The possession of the gates of his
enemy -- England now holds the gates of the world,
save at Constantinople -- Israel without a king -- Scattered
among all nations -- Ignorant of their ancestry -- Called by another
name -- Offspring of Abraham innumerable -- As a lion among the
beasts of tile earth -- Gathered from all nations, where they had
been scattered -- Gathered from the islands of the sea on the north
-- Joseph pushing the people to the ends of the earth -- The seed of
Abraham a blessing to all nations, how? --
1. Politically.
2. Religiously
-- Her missionaries -- The Bible -- Its translation, by whom made.
It was predicted that "Israel should possess the gates of
his enemy." (See Genesis 22:17.) By the term "gate," Cruden says: "Is the
entrance into a house or city." What gates then does England hold as it
respects the nations of the world?
1. England holds the gate to the continent of Europe, as she
holds supreme control of the English channel.
2. Gibraltar, Malta, Alexandria, and Cypress.
3. Suez, Aden.
4. Every gate on the south coast of Asia.
5. The gates to all the principal islands of the seas, and
the only gate of any importance, not now ill the possession of England, is
Constantinople, and this, it is believed, is to be certainly given into
the possession of England. Thus this promise is actually fulfilled on
England, and this becomes another evidence that England is indeed Israel.
(It is said by high authority that England is not the proper term by which
to designate the government of that nation embraced in the islands of
England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland. Ehgland is properly appropriated to
one country, the same as Scotland, etc. But the term given to these four
countries combined is "Great Britain," and to the government is The
British Government.)
2. Again, Israel should remain long without a king. (Hosea
3: 4.) "For the children of Israel shall abide many days without a king."
The children of Israel did live without a king from the time of their
captivity into Assyria, B. C. 721, until the settlement of the
Anglo-Saxons in England, and the crowning of Egbert, A. D. 800, a period
of 1521 years. Here it may be asked, what other nation or people in the
world can claim this prediction as being fulfilled on themselves?
3. Again, My God will cast them away, because they did not
hearken unto Him; and they shall be wanderers among the nations." (Hosea
9: 17.) This prediction was uttered against the "ten-tribed Israel"
And nothing is more certain than the casting away of Israel, when they
were carried captive by Shalmaneser, and placed in the cities of the Medes
on the River Gozan. Here they made this their place of sojourn, for
at least a hundred years; during which time we have traced their
wanderings among all the then existing nations of Asia.
On leaving' Asia they "wandered" off to a land
"uninhabited by man," a journey of a year and a half, to Arsareth, on the
northwest coast of the Black Sea, which they made as their temporary home,
until they should find a permanent abiding-place. Here they remained
several centuries, wandering, in the meantime, among all the nations of
Europe, but finding no resting-place, which ~hey might call home.
Next their move was over into Germany, where
they pitched their tents, and made their home for a time in Saxony. Here
they remained for a while without much wandering, seemingly that they
might recruit their number, and their means as well, for their final
migration into the isles of the sea, A. D. 449 to 570, where they might
settle and be "wanderers among the nations" no more forever.
What have we now found as to the fulfillment of
prophecy? I ask, is it possible to conceive of a more complete and
literal fulfillment of prophecy than is here presented? And can any
sane man ask for stronger evidence than is here given, that the
Anglo-Saxon race are indeed the identical descendants of the lost ten
tribes of Israel? Or can anyone point to any part of this evidence
that could be made more clear and self-evident?
4. Ignorance of their ancestry. "Israel shall
remain many days without a king, and without a prince, . . . and without
an image, and without an ephod,
and without a teraphim." (Hosea,
3:4.) This prediction, it seems to me, must imply the utter extinction of
all knowledge of their religious institutions, of their tribal relations,
their language, and of their ancestry also; for', having lived 1,500 years
without these institutions, how could it be otherwise?
