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HISTORICALLY, WHO WERE THE LEVITES?

It may surprise some people to know that the Levites were once a mighty nation in Europe who ruled over all the Tribes of Israel.  The rest of the Tribes of Israel have all but suppressed the identity of these people.  Yet they totally reshaped history.

By Neville V. Stevens

New International version used throughout unless otherwise specified

Every Bible student should note that at the time of Christ’s death, the only Scripture that existed was the Book we call the Old Testament today.  There were no ‘Gospels’ as we call the first four Books of the New Testament.  They were not yet written.  And even the Book of Revelation was written nearly seventy years later, in fact, just 3½ years short of seventy years.  The rest of the New Testament was written as letters to believers by those empowered by God to shepherd the flock.  And even among these letters there are some notable exceptions as to what is Scripture.  The most notable being the book of Galatians.  While some strain to prove that Paul wrote this book to contradict the Word of God and the teachings of Christ, this simply isn’t the case.  Paul never wrote it!  This little bit of subversion was concocted by Gentiles hundreds of years after Paul departed.  But what is it about the Galatian people that so incensed the Gentiles and led them to want to do away with the laws of God?

The history of Galatia is very interesting.  Hundreds of years before the Gentiles imposed their fraudulent book on Christianity, there existed in Europe a powerful tribe of people who were greatly feared throughout the region.  Their reputation as fierce warriors spread far and wide and so did their migrations.  They surfaced in northern and central Italy as the Spartans after conquering the Etruscans in the great battle of Allia, in 390BC.  Having secured the entire northern regions of Italy, they then overran Italy all the way to Rome and in three days conquered this city as well.

Alexander the Great never conquered Europe.  He was aware of a mighty and powerful people existing there who represented a formidable opponent.  He chose to receive an envoy of representatives from this European nation and to secure peace by negotiation, rather than risk starting a new battlefront with a people of formidable fighting prowess.  It was Ptolemy, Alexander’s general, who authorized the record of this historical meeting, and the historian Strabo recorded it.  Both were present at the negotiations.  Ptolemy, of course, is the one who became ruler of Egypt after Alexander’s death.

These are the details of Strabo’s account: 

So formidable, indeed, were the Celts during the period of their ascendancy that it served the purpose of the classic nations – Greeks and Romans – to keep the peace with them as best they could, and even to play them off against their own hereditary foes.  And so the expansive tribes were for the most part on friendly terms with both, especially the Greeks.  We have an account in Strabo of an interview which Alexander the Great had with their ambassadors.  It is given on the authority of Ptolemy, his general.  The young potentate knew well the advantage of cultivating good fellowship with his powerful neighbours, and when the tribes of the Adriatic sent delegates he received them with all due courtesy and respect.

While they were drinking, says the general, Alexander asked them what was the object of their greatest fear, thinking they would say himself.  But the imaginative Celts had quite other views.   They feared no man.  One thing only alarmed them, they replied, and that was lest the heavens should one day fall and crush them.  Still, they added, they valued the friendship of such a man as he was above everything.

“How vainglorious these Celts are!” muttered the young autocrat to his courtiers, a little piqued, perhaps at their rejoinder.  Yet, if such were really the object of their superstitious dread, the promise they made was not without its own grim cogency.  “If we fulfill not our engagement,” they said, “may the sky falling upon us crush us, may the earth opening swallow us, may the sea overflowing its borders drown us.”

Details of the historical script can be found in a book called ‘The Literature of the Celts’ [Lit. Celts], written by Magnus Maclean in 1902.  Copies can still be found in most major libraries.

Alexander misunderstood the meaning of what they were saying in reference to the ‘heavens falling upon us’ and ‘the earth opening to swallow us’.  These people still recalled what happens to Levites who oppose the authority of the Heavens, and this was a reference to Korah’s rebellion: Numbers 16:8 “Moses also said to Korah, “Now listen, you Levites!  Isn’t it enough for you that the God of Israel has separated you from the rest of the Israelite community and brought you near Himself to do the work of the LORD’S tabernacle and to stand before the community and minister to them?  He has brought you and all your fellow Levites near Himself, but now you are trying to get the priesthood too.”  V30 “But if the LORD brings about something totally new, and the earth opens its mouth and swallows them, with everything that belongs to them, and they go down alive into the grave, then you will know that these men have treated the LORD with contempt.”  As an aside, the Book of Jude also mentions Korah’s rebellion, and compares it to the rebellion of Church leaders (Jude 1:11), who follow mere natural instincts and don’t have the Spirit of God (V19).

The book [Lit. Celts] is a collection of literature, together with ancient historical documents that seeks to identify different peoples through literature and language.  Although Magnus Maclean makes clear distinctions between the Irish people and the Welsh and pilgrim Scots, the Irish literature begins to embrace Gaelic legend, fashioned mainly on Irish myth and folklore, but later continues to make distinctions between two different groups of people.  The book acknowledges the Danes and Norsemen as the progenitors of the nation of Ireland, which we know today, and how ancient literature begins to separate out the southern Irish as a distinct nation of people from the true Gaelics or Celts.

On the one hand, the Irish acknowledge their roots in their Dane/Norseman ancestry, but seek to separate the activities of their forebears by implying Celtic characteristics in their literature.  Although there is a fair mix of Celts among them, the Danish Viking ancestry has embedded within them a destructiveness and ruthlessness, which, anciently, was detestable to all nations.  The Vikings were marauders who pillaged, raped and destroyed everything, and saw no value in preserving anything that they could not personally use.  No-one could make peace with them.

So which tribe was it that Alexander sought to make peace with?  Historical records, and Magnus Maclean’s book details many of them from ancient manuscripts, show them to be those who later settled in Wales and parts of Scotland.  These same people also established a colony in Galatia where they developed a reputation as formidable rulers of the region.

