A Short Critique of Herbert W. Armstrong’s British-Israelism
The United States and Britain in Fantasy Peter Ditzel
Herbert W. Armstrong (1892-1986), one of the most popular and controversial radio and television evangelists of the twentieth century, was one of the better known proponents of the teaching known as Anglo- or British-Israelism.1 His most popular book on the subject was The United States and British Prophecy. According to this theory, there is a distinction between Jews and Israelites; the descendants of the Israelites are now the white, English-speaking peoples of Britain, the United States, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, etc., as well as the majority of the people living in northwestern Europe; the above nations are the Israel of Bible prophecy, and the British Royal family is Jewish and descended from King David of Israel.2
If any Worldwide Church of God doctrine can be considered Herbert W. Armstrong’s pet teaching more than any other, perhaps this is it. Armstrong was not, however, its originator. According to Ruth Tucker, the idea that British ancestry could be traced to ancient Israel originated in the seventeenth century with a man named John Sadler.3
Later, Canadian-born Richard Brothers (1757-1824) claimed a right to the British throne based on his assertion that he was a descendant of King David of Israel. Brothers was committed to an asylum. In 1840, a man named John Wilson published a restatement of Brothers’ ideas in Our Israelitish Origin. This restatement of the probably mentally deranged Brothers’ ideas served to popularize the view. In 1902, J. H. Allen wrote a book called Judah’s Sceptre and Joseph’s Birthright. J. Gordon Melton writes: "Through the efforts of Merritt Dickinson, who had read and accepted the arguments in Allen, Anglo-Israel thought entered the Church of God (Seventh Day) [though it was not accepted as an official teaching of that church]."4 Armstrong, once associated with the Church of God (Seventh Day), based his book The United States and British Commonwealth in Prophecy (later renamed The United States and Britain in Prophecy) largely on Allen’s book.
As founder and "apostle" of the Worldwide Church of God, Armstrong considered British-Israelism to be one of most important doctrines in his church. Writing in the late 1970s of what he considered the treasonous watering down of the church’s teachings behind his back, Armstrong criticized those who tried to minimize this teaching: "Church teachings were being changed. The most resultful booklet of all, The United States and British Commonwealth in Prophecy, was attacked, greatly deleted and later put out of circulation."5 Armstrong ordered that the full-length version of the book be circulated once again.
As is all Anglo-/British-Israelism, Herbert W. Armstrong’s belief concerning the modern identity of Israel is heavily based on a mix of sloppy scholarship and pure myth. Yet, incredibly, Herbert Armstrong called this fantasy "the vital key necessary to unlock closed doors of biblical prophecy" and "the strongest proof of the inspiration and authority of the Holy Bible!" Armstrong even went so far as to claim, "It is, at the same time, the strongest proof of the very active existence of the living God!"6
The United States and Britain in Prophecy was one of Armstrong’s larger works and to refute it point-by-point would take a good-sized volume. Fortunately, it is not necessary for our purpose to go into every particular to prove Armstrong’s claims false. Picking out only a few points will suffice.
First, an examination of some of the myths that Armstrong preached will help convey the flavor of this wild hypothesis. One was that the tribe of Irish mythology that Armstrong continually misspelled as the "Tuathe De Danaan" or "Tuatha De Danaan" was Israel’s tribe of Dan having migrated to Ireland. Armstrong claims, "Tuatha De means the ’people of God.’ The name Dunn in the Irish language, for example, means the same as Dan in the Hebrew: judge."7 The implication is that the name of this Irish tribe identifies it as the biblical tribe of Dan.
In reality, Tuatha Dé Danann (correct spelling) means "people of the goddess Danu." In Irish legend, the Tuatha Dé Danann were the fourth race to invade Ireland. According to Françoise Le Roux and Christian-J. Guyonvarc’h writing in The Encyclopedia of Religion, "They came from the north, according to a very old Hyperborean tradition."8 Israel is, of course, not to the north of Ireland.
The accounts of the Tuatha Dé Danann sound like they are straight out of "sword and sorcery" fiction. Apparently so as not to ruin his
2
credibility, Armstrong never related the entire legend. Notice these far-fetched highlights from the Encyclopedia of Religion: The Tuatha Dé Danann invade Ireland, take it from the Fir Bholg, and "defend it against the demonic Fomhoire." They divide the land with the Goidels, "the Goidels on the surface of the earth and the Tuatha Dé Danann within the hills and beneath the lakes...symbolic and concrete representations of the otherworld." When Lugh (the shining one) enters Tara, the Tuatha Dé Danann’s royal court, "he enumerates all his abilities to the doorkeeper druid and is allowed to enter precisely because he possesses together all the capabilities of the other gods."9
We have gone this far with the description only to impress the complete fantasy with which we are dealing. Yet this is one part of a doctrine that Armstrong says proves the existence of God!
