credit
Transcribed from the 1880 Robert Banks edition by David Price, email
ccx074@pglaf.org
LONDON: PRINTED BY
ROBERT BANKS, RACQUET COURT, FLEET STREET, E.C.
[Picture: Book cover]
THE
LOST TEN TRIBES,
AND
1882.
BY
REV. JOSEPH WILD, D.D.,
PASTOR OF UNION CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH,
BROOKLYN, N.Y.
LONDON:
ROBERT BANKS, RACQUET COURT, FLEET STREET. E.C.
1880.
[Picture: Great seal of the United States]
This device of the great Seal was adopted by act of the Continental
Congress, on June 20th, 1782, and re-adopted by the New Congress,
September 15th, 1789. The act provided for an _obverse_ and a _reverse_,
as set forth in this plate; the _reverse_ is not used. This is a plate
of the first and original Seal, which, by use, has been worn out. The
one now in use is the second; it differs from the first that, by an
accident, seven arrows were left out of the eagle's talon.
_BY THE SAME AUTHOR_.
Price 2s., post free 2s. 3d.,
THE FUTURE OF ISRAEL
AND JUDAH.
WITH A PORTRAIT OF DR. WILD.
PHILO-ISRAEL says:--"We recommend most strongly that all our friends
should obtain the book. Once in their hands, we know they will read it
to the end."
LONDON: ROBERT BANKS, RACQUET COURT, FLEET STREET.
PREFACE.
The following Discourses are presented to the public in book form,
agreeable to the request of numerous friends. I have selected twenty
from one hundred and thirty which I have given to my own congregation
during the past three years. I have tried to have them lean one against
another, to the end that the argument might be continuous and somewhat
complete. The reader will remember, however, that the vast subject of
which they treat, cannot be fairly and completely presented in such a
volume as this. Also, it should be borne in mind that the language,
style, and structure, are sermonic. Pulpit literature, in these things,
is peculiar and distinctively characteristic.
When I first entered the ministry, I made up my mind that I would try and
thoroughly understand the Scriptures. I soon found that a large portion
was of a prophetic nature. I set to work according to the usual method,
but to my sorrow I soon discovered that the method and rules in general
use for Scripture exegesis, among what they called orthodox authors, were
very defective and unsatisfactory. The fact was forced upon me that the
true method, or key of interpretation, was not in use. I was always
persuaded that the Bible was a unit, and that the principles contained in
such a unit were beautifully related; and because of such a faith, I
wondered more and more as I grew older why we had not a better key of
interpretation. Men spiritualised at random, without any kind of rule,
except their own fancy. In this manner they expounded the material
history of the Old Testament. The whole arrangement was a Babel.
I had faintly discerned that the Scriptures made a distinction between
the House of Israel and the House of Judah, and that the prophecies
belonging to one could not, in fairness, be applied to the other; and
that some prophecies applied to both. It always seemed strange to me,
that the people which God said He had chosen for Himself, should not be
known. The Jews were always known, but where was "Israel, His
inheritance?" Again, I could see no point in the Lord swearing so
positively about David's seed and throne lasting to the end of time.
Taking them in a typical sense, they were about the poorest types that
could have been selected, because of the shortness of their existence,
according to the general mode of interpretation. Just at this point of
my experience I came across a book, entitled "Our Israelitish Origin," by
the late John Wilson, the reading of which confirmed me in my
convictions, and aided me to a better knowledge of the good Book of
Providence.
After some twenty years of experience, I began to teach the principles of
interpretation embodied in these discourses. Some three years ago I
began to give a series of sermons on the Ten Lost Tribes. I soon found
my own congregation, as well as the public, were interested and profited
with the same, as was manifest from the large and constant attendance
thereon. By personal interviews and letters, I have been gratified to
learn that many have been savingly and truly converted to God through
these Discourses. Especially has this been the case with those who were
infidel in faith and action towards God and His Word. I have received
hundreds of letters thanking me that the key of interpretation presented
had made the Bible an interesting and easily understood book. The
interest created gave rise to numerous requests for copies of my sermons.
The notice by the public press now and again intensified the interest and
increased the demand. To meet this desire I made arrangements with the
editor and proprietor of a weekly paper called the _Champion_ to publish
my evening Discourses. At once the arrangement was found to be
profitable to him, agreeable to me and admirably suited to the public.
So for more than a year the _Champion_ has been my faithful messenger on
this line, and will continue to be. It is a weekly paper, published at
132, Nassau Street, New York; price one dollar per year. I am not
personally interested more than this. With its politics and other matter
I have nothing to do; but for the sermonic matter I hold myself
responsible. I feel free to express my pleasure in the wonderful
increase of its circulation. I am glad it goes all over the States, the
Dominion of Canada, and is in goodly demand in Great Britain.
After I had been preaching on this subject for some time, I made,
fortunately, the acquaintance of a name-sake of mine, Mr. Joseph Wild, of
Bay Ridge, near Brooklyn. On this subject I found him remarkably well
posted. He had lots of books, pamphlets, papers, and maps on the matter,
any or all of which he gave me liberty to use. Through him my attention
was called to the valuable writings of our English brethren on this
point, Edward Hine, Rev. Mr. Glover, M.A., Rev. Mr. Grimaldi, M.A.,
Philo-Israel, and a host of others, whose writings have helped me very
much. Our English friends have now a vast store of this kind of
literature; while, so far as I know, we have no home production. This is
one reason I feel satisfied in sending forth this volume.