Figure 1.  The extent of Celtic conquests all the way to Galatia in Asia Minor.  (Credit: Muir’s Atlas of ancient and classical history).

While their territory was located from northern Italy to some of present-day Germany and much of France and Spain, they virtually ruled all of Europe.  The Israelite tribe of Simeon is Germany today, and the Tribe of Levi is their ancestral brother.  Many historians anciently believed them to be the same people, all living in central Europe and having many common characteristics and customs, and particularly, sharing the same language.  As a point of interest, the Welsh/Gaelic language is very similar to ancient Germanic.

Julius Caesar noted that there were differences between the northern and southern group.  Tacitus, speaking about a century and a half after Caesar, and confirming what he said, noted the southern group had darker complexions and dark curly hair (reference Maclean’s book).  Tacitus adds, ‘Who are the darker complexioned race of the south, and who are the Picts of the north?’ 

Maclean, quoting a historic source, describes the territory of the Celts as extending ‘from the Danube and the Adriatic to the Atlantic, and bounded on the north by the Rhine and Mid-Germany, and on the south by Mid-Italy and Mid-Spain, and including the British Isles – a magnificent empire rivaling that of Alexander or of Caesar in their palmy days.’ 

The Celts subjugated the Germanics as a labour force, yet gave them an elevated status above their traditional enemies.  The fairer-skinned peoples seemed to occupy the northern regions of Europe, while the darker-complexioned people settled in the southern regions.  This is largely true today.  Yet the whole region was known as Gallia, after the Gaels/Celts.  The Romans and the Greeks called the Celts ‘Keltoi’.  They also used the term ‘Galati’ in derisive terms since they occupied a big slice of Turkey, which the Greeks considered their territory.  The occupation of Galatia came after Alexander’s demise.  The Celts kept their agreement not to move against him, but they attacked Greece when it came under the control of one of Alexander’s generals, and from there they surged on to occupy central Turkey and formed the Galatian colony in 278 B.C.

It’s interesting to note that in the time of Ezra, a search had to be made for Levites who seemed to be scarce in the territories of their captors – Babylon.  While it’s clear that some Levites were found, the vast majority of the Tribe seemed to be elsewhere.  It was the second Ezra (who wrote the Book bearing his name) who assembled the exiles for the return to build the Temple: Ezra 8:15 “I assembled them there at the canal that flows towards Ahava, and we camped there three days.  When I checked among the people and the priests, I found no Levites there.”  Notice the reference to priests.  Yet there were no Levites there.  It may be a reference to those David appointed to assist the Levites, who, incidently, also thought they were priests in the days of Jesus Christ.  Lamentably, even today, the Tribe of Judah think they are the priesthood tribe.  Unfortunately, Judah still has a thing or two to learn!  At the time of Christ, simony was widespread and the priesthood could be purchased with money regardless of any rights by ascent.

In the Book of Maccabee we find a reference to the Spartans, and an acknowledgement that they are the brothers of Judah: 1Macc 12:19 “This is a copy of the letter that was sent to Onias: “Arius, king of the Spartans sends greetings to Onias the high priest.  A document has been found stating that the Spartans and the Jews are brothers; both nations descended from Abraham.””  Their common ancestral mother was Leah, Jacob’s first wife.

It’s not surprising that the Germans claimed to be Aryans, since they had visions of being the dominant Tribe.  Aryan is derived from the name of Aaron.  The true Aaronites were known as the Aryans.  The Germans got their opportunity when the Celts were forced to spread themselves too thin in defending their empire, and they struck against the heartland of the Celts driving them from their capitol in central Europe and seized their lands.

The Germans and the French, together with Saxony while regionally connected with the Celts, became politically separated from Celtic rule and actually fought against them, creating an area formerly called La Tene (see Fig. 1).

Magnus Maclean makes this comment concerning the Celts: “Thus compelled to evacuate Greece, the Celts invaded Asia Minor in 278 B.C., and established the well-known colony of Galatia.  It was to their descendants that St. Paul addressed his trenchant epistle, and the words, “O, foolish Galatians, who hath druided you?”” 

He used the word ‘druided’ from the earlier manuscripts, a clear reference to the Druids in Gallia.  The name of General De Gaulle, the recent president of France, is a leftover from an earlier era.  The fact that the Gentiles used the word ‘druided’ originally, in their fake book, shows the hostility they felt for the Celts.  Hundreds of years after Paul departed, the Gentiles were still miffed that Paul visited Spain, specifically to speak to the Celts.  We have this reference:

“From Gaul, where they [the Celts] appear to have established themselves north of the Garonne and about the Seine and Loire, the hungry tribes made a dash for Spain, shortly before 500 B.C., and wrested the peninsula from the hands of the Phoenicians.”  Paul was sent to the Celts in Spain (Rom 15:24) to advise the House of Israel of recent events in the Holy Land, and to ensure they knew that Almighty God had appointed the Messiah.  The Great One, the Son of God, had qualified to be King of kings and Lord of lords by obedience to the Father’s Eternal Laws and for being prepared to give His life for His God and Father.  It was a principle of which the Celts were well-aware.  They were more than willing to give up their lives for their Tribe.  They stood their ground even in the face of overwhelming odds and refused to retreat in battle.  Their foes always knew they had a fight on their hands.

In the same era as Paul’s visit to Spain, James wrote to all 12 Tribes of Israel (James 1:1) and was appalled to hear that wars and fightings were going on between them (James 4:1).  The Book of James should be read in this context.  All the 12 Tribes were engaging in wars with each other, and each was developing their own political views for the purpose of co-habiting peacefully with the Romans – all except the Celts!  They never accepted the dominion of the Romans, and the Romans were always wary of an uprising from them.