After saying the tribe of Dan went to Ireland, Armstrong says that the prophet Jeremiah later joined them. According to this story, Jeremiah brought with him a stone that is supposedly the stone beneath the coronation chair in Westminster Abbey in London. British monarchs spend part of the coronation ceremony sitting on this chair with the stone beneath them. According to legend, this stone is "Jacob’s pillar stone," the stone upon which Jacob had his dream of a stairway to heaven on which angels were ascending and descending (Genesis 28:10-22).10 In reality, this stone has been proven to be from Scotland.11
Jeremiah also brought to Ireland, according to Armstrong, the daughter of Zedekiah, king of Judah. When this daughter married the son of the king of Ireland, the Jewish royal family descended from King David was successfully transplanted to the British Isles. Eventually this Jewish royal lineage entered the British Royal family. The lineage of Queen Elizabeth II, then, goes back to King David of Israel.12
All this is a twisted version of various legends. Yet, by this, Armstrong tries to prove that a descendant of King David is still sitting on a throne over the people of Israel (according to Armstrong, the British). This is based on Armstrong’s understanding of Jeremiah 33:17: "For thus saith the Lord; ’David shall never want [fail to have] a man to sit upon the throne of the house of Israel.’" After also quoting verses 25- 26, Armstrong writes: "Unless you can stop this old earth from turning on its axis—unless you can remove the sun and the moon and stars from heaven, says the Almighty, you cannot prevent Him from keeping His covenant to maintain continuously, through all generations,
3
FOREVER, from the time of David and Solomon, a descendant of David in one continuous dynasty on that throne!"13
Armstrong’s conclusion is completely unsound, however. Jeremiah 33:18 continues from verse 17: "Neither shall the priests the Levites want [fail to have] a man before Me to offer burnt offerings, and to kindle meat offerings, and to do sacrifice continually." Armstrong admits that the Levites do not offer sacrifice today: "But Jeremiah prophesied that Levites would always be available—in existence—who could offer sacrifices if there were a temple."14 Armstrong cannot have it both ways. If verse 18 refers to lineage and not activity, then so does verse 17.
Jeremiah 33:17 simply means that the lineage of David would be preserved, not that there would be no interruption in its ruling over the house of Israel. The reason it was to be preserved was to prove, as shown in the genealogies of Matthew and Luke, that Jesus Christ was of the line of David. And with Jesus Christ, Jeremiah 33:17 reached its ultimate fulfillment because the living Jesus Christ is the living, legitimate Heir to the throne. If the British monarchs were really sitting on the throne of David, they would be usurpers!
Armstrong’s entire case rests on his argument that the ancient northern Kingdom of Israel consisted of 10 of the tribes of Israel and that these were captured by the Assyrians and never returned. Armstrong emphasizes that while "Israel" might mean any or all of the tribes (including the Jews), "house of Israel" refers exclusively to the tribes of the northern Kingdom of Israel. The house of Israel remained distinct from the tribes living in the southern Kingdom of Judah—called Jews—and became known as the lost Ten Tribes.15 If we can prove that the house of Israel did not remain distinct from the Jews and that there is no such thing as the lost Ten Tribes, Armstrong’s teaching in The United States and Britain in Prophecy falls apart.
In Acts 2:14, Peter begins his inspired speech by saying: "Ye men of Judæa, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem." A few verses later, in the same sermon and to the same people, Peter says, "Ye men of Israel, hear these words" (verse 22). He ends in verse 36 by saying to the same audience, "Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, Whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ." To Peter, the men of Judæa, the men of Israel, and all the house of Israel were one and the same. Notice also that Peter equates those who crucified Jesus with all the house of Israel. Peter could not do this if the house of Israel were not even in Palestine at
4
the time. The Jews were not just the tribes Armstrong says lived in the old southern Kingdom of Judah. The Jews included "all the house of Israel."
Even the words of our Lord prove that Armstrong’s distinction between the house of Israel and the Jews is false. In addressing the twelve apostles before sending them out on a mission, Jesus said in Matthew 10:5-6: "Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not: But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel."
Notice that the apostles were not to go to the Gentiles or Samaritans. These instructions must have been for the immediate mission at hand. They could not have applied to the apostles’ mission after Jesus’ resurrection because after His resurrection Jesus instituted through the apostles a ministry to the Gentiles.
Since the apostles could not go among the Gentiles and since they could not go into any city of the Samaritans and because they had physical limitations where they could go during this short mission, it is evident they went to the Jews in their immediate area. It is the Jews whom our Lord called the "lost sheep of the house of Israel," not tribes of Israel outside Judea.
Similar proof is found in Matthew 15. When approached by a Canaanite woman asking Him to heal her daughter, Jesus at first said nothing (verse 23). Then in verse 24 He answered, "I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel." As can be seen throughout the Gospels, Jesus’ personal mission was to the Jews. Yet in Matthew 15:24, He calls those to whom He was sent the "lost sheep of the house of Israel." Jesus Christ considered the Jews to be the lost sheep of the house of Israel.16
But if, instead of being Israelites scattered among the nations and who had lost their identity, the "lost sheep of the house of Israel" were Jews who knew their identity, how were they lost? The "lost" refers to spiritual condition, not geographic disorientation. In Isaiah 53:6 we read, "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all." This agrees with Jesus’ parable in Luke 15 and Matthew 18 of the sinner symbolized by the lost sheep. As Jesus said in Matthew 18:11, "For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost."
