Who is Zarah & Perez?

 

I want to show you something that you have never seen before. In Matt. 1:1-16 (NIV) is recorded the genealogy of Jesus Christ. I want you to pay close attention to the first three verses,

 

"A record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ the son of David, the son of Abraham: Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, Judah the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar,"

 

Question! Why are there two sons of Judah named here? Why does it not say, "Abraham was the father of Isaac and Ishmael and Isaac was the father of Jacob and Esau? And why does it not say that Jacob was the father of Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah?

 

The main reason is that they are not a part of the lineage of Christ. But when it gets to Judah, it says, "Judah the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar! In order to answer this question we must read Gen. 38,

 

"At that time, Judah left his brothers and went down to stay with a man of Adullam named Hirah. There Judah met the daughter of a Canaanite man named Shua. He married her and lay with her; she became pregnant and gave birth to a son, who was named Er. She conceived again and gave birth to a son and named him Onan. She gave birth to still another son and named him Shelah. It was at Kezib that she gave birth to him.

 

Judah got a wife for Er, his firstborn, and her name was Tamar. But Er, Judah's firstborn, was wicked in the LORD'S sight; so the LORD put him to death. Then Judah said to Onan, "Lie with your brother's wife and fulfill your duty to her as a brother-in-law to produce offspring for your brother." But Onan knew that the offspring would not be his; so whenever he lay with his brother's wife, he spilled his semen on the ground to keep from producing offspring for his brother. What he did was wicked in the LORD'S sight; so he put him to death also.

 

Judah then said to his daughter-in-law Tamar, "Live as a widow in your father's house until my son Shelah grows up." For he thought, "He may die too, just like his brothers." So Tamar went to live in her father's house. After a long time Judah's wife, the daughter of Shua, died. When Judah had recovered from his grief, he went up to Timnah, to the men who were shearing his sheep, and his friend Hirah the Adullamite went with him.

 

When Tamar was told, "Your father-in-law is on his way to Timnah to shear his sheep," she took off her widow's clothes, covered herself with a veil to disguise herself, and then sat down at the entrance to Enaim, which is on the road to Timnah. For she saw that, though Shelah had now grown up, she had not been given to him as his wife.

 

When Judah saw her, he thought she was a prostitute, for she had covered her face. Not realizing that she was his daughter-in-law, he went over to her by the roadside and said, "Come now, let me sleep with you." 

 

"And what will you give me to sleep with you?" she asked. "I'll send you a young goat from my flock," he said. "Will you give me something as a pledge until you send it?" she asked. He said, "What pledge should I give you?" "Your seal and its cord, and the staff in your hand," she answered. So he gave them to her and slept with her, and she became pregnant by him. After she left, she took off her veil and put on her widow's clothes again.

 

Meanwhile Judah sent the young goat by his friend the Adullamite in order to get his pledge back from the woman, but he did not find her. He asked the men who lived there, "Where is the shrine prostitute who was beside the road at Enaim?" "There hasn't been any shrine prostitute here," they said. So he went back to Judah and said, "I didn't find her. Besides, the men who lived there said, 'There hasn't been any shrine prostitute here.'"

 

Then Judah said, "Let her keep what she has, or we will become a laughingstock. After all, I did send her this young goat, but you didn't find her."

 

About three months later Judah was told, "Your daughter-in-law Tamar is guilty of prostitution, and as a result she is now pregnant." Judah said, "Bring her out and have her burned to death!"

 

As she was being brought out, she sent a message to her father-in-law. "I am pregnant by the man who owns these," she said. And she added, "See if you recognize whose seal and cord and staff these are." Judah recognized them and said, "She is more righteous than I, since I wouldn't give her to my son Shelah." And he did not sleep with her again.

 

When the time came for her to give birth, there were twin boys in her womb. As she was giving birth, one of them put out his hand; so the midwife took a scarlet thread and tied it on his wrist and said, "This one came out first." But when he drew back his hand, his brother came out, and she said, "So this is how you have broken out!" And he was named Perez.? Then his brother, who had the scarlet thread on his wrist, came out and he was given the name Zerah.

 

The name 'Perez' means a break or a breach; a breaking fourth. He was named this because he came out even after his brother had stuck his hand out. The name 'Zerah' means from a rising of light; like the rising of the sun. It also means 'seed'. As a seed shoots fourth.

 

Judah sure didn't deserve to have the lineage of Christ go through him because he should have been cut off. This, again, shows the faithfulness of God's word to Joseph and his two sons and it should show us that He is going to accomplish what He has promised us in spite of us.

 

This leaves absolutely no room for our self-righteousness. God said in Gen. 49:10, (NKJV)

 

"The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh comes; and to Him shall be the obedience of the people."

 

Even though Judah failed, God will be faithful to the promise that He made. David is of the lineage of Pharaz or Perez who is of the lineage of Judah. But so is Zarah of the lineage of Judah. As long as the promises God gave to Judah goes through any of the lineage of Judah, God has been faithful to his promises. God made a promise to David, who is of Judah's and Perez's lineage, that there would never come a time when one of his seed did not sit on a throne. This is so, even to this day. There were earthly kings of the lineage of David who sit on the throne of the Tribe of Judah until Jesus returns to earth again.

