Merits & Shortcomings of British-Israel, Part #10

This is the 10th critical review of the collective beliefs known as British-Israel, and as with the first nine, we will address statements which W.H. Poole made in his book entitled Anglo-Israel Or, The British Nation: The Lost Tribes Of Israel (hereinafter A-I/BN). The purpose of this series is to confirm such a belief system where it is correct and to give constructive criticism where it is in error. With this paper, I will not be as critical as I have been in the previous nine, although there are a few places where I feel that I should interrupt in order make corrections. We will start this session by quoting Poole on page 33:

“NEW EXPERIENCE.

“The Prophet Jeremiah also tells us of a new experience which Israel would love to tell after their return. It would greatly help many of us to get a new experience; that old one is worn nearly threadbare, xvi, 14, 15 :

“‘Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that it shall no more be said, The Lord liveth, that brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt. But, The Lord liveth, that brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north, and from all the lands whither he had driven them: and I will bring them again into their land that I gave unto their fathers.’

“And xxiii, 5-8: ‘Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice to the earth. In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS. Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that they shall no more say, The Lord liveth, which brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt. But, the Lord liveth, which brought up and which led the seed of the house of Israel out of the north country, and from all countries whither I had driven them; and they shall dwell in their own land.’

“Here, in two places, we have the same thing in a diversified form, some slight variations. The return from the North and West was to be on such a magnificent scale that it would quite exceed in glory the wondrous deliverance wrought out for our fathers when they left the land of Egypt.

Interruption: I really don’t believe that the two passages at Jer. 16:14-15 and Jer. 23:5-8 are speaking of the same thing, as Poole suggests. Jeremiah at 16:14-15 is speaking of a group of Israelites returning to “their land that I gave unto their fathers” whereas Jer. 23:5-8 speaks of Yahshua Christ’s coming to reign over His Kingdom at His Second Advent. Therefore, Jer. 16:14-15 can only be referring to the remnant of Judah that returned to Judaea after their Babylonian captivity of seventy years. The rest of the Israel tribes were not to “find their paths back” as Poole will say later, on page 33, under the next subtitle. (Besides, Jerusalem is the “broken bottle” nation, never to be rebuilt, Jer. ch. 19.) [Back to Poole]:

“OUR BLINDNESS.

“We must not forget the fact, that a kind of blindness, a ‘Porosis,’ has fallen upon the people of Israel; the Lord said, Hos, ii, 6, ‘They would not find their paths.’ Paul says, Romans xii, 25, ‘Blindness in part hath happened to Israel until the fulness of the Gentiles [sic nations] be come in.’ ‘God hath given them the spirit of slumber; eyes, that they should not see, and the rest were blinded.’

“Isaiah xxix, 10, ‘For the Lord hath poured out upon you the spirit of a deep sleep, and hath closed your eyes: the prophets and rulers, the seers hath he covered.’

“Isaiah xliii, 8, they are called ‘The blind people that have eyes.’ They had lost their identity; they had lost all knowledge of themselves and of their ancestry. That blindness was judicial. It was a part of their punishment connected with their wanderings in the North and West, and it was necessary for the great future that lay before them, that they should be lost to themselves and to other nations.

“But they were in safe keeping for the Lord said, Isaiah xlii, 16: ‘And I will bring the blind by a way that they knew not; I will lead them in paths that they have not known: I will make darkness light before them, and crooked things straight. These things will I do unto them, and not forsake them.’

“Ezekiel xi, 14-17: ‘Again the word of the Lord came unto me, saying. Son of man, thy brethren, even thy brethren, the men of thy kindred, and all the house of Israel wholly, are they unto whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem have said, Get you far from the Lord: unto us is this land given in possession. Therefore say, Thus saith the Lord God; Although I have cast them far off among the heathen, and although I have scattered them among the countries, yet will I be to them as a little sanctuary in the countries where they shall come. Therefore say, thus saith the Lord God; I will even gather you from the people, and assemble you out of the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel.’

“Here, the Jews, as the inhabitants of Jerusalem, are found claiming the land exclusively as theirs; but the Lord assures Israel of their return to the land, and of his protection as a ‘little sanctuary,’ until that return takes place.”

