"Brit-Am Now"-245
May 18, 2003
Contents:
1. Revised Holy Roman Empire?
2. Quotation
3. Questions About Manasseh
4. Steven M. Collins: THE TRIBE OF JOSEPH AND THE LATTER DAYS
1. Revised Holy Roman Empire?
Patrick wrote:
>I see that we agree on the true identity of Modern Israel. And I was
>wondering what your opinion was of the events to come. I mean with the
>United States of Europe coming into play. Which we believe is the revised
>Holy Roman Empire to come. Which is to be led by Germany and the Catholic
>church. Where does this all fit in
>Just a bit to start off with.
>Thank you for the return,
>Patrick
Answer:
This was a theme I believe emphasized at one stage by British Protestants,
people in Ulster, British Israel, then by H.W. Armstrong and the offshoots
of his movement. Whatever the source of the idea,
It is a possibility that fits present reality, history in general, some
Jewish sources and Biblical Prophecy.
2. Quotation
Shimshom Raphael Hirsch was a famous Rabbinical Commentator in the 1800s
whose works we have found useful in our Brit-Am studies. We came across the
following note which we considered worth quoting:
Leviticus 25:10 :<<The bringing of Israel unto the Land it was destined to
receive is frequently termed a "planting". We have already remarked
(Genesis 35:11) that there is a deep fundamental connection between the
universal goal of Israel and the differences of character amongst the
twelve tribes; these differences were described by Jacob in his [death-bed]
parting blessing. We consequently understand that the original "planting"
of each tribe in its inheritance was done for a Divine purpose. ..in order
that [each tribe] might develop its unique qualities>>
3. Questions About Manasseh
>From: Shane Reeves
>Subject: Ephraim and Manassah
>
>
>Hi, I am going to teach my sunday school class about the lost tribes of
>Israel and I am going to focus on Britain and America as Ephraim and
>Manassah. Are there any geneologies of early Americans traced back to
>Manassah.
> Also is there any evidence of Manassah being America other than
>comparing the blessings of America to the birthright blessings of Joseph.
> I
>need something else to make this issue more convincing. I am a little
>confused on how it is known that America is only Manassah rather than a
>mixture of all 10 tribes. This same logic applies to all 10 tribes. They
>seem to be all mixed together in all of northern Europe.
Answers:
a. Concerning Genealogies: Genealogies do not usually go back much beyond
the early Middle Ages, and even then only if you are lucky.
We have the testomony of Tacitus that groups in Germany (that later moved
in part to Britain) traced their ancestry to
"Manes" whom we identify with Manasseh.
We do say that representative portions of all 12 tribes are to be found in
the USA
and numerically very many also from Ephraim BUT Manasseh is dominant.
The same applies to other areas of Europe. In certain areas specific tribes
settled in concentrated groupings
and they had a dominating influence in those areas.
In "The Tribes" and in "Joseph" we demonstrate roughly how groups
whose names relate them to family groups from Manasseh
were concentrated in the west and North of the British Isles and from these
areas came more than 80% of the early settlers of North America.
For example: The Caledonians in Scotland were linked to the Galaadi of the
Continent and these to Gilead of Manasseh. zIn North Wales you had the
Galedon. IN Ireland and Scotland you had the Iari from Yair of Manasseh.
The Picts (of North Scotland) came from the Agathyrsi of the clan of Jeezer
("Ai-g-azar" in Archaic Hebrew) of Manasseh.The Parissi of North England
came from Peresh of Manasseh. The Mercians of West England from Manasseh.
The Hibernians of Ireland and Scotland had sojourned in Spain and there
left names (Port of Menassetai, Messene, Mastieni) that indicate a
predominance of Manasseh.
We also applied other considerations.
Most likely, in coming postings of "Brit-Am Now" we will deal further with
these issues.
4. Steven M. Collins:THE TRIBE OF JOSEPH AND THE LATTER DAYS
Many Christians and Jews have an expectation that we are living in
momentous times. This expectation is based upon the belief that world
events indicate we are living in a climactic period of time called "the
latter days" in many biblical prophecies. This prophetic phase will be
climaxed by the arrival of a new period of time known by such names as the
Messianic Age, the Millennium, the Kingdom of God, etc.
Do I believe we are living in the biblical "latter days?" Yes, I do. In
this column, I will discuss several aspects of the prophecy regarding the
tribe of Joseph which strongly confirm that we are living in the biblical
"latter days."
Joseph and the Latter Days:
Genesis 49 lists prophecies for all of the tribes of Israel in the latter
days, but this section will examine three aspects of the prophecy about the
tribe of Joseph (Ephraim and Manasseh). Since this is a prophecy for the
latter days, we must demonstrate that all three aspects of this prophecy
are fulfilled in modern times to confirm that we are living now in "the
latter days." As many readers of this article likely know, the tribes of
Joseph are Ephraim and Manasseh, and these two tribes are primarily linked
to the modern English and American nations.
