Euro are Hebr, Eccl

Europeans Are Descendants of the Ancient Hebrews: Ecclesiastical Clues

By Reed Benson

Among the sundry important covenants found in scripture, one of the least emphasized is the Levitical Covenant. The essence of this covenant is that God promised that there would always exist a cadre of men who would serve Jehovah and true biblical Israelites in the office of the priest. No period of history would be completely bereft of spiritual leadership. But the covenant goes further than that, for not only would this spiritual leadership be filled at all times, but the promise of God was that there would be a genetic continuity from ancient times to the present. Thus, literal genetic descendants of ancient Levi must be alive today, somewhere on this planet. If we can find these Levites, these ministers of God, then we may be able to find the "lost ten tribes of Israel."

This does not mean that such men, if they could be identified, would exercise their responsibility in full knowledge, power, and virtue of biblical truth. Indeed, there were priests of varying qualities in ancient Israel and some left much to be desired. Nonetheless, God made clear promises that He would maintain the Levitic priesthood in the earth. Before we consider these promises, let it be stated that the continued existence of such a priesthood does not impinge on the majestic priesthood of Jesus Christ, who overshadows all human spiritual offices by an infinite degree. Jesus Christ is of the Order of Melchizedek and is the only person to fill that exalted position. As it states in Hebrews 7:3, this order is "without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life; but made like unto the Son of God; abideth a priest continually." Jesus Christ, officiating as the Priest of the Order of Melchizedek and subjecting himself as the perfect lamb without blemish, superceded all ordinary bloody sacrifices, and by his own blood made the Law of Blood Sacrifice permanently effective, thus making further bloody sacrifices by a human priesthood unnecessary. But that does not mean the priesthood was abolished. Neither was the need for Christ’s sacrifice to be appropriated to the people in true repentance abolished. The Bible makes it clear the Levitic Covenant must still be in force today!

Consider the following passages. Genesis 49:10 states: "The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be." The lawgiver is the priesthood. The coming of Shiloh refers to the Second coming of Jesus Christ, an event plainly yet in the future. Therefore the priesthood of should be found in the earth today. Where? This verse provides an important clue when it states that the lawgiver will be found between the feet of the sceptre of Judah, the royal Davidic throne. Find the Davidic throne on planet earth today, and the priesthood will be nearby.

A clearer passage that speaks of the enduring Levitic covenant is found in Jeremiah 33:17-21. It also ties the throne of David together with the Levitical Covenant. "For thus saith the LORD; David shall never want a man to sit upon the throne of the house of Israel; Neither shall the priests the Levites want a man before me to offer burnt offerings, and to kindle meat offerings, and to do sacrifice continually. And the word of the Lord came unto Jeremiah, saying, Thus saith the Lord, If ye can break my covenant of the day, and my covenant of the night, and that there should not be day and night in their season; Then may also my covenant be broken with David my servant, that he should not have a son to reign upon his throne; and with the Levites the priests my ministers." Do day and night maintain their rhythm? Of course they do. It is thus plain for all to see that somewhere there are genetic Levites, that is, true ministers of God, keeping faith with Him.

Other passages add considerable weight to this concept. In Numbers 25:1-15 we discover that one of the direct descendants of Levi was rewarded for his zeal with a covenant of his own. This was Phinehas, the grandson of Aaron of whom God said, "And he shall have it, and his seed after him, even the covenant of an everlasting priesthood . . . ." So, somewhere on this orb we call earth, the offspring of Phinehas are acting as faithful men of God.

In Jeremiah 35 we are introduced to the clan of the Rechabites, a branch of the Levitical tree who are blessed uniquely for their devotion to the instructions of their forefather Jonadab, the son Rechab. Of them Jeremiah 35:19 states: "Therefore, thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, Jonadab, the son of Rechab shall not want a man to stand before me for ever." Again, if the Bible be true, there must be living flesh and blood Rechabites to found somewhere today.