 

There were kings from the lineage of Perez on the throne until Zedekiah was led into Babylonian captivity where he and all of his sons died causing the end of the Perez linage. In Zedekiah's 11th year as king, the Babylonian armie besieged Jerusalem, entered it; the city was broken up, the palace and temple destroyed. All the sons of King Zedekiah were killed before his eyes. So that there would be no man to carry on his dynasty, all the princes of Judah were also slain. King Zedekiah's eyes were put out, and he was bound in chains and carried to Babylon where he died. You will read of all this captivity in II Kings 25, II Chronicles 36, Jeremiah 39, and 52.

 

What happened to the promise of the Lord that,

" The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh comes; and to Him shall be the obedience of the people."? 

JEREMIAH'S MYSTERIOUS COMMISSION

 

When Israel was driven out to Assyria in 721 BCE, Judah had not yet sinned as a nation. Through Hosea, God said, "Though thou, Israel, play the harlot, yet let not Judah offend" (Hosea 4:15). But later "her treacherous sister Judah feared not but went and played the harlot also," and God finally said, "The backsliding Israel hath justified herself more than treacherous Judah" (Jeremiah 8:8-11). And so, about 130 years after Israel's captivity, the time came when God drove out the Jews, too, into national captivity and banishment.

 

For this purpose God raised up a very special prophet, whose real call few, indeed, understand. This prophet was Jeremiah. He was sanctified before he was born. (See Jeremiah 1:5.) Jeremiah, when first given his vital call and commission, was a young lad about 17. Before he finally completed it, he was an aged, white haired patriarch. The commission is recorded in Jeremiah 1:10,

 

"See, I have this day set you over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out and to pull down, to destroy and to throw down, to build and to plant."

 

I want you to notice that Jeremiah was set over the nations, more than one. He was a Jew, of the tribe of Levi, living in Judah. He was set a prophet over Judah, but not Judah alone. Over the nations, Judah and Israel! He was set over them to do two things: to tear down something, and then to build and to plant something. Jeremiah was used of God as a prophet to warn Judah of their sins and of the coming invasion and captivity at the hands of Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon unless they repented. He was used as a go between, a mediator, between the kings of Judah and Nebuchadnezzar the Babylonian King.

 

It is well known that Jeremiah was used in destroying the kingdom of Judah. But note it in your Bible! He also was commissioned to plant and to build! What was he to plant and build? Why, naturally, that which was pulled down and rooted out of Judah, the throne of David. He was set over the kingdoms of Israel as well as Judah. He was used in throwing down that throne from Judah. Then what was he commissioned to do in Israel? The second half of his strange and little understood commission was to build and to plant! So far as the world knows, the last king to sit on that throne of David was Zedekiah of Judah. He was thrown down off it and the throne rooted out of Judah nearly 600 years before Jesus came on the scene!

 

What, then!! Did God forget his covenant with David? Did the throne cease? True, the government of Judah ceased, as had the Kingdom of Israel more than 130 years before! But see what else Jeremiah was commissioned to do. To plant and to build! To plant and rebuild among the House of Israel who supposedly were without a king, lo, these many days and now supposing that they were Gentiles! Therefore the identity and location of the replanting has remained hidden to the world until this time of the end in which we live today!

 

If you will carefully read the important book of Jeremiah, you will notice the first few chapters are devoted to his ministry in warning the Jews of their impending invasion and captivity unless they would repent. But they would not repent. And so, finally, the invasion came. In the first siege Nebuchadnezzar marched into Jerusalem, taking it captive. However, he did not at once drive out all the Jews. He did not even drive out their king, Jehoiakim, but made him a vassal king, the servant of Nebuchadnezzar. As such he continued on his throne, as did two more kings after him, Jehoiachin, his son, and Zedekiah, his brother. (Read II Kings 24).

 

In Zedekiah's 11th year as king, the Chaldean armies besieged Jerusalem, entered it; the city was broken up, the palace and temple destroyed. All the sons of King Zedekiah were killed before his eyes. So that there would be no man to carry on his dynasty, all the princes of Judah were also slain. King Zedekiah's eyes were put out, and he was bound in chains and carried to Babylon where he died. You will read of all this captivity in II Kings 25, & II Chronicles 36, Jeremiah 39, and 52.

And now the first part of Jeremiah's strange commission is accomplished! So far as the world could see, or has seen since, the dynasty of David had ended! No king remained on the throne. Judah's last king was dead. All his sons were dead. All other princes who might be possible heirs to carry on the dynasty had been killed. No possible heir of Zedekiah to the throne, so the world then believed, remained alive.