The Greeks and the Romans called them the ‘Galati’ because of their foray into Asia Minor against formidable odds, and the establishment of the colony of Galatia.  It was hundreds of years before they were dislodged from the region.  It’s interesting to note that the son of a famous general was the one who led this expedition.  His name was Galates – from where the name Galatia was derived.  Today the French people still enshrine his name in the word ‘galant’.  His father was even more famous, and the Greeks still claim him as one of their sons, even though his first act was to beat back the Greeks in fierce warfare after the death of Alexander.  He lived in Gallia (present day France) and had married a Celtic noble woman there.  This man’s name was Hercules – and he was a Celt.

Many historians down through the ages have alluded to the Celts being Levites, particularly those in Wales and scattered through Scotland.  There is a great deal of evidence to support this view.  Even after the Roman occupation of Britain, the Romans saw merit in keeping the Celts out of the region, and so Hadrian built his famous wall preventing the Celts from the north from incursions into greater Britain.  Far to the south, the Celts had been driven into a small pocket called Wales.

Prior to this, in 278 B.C., the Celts had virtually colonized Britain, and were actually called Britons - the name ‘British’ being derived from the Hebrew word ‘berith’ meaning ‘covenant’.  By 80 A.D., the Romans had overrun Britain, disarming the main body of Britons, and subjecting them to absolute Roman rule.  Then quite suddenly, the Romans departed, leaving the nation disarmed and vulnerable.  The book [Lit. Celts] describes the events as follows:  ‘In Britain the Romanizing process was suddenly arrested by the hasty departure of the conqueror; and in the helpless abandonment that ensued the Saxons found an open door.  The same fate that they had themselves formerly inflicted on their kinsmen now overtook the Britons, who were hustled in great numbers into the wilds of Cornwall, of Wales, and Strathclyde.’  It’s interesting to note that the Britons were the Celts, who occupied Britain before the Saxons arrived.  The kinsmen of the Celts – the other Tribes of Israel – arrived in droves, predominantly the Saxons and the Normans.

Text Box: Figure 4 The first settlements of the Anglo-Saxons.  (Credit: The Illustrated Reference Book of Ancient History).The Romans considered any peoples outside their sphere of influence to be barbarians.  At the time of their withdrawal from Britain, there were vast hordes of people accumulating north of the Rhine, and beyond their sphere of control.  There was a distinct possibility of these people uniting into a mighty force and dividing the Roman Empire and conquering it.  This seems to be the underlying reason for their departure from Britain.  Whatever the reason, it’s clear that the hordes north of the Rhine did set their sights on Britain, and did eventually occupy it.

With the establishment of the Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms, the British-Celtic Kingdoms were driven into the wilderness.  They found refuge in the Cambrian Mountains in Wales and the Highlands of Scotland.  Ever ready to take a last stand in battle, they were better left alone, and the Romans saw the value in doing just that.  Hadrian hoped his wall would solve the problem of an attack from the north, and the Cambrian Mountains were considered a good place to stay away from.

The Saxon invasions began in East Anglia which became their stronghold spreading rapidly throughout the Island.  Successful invasions led to incursions by other Tribes in the northern regions of Europe.  The promontory of East Anglia was a natural staging point for further conquests, being the closest land point to the invaders.

Which ever way you look at it, the extensive travels of the ‘lost’ Tribes of Israel was arduous and fraught with danger and cultural upheavals.  None of the Tribes emerged unscathed from the influence of nations with whom they had contact.  Hardships and deprivations led many to seek a more culturally-favourable existence.  The Tribe of Reuben (French/Franks) developed a societal structure in La Tien, which became the cultural center of Europe and was later called France.  Typical snobbery ensued, and no longer did they want to be considered marauders and conquerors, but favoured a more relaxed approach, with stately buildings and gracious lifestyles.  Fine food and fine wine was more important to them than waging war.  Yet because of their opulence, they became the target of many conflicts from those who sought their accomplishments.  There is no point in invading a poor and destitute nation, and target nations are usually those who have something to offer as the spoils of war.

Consequently, the French began to see themselves as aristocrats, and the Celts as low-life troublemakers.  Typically, they seized every opportunity to impoverish them and to make war against them.

But what really galled (pun intended) the French was the religious leanings of the Celts.  They considered them to be pagans, and one of the big issues later became that of keeping the Sabbath – a practice the French strenuously opposed.  They favoured the ornamental system of Gentile Christianity with all its regalia, and considered anyone who disagreed with them to be pagans.  To uphold their arrogant fervor it was necessary to debase the Celts.  Their propaganda proved to be very effective, though they were unable to utterly obscure the teachings of the Celts, and some of their teachings have been enshrined in history:  ‘The comments of the classical writers of the time (fifth century) when Rome’s armies destroyed the Celtic world in Europe therefore had a unique importance.  Almost fanatical in their religious fervour, the pagan (sic) Celts were dominated by powerful, highly aristocratic priests, the Druids, who often combined the role of king with their priesthood.  Tribal in social organization, the Celts also possessed the oldest and most complex legal system in Europe.  Every man had his rights, and crimes from murder to the smallest wrong were listed and categorized.  (Ref: ‘The Illustrated Reference Book of Ancient History’.

Figure 5.   The invading tribes of Israel made it clear they no longer wanted to be ruled by the Tribe of Levi. (Credit: IRB of Ancient History).

Who is likely to teach ‘the oldest and most complex legal system in Europe’?  It was the Levites who were entrusted with this role.  Moses wrote this: Deut 33:8 “About Levi he said, “Your Thummin and Urim belong to the man you favoured.  You tested him at Massah; you contended with him at the waters of Meribah.  He said of his father and mother, ‘I have no regard for them.’  He did not recognize his brothers or acknowledge his own children, but he watched over your Word and guarded your Covenant.  He teaches your precepts to Jacob and your Law to Israel.  He offers incense before you and whole burnt offerings on your altar.  Bless all his skills, O LORD, and be pleased with the work of his hands.  Smite the loins of those who rise up against him; strike his foes till they rise no more.”” 

