The Great Bwana Mzungu to Africa and 100 Caucasians, the greatest Church of God prophet to ever exist in human history popped his homeo-pathetic cork today over British Israelism and its racist principles that have been used to slaughter and abuse millions around the world (i.e. King Leopold of Belgium).
After some of his usual blabbering, The Great Bwana Mzungu to Africa and 100 Caucasians had to lash out at us:
On June 4, 2020, the anti-COG site Banned by HWA posted the following:
Kubik and the entire United Church of God need to IMMEDIATELY discard their belief in British Israelism. …
Will Victor Kubik do what is right and set the example for all the other Churches of God and publicly denounce the racist myth of British Israelism?
British Israelism is neither racist nor is it a myth.
Oh, dear! Someone is NOT happy in Grover Beach! One of his pet doctrines has been disparaged! Without it, his little lacking-in-personality cult would have no need to exist.
He then goes on to blabber about the so-called "lost tribes" of Israel. Armstrongism has milked this concept for decades as one of its foundational doctrines, which incidentally is 100% irrelevant to ANYONE'S salvation.
“The ten lost tribes” is not a Biblical phrase, nor is there any similar expression implying the loss of any of the tribes. The phrase has been invented to support a theory, as a little Biblical history will show.
The twelve tribes formed one united kingdom under King Solomon (1 Kings 2:12), but because of the evils that appeared during his reign (chap. 11:6), the Lord allowed ten tribes to revolt (verses 30, 31) and form a kingdom un der Jeroboam with their capital in Samaria, to the north. Rehoboam, who declined the advice of seasoned counselors, became the king of Judah, or the southern kingdom of two tribes (Judah and Benjamin; 1 Kings 12:1-24; 2 Chron. 10:1-19), with his capital in Jerusalem. From then on the history of Israel, the northern kingdom, was for more than two hundred years a dismal succession of apostasy, rebellion, murder, usurpation. As a result, large numbers deserted to the southern kingdom of Judah, as is clearly stated in 2 Chronicles 15:9: “And he [King Asa] gathered all Judah and Benjamin, and the strangers with them out of Ephraim and Manasseh, and out of Simeon: for they fell to him out of Israel in abundance, when they saw that the Lord his God was with him.”
Prior to the end of the northern kingdom, King Hezekiah of Judah attempted a revival (2 Chron. 30:1-27) by inviting them to return to the worship of God, and a multitude from the north came to Jerusalem. But the days of the northern kingdom were numbered, and it came to an end (2 Kings 17:6) by an Assyrian invasion of Samaria and the deportation of nearly 28,000 captives:
In the ninth year of Hoshea the king of Assyria took Samaria, and carried Israel away into Assyria, and placed them in Halah and in Habor . . . , and in the cities of the Medes. (See also verses 7-9; 18-23; 18:9-12; compare 2 Chron. 30:1-18.)
The fall of Samaria marked the end of the north ern kingdom of Israel after a tragic history of little more than two centuries. Conceived and born in the spirit of rebellion, it had no chance of survival. Twenty kings with an average rule of 10 years had sat upon the throne, 7 of them as murderers of their predecessors.
If it had been recognized that with the downfall of Samaria “the ten-tribed kingdom of Israel” ceased forever to exist as a separate political entity, no British-American-Israel theory would have arisen.
This and other captivities and deportations did not, however, mean that all the members of the ten tribes were transported from their own land into exile. For in stance, about one hundred years after the Assyrian deportations of Israel, King Josiah of Judah instituted a revival and repaired the Temple at Jerusalem (2 Chron. 34:1-9)—a revival in which the citizens of Ephraim and Manasseh and other Israelite remnants left in the land participated. In 2 Chronicles 35:17 and 18 we read of a great Passover observed by Judah and Israel.
It is estimated that not more than fifty thousand of Israel were deported to Assyria, in harmony with the custom of ancient despots to remove mainly leaders and people likely to foment revolt. This means that there were no completely lost tribes down to this time, and here the prophet Jeremiah, who prophesied to both Judah and Israel from the days of Josiah till the end of Zedekiah’s reign, the last ruler of Judah, enters the picture.