 

But how about the second part of Jeremiah's great commission? Was God able to keep his covenant with David? Was he able to plant, and rebuild that throne? Jeremiah was among these captives Jews. Yet he must remain free to carry out the second part of his mission. So the captain of the guard said to Jeremiah in Jer. 40:2-4,

 

"The LORD your God decreed this disaster for this place. And now the LORD has brought it about; he has done just as he said he would. All this happened because you people sinned against the LORD and did not obey him. But today I am freeing you from the chains on your wrists. Come with me to Babylon, if you like, and I will look after you; but if you do not want to, then don't come. Look, the whole country lies before you; go wherever you please." However, before Jeremiah turned to go? Nebuzaradan added, "Go back to Gedaliah son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, whom the king of Babylon has appointed over the towns of Judah, and live with him among the people, or go anywhere else you please."

 

So the captain of the guard gave him victuals and a reward [expense money] and let him go" (Jeremiah 40:1-5). Jeremiah was left free to perform the second half of his commission. So where did he go? We come now to an amazing, fascinating, thrilling part of the book of Jeremiah, which has been almost entirely overlooked. "Then went Jeremiah unto Gedeliah, to Mizpah; and dwelt with him among the people that were left in the land" (6th verse). Now this Gedeliah had been made governor by the king of Babylon over a remnant of Jews in the land, and since Jerusalem was destroyed, he had made Mizpah his headquarters. But the king of Ammon plotted with a Jew named Ishmael to assassinate Gedeliah. The plot was executed; the governor and part of the Jews were slain. Jeremiah was among the survivors. Jeremiah 41:10 says,

 

"Then Ishmael carried away captive all the residue of the people that were in Mizpah, even the king's daughters, and all the people that remained in Mizpah, whom Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard [from Babylon] had committed to Gedeliah... and carried them away captives, and departed to go over to the Ammonites"

 

Did you catch it? Read that passage again. Among these Jews were the king's daughters! Daughters of Zedekiah, king of Judah and of David's dynasty! King Zedekiah had died. All his sons had been killed. All possible heirs of Zedekiah to David's throne had been killed, except the king's daughters! Now we see why Jeremiah went to Mizpah!

 

Soon a man named Johanan replaced Ishmael as leader and in fear of reprisals from Nebuchadnezzar and the Chaldean army, they appealed to the prophet, "and said unto Jeremiah the prophet in Jeremiah 42:2-3,

 

"Let, we beseech thee, our supplication be accepted before thee, and pray for us unto the Lord thy God... that the Lord thy God may show us the way wherein we may walk"

 

The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, and he told them not to fear, that he would protect and deliver them. However, the people wanted to flee to Egypt but the Lord warned them not to go there. If they did, the sword of Nebuchadnezzar, which they feared, would overtake them there and they would die (Jeremiah 42:7-16) (KJV). But, as people usually do, they rejected God's warning. "You speak falsely!," Johanan answered (Jeremiah 48:2-3). And so Johanan "took all the remnant ....... even men, and women, and children, and the king's daughters... and Jeremiah the prophet, and Baruch the son of Neriah, Jeremiah's scribe, or secretary. So they came into the land of Egypt" (Jeremiah 48:5-7)(KJV).

 

Baruch was Jeremiah's constant companion and secretary and it is important to note here God's promise of protection to him: "Thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel, unto thee, O Baruch... Behold, that which I have built I will break down, and that which I have planted I will pluck up, even this whole but thy life will I give unto thee for a prey in all places whither thou goest" (Jeremiah 45:2-5). His life, like Jeremiah's, was under divine protection! On reaching Egypt, God warned these Jews again through Jeremiah that they would die there by the sword and famine, and 'none shall return but such as shall escape" (Jeremiah 44:12-14).

 

A few in this company are under divine protection because a divine mission is to be performed. They shall escape! The Lord continues: "Yet a small number that escapes the sword shall return out of the land of Egypt into the land of Judah" (Jeremiah 44:28).

 

Jeremiah, Baruch, and the royal seed for replanting and rebuilding David's throne, all under divine protection, were to escape, and return to the land of Judah. Then Jeremiah and his company were to journey to a strange land, which they knew not (Jeremiah 15:11-14),

 

"The LORD said, "Surely I will deliver you for a good purpose; surely I will make your enemies plead with you in times of disaster and times of distress."

 

Now let Isaiah complete this prophecy in Isaiah 37:32-31,

 

"Once more a remnant of the house of Judah will take root below and bear fruit above. For out of Jerusalem will come a remnant, and out of Mount Zion a band of survivors. The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this."

 

A remnant of Judah survived the Assyrian onslaught in Isaiah's day, as did a remnant in Jeremiah's day. This prophecy, like many, is dual. This remnant with Jeremiah and at least one of the king's daughters shall take root downward or below! That is, be replanted! And then bear fruit upward or above.

 

Has God failed in his solemn covenant to keep alive David's throne? Where did this planting and building take place? Can we find it in God's Word? Yes we can! The place and the people, among whom the throne was reestablished, are clearly identified! Then, where did Jeremiah go with Baruch his secretary and one or more of the royal daughters of the king? Bible history stops short at this point. Enlightened students of Bible history have long known that the Ten Tribes called by the name House of Israel have been lost and exist today among the Gentile nations, unrecognized by the world Their identity and location is one of the things God has hidden from the world. Yet, in this end-time, when knowledge is to increase, when the "wise" are to understand (Daniel 12:4, 10), we shall find the secret revealed through prophecy which could not be understood until now.