5. Israel, called by another name. (Isa.
65:15.) "And he shall call his servants by another name." This
prediction has been literally fulfilled. The ten-tribed Israelites
lost their name immediately after their captivity, being no longer called
Israel, but Scuths, Sacae, Kunnri, Cimmerians, etc., and have retained
these different appellations until they were all combined into the name
"Anglo-Saxon," by which name they are known today, the world over.
Yet the world at large has no knowledge of the
origin of the Anglo-Saxons. Indeed, but few of this very people have only
now learned their own name as being Israelites, the identical descendants
of the ten tribes of Israel!
6. The offspring of Abraham innumerable. "I will multiply
thy seed as the stars of heaven, and as the sand which is upon the
seashore." (Gen. 22:17.)
This promise has been interpreted by some as
referring to the spiritual seed of Abraham, which is Christ. But
the context shows no such allusion, for the whole scene has reference to
the veritable land of Canaan, and to the fact of Abraham having not
withheld his only son, on whom the promise rested. Now the promise
is renewed and specified, that Abraham's literal seed shall become like
the stars and like the sands, innumerable, and that this very seed should
possess the gate of his enemies. This is certainly material,
and not spiritual.
Now as to the present number of the descendants
of Abraham, the exact census has probably not been taken. But enough is
known to state that their number is more than one hundred millions of
people, and that this race is increasing today faster than any other
people on the face of the globe. Thus it is shown, the fulfillment
of this promise to Abraham is now being actually accomplished. But
the end is not yet; for the promise was not limited as to the time of its
fulfillment.
7. "The remnant of Jacob shall be among the Gentiles, ill
the midst of many people, as a lion among the beasts of the forest, as a
young lion among the flocks of sheep, who, if he go through, both treadeth
down and teareth in pieces, and none can deliver." (Micah 5: 8.)
This is a very remarkable prediction. It is
remarkable ill all its specifications:
(a) As to the principal
agent in the work, "the remnant of Jacob;"
(b) next, the people specified, viz., the Gentiles in the
midst of many people;
(c) the likeness of this remnant = as a lion and his
works.
Now, in searching the world over, none can be
found to whom this prediction can apply save the Anglo-Saxons alone, for
they and they only have been among the Gentiles in the midst of many
people, "as a lion among the beasts of the forests."
During the time of their sojourn in Asia they
were literally "among the Gentiles," for all these nations had that name
-- they were nations outside of Israel. And these "Gentiles" were
truly in the midst of many people -- this part of Asia being then the most
densely populated of all the world. And the history of the Scuths
shows that they were triumphant wherever they went. ravaging
wherever they went. And after these Scuths (i. e., Anglo-Saxons)
came into Europe, their entire course was indeed "like that of a lion
among the beasts," and "a young lion among the flocks of sheep." And this
for more than five hundred years, until they became settled in
Germany. Their many battles with Rome -- were they not all of this
character? Did they not destroy the Roman army time and again?
Did they not sack Rome itself, laying it utterly waste?
And this too, all alone "among the Gentiles,"
and "in the midst of many people"? What more perfect
fulfillment can be conceived, of the prophecy, than is here shown in the
wanderings of Israel, in Asia, and in Europe also.
8. Israel found among all nations. (Lev. 26:33, and Deut.
4:27, Amos, 9:9.)
All of these passages declare the same thing, viz.:
"The Lord shall scatter you among the nations, and ye shall be left few in
number among the heathen, whither the Lord shall lead you." And Jer.
29:14: "I will gather you from all the nations and from all the places
whither I have driven you, saith the Lord; and I will bring you again into
the place whence I caused you to be carried away captive."
These passages all have the same voice. The two
former threaten the certain banishment among all nations, if they reject
the commands of God; the others declare the certainty of their being
gathered from all the nations whither they had been driven by God
himself.