5
Contrary to Herbert Armstrong’s pet idea, then, there is no distinction between the Jews and the house of Israel. And "lost" is a description of the spiritual condition of the house of Israel—the Jews—not of their physical whereabouts. How appropriate that while The United States and Britain in Prophecy is full of "fables and endless genealogies, which minister questions, rather than godly edifying which is in faith" (1 Timothy 1:4), the truth points to Jesus’ mission of salvation.
One last bit of evidence before closing this subject: After Jesus’ resurrection, God opened salvation to the Gentiles. But most members of the Worldwide Church of God and its daughter churches are white, English-speaking people and the people of northwestern Europe. This means that—using Armstrong’s British-Israelism definitions—most "true Christians" (that is, according to Armstrongism, members of the churches that teach the doctrines of Herbert Armstrong) are Israelites, physical descendants of Jacob (Israel). This contradicts the biblical teaching "that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in" (Romans 11:25; see also 10:19; 11:11, 32; and Matthew 21:43). But the fantasy world of Herbert Armstrong aside, most Christians today are Gentiles, just as the Bible says they would be.
Notes
1. Some of the adherents of Anglo-Israelism are part of what is called the Identity Movement, which has ties to white supremacy and neo-Nazism. Armstrong was never associated with the Identity Movement, although people in it have sometimes used his writings to promote their cause.
2. Herbert W. Armstrong, "Seven Proofs of the True Church, [part one]," The Good News, November 20, 1978, pp. 13, 16. This information is also found throughout Herbert W. Armstrong’s The United States and Britain in Prophecy. The edition used for this critique is the ninth edition (Pasadena, CA: Worldwide Church of God, 1986), November 1986 printing.
3. Ruth A. Tucker, Another Gospel, Alternative Religions and the New Age Movement (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1989), p. 207.
4. J. Gordon Melton, Encyclopedic Handbook of Cults in America, (New York: Garland Publishing Inc., 1986), p. 53.
5. Herbert W. Armstrong, "What Is a Liberal?", The Worldwide News, February 19, 1979, p. 3.
6. Armstrong, The United States and Britain in Prophecy, pp. 2-3.
6
7. Ibid., p. 98.
8. Mircea Eliade, ed., The Encyclopedia of Religion, Vol. 15, (New York: MacMillan Publishing Company, 1987), s.v. "Tuatha Dé Danann."
9. Ibid.
10. Armstrong, The United States and Britain in Prophecy, pp. 98-102.
11. Melton, Encyclopedic Handbook of Cults in America, p. 59.
12. Armstrong, The United States and Britain in Prophecy, pp. 100-102.
13. Ibid., pp. 55-57.
14. Ibid., p. 56.
15. Ibid., pp. 64-71.
16. Jesus’ mentioning in John 10:16 of "other sheep...which are not of this fold" is a reference to the Gentiles.
7
47 comments:
"Brothers was committed to an asylum."
So was Ezra Pound, America's greatest poet ever. All dissidents are declared crazy. And so is anyone ahead of their time.
More discussion, more myths perpetuated by HWA and "discovered", add credibility to the idea that HWA fulfilled Daniel 8:23-25 (only after studying the Hebrew). Perhaps most may laugh at this idea because HWA was not a secular king. But "king" in Hebrew could simply be a leader. The same Hebrew word for "king" in Daniel is also translated "king" for locusts in Prov 30:27!
We are deluged with an avalanche of historical data and scholarship today that truly buries this absurd narrative into dust.
We are without excuse, and the evidence is overwhelmingly against BI.
What is satisfying is that the proponents and supporters of BI are slowly but surely fading into obscurity.
Indeed the whole foundation is crumbling.
And decades of documented, failed prophetic speculation have damaged their credibility undeniably.
And it’s not just with BI, but the world today is vastly different from what should have being, as forecast by Armstrongism.
The movement is divided, openly hostile to each other and its practices are anything but what we read about in scripture as its many victims attest too.
Our comfort and hope our liberty and salvation is found in none but Christ alone.
Happy Passover/Pesach to you all.
One of many well-researched, well-reasoned, and well-articulated refutations of Anglo-Israelism. Herbert Armstrong's "truth" and "key to understanding prophecy" has been thoroughly discredited over and over again. Even so, the Armstrongists who continue to cling to this delusion remind me of Herbie's favorite proverb - One convinced against his will, is of the same opinion still!
"Some of the adherents of Anglo-Israelism are part of what is called the Identity Movement, which has ties to white supremacy and neo-Nazism."
Which has exactly nothing to do with anything.
The only people I heard of who tried to make this association with Armstrong were WCG miniters after Herbert died. And almost nobody would have heard of the "Identity Movement" if not for them.