The last chapters of the book of Ezekiel are devoted to his visionary description of the Temple of God that will be present on earth when all things are restored to their pristine perfect conditions. Guess who will be found there? Levites! They will be administering various ecclesiastical functions in this perfect world. Several passages in Ezekiel attest to this fact. Consider Ezekiel 40:46 as an example: " . . . these are the sons of Zadok among the sons of Levi, which come near to the LORD to minister unto him." If there are sons of Levi that will be functioning in a ministerial capacity in the restored Kingdom of God, then they must certainly be found somewhere today!

So, where should we look to find the genetic sons of Levi today? Remembering that Levites were parceled out among all the other tribes of Israel that they might be of greater service to the nation as a whole, it is almost certain that there are Levites to be found wherever Israelites have wandered through the many centuries. Perhaps many of the ministers that have been called of God, who love the Bible, who are committed to Jesus Christ, are genetically descended from Levi. Perhaps some of the great preachers and teachers of God’s truth were Levites; men like Martin Luther, John Calvin, George Whitefield, John Wesley, and Charles Spurgeon.

However, there is one branch of the Levitical family tree that can be traced through history with great confidence. Though a series of providential marriages, the Levitic line merged with the Davidic dynasty. Several infusions of priestly genetics enriched the Davidic genealogy. Since the family tree of the royal Davidic line has been preserved in Scripture up to the time of Christ, and secular historic records pick it up from that point until now, we can also find the Levite present also.

The current royal family of England is not only the literal genetic offspring of the seed of David, but is also the literal genetic offspring of at least one branch of Levi. Thus, when scripture states that the lawgiver will be between the feet of Judah (Genesis 49:10), it is speaking in an almost literal sense! The Levitic priesthood is found within the loins of the monarchs of England!

It is a bit tedious to cite every person in this long genealogy spanning over three thousand years, but a few highlights will be fruitful. It is interesting to note that several kings in the Davidic line were also linchpin people in the history of our Faith. One of them was Solomon (circa 980 B.C.), the builder of the Great Temple. He inherited the Levitic bloodline from his mother Bathsheba who was of the priestly line of her father Ammiel. Another was Caradoc or Caractacus (circa 90 A.D.), a king of ancient Britain. He was a Levite through Anna the daughter of Joseph of Arimathea who was of the priestly line of Matthat. Caractacus helped introduced Christianity in both Britain and the city of Rome. Yet another was Constantine the Great (circa 325 A.D.), a direct descendant of Caractacus. Constantine legalized Christianity in the Roman Empire and presided over the famous and important Council of Nicea. His mother Helena personally sponsored research that identified most of the key locations of important events in the Holy Land.

A bit more recent, Henry VIII (circa 1535 A.D.) broke with the corrupt Roman Catholic Church and established the independent Church of England. He was descended from Constantine and from the ancient Welsh kings, both branches of which go back to Joseph of Arimathea. Less than a century later in 1603 James I of England commissioned the translation of the King James Bible, the most widely used and reliable translation in the English language. He was descended from Levi from several directions, through same kings as Henry VIII going back to Joseph of Arimathea as well as through the Scottish kings who directly flowed from Tea Tephi, the daughter of the last king of Judah, Zedekiah, who was in turn descended from Solomon, his mother Bathsheba, and her father Ammiel of a priestly line.

The present members of the royal family including Queen Elizabeth II, her eldest son and heir Charles, the Prince of Wales, and his eldest son, Prince William are all descendants of Levi. They are recipients of the covenant blessings of the Levitic Covenant. Any personal shortcomings present in their life do not negate the existence or the power of this covenant, for God woks his providential ways through mortal men, stained with the blemishes of sin.

It is important to remember that this is only one branch of the descendants of Levi in the earth today. Without doubt, there are many others shrouded in obscurity, some of whom are surely inclined to the calling of ministerial duty before God. They do not know they are Levites, but perhaps that is why they feel the compelling call of the Holy Spirit, driving them into the direct service of Christ as leaders of His various flocks.

Now that we have identified the genetic sons of Levi in the royal family of England, we are able to see that the people of the West, that is, the Anglo-Saxons of England and their related people of the same genetic stock, are Israelites. Not spiritual Israelites, but the true physical offspring of the ancient Hebrews.