As the Celtic nation, Levi had many enemies, but all nations were destroyed who came against them – until the dawning of the fifth millennial day when the Saxons began to fill the vacuum left by the departure of the Romans.  At the beginning of the sixth day in 1066 C.E. the Norman invasion of Britain brought a new strength and direction to all the Saxons.  The sixth day was to be Ephraim’s day.  Levi had brought strength and power in the fourth day, that is, in the midst of the week.  Ephraim was to come to full power in the sixth day and fall at the beginning of the seventh day – the Millennial Sabbath!

The Churches of God have believed that Ephraim would precede the coming of the Mighty Lord and Christ – the King of kings, but they have been totally wrong!  This task has been appointed to the Levites.

In 1066 C.E. the Normans began to supplant the earlier Saxon settlements, and the early Norman kings sought to rule after the style of the Saxons and to consider them equal brothers, but the Saxons would have none of it.  They fiercely resisted until King Harold was killed with an arrow in the eye, and William of Normandy emerged victorious.  Yet it was not a conquest in the usual sense of the word, since William’s style of government was to bring the nation together in unity – which he did.  The tribal divisions and culture of the Saxons was lost forever with the merging of two separate peoples with the Normans dominating as the ruling body.  Anciently, it was Ephraim that held dominion over the northern ten Tribes of Israel under Jeroboam, who led them from God’s ways and His City Jerusalem.  Perhaps, nearly two thousand years later, they sought to make amends with their crusades to liberate the Holy Land from the Moslems.

While Christ referred to them as the ‘lost Tribes of Israel’ (to whom He specifically came – Matt 15:24), they were not lost to God.  Since Christ said that He was sent only to the lost Tribes of Israel (same verse), and since Christ never delivered His message to them personally, the task fell to the Apostles, who dutifully delivered the message.  The only Biblical record we have that this was accomplished is through the Apostle Paul who certainly delivered the message to the Celtic community in Spain.

Jacob gave the first suggestion of from where Ephraim would arise.  He spoke of bestowing on Joseph’s children (Ephraim and Manasseh) the same rights of his firstborn son Reuben, and Simeon.  Notice what he said: Gen 48:5 “Now then, your two sons born to you in Egypt before I came to you here will be reckoned as mine, just as Reuben and Simeon are mine.  Any children born to you after them will be yours; in the territory they inherit they will be reckoned under the names of their brothers.”  As a point of interest, Ephraim emerged from the territory of Reuben (France) as the Normans, and Manasseh emerged from the territory of Simeon (Germany), from the German province of Saxony.  This takes us part way to understanding the present-day identity of the Tribes of Israel, but most importantly, the ruling Tribes of this present era.

In this present era, a natural hostility exists for Ephraim and everything he does.  Yet everyone’s eyes are on Ephraim (U.S.) when trouble erupts.  The mighty Ephraim speaks and nations tremble!  All the scattered Tribes feel they have the right to criticize their powerful brother, but at the same time they feel a sense of security in being padded down with treaties with him.  The Anzus treaty (Australia, New Zealand, United States), the Nato treaty (North Atlantic) and others, offers hope in time of conflict.  It’s Ephraim that is exalted in Israel (Hos 13:1) and he has many warriors (Hos 10:13).  As Jacob said, he was to be prince among his brothers (Gen 49:26).

The ‘rule of law’ had to be taught to all other nations on this earth, the legacy of which we can see today even though greatly diluted from the original meaning and purpose, which Almighty God Himself foreshadowed.  No other nations upheld ‘the rule of law’ – they relied on revenge and paybacks, which frequently far exceeded the original offense.  As for judgment according to law, it was non-existent!  Tyrants ruled the earth with terror, and any judgment given was usually according to the whims of the tyrants with no appeal against injustice.

But the power and might of the Levitical Celts passed into history, and the Tribe of Joseph came to the fore.  They too, have history on their side with their forefather being the ruler over all his brothers, and who, anciently, were forced to come and humble themselves before him in Egypt.  Moses also spoke of a future time when the same circumstances would exist: Deut 33:13 “About Joseph he said: May the LORD bless his land with the precious dew from heaven above and with the deep waters that lie below; with the best the sun brings forth and the finest the moon can yield; with the choicest gifts of the earth and its fullness and the favour of Him who dwelt in the burning bush.  Let all these rest on the head of Joseph, on the brow of the prince among his brothers.  In majesty he is like a firstborn bull; his horns are the horns of a wild ox, with them he will gore the nations, even those at the ends of the earth.  Such are the ten thousands of Ephraim; such are the thousands of Manasseh.”

By no stretch of the imagination could Britain field an army as mighty as the U.S.  God knew what He was talking about when he made the comparison of Ephraim’s ten thousands, and Manasseh’s thousands.

It’s crazy to imagine that God could have steered the events of history with such precision if it was all of no importance.  God filtered His Tribes through many nations like wheat through a sieve, yet He determined where they would end up and under which circumstances.

 The Saxons were Isaac’s sons.  It is written ‘In Isaac shall your seed be called’ (Gen 21:12, Rom 9:7, Heb 11:18).  Since all the seed of Abraham is reckoned or called through Isaac, it was necessary for  the sons of Israel (Jacob) to identify with Isaac.  Most people who emigrated from Britain to the U.S. in the past few hundred years have described themselves as Anglo-Saxon regardless of whether they had their ancestry in the Normans or Saxons or one of the other Tribes.  In this way, Isaac’s name has been preserved.

