TruthVid's 100 Proofs that the Israelites were White, Part 59: 75, Israel to be Twelve Tribes, and not Some “Church”; 76, The Sealing of the Tribes and the Washing of Garments of the Great Multitude

TruthVid's 100 Proofs that the Israelites were White, Part 59

In our last presentation we discussed the prophecies concerning the blindness of Israel and the fact that those same people were the blind whose blindness Christ had come to heal, even if today they are still blind in many ways, as the period of seven times punishment and the prophesy of the time of Jacob’s trouble would also have to be fulfilled, things which are confirmed in the Revelation of Yahshua Christ. We also described the Kingdom of Heaven, that it must be the same kingdom which the children of Israel were promised in the Old Testament once they are reconciled to Yahweh their God, a reconciliation which is also found in Christ. Now we shall move on to discuss other language in the Gospel accounts and related passages in the Revelation, which inform us that the name of Israel still belongs to those same twelve tribes, that it is they alone who would wash their garments in the blood of the Lamb, and that they are also the subject of the Song of Moses.

75) Israel would be twelve tribes, and not some “church”.

As it is recorded in Matthew chapter 19, the apostles witnessed a wealthy young man asking questions about salvation of Christ, and boasting of how he himself had kept the law. So Christ informed him of what to do further if he wanted to be perfect, and the man was saddened, since he could not bring himself to part with his wealth. That does not mean that the young man will not attain the kingdom of God. Although Christ expresses the difficulty a wealthy man may have in living an ideal Christian life, He nevertheless states that all things are possible with God. So we read: “23 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven. 24 And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. 25 When his disciples heard it, they were exceedingly amazed, saying, Who then can be saved? 26 But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.” So here we see that in spite of his love for his wealth, the rich young man could still attain salvation. The promises of salvation were to the children of Israel, without exception, and not for only the rich or the poor. So Peter spoke to Christ and asked another question on behalf of himself and the other disciples: “27 Then answered Peter and said unto him, Behold, we have forsaken all, and followed thee; what shall we have therefore? 28 And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.”

Again, as it is recorded in Luke chapter 22, Christ instructed His disciples that the greatest among them should be the servant of all, and He used Himself as an example of that, as it is how He had conducted Himself. Then He offered them some encouragement and said: “28 Ye are they which have continued with me in my temptations. 29 And I appoint unto you a kingdom, as my Father hath appointed unto me; 30 That ye may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.” This was a very short time before His arrest in the garden at Gethsemane. There is no mention of Gentiles, or of any church somehow becoming one of those tribes. When the apostles heard those words, they could only have conceived them as a reference to the literal descendants of the ancient children of Israel, and that is the only way in which Christ had used them as He Himself had attested that He had come “but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel”, in Matthew chapter 15.

In Isaiah chapter 43, written to the children of Israel in captivity, we read: “3 For I am the LORD thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour: I gave Egypt for thy ransom, Ethiopia and Seba for thee. 4 Since thou wast precious in my sight, thou hast been honourable, and I have loved thee: therefore will I give men for thee, and people for thy life. 5 Fear not: for I am with thee: I will bring thy seed from the east, and gather thee from the west; 6 I will say to the north, Give up; and to the south, Keep not back: bring my sons from far, and my daughters from the ends of the earth; 7 Even every one that is called by my name: for I have created him for my glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made him.” Then in Isaiah chapter 45: “15 Verily thou art a God that hidest thyself, O God of Israel, the Saviour.” And again, a little further on: “17 But Israel shall be saved in the LORD with an everlasting salvation: ye shall not be ashamed nor confounded world without end.” Israel had been shamed and confounded when they were taken into captivity, so this is a promise of reconciliation.

Then in Isaiah chapter 49, where the same children of Israel are being addressed: “26 And I will feed them that oppress thee with their own flesh; and they shall be drunken with their own blood, as with sweet wine: and all flesh shall know that I the LORD am thy Saviour and thy Redeemer, the mighty One of Jacob.” Then later, in Isaiah chapter 60 where the children of Israel are once again the subject: “15 Whereas thou hast been forsaken and hated, so that no man went through thee, I will make thee an eternal excellency, a joy of many generations. 16 Thou shalt also suck the milk of the [Nations], and shalt suck the breast of kings: and thou shalt know that I the LORD am thy Saviour and thy Redeemer, the mighty One of Jacob.”

Nothing ever changed the scope of those promises of Yahweh for the twelve tribes of Israel, and these and other passages show that in the New Testament, long after the Resurrection of Christ and His ascension, the children of Israel were still twelve tribes, the promises were still reserved for them alone, and there were no substitutions possible.