For years I have been greatly interested in Pyramidology, in the
teachings of the Great Pyramid at Gizeh in Egypt. Twenty years ago I had
confidence to lecture frequently on the subject, and a few years since it
was in my mind to publish a small work on it. The necessity of such work
was wisely and competently taken out of my hands, however, by the
appearance of a book entitled, "The Stone Miracle," by Rev. Dr. Seiss, of
Philadelphia. This is a book admirably suited to beginners on this line
of study. And if one wants to go further and be specially informed on
Pyramidology, why let them get "Our Inheritance in the Great Pyramid," a
work by Professor Piazzi Smyth, Astronomer-Royal of Scotland. To this
man God has given a fine mind and a large heart for a special place and
work. But what pleases me above all, is that this Pyramid, being the
_Lord's Pillar_, and _His Witness_, should so finely tally with the
Scriptures and Providence; that the teachings of this monument are in
harmony with the principles of interpretation, as applied to the
prophecies in these Discourses.
By several small engravings I have sought to aid the mind of the reader
through the eye. In the Royal Arms of England there is considerable of
history; the position of the lions, unicorn, crown, and indeed all
connected with it is significantly expressive. In these things, the
accidental grouping, so far as man was concerned, were as much under
Divine supervision as the blundering of the Jews in the crucifying of
Jesus. So, Divinely considered, they Divinely reveal. We know not the
mind of our fathers in the matter of selecting and composing the items
that make up the great seal, but we know the mind of Providence.
The plate of the ragged old stone, called Jacob's pillow, is not very
distinct, but it is the best we could do. As it is, it will aid the
reader in forming a better idea. The stone in shape is an oblong square,
about 32 inches long, 13 broad, and 11 inches deep. At each end is an
iron ring, much worn and rusted. It is a bluish steel-like colour, mixed
with some veins of red. It has been in its present resting place 583
years.
The main idea I wish to convey in this book, is that God is conducting
His Providence through His ancient chosen people, Israel, whom I believe
are found in the Saxon race. And His throne on earth, through which flow
the purposes of Providence, is David's throne, which I believe to be at
present the English throne. Queen Victoria (and God bless her) I believe
to be of David's seed. The United States fulfils the _role_ of the Tribe
of Manasseh. Therefore, to understand the prophecies, Providence, and
the present movement of nations, as well as the future lot and destiny of
each, we must read the Scriptures in this light. God has made the
children of Israel and throne of David His executive, in time, on earth.
They are His executive for civilisation, evangelisation, order, and
conquest. Through them God will conquer the world to an universal peace.
As Moses was to God, so is Israel. Moses being a Divine executor, was to
the people a god--so is Israel to all mankind. Spiritual Israel will
come through literal Israel.
I have expressed myself freely, and shall cheerfully grant reviewers,
critics, and readers, the same privilege. I send forth this book with a
pure desire that it may do good. Amen, so mote it be.
JOSEPH WILD.
Brooklyn, May 1st, 1879.
KEY DISTINCTIONS.
DISCOURSE I.
"We have a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye
take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the
day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts. Knowing this first,
that no prophecy of the Scripture is of any private
interpretation."--2 Peter i. 19, 20.
I am about to give you a few Discourses on Prophecy, and in doing so I
desire, in the first place, to point out to you a few very important
distinctions included in the prophecies. Suppose the Bible to be a great
palace, with its royalty, royal children, servants, and subjects. You
desire to go through it and view it intelligently, and to understand all
about its inhabitants and laws of government; now to do so, you must have
keys, and you must learn who is who, their place, authority, and work.
If not so qualified, you could not pass from room to room, and you might
confound the King with some servant, and visitors might be mistaken for
the children of the household. Thus your ideas would be considerably
mixed; you would be guilty of talking about the King, when you really
meant some servant, and of prophesying for the royal children in the name
of the visitors. The years would come and go, but events would not
happen as you had prophesied. Each generation would take your report and
follow in your footsteps, thus confusion and disappointment would keep
pace with the passing generations.
What is here made a matter of supposition, has been a solemn fact on the
line of human experience. Men have studied the Bible and Providence in
this ignorant and confused way. Theologians have thrown aside all
restraints, and well-defined limitations and distinctions of the Bible in
their assumed liberty of expounding and spiritualising the same. No
matter to them that there is a God-revealed distinction between Judah and
Israel, Manasseh and Ephraim, Samaritans and Gentiles, and the throne of
David and the throne of the heathen. Writers and speakers are guilty of
using the words Judah and Israel in a synonymous sense, though the words
stand for different people, history, and prophecies, soon after the
descendants of Jacob settled in Palestine. To aid you in seeing this
historical confusion and folly, let me call your attention to them
separately.
JUDAH.