By the way, very few "white supremacists" are actually white supremacists.
Correct, the message of Christ is about salvation. And salvation is the big picture. And you are correct, it was a mission (Matthew 10 & Luke 10) for the disciples during Christ ministry. After stating Matthew 10:6 But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
See the comparison below:
Matthew 10:9-11 Provide neither gold nor silver nor copper in your money belts, nor bag for your journey, nor two tunics, nor sandals, nor staffs; for a worker is worthy of his food. “Now whatever city or town you enter, inquire who in it is worthy, and stay there till you go out.
Luke 10:3-5 Go your way; behold, I send you out as lambs among wolves. Carry neither money bag, knapsack, nor sandals; and greet no one along the road. But whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace to this house.’
Then the seventy returned within that same chapter 10. Or one could use the beginning of Chapter 9.
Luke 10:17 Then the seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.”
They didn’t return from the British Isles or beyond their area. They didn’t even go beyond to the area by foot, that’s why he told them to shake the dust off of their feet if they are not received (Luke 9:5). There were no planes, trains, or cars.
In fact if you look at Luke 9:3 And He said to them, “Take nothing for the journey, neither staffs nor bag nor bread nor money; and do not have two tunics apiece.
He said “no bread”, now it would take a long time to get to HWA lost sheep of British Israel Isles with no bread. And correct, all one has to do is cross reference the term lost sheep found in Psalsm 119:176, Jer. 50:6 & Isaiah’s 53. But they don’t want to do that when it comes to that passage. They pick and choose when to do that. That is Armstrongism.
does anybody know about Tea-Tephi ☘️
The most compelling proof of British-Israelism as presented by Herbert Armstrong is the sudden rise in prominence of the British and the Americans in the 19th century. In 1803 the Louisiana Purchase provided the United States with some of the most fertile and productive land on Earth, including waterways which facilitated trade and transportation in the days before the railroad. 34 years later in 1837 Queen Victoria assumed the throne in England, and her long reign saw the greatest expansion of the British Empire, which became the largest empire in history. All of this began in the early 19th century, which HWA calculates as approximately 2520 years after the northern Kingdom of Israel consisting of the Ten Lost Tribes was carted off to Assyria in 721-718 BC. The 2520 years was a period of punishment for national sins which is calculated using the "day-for-a-year" method of prophetic exegesis. How can this fact of history be accounted for? Was HWA just playing with numbers, or was he on to something? I have never seen this refuted in discussions of British-Israelism. Regardless of what is fantasy, folklore, or fact when it comes to Irish history, the fact of British domination in the 19th century and American domination in the second half of the 20th century (which continues to this day but may be slipping) cannot be denied. When it comes to genetics, science looks at things one way, but I do not know how God looks at it. In Amos 9:9 God said he would sift the House of Israel through the nations. Is that referring only to the Jews? Or could it be that the Ten Lost Tribes were sifted to the point of being unrecognizable even to modern genetic research? Forget Irish "history" or debates about where the Stone of Scone originated: it is the history of the British and American empires and the timing of their rise to world domination that is the most compelling proof of British-Israelism.
Great article, agree with the sentiments. Once one pits aside dogma as a matter of faith, the historical realities of this doctrine is based on very, very little.
Anon 5:48:00 PM PDT
‘It is the history of the British and American empires and the timing of their rise to world domination that is the most compelling proof of British Israelism’
‘Forget Irish “history” or debates about where the stone of scone originated’…
Sorry, won’t work.
Can’t throw out and ignore the other nonsense that also underpins this BI nonsense.
That’s the saddest argument in support of this nonsense.
Some have claimed the most beautiful scenery on the planet is found only in Britain and the US as ‘proof’ of the special identity of its peoples.
Bollocks. BI supporters and proponents lose. It ain’t even a fair fight.
But for some even the bleeding obvious is not enough
‘When it comes to genetics, science looks at things one way, but I do not know how God looks at it’.
Weak argument in support of a theology that is a slam dunk cesspit.
It’s over folks, BI is unfortunately among some, still ticking in spite of the overwhelming evidence against its validity and credibility.
5:48,
I too believe that the rise of Britain and America in the 19th and 20th century is a clear proof of the relevance of BI. That the sun never set on the British Empire and later (even now) the influence of America around the world is astounding. My country was a colony of Britain and through an English education, I gained access to the Plain Truth in the 60s and got baptized in WCG, so the Gospel is through an Israel nation and a Gentile is now a spiritual Isralite, a blessing foretold in the Bible. HWA warned that this blessing on Britain and America would not last. Great Britain is no longer Great and has fallen on bad times. America is losing steam to fast rising China. Still God is actively involved in World affairs e.g Israel's (read Judah, Jews) involvement with Hamas and some Middle East (all Muslim) countries that backdated to patriach Abraham's two wives' jealousy. Why is America a strong ally to Israel if not for the reason they are brothers in arms, so to speak,being descendants of Jacob. Also, Britain's monarchy is still around with no shortage of heirs. All the old prophecies mentioned in Jacob's time ring true. BI is proof of God's existence and the validity of the Bible. HWA is right about Israel (Jews and Ten Tribes) being the focus nation in the Bible and they are in the news every day.