In can be argued that the Resurrection occurred in 32 AD. In Acts chapter 21, Paul of Tarsus had been arrested in Jerusalem, and it can be demonstrated that this took place in 58 AD. Then at the end of Acts chapter 24 it is evident that he had already been kept in bonds for over two years. So a new governor, Porcius Festus, had taken the place of Antonius Felix and he had Paul speak in his own defense before Herod Agrippa II. So Paul is standing before Agrippa in 60 AD, just before he was sent in bonds to Rome. Paul had the opportunity to have his case heard in Judaea, and again before Agrippa, but he was distrustful of the Judaeans, and being a Roman citizen asserted his right to appeal before Caesar. Evidently Agrippa was curious and wanted to hear Paul anyway, so Festus arranged it for him.

So 28 years after the Resurrection, on that day Paul is recorded by Luke as having said, in Acts chapter 26: “6 And now I stand and am judged for the hope of the promise made of God unto our fathers: 7 Unto which promise our twelve tribes, instantly serving God day and night, hope to come. For which hope's sake, king Agrippa, I am accused of the Jews.” With this, we see that Israel was still those same twelve tribes that they had been in the Old Testament.

This is corroborated in Romans chapter 9, where Paul had prayed for the the Israelites among the Judaeans, his “kinsmen according to the flesh” who had not yet accepted Christ, and professed that “they are not all Israel, which are of Israel”, because he knew that many of them were actually Edomites, for which reason Paul went on in that discourse to contrast Jacob and Esau. For that reason also, before he made that explanation, he attested that his prayer was for those “4 Who are Israelites; to whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises; 5 Whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen.” Ostensibly, the epistle to the Romans was written only months before Paul’s arrest, in 57 AD, which can be determined from comparing the salutations at the end of the epistle to the circumstances describing the gathering of the apostles in the Troad which were detailed by Luke in Acts chapter 20.

So on both occasions, Paul expressed the fact that the hope in Christ was exclusively for the same ancient twelve tribes, the children of Israel and not some replacement so-called “church”. In Romans 15:8 Paul affirmed this where he wrote “8 Now I say that Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made unto the fathers.” The word translated as Gentiles in verses 9 through 12 which follow should have been translated as Nations, which is the true meaning of the Greek word, as the citations from the prophets which they contain address the nations of Israel. Later, at the very end of the Book of Acts, which records events which transpired in 61 AD, after Paul had arrived in Rome, upon addressing some of the Judaeans of Rome Paul is recorded as attesting that “20 For this cause therefore have I called for you, to see you, and to speak with you: because that for the hope of Israel I am bound with this chain.”

The death of the apostle James was recorded by the Judaean historian Flavius Josephus. In his Antiquities, Book 20, Josephus relates how upon the death of Porcius Festus (a name which seems to come from porcus and festus and seems to mean “happy pig”), it was some months before Lucceius Albinus could arrive and assume his place as the new procurator of the province of Judaea. So in the meantime, the Pharisees and Sadducees did practically whatever they wanted without fear of a Roman overlord. This was evidently in 62 AD, and where Josephus writes of a certain Sadduccee we read: “198 Now the report goes, that this oldest Ananus [who was the high priest with Caiaphas at the time of the ministry of Christ] proved a most fortunate man; for he had five sons who had all performed the office of a high priest to God, and who had himself enjoyed that dignity a long time formerly, which had never happened to any other of our high priests; 199 but this younger Ananus, who, as we have told you already, took the high priesthood, was a bold man in his temper, and very insolent; he was also of the sect of the Sadducees, who are very rigid in judging offenders, above all the rest of the Jews, as we have already observed; 200 when, therefore, Ananus was of this disposition, he thought he had now a proper opportunity [to exercise his authority]. Festus was now dead, and Albinus was but upon the road; so he assembled the Sanhedrin of judges, and brought before them the brother of Jesus, who was called Christ, whose name was James, and some others, [or some of his companions]; and, when he had formed an accusation against them as breakers of the law, he delivered them to be stoned.” This act did cause some fallout for Ananus, as Josephus said that the Judaeans “who seemed the most equitable of the citizens” had complained to both Herod Agrippa and to Albinus, so Agrippa removed him from the high priesthood. But in spite of his son having been relieved of the office of high priest, Josephus goes on in that chapter to attest as to how the elder Ananus, or Ananias, had proceeded to corrupt both Albinus and the high priest who replaced his son with gifts, so that he could continue his long-running criminal enterprise.

