Will the Real Israel Please Stand Up!

By James N. Jester

What can we do about the decline of the Christian west? Like the ancient Israelites in Egypt, Americans are simply slaves driven by the taskmasters to produce more with less. The author exposes some little known history of our ancestors and shows the path to regain our liberty. This book is "the rest of the story" and it should give Christians t

• Language: English
• Publisher: Stratton Press
• Release date: Feb 8, 2022
• ISBN: 9781648957574

James N. Jester

The author holds a Biblical worldview and provides us with real hope and change, unlike well-known conservatives such as Glenn Beck or Shaun Hannity. Likewise, he deviates from establishment Christianity although he is well studied in the Scriptures.

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Dedication

To my wonderful wife, Laura; my friends at the Fellowship of God’s Covenant People church; the people of the Covenant everywhere; and the God of our fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—Soli Deo Gloria.

Acknowledgments

Special thanks to Steve and Julie Greenup and Pastor Mark Downey in their proofing and advice.

Introduction

To be or not to be, that is the question. This famous quote from Shakespeare, spoken by Hamlet contemplating suicide to end the sufferings of life, could be rephrased, To exist or not to exist. Does Israel exist today to fulfill her destiny? I believe she does exist. History reveals that most of her destiny has been fulfilled! The Bible contains many prophecies about Israel, and we can now look back and see that most of them have been fulfilled. Prophecy is history yet in the future, and history is prophecy fulfilled.

The Bible is a history book and a book of Covenants—it is divided into New Covenant and Old Covenant. But to whom are these Covenants made with? To know or not to know who we are, that is an important question. If we do not know who we are as a people, we will commit national suicide. Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts and murders itself. There never was a democracy yet that did not commit suicide. What a warning and indictment upon history from one of America’s founding fathers, John Adams!

The key to the survival of America lies in our identity. Our families are in turmoil, our nation is in trouble, and even our race is on the path to extinction! This may sound like a dire prophecy, but there is hope. To get ourselves out of the mess we are in, we must know something about our past. Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it (George Santayana).

When we find ourselves in a crisis we always look to the past for a way out: What if I had only… By understanding the mistakes of the past, we can learn to correct our ways and make a better future for our children. When we do not follow God’s instructions, we will be punished for our disobedience, and if God gets our attention and we take the correction and repent of our ways, we will receive blessings once again (see Deuteronomy chapter 28). The truth of blessings and curses is seen repeatedly throughout the Bible and history.

America has a great heritage. But since our founding, we have been taken down a deceitful path of lies and half-truths to make us forget who we are. Once forgetting our identity, we have constantly been fed the philosophy that it does not matter who we are as a distinct people. Hearing this often enough has caused us to believe that the phrase we all are brothers is actually true. Yet nowhere does the Bible support the belief that all men (in a general sense) are brothers, and no one during the founding of America believed such a doctrine. This idea has crept into our society, and Americans have forgotten who they are as the people of God and are losing their nation as a result.

Our heritage of freedom and self-rule is commendable, but is actually