It’s quite silly that the Churches of God taught that the Throne of David was the British throne and that it has an unbroken line of ascension.  There were many kings of different backgrounds and Tribes, and this is easily proven.  This was central to their ploy to ‘prove’ that the British throne is David’s throne which is utter nonsense and has no Biblical support!

Although history is clear on who the Britons were – they were the Celts – all the Tribes clung to their mighty reputation but were keen to be rid of their rule.  Hence the Anglo-Saxons preserved the right to call themselves British, and the French clung to the hope that they were Gauls.  Both the Gauls and the Britons were Celts!  Those who still claim the names of Britons and Gauls merely filled the vacuum left when the Celts departed or were driven to obscurity.

We don’t need to second-guess Almighty God’s intentions on who would be mighty, and who would be rulers in the endtime.  God tells us the Levites will prepare the way for the Mightiest Kingdom this world has ever seen!  He is not going to purify the Ephraimites or the Jews for that matter (at least not initially); He is going to prepare the Levites!  Perhaps the biggest shock of all to many people is that the Levites will be numbered like the sand of the seashore:  Jer 33:20 “This is what the LORD says: ‘If you can break my covenant with the day and my covenant with the night, so that day and night no longer come at their appointed time, then my Covenant with David my servant – and the Covenant with the Levites who are priests ministering before me – can be broken and David will no longer have a man to reign on his throne.  I will make the descendants of David my servant and the Levites who minister before me as countless as the stars of the sky and as measureless as the sand on the seashore.”

Notice that it doesn’t speak of all of Judah, but the descendants of David who lived hundreds of years and many generations after Jacob’s son Judah.  And notice also, it’s the Levites that minister before Him that will fulfill this prophecy.  Christianity sees partial fulfillment in the most famous of David’s sons – the Son of David – the Mighty Christ.  But they choose to ignore the importance of the Levites who must prepare the way for the Christ (Mal 3:1).  They seem to think they will fulfill it all without recourse to what God has said.  They steer their way around such obstacles, such as what God Himself has stated!  How unlike Christ they are: Luke 24:44 “He said to them, “This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.”  Christ was careful to fulfill everything that was said about Himself personally, even down to the minutest detail.  He realized and firmly stated that all prophecy must be fulfilled, even the prophecy that was delivered over 60 years later to the Apostle John – the Book of Revelation.  The point is that Christ fulfilled all the prophecies concerning Himself, but there remains much prophecy that is yet to be fulfilled.

Clearly, God has an agenda in this regard.  And all this at the time when Jerusalem will be called: ‘The LORD our righteousness’ (V16 – and see Eze 48:35 for a later time when ‘The LORD is there’).  In the latter days in which we live, God has brought back the Tribe of Judah to occupy the Holy Land.  It’s surely obvious to all that the Jewish people live tenuously at best among a vast sea of infidels – whom God calls His enemy!

The final battles will be fought to secure Jerusalem and the Holy Land, and wars will continue to the end (Dan 9:26), and the Mighty Commander Himself – together with the occupants of the Holy Land, will fight the Great War and He will bring all nations against Jerusalem for the final showdown (Zech 14:3).

While Almighty God has no desire to see anyone perish, He is realistic enough to realize that those who exhibit none of the qualities of His famous Son can be worthy to call themselves by His Name.  Liars and murderers and sorcerers have no place in God’s Kingdom.  To Almighty God such people are less than worthless.  The entrance fee (so to speak) into God’s Kingdom is, at very least, the willingness to die as a martyr for God, to divest oneself of his life in the sure hope that God can raise us from the dead.  If any fail this test, then shame and eternal humiliation is their reward (Dan 12:2).

Endtime Christianity has completely missed the point of the Good News (Gospel)!  They have forgotten that the Kingdom of God will crush all other kingdoms like a giant Rock smashing down on them.  Why do they continue to speak of peace for themselves?  Did Christ have peace when He went to His death?  You had better believe that He did!  And He plainly said that this peace He leaves with His disciples: John 14:27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you.  I do not give to you as the world gives.  Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”  But Christianity wants the peace the world offers, the type of peace that will preserve their lives. 

It’s impossible to make peace with the enemies of God, but this has not stopped the House of Israel from proposing all sorts of peace deals.  If it were possible to successfully negotiate peace with the enemies of God, then the whole point of the Good News would be negated.

The Levites are fierce, unyielding and ruthless in matters relating to God’s Covenant.  They have no regard for anybody or anything, even their own offspring, if the issue involves desecration of the holy things of God (Deut 33:9).  Their lives mean nothing to them, and no amount of odds will deter them from exacting justice.

At the time when God empowers the Levites to act, Christianity will have real peace because they will know that the Mighty Power of God is working on their behalf to rescue them.  Christianity seems to have confused the fact that ‘saved’ and ‘rescued’ mean virtually the same thing.

The soul that sins shall die.  God makes it plain that those who sin willfully and habitually, and especially those who teach others to do so, are as good as condemned forever.  There is no place in God’s Kingdom for those who don’t uphold the Laws of God and for those who fail to realize the need for the rule of Law forever into the future.

By assiduously ignoring the plain and unembellished truth of prophecy, present-day Christianity has been able to negate the true purpose of God’s Great Plan.  It’s not the Galatians who were foolish (as the Gentiles claimed), but the Gentiles’ form of Christianity and its weak approach to Godly things.  The Gentiles are the foolish ones, and all those who are influenced by them.  It’s the Gentiles and their influence who believe that peace can be made with the enemies of God.

Forget this world’s peace!  It doesn’t exist!  Almighty God knows how to establish peace and He will rain devastating blows on all who think they know the way to peace according to this world’s philosophies.  Remember Christ’s words: Luke 12:46 “The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour when he is not aware of.  He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the unbelievers.  That servant who knows his master’s will and does not get ready or does not do what his master wants will be beaten with many blows.”  Surely Christ’s words are fair warning to those who refuse to believe Him!