What does this word stand for in the Bible? In the _first_ place it is
the name of the fourth son of Jacob. In the _second_ place it was the
name of his direct descendants or Tribe. In the _third_ place it became
the name of the portion of the country occupied by this Tribe in the
Promised Land. In the _fourth_ place it became the name of a kingdom and
government; this fourth name included the Tribe of Benjamin and their
territory. In the _fifth_ place it became the name of the whole country
of Palestine, and is now often so used. To-day this word stands for
those we call Jews, who, as they allow among themselves, represent and
only include Judah and Levi.
On the death of Solomon the country and Tribes finally separated into two
Houses, kingdoms, and governments. Nine Tribes went with Jeroboam, and
three with Rehoboam--namely, Judah, Levi, and Benjamin. The nine-tribed
House was called Israel, the three-tribed House Judah. This separation
was about 975 B.C. (1 Kings xii.). From that day to this these two
Houses have never been united; but they are to be, as scores of
statements to that effect are in the good Book (Hosea i. 11). About 580
B.C. the House of Judah was taken captive into Babylon, remaining 70
years, then they returned to their own land and remained till the year of
our Lord 70, when Jerusalem was destroyed and they were scattered.
Prophecies referring to the Jews are numerous and in striking contrast to
those that refer to Israel. 1. The Jews were to be a scattered people.
2. A specially persecuted people. 3. To be without a nationality. 4. To
be without government. 5. Not to be owners of landed property, though
they will have money, until toward the latter days. 6. They were to be a
proverb. 7. They were to be few in number. 8. They are to retain a
special type of features. 9. They were to be repeatedly robbed. 10.
They were to reject Christ. 11. To retain the Mosaic service till
returned to their own land. 12. They are to keep their name, and many
such distinctions, none of which should be applied to Israel. All these
things have been and are fulfilled, or fulfilling, and though men are
wonderfully given to spiritualising, few, if any, venture to spiritualise
Judah's curses. Men and ministers calling themselves Gentiles, are rude
enough to spiritualise the blessings of Judah, and stealing them, apply
them to themselves.
ISRAEL.
1. A name given to Jacob after wrestling with the Angel. 2. A term
applied sometimes to all the descendants of Jacob. 3. In a spiritual
sense, those who believe in Christ. 4. A name that covered and included
the nine Tribes which went with Jeroboam and formed the kingdom of
Israel. They remained a distinct kingdom, and till now a nationality.
From 975 to 725 B.C. they had some 19 kings. They were finally carried
captive into Assyria by Shalmanezer (2 Kings xvii.). From that captivity
they have never returned; as a body they never can, only representatives,
as stated in Jer. iii. 14, "One of a city, and two of a family."
Now prophecy points out that it was Israel that was to be lost for a
while, and come to light in the latter day. They are known in the
Scriptures in contradistinction from others by such terms as the
following: "_All Israel_," "_All the House of Israel wholly_," "_The
House of Israel_," "_Men of Israel_," and God calls them His "_Servants_,
_Witnesses_, _Chosen People_, _Inheritance_, and _Seed_." The lot,
course, and providential portion of this people are very marked from any
other, especially from the Jew, with whom they are so often confounded.
The history of the two peoples have been wide apart and as different as
they well could be.
1. They were to be _lost_. 2. They were to be _divorced_ from the
Mosaic law. 3. They were to lose their _name_. 4. They were to lose
their _language_. 5. They were to _possess_ the isles of the sea, coasts
of the earth, waste and desolate places, to inherit the portion of the
Gentiles, their seed, land, and cities. 6. They are to be great and
successful _colonisers_. 7. Before them other people are to _die out_.
8. They are to be a _head_ nation. 9. To be a _company_ of nations. 10.
To be _great_ in war on land or sea. 11. To be _lenders_ of money. 12.
To have a _monarchy_. 13. To be _keepers_ of the Sabbath. 14. To have
David's _throne_ and seed ruling over them. 15. They are to _possess_
Palestine, and invite their brethren of Judah to return. And thus I
might repeat some sixty positive marks and distinctions setting forth
Israel; and yet men wilfully persist in confounding them with the Jews,
or looking for this great and favoured people of the Lord among the
lowest of human kind, Indians, Africans, and so on.
SAMARITANS.
The Samaritans were not Jews or Israelites, strictly speaking. They of
course became Jewish in their customs and worship. Originally they were
Assyrians. When the nine Tribes were carried captive, they were brought
and put in their place. "And the King of Assyria brought men from
Babylon and from Cuthah, and from Ava, and from Hamath, and from
Sepharvaim, and placed them in the cities of Samaria, instead of the
children of Israel" (2 Kings xvii. 24). The Jews and the Samaritans
never wholly mixed; one was always distasteful to the other. They never
were taken captive, and to this day they live in and about Mount Scychar,
numbering between three and four hundreds.
BENJAMIN.
The Tribe of Benjamin has a singular and special place in the history of
Israel and Judah. Neither the Old or New Testament can be well
understood unless one understands the place of this Tribe in Providence.
They were always counted one of the Ten Tribes, and reckoned with them in
the prophetic visions. They were only loaned to Judah about 800 years.