Messenger HWA may not be a scholar and have his personal faults and '1975 in Prophecy' debacle, for example but that does not invalidate his message on BI.
A good article thanks -
it is clear the Anglo Israel idea that Armstrong adopted from earlier writings of others is a complete fantasy.
To one comment just above I respond by noting the 2520 year theory can be demonstrated to be of no merit as well.
Quite a number of would be prophets have used it - Miller, Barbour, Russell, and others failed - simply because 2520 has no proper biblical foundation. As such as the theory has no merit being speculative - it offers no proof whatsoever of the Anglo theory for the same reason it offers no proof to the JW 1914 theory..
Concerning Armstrong's lies about Tuatha De Danaan;
A book by Martin Haverty and others published in 1860: The History of Ireland, Ancient & Modern, contained all known research and State records at that time regarding Irish history.
The several early chapters of this book contain a detailed record on the origins of Ireland.
There is no record therein of any Hebrew tribe arriving into Ireland in the 7th century BC (or any other time). Please recall this large work was the synthesis of knowledge all of the Irish scholars, and state records, at that time.
(Reflect for a moment: the Anglo Israel idea conflicts with an authoritative text assembled in 1860 using all of the available records and research of eminent scholars which records nothing at all regarding Hebrew tribes arriving in the 7th century BC. Yet, latter day prophets presume they may dismiss all official history on the basis of a fairy tale myth).
There is reference in this book to the “Tuatha de Danaan”, and I quote parts of it:
“The arrival of the Tuatha de Denanns took place in the year of the world 3303 , the tenth year of the reign of the ninth and last of the Firbolgic kings , Eochy , son of Erc”; and
“According to the superstitious ideas of the bards , these Tuatha de Dananns were profoundly skilled in magic , and rendered themselves invisible to the inhabitants until they had penetrated into the heart of the country”; and
“… the Tuatha de Dananns , whose sway continued for 197 years — from A.M. 3303 to A.M. 3500 ..”
This text explains how the Tuattha de Dananns, on their arrival into Ireland, brought with them the Lia Fail, or Stone of Destiny, on which the Irish kings were crowned. It records how the founding the Scottish monarchy in the sixth century received the Lia Fail, there were several accounts.
The year A.M. 3500 is shown in the book to be “..1700 years before Christ..”. This makes the Irish history concerning Tuatha de Danaan, 1000 years earlier than the Anglo/ Israel notion regarding Ireland as taught by Armstrong.
Further, the period of their influence was less than two centuries. While very skilled in magic and other arts, because of known monuments and Irish historical tales, the book concludes they were a real people; and considered gods and magicians by the Scoti, who subdued them.
The story of the rise of Britain and the United States is phenomenal, but it does NOT represent compelling proof of Anglo-Israelism. Like the stories surrounding the rise of the Assyrians, Babylonians, Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans of old, the history surrounding the rise of Britain and the United States is one of a lust for power and wealth and is full of greed, exploitation, and ruthless determination. Like the other Gentile nations before them, the state and its leaders became the gods of the people. The military conquest and oppression of others was glorified and celebrated. In other words, the path of Britain and the United States to power and wealth fits the model of human governance and nationhood throughout world history.
Humans like to attribute their successes to nobleness, ethnicity, the favor of the gods, and talent. The reality, however, is that the source of most success has more to do with being able to take advantage of opportunities which present themselves through time and chance! There are, for instance, many wealthy people around the world who have what they have do to cheating and/or exploiting people and resources available to them - NOT because they are somehow special to God. The kings of old did the same kinds of things - defeating and eliminating their rivals and pursuing their self-interest with ruthless abandon.
As a student of history, I am aware that most folks have a very superficial awareness of their past, and many of us have bought into a fairytale version of our past. Herbert Armstrong swallowed the fairytale hook, line, and sinker. He believed in a version of history that told a story of inevitable and unbroken success and ignored a great deal of nastiness. There is a phenomenon that most of us are familiar with - we call it nostalgia. It is a false perspective that tends to look to the past through rose-colored glasses and assign the best possible narrative about past events and people (righteousness, nobility, heroism). This version of history is very popular in some circles. However, the reality of our past is much darker and troublesome than these narratives suggest.
(continued below)
In terms of the British, the truth is that there were a number of empires, wars, famines, invasions, and pestilences that they experienced over the long course of their history. There was a time when they were an outpost of the Roman Empire. Later, the West Saxons triumphed over their countrymen and extended their rule over all of England. That empire suffered and declined under the Vikings and was later resurrected by the Norman invasion. Later still, there was the Angevin Empire (which encompassed a large part of the territory of France). There was the period of the Hundred Years Wars, and the civil wars known as the War of the Roses. This was followed by the Elizabethan Empire, and the loss of America by George III. Later, through imperialism, the slave trade, and ruthless industrialization, Britain produced the relatively short-lived Victorian British Empire - which burned white hot for about a hundred years and then was quickly extinguished by the events surrounding World War II. Indeed, among Europeans, this particular iteration of empire reminds us of what the Spaniards experienced in the 16th and 17th Centuries.