This was a digression, but it shows that James, the brother of Christ, was at Jerusalem and continued to profess the Gospel of Christ until his murder in 62 AD. That is where the records in the Book of Acts had left him, as Paul had seen him there shortly before he was arrested in early 58 AD. But we do not know precisely when James had written his only epistle, which he had opened with the salutation, in James chapter 1: “1 James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting.” So James also, like Paul, had addressed the same ancient twelve tribes of Israel, who are the only recipients of the promises of God which are in Christ. We now have at least four important New Testament witnesses to this assertion, which are Matthew, Luke, Paul and James. For this same reason, John wrote in chapter 11 of his own Gospel that Christ would die “52 … not for that nation only, but that also he should gather together in one the children of God that were scattered abroad.”

At the very end of our New Testament scriptures, in Revelation chapter 21, we see that only the twelve tribes can enter the city of God, and in fact, we would assert that the City is an allegory for the tribes themselves, where we read in Revelation chapter 21: “10 And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, 11 Having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal; 12 And had a wall great and high, and had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel: 13 On the east three gates; on the north three gates; on the south three gates; and on the west three gates. 14 And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.” This arrangement of the gates is very much like that of the tribes of Israel situated around the tabernacle in the wilderness, with the tabernacle in the center and three tribes on each side, north east south and west.

The reason why there are never any “Gentiles” mentioned along with the twelve tribes in any of these passages is because the twelve tribes are the Gentiles, or Nations, as Paul explained in Romans chapter 4, in 1 Corinthians chapter 10 and elsewhere. The church comes from among the tribes, and those tribes cannot be made from a church, as they themselves come from Abraham’s loins as Paul also attested in Romans 4, where he cited the promise and wrote that it was “according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be.”

This leads to our next proof:

76) The Sealing of the Tribes and the Washing of Garments of the Great Multitude

From a study of the Revelation it is evident that Revelation chapter 7 is sandwiched between chapters containing prophesies of events related to the fall of Rome.

So the twelve tribes are sealed in that chapter, and Dan was not mentioned, at least in our existing copies, which may have been an innovation or it may be for historical reasons. I suspect it that was an innovation, since Manasseh stands in the place where we may expect Dan to have been mentioned along with his full brother Naphthali. Under the standard of Dan on the north side of the tabernacle in the wilderness were Dan, Asher and Naphthali, in Numbers chapter 2. In Revelation 7:6 we see Asher, Naphthali and Manasseh rather than Dan. Further on, in Revelation 7:8 we see Joseph, which would include both Ephraim and Manasseh, mentioned along with Benjamin. But if the text is correct, then it is apparent that there are historic reasons why Dan was not mentioned. In any event, only tribes of Israel were sealed, and twelve thousand from each tribe mentioned were sealed, and in chapter 8 we see a more detailed prophecy of the fall of Rome which had begun in chapter 6, so the reason for the sealing must be linked to that event.

After the sealing of twelve thousand from each of the tribes of Israel, we read: “9 After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; 10 And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb. 11 And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God, 12 Saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen.”

First, the children of Israel were to be an immense multitude. This is first promised to Abraham in Genesis chapter 15: “5 And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be.” Then to his son Isaac in Genesis chapter 26: “2 And the LORD appeared unto him, and said, Go not down into Egypt; dwell in the land which I shall tell thee of: 3 Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these countries, and I will perform the oath which I sware unto Abraham thy father; 4 And I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these countries; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; 5 Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.” Finally, the promise fell to Jacob, as we read in Exodus chapter 32: “13 Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, thy servants, to whom thou swarest by thine own self, and saidst unto them, I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have spoken of will I give unto your seed, and they shall inherit it for ever.”

Then, the children of Israel were to be scattered into many nations, while also becoming many nations themselves in fulfillment of those promises. So we read in Genesis chapter 36: “10 And God said unto him, Thy name is Jacob: thy name shall not be called any more Jacob, but Israel shall be thy name: and he called his name Israel. 11 And God said unto him, I am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall be of thee, and kings shall come out of thy loins…” Speaking of the children of Israel, in Isaiah chapter 66 we find a description of this, along with an indication as to where the children of Israel would be sent in their captivity: “18 For I know their works and their thoughts: it shall come, that I will gather all nations and tongues; and they shall come, and see my glory. 19 And I will set a sign among them, and I will send those that escape of them unto the nations, to Tarshish, Pul, and Lud, that draw the bow, to Tubal, and Javan, to the isles afar off, that have not heard my fame, neither have seen my glory; and they shall declare my glory among the [Nations]. 20 And they shall bring all your brethren for an offering unto the LORD out of all nations upon horses, and in chariots, and in litters, and upon mules, and upon swift beasts, to my holy mountain Jerusalem, saith the LORD, as the children of Israel bring an offering in a clean vessel into the house of the LORD. 21 And I will also take of them for priests and for Levites, saith the LORD.” So this is a prophecy of the children of Israel being taken out of all nations, as in Revelation 7:9 here, and that is how this must be interpreted.