When the Mighty Christ arises to act, the satanic forces, known as the rulers of the heavenly realms, and the children or offspring of Satan, will know they have a formidable Opponent.  Apart from the only people on the face of the earth that God chose as His own (Amos 3:2-3) all the other nations are less than worthless.  The time will come, when all the bodies are heaped up, and the ashes of the wicked are trodden underfoot, then all Christianity will agree.  Then their smoochy love will take on new dimensions, and they will understand what Godly love means.

Christ was careful to instruct His disciples to love their enemies, because their enemies will initially be members of their own households, and members of the House of Israel.  But the enemies of God should be seen in the same light as Christ Himself saw them.  He plainly said the real enemies were the offspring of Satan the devil!  Satan’s offspring slaughtered all the prophets from Abel to the present day (Matt 23:35).  These are the offspring of the murderous rulers who have reigned from the time of Adam.  And Christ spoke of them being the children of their father the devil.

It’s tragically amusing that Christianity today believes they can slumber and sleep until Christ arrives to transport them to safety.  They couldn’t care less that God reveals devastating events that will soon shake them from their lethargy – they just don’t believe it!  Presently, they think they have the game stitched up, and all they have to do is wait for glory and immortality.  Almighty God is a super-intelligent Being, yet they choose to treat Him like a fool.  They demand perfection from God according to their standards, yet think they can do as they please.  They think they can ignore His Laws, treat Him with contempt, and still demand rewards.  Try telling that to a human judge and see what reaction you get!

It doesn’t seem strange to Christianity today that Elijah was taken up in a fiery chariot and removed from the view of Elisha and his companions.  They acknowledge this was an unusual event and one which had no basis for logic in the days when it happened.  No-one had seen flight as we know it today, and obviously, this was something outside of the normal.  To those present at the time, it was a real miracle to see a man lifted up and flown to a distant place.

Today, it would not be unusual except if it were to happen in a vehicle that defies modern-day technology.  But the world will see such an event and will speculate that aliens from another planet have spirited some people away.  Many people will wonder what it all means, but will soon become distracted as events begin to threaten their lives.  During a period of a little over three years they will begin to understand the meaning of it all, and by that time, will be plunged into events that defy the imagination.  But during this period they will receive a little help.

Then the Churches of God will have reason to wonder why they didn’t recognize the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.  They will know they are guilty of ignoring all that God has said, and they will know that things are not as they always imagined.  Great stress will befall their lands wherever they live, and they will be plunged into the maddening realm of Satan’s demons.

Almighty God knew at the outset that people would not believe Him in the good times, but would invent doctrines that enhance their sense of well-being.  Historically at such times, God sent prophets to warn where their complacency was heading.  He foresaw the same situation developing in the endtime, and speaks at great length of the prophets He will send in the endtime to re-establish the faith that was once delivered.  Many Church leaders now believe they are fulfilling this role.  Gingerly, and on tippy-toes, they have crept in among the unwary and made monstrous claims of enlightenment, only to bring great offense to God and His Word.  These people have fabricated reams of nonsense in support of their prophetic theories, and none of it complies with the precious Word of God and all that He has said.  But it all seems so plausible to those who grovel around seeking a leader of worthwhile standing.  And these leaders are all too willing to accommodate their perceptions by deliberate ‘show-business’ regalia, and their deliberate acts of deception.

The hatred that has been generated for the Israelis and the American people across the world in recent years should warn the people of the House of Israel that the whole world is their enemy – and God’s enemy!  And God does speak again and again of His enemies.  The enemy is virtually any nation that is not of the House of Israel.  Foremost, and the catalyst for all hatred, is Islam.  Satan has chosen his troops well.  He knows their fanaticism has no bounds, and their jihads and interfadas generate mindless lunacy among even the most conservative of them.

The rulers of the heavenly realms still reminisce about the might and power they enjoyed under the banner of Babylon anciently.  They long for a resurgence of those glorious days when the virtual world at that time was ruled from Babylon.  Most people don’t realize how much political jockeying occurred to get their man Saddam Hussein into power.  The rulers of Satan’s realm knew he would do what was required of him, and dutifully, he rebuilt the ancient city of Babylon.  Of course, they are keeping their objectives under wraps.  The world believes that the city of Babylon has been resurrected because of some form of archeological preservation.  They ignore the fact that the city has been built directly on top of the ancient ruins, thereby obliterating the true archeological significance.

The very nature of Islam obstructs any form of unity among them.  Individually or collectively, they are as greedy as the grave.  Presently, there are two great divisions of Islam – the Shia and the Sunni.  There are of course, other variations as well.  One thing is clear though; their common enemy is the whole House of Israel.  They know whom to hate with a vengeance, because their father is Satan the devil.  Satan hates everyone and anything that he cannot control.  He is a tyrant and his most famous characteristics are that he is a liar and a murderer.  It’s the bane of his existence that he must occasionally negotiate.  His preferred option is force, and he is ruthless and unpredictable.

Satan has never believed God, and nor has he honoured Him.  Of course, Satan’s realm knows God exists and they fear and tremble, but receiving any form of Godly advice is against their very nature.  Consequently, they don’t understand God’s Word and nor do they realize what God is about to do.  Had they realized they were killing the First Lord of the universe they would not have done it.  But it was too late after the event.  The deed had already been done.

What to do?  It seemed logical to destroy all followers in case they arose and seized power.  Satan thinks like a ruthless commander of armies.  He trusts no-one that cannot be brought under his banner.  Yet he knows that he must seek his Father’s permission to move against His people Israel.  And when he gets that permission, he really believes he has out-smarted God.  After 6,000 years he has yet to learn that he is always the loser.  He has yet to learn that obedience to the Great Creator is the only guarantee of success.  There is an immutable force that militates against the disobedient, and an equal force that mitigates in favour of the obedient.