Likewise, the United States began with the exploitation and conquest of Native Americans and was built upon the exploitation of African slave labor. The United States fought its own bloody Civil War, and then quickly followed Britain into the Industrial Age. Also, like Britain, the U.S. experienced its own flirtation with empire and collapse. Hence, turning all of that into God fulfilling his promises to Abraham and his descendants becomes absurd! The real truth is that the United States and Britain are Gentile nations of THIS world. Both nations are part of humankind making their own decisions about right and wrong (while being influenced by Satan and his minions). And, like Babylon of old, they will both someday fail! In other words, this isn't a story of Divine intervention - it's a story that has been repeated now for millennia! We're still awaiting the intervention.
Ok then HWA was ahead of his time and not insane - and his echoing offshoots are ahead of their time
So many of "our" blogs which treated British Israelism have sunset. I was just recalling some of them and the people involved. Some persisted in Archive and are available to reference, but sadly, others have passed into antiquity, and are only available through the Wayback machine.
In my nostalgic mood this evening, as I wished these materials were available for some of our newer commenters, I did a brief search.
Ambassador Watch, the late Gavin Rumney's archives, are still accessible.
Life After Armstrongism, a project of Felix, from Canada still comes up.
As Bereans Did, where xHWA and his team of writers held court, is also available.
Living Armstrongism comes up as well. Analysis of news and how the splinters manipulate it to support their message.
WCG Alumni Forum was an early hotspot for debate and discussion, with a fascinating cast of characters.
The Painful Truth had several forums and blogs over the years and was a hotbed of discussion in addition to the many other fine resources now curated by James. Can't say enough about the good old PT and the sheer mass of articles and features available there. Pure Legend,
xCG, Kingary, Gary Scott, Proprietor, much is available through the Wayback machine
Silenced, a project of some of the wizkids from the various splinters comes up only with a Farewell page. This one sunsetted towards the end of 2016, and had perhaps the most exhaustive series debunking British Israelism that this writer has ever read, would need to be accessed through Wayback as well.
Shadows of WCG, another project by second generation former Armstrongites "J" and "Aggie" is most likely available at Wayback.
Douglas Becker had several blog sites, the most recent I'm aware of having been British Israelism Refuted, some articles still coming up.
There were also a handful of blogs dedicated to watching Ron Weinland, a bizarre figure even by Armstrong standards.
Each of these blogs had their own regulars, communities if you will, and while some of us who were jonesing for answers and further education (or just plain fellowship) did the digital equivalent of the old "dial surfing" thing, most of the commenters faded once their favorite blogs or forums went inactive. One wonders how they are all doing with life.
I'm hoping that some of the regulars here remember additional blogs, or are in touch with some of the prominent contributors who were exclusive to those particular communities. It would be awesome if someone who had time could spend some of it on the Wayback Machine and share some blasts from the past with us. The thing is that as Armstrongism has contracted, and as people with remaining questions have found answers and gotten on with life, the blogosphere which challenged it has also culled and thinned. Most of the early bloggers were old timers from the WCG, and now there is heavy presence from the splinter groups. In the time we've been at this, the entire first generation of evangelists and pastors that formed HWA's management team has gone for their dirt naps. Still, as long as their heirs persist on ruining peoples' lives, there is more work to do.
Hope this helps fill in some blanks for some and jogs the memories of others!
BB
In continuing debunking this BI doctrine, the scripture states:
Matthew 10:5 These twelve Jesus sent out and commanded them, saying: “Do not go into the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter a city of the Samaritans.
As we know, this was temporary. As Paul and Barnabas would later go to the Gentiles, and even earlier than that Philip and the rest of the disciples eventually would minister to the Samaritans (Acts 8:14).
So Armstrongism doesn't use this logic when referring to the "lost sheep of the house of Israel." See if they are going to go by the logic of "don't go but to the the Israelite nations" well then Paul, Barnabas and Philip broke the command or charge that Christ gave.
I guess Philip and Paul were wrong in going to the Gentiles and to Samaria according to Matthew 10:5. It was temporary, just as it was temporary for the disciples to go around the cities of Judea to the jews that were spiritually lost.
Oh, and how could I forget??? Lonnie has an incredibly edifying blog, "God Cannot be Contained"! Check it out!
BB
As in the present, so was the past.
There is history we should be looking at, but it is certainly not the history of the US and UK from the perspective of British Israelism. It is the history of HWA and his successor "prophets" in manipulating and shoehorning world events and history to make it appear that their failed peophecy mold is somehow always accurate. Some German has a toothache in the middle of the night and it's suddenly the rise of Germany and acceleration of the tribulation. A cow dies of Avian Flu, and it's the beginning of the end of our food supply. The Pope makes some benign statement about ecumenism, and it's the rise of the Beast.
