What's this Web Site all About?
A Call to Jezreel
Perhaps many of you are asking right now, “What's this web site
all about?” That is surely a valid question in a time when we are
bombarded with so much media information. In fact, this web site
may not be for you at all. It is designed only for
those who are concerned with what they can do, according to the Biblical
perspective, to help usher in an age of complete peace, happiness, and
prosperity for all humankind.
Most of you realize that just such a “golden age” is prophesied
in the Bible. But even so, how could this particular web site,
United Israel, have anything to do with either what the
Bible prophesies or the coming “Kingdom of God” upon the earth?
The name Jezreel opens up a most overlooked theme in
the Hebrew Prophets. The key to unlocking this theme lies in the first
two chapters of the book of the prophet Hosea. Notice, in chapter 1
verse 4 Hosea's wife bears him a son and the LORD (YHVH) God Himself
gives the child the name Jezreel. Many of you know that each of the
names of Hosea's children had a vital prophetic meaning. They were not
arbitrarily chosen. This all important name of Jezreel is actually a
play on words. Jezreel is Yizre'el in Hebrew, which means God
sows. But this word sounds and looks very much like the word Israel
in Hebrew--Yisra'el . The prophetic meaning, as we learn by reading
the next chapter, is that God is about to scatter or “sow”
the House of Israel among the nations as punishment for their sins.
This sowing or scattering has become known historically as the Dispersion
in Greek, or Galut in Hebrew.
It is vital, however, at this point to note carefully the distinction
between the two Houses of Israel to avoid confusion. Notice that
in these two chapters of Hosea it is the House of Israel, not
the House of Judah (the Jews), who is about to be punished. Indeed,
in chapter 1 verse 7 God specifically tells Hosea that while punishing
the House of Israel, which were the northern Ten Tribes, He will continue
to have compassion on the House of Judah and deliver them. Hosea, like
all the Hebrew Prophets, clearly distinguishes between the House of
Israel (often call Ephraim or Samaria for short), and the House of Judah.
Judah is the tribe which comprises the majority of the Jewish People
today, numbering about 14 million around the world. They have largely
retained their identity and have remained true to the Torah of God,
these past 2500 years. The House of Israel refers to the Ten Tribes
which split off from Judah and set up a separate Kingdom in the north
after the days of Solomon (see 1 Kings 11-12). These Ten Tribes were
carried away into captivity by the King of Assyria in 722 B.C.E., and
were scattered (“sown”) among the nations. Note 2 Kings 17:18,
“none was left in the land but the tribe of Judah only.” They
never returned en masse to rejoin their brothers from Judah, either
in the 6th century B.C.E., or yet in our century.
During the time of this scattering among the nations, which is actually
prophesied in the Torah itself (Lev 26:33; Deut 28:64), Hosea tells
us that these Israelites would actually lose their identity. Hosea's
second and third children are named Lo-ruhama , which means Not
Pitied, and Lo-'ammi, which means Not My People. In
other words, for the duration of their punishment among the nations
the House of Israel would not receive God's mercy; and their relationship
with God would be such that they would no longer be known as His people.
This has never happened to the Jewish people. The Jews, although also
dispersed through the nations, have always had a relationship with God
and have known who they are. The Jews have never lost their identity
and have been acknowledged as the Chosen People by both Christians and
Moslems. So who are these Israelites of whom Hosea speaks who have lost
their identity among the nations and who view themselves and are
viewed by others as Gentiles?
This is where the prophesy of Hosea becomes most fascinating. Fortunately,
God does not intend to leave the House of Israel scattered among the
nations without a knowledge of their own identity. Hosea tells us that
at a time when the number of the descendants of Israel is as the “sand
of the sea, which can neither be measured nor numbered,” this vast
group known as “not My people” will come to be known as “sons
of the Living God” (Bnei El-chai).
In other words, they will suddenly recover their identity. They
will come to realize that they are not Gentiles, but from those ancient
Ten Tribes of Israel. This bringing back of the Lost Tribes to the Land
of Israel is prophesied in the Torah (Lev 26:40-45; Deut 30:1-10), reiterated
in all the Prophets, and is acknowledged by the Rabbis in the
Oral Tradition of Judaism (Tractate Sanhedrin 110b).
Let's return for a moment to the name Jezreel (“God sows”).
Just as the scattering of Israel among the Gentiles is pictured in the
Prophets as the sowing of seed, this same image is used in a reciprocal
fashion to symbolize their regathering in the last days. Jeremiah 31
is a vital prophesy in this regard. There we hear the declaration of
the LORD (YHVH) Himself, “He who scattered Israel will gather Him”
(verse 10). In the following verses we read, “Behold, the days
are coming, says the LORD (YHVH), when I will sow the house of
Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man and the seed
of beast. And it shall come to pass that as I have watched over them
to pluck up and break down, to overthrow and destroy, and bring evil,
so I will watch over them to build and to plant” (vv. 27-28). Note
that this is not merely the regathering of the Jewish people to the
Land, but the joining of Judah (the Jews) with the whole house of Israel
(the lost Tribes). This is emphasized repeatedly in this highly significant
prophecy of Jeremiah (30:3; 31:1-31). Those from Ephraim (Lost Tribes)
stream in from the north country, and from the farthest parts of the
earth (31:8). It is of particular note that this chapter in Jeremiah
connects the new covenant with this restoration of all Israel-both
Judah and the Lost Tribes--to the Land (31:31-34). This reunion of all
Israel holds the promise of a great and positive turn of events in world
history.