Genesis (Bereshith) 49:22 prophesies in the King James Version concerning
Joseph: "Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well; whose
branches run over the wall." A Hebraic translation (The Complete Jewish
Bible) captures, I believe, the sense of this prophecy better by
translating it: "Yosef [Joseph] is a fruitful plant, a fruitful plant by a
spring, with branches climbing over the wall." (Emphasis added.) Here the
tribes of Joseph are likened not to a tree which stays in one place, but
rather to a vine which spreads out and sends branches elsewhere. Applying
this imagery to modern nations, Joseph's tribes should be nations which
have "vined out" or spread elsewhere in the world from a home base. This
has come to pass in the Anglo-Saxon nations. The home base for the tribes
of Joseph in the modern world was in the British Isles.
The tribes of Joseph, indeed, "branched out" to plant new nations in the
United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and part of the South
Africa. In doing so, they fulfilled the prophecy of Genesis 48:19 that
Ephraim would become a "multitude of nations" (the British nations) and a
"single [great] nation (the United States of America)." They also fulfilled
the prophecy of Genesis 49:22 which indicated the tribes of Joseph would be
a colonizing people who had founded new nations by the time the "latter
days" arrived. This has also come to pass.
This verse also foretells that Joseph will be located "by a well" (some
versions of the Bible say 'by a spring" or use other language). What is
clear in that this prophetic imagery indicates that all the people of
Joseph's tribes will dwell by the water. All the nations of modern Joseph
(the USA, Great Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand are seacoast
nations located along the water. Indeed, the British Isles, Australia and
New Zealand are island nations completely surrounded by water, and the USA
and Canada have very extensive seacoasts along the oceans. This prophecy
(combined with the one below that the nations of Joseph will be made
"strong" by God in the latter days, indicates the nations of Joseph will be
maritime nations and naval powers. The British Navy dominated the oceans
for centuries and the US Navy now is the most powerful fleet on earth.
Genesis 49:23-24 prophesy that: "...the archers have sorely grieved
[harassed] him, and shot at him and hated him: but his bow abode in
strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the
mighty God of Jacob...who shall help thee." This prophecy indicates that
the tribes of Joseph will be "hated" in the world by many other nations,
and that those who hate the nations of Joseph will "shoot at" or "harass"
them. The nations of Great Britain and the United States have attracted so
much hatred and envy in the word that it has commonly been called an
"anti-Anglo" or "anti-American" attitude. Much of this hatred has resulted
from the envy of other nations who covet the "birthright" promises of the
Abrahamic Covenant which were given primarily to the tribes of Joseph
(Genesis 48:14-22).
This prophecy also indicates Joseph will have wars forced upon them by
"archers" who "shoot" at Joseph. In the last half-century, the United
States and the British nations combined to defeat Hitler and the Nazis in
World War II, and they were allied again in the Korean War and the Persian
Gulf War against Saddam Hussein. The British had the Falklands War against
Argentina forced upon them. The Viet Nam War was somewhat of an exception
to this rule as no one actually attacked the American nation or its
interests. That war resulted from treaties and a desire to contain
communism, and the American people had little support for a war which
threatened no vital US interests. Now the United States has been attacked
and victimized by a terrorist war perpetrated by those who "hate Joseph."
Great Britain has stepped forward to be America's most visible ally in this
war against terrorism, and Canada and Australia have both pledged ships
and/or troops to fight with the Americans.
Genesis 49:24 also prophesies that God will make the tribes of Joseph
"strong" (not weak) against these attacks in the latter days. The tribes
of Joseph have been generally (but not always) successful in their wars,
and the alliance of the tribes of Joseph (the USA, the UK, Canada,
Australia and New Zealand) currently constitute the most powerful and
cohesive alliance in the world today. God has certainly "strengthened"
Joseph as first the British Empire (Ephraim) dominated world geopolitics
and now the United States (Manasseh) is the dominant "superpower." This
prophecy indicates that the USA and Britain (with their allies) will likely
win the war against terrorism.
The final aspect of the latter days prophecy about Joseph's tribes is in
Genesis 49:22-26. For the sake of brevity, I will not reprint it all here,
but readers can confirm the content for themselves. These verses
extensively describe the extensive blessings which the tribes of Ephraim
and Manasseh will enjoy during the latter days. This prophecy indicates
the "birthright" blessings of the Abrahamic Covenant will be especially
poured out on Joseph's nations in the latter days. The prophecy mentions
favorable climates for growing crops (the blessings of heaven), extensive
natural resources (the blessings of the deep) and large populations
(blessings of the breasts and of the womb).
The "blessings of the deep" could mean natural resources which are dug out
of the ground or wealth and prosperity that comes from the oceans ("the
deep" has an oceanic application elsewhere in the Bible). The modern
nations of Joseph have derived much of their wealth from their seacoast
locations (not just in fisheries industries, but also in their control of
world maritime trade). This prophecy is quite expansive in its description
of the wealth and power which will accrue to Joseph's tribes in the latter
days.
Given that these blessings are divinely ordained, we should expect the
nations of Ephraim and Manasseh to be the wealthiest and most blessed
nations on earth. This has come to pass as first the British Empire long
dominated the earth's nations and resources with the USA assuming that role
since World War II.
In conclusion, the specific prophesies about the tribes (nations) of Joseph
have been fulfilled abundantly in the modern world by the British people
and the United States of America. This not only confirms that they are the
modern nations of Joseph (Ephraim and Manasseh), but the fulfillments of
the prophecies in Genesis 49:22-26 indicate that we are living in the
prophetic period of time known as "the latter days."
Greetings and Shalom to All!
Steven M. Collins
NOW INDEX
HOME