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"Israel" was the new name God gave the biblical patriarch Jacob in Genesis 32. The 12 tribes of Israel were descended from his 12 sons. These tribes later formed a united kingdom.
It's been almost 3,000 years since the kingdom of Israel was split in two. Ten of the 12 tribes of Israel rebelled against King Rehoboam, the son of King Solomon and grandson of King David. The Bible continued to refer to these 10 tribes as Israel while the other two tribes (Judah and Benjamin) that remained loyal to David's descendants were known as the kingdom of Judah or simply Judah.
Sometimes Israel is referred to as the northern kingdom and Judah as the southern kingdom. Dominant among the northern tribes were to be the descendants of Jacob's son Joseph through his sons Ephraim and Manasseh-prophesied by Jacob to be the chief nations of the world in the last days (Genesis 49:1And Jacob called unto his sons, and said, Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the last days., Genesis 49:22-26 [22] Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well; whose branches run over the wall:
[23] The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him:
[24] But his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob; (from thence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel:)
[25] Even by the God of thy father, who shall help thee; and by the Almighty, who shall bless thee with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lieth under, blessings of the breasts, and of the womb:
[26] The blessings of thy father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills: they shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him that was separate from his brethren.
; compare Deuteronomy 33:13-17 [13] And of Joseph he said, Blessed of the LORD be his land, for the precious things of heaven, for the dew, and for the deep that coucheth beneath,
[14] And for the precious fruits brought forth by the sun, and for the precious things put forth by the moon,
[15] And for the chief things of the ancient mountains, and for the precious things of the lasting hills,
[16] And for the precious things of the earth and fulness thereof, and for the good will of him that dwelt in the bush: let the blessing come upon the head of Joseph, and upon the top of the head of him that was separated from his brethren.
[17] His glory is like the firstling of his bullock, and his horns are like the horns of unicorns: with them he shall push the people together to the ends of the earth: and they are the ten thousands of Ephraim, and they are the thousands of Manasseh.
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About 200 years after the kingdom split, the northern tribes of Israel fell to Assyria and were deported by the Assyrians to the northern parts of their empire. Often referred to now as the lost tribes, they later migrated northwest across Europe, eventually settling in new homelands far from the Middle East.
The kingdom of Judah fell to Babylon more than a century after Israel's deportation, but its people were not lost to history. We know them today as the Jews.
The name Ephraim is sometimes used representatively in Scripture for the entire northern kingdom, though it can also refer solely to the descendants of Joseph's son of that name-prophesied to become a "multitude of nations" (Genesis 48:19And his father refused, and said, I know it, my son, I know it: he also shall become a people, and he also shall be great: but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his seed shall become a multitude of nations.). Remarkably, this promise to Ephraim was fulfilled in the British Empire and Commonwealth.
Ephraim's older brother Manasseh was also prophesied to become a great nation (same verse), separating himself from the multitude of nations. This prophecy would be fulfilled in the formation, growth and dominance of the United States of America.
In a revealing prophecy regarding the United States and Britain, Jacob (Israel) said, "Let my name be named upon them" (Genesis 48:16The Angel which redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads; and let my name be named on them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.). References to "Israel" in end-time prophecy often refer to the United States or the English-speaking countries of the British Empire or both. Sometimes "Israel" can mean all 12 tribes. We have to look at specific verses in their context to see which is meant. (To investigate the biblical evidence of this, please read our free study aid, The United States and Britain in Bible Prophecy .)
"Judah," however, always refers to the Jews, the descendants of the house or kingdom of Judah. We must also understand that the modern nation called Israel is really Judah, made up of Jews (see sidebar "Are all Israelites Jews? ").
Understanding this critical part of biblical history will help us more fully comprehend a passage of Scripture in the book of Hosea, which is a prophecy about Ephraim (the multitude of nations-Great Britain and some of those nations that came out of her). It warns of destruction to follow the end-time ascendancy of the Israelite nations.
In Hosea 5 we read a prophecy that mentions Israel, Ephraim and Judah: "The pride of Israel testifies to his face; therefore Israel and Ephraim stumble in their iniquity; Judah also stumbles with them" (Hosea 5:5And the pride of Israel doth testify to his face: therefore shall Israel and Ephraim fall in their iniquity; Judah also shall fall with them.). The prophecy continues: "With their flocks and herds they shall go to seek the Lord, but they will not find Him; He has withdrawn Himself from them. They have dealt treacherously with the Lord, for they have begotten pagan children. Now a New Moon shall devour them and their heritage" (Hosea 5:6-7 [6] They shall go with their flocks and with their herds to seek the LORD; but they shall not find him; he hath withdrawn himself from them.
[7] They have dealt treacherously against the LORD: for they have begotten strange children: now shall a month devour them with their portions.
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New moons occur a month apart. A new moon "devouring" them would seem to mean that Israel, Ephraim and Judah will all fall within one month.
This prophecy was not fulfilled in ancient times. As already mentioned, ancient Judah fell to Babylon more than a century after Israel fell to Assyria. Yet in the end it appears they will fall together-within one month of each other. This prophecy remains to be fulfilled.
Remember that Israel gave his name to Ephraim and Manasseh, the ancestors in turn of the British and American peoples. As Ephraim is mentioned separately in this prophecy, the reference to "Israel" must apply to the United States, which is now the more dominant of the two nations.
For two centuries prior to World War II, the roles were reversed with the multitude of nations-the British Empire-a greater power than the single nation, the United States. But today America is the greater.
"Judah" refers to the Jewish people, particularly those who now constitute the modern nation in the Middle East that calls itself Israel.
Here then is a prophecy regarding all three nations-the United States, Britain and Israel (Judah). According to this prophecy, it appears that all three will fall within the span of a month. Hosea 6:6For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings. shows these nations turning back to God, but finding it's too late. Because of their sins, He will let them suffer defeat and collapse.
This prophecy could not have been fulfilled until after the rise of Britain and the United States as world powers in the 19th century and the formation of the Jewish state of Israel in the 20th.
Consider that Israel and the United States are perhaps the most maligned and criticized nations on earth. Among Muslim hard-liners, America is commonly called "the great Satan" and Israel and Britain "the little Satans."
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Keywords: ten tribes US and Britain British Israel state of Israel
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