Now, that Israel has been thus scattered and
banished among all nations, no one can doubt who has any knowledge of
"Israel's wanderings;" nor can anyone doubt that God has now set himself
to the 'total accomplishment of his promise -- to gather His people from
all places among the nations of the world, whither he had driven them;
the gathering the Israelites of the ten tribes out of all nations, where
they have wandered, and thus bringing all into the isles of the west and
planting them in those islands where they have grown to become the
mightiest nation in the world, "high above all nations, at the head and
not at the tail," is evidence of the fulfillment of these prophecies, and
that the Anglo-Saxons are indeed the very descendants of the ten tribes
who were carried captive into Assyria, and these were certainly "the seed
of Abraham."
9. Zech. 2:6 "Ho! ho! come forth and flee from the land of
the north saith the Lord' for I have spread you abroad as the four winds
of heaven, saith the Lord."
This passage shows that God's people, Israel,
would be dwelling at some future time in a north country, north from
Palestine, and in islands. The prophet, Zechariah, spake those
words, B. C. 519, at the very time of Darius's decree to return from
Babylon. This prophecy could not refer, therefore, to Judah, who was
in Babylon, for that country was directly east from Palestine, thus
furnishing another collateral proof that this people in the north country
were Israel, and not Judah. But. Israel has been proved over and
over again to be now the Anglo-Saxons dwelling in the Isles of the
North.
10. Deut. 33:17: "The firstling of his bullock, majesty is
his and his horns are the horns of the wild ox, with them he shall
push the peoples, all of them, even the ends of the earth." (Rev.
version.) "They are the ten thousands of Ephraim. And they are the
thousands of Manasseh."
This passage is a portion of the blessing which
Jacob pronounced concerning Joseph. In the former part of the
blessing Jacob says, "Joseph is a fruitful bough; a fruitful bough by a
fountain. His branches run over the wall," teaching plainly
that Joseph was to extend his sway far beyond any others of his
brethren; that in all things pertaining to earth he was to have the
preeminence. And then he comes to the matter of his conflicts with the
peoples of the earth, all of them; that he should push them, so as to
overcome in all places, even to "the ends of the earth." Now this is
found to have been fulfilled up to the present time to the very
letter. In "Israel's wanderings" throughout Asia it has been shown
that in all conflicts with the nations they were always triumphant; but
the prophets everywhere indicate Joseph as the leader of the hosts of
Israel. Then, when Israel enters Europe it is still Joseph who is the
captain of the Lord's host.
Here, also, he is always conqueror, never
defeated. And after they have become settled in the isles of the sea,
these Anglo-Saxons, i. e., Joseph-Isaac, spread out on all sides,
colonizing in America and in the islands of the seas, "pushing the people,
all of them, even the ends of the earth." How emphatically true is
this of the aborigines of America everywhere. They have been pushed
by Joseph, as by the horns of the wild ox, until they can go no further,
both in the United States and in Canada also. And this is all done
by "the ten thousands of Ephraim and the thousands of Manasseh"!
Now is it possible to conceive of a more
perfect fulfillment of the promise made to Joseph than we have presented
here in the history of the Anglo-Saxons? If so, let it be made
known.
11. The blessing promised to Abraham, "In thee shall all the
families of the earth be blessed." (Gen. 12:3, and 18:18, and
22:18.) It is well to note the thrice-repeated (Whoever examines the
passages referred to will find the promises thus repeated.)
assurance of this promise, and the nature of this promise. It is not
a promise of anything special to Abraham, either spiritual or temporal;
but the thrice-repeated promise is of good to others -- even all the
families of the earth, and this through the veritable seed -- the
descendants by birth of Abraham.
What then are we authorized to look for as the
fulfillment of this promise?
In the first place, as this is a promise made
by God himself, the promise must embrace the highest welfare of the
nations of the world, and this highest welfare must embrace the greatest
blessings, both spiritual and temporal.
By temporal blessings is meant a national
government based on the divine law, which may be called "civil or
political liberty."