Read 1 Kings xi. They were to be a light for David in Jerusalem. God,
foreseeing that the Jews would reject Christ, kept back this one Tribe to
be in readiness to receive Him, and so they did. At the destruction of
Jerusalem they escaped, and after centuries of wanderings turn up as the
proud and haughty Normans. Finally they unite with the other Tribes
under William the Conqueror. A proper insight into the work and mission
of Benjamin will greatly aid one in interpreting the New Testament. He
was set apart as a missionary Tribe, and at once set to work to spread
the Gospel of Jesus. Most of the disciples were Benjaminites. Then,
after 800 years of fellowship with Judah, they were cut loose and sent
after their brethren of the House of Israel. It was needful that the
Lion and the Unicorn should unite.
MANASSEH AND EPHRAIM.
The history of these two representative characters is worth your careful
study. The whole of the circumstances of Jacob blessing them must be
accepted as Divinely directed. Manasseh was to be a great people, and so
I believe he is. In the United States I find this promise literally
fulfilled. This is the Key to the settlement of this land; to the
agitations of the Pilgrims and Puritans in England. The mission, work,
and place of the United States may be found in the prophecies relating to
this Tribe. Let anyone examine the great seal of the United States, and
study its design, and surprise will fill the mind that facts, Providence,
and prophecies do so wonderfully agree. Take the obverse side. Here you
have an eagle with outstretched wings; the bird is perfect, not double
headed and deformed, as in other cases where the eagle has been or is the
national bird. The striped escutcheon on its breast, in its beak a
scroll, inscribed with a motto, "_E pluribus Unum_"--one out of many, as
Manasseh was, and as the country is building up a grand nationality and
oneness out of all nations nearly. Over the head of the eagle there is a
_glory_--the parting of clouds by light; in the opening appear 13 stars,
forming a constellation argent, on an azure field. In the dexter or
right talon is an olive branch, a symbol of peace; in the sinister or
left talon is a bundle of 13 arrows. But it is on the reverse side of
the great seal that we have a wonder. Here we have an unfinished
Pyramid; a portion of the top is gone, exactly the same as the Great
Pyramid in Egypt is at this day--anticipating this very day (Isa. xix.
19): "In that day shall there be an altar to the Lord. And it shall be
for a sign and for a witness unto the Lord of hosts in the land of
Egypt." Now it is somewhat singular that the Congress of 1782 should
have adopted so remarkable a sign, one that would witness to God and tell
of their origin. The reverse side is the under side, and shows from
whence the nation came, and on what it is built. In the zenith--that is,
above the top of the Pyramid--is a triangle surrounded by a glory; and in
the centre is an all-seeing eye. Over the eye we have _Annuit Coeptis_,
which means, "_He prospers our beginning_." On the base of the Pyramid
we have in letters, 1776, and underneath the following motto--"_Novus
ordo seclorum_," meaning a "New era in the ages." The suggestion of the
items upon the great seal was from Sir John Prestwich, Bart., an
Englishman. He gave the suggestions to the American Minister, John
Adams, and thus the same were conveyed to Congress and adopted.
We have in the facts of the great seal a series of coincidents that
connect this country with the Tribe of Manasseh. When the Tribes
marched, Benjamin, Ephraim, and Manasseh went together on the West side
of the ark, for their homes were Westward. On their battalion banner was
the figure of a youth, denoting activity, with the motto, "The cloud of
Jehovah rest on them, even when they go forth out of the camp." Here we
have the origin of the cloud on the seal. And when we remember that
Manasseh was brought up at the foot of the Pyramid, and could see it from
his palace home at Memphis, then we get a cue to the figure of the
Pyramid on the seal. {23}
PYRAMID.
The Pyramid is a wonderful witness for God and His people. This building
in Egypt has stood for 4,000 years; finished and complete, it stood for
about 3,000 before anybody ventured to find a way into it. Then, at a
great cost of men, money, and time, a way was forced in by an Arab chief.
There surely is something remarkable that the only thing found in it
should be a stone trough, and more singular to my mind, that the Ark of
the Covenant and this stone trough should be of equal capacity; and the
laver in which the priest washed his feet in the temple was exactly of
the same size. And Solomon's molten sea contained just as much water as
would fill the King's Chamber in which this trough was found. Can any
man know these things and believe them to be accidental? Verily not.
They do most assuredly pledge a God and Providence.
EPHRAIM.
This word is not only the name of Joseph's son and the Tribe, but it is
used quite frequently in a generic sense, and stands for the Ten Tribes
and Manasseh. To Reuben by birthright was the lead politically, but it
was taken from him and given to Joseph, and so to Ephraim. From Judah
came the Chief Ruler--that is, Christ; but the birthright was Joseph's (1
Chron. v. 1).
THRONE OF DAVID.
To this throne God pledged under oath a perpetuity. Also He pledged that
some one of David's seed should always be on it. The throne and seed are
pledged an unconditional existence. This being so, it follows that they
must be now in existence, and that finally all thrones will be swallowed
up by this one. Queen Victoria is of David, and the English throne is
David's. Hence all the promises and prophecies referring to David's
throne may be found on this line. For prophecy not being of private
interpretation such facts may be proven.
GENTILES.
The word Gentile generally embraces all those nations and people outside
of the Twelve Tribes. Keeping these few distinctions in mind, you will
be enabled to read the Bible interestingly and with the proper
understanding. Prophetic evidence is a strong kind of proof. Study the
Word on this line and you will find Providence and history lending
glorious confirmation to the same.
ISRAEL AND THE GATES.