Not a word does Jeremiah utter in his prophecies to both Israel and Judah of any idea of lost tribes and their future rediscovery. That carries us down to the final Babylonian captivity of the southern kingdom
It should be noted that when the Persian King Cyrus released God’s people from Babylon to return to their homeland in 536BC they are not called Jews by Isaiah, but "Jacob" and "Israel," also "Israel mine elect," so that Isaiah was also unaquanted with the distinction made by the Anglo-Israelites between "Israelites" and "Jews" (see Isaiah 45:4, 11:25, on the use of these terms). The True Israel of God: The Anglo-American-Israel Theory Examined by Harry W. Lowe - General Conference Field Secretary
Also:
Over time, many theories, legends, and myths developed concerning these tribes. In the 19th century, literature started to appear, declaring the so-called 10 lost tribes had migrated into Western Europe, eventually settling in the British Isles. Claims were made that people within the United Kingdom descended from the “lost” tribes of Israel. This false belief became known as British-Israelism and Anglo-Israelism.
The truth is there is no such thing as the 10 lost tribes because they were never lost! For example, King Hezekiah invited the remnant of Israel to Jerusalem to keep the Passover with the tribe of Judah. Many came from the tribes of Asher, Ephraim, Manasseh, and Zebulun and identified themselves with the house of David (2 Chr. 30:1, 10–11, 25–26; 34:6–9). Most probably never left Judah. Are the 10 Tribes of Israel Lost?
And this:
The mystery of the lost ten tribes of Israel endures in legend today, but the provided evidence does show that those who had a military occupation and served the Assyrian army as auxiliary units seemed to have retained their identity. As for the overall Israelite population, they too can be found, but by an individual basis, based on who held different jobs of a non-military nature.
It appears that the so-called “Lost Ten Tribes of Israel” were never lost. Instead, they served, and over a generation or two, integrated within the local Assyrian populations, eventually losing their identity. Ancient Orgins: Were the Lost Ten Tribes of Israel Ever Lost?
All of this useless claptrap is just one more tool of diversion that COG leaders use to divert attention away from the ONE they should be following and trusing in. As fascinating as the stories and myths may be, they still are irrelevant to any Chrsitan.
Mat 10:6 But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
ReplyDeleteUh-oh.
Explain DNA Bob! There is no DNA evidence for British Israelism.
ReplyDeleteJust like there is no "double blind" proof that you are a prophet either!
Cross Reference to Matthew 10
ReplyDeleteLuke 9:4-6 “Whatever house you enter, stay there, and from there depart. And whoever will not receive you, when you go out of that city, shake off the very dust from your feet as a testimony against them.”
6 So they departed and went through the towns, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere.
verse 10
10 And the apostles, when they had returned, told Him all that they had done.
Uh-oh, I think they knew where the "lost" were at. I guess they got lost again
Seven hundred years ago the Scottish nation considered they were descended from the Israelites. Extract from the Declaration of Arbroath, sent to the Pope in 1320:-
ReplyDeleteMost Holy Father and Lord, we know and from the chronicles and books of the ancients we find that among other famous nations our own, the Scots, has been graced with widespread renown.
They journeyed from Greater Scythia by way of the Tyrrhenian Sea and the Pillars of Hercules, and dwelt for a long course of time in Iberia among the most savage tribes, but nowhere could they be subdued by any race, however barbarous.
Thence they came, twelve hundred years after the people of Israel crossed the Red Sea, to their home in the west where they still live today.
The Britons they first drove out, the Picts they utterly destroyed, and, even though very often assailed by the Norwegians, the Danes and the English, they took possession of that home with many victories and untold efforts; and, as the historians of old time bear witness, they have held it free of all bondage ever since.
In their kingdom there have reigned one hundred and thirteen kings of their own royal stock, the line unbroken a single foreigner.
That sounds more like a time-fixing reference than a claim of Israelitish origin.
DeleteMat 10:6 But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
ReplyDeleteRead Psalm 119:176. Read Jeremiah 50:6.
Uh-oh. When a shepherd in Jerusalem lost a sheep, he didn't assume that the lost sheep might have gone to Babylon or to England. Furthermore, one can even be a "lost sheep" in the middle of a crowd of sheep who are not lost. The Judean Jews of Jesus' day were every bit as lost as the Jews of Alexandria and parts further west. Matthew 10:6 doesn't mean what HWA wants you to think it means.
What of James 1:1. It says:
ReplyDelete"James, a bond-servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve [Hebrew] tribes [scattered abroad among the Gentiles] in the dispersion: Greetings (rejoice)!" (Amplified Bible)
12:28 said:
ReplyDelete"Anonymous Anonymous said...
