3, we read that Reuben was Israel’s first born. However, in terms of the birthright and inheritance, it was taken from him and given to Joseph, and his sons Ephraim and Manasseh [See Gen. 48]. For details about this read the Feature article, Is The US And (UK) In End-times Bible Prophecy?
In verse 5, Simeon and Levi are lumped together. Today they do not have national identities, as do their brothers. They are scattered throughout all the nations of Israel in the last days. In the days following Solomon’s reign over all Israel, the twelve nations of Israel were divided into the House of Israel and the House of Judah. Levi remained as priests to both houses. After the House of Israel was divorced from God and taken away from their land during the Assyrian captivity, Levi remained as priests only to the House of Judah. This is a reason why Christ, as our high priest [Heb. 4:14; Heb. 2:17], said he was sent only to the lost sheep of the House of Israel in these last days. [Mat. 15:24].
In verse 8, we read of Judah or the Jews. The first time the word Jews is used in the Biblical record [2 Kng. 16:5, 6], they are at war with Israel and Syria. That is, the House of Judah is fighting the House of Israel. Judah is only one of the twelve sons of Israel, not all Israel as we have mistakenly come to believe in the last days.
In verse 13, we read of Zebulun. Zebulun had the distinction of being the first nation of Israel taken into captivity by the Assyrians as their land was in the north of Israel. And this is why Christ, as Israel’s redeemer and savior, began his ministry in the land of Zebulun and Naphtali.
In verse 14, we read of Issachar. In verse 16, we read of Dan. See our Sneakers article, Who Is Dan, And Where Did He Go?
In verse 19, we read of Gad. And in verse 20, of Asher and verse 21, Naphtali.
In verse 22, we read of Joseph. His sons, Ephraim and Manasseh became the firstborn of Israel, replacing Reuben, and therefore had the lion’s share of the birthright inheritance in the last days. And as discussed in Is The US In End-times Bible Prophecy? they are Great Britain and the US in prophecy today, the last days. Of the sons of Joseph, in verse 25, it was prophesied for the last days, “By the God of your father who will help you, and by the Almighty who will bless you with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lies beneath, blessings of the breasts and womb … they shall be on the head of Joseph and on the crown of his head ….” To this day, Joseph’s son Ephraim is the monarchical line of the House of Israel.
In verse 27, we read of Benjamin. Benjamin was the youngest of Israel’s twelve sons. The first king over all Israel was Saul who was a descendant of Benjamin [1 Sam. 9:21], as was the apostle Paul [Rom. 11:1].
And we read in verse 28, “All these are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father spoke to them. “
As Simeon and Levi are scattered throughout the nations of their brothers in the last days, this means ten of the twelve nations of Israel have identities today. And the reason why we have difficulties understanding the prophecies of the beast and the ten horns is because we think of all Israel as being Judah only. When we realize it is a reference to the ten nations of Israel in the last days, as we read in the chapters of Revelation 12, 13 and 17, then pieces of the puzzle start falling into place for us.
And while some may question the existence of these ten nations of the House of Israel outside the pages of the Biblical record, we can consult the history books. In the footnotes to Rawlinson’s translation of the History Of Herodotus, we read, "We have reasonable grounds for regarding the Gimirri, or Cimmerians, who first appeared on the confines of Assyria and Media in the seventh century B.C., and the Sacae of the Behistun Rock, nearly two centuries later, as identical with the Beth-Khumree of Samaria, or the Ten Tribes of the House of Israel ... The Sacae or Scythians, who were termed Gimirri by their Semitic neighbors, first appear in the cuneiform inscriptions as a substantive people under Esar-Haddon in about B.C. 684." History of Herodotus, translated by George Rawlinson, book vii, p. 378.
Correctly, from the Biblical perspective, there are nine tribes of the House of Israel. That which is referred to the as the West, or the collective West, are the House of israel. The single Levant nation state of Israel is the House of Judah.
See the Feature articles: Why Was Jesus Jewish, But Not Moses?; Ten Horns, Ten Nations; and Revelation 17: Big Brother. For an easy to follow history of the nations of Israel throughout the Biblical record to our current day, see the Flow Chart in The Curious Elephant and read chapter six in The Blind Man’s Elephant.
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