Theology: British Israelism British Israelism is the theory that the British people are the descendants of the ten lost tribes of Israel that were taken into captivity by Assyria in 722-721 B.C. Those adhering to the Christian Identity Movement often promote this theory. British Israelism (also called Anglo-Israelism) is a doctrine based on the hypothesis that people of Western European descent, particularly those in Great Britain, are the direct lineal descendants of the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel. The doctrine often includes the tenet that the British Royal Family is directly descended from the line of King David. Great Britain is the tribe of Ephraim and the United States is the tribe of Manasseh. The most successful proponent of this theory in the Unites States was Herbert W. Armstrong and his Worldwide Church of God. The central tenets of British Israelism have been refuted by evidence from modern genetic, linguistic, archaeological and philological research. The doctrine continues, however, to have a significant number of adherents. In my opinion, this false system of teaching arises out of three sources. First, there is a misidentification of the tribe of Judah with the other tribes of Israel. Second, there is significant misinterpretation of the prophetic texts of the Old Testament. Third, there is a misunderstanding about the differences between the three types of law found in the Old Testament: the moral law, the civil law, and the law of the sacrificial system.
Posted on: Thu, 14 Aug 2014 01:18:59 +0000
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