Mat 10:6 But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
Uh-oh."
You should read the entirety of the Ancient Origins article that No2 linked to the article. It pretty well debunks the COG myths that they were lost. They assimilated into all of the regions around them just like nationalities and races have assimilated today.
Uh-oh!
Apparently Anon 4:31 PM doesn't know what "the dispersion" (diaspora) means. By definition, a diaspora is scattered, not lost. If it were lost, it wouldn't be recognized as a diaspora.
ReplyDeleteAnon 12:28:00 PM PDT
ReplyDeleteUh-oh,lol.
Matt 9:36 He was moved with compassion for them like sheep having no shepherd.
Jesus knew where Israel were and who they were….right in front of Him. So of course the scripture said go to the lost sheep of Israel. To a lost peoples without a shepherd.
Was John the Baptist in Europe or the Uk?
Acts 13:24 John preached……to all the people of Israel.
Luke 1:76-77, 80 to give knowledge of salvation to His people……till the day of his manifestation to Israel.
It’s not rocket science. Scripture alone too easily debunks this BI nonsense.
Uh-oh.
Exactly Anon 6:12 a diaspora means a spreading of people, not lost
ReplyDeleteAnd when you use common sense, how would James write a letter to a group of people whose location was lost. Paul wrote letters to the groups of people in their location. If my friends are lost somewhere I wouldn’t know where to send my letter. They simply blended in and mixed in the known areas where the apostles could witness and write to.
It would be like writing a letter to a Jewish family in Germany in the 1930s who were spread about in a diaspora, not lost because we know their current location and one can write to them or try and rescue them.
Much like Matthew 10:6 Go to the lost sheep of Israel. The disciples knew where they were.
Of course COGlodytes are going to defend British Israelism. There is a history of members proving to their own satisfaction that it is a false theory, and then leaving the church. The defenders realize from those examples what is at stake. They know that so much of Armstrongism is based on BI that the whole religion unravels without it. So, they put on their blinders and continue to plod down their little tunnels.
ReplyDeleteCorrect, the BI doctrine is about 50% of their religion. Meanwhile they ignore:
ReplyDeleteThe Dwellers in Jerusalem even after the 2nd Captivity (Babylon) 1 Chron. 9:1-2.
1 Chronicles 9:3 Now in Jerusalem the children of Judah dwelt, and some of the children of Benjamin, and of the children of Ephraim and Manasseh:
Nehemiah 11:3 These are the heads of the province who dwelt in Jerusalem. (But in the cities of Judah everyone dwelt in his own possession in their cities—Israelites, priests, Levites, Nethinim, and descendants of Solomon’s servants.)
They might want to focus more on that Master Shepherd so they won't be a lost sheep. I love that Matthew 9:36, it puts it into context.
I really like the comments. Lots of facts and common sense.
ReplyDeleteRSK
ReplyDeleteI was more interested in the 'They journeyed from Greater Scythia' reference!
To 7:03, I know this topic is great simply just using scriptures
ReplyDeleteAnother example in this concept of shepherd, flock and sheep can be found in scripture when Paul was addressing the elders in Ephesus.
Acts 20:27-29 For I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God. Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. (Sounds like Matthew 10:16)
These are Gentile Christians, and Paul is using terms such as shepherd and flock.
See Armstrongist will use the “sheep not of this fold” to support the lost tribes of Israel doctrine.
John 10:16 And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd.
The EXPANDED BIBLE says this:
John 10:16 I have other sheep that are not in this ·flock [fold; pen; a reference to future Gentile followers of Christ], and I must bring them also. They will listen to my voice, and there will be one flock and one shepherd.
This verse can be supported by the Gentiles being grafted into the branch or sheep-fold just like (Romans 11:17-24).
Who hears His (Christ) voice? Because Jesus said of this fold, they would hear His voice!!
John 10:27 My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me
Gentile Church or End Time Church
Revelation 3:20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.
Some centuries old lost group or tribe of people that went into captivity that don’t/didn’t hear His voice are not of His fold or flock. It's that simple.
Poor little tiny of a man and fake prophet Bob the great white saviour of Africa and his paid for members. Why can’t anyone not on his payroll take him serious? I bet he will have a dream now about the offshoot church Hope of Israel. It seems like Veljic not only speaks better than flappy hands but also seems to know his Bible better.
