Ephraim - Manasseh - House of Israel
by
Brian Williams
Chapter Five
THE PEOPLE SHALL DWELL ALONE
HERE are three amazing prophecies in the Bible which reveal
in startling detail the status and influence of Israel in the
latter days - this Christian dispensation. They are the
prophecies of Jacob, Moses and Balsam, and we shall here briefly
consider the contents of each. These three prophecies offer
significant clues as to the present-day identity of all the
tribes of Israel.
JACOB'S PROPHECY
In the 49th chapter of the Book of Genesis we read how the
dying Jacob called his sons together and spoke prophetically of
the blessings that would come upon each tribe. Significantly,
more is spoken of Joseph than of all the others. Jacob said,
"Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful rough by a well;
whose branches run over the wall: the archers have sorely grieved
him, and shot at him, and hated him: but his bow abode in
strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands
of the mighty God of Jacob ... even by the God of thy father, who
shall help thee; and by the Almighty, who shall bless thee with
blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that Beth under,
blessings of the breasts, and of the womb: the blessings of thy
father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors unto
the utmost bound of the everlasting hills: they shall be on the
head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him that was
separate from his brethren."1
MOSES' PROPHECY
Similarly, Moses also blessed the twelve tribes of Israel
before his death. Again, more is spoken of Joseph than of any
other tribe. "And of Joseph he said, Blessed of the Lord be his
land, for the precious things of heaven, for the dew, and for the
deep that coucheth beneath, and for the precious fruits brought
forth by the sun, and for the precious things put forth by the
moon, and for the chief things of the ancient mountains, and for
the precious things of the lasting hills, and for the precious
things of the earth and fullness thereof, and for the goodwill of
him that dwelt in the bush: let the blessing come upon the head
of Joseph, and upon the top of the head of him that was separated
from his brethren. His glory is like the firstling of his
bullock, and his horns are like the horns of unicorns: with them
he shall push the people together to the ends of the earth: and
they are the ten thousands of Ephraim, and they are the thousands
of Manasseh. ... The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath
are the everlasting arms: and He shall thrust out the enemy from
before dim; and shall say, Destroy them. Israel then shall dwell
in safety alone: the fountain of Jacob shall be upon a land of
corn and wine; also his heavens shall drop down dew. Happy are
thou, O Israel: who is like unto thee, O people saved by the
LORD, the shield of thy help, and who is the sword of thy
excellency! and thine enemies shall be found liars unto thee; and
thou shalt tread upon their high places."2
BALAAM'S PROPHECY
Then in Numbers, chapters 22 to 24, we have the strange
story of Balaam, a backslidden prophet of God, being hired by
Balak, the king of the Moabites, to curse the children of Israel
who were a threat to his own people. However, Balaam found
himself unable to curse Israel, and each time he opened his mouth
to speak he found himself speaking words not of cursing but of
blessing:
"How shall I curse, whom God hath not cursed? or how shall I
defy, whom the LORD hath not defied? For from the top of the
rocks I see him, and from the hills I behold him: lo, the people
shall dwell alone, and shall not be reckoned among the nations.