 

In order to understand this we must first consider a mysterious "breach" that occurred in the days of Judah, son of Jacob. Judah was the father of twin sons. The firstborn was royal seed, for through him the scepter promise was to be carried down. It seems the midwife knew twins were about to be born. It is recorded that just before the two boys were born one of the twins "put out his hand: and the midwife took and bound upon his hand a scarlet thread, saying 'This came out first.' "But the child drew back his hand, and the other was actually born first. The mid-wife exclaimed, "How hast thou broken forth? This breach be upon thee: [margin, wherefore hast thou made this breach against thee?] Therefore his name was called Pharez," meaning "Breach" (Genesis 38:27-30).

 

Why should this strange occurrence be recorded in Bible history, unless this breach was to be healed between the sons or their descendants at some future time? Yet it never occurred in their lifetime. Zarah, of the scarlet thread, had five sons (I Chronicles 2:6). Did a descendant of Zarah finally get the throne and in a manner actually heal the breach? David, Zedekiah, Christ, all were of the Perez branch and none of them were of the Zarah branch.

 

I want you also to consider again the genealogy of Jesus as recorded in Matt. 1:1-16 (NIV),

 

"A record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ the son of David, the son of Abraham: Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, Judah the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar,....."

 

Why did Matthew record the names of both Zerah and Perez? This will become apparent as we continue.

 

Now consider:

 

1. The fact of the breach calls for the transfer of the scepter from the Perez to the Zarah line.

 

2. Such transfer never occurred before King Zedekiah of Judah, who was descended from Perez.

 

3. Therefore it had to occur after Zedekiah's death.

 

Since David's line (Perez) is to remain on the throne through all generations forever, it could only occur at an overturn of the throne by a marriage between a Perez heir to the throne and one of the Zarah line, thus healing the breach. The descendants of Zarah according to a few scattered traditions became wanderers, journeying to the northwest within the confines of the Scythian nations, their descendants joining the Ten Tribes. But meanwhile, the Perez-David-Zedekiah line who possessed the scepter was highly exalted. The Zarah line, feeling it rightfully should possess the scepter, and some day would, was low and abased so far as royal power was concerned.

Now consider a much misunderstood passage of prophecy: If you will begin reading at the 18th verse of the 21st chapter of Ezekiel, you will see plainly that God is here speaking of the captivity of Judah by the king of Babylon. And, beginning with the 25th verse, he says,

 

"And thou, profane wicked prince of Israel (Zedekiah), whose day is come, when iniquity shall have an end, Thus saith the Lord God; 'Remove the diadem, and take off the crown: [This did happen during the first half of Jeremiah's commission.) This (the crown) shall not be the same: exalt him that is low, and abase him that is high. I will overturn, overturn, and overturn it: and it shall be no more until he comes whose right it is: and I will give it him."

 

Let us understand this clearly. "Remove the diadem, and take off the crown." King Zedekiah, of David's dynasty, had the crown. This says it is to be removed and it was removed. He died in Babylon; his sons and all the nobles of Judah were killed. "This shall not be the same." The diadem is not to cease, but a change is to take place, the throne is to be overturned, another is to wear the crown. God's promise to David is not to go by default! "Exalt him that is low, and abase him that is high." Who is "high"? King Zedekiah of Judah. Now he is to be abased. He is to lose that crown. The House of Judah has been "high," while The House of Israel has been "low," these many years without a king (Hosea. 8:4). The Pharez line has been "high" the Zarah line has been "low." "I will overturn, overturn, overturn, it: and it shall be no more until he come whose right it is."

 

What was to be overturned? The diadem and the throne. Not once, it is to be debased and overturned three times (This is another case of the Three Dimensions that I wrote about in a different article). Overturned by abasing Zedekiah, the House of Judah, the Perez line, and exalting, now, the House of Israel, and one of the Zarah line!

 

The first of the three overturns was accomplished as the first half of Jeremiah's commission. "And it shall be no more." Does this mean the throne the crown is to cease to exist? Not at all! How could it be overturned three times, that is, transferred from one to another, if it ceased to exist? How, after these three transfers of the crown, could it be given to him, Christ, whose right it is, at his return to this earth, if it ceased altogether to exist? How could the crown now exalt him, who was "low", if that crown was to be no more?

 

What He means is that it shall be no more overturned until Christ comes at the end of the ages! And then it shall be once again overturned, and given to him! This is in the Third Dimension where it is all God. (See my teaching on The Third Dimension) God will not break his unalterable promise made to David! Through every generation David shall have a descendant wearing that crown! The second half of Jeremiah's commission must now be performed. That throne must be transplanted, and again built.

The strange truth of the planting and the rebuilding of David's throne is revealed in a "riddle and a parable," couched in symbolic language never understood until this latter day. Yet it stands, today, so clearly explained a little child could understand! It fills the 17th chapter of Ezekiel's prophecy. The whole chapter should be carefully read.

