TSW ~ Eric W. King "The Shepherds Way": Not all of Israel is Judean

Not all of Israel is Judean

By Eric William King

Jacob (God’s servant) had twelve sons and only one of those sons produced the Jewish people - when we get technical. Jews are literally from the tribe of Judea. Apostle Paul was a Benjamite from the tribe of Benjamin who converted to Judaism which back then was the religious sect of Pharisees (Galatians 1:13).

Jacob had twelve sons and a daughter by his wives and their maids (Genesis ch.29-39). His father was Isaac and his mother, Rebecca. Jacob was a twin brother; his brother’s name was Esau. Jacob becomes the patronymic of Israelites.

Since May 14^th 1948 Israel again became a legitimate nation and many Jews have returned to their own land. This was a great and glorious fulfillment of Biblical prophecy. God promised the restoration of the nation of Israel. Today when we think of Jewish people we lump all the 12 original tribes together and call them all “Jew”. It is true that all twelve tribes have now been categorized generically as Jews.

When we go strictly by Sola Scriptura (the Word of God alone) we see a very different picture developing. Really only those from the tribe of Judah make up the literal Jewish people. So what happened to the other eleven tribes? When we read our Bible’s we find that when the Kingdom of Israel split Judah and Benjamin along with some Levites formed the Southern kingdom called Judea (Yehudim) and the rest of the tribes formed Israel (the northern kingdom).

So technically speaking, after the split Israelites are NOT Jews. The Jews remained in Jerusalem.

When we say Israel sometimes we include all twelve tribes because Israel (Jacob) is the father of all twelve tribes. In this sense of course all twelve tribes make up literal Israel. If you look in the back of your Bible you might find a map that shows the Judea (Jews) and Israel were once completely different nations.

Some from the other tribes went back to Jerusalem but the main portion of the other ten tribes eventually migrated over the Caucus Mountains and spread throughout Europe. So much of literal Israel lost its identity through captivity. The ancient ten tribes have become lost to the secular historians but not to God. God says through Amos the prophet;

“Behold, the eyes of the Lord God are on the sinful kingdom, and I will destroy it from the face of the earth; yet I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob,’ says the Lord. ‘For surely I will command, and will sift the house of Israel among all nations, as grain is sifted in a sieve; yet not the smallest grain shall fall to the ground.” (Amos 9:8-9)

Not all twelve tribes come from the same mother so DNA would be different amongst the tribes. All of this is fascinating to think about. Most Christians don’t contemplate such things. To me and most Christians we realize that ALL Scripture is important so understanding what happened to ancient Israel contains moral lessons for us as well as historical facts about who we are today as Christians.

Ten Tribes of Israel Migrated

There was a 400 year gap in between the Old and New Testament so the language and much of the culture had changed by the time of Jesus Christ. During this 400 year gap “The Apocryphal” writings were written and compiled. We find some important history regarding the migration of the ten tribes found in the “Book of 2^nd Esdras” which was written a century before the time of Jesus (Yeshua). We read;

“Those ten tribes, which were carried away prisoners out of their own land…and he [Shalmaneser], carried them over waters, and so came they into another land. But they took this counsel among themselves, that they would leave the multitude of the heathen, and go forth into a further country, where never mankind dwelt…And they entered into Euphrates by the narrow passages of the river.” (2^nd Esdras 13:40-43)

This is interesting and for some it is very controversial history. Some heretical teachers developed these facts into a doctrine known as “Anglo-Israelism”. I do not teach what has popularly become known as “Anglo-Israelism”. Here at “The Shepherds Way” ministry we teach only the facts. We have been blessed with a great historical library that we use in our research. It is important for today’s Christians to be more aware of what they believe in. In this information age so much error is prevalent on the internet that you really have to do your own research to get the straight truth of anything. I encourage you to do research on what we teach here. Always test everything by the Living Word of God.

I have much more to say about this topic but this was to whet your appetite. I truly believe that Christians want the facts. Some of the facts get very controversial regarding Bible topics but as long as we are honest with God and ourselves we will always be doing and accepting that which pleases God. God’s Word…the Holy Bible is our ultimate “fact book”.

Stay with us here at “The Shepherds Way” and “Nugget of Truth” and get facts.

Resting in the finished work of my savior, Jesus Christ.

Eric William King (June 4^th 2020)

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