Right now, after six thousand years of human rule (under the auspices of the rulers of the heavenly realms) there is no peace, and there is no conciliation of Godly objectives to bring about stability of life for individual existence.  The closest any have come to achieving this is among the House of Israel.  To a greater or lesser extent, it is Israel that has upheld the rule of law, which is based on the Eternal Law of God.  But Israel cannot remain faithful to God.  The reason is they don’t have the Spirit of God written into their minds.  There is no whisper in their ear, “Don’t do it!  Turn away from this evil!”  Individually, many people realize that they can get away with breaking God’s Laws for a while.  Then the hammer blows of the automatic penalty click in, and they wonder why they suffer.  But even his or her suffering can usually be blamed on someone else – according to prevailing, human reasoning.

While the breaking of the Seventh Commandment is not the worst sin (breaking the First is far worse), adultery is the most likely because it is Satan’s powerful strategy to reduce the resolve of many people to obey God.  He successfully employed it in the days of Balaam, and is currently employing it to its greatest effect.  It works to produce disharmony and disrupt families.  It’s a powerful weapon in the hands of Satan the devil to cause people to drift away from God’s Laws.  God has warned that the ways of Balaam would be prominent in the endtime, even among those especially called for a great purpose (Rev 2:14).  In this verse adultery and idolatry are linked.  It’s a very short step to Nicolaitonism and the worship of humanism and its likeness.  Added to this is the warning from God that He will soon come and fight against them with the sword of His mouth (V16).

In the eyes of the many divisions of the Churches of God, each claims to be right in everything and to uphold the perfect teachings of God.  Whether they understand prophecy doesn’t seem to faze them.  They feel that inventing logical arguments from their own minds will keep the congregation satisfied.  In their view, prophecy is of low priority because they don’t expect it to be fulfilled this side of Christ’s glorious return.  Yet Christ says He plans to fight against them with the sword of His mouth.  I would have thought this would give them some cause for alarm.  But no!  They think they have the righteous stakes sown up.  Their shallow childish doctrines have only served to make God look like a fool in the eyes of those that hate Him.

If there is going to be some fighting, then isn’t it logical that God’s own prophets would be His representatives?  Didn’t Christ plainly say that the one who preceded Him was the greatest of all those born of women?  And didn’t He say that those who are least in the Kingdom of God (which would be established on earth with violence and force – Matt 11:12, Luke 16:16) would be greater than John the Baptist?  The Churches of God need to ask themselves where they are mentioned in this regard.  While it’s true that the Churches of God have a major role to play in all endtime events, it’s also plain that they are commanded to live in peace with all men, and not raise any sword until the Kingdom of God is established.  Then, and only then, will they be permitted to fight as the servants of Christ (John 18:36) and to defend the holy things of God. 

Most Christians know they are not Jews – that is, of the Tribe of Judah.  But they also know they must become Jews by being grafted into the tree.  Similarly, Gentiles know they are not Israelites, but God has offered them the same right of grafting, where they can become Israelites by obedience to God and His Laws.  So what does it take to become a Levite like Moses and John the Baptist?  First of all, there are no ‘them and us’ divisions between the Levites and Christians, but rather a family where one is the parent, in this case the mother, and the Churches are the children.  According to God’s express will, He has prepared an offspring for His glorious Son Jesus: Isa 53:10 “It was the LORD’S will to crush Him and cause Him to suffer, and though the LORD makes His life a guilt offering, He will see His offspring and prolong His days.”  Acts 17:28-29 confirms who Christ’s offspring are.

Let’s not forget that long ago, God foretold that a Levite would precede the Mighty Christ – Jesus!  His job is to prepare the way, and to lay all the groundwork for the establishing of God’s Kingdom on earth (Mal 3:1).  This man, too, will have offspring – true Levites who have been grafted into the tree – and he will love them as his children.  This man too, will suffer the trauma of parenthood as he sees his offspring being refined with trials and problems.  It has to be this way!  This Levite has suffered many hardships and trials and problems along the way, but God in His mercy doesn’t require such exacting purification of his offspring, because his offspring can learn from his experience.  Nevertheless, God says this:  Mal 3:2 “But who can endure the day of His coming?  Who can stand when He appears?  For He will be like a refiner’s fire and like a launderer’s soap.  He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; He will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver.”  Just remember that the Levites must be prepared first in order to prepare the way for the Mighty Christ.  Their job is to lay the groundwork for the Kingdom of God, then the Lord will appear at His Temple (Mal 3:1).  Perhaps you’ve noticed there is presently no Temple.  Zechariah mentions the Temple will be built, and those who are far away will come and help build it (Zech 6:15).  This same Temple is where Almighty God will live forever among the Israelites (Eze 43:4-7).

We have a strange situation today.  The Churches want to be the revealers of secrets; they want to be at the cutting edge of all knowledge and prophecy, but they don’t want to search with all their hearts to understand the message of God’s Word.  To take an example: One man wrote to me asking that I summarize the four horseman of the Apocalypse in about two paragraphs.  He didn’t want to have to sift through whole articles, and follow God’s divine instruction throughout the pages of the Bible.  He apparently doesn’t like the idea of piecing it all together line upon line, here a little, there a little – as God has instructed!  He wanted just two paragraphs identifying who the four horsemen are.  God’s instructions are, of course, quite clear – but only for those who take the time to search with all their hearts.

The leaders of the Churches would love to have a monopoly of truth – particularly relating to prophecy – so they can cast it indiscriminately before swine and enhance their own image.  They love to be upheld as the purveyors of truth and the epitome of righteousness.  They long for the approbation of men and they love the power derived from being seen as some great one.  Almighty God doesn’t uphold those who are great and righteous in their own eyes, but favours those who are little in their own eyes.  He favours the humble – not the arrogant!  Those who hold majestic visions of grandeur for themselves have disqualified themselves from service to God.  This is certainly true of the leaders of the Churches of God, regardless of how noble they think they are!