And a spiritual blessing must
embrace all of the revelation made to man in the Bible for his highest
good -- which may be termed "religious liberty." These two terms, as
I think, embrace everything of good relating to man here on earth.
Our first inquiry, therefore, shall be:
First, of Civil or Political
Liberty. By this phrase is meant a constitutional qovernment based on the
divine law. But where shall we look for such a government?
There can be but one answer to this question. The only constitution
in this world, based on the divine law, was originated in England, by the
Anglo-Saxons, who are the very descendants -- the seed -- of
Abraham.This statement needs no illustration, for the
history of the world shows this, if it shows anything, to be true.
What, then, is the effect of this
constitution? Webster declared, thirty years ago and more, that
England has under the benign reign of her constitution the highest degree
of prosperity ever attained by any nation on the face of the earth. In her
domestic relations, in her civil affairs, and in her political affairs,
she stands preeminently higher than all other nations of the world.
And what was true forty years ago is still more conspicuously true at the
present day. Hence the fact that England is confessedly "high above
all the nations of the world" in wealth, in military -- but especially in
naval power -- in educational, and, indeed, in everything that constitutes
national prosperity. Further, this constitution is universal in its
sway over all the colonies of Great Britain -- all English-speaking
nationalities. All of these show in an equally high degree the great
blessings of political liberty, equal, I say, to that enjoyed by the
mother country.
But the influence of this divinely-founded
constitution stops not here. In all the governments of Europe, there
is not one which does not feel the healthful influence of the constitution
of Great Britain. All, even the most monarchical of them, are
incorporating the principles of a constitutional government such as
England has; and, indeed, it is said there is not a nation in the world
but that feels the benign influence of the political institutions of Great
Britain.
As another evidence of the wonderful prosperity
of England, may be mentioned this fact that the Republic of Uruguay, in
South America, has recently borrowed $59,000,000 from an English syndicate
for the purpose of internal improvements. A part of' this money is
to be expended in improving the harbor of Buenos Ayres, but the principal
part in the construction of railroads. This item of $59,000,000 is
secured by giving to England bonds to run thirty years, paying six per
cent. interest. So this is another of the many loans made by England
within the last few years, to be added to her already
$9,800,000,000 which is now loaned to many nations, while she borrows
from none.
In like manner the United States are reported
to have attained a degree of eminence, unparalleled in the history of the
world. And this because of the constitution she adopted, at her
birth, viz.' "A constitution, based on the Devine Law," "Political
Liberty."
2. Let us next consider the "spiritual blessings." This
blessing embraces everything of good, as has heretofore been stated,
contained in the Bible. In the illustration of this subject, it is
necessary to inquire what this Anglo-Saxon people have done and are still
doing for the accomplishment of' this object.
The whole Christian world has been classed
under three heads, viz.' The Greek Church, the Roman Church, and "the
Protestant Church". In this last division are embraced the
Anglo-Saxons, i.e., the English-speaking peoples; all Protestants.
What, then, have these done toward fulfilling the promise of blessing the
world spiritually? ( It should ever be borne in mind that the blessing
promised to all nations, was to come through (by means of) Abraham's
literal seed -- the natural descendants of Abraham.)
To say nothing of what the Greek and the Roman
churches may or may not have done, the Protestants have manifested, during
this present century, a desire to execute the charge given by Christ to
his disciples, "to preach the gospel to all nations," such as has never
before been witnessed. Early in this century, a society was formed
in England, called the "Church Missionary Society," the object of which
was to send missionaries to lands where the gospel was not known.
Soon this was followed by the "British and Foreign Bible Society," whose
object was the printing and publishing Bibles.