Who can count the dust of Jacob, and the number of the fourth
part of Israel? ... He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither
hath He seen perverseness in Israel: the LORD his God is with
him, and the shout of a king is among them. God brought them out
of Egypt; he hath as it were the strength of an unicorn. Surely
there is no enchantment against Jacob, neither is there any
divination against Israel: according to this time it shall be
said of Jacob and of Israel, What hath God wrought! Behold, the
people shall rise up as a great lion, and lift up himself as a
young lion: he shall not lie down until he eat of the prey, and
drink the blood of the slain. ... How goodly are thy tents, O
Jacob, and thy tabernacles, O Israel! As the valleys are they
spread forth, as gardens by the river's side, as the trees of
lign aloes which the LORD hath planted, and as cedar trees beside
the waters. He shall pour the water out of his buckets, and his
seed shall be in many waters, and his king shall be higher than
Agag, and his kingdom shall be exalted. God brought him forth out
of Egypt; he hath as it were the strength of an unicorn; he shall
eat up the nations his enemies, and shall break their bones, and
pierce them through with his arrows. He couched, he lay down as a
lion, and as a great lion: who shall stir him up? Blessed is he
that blesseth thee, and cursed is he that curseth thee."3
A PEOPLE DWELLING ALONE
These prophecies of Jacob, Moses and Balaam have at least
seven common features which we will briefly consider here. They
speak firstly of Israel's GEOGRAPHICAL ISOLATION. God said, "The
people shall DWELL IN SAFETY ALONE" and, "The people shall DWELL
ALONE, and shall NOT BE RECKONED AMONG THE NATIONS." As we have
seen, Israel's future home was to be in isles afar off,4 in the
north-west.5 Their island location was to be a peculiar blessing,
a natural wall of defence, so that they would be a people apart
from the other nations. Surely this is true of Britain. Not since
the year 1066 has Britain been successfully invaded. As William
Shakespeare was inspired to write:
"This royal throne of kings, this scepter'd isle, This earth of
majesty, this seal of Mars, This other Eden, demi-paradise.
This fortress built by Nature for herself Against infection and
the hand of war; Thus happy breed of men, this little world; This
precious stone set in a silvery sea, Which serves it in the
office of a wall, Or as a moat defensive to a house, Against the
envy of less happier lands.
This blessed spot, this earth, this realm, this England.
(Richard 11, Act 2, Scene l)
THOUSANDS OF MILLIONS
Secondly, Israel was to be blessed with GREAT NUMERICAL
STRENGTH in the last days. In our opening chapter we showed that
the blessing of multitudinousness was promised to Abraham, Isaac
and Jacob, and to Joseph's sons, the "ten thousands of Ephraim"
and the "thousands of Manasseh."6
The "thousands of millions" promised to Rebekah are again
repeated in the prophecies of Jacob, Moses and Balaam. "Joseph is
a FRUITFUL BOUGH, even a fruitful bough by a well; whose branches
run over the wall ... the Almighty shall bless thee with ...
blessings of the BREASTS, and of the WOMB.... Who can count the
DUST OF JACOB, and the number of the FOURTH PART OF ISRAEL?"
Obviously, in order m become a great nation and a company of
nations the Israel people must multiply so greatly that they
would want to extend their borders and to colonize other parts of
the world, as signified by branches running over a wall. Thus has
been uniquely fulfilled in the British people. At the time of
Christ the population of Britain is thought to have been no more
than one million. It was not until the time of the Norman
invasion of 1066 that the two million was reached. The population
increased to 3 million by the year 1500 and 4 million by 1600, 5
and a half million by 1700, then 6 and a half million by 1750. In
1801 the population was 15 and three-quarters of a million,
increasing to 28 million by 1851, and 41 and a half million in
1901. Today, the population of Britain totals some 55 million
people. A contemporary historian has written, "Britain's
population rose very rapidly, in a manner unprecedented in the
past history of any European country ... the increase of numbers
in Great Britain has not in general histories received the
emphasis it deserved ... a country whose people were multiplied
more than sixfold in less than two hundred years."7
Nor do these figures take into account the enormous
population explosion in the USA. The first British settlers
arrived in America from Britain in the Mayflower in 1620.
Thereafter about half-a-million people emigrated from England to
America. At the time of the War of Independence, 1776-1783, the
population numbered two million. By 1801, the Angio-Saxon-Celtic
population had doubled to almost four million. Today the
population of the USA is about 250 million, of which half must be
reckoned to be of basic British stock. (According to Charles
Edward Banks in his "The English Ancestry and Homes of the
Pilgrim Fathers," the earliest colonists were predominantly from
East Anglia. This was the home of the Angles, who came to Britain
in the fifth and sixth century AD, originally two kindred
peoples, the Angae and the Aeglae. The Inner name derives from
the Hebrew eglah = heifer or ox, which was the tribal symbol of
Ephraim.)