The sheep presently have no shepherd!  They wander aimlessly looking for pasture and find none.  It’s most probable that just one lone man will be left after the departure of the Levites and he will shepherd the flock and to restore sanity to a very sick group of Churches.  This man is not yet identified with certainty, but will be called to service after he sees the departure of the Levites.  He will burn the instruments of his profession and reestablish truth through the Spirit of prophecy – and this Spirit will be a gift from God.  While God has indicated who the man is, his tenure is by no means certain.  God is able to raise seed to Abraham from stones, so let no man think his position is secure.

Only one man’s position on this earth is secure, and then only to the extent of life or death.  If he fails, then God will destroy him along with everything on the face of the earth and ring down the curtain on all lifeforms.  God will not hesitate to rain total destruction on the earth (Mal 4:6).  Almighty God is not in the habit of making idle threats.

So what must this man do to fulfill all that God requires?  Luke describes it best: Luke 1:16 “Many of the people of Israel will he bring back to the Lord their God.  And he will go on before the Lord, in the Spirit and Power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the Wisdom of the righteous – to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” 

Lamentably for all those Church leaders who think they are Levites and who claim to be the promised Elijah, the reality is they are not even prophets.  In fact they fail all the tests for a prophet!  Anyone with a whit of understanding will realize this is so.  But this doesn’t stop them from prophesying, and with interpretations they have made up.

If anyone wants to learn what the prophets have said, why don’t they read the Bible?  The Bible is full of testimony of true prophets.  Christ Himself said that nothing would pass from the Law and the Prophets until all was fulfilled.  He reinforced this by adding that until heaven and earth pass away, not even the least stroke of the pen will disappear from the Law and the Prophets until all is fulfilled.  So everything is in full force and will continue to be for some time into the future – including all that the prophets have written.

What pride people take in fabricating their lies and dismissing all that God has said!  Has God left us to guess and to invent our own versions of what the prophets wrote?  No!  In fact, He forbids this.  Throughout the Bible He has given infinite detail of everything so that His purpose stands, and those who truly love Him will seek His instruction on everything.

To many people, it’s essential to only acknowledge those things that affect them personally.  Their hope is that Christ will return and take care of business while they sit on the sidelines and watch.  They feel they have earned immortality with their pathetic lip-service and their extensive fabrication of prophetic events.

It might surprise some people to know that for 3½ years the Apostles of Christ really didn’t understand much at all.  They knew He was the Christ, and they also knew that He would re-establish the Kingdom that would last forever.  When He was killed, they wondered if the script had gone horribly wrong, and they sat around dazed and bewildered until Christ visited them.  Over a period of forty days they received extensive instruction, and then they knew and understood the meaning of everything.  It was then that Christ opened their minds to understand Scripture (Luke 24:45).

It’s a strange state of affairs that arguments abound over who is Ephraim and who is Manasseh.  The claim that Manasseh is the U.S. today is based entirely on the claim of one man who didn’t understand prophecy.  On all points of prophetic fulfillment it fails.  God reveals His Plan to His servants the prophets!  (Amos 3:7).  How often those last two words get left out of the quote by those who claim to be servants, but know they are not prophets. 

There is only one super power on earth today!  And all know who that is.  Who then is the greater?  If Manasseh is the United States, then God is wrong!  Those silly people who believe Britain to be greater than the U.S. are deluding themselves.  God says Ephraim will be greater than his brother – so why don’t they believe God.  They don’t believe God because they refuse to repent of their lying deceptions.  They are so willing to defend their own reputations that they willingly deceive others.  Now that is equal to a death sentence!

Manasseh is scarcely mentioned in prophecy, yet Ephraim is mentioned many times.  Virtually every mention of Ephraim in the Prophets concerns endtime prophecy.  It would be strange indeed if God didn’t mention the mightiest power on earth today, and especially one before whom all nations tremble (Hos 13:1).  Do all nations tremble before Britain?  Yet there is not a nation on earth that would willingly declare war on Ephraim – the mightiest power on earth.  Even Satan knows the futility of such an action, and so he’s had to devise other strategies.  It’s known as the fifth-column strategy – to destroy from within.  He has his allies in place and ready to go.  These are the Gentiles who live among the House of Israel.  It’s an old ploy that has worked well, even in the time of Balaam.

Satan knows his time is short and he knows he must soon make his move.  And when he does God’s faithful servants the Levites will be purified and ready for the task ahead of them.  God makes it very clear from whom men should seek instruction, and they will certainly need a great deal of that!  God says they should seek instruction from Levi with whom God made His Covenant: Mal 2:7 “For the lips of a priest ought to preserve knowledge, and from his mouth men should seek instruction – because he is the messenger of the LORD Almighty.  But you have turned from the Way and by your teaching have caused many to stumble; you have violated the Covenant with Levi,” says the LORD Almighty.  So I have caused you to be despised and humiliated before all the people, because you have not followed my Ways but have shown partiality in matters of Law.” 

Historically, as the Celtic nation, Levi prepared the way for the whole House of Israel to be settled in the lands that God prepared for them.  When the job was done, the Levites departed from the scene.  Yet the endtime will see again the arrival of the Levites as a mighty force that strikes terror in the hearts of God’s enemies.  None will be able to stand against them, and once more they will be the keepers and guardians of the Temple, and they will build it with a little help from their friends.  Then the LORD will suddenly appear at the Temple (Mal 3:1) and the Mighty Warrior – the Christ – will wage war on all nations on the face of the earth!  Don’t kid yourself that it’s going to be different, because you will find out soon enough.  It would be a good idea to get yourselves ready now.

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