Euro are Hebr, Proph

Europeans Are Descendants of the Ancient Hebrews: Prophetic Evidence

By Reed Benson

The greatest single help in unlocking the prophetic portions of scripture is this simple concept: the Church, the body of Christ, is constituted from ethnic Israel. This straightforward idea avoids the tangled web of prophetic gymnastics that enmesh most expositors of Bible prophecy.

Without this framework of truth, a real dilemma is faced. Virtually all of Bible prophecy deals with Israel. Daniel, Revelation, Ezekiel 36-39, Zechariah 14, and other portions of scripture central to prophecy are all oriented on an axis about Israel. Israel is the focus of prophecy. Few, if any, passages deal with the Church outside of an Israelite context. How is this a dilemma?

If you presume that those commonly referred to as the Jews today represent the bulk of biblical Israel, then you have a problem. Where does the "Gentile" Church fit in to God’s prophetic plan? Prophetic passages are silent concerning the future role of a "Gentile" Church. Yet, they cannot be left out! After all, it is the Church that has carried the gospel of Jesus Christ to the ends of the earth. It is the Church that has made the Bible available to anyone who wishes to read its pages. It is the Church that has written the profound confessions, sung the inspiring hymns, built the soaring cathedrals, and virtually every other great Christian labor over the past two thousand years. And what people have done all of this in the name of Jesus Christ? It is the Caucasian people of Western Europe. They have borne the burdens, carried the load, and suffered for the cause of Christ. Anyone with a working knowledge of Church history knows this is the truth. They are the people who make up the Church!

Meanwhile, what have the Jews done for the cause of Christ? Nothing. In fact, they repudiate his name and dishonor his redemptive sacrifice.

Yet scripture plainly indicates that the vast bulk of Bible prophecy revolves around the central axis of Israel. Does this mean that the non-Christian Jews are going to be the central focus of God’s rewards in prophecy and the Caucasian Church of historic Christianity, who has upheld his name and reputation for two thousand years, is left out of God’s prophetic blessings? Well, of course, that makes no sense! What kind of God would deal so unjustly? But that is exactly the dilemma facing modern theologians who insist that the Jews represent the bulk of biblical Israel and the historic Church of Western Europe is just a energetic mass of non-Israelite converts.

There is, however, an exceedingly straightforward solution. Simply recognize that the ethnic people of Western Europe are indeed biblical Israel in a genetic sense. Acknowledge that the prophetic passages dealing with Israel are relevant to the historic Christian Church that blossomed for centuries in Caucasian Europe, and later America. Such an admission resolves all prophetic tension! Now, God’s prophetic plan of preserving Israel, nurturing Israel, and rewarding Israel is just and proper, for it has been true ethnic Israel that has been faithful to the cause of Christ, enduring under difficult times, and zealous to press forward the name of Jesus Christ!

Take a look at Revelation chapter 12. This chapter reveals that Church is made up of ethnic Israel. Notice verses 1-2: "And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars: And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pain to be delivered." This woman can be none other than ethnic Israel; the twelve crowns are the key indicator. The child brought forth under great historic duress was Jesus Christ, born into the oppression of cruel Roman occupation. Continue by reading verses 5-6: "And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne. And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she had a place prepared of God . . ." The man child destined to someday rule all nations is again Christ, who did indeed ascend into heaven. Meanwhile, the woman, Israel, found safety in the wilderness parts of the earth. Is that not an excellent description of the Nordic Israelites who had migrated into the wilds of northwest Europe and then later America? Resume at the end of the chapter, verse 17: "And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ." The dragon is Satan. And with whom is he angry? The woman, who is Israel. And what are the hallmarks of her remaining descendants? They keep God’s commandments and adhere to the gospel of Jesus Christ. Does this description fit the people commonly referred to as the Jews? Absolutely not. They openly reject Jesus Christ, neither are they famous for keeping God’s commandments for it is many of them that are eager to take down Ten Commandment Plaques in our public places. But who does fit this description? Is it not the remaining faithful among the Christian west, almost all of whom are ethnic Europeans, the descendants and inheritors of two thousand years of Christian culture? Without question, they are true Israelites. They are the genetic offspring of the woman. They are the people around whom the vast bulk of biblical prophecy swirls. They are the apple of God’s eye (Deuteronomy 32:9-10). Meanwhile, who are the Jews? They have taken an identity that does not belong to them, and God has harsh words about this stolen identity (see Revelation 2:9 and 3:9).