We must then take into account the population of the other
British colonies. The Appendix contains a survey of the British
Empire in 1921, with figures added for the USA. It will be seen
that the total population of the peoples embraced by Britain and
America is 547 million, almost one-third of the total population
of the world. The British Empire and the United States of America
together covered more than one-quarter of the earth's surface
area. No other people in the world increased so greatly in
numbers as did the BRITISH people after 1799.
(These population figures are old ones when this booklet was
first written and are not the present population figures for
Britain and the USA and the world - Keith Hunt)
MILITARY STRENGTH
Closely associated with this population explosion and
Israel's consequent migration to the west, the east, the north
and the south, we must observe thirdly, her MILITARY STRENGTH.
Jacob said, "The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at
him, and hated him: but HIS BOW ABODE IN STRENGTH, and the arms
of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of
Jacob." Moses said, "His glory is like the firstling of his
bullock, and his homes are like the horns of UNICORNS: with them
he shall push the people together to the ends of the earth ....
He shall thrust out the enemy from before thee; and shall say,
destroy them." Balaam said, "He hath as it were the strength of
an UNICORN ... the people shall rise up as a great LION, and lift
up himself as a young LION. ... He shall eat up the nations his
enemies, and shall break their bones, and pierce them through
with his ARROWS. He couched, he lay down as a LION, and as a
GREAT LION: who shall stir him up?"
Time and again Britain has defeated her enemies against
overwhelming odds. At Crecy in 1346, 30,000 Englishmen defeated
an army of 120,000. At Poitiers in 1356, the English army of
10,000 routed the French army though outnumbered six-to-one. At
the Battle of Agincourt in 1416, the English army lost only 1,600
men as against 24,000 lost by the French. As recently as 1940,
the Royal Air Force, though hopelessly outnumbered, defeated the
mighty striking power of the German Luftwaffe. Our book Judgment
on Britain (free on request) contains a whole chapter of similar
victories. Tally the arms of the English people have been made
strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob. Balaam said that
Israel in the last days would have the strength of a UNICORN and
rise up as a great LION. Can it be only coincidence that the
British coat of arms depicts the LION AND THE UNICORN?
MARITIME POWER
Fourthly, God said that Israel would be a great MARITIME
POWER, blessed with the blessings of the sea. "The Almighty shall
bless thee with ... BLESSINGS OF THE DEEP THAT LIETH UNDER ...
Blessed of the LORD be His land ... for the DEEP THAT COUCHETH
BENEATH ... His seed shall be in MANY WATERS ... and his kingdom
shall be exalted." We have already pointed out the singular
blessing Israel was to enjoy as an island race, God thus
providing the sea as a natural fortress against invasion. In
addition, Britain has one of the greatest fishing industries in
the world, truly enjoying the blessings of the deep that were
promised to Joseph's race.
God said also that this great maritime power would, in the
last days, control the oceans and seas of the world. She would
POSSESS THE GATE OF HER ENEMIES, the strategic gateways of the
world such as the Suez Canal, Gibraltar, Singapore, Cape Town,
the Falkland Islands, Hong Kong and Panama. During the last 150
years Britain and America have occupied and controlled every
major sea-gate in the world. This has been an important factor in
Britain's fulfilment of her role as a world power. James
Thompson's Rule Britannia remarkably expresses this fact:
"When Britain first, at Heaven's command, Arose from out the
azure main, This was the charter of the land,
And guardian angels sang this strain: 'Rule, Britannia, vale me
waves; Britons never shall be slaves!'"