ReplyDeletethe term lost did not mean they were anonymous, not at that time when James wrote. One need not harmonize the terms lost and dispersion. If the ancient Israelites during the 1st century were scattered abroad, they were dispersed, recognized or not by others far away. What of the passages in Ezekiel 37? this shows that the Israelites and Judah have never been reunited, not yet. What of the detailed genealogies and family records given in Ezra, nehemiah and in the Chronicles. Yes, a few Israelite non-Judah stragglers had been left in the land by the Assyrians, and they repopulated this conquered area as well which shows that the northern tribes never did return. even the late Dr. J. Vernon McGee contradicts himself here when he says that all of the Israelites returned and blended into the people we know as the Jews, and then he says that likely only around 2% or 2.5% of the northern tribes actually ever did return.
ReplyDeleteThe tribes are not lost! They have just been assimilated to the point where they are no longer recognizable as separate entities. Nobody in the Bible ever referred to the Samaritans by one of the Israelite tribal names! Why do that now with the British and American melting pots??? If you hold lost tribes accountable and desire to punish them, you can't just punish a few select groups. In order to be fair, the punishment would include every person who had measurable Israelite dna! This includes Ethiopians, and the Lemba tribe of Africa! How could you selectively punish an English-speaking nation whose monarchy was German but had changed their family name? Or a melting-pot nation which had majority German dna? The very idea might have flown during an era when serious academics were not involved in discussions over British Israelism, but unless some authoritarian politicians first orchestrate an unparalleled ethnic cleansing operation, or give everyone a dna swap, the USA and UK simply do not qualify as Manasseh and Ephraim!
ReplyDeleteAgain, Armstrongist will use the “sheep not of this fold” to support the lost tribes of Israel doctrine.
ReplyDeleteJohn 10:16 And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd.
The EXPANDED BIBLE says this:
John 10:16 I have other sheep that are not in this ·flock [fold; pen; a reference to future Gentile followers of Christ], and I must bring them also. They will listen to my voice, and there will be one flock and one shepherd.
This verse can be supported by the Gentiles being grafted into the branch or sheep-fold just like (Romans 11:17-24).
Who hears His (Christ) voice? Because Jesus said of this fold (flock), they would hear His voice!!
John 10:27 My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me
Gentile Church or End Time Church
Revelation 3:20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. (John 14:23)
Only the converted can hear the Shepherds voice spiritually. Jewish Christians we’re the first converted then the Gentile Christians came in later. (John 10:16).
Exactly 5:50, many people in American have German DNA , so that does that mean.
ReplyDeleteOr since they refer to Ephraim as Britain somehow the magic wand is waved and when the British descended peoples reach the shores of America in the 1600's, then America miraculously becomes Manasseh. Come on COGs, it's not even logical.
Then you have all this migration going on, people coming into the UK, coming into America mixing. People have migrated for centuries. Britain was a part of the Holy Roman Empire until Henry VIII, the Saxons come from Germany.
Remember where or who was Christ sent to:
ReplyDeleteMatthew 15:24 But He answered and said, “I was not sent except to the lost sheep of
the house of Israel.”
So did Christ go to Europe or the British Isles? NO, he went into his own jewish people (John 1:11, Romans 15:8)
But armstrongism mentions Peter going to the British Isles nearly 30 years later. Maybe he did? But Christ was referring to spiritually being lost. And that lost means spiritually perishing without a shepherd (Jer. 50:6 & Mat. 9:36)
Strongs #622 apollumi: (a) I kill, destroy, (b) I lose, mid: I am perishing (the resultant death being viewed as certain
Uncle Roddy used to have a theory that Jesus travelled with his uncle Joseph of Arimathea, visiting remote parts of the Roman Empire such as Western Europe.
ReplyDeleteSo if Christ knew where they were and that they weren't "lost" after 1400 years, what makes you think that He doesn't know where they are today, 2000 years later, esp since prophecy declares that they are coming back to their original lands? (The 12 tribes are coming back according to Luke 22:30 and, if they are, they are grouped together in communities and nations because like associates with like. The Jewish nation is a good example of this)
ReplyDeleteYou quoted Mt 10:6 but what about Mt 15:24, where we see that Christ travelled far north to the Sidon/Tyre regions (of Asher) to preach to the lost sheep of the "house of Israel". He knew where they were even though He called them lost -- which is a ref to their spiritual condition.