 

It is imparitive that you understand that when the division occurred with the children of Israel, only the Tribes of Judah, Benjamin and Levi formed the House of Judah and that was where the Jews came from. The Ten Tribes of Israel were then known as The House of Israel.

Notice, first, this prophetic message is addressed, not to the House of Judah, the Jews, but to the House of Israel. It is a Message to give light to the Lost Ten Tribe House of Israel in these latter days! First, Ezekiel is told to speak a riddle, and then a parable.

 

The riddle is found in verses 3 to 10,

 

"'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: A great eagle with powerful wings, long feathers and full plumage of varied colors came to Lebanon. Taking hold of the top of a cedar, he broke off its topmost shoot and carried it away to a land of merchants, where he planted it in a city of traders.

 

"He took some of the seed of your land and put it in fertile soil. He planted it like a willow by abundant water, and it sprouted and became a low, spreading vine. Its branches turned toward him, but its roots remained under it. So it became a vine and produced branches and put out leafy boughs.

 

"But there was another great eagle with powerful wings and full plumage. The vine now sent out its roots toward him from the plot where it was planted and stretched out its branches to him for water. It had been planted in good soil by abundant water so that it would produce branches, bear fruit and become a splendid vine.'

 

"Say to them, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Will it thrive? Will it not be uprooted and stripped of its fruit so that it withers? All its new growth will wither. It will not take a strong arm or many people to pull it up by the roots. Even if it is transplanted, will it thrive? Will it not wither completely when the east wind strikes it will wither away in the plot where it grew?'"

 

Then, beginning in verse 11, God explains its meaning. "Say now to the rebellious house," When God says the "rebellious house" He is talking about the ten tribe House of Israel (Ezek. 12:9), to whom Ezekiel is set a prophet (Ezek. 2:3; 3:1. etc.), "Know ye not what these things mean? Tell them... "And then the riddle is clearly explained. A great eagle came to Lebanon and took the highest branch of the cedar. This is explained to represent King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, who came to Jerusalem, and took captive the king of Judah. The cropping off of the cedar's young twigs and carrying them to a land of traffic is explained to picture the captivity of the king's sons.

 

"He took also of the seed of the land," means Nebuchadnezzar took also of the people, and the mighty of the land of Judah. "He set it as a willow tree. And it grew, and became a spreading vine of low stature," means the Jews were given a covenant whereby, although they were ruled over by the Chaldeans, they might live in peace and grow. The other "great eagle" is explained to represent Pharaoh of Egypt.

 

This riddle covers the first half of Jeremiah's commission. Now notice what is revealed concerning the second part, the planting of David's throne! It comes in the parable, verses 22-24. "Thus saith the Lord God; I will also take of the highest branch of the high cedar." From God's own explanation we have learned that the cedar tree represents the nation of Judah; its highest branch is Judah's king.

 

The riddle told us Nebuchadnezzar took the highest branch, the king. The parable now tells us God, not Nebuchadnezzar, but God, will take of the highest branch. Not the branch, but of the branch of Zedekiah's children. But Nebuchadnezzar took, and killed, all his sons. God, through his prophet Jeremiah, is now going to take of this highest branch, and "set it" (verse 22). "I will crop off from the top of his young twigs a tender one, and will plant it upon a high and lofty mountain," continues the Almighty! Ah! "A tender young twig!" The twigs of this highest branch represent the children of King Zedekiah.

 

Certainly a tender young twig, then, represents a daughter! ..... And will plant it." Could symbolic language say plainer this young Jewish princess is to become the royal seed for planting again of David's throne? Where? ..... Upon a high and lofty mountain," says God! A "mountain" in symbolic language always represents a nation. But which nation? "In the mountain of the height of Israel will I plant it," answers God! David's throne now is to be planted in Israel, after being thrown down from Judah! Could language be plainer? ..... And it [the tender young twig, the king's daughter] shall bring forth boughs, and bear fruit, and be a goodly cedar:"

 

Did David's throne cease with Zedekiah of Judah? Did God forget his covenant? No! Compare this language with the passage in Isaiah 37:31-32: "The remnant that escaped of the house of Judah shall again take root downward be planted and bear fruit upward." It was planted in the House of Israel, and was removed from the House of Judah.

 

After this Hebrew princess is "planted" on the throne, which is now in the House of Israel, lost from view; that throne is to bear fruit. She is to marry, have children, and her sons are to continue David's dynasty! And under it shall dwell all fowl of every wing; in the shadow of the branches thereof shall they dwell" (verse 23). "Lost" Israel, now having acquired the throne and become again a self-ruling nation, shall, in time, spread around the earth gaining dominance and power. They shall inherit the unconditional promises of the birthright, according to God's covenant with Abraham! "And all the trees of the field"" (verse 24). A "tree" in this riddle and parable is likened to a nation. In other words, "All the nations of the Earth..." ..... Shall know that I, the Lord, have brought down the high tree."