Interruption: Repeating again Ezek. 11:14-15: “Again the word of Yahweh came unto me, saying. Son of man, thy brethren, even thy brethren, the men of thy kindred, and all the house of Israel wholly, are they unto whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem have said, Get you far from Yahweh: unto us is this land given in possession.” This is the very message that the Zionist Canaanite-jews gave the Israelite British in 1948 when they established the counterfeit state of Israeli, i.e., Israel-lie! [Back to Poole.]

“THE LAND UNSOLD.

“Before going any farther, I want to remind you that the Lord has kept that land for them these 3,797 years [up to 1879]. In Lev. xxv, 23, it is said, ‘The land shall not be sold for ever; for the land is mine.’ Pagan, Papalin, Turk, Assyrian, Egyptian and Roman have each claimed that land as their own, and yet, there, in the eye of three continents it has remained unsold, or unoccupied except by a few wandering Arabs, or a few squatters; until the last few years when the Turkish Government authorised the transfer of a kind of title to purchasers, and here last year, that whole country to the Bosphorus is placed under the protection of Great Britain.”

Interruption: If this is referring to the 1917 Balfour Declaration when Palestine became a British Mandate, then someone has edited Poole’s 1879 book A-I/BN, and republished it! If such a thing is true, it smells of political zionism. [lower case mine, back to Poole.]

“It is worthy of note what Obadiah says, 20: ‘And the captivity of this host of the children of Israel shall possess that of the Canaanites, even unto Zarephath; and the captivity of Jerusalem, which is in Sepharad, shall possess the cities of the south. And saviours shall come up on mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau; and the kingdom shall be the Lord’s.’

“UP TO THE BOSPHORUS.

“The Septuagint reads, ‘and the captivity of Jerusalem up to Ephratha;’ the Latin vulgate reads, ‘Up to the Bosphorus.’ And so from the cities of the South up to the Bosphorus is now under the direct protection of the children of Israel under another name, as was spoken 600 years B.C. they never kept in their own land. And they entered into Euphrates by the narrow passage of the river. For the Most High then showed signs for them, and held still the flood till they were passed over. For through that country there was a great way to go, namely, of a year and a half, and the same region is called Arsareth. They dwelt there until the latter time, and now when they shall begin to come, the Highest shall stay the springs of the stream again that they may go through. This is not as an inspired book, and yet its history may be valuable. To us, this is valuable so far as that it records the opinion some entertained two hundred years after their captivity. It seems also like a resolution of men of some independence. It was a national act. They were free to decide for themselves, and the distance to that country and its locality is of some interest. We omit this for the present.

“EARLY AND LATTER RAIN.

“There is another remarkable fact worthy of note, the Lord, said, ‘I will make the rain of thy land powder and dust, and the heavens shall be as brass, and the earth iron,’ and ‘He would withhold the early and the latter rain,’ &c. For want of rain those land jobbers had a sorry time of it even in those most fertile valleys. But the early and the latter rain has again been given by him who said, ‘I will cause the shower to come down in his season.’ And now we are informed that all that land is being refreshed with the early and the latter rain, and shrubs, and fruits, and flowers are everywhere adorning the long desolated land. Even shrubs and flowers that have not been seen for centuries are again in full bloom and beauty.

“VALUABLE TESTIMONY.

“The Rev. Bishop Gobat, of Jerusalem, expressed his views clearly and firmly and said, ‘That a solid ground for the Anglo-Saxon Israelitish hypothesis existed in the fact, that nowhere else had Ephraim been found fulfilling the required conditions of the Scriptures.’

“Mr. Robert Mimpress says, ‘We are found as the posterity of Joseph were to be found, blessed through the cross, and in the name of the Redeemer of Israel; also with natural and providential blessings as promised to our fathers. And it is worthy of remark that the English race, in whom is so remarkably fulfilling the destiny of Ephraim, came from the very quarter where Ephraim was lost. Our best historians tracing the Anglo-Saxon race back, eastward, to the borders of the Caspian Sea, in which neighbourhood our Israelitish ancestors were located by the Assyrians.’

