The Ten Lost Tribes Of Israel

Have you ever heard of “The Ten Lost Tribes Of Israel”? Twelve tribes came into the promised land with Joshua, (Josh 3-4), Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph and Benjamin. The descendants of the twelve sons of Jacob.

Joseph had two sons Manasseh and Ephraim whose descendants would become “half tribes” (Josh 14:4). Yes, this makes "13 Tribes". Joseph is actually two half tribes (Josh 22:10-11; 1 Chr 5:23, 26; 6:70-71 etc) and Ephraim is typically mentioned as synonymous to the Northern kingdom of Israel (2 Chr 13:4; 17:2; 19:4; 25:10), and in some lists the tribe of Dan is not listed (Rev 7:4-8).

Following the death of King Solomon the nation fell apart under his son King Rehoboam, (1 Kin 12:16-17). The tribes of Judah and Benjamin sided with Rehoboam in the South with the rest “succeeding from the union” to King Jeroboam, (1 Kin 12:20), in the North.
Several hundred years later after God had sent several of His prophets to warn the Northern kingdom of Israel God raised up the Assyrians, one of the most brutal armies known to history to come and take them out of the land, (2 Kings 15:29, 1 Chronicles 5:26).

Where they went and where they are today has been a mystery.

Speculations have always been around and several heresies still live on saying the “Ten Lost Tribes” went to Northern Europe to become the English or the Danes. They are fond of saying “Denmark” sounds like “Danmark” meaning the tribe of Dan had settled there. Most figure they assimilated into the nations the Assyrians sent them to. And there they say no one can ever claim any heritage with one of those lost northern tribes.

But are ALL the 10 northern tribes that were expelled, in their entirety, unaccounted for?
I mean, not all of the 10 northern tribes of Israel put up with Jeroboams heresy...

1 Chronicles 9:2-3
2 Now the first to dwell again in their possessions in their cities were Israel, the priests, the Levites, and the temple servants. 3And some of the people of Judah, Benjamin, Ephraim, and Manasseh lived in Jerusalem

2 Chronicles 11
13 And from all their territories the priests and the Levites who were in all Israel took their stand with him.
14 For the Levites left their common-lands and their possessions and came to Judah and Jerusalem, for Jeroboam and his sons had rejected them from serving as priests to the LORD.

And just a little while before Sennacherib conquered Israel...

2 Chronicles 30:11
Nevertheless some men of Asher, Manasseh and Zebulun humbled themselves and came to Jerusalem.

That's how there were those, very late in the history of Israel, who were still able to trace their roots back to a Northern tribe.

Luke 2:36
And there was a prophetess, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years and had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage,

So… Just because they’re not of the tribe of Judah, Levi, or Benjamin doesn’t necessarily mean they’ve been “lost”.

There are a couple other clues.
When the Jews returned after the captivity we have a list of those with Zerubbabel…

Ezra 2:2
Those who came with Zerubbabel were Jeshua, Nehemiah, Seraiah, Reelaiah, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispar, Bigvai, Rehum, and Baanah. The number of the men of the people of Israel:

Were they tribal leaders?
Well… that one just mentions eleven.

Nehemiah found a written list and it mentions twelve…

Nehemiah 7:7
Those who came with Zerubbabel were Jeshua, Nehemiah, Azariah, Raamiah, Nahamani, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispereth, Bigvai, Nehum, and Baanah.

Were these heads of each of the tribes?
I mean, later we read…

Ezra 2:70
So the priests and the Levites, some of the people, the singers, the gatekeepers, and the Nethinim, dwelt in their cities, and all Israel in their cities.

“All Israel” as in “all that’s left”?
Maybe….

Ezra 6
16 Then the children of Israel, the priests and the Levites and the rest of the descendants of the captivity, celebrated the dedication of this house of God with joy.
17 And they offered sacrifices at the dedication of this house of God, one hundred bulls, two hundred rams, four hundred lambs, and as a sin offering for all Israel twelve male goats, according to the number of the tribes of Israel.
18 They assigned the priests to their divisions and the Levites to their divisions, over the service of God in Jerusalem, as it is written in the Book of Moses.

So you see my point that the northern tribes did not just evaporate.

Now here is why this is important.

Jeremiah 31:10
"Hear the word of the LORD, O nations and declare it in the coastlands far away; say, 'He who scattered Israel will gather him and will keep him as a shepherd keeps his flock.'

God has always known where His people are and it has never been far fetched that He can gather them back to His promised land.
Scoffers say that there is no way anybody from any Northern tribe can be identified and fulfill the promise of God. But the fact is that the Bible no where says any of these people were ever “lost” or that they couldn’t be recovered.

The late Herbert W. Armstrong and his Worldwide Church Of God taught that these tribes went into Europe and eventually America. The Mormons say they sailed on a ship to South America. Well, to be fair they do not say all the ten tribes sailed to America but the fact remains that so many stories have gone out through the years that these people left and melted into the nations or departed for other continents.

The Bible teaches that people from all twelve tribes were in the Southern kingdom of Judah when the Babylonians attacked and exiled them. All twelve tribes had families that came back so all twelve tribes have their members in the ethnic Jewish people of today. Identifying who they are is certainly no problem for God and is increasingly becoming no problem for us. DNA testing has yielded firm evidence of family history and with DNA databases growing larger and larger in Israel and the rest of the world a more detailed “map” of genetic history can be seen.

God will gather all His people into their land that He gave their fathers and He has no problem knowing who and where they are.

Of Visions And "Thus Sayest The Lord" Part 2

I have a real problem with people that say, "Thus sayest the Lord..." Never heard anybody say that?
(Stick around here a while.)

But I think you have. How many people have you heard say, "The Holy Spirit has told me..."? The Holy Spirit is God!
And when someone goes out and says, "The Holy Spirit says..." You're saying, "Thus sayest the Lord..." or even "God has revealed this to me."

Now, how serious is that? Very serious indeed. And the seriousness of it depends more or less on what it is the Holy Spirit is supposed to be saying.

In some of the charismatic churches that I have been in I have heard more than once, "The Lord says..."
I didn't see anybody taking notes.
I didn't see anybody taping it or filming it. Isn’t this is God talking!

Is it really that common that no one needs to write it down or keep track of it?

Now perhaps the word given is simply an exhortation or reminder of what's already been written in the Bible.
I guess I have no reason to condemn that. But the scriptures have laid out guidelines for pastors and teachers to give us that information, (1 Cor. 12:28-31), so I puzzle at the displays.

Brother Joe stands up at the worship service and says, "Thus sayest the Lord. Get your life right."

That's great. I agree with the statement. But why would the Holy Spirit need Brother Joe to stand up and do that when the Holy Spirit's sword is the Word Of God. Not Brother Joe or us.

The statement would be best summed up in Galatians 6:7-8

Galatians 6:7-8
7 Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap.
8 For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.

"Well. God is just using Brother Joe in a mighty way to convey His Word to us."

I don't see why this is "better" than the Holy Spirit speaking through Paul.
I don't see why the message is now superior because it was conveyed through someone in your church to the written words handed down through the ages by scores of believers trained by the written words.

But this is not as dangerous as some of the other words said in the name of the Holy Spirit.

"Thus sayest the Lord. You will be healed."
"Thus sayest the Lord. You will be rich."
"Thus sayest the Lord. This ministry will prosper."

Yes, God heals people today.

Yes, God prospers people.

But sometimes He doesn't. And when you stand up and say that He will do this or that and it turns out He doesn't.... Guess what? You're in big trouble!

Deuteronomy 18:20-22
20 "But the prophet who speaks a word presumptuously in My name which I have not commanded him to speak, or which he speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet shall die.'
21 “You may say in your heart, "How will we know the word which the LORD has not spoken?'
22 “When a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD, if the thing does not come about or come true, that is the thing which the LORD has not spoken. The prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him.

We can not live our lives as Christians going by what somebody says in our church services (or in internet forums).
I don't care if they're a pastor or a teacher or even an apostle!

Acts 17:11
Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so.

We absolutely have to have a reference point by which to judge whether this is from God or not. And this reference point is a book! The Bible.

I have a real hard time with Christians that don't read the Bible.
Or know what it says in the Bible.

1 Peter 2:2
like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation,

Where's the thirst? Where's the craving for the Word of God?

I'm sorry but I'm highly skeptical of someone’s claim to be empowered by the Holy Spirit and know so little about the Word of God.

Ephesians 6:17
And take THE HELMET OF SALVATION, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

Hebrews 4:12
For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

People standing up in church with a "word of knowledge" is not the Sword of the Holy Spirit.
YOU are not the Sword of the Spirit.
The Holy Spirit is not the Sword of the Spirit.
The scriptures are. (Eph. 6:17)

You can't be useful to the cause of Christ with your sword in it's sheath. (Nice Bible cover with Velcro straps but pristine white pages that've never been seen.)

We need to be in that book. Cover to cover.
Read it all the way through. Read it again.

When can you stop? NEVER!

Study the contexts. Analyse the Greek and Hebrew.
Pull it apart and chew the marrow out of it's bones! We need to be referring to commentaries by Godly teachers. (AFTER you've studied and meditated and tried to figure it out yourself.) People gifted by God with the gift of teaching. Which ones? Most of them! Read what they have to say. Compare it. Dissect it. Agree or disagree with what they say. Your Bible should be in tatters!

Deuteronomy 6:6-9
6 These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart.
7 You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up.
8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontals on your forehead.
9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

2 Timothy 3:16-17
16 All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness;
17 so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.

2 Timothy 2:15
Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

KNOW THAT BOOK!

You got something better to do?

So... This is the context and the only motivation I have for arguing against doctrines and teaching that I see as clearly in opposition with the teaching of scripture.

Take it any way you like but it's offered in love from a brother.

The Bible is the only thing we require to teach us how to live our lives as Christians. And the Holy Spirit trains us with this Word.