 

Judah, the high tree, having the throne 130 years after the House of Israel had been taken captive, now is brought down to the low stature of slavery." " have exalted the low tree." For 130 years the House of Israel had been a "low tree". Now the House of Israel is exalted, becomes again a nation with a king."..... have dried up the green tree" Judah, "and have made the dry tree to flourish." The House of Israel, headed by the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh, who possessed the birthright, now shall flourish, become prosperous in due time. "I the Lord have spoken and have done it."

 

Yes, that birthright is in the House of Israel. Though lost, though supposed by the world to be a Gentile nation, they are the people who were to grow into the promised multitude, the great nation, and the company of nations, possessing the gates of their enemy nations, becoming a colonizing people spreading around the world, being blessed with national resources and wealth. And, when they become thus powerful and nationally dominant, remember David's throne will be found transplanted among them!

 

But where did Jeremiah, with his royal seed for the transplanting, go to find the lost House of Israel? Where are they today? How was the 'breach" healed, and how did a son of Zarah ascend the throne? Can we tell? We can! The exact, precise location is revealed in Bible prophecy! We can pick up Jeremiah's trail besides!

We are ready, now, to search out the actual location of the lost tribes of the outcast House of Israel. We know they exist today as a Nation, and a Company of Nations powerful, looked upon as Gentiles. And when we find them we shall find a ruler, still today occupying the throne of David! Many passages of prophecy tell of these people in these latter days. Prophecies not to be understood until this "time of the end." Prophecies containing a Message to be carried to these people by those to whom God reveals it!

 

First it is necessary to fix in mind these facts:

 

The prophet Amos wrote, in the days of the 18th of the 19 kings of the House of Israel, (Amos 1:1): "Behold the eyes of the Lord are upon the sinful kingdom [House of Israel, Judah had not yet sinned], and I will destroy it [the kingdom, or government, not the people] from off the face of the earth. For, lo, I will command, and I will sift the house of Israel among all nations, like corn is sifted in a sieve, yet shall not the least grain fall upon the earth" (Amos 9:8-9).

 

This prophecy usually is applied to the scattered condition of the Jews. But it has nothing to do with the Jews, or House of Judah, but refers to the ten tribe House of Israel driven to Assyrian captivity, then migrating from there and scattering among other nations. This prophecy says that Israel (not Judah) was to be sifted among other nations where they loose their identity. Yet God has protected and kept them and "not the least grain shall fall upon the earth."

 

It was during this time that the children of the House of Israel were to "abide many days without a king" (Hosea 3:4). That these people did sift through the nations is clear. Many New Testament passages indicate this. Although many of them still were scattered among various nations in the first century A.D., a portion of them had become established in a definite location of their own by Jeremiah's time, 140 years after their original captivity. But these Israelites who possessed the birthright eventually were to come to a new land of their own.

 

The Lord says, in II Samuel 7:10 and I Chronicles 17:9: "Moreover, I will appoint a place for my people Israel, and will plant them [Jeremiah was commissioned to do the planting of the throne among them] that they may dwelt in a place of their own and move no more." The context of the whole passage shows this refers, not to the Promised Land of Canaan, but a different land where these scattered Israelites were to gather, after being removed from the promised land of Palestine, and while that land was lying idle and in possession of the Gentiles.

 

Notice carefully! After being removed from their land, being sifted among all nations, abiding many days without a king, losing their identity, they are to be "planted" in far away strange land, now to become their own. And, note it-after reaching this place, they are to move no more! That is, of course, during this present age. While other prophecies indicate these birthright holders were to become a colonizing people, spreading around the world, it is plain that the spreading out must be from this appointed place, which must remain the "home" seat of government for David's throne.

 

Mark this clearly! Once this "place of their own" was reached, and the throne of David planted there, they were to move no more. Therefore, the location of this people today is the place where Jeremiah planted David's throne more than 2,500 years ago!

 

Therefore prophecies pertaining to this day, or to the location of this people just prior to Christ's return, will tell us the location of Jeremiah's planting. The two succeeding "overturns" of the throne, too, must be located in this same place.

 

Without further suspense, let's see where this prophecy locates these birthright holders who are now possessing the throne of David and earth's richest national blessings. Remember they are distinguished from Judah, the Jews by various names, "Ephraim," "Joseph," "Jacob," "Rachel" (the mother of Joseph), Samaria (the former capital).

 

According to Hosea 12:1, "Ephraim follows after the east wind." An "east wind" travels west. Ephraim must have gone west from Assyria. When God swore to David to perpetuate his throne, He said: "I will set his hand [scepter] in the sea" (Psalms 89:25). The throne is to be "set," planted, "in the sea." Through Jeremiah the Eternal said: "Backsliding Israel hath justified herself more than treacherous Judah. Go and proclaim these words toward the north and say, Return thou backsliding Israel, saith the Lord" (Jeremiah 3:11-12).

 

Israel is here clearly distinguished from Judah. And in these last days messengers are to go "toward the north" (of Jerusalem) in order to locate lost Israel and proclaim this warning. So the location, we now find, is toward the north, also west, and in the sea.