“JEWISH [sic Judaean] RECORDS.

“The testimony of those last witnesses will have due influence in any Court. It may be proper here to draw on Jewish [sic Judaean] tradition for a last glimpse of the ten tribes as they disappeared from their view. This we have in the second book of Esdras xiii, 10 [sic 39]. There we are informed that the ten tribes were carried away prisoners out of their own land, in the time of Osea, the King, whom Shalmanassar, the King of Assyria, led away captive, and he carried them over the waters; and so came they into another land. But they took counsel among themselves, that they would leave the multitude of the heathen, and go forth into a further country where never mankind dwelt, that they might keep their statutes which they never kept in their own land. <And they entered into Euphrates by the narrow passage of the river. For the Most High then showed signs for them, and held still the flood till they were passed over. For through that country there was a great way to go, namely, of a year and a half, and the same region is called Arsareth. They dwelt there until the latter time, and now when they shall begin to come, the Highest shall stay the springs of the stream again that they may go through. This is not as an inspired book, and yet its history may be valuable. To us, this is valuable so far as that it records the opinion some entertained two hundred years after their captivity. It seems also like a resolution of men of some independence. It was a national act. They were free to decide for themselves, and the distance to that country and its locality is of some interest. We omit this for the present.”> [The last half of this paragraph by Poole inside of “<>” is a repeat of the last portion under the heading “Up To The Bosphorus”, and for good reason because of its great significance.]

“THE RIVER NOAH.

“The Jews [sic Judaeans] had another tradition on the subject of this great emigration, and that is, that the ten tribes went away west beyond the river Sabbatyon, or rest. It is worthy of note, that the Germans still call the Danube the river of Noah, or of rest. If we follow up those great valleys on either side of that river, ‘Rest,’ we will be on one of the precise routes the Israelites took away to North Germany, Saxony, Denmark, &c. So far the Jewish [sic Judaean] testimony goes. Now it was in these very times, and in this very direction, that is, coming North-west from Media and the Caspian Sea, that our ancestors are first traced in history and tradition.

“Sharon Turner, quoting Diodorus, says, ‘The Scythians formerly an inconsiderable few, possessed a narrow region on the Araxes, but by degrees they became more powerful in numbers and in courage. They extended their boundaries on all sides till at last they raised their nation to a great Empire and to glory.’ Several hundred years before the captivity we read that several small colonies of the tribes went away North and East to find room and pasturage: they were called Scyths or wanderers. Whence come those Scythians? They struck some terrible blows on the great despotisms of those days. One of their kings became valiant and skilful in war, and added to their territory the regions about the Caucasus and the plains towards the sea, and the Palus Mætis, Sea of Moses, (now Sea of Azov) with the surrounding country. They subdued many nations there, and spread into Europe from the Don to the Danube, taking a westerly direction.

“THEIR CENTRAL ROUTE.

“All along this route those people left traces of themselves. North of the Caucasian Mountains there are vast plains now covered by immense numbers of tumuli, or tombs. Dr. Clarke’s travels describes those as beautiful in workmanship, and indicating great skill in the art of building. The rooms are arched, made of white marble. In the tombs are found pottery, jewelry, trinkets, bracelets, gold, and precious stones, and evidences of labour so prodigious, and expenditure so enormous, as to remind one of the Pyramids of Egypt, the caverns of Elephanta, and the first temples of the ancient world.

“A GOLDEN SERPENT.

“On one article alone can I now dwell; it represented the body of a serpent, carved in the form of an ellipse, having two heads, which met at opposite points and made an opening for the arm. Those heads were full of sparkling rubies and gems of rare value. The rest of the bracelet was adorned with carved work. That serpent speaks of the ‘Brazen Serpent’ of Moses, and of the idolatrous use it was put to 700 years after.

“Mr. Carpenter says, ‘The Russian Archaeological Society has brought to light many interesting Israelitish relics, and inscriptions, hundreds of epitaphs from tombs and monuments which speak of pre-Christian times.