We read a similar prophecy in Isaiah chapter 61, where it is addressing the children of Israel: “ 6 But ye shall be named the Priests of the LORD: men shall call you the Ministers of our God: ye shall eat the riches of the [Nations], and in their glory shall ye boast yourselves. 7 For your shame ye shall have double; and for confusion they shall rejoice in their portion: therefore in their land they shall possess the double: everlasting joy shall be unto them. 8 For I the LORD love judgment, I hate robbery for burnt offering; and I will direct their work in truth, and I will make an everlasting covenant with them. 9 And their seed shall be known among the [Nations], and their offspring among the people: all that see them shall acknowledge them, that they are the seed which the LORD hath blessed. [Now the focus shifts and the collective children of Israel are depicted as speaking:] 10 I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels. 11 For as the earth bringeth forth her bud, and as the garden causeth the things that are sown in it to spring forth; so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations.” When Christ called Himself the bridegroom, He was referring to this prophecy and similar prophecies in Hosea where Yahweh had promised to betroth Himself to the children of Israel forever. Where Israel is depicted as announcing that “he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness” that is later reflected in the cleansing of garments in the blood of the Lamb in Revelation chapter 7.

These “garments of salvation” prophesied for the children of Israel in Isaiah are seen further on in Revelation chapter 7: “13 And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they? 14 And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 15 Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. 16 They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. 17 For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.”

This is where the denominational churches claim that there are others besides the children of Israel who have been saved by Jesus. But the truth is that this group is also of the children of Israel, but they had not been sealed. The great tribulation is the promise of the seven times punishment for disobedient Israel, which is found in the curses of disobedience in Leviticus chapter 26. This is also prophesied in Deuteronomy chapter 4 where we read: “27 And the LORD shall scatter you among the nations, and ye shall be left few in number among the heathen, whither the LORD shall lead you. 28 And there ye shall serve gods, the work of men's hands, wood and stone, which neither see, nor hear, nor eat, nor smell. 29 But if from thence thou shalt seek the LORD thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul. 30 When thou art in tribulation, and all these things are come upon thee, even in the latter days, if thou turn to the LORD thy God, and shalt be obedient unto his voice; 31 (For the LORD thy God is a merciful God;) he will not forsake thee, neither destroy thee, nor forget the covenant of thy fathers which he sware unto them.”

This does not described Jews. The Jews were not scattered until after 70 AD, but the twelve tribes were taken into captivity from 743 BC to 585 BC. The apostles whom we cited as mentioning the twelve tribes, who, except for John, had all died by 70 AD, had already attested before 70 AD that the children of Israel were scattered abroad.

As for the cleansing of the garments, one place where we read how it is that one may have a clean garment is in Ecclesiastes chapter 9: “7 Go thy way, eat thy bread with joy, and drink thy wine with a merry heart; for God now accepteth thy works. 8 Let thy garments be always white; and let thy head lack no ointment.” When Christ died on behalf of the children of Israel, Yahweh God would once again accept them out of their tribulation, and that would make their garments white. So we read in a Messianic prophecy found in Isaiah chapter 52: “1 Awake, awake; put on thy strength, O Zion; put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city: for henceforth there shall no more come into thee the uncircumcised and the unclean. 2 Shake thyself from the dust; arise, and sit down, O Jerusalem: loose thyself from the bands of thy neck, O captive daughter of Zion. 3 For thus saith the LORD, Ye have sold yourselves for nought [into sin]; and ye shall be redeemed without money. 4 For thus saith the Lord GOD, My people went down aforetime into Egypt to sojourn there; and the Assyrian oppressed them without cause.” So the children of Israel may put on clean garments when they are called to Christ, which is the call to awaken here in this passage of Isaiah as this is a Messianic prophecy. The references to Egypt and Assyria are a reference to the ancient captivities of Israel.

There is another phenomenon in the Revelation which must be discussed, which is the Song of Moses, and that will be the subject of our next proof.