 

The 18th verse of the same chapter, says: "In those days the House of Judah shall walk with the House of Israel [margin, to the House of Israel], and they shall come together out of the land of the north to the land that I have given for an inheritance unto your fathers." At the future Exodus, at Christ's coming, they are to return to the Holy Land out of the land of the north! After saying, "How shall I give thee up, Ephraim?" the Lord, speaking through Hosea, says: "... then the children shall tremble from the west" (Hosea 11:8, 10).

 

Again, "Behold, I will bring them from the North Country, and gather them from the coasts of the earth" (Jeremiah 31:8). This prophecy is for consideration in the "latter days" (Jeremiah 30:24; 31:1), and is addressed to "Israel" (verses 2, 4, 9,) to "Ephraim" (verses 6, 9,) and "Samaria" (verse 5). Here is added another hint "the coasts of the earth", evidently they are dominant at sea.

 

Referring to the House of Israel (not Judah) in Isaiah 49:3, 6, God says: "Behold these shall come from far: and lo, these from the north and from the west; and these from the land of Sinim" (Isaiah 49:12). In the Hebrew, the language in which this was originally inspired, there is no word for "northwest," but the phrase, "the north and the west" designate this term. It means, literally, the northwest! The Vulgate renders "Sinim" as Australi" meaning the south. So we now have the location northwest of Jerusalem, as well as southern lands. Hence, Israel of today, Israel of the day of Jeremiah's "planting" of David's throne, is located specifically northwest of Jerusalem, and in the sea!

 

Let us locate this land more specifically! The same 49th chapter of Isaiah begins with this: "Listen, 0h isles, unto me." The people addressed, Israel, are called "0h Isles" in the first verse and "0h Israel" in the third verse. The 31st chapter of Jeremiah, locating Israel in the "north country," says: "I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my first born... Hear the word of the Lord, 0h ye nations "Ephraim, Manasseh" and declare it in the isles afar off' (Jeremiah 31:9-10).

 

Again: "Keep silence before me, 0h islands. .. thou, Israel, art my servant Jacob whom I have chosen" (Isaiah. 41:1).

 

In Jeremiah 31:7, the message to be declared "In the isles afar off" (verse 10) is to be shouted in "the chief of the nations." So, finally, today, as in Jeremiah's day, the House of Israel is in the isles, which are "in the sea" the chief of the nations, northwest of Jerusalem! A Coast-dwelling, and therefore sea dominant people. Certainly there can be no mistaking that identity! Take a map of Europe. Lay a line due northwest of Jerusalem across the continent of Europe, until you come to the sea, and then to the islands in the sea! This line takes you direct to the British Isles! This is proof that the white English speaking peoples today, Britain and America, are actually and truly the birthright tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh of the "lost" House of Israel.

Jeremiah's Voyage

An old man arrives on an Island with a small group of people in 583 BC. He brings the daughter of a King, a scribe named Simon Brug and some relics. The powerful Milesian High King of all Ireland allows the old man complete control. Instituting laws, schools and congresses, the old man forever changes the face of the Island's history, and subsequently the history of the entire world. Apparently incidental to all this, is the fulfilling of a 500 year old prophecy. Few people know that Jeremiah was much more than a prophet. He tends to get lumped in with Isaiah, Ezekiel and the others. Jeremiah did more than go around speaking doom and gloom. He held a high level position in the kingdom of Judah. He was the grandfather of King Zedekiah. II Kings 24:18. Most importantly, Jeremiah was God's Trustee of the Bloodline and the Throne of David. 

Jeremiah's commission has always puzzled scholars. One can find where Jeremiah rooted out, pulled down, destroyed, and threw down kingdoms. History shows that his prophecies about the destruction of kingdoms came true. The mystery is, where did Jeremiah "build and plant?" The scriptural account doesn't contain any building and planting. There is also some confusion about Jeremiah's being put "over the nations." It would appear at first glance that this meant his prophesying against them. This is not the case. First, Jer 1:10 says that God set him "over the nations, not nations (in general). This is repeated with the word kingdoms; the kingdoms. The bible is concerned with only one people, The Twelve Tribes of Israel. Jeremiah was to "throw down" AND "build and plant" the Israelite nations. We'll have to follow his trail to find where he accomplished his mission. 

First we'll look at the Biblical account. Jer 15:11-14 which tells us Jerry is going to a brand new place he "knowest not." Isaiah fills out the picture a bit. Isaiah 41:1-3 

"Be silent before me, you islands! Let the nations renew their strength! Let them come forward and speak; let us meet together at the place of judgment. "Who has stirred up one from the east, calling him in righteousness to his service? He hands nations over to him and subdues kings before him. He turns them to dust with his sword, to windblown chaff with his bow. He pursues them and moves on unscathed, by a path his feet have not traveled before."

 

This tells us that a "righteous man from the east" was put over nations and kings. This man would not travel by foot (on land). Jer 41:10 establishes the presence of the "king's daughters" in the group with Jeremiah. Jeremiah, as their great-grandfather, would certainly have assumed the position of Guardian. Then we find Jeremiah and the girls going to the Egyptian city of Tahpanhes. In fact, there is an ancient structure there that bears the name, "Palace of the Jew's daughters." Isaiah helps us again with a last bit of confirmation, in chapter 37:31, telling us that a "remnant of Judah" shall escape and "take root downward."