Someone mentioned the difference between being scattered and lost. Nonsense. One can be both whether in the physical or spiritual sense. If you have Christ it doesn't matter if you are scattered. If you don't have Him you are lost, whether you are scattered or not.
Just because we said that they were lost doesn't mean that we didn't know where they are. You people keep arguing this point, yet you believe that they are "lost" NOW without national identities through assimilation with other nations.
Right, 2:59, the declaration of Arbroath shows that the Scots knew what their roots were, and that Andrew visited their lands (just as Peter visited Britain and Rome). The gospel had to go out and it did.
More proof is found in the lost chapter of Acts, where we find Paul visiting London, England to preach to the descendants of Israel.
As for the DNA, that is an inexact science.
Your unconscious minds keep resisting this doctrine. I've seen it at work in the church. No matter what truth you hear, you deny it because it convulses you, which is the devil working inside you.
I believe Josephus and the Apocrypha even refers to the Lost Ten Tribes of Israel so for me I do believe in this subject as historical fact even as Judaism attests. Whether Europeans are the descendants of the Lost Tribes is moot. But, I believe God knows who are Semite, Hamites and Japethites so I leave it up to Him seeing our salvation doesn't lie in our flesh, but in our spiritual faith in Jesus as the Son of God and the Christ.
ReplyDeleteAssimilated does not mean that these are people who would test "pure Israelite", but just happen to be living amongst other nationalities. Assimilated means that there has been so much intermarriage over the centuries that individuals would test as being of mixed heritage.
ReplyDeleteRemember, Samaritans were no longer considered to be of specific Israelite tribes during Jesus' time. They were mongrel people who were looked down upon by the Jews. Hence, the parable of the "good" Samaritan, whose much reviled genetic identity provided the whole point of the parable.
I once had as clients, a group of researchers who would trace Native American bloodlines, so that the subjects of the research could prove to tribal elders that they met the necessary percentages to be admitted or officially recognized as members to the tribes. With the advent of the casinos, a whole lot of people wanted in on the shares of revenue to which tribal members were entitled. Which, if you think about it, is also why people today claim to be Israelite. They believe that there are special blessings and entitlements for Israelites. So, the work my clients were doing was very important for their clients. This was during the 1990s, when researchers did not have dna testing available to help them make this determination. They used old school analogue materials, such as marriage records, birth certificates, newspaper articles, written history, etc. Many claim Native American ancestry, but one must actually prove it to be admitted.
These days a cotton swab can accomplish that same work. Anyone who is familiar with Louis Henry Gates realizes that there are many ancestral surprises even in the "woodpile" of people whose family traditions led them to believe that they are directly descended from people who came to America on the Mayflower. Intermarriage amongst Native Americans and the invasive species has only taken place over the past 4-500 (give or take) years. Intermarriage amongst Israelites and gentile peoples has been ongoing since 732 BCE, the time of the Assyrian captivity. That is nearly 3 millennia. The dilution factor for the Israelite tribes is phenomenally greater than that experienced by Native American tribes.
Yea, it's insane to think that the Israelite tribes through all their captivities have a "pure" bloodline. It's laughable. And fact of business, the only genealogy that really mattered in the grand scheme of things was Jesus Christ and his genealogy had Rahab and Ruth in it. So I guess his is tainted, huh.
ReplyDeleteIn response to anon 11:07 considering Josephus is another tiring tactic by the COGs. Now if we are going to use that logic to prove truth than any denomination can do that. And other "christian" groups use the apocrypha to support other doctrines that you probably don't agree with.
Instead of "proving all things" using just the bible, we decide to use outside sources when it fits ones narrative. Well then a nominal protestant has the same right to do the same thing. A protestant can use an outside historical source from a non christian historian to prove the trinity exist. See that slippery slope.
Why use Josephus who wasn't a christian and didn't decide to join with the apostles. You guys think that his stuff is inspired by God or God breathed. I would use the apostle John who lived during his timeframe. Instead of focusing in on where the lost ten tribes were, John was a jew that saw the vision, Every tribe (not just Israelites), tongue (not just English), and nation baby! Do you have the same vision?
Revelation 5:9-10 And they sang a new song, saying: “You are worthy to take the scroll, And to open its seals; For You were slain, And have redeemed us to God by Your blood Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, And have made us kings and priests to our God; And we shall reign on the earth.”