MINERAL RESOURCES
Fifthly, Israel was to be blessed with great MINERAL
RESOURCES which would make her the wealthiest nation in the
world. "The blessings of thy father have prevailed ... unto the
utmost bound of the EVERLASTING HILLS ... Blessed of the LORD be
his land ... for the CHIEF THINGS OF THE ANCIENT MOUNTAINS, and
for the PRECIOUS THINGS OF THE LASTING HILLS, and for the
PRECIOUS THINGS OF THE EARTH AND FULLNESS THEREOF." This clearly
refers to silver and gold, precious stones, base metals, coal and
iron and oil. The British Commonwealth produced two-thirds of the
world's gold, most of it coming from South Africa. We possessed
95 per cent of the world's nickel, 80 per cent of the aluminium,
75 per cent of the zinc. Together Britain and America dominated
the world in the production of lead, copper, tin and other
precious metals. Britain and America mined one-and-a-half times
as much coal as all the other nations of the world combined. We
produced three-quarters of the world's steel and two-thirds of
the world's rubber and we utilized two-thirds of the world's
total output of electricity. The USA alone produced more than
one-half of the total output of petroleum, while Britain has
continued to find oil and natural gas under the North Sea. Who
put these enormous resources of mineral wealth under the earth
and sea? And since they were promised to Israel in the last days,
who else can Britain and America be, but God's Israel people?
AGRICULTURAL PLENTY
Sixthly, God said that Israel would be blessed with the
PRODUCE OF THE EARTH. "And of Joseph be said, Blessed of the LORD
be his LAND, for the PRECIOUS THINGS OF HEAVEN, FOR THE DEW ...
FOR THE PRECIOUS FRUITS BROUGHT FORTH BY THE SUN, and for the
PRECIOUS THINGS PUT FORTH BY THE MOON." Here God speaks of the
natural produce of the earth brought forth by the sun and rain
and by the seasons. We remember God's promise that the land to
which Israel went would be "a land of hills and valleys, and
DRINKETH WATER OF THE RAIN OF HEAVEN: a land which the LORD thy
God careth for: the eyes of the Lord thy God are always upon it,
from the beginning of the year even unto the end of the year."8
It is a fact that Britain's "green and pleasant land" enjoys
one of the best climates and is one of the most productive in the
whole world. Likewise, wherever Britain has colonized lands
across the seas, they have been transformed from wilderness and
desert into a fruitful oasis. The British Commonwealth today
produces apples, oranges, plums, pears, peaches, pineapples,
bananas, apricots and grapes. In addition, Britain, America and
the Commonwealth have more than 220 million sheep, while all the
rest of the world has only about 182 million. We also possess 60
per cent of the world's cattle, with America coming fast and the
Commonwealth second in the production of milk, butter and meat.
A geographically isolated people dwelling securely, great in
numbers and military strength, the greatest colonial and maritime
power, a people blessed with phenomenal mineral resources and a
productive land, the wealthiest people in the world, all these
the very blessings promised to ISRAEL in the last days, all
without exception being enjoyed by GREAT BRITAIN, the
COMMONWEALTH and AMERICA: how, in the face of such irrefutable
evidence can anyone deny the identity of the British and kindred
peoples? What more outstanding evidence could one require of the
unfailing promises of God? Truly, "according to this time it
shall be said of Jacob and of Israel, What had, God wrought!"9
"Land of hope and glory, Mother of the free: How may we extol
thee Who are born of the? Wider still and wider Shall thy bounds
be set; God who made the, mighty Make thee mightier yet!"
(Arthur C. Benson, 1862-1925)
There is, however, a seventh feature in these prophecies
concerning Israel which is so important that we must deal with it
in a separate chapter. There is a question we have to ask, and if
we can find the answer we shall for ever settle the identity of
God's Israel people.
1. Genesis 49:22-26
2. Deuteronomy 33:13-17, 27-29
3. Numbers 23:8-10, 21-24; 24:5-9
4. Jeremiah 31:10
5. Isaiah 49:12
6. Deuteronomy 33:17
7. Great Britain and the Commonwealth, by James A. Williamson,
(A.& C. Black, 1965), pp.51-52
8. Deuteronomy 1:11-12
9. Numbers 23:23
................
TO BE CONTINUED
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