Armstrongism was time and date stamped for the fifties, a time of the "invisble" minorities. Although most white people were German back then, too, it did not stretch the imagination quite as much that the US could be primarily an Israelite tribe. Not that the israelites were strictly "white", mind you, but white people thought they were, based on the paintings "of" Jesus.
We did not think of England as being a melting pot back then, but if one reads the history of the isles, they most certainly were, even in the 1600s.
It was always a stretch. HWA had the bad habit of collecting especially gullible people and then forbidding them from going to "the world's" experts for second opinions. Now, you can do it without the ministers knowing and disprove the whole enchillada in a couple of insightful mouse clicks!
A good commentary thanks for taking the time
Thanks for the kind words Byker Bob. Your excellent contributions to this blog and many of the ones you reminded us about has not been forgotten.
True BB.....
....Since we are now in the middle of the "Times of the Gentiles", "1984" etc careful analysis will show you that as of 2023,Google has manipulated its algorithm for the search results in such manner that soon it will only be producing "political correct" answers so the articles will all disappear in oblivion just as all the information on early churches, conquered tribes etc has been erased from history.... Nck
Last throw of the dice.
April 22, 2024 at 10:31:00 PM
..''It is the history of HWA and his successor "prophets" in manipulating and shoehorning world events and history to make it appear that their failed prophecy mold is somehow always accurate>>
Therein lies the skills of Armstrong and others shaping output of the organization - and the invention of a rationale for prophetic failure based on the experience of Nineveh. So successful that after more than 40 years they are still willing to role out the same excuses. I have commented at some length on such propaganda skills see this post in Quora: https://qr.ae/prM2Ax
1917 Gen. E.H.H. Allenby march into Jerusalem's cancelling Ottoman rule was some kind of foretold event, of some sort?
The splinters currently showing heavy presence & attendance here might be their honest attempt to glean very useful tips from the varied smörgåsbord offerings of info here. Especially when cad brute know it all ego ministers are are the helm of most splinters.
But the folk obviously feel free to check in here, where many sides to the HWA theatre are sometimes allowed to post through. The anon. option is TRULY helpful especially if their bonehead cad minister is a knucklehead. Helpful debate is here often, thanks sincerely!
"And almost nobody would have heard of the "Identity Movement" if not for them."
Almost nobody? Guess youve never moved to a new neighborhood and had a cross burned on your yard.
The Holy spirit informed me years ago that America will be militarily defeated, and its remaining citizens herded like cattle into slavery.
This isn't proof to you, but rather exposing you to an idea. A prayer request should settle the matter.
Read up on Richard Brothers. He was far more than a "dissident". Sorry to mess up that conclusion you jumped a mile to make.
It's appalling that the willfully ignorant are still burning crosses. I have planned to make contributions to Black Lives Matter if the election goes the wrong way. Maybe that's something I should be doing no matter who wins.
Does Bob have a BLM splinter branch-off over in Kenya...& Malawi too
he might have closed the Haitian bureau of BLM
you can contribute to Bob's BLM in Kenya, just click on the donate button at the bottom of his screen
Well, burning (excuse me, they call it "lighting") crosses has never gone away, but its just the most "signature" intimidation they try to use.
To the posters point, though, even if they need to get out more - no, HWAs brand of BI did not specifically/overtly use it as a tool to claim that other "races" were spawns of Eve and the devil or things like that. It simply separated "Israelites" from "Gentiles" rather arbitrarily, reliant on bad and lacuna-filled history.
Now, there is an undercurrent to it that portrays the western Europeans as Gods favorites that many readers did pick up on in varying ways. Despite being supposedly "called out", the group was highly affected by outside attitudes on that aspect.
Byker Bob's trip down memory lane reminded me of one of the greats: Dixon Cartwright's "The Journal: News of the Churches of God" You can still access the archives here:
https://www.thejournal.org/back-issues-of-the-journal-newspaper.html
For those who still cling to the theory that the British royals are still related to David, and hence is validation of BI, there is an enormous among of very good material available that shows their history in great detail published and online.
And guess what, there’s no connection.
Jesus Himself is from the Davidic line through Nathan, not Solomon and the kings that followed.
This line (Solomon) was as scripture clearly points out overthrown. As the prophet Hosea said, Israel would abide many days without a king. And so it is.
The house of Nathan will mourn when He returns to Jerusalem in acknowledgment that HE is indeed the Messiah whom Israel has awaited for centuries.
John the Baptist was in the deserts until his manifestation to the house of Israel as scripture plainly points out.
It’s highly unlikely he jumped onto a British Airways jet and flew to Britain when he was baptising the Israelites in masses, in the Jordan river.
Yes Jesus was sent to the lost sheep of Israel, but as the scripture confirms, in many places, He was moved with compassion for the masses before Him as those without a shepherd. The people of Israel were as lost sheep, standing in plain view before Him.