I would be interested to know how we know the DNA of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, or even the Israelites of 700 or 800 BC?
ReplyDeleteSurly DNA is being matched with modern day peoples, not Israelites of nearly 2000 years ago?
When compiling history, or putting history into proper context, one does use ALL available materials from the period in question to obtain an accurate and comprehensive overview. I would not know anything about Josephus, had I not been a member of the WCG. They taught me about Josephus. Trouble is, they proof-texted Josephus just as they proof-texted from the Bible in support of their doctrines, and they proof-texted from history to make it appear as if certain groups were the COG throughout history. They routinely discarded any data which countered their accepted of proof-texts or agendas. And that is a form of lying. Knowing history is your protection against false teachings and false prophecy. It is, in Armstrongite parlance, "proving all things". And, it often corrects falsehoods which we were taught. Inconvenient, I know, but, welcome to reality.
ReplyDeleteRegarding the Apocrypha (or Deuterocanonicals, as they are also known), without the Maccabees, we would have no knowledge regarding the impact of Hellenization upon the Jews, any knowledge of Antiochus Epiphanes, or even know how the New Testament came to be written in Greek rather than in Hebrew as was the Old Testament.
And, Q? The science of DNA, by its very nature, incorporates history and mathematics into its practical applications, making extrapolation possible. Think of it in terms of principles we know from astronomy. Astronomers have observed the way certain astral bodies in a given region of space behave, and have been able to use the data collected to postulate another body in the same region which they could not see, but "knew" had to exist, based on the reactions that body causes. Better, more powerful telescopes have later revealed the existence of that body. Science is not the enemy. Most people love and trust it until it interferes with their beliefs or agendas.
Correct: They routinely discarded any data which countered their accepted of proof-texts or agendas.
ReplyDelete_____________________________________________________________
One of the issues that I have with using Josephus religiously (to support a doctrine) not that I am saying anybody here does (but I think some COGs do), is that they will use Josephus who lived in the first century AD to support a teaching that occurred during the early chapters in Genesis. That's just being dishonest. I have embraced some of his writings in regards to the context of his historical timeframe but nothing more.
Great points 7:06
ReplyDeleteScience is used to also study weather patterns, although we know Who controls the weather, good booklet by Meredith. The science with the math (technology) helps humans prepare for tornadoes or hurricanes. Science with DNA is helping the justice department solve cold cases that were unsolvable many decades ago.
Now as these COG groups use technology to get their booklets out and the internet, within this one doctrine, claiming to be God's physical people (even though there's a warning Matthew 3:9), they don't want to use the science as the absolute proof. While minister like Mr. Ames claims, God is the God of Science. They didn't want to use science with the doctors back in WCG. They ignore some things that could be of help.
You make a good point in your second paragraph, 6:51. And, of course, the works of Josephus are not part of canonized scripture. However, he did have access to materials and artifacts which have passed to antiquity. As an example, he makes reference to the pillar of salt which had been Lot's wife, still existing during his lifetime. And, Clement of Rome and Irenaeus also confirmed that this existed during their lifetimes, apparently with limbs still intact. Josephus also had access to the documents preserved by the scribes and priests. One of his stated goals in writing as he did, was to document for Caesar that the Jewish people were a great people with a very rich history and traditions. He was a great military leader, but came from one of the priestly-kingly families of Israel. Jerusalem, as a city, was one of the crown jewels of the Roman Empire.
ReplyDeleteI regard Josephus as sort of a "color-commentator". He gives us a more comprehensive perspective of Hebrew history, where the Bible is often sparse in verbiage.. Some have argued that his loyalty was questionable, and that he had "sold out" to Caesar. As a military leader, he had little use for Christians, expressing that their beliefs rendered them useless as soldiers. He may have been an authority on the Hebrew religion and traditions of his day, but like many of the scribes, Pharisees, Sadducees, and the high priest, could not be any sort of authority on Jesus Christ or what He taught.
This is why I also recommend reading the works of the so-called "Antenicene Fathers", who were part of the chain of leaders which commenced with those ordained by the original Apostles, and the Apostle Paul. These leaders' written works are also not part of the canon, but do explain how Christianity expanded from being a local Jewish phenomenon to being one of the three great Abrahamic religions extant in the world today.