“In Spain, there stands a tombstone of one of the Honourables of King Solomon’s Cabinet. The inscription reads, ‘This is the tomb of Adoniram, the servant of King Solomon, who came to collect tribute and died here.’ See 1 Kings iv, 6, ‘And Adoniram was over the tribute.’

“COSSACK AND GAW-THEI.

“These are way-marks by which we trace westward a powerful and intelligent people, who believed in God, and claimed Moses as their prophet; the connection of those grave-yards and tomb stones with the Hebrew race is indisputable; the inscriptions are largely Hebrew; here is one of them, ‘This is the tombstone of Buhi son of Izchak, the priest, may his rest be Eden, at the time of the salvation of Israel. In the year of our exile 702.’ Facsimiles of three of these monuments have been sent to Petersburg. Tischindorf, Olshausen and Dr. Geige all endorse their antiquity.

“The same relation may also be established with the Cossacks, a fine race of people on the Don, whose free institutions have existed so long, although surrounded by all the blight of despotism. In their name we have ‘Goi,’ sons of, and ‘Saac,’ GoiIsaac, Cossack, sons of Isaac.

“It was in that country near the Danube that the Cimmerians and the Gaw-thei, the people of God, called the Goths, took their rise and became mighty nations in their day. When the storm cloud like a whirlwind passed away from Europe, new forms of government, new laws, new manners, new languages, new dresses, new names of men and countries had been introduced. Speed says that there were none among all the Germans in reputation for military deeds comparable to the Saxons. Zozimus says ‘the Saxons were among the most valiant of the German races’.”

Interruption: At this point, I must break-in to praise Poole for his positive remarks about the German people. Sharon Turner, the famous Anglo-Saxon historian, understood that the Germans were related to the Anglo-Saxons, but Edward Hine in his book The British Nation Identified With Lost Israel repudiated Turner’s conclusions. On page 6, Hine cites Sharon Turner thusly: “Having reference expressly to the Saxons, Sharon Turner observes, ‘They were a German or Teutonic, i.e., a Gothic or Scythian tribe, and of the various Scythian nations which have been recorded, the Sakai, or Sacae, are the people from whom the descent of the Saxons may be inferred, with the least violation of probability’ ...” Then on page 54 Hine states: “We have long held the Germans to be identical with the Assyrians ...” Then on page 98, Hine says in part: “There are other lost nations besides Israel. And by what light can they be traced? I maintain only by the light of Scripture. History must be a very unsafe and treacherous guide. Scripture is divine, History, at its best, is human.” It is apparent here that Hine didn’t believe Sharon Turner! This last quotation is under the subheading, “The Teutonic Difficulty”. On page 97, Hine writes: “ANOTHER POINT FOR GERMANY: There are a few of these within these pages, not that I have any ill-feeling towards this nation, but I have an anxiety to combat the idea that they form any part of Israel. The late John Wilson, to whom we are as a nation deeply indebted, first gave forth this thought, and it has, to a small extent, taken hold of the public mind. This may be the chief point on which I differ with Mr. Wilson, but it is a vital point, worth fighting about.” [Back to Poole.]

“ISRAEL AND SAXON.

“Sir W. Temple says, ‘It is absurd to suppose that a people who were so imbued with the spirit of government, that they have with little difficulty made laws for the greater part of Europe if not for the world, could be as they were called by the Romans, a barbarous people.’ He further adds, ‘They had their national records, which were called ‘Runes,’ written in the Runic character, and because they excited the jealousy of the Romish priests they ordered the people to burn them. The Voluspa and the Edda have been preserved. In their system of jurisprudence; in the administration of law by twelve judges; in their social order; in the rights of property; in the provision made for ministers of religion; in the institutions of chivalry; in the science of heraldry, or symbols; in the association of freemasonry, linking the architecture of Solomon with modern times; in architecture, carving, gilding, in the use of metals, in needle work, poetry and music we trace our Israelitish origin.”

Interruption: If “freemasonry” were ever a part of Israelite heritage, it had to be operative freemasonry only, as the freemasonry that exists today would have to be classified as a pagan religion, forbidden by the Commandments of Yahweh! I could get into a long drawn-out discussion concerning freemasonry, but that is not the scope of our subject here.