Rather clear and no mystery here.
Plus we have Nehemiah and Ezra validating the return of the exiles, the house of Israel back to Zion and the rebuilding of the second temple and ultimately leading to the birth of Christ.
Happy Pesach Passover season everyone.
5:39 Re Tea-Tephi I got in touch with Exit Support Network some years back and they directed me to Wikipedia. Check out the information under the “Tea-Tephi” section in the article “List of legendary kings of Britain” at
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_legendary_kings_of_Britain#Tea_Tephi which imo I found helpful. Suffice to say I no longer believe that Tea-Tephi as taught by HWA/WCG and other BI believers ever existed. Neither do I believe the British throne is the Davidic throne nor that the British royal family is of the line of David through a princess of Zedekiah. It is my understanding now the Davidic throne could only be passed through the male line ie only males could inherit the Davidic throne not females. This is why Nebuchadnezzar executed all of Zedekiah’’s sons but left the daughters alive. The throne was in essence extinct. Of course it basically went back to God who gave it to David in the first place with the promise it would be restored with the advent of the Messiah. So when JC returns He will reunite the 12 tribes and restore the throne of David and sit on it ruling over Israel and universally the entire 70 nations of earth.
The Anglo Israel theory can be described as one of the most ludicrous theological inventions of the last couple of hundred years
Yea its a a crazy theory. Britain is somehow Ephraim but Manasseh has to exist later as the the British come to America then miraculously they become Manasseh (But remember the two boys are twins). In the meantime throughout the history of peoples migrating to America including the millions of Germans, millions of Irish, millions of Italians, French and millions of Africans who were brought as slaves. Not to mention the Native Americans who were already in the Americas.
Furthermore it's not even the big picture. The big picture is Jesus Christ brought salvation to the soul.
Thanks be to God and His Christ.
True that 11:50! Didn't the BI originators know about the Picts, Celts, Normans, and other assorted distinct ethnicities? Seems like they only considered the Angles and Saxons, from
amongst the Germanic tribes, and HWA compounded their errors by christening the Germans as Assyrians! Somebody didn't go to college!
Right. All those latent Manassehites among the British Ephraimites just had this inner drive to go to the colonies, right? Historians would have a field day with that notion.
British Lives Matter
Yeah, nck, especially the black ones.
I'm really into binge watching British TV detective series, and it's fascinating to listen to people of different ethnicities speak the various dialects of English common to the isles. Haven't seen any black cockneys yet, but that would be a trip. About thirty years ago I had a black lady friend and we used to speak to one another in a fake British accent, as kind of street theatre, and watch people get off on that.
2:23, try watching Red Dwarf BBC2, where black British actor Craig Charles does EXCELLENT skit & banter as space-faring cosmos castaway Dave Lister. Along with Danny John-Jules, the "cat" onboard who morphed human & is more hip than most American counterparts!
Their quick-wit black British accents will knock your socks off.
An actor, Idris Elba, removed his British accent while on our U.S. "The Office". But when he speaks natural, he has British accent.
True. An extremely large percentage of America's cultural icon the "Cowboys" and British "Caribean Pirates" were actually people of the black persuasion. Nck
The fact that you can disprove BI does not make it untrue. It only demonstrates that God did things in a way that would throw most people off the rails. Why? For the same reason Jesus spoke in parables, to obscure the meaning to those not then being called, to weed them out so to speak. Yes, BI is in fact the biggest single proof of the God of the Bible, but only to those being called, who would understand and believe. If you disbelieve BI you either were never called, or you were called and threw your salvation away, for other reasons as well. Only 144,000 will be in the first resurrection, far fewer than what most believe. The vast majority, including most who were in the WCG and splinter groups, will get their chance later. A relative few have lost their salvation but very few have. Those who mock now will remember later that they mocked, and realize that they had the truth in front of them and laughed at it. But realizing that they were exposed to the truth now will help them then to accept it. So don't worry.
The great promises made to Abraham are explained by both the apostles Peter and Paul as referring to the blessings of the Gospel.
Peter quotes them at the conclusion of his speech in the temple precincts after the cure of the lame man, and states definitely that the blessing promised through Abraham and his seed to all families of the earth consists of conversion and that the promise is fulfilled through the Gospel - see Acts chapter 3.
Paul similarly explains the promises as fulfilled in the justification of the Gentiles by faith, and declares that the seed referred to in the promise is Christ (Gal. chapter 3).
Paul also states that the promise to Abraham that he should be the father of many nations is fulfilled in the call of the Gentiles through the Gospel (Rom. 4 v 16, 17).
In Acts 15 v 14-18 we have the quotation in full of Amos 9 v 11, 12 and a valuable interpretation of it - prediction of future blessing in the book of Amos, are explained as having their fulfilment in the salvation of the Gentiles through the Gospel, which had at that time begun.
If the preference is to believe a recent invented history/fable each person has that freedom.
Post a Comment