Wikipedia says about Tahphnhes,

Tahpanhes (also transliterated Tahapanes or Tehaphnehes; known by the Ancient Greeks as Daphnae, now Tell Defenneh) was a city in Ancient Egypt. It was located on Lake Manzala on the Tanitic branch of the Nile, about 26km (16 miles) from Pelusium. The site is now situated on the Suez Canal.

History

According to the Hebrew Bible, the Jews from Jerusalem fled to this place after the death of Gedaliah and settled there for a time (Jeremiah 2:16; 43:7,8,9; 44:1; 46:14; Ezekiel 30:18).

A platform of brick-work, which there is every reason to believe was the pavement at the entry of Pharaoh's palace, has been discovered at this place. "Here," says the discoverer, William Flinders Petrie, "the ceremony described by Jeremiah 43:8-10; "brick-kiln", i.e., pavement of brick] took place before the chiefs of the fugitives assembled on the platform, and here Nebuchadnezzar II spread his royal pavilion".

King Psammetichus established a garrison of foreign mercenaries at Daphnae, mostly Carians and Ionian Greeks (Herodotus ii. 154). After the destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadrezzar II in 588 BC, the Jewish fugitives, of whom Jeremiah was one, came to Tahpanhes.

Before going on, we must take notice of what God had promised Jeremiah and his fellow travelers. God told Jeremiah that he'd be treated kindly by the Babylonians and die a natural death. Baruch, Jeremiah's scribe and Ebed-Melech, the Ethiopian, are also told they'd be spared. The probable number in Jeremiah's traveling band was five: Jeremiah, Baruch, Ebed-Melech Tea Tephi and her sister.

It's not so hard to trace the migration of large groups of people. Not so with small groups. But God knows this too, and has left evidence that we may overcome our doubts about Jeremiah's destination. But we have to go the history books. Only one place in the world claims to have the grave of the prophet Jeremiah. Only one country's history tells of an old man, and his scribe Brug bringing a king's daughter from Egypt. Only one country claims the Harp of David for its Arms. Only one country has Jerrys coming out of its ears.

That Country is Ireland.

Although, due to the Bards embellishing the story, accounts of Jeremiah's arrival and work in Ireland differ in some details, however, the basic elements of each tale are the same.

1.   The Stone, known as the "Stone of Destiny" came from Spain,

2. And before that, from Egypt

3.   It came in the company of an aged guardian, who was called "Ollam Folla", (Hebrew for revealer or prophet)

4.   Accompanying the man was an eastern king's daughter

5.   Eochaidh (Eremhon) of the line of Zarah married the daughter, Tea Tephi of the line of Perez

6.   The aged guardian became the most influential Statesman and Spiritual leader of Ireland!

Remember the evidence I mentioned, that God would supply us to confirm Jeremiah's trip? The following picture is of an inscription found in a tomb located in Schiabhla-Cailliche, near Oldcastle, County, Meath, Ireland, not far from Tara. Thirty-some stones with strange markings upon them, lie in the sepulchral chamber within the huge cairn of stones which make up the tomb. A large carved stone outside the tomb is still pointed out as Jeremiah's judicial seat. Our confirmation lies on those thirty stones in the cairn.

One interpretation, by George Dansie of Bristol, says the stones show a Lunar Eclipse, in the constellation of Taurus and a conjunction of the planets Saturn and Jupiter in Virgo. The prow of a ship is shown in the center, with five lines indicating the number of passengers it carries. On the left, a part of the ship, perhaps the stern, is shown with only four passengers, one having been left behind, as indicated by the line falling away from the ship. The wavy line indicates the passage of the ship across the ocean, terminating at a central point on an island.

The stellar and planetary alignment of the inscription gives a date of 583 BC. This date allows just the right amount of time for our little band to go to Egypt, and return to Palestine briefly before making their way to Spain, then Ireland.

THE VOYAGE OF THE TRAVELLING TRUSTEE TEA TEPHI

Buried ineradicably in the poetry and folklore of Ireland is the tale of a Prophet, an Egyptian Princess and Simon Brug (Baruch) a Scribe. They Landed in Ireland about the same time that the destruction of Jerusalem took place, bearing with them a great chest and a stone wrapped in a banner. The Princess married the Zarahite King, Eochaidh II. Ard-dath, Ard-righ, or Heremon (horse man of all Ireland), and their son was Irial. I, (M.R. Munro Faure) give quotations from old Irish verse: The praises of Tea Tephi, daughter of Lughaidh (equivalent in Erse of Bethel) are sung as: "The Beautiful One with a Royal Prosperous Smile.""Tephi (Hebrew beautiful) the most beautiful that traversed the Plain." "Temor of Bregia, whence so called." Relate to me O learned Sages, When was the place called Temor? Was it in the time of Parthalon of battles?
Or at the first arrival of Caesaire? Tell me in which of these invasions Did the place have the name of Tea-mor? O Tuan!