DISCOURSE II.
ISRAEL--HOW THE GATES OF HIS ENEMIES ARE TO BE GIVEN HIM--BY THIS SIGN
LOST ISRAEL MAY BE KNOWN--THE GIVING WILL CORRESPOND TO THE
MULTIPLYING--THE PROMISE, IN THIS DAY, IS RAPIDLY FULFILLING--ENGLAND,
DISRAELI AND "TANCRED," AND RUSSIA.
"That in blessing I will bless thee; and in multiplying, I will
multiply thy seed as the stars of heaven, and as the sand which is
upon the sea-shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his
enemies."--Gen. xxii. 17.
Under a Divine oath was this prophetic promise made to Abraham. At the
time it was given Abraham had, by command, offered his only son Isaac,
which offering, to all human appearance, would leave the old patriarch
again childless; but his faith staggered not, for human incompetence does
not circumscribe the bounds of Divine sufficience. The God who commanded
Abraham to offer, recalled the command at a certain stage of the
fulfilment, counting the faith of Abraham for righteousness. In
Abraham's faith Isaac was really sacrificed; hence the Divine approval:
"By Myself have I sworn, saith the Lord; for because thou hast done this
thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son, that in blessing I
will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars
of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea-shore; and thy seed
shall possess the gate of his enemies." An oath with men in this day
does not mean much in the way of confirmation, but not so with God's
oath. An oath ought to be sacred, and should be the end of doubt and
strife. God made a promise to Abraham, and because He could swear by no
greater, He sware by Himself. And Abraham lived to see the promise begin
to fulfil, and to-day the heirs of Abraham may look and see the same
promise fulfilling, for, as Paul says in Heb. vi. 17: "Wherein God,
willing more abundantly to show unto the heirs of promise the
immutability of His counsel, confirmed it by an oath."
Who are the heirs of promise? For to them belong many and precious
promises, both spiritual and temporal. Spiritually, they are to lead and
be responsible for the evangelisation of the world. Temporally, they are
to be a numerous seed, a powerful people. They are to occupy the ends of
the earth, the uttermost parts of the earth, the coasts of the earth, the
waste and the desolate places of the earth, the isles of the sea, the
heathen, as an inheritance. They are to inherit the Gentiles, and make
the desolate cities to be inhabited; they are to be the chief of nations;
they are to be a company of nations; they are to be a great people; they
are to possess the gates of their enemies. Surely such a people should
be found, for all these things make it impossible for them to be hid in a
corner. One cannot help saying with the Psalmist: "Blessed is the nation
whose God is the Lord; and the people whom He hath chosen for His own
inheritance."
In the English Court of Chancery are vast sums of money, large fortunes
waiting for heirs. The court frequently advertises for them, and many in
every land respond and are eager to prove their claims; they are anxious
to be known and accepted as the descendants and lawful heirs of certain
testators. It is oftentimes difficult to establish their claims and
prove satisfactorily their identity. The court demands that the
evidences of heirship be very definite. In this they are right. But we
venture to say that even the English Court of Chancery would not turn
away a claimant who had all the distinct marks and abounding evidence of
identity that mark and characterise the children of Abraham, especially
so in the latter day, for then these characteristics are to be clearer
and fuller.
The Jews are known; they have been known all down the centuries; they
have not been able to hide themselves. In keeping with the Word of God
they have fulfilled up to the present time the prophecies attaching to
them. In all the world they are estimated to number some nine millions.
The Jews include the children of Judah and Levi; these Two Tribes only.
The Jews themselves consent to this statement, and allow that the
descendants of Reuben, Simeon, Zebulun, Issachar, Dan, Gad, Asher,
Naphtali, Joseph, and Benjamin, are lost, but not extinct. They are in
the world, for God has not cast away His people for ever. If the Two
Tribes give us nine millions, how many should we expect the Ten Tribes to
furnish? Most certainly not less than forty-five millions. To the Ten
Tribes the special promises of fruitfulness were given. To the Ten
Tribes belong a greater portion of prophecy; and in the history of the
world more is allotted to Israel than to Judah. Indeed, the world's
history pivots on the Ten Lost Tribes.
I believe you know the God-revealed distinction between the words Israel
and Judah. You know that they have a distinct history. Their place and
work, promises and blessings, chastisements and rebukes, are as distinct
and different as silver and gold.
The spiritual heirs of Abraham are all who are embraced in the saving and
atoning covenant of grace in Christ. I do not say all who believe, for
there will be more in heaven without faith than those with--namely, all
those who have died before the years of responsibility, with many of the
Pagan world who, never having heard of a Saviour, have therefore never
denied Him. In a spiritual sense, they are children. I believe in this
matter with Paul, who says, when writing to the Romans, chap. ii.: "There
is no respect of persons with God; for as many as have sinned without law
shall also perish without law, and as many as have sinned in the law
shall be judged by the law. For when the Gentiles, which have not the
law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the
law, are a law unto themselves; which show the work of the law written in
their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts
the meanwhile accusing, or else excusing one another." Thus, under the
law which governs the Pagan, I presume many will be saved and many lost,
just as under the law of the Gospel. In Abraham all nations were to be
blessed, spiritually. In this sense Abraham's seed embraces persons of
every age, clime, and race.