These societies soon began to be felt in their
influence abroad, when other societies were organized in the United States
and at home; and in England these societies were multiplied to such a
degree, especially the "Missionary Societies," that one society was formed
after another, until now these societies are numbered only by the number
of different denominations of Christians, both in England and in the
United States, and also in all the English colonies. And the number
of missionaries has increased in like manner, until they are counted not
by the hundreds only, but by the thousands even are they numbered,
so that they penetrate all hinds, the extreme corners of the
earth, and the islands of the sea, and in all the wide ocean.
But how do these missionaries go, and what is their mission:
Not as the Jesuits, who go with a shut Bible, teaching' Mariology, but
these go with an open Bible, proclaiming Christ with a loud voice,
and at the same time beginning to teach the English language, so that it
is now known, if the reports of these same missionaries are to be
believed, that in every nation and in every, principal tribe, among
where these missionaries have gone, in the whole habitable
world, the English language is now being taught. Thus
fulfilling the prophecy of Zeph. 3:9, "For then will I turn to the
people a pure language, that they may all call upon the name of the Lord,
to serve Him with one consent." How wondrous are the ways of'
God! "My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasures."
But what further about this Bible which is now
heralded among all nations? This blessed volume is now found to have been
translated into all the principal languages of the world -- some say two
hundred and fifty, others say more. But who has done it? By
whom has this mighty work been accomplished? Has France done
it? France may have made a translation from the original
scriptures into her own language, But has she ever translated this Bible
into amy other language? Spain! what has she done? Spain may
have translated it into her own language -- may have -- but what
more? Italy-- Rome, what has she done'? Rome has indeed, translated
the Latin language! But; has she done anything more? Who can
tell? So of all the Greek and Roman nations. (By Greek and. Roman
nations is meant those nations held by the Greek and Roman
Churches.) Is there one that has attempted even to translate the
Bible into some foreign language?
The question therefore is still
unanswered. Who has done this mighty work? I answer: The
Anglo-Saxon race. And they alone have translated this revelation of
God to man into every principal language of the known world.. And not this
only. They have printed this Bible in every one of these
translations thus made, and sent by their missionaries these same Bibles
into all lands. Then in England and in America this Bible is
published in the English language millions upon millions every year; and
by their colporteurs these Bibles are sent abroad, so that every family
speaking the English language may have a Bible in their house, to
read under their own "vine and fig tree," with none to molest or make
afraid.
Now it may be asked here, Is this, or is it
not, fulfilling the promise to Abraham -- "In thee and thy seed shall all
nations of the earth be blessed"? Is there any further or
other blessing conceivable contained within the lids of the Bible,
blessing for mankind, that is not found in this promise to
Abraham? And is it possible to conceive of any other fulfillment of
this promise than that delineated above? I wait for a reply. (Here
also, let it be borne in mind, that Christ is the crowning glory of all
these blessings, both spiritual and temporal. Through Him comes the
vivifying power, making in all cases the blessings effectual.)
Now is it just, or wise, or common-sensical
even, when a prophecy received in all ages by the Church of God as
divine,
when this prophecy shall have been shown to have its literal
fulfillment, is it wise to hesitate about receiving this
fulfillment, especially where it is not possible to conceive of any other
mode in which the fulfillment of this divine promise can be made
manifest?
Concerning unfulfilled prophecies, we may well
hold ourselves in doubt, for no man knows either the time or the manner of
fulfillment of any future prophecy; for God hath revealed this to no
man -- no not even to the angels in heaven -- this hath God reserved in
his own power; and all that man can do -- even what he is commanded
to do -- is to observe the "signs of the times," and to mark such things
as the word of inspiration has said will be found to precede any and all
of the prophecies uttered of old. Here, and here only, is solid
ground. The manifest fulfillment of prophecies is open to the
inspection of all, and that according to the very words of the prophecy
freed from the philosophy or dogmas of men, but chained to the word of the
living God. If this is not safety, there can be no
safety. If this is not wise, then how can we know the meaning of
wisdom? If this is not common sense even, then must we find another
definition for common sense, than the unanimous decision of the human mind
on those subjects on which it decides.