The House of Judah (the Jewish people) and the Lost Tribes both have
important contributions to make in this coming synthesis. Each has had
its own unique historical experience over the past 2500 years and has
been guided by the providential Hand of God in ways that will contribute
to what this world needs in terms of future direction and guidance.
According to the Prophets, this combination of the Tribes of Israel
will produce the base from which the Kingdom of God will spread (Isa
2:2-4; 11 :1-12). The Jewish people have begun to be regathered by the
LORD (YHVH) and returned to the Land of their fathers in our century.
Now has come the time for the Lost Tribes to return and join their brother
Judah. As the LORD (YHVH) puts it through His prophet Hosea: “And
I will sow her for myself in the land. And I will have pity on
'Not Pitied,' and I will say to 'Not My People,' 'You are My people,'
and he shall say, 'You are my God”' (2:23). Here we must follow
closely what Hosea is saying. This is not a group of Gentiles who by
some “dispensation of grace” become God's Chosen People, as
has erroneously been taught by some. The clear historical meaning is
that the House of Israel, the Northern Ten Tribes, were to be punished
for their sins by being scattered among the nations and losing their
identity (becoming Lo-ammi, “not My People”);
however, in the latter days they come to know who they are, they receive
mercy, and they are regathered and joined to their brother Judah (the
Jews).
Where are these Lost Tribes today? According to Hosea's prophecy they
will number as the “sands of the sea,” and will think of themselves
as Gentiles. Other prophecies indicate they will have achieved an unprecedented
level of national greatness prior to their rejoining with Judah (Gen
49:22-26; Deut 33:13-17). That is where this Web site comes in. This
site is an educational activity of the non-profit, religious organization,
United Israel. We at United Israel are in the process of collecting
unprecedented and convincing historical research which locates the descendants
of the Lost Tribes of Israel primarily among the peoples of Northwestern
Europe, Great Britain, and her former colonies, including the United
States. These largely democratic societies have also provided a haven
for the Jewish people. Support for the fledgling State of Israel has
largely come from these peoples, which are mostly Protestant and historically
share a Biblical orientation. In the past few decades we have witnessed
an explosion of interest in, and support for, Israel and the Jewish
people among these peoples, particularly from those Protestant evangelicals
who share a strong Biblical outlook. Does this love for Israel and this
attraction toward the Jewish people stem from Christian theology? On
the contrary, just the opposite has historically been the case, as William
Nicholls has so skillfully documented (Christian Antisemitism:
A History of Hate, Jason Aronson, 1993). We believe that the answer
lies in the natural affinity these population groups (Scandinavian,
Celtic & kindred peoples) have for one another and for the Jewish
people. There is a stirring, an awakening, going on in this last half
of the 20th century among our peoples. In future articles on this web
site we will bring you convincing historical and Biblical evidence to
support what many of you already sense within--that somehow you belong
to Israel.
The purpose of United Israel, in keeping with the clear and absolute
message of Hosea and all the Prophets, is to send forth a call to the
descendants of Israel whom God has sown among the nations, to help them
identify themselves, and to educate them in full Torah faith. If
you feel an affection for the Jewish People and the Land of Israel,
and sense an irresistible pull in these directions, then this web site
is for you. The LORD (YHVH) God Himself declares that though Israel
is scattered through the nations His “eyes are on all their ways”
and not the “least grain” will fall to the ground (Jer 16:17;
Amos 9:9). He declares that in the last days He Himself will seek out
His lost sheep and draw them “one from a city, two from a family”
and bring them back to Zion.
United Israel is not an organization you can join. Our ranks are made
up of those who share our mission and purpose. We have no creedal requirements
or obligations of any kind. Everything we distribute is sent free
of charge upon request. United Israel is supported financially by
those individuals who believe in this message and want to see the Union
of the Twelve Tribes of Israel realized in our time.
We are truly living in momentous times, in these final years of the
20th century as we approach the end of the millennium. We have seen
the birth of the State of Israel and the beginnings of the gathering
of the Jewish people back to the Land. God declares, through Isaiah,
of just such a period, “In its time I will hasten it” ( Isa
60:22b). While the rest of the world faces an unprecedented financial
and moral crisis, those who believe the Biblical revelation know we
must look to Jerusalem for the next unfolding stage of history. And
those who read the Prophets carefully know that the next step in that
final drama is the regathering of all Israel. Now is the time
for us to act. If this message penetrates your heart and mind let us
hear from you.
Dennis Jones
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