Because Bible prophecy deals almost exclusively with Israel, and because most modern expositors of Bible prophecy refuse to acknowledge that the Caucasian Christian West is indeed Israel, they must deal with the problem that the historic Church has been left out of God’s prophetic plan. That being obviously unjust, they have been forced to come up with creative solutions to "fit in" the Church. There are three main approaches to this problem. Let us consider each of them, for all three are a real stretch of biblical hermeneutics. Admitting that the historic Church has been made up of ethnic Israel would be so much easier!

The first so-called solution is generally referred to as dispensationalism. There are many varieties of dispensationalism, but they all boil down to this common thread: God has two pathways by which eternal life in the kingdom of God can be obtained. "Gentiles" are saved by faith in Jesus Christ, and "Jews" are brought into the kingdom through exciting prophetic events that provide a special dispensation by which they gain access to God, for after all, they are "God’s chosen people." Dispensationalism is a two-track eschatology, one for "Jews" and another for "Gentiles." The Israeli state established in 1948 is viewed as fulfillment of Israel’s prophesied regathering. A good Bible student, however, knows this is impossible, for Ezekiel 37:11-14 makes it plain that there will be no regathering without the resurrection of the dead. And unless you are a preterist (they will be treated later), you will be able to obviously perceive that the resurrection of the dead has not occurred! Dispensationalism has become popular in recent decades, but it has borne little fruit and must constantly reinvent itself. For example, one popular dispensationalist proclaimed loudly in the 1970’s that the "terminal generation" was now on earth since the 1948 regime was established. Well, a biblical generation is 40 years, and since 1948 we are up to 54 years and counting!

The second attempt to find a place to "fit in" the Church is called amillennialism. Again, there are different stripes of amillennialists, but they all hold this general thought in common. They believe that all of the prophecies pertaining to Israel are not to be taken too literally, but should be viewed as figurative language. This then allows the amillennialist the elasticity to stretch these prophecies considerably. They then claim that all of these prophecies have been transferred to the Church. They do this without acknowledging that the Church is really made up of Israel. This cession, or transfer, of prophetic promises, is called supercessionism. In a nutshell, they claim that the Church is spiritual Israel, and we are headed for a spiritual kingdom. What are the problems with this theory? Foremost, there is no biblical authority for such a transfer—not a single verse (not to mention no need). Second, they must essentially discard giant sections of scripture with a sweep of the hand as allegorical figurative language, which truly mutilates the obvious meaning of the text. The multitudinous prophecies regarding Israel are nationalistic in nature and they just do not honestly make sense without that element. Amillennialism is not a new theory. But its weakness is what stimulated the rise of dispensationalism and preterism, our next flawed eschatological scheme.

Preterism is the least convincing for those with a sound biblical worldview. It rejects many of the most basic precepts of historic Christianity including the creeds of the early Church. Preterists purport that all Bible prophecy has been completely fulfilled. Yes, they believe that every last bit of it was fulfilled by 70 A.D. when Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans. Their theory suggests that all of those prophecies about Israel were wrapped up and completed by 70 A.D. after which God started all over with a Gentile Church. This may sound reasonable to the uninformed, but it is grossly irresponsible and dishonest to the integrity of scripture. For example, the preterists must insist that the resurrection of the dead has occurred and we are now living in the fullness of the kingdom of God. Yes sir, this is it! This is as good as it gets!

The simple solution is simply to acknowledge that the historic Church of Caucasian Europeans is made up of ethnic Israel—it always has been and always will be. This key will unlock the pages of scripture and cast a new light on prophetic passages that have been hitherto unfathomable. May your quest of truth as you examine Bible prophecy be blessed by the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.