But who are the seed of Abraham according to the flesh? We answer, the
descendants of the Twelve Tribes. Now to the natural seed the Bible
assigns a distinct work and place. This natural seed is divided in the
Bible, the word Israel standing generally for the Ten Tribes, and Judah
for Two Tribes. These divisions have separate paths appointed them to
walk in through the centuries. "All the House of Israel wholly," "the
whole House of Israel," "all the House of Israel," have a special work.
The Ten Tribes are especially called in the Scriptures the seed of
Abraham. Sometimes "My chosen," again "Mine inheritance," and "My
servant." God, in referring to them in their scattered state, and of His
gathering them together, says (Isa. xli. 8): "But thou, Israel, art My
servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen; the seed of Abraham My friend--thou
whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, and called thee from the
chief men thereof, and said unto thee, Thou art My servant; I have chosen
thee and not cast thee away." The Ten Tribes are sometimes designated by
the word Jacob. If we once get a clear idea who the seed are, then we
can search among the people of the earth to find them, because in the
latter day they were to be so different from other people, and distinctly
marked, we will have no great difficulty in finding them. Of the special
marks, one was they were to possess the gates of their enemies. The
multitudinous seed and other characteristics we will pass by for the
present.
This seed were to possess the gates of their enemies; of this we are
assured by the oath of God. The word gate here, you will admit, is used
in a generic sense. It means a place of prominence, a position of
strength, a strategetic point, as the entrance into a city. Remembering
that in olden times the cities were walled around, the gate was an
important point of defence; or, as the narrow entrance into a bay, like
the entrance into New York Bay or port, the Narrows we call them. Here
the cities of New York and Brooklyn could best and first be defended.
Again, a gate in the general vernacular means any stronghold: a tower, an
island, a mountain pass. Now, of this seed it is plainly stated that
they shall possess the gates of their enemies.
The text would be very finely illustrated if we supposed that Mexico held
Governor's Island, in the middle of our bay, and defiantly dictated to us
doctrines of trade, politics, and religion. As arrogant and as impudent
as this would seem, yet such is the case with this seed of Abraham and
other nations. Believing that the Saxon race are the Ten Lost Tribes, it
then follows that the English nation is the chief representative of these
Tribes, and that they should be in possession of the gates of their
enemies. Are they? We answer, yes. And every year confirms and makes
more clear the answer. This you say is a theory. Grant it. You know
that in science a theory is formed and then applied. If you form a
theory about the tides or formation of the planets, or this world, your
theory with others is applied to known facts to see if it will fit them,
to see if it will account for them, and to see if it is in harmony with
the same. Now science accepts that theory which applies best, that which
accounts for facts the most reasonably, and harmonises the most
naturally. Such theory is then the science of the day, and will be so
accepted and so taught until it is supplanted by a better. Try, then,
the theory I have advanced by these rules.
Take the Islands of Jersey and Guernsey in the English Channel, between
England and France, nearer to the French shore than England; the
inhabitants, being a majority of them French, speaking French. Yet when
France was England's greatest and most dangerous enemy, England held
then, as now, the gates of her enemies. Properly speaking, and adjudged
by any human rule, they belong to France--as naturally as the island of
Heligoland, at the month of the Elbe, belongs to Germany. Gibraltar,
Malta, Cyprus, Suez Canal, Island of Perim in the Straits of Babelmandeb
in the Red Sea, and Socotra, in the same sea; also Aden in the Red Sea,
covering Arabia; Peshawur, the very entrance of or from India into
Afghanistan. In and around the vast empire of India you have Bombay,
Calcutta, Madras, with many similar strongholds; Rangoon, on the Irawady
river, commanding and even menacing Burmah. The vast empire of China is
carefully guarded and held in check by such gates as Singapore, Malacca,
Penang, Hong Kong and Cowloon. Sarawak in Borneo, and Labuan off the
coasts, are such gates. Africa is being gradually gobbled up; her
strongholds and vast areas of country are falling into the hands of
England; the coasts are fast coming under British rule. Recently England
has come into possession of three gates--namely, the island of Socotra,
near the Red Sea, the island of Cyprus in the Mediterranean, and the
Sublime Porte, the lofty gateway, Constantinople. And it is now rumoured
that England is negotiating with Portugal for Delogoa Bay in
South-eastern Africa; price, three million dollars. But this people are
not satisfied with all these gates. They want--and they will get what
they want in a very short time, thank Heaven; not what they
deserve!--they want the famous Khyber Pass. This pass is a narrow road
between mountain rocks that rise over two thousand feet at the lowest
point. It is some twenty-eight miles long, while for twenty-two miles
the average width is only 150 feet. The Eastern end the English already
hold, called the Peshawur Pass.
Afghanistan is a country in Asia. It is about the size of England, 460
miles from North to South, and 430 from East to West. On the North it is
bounded by Turkestan, East by India, South by Beloochistan, and West by
Persia. The population numbers about 7,000,000. They are as wild as the
country is broken and irregular. They are chiefly agriculturists. The
country is rich in minerals and timber. In time past they have seldom
been at peace, being very generally at war among themselves. Afghan is a
Persian word, and means that which is wrapped around--no doubt having
reference to the mountain chain that hems in the whole land. The people
themselves, however, name their country Vilayet, which means the land of
our ancestors. They claim that in their country lived Adam and his
children, also Noah and his. They say they had in their possession once
the ark of the covenant, but they have lost it. While it was with them,
if they took it into battle, victory was sure to be theirs. At the
present time they have Noah's ark. It is embedded in the ground, with a
portion protruding out, which pilgrims to the top of Dera Ismael
Khan--that is, the sacred mountain of Israel--are permitted to see and
touch. Many have supposed the Afghans to be the Ten Lost Tribes. It has
been the folly of many of the learned, in time past, to hunt for, and
actually expect to find, the chosen of God in some out-of-the-way place;
to find them few, poor, and deluded--the poorer, the fewer, and the more
wretched, the better. Hence, the wild Indians of the continent, the
bushmen of Africa, the aborigines of Australia, the Laplanders of the
North, and many such have been chosen of men--though not of God.
The Afghan country, no doubt, once had intercourse with Palestine.
During Solomon's reign many Jews left the land as merchants. Solomon
built store cities in Hamath, Tadmor in the wilderness, and many others.
These store cities were on the great highway which he made through the
desert, so as to bring the trade of Dedan and Sheba to Jerusalem. That
Hebrew names are given to the mountains, places, rivers, and persons, no
one can deny; but such does not prove them to be the Lost Tribes--it
shows away back Jewish influence and intercourse. They do not speak the
Hebrew, but two languages called the Pukhtu and Pushtu. In either
language there are few, if any, traces of the Hebrew. No doubt the Lost
Tribes, after being scattered into Central Asia, when taken captive about
725 B.C., wandered, some of them into Afghan, and probably for a time
settled there, and gave names to the country. The Afghans themselves
went into the country from India, and as the Tribes moved Westward they
left the Afghans in possession.
The Afghan country comes now into great importance because it is on the
highway of the march of Israelitish civilisation and progress. England
wants it; and I predict she shall get it. Russia wants it, and at
present seems to have the upper hand; but Russia or England, or the
world, can avail nothing against the purposes of Jehovah. The gates are
promised to Israel, therefore she will get them. The English have
already an army of 35,000 men in the Peshawur Valley. Russia is
gathering a force, and ere long the two countries will be brought face to
face. The end of the whole muddle will be that England will take charge
of Afghan. Thirty-three years ago Disraeli wrote his novel called
"Tancred." In this novel he makes the Queen of England the Empress of
India, and one of her favourite officers is made Earl Beaconsfield; so
far fancy has become fact. But in that same novel the future of the
present strife has been set forth. It has been very finely put by the
London _Spectator_:--
"There is a story going about, founded, we believe, on good authority,
that when some one quoted 'Tancred,' two or three months ago, in Lord
Beaconsfield's presence, the Prime Minister remarked: 'Ah! I perceive
you have been reading "Tancred." That is a work to which I refer more
and more every year--not for amusement, but for instruction.' And if
anyone will take the trouble just now to refresh his memory of 'Tancred,'
he will see how much Lord Beaconsfield has borrowed from it in relation
to his policy. Turn, for instance, to this passage: 'If I were an Arab
in race as well as in religion,' said Tancred, 'I would not pass my life
in schemes to govern mere mountain tribes.' 'I'll tell you,' said the
Emir, springing from his divan, and flinging the tube of his nargileh to
the other end of the tent, 'the game is in our own hands if we have
energy. There is a combination which would entirely change the whole
face of the world and bring back empire to the East. Though you are not
the brother to the Queen of the English, you are, nevertheless, a great
English prince, and the Queen will listen to what you say, especially if
you talk to her as you talk to me, and say such fine things in such a
beautiful voice. Nobody ever opened my mind like you. You will
magnetise the Queen as you have magnetised me. Go back to England and
arrange this. You see, gloss over it as they may, one thing is clear, it
is finished with England . . . Let the Queen of the English collect a
great fleet, let her stow away all her treasure, bullion, plate, and
precious arms; be accompanied by all her court and chief people, and
transfer the seat of her empire from London to Delhi. There she will
find an immense empire ready-made, a first-rate army, and a large
revenue. In the meantime I will arrange with Mehemet Ali. He shall have
Bagdad and Mesopotamia, and pour the Bedouin cavalry into Persia. I will
take care of Syria and Asia Minor. The only way to manage the Afghans is
by Persia and by the Arabs. We will acknowledge the Empress of India as
our suzerain, and secure for her the Levantine coast. If she like, she
shall have Alexandria, as she now has Malta. It could be arranged. Your
Queen is young. She has an _avenir_. Aberdeen and Sir Robert Peel will
never give her this advice; their habits are formed. They are too old,
two _ruses_. But you see! the greatest empire that ever existed; besides
which she gets rid of the embarrassment of her chambers! and quite
practicable! For the only difficult part, the conquest of India, which
baffled Alexander, is all done.' Who can avoid seeing that Lord
Beaconsfield has been quite recently referring to this passage--'not,' as
he said, 'for amusement, but for instruction?' These are all the ideas
of his recent policy in germ--especially the treatment of the British
Empire as having its centre of gravity in the far East--the use of the
Indian Army for conquest to be made in Western Asia--the acquisition of
the Levantine coast for Great Britain--the active alliance between the
British power and the Mohammedan power--and last, not least, the getting
rid, to a great extent at least, by the help of Indian leverage, of 'the
embarrassment of the chambers.' For the last eight months, at least,
English policy has evidently been borrowed from 'Tancred.' The monarch,
for anything we know, has been 'magnetised.' The Cabinet assuredly have.
Lord Derby and Lord Carnarvon have been treated much as the Emir in
'Tancred' would have treated 'Aberdeen and Sir Robert Peel'--thrown aside
as two 'ruses.'"
England has indeed adopted an Oriental policy, and forward she must go to
execute Jehovah's purpose. Russia is preparing on a gigantic scale. In
Prussia the most flourishing branch of trade among the Germans at present
is the manufacturing of arms for Russia. Though the late war be over,
still Russia is buying ships, and fitting them out in this country. She
feels bitterly her defeat through English diplomacy: England taking
Cyprus, assuming protection over Asiatic Turkey, and making Russia yield
back to Turkey 30,700 geographical miles which was contained in the
original Treaty of San Stefano. The following from the Government organ
of Russia will give you some idea of her chagrin.
The St. Petersburg _Golos_ says that the Treaty of Berlin has produced an
almost crushing impression on the Russian public. "It is felt that
Russia has not attained her object; that she has been deceived by her
friends, and that she has foolishly helped her enemies with her victories
. . . What is the reason of our failure? One-half per cent. of our
population have perished in the war, hundreds of millions have been
expended, and yet the Eastern Question is not solved and the Treaty of
Berlin is merely a truce. The last war has clearly shown all our
national peculiarities as well as our moral and material strength . . .
All the military requirements which depended on the inbred qualities of
the Russian soldier were brilliantly carried out; but where knowledge and
preparation were demanded we were not equal to the task. It was probably
for this reason that we felt so much hurt on reading of the boldness of
Lord Beaconsfield, who doubtless reckoned on the superior culture of
Englishmen to that of Russians. All classes of Russian society are
responsible for this. We do not estimate culture and knowledge at their
true value. Most of us say that mental work does not bring money, and
that culture is a means of corruption . . . In Western Europe, on the
other hand, people have arrived by hard experience at the conviction that
intelligence, capacity, culture, and energy, bring men to the front, and
give them peace at home and power abroad. It is the knowledge of how to
make the best possible use of their energy and abilities that has enabled
the English to derive success from our victories and sacrifices. May
this be a lesson to us."
But enough; one knows the end ere they begin, for the Word of God is
true. We do not argue that the English are so much smarter than other
people; no, but we account for their success because they are the
executive nation of Divine Providence. It falls to the lot of those who
do not believe this theory to account for their success without allowing
them to be smarter.
ISRAEL AND TERRITORY.
DISCOURSE III.
PROMISES TO ISRAEL--MATERIAL NATURE--LOCATION OF THE TRIBES IN CHRIST'S
DAY--GOD'S PROVIDENCE--BRITISH AND AMERICAN RULE--LIFE FROM THE
DEAD--TEACHING THE NATIONS PEACEFUL ARBITRATION--ENGLAND AND
RUSSIA--AFGHANISTAN FALLS TO ANGLO-ISRAEL--GOD'S POLITICAL
GEOGRAPHY--ANGLO-SAXON EVANGELISATION--RUSSIA OPPOSING IT--BRITISH AND
RUSSIAN OUTPOSTS IN CONTACT--WAIL OF JUDAH--EARTH'S GIRDLE.
"Enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the
curtains of thine habitations; spare not, lengthen thy cords, and
strengthen thy stakes; for thou shalt break forth on the right hand
and on the left; and thy seed shall inherit the Gentiles, and make
the desolate cities to be inhabited."--Isa. liv. 2, 3.
In the writings of the prophets the feminine gender is often used when
speaking of the House of Israel, and the masculine when denoting the
House of Judah. Quite frequently Israel is spoken of as a divorced
woman, as being cast off, and as being barren. Judah remaining faithful
to the throne of David and the temple service, and abiding in the land
much longer than Israel, is presented as one married. So you will
understand Jeremiah iii. 8, when he says: "And I saw, when for all the
causes whereby backsliding Israel committed adultery I had put her away,
and given her a bill of divorce." Again, Isaiah l. 1: "Thus saith the
Lord, Where is the bill of your mother's divorcement whom I have put
away?" Yet, though Israel was divorced, forsaken, cast off, and
desolate, she was to have more children than married Judah. So the verse
preceding the text says: "Sing, O barren, thou that didst not bear; break
forth into singing, and cry aloud thou that didst not travail with child;
for more are the children of the desolate than the children of the
married wife, saith the Lord." Then come the words of the text bidding
her enlarge the place of her tent, or dwelling-place, to stretch forth
her curtains, so as to cover over the new-gotten habitations. To spare
not--that is, to be not tardy, or slow--in lengthening out her
cords--that is, her influence--and strengthen her stakes--that is, her
authority; but to break forth on every hand where there is an opening,
and inherit the seed of the Gentiles, and make the languishing and
poverty-stricken cities of the nations to be inhabited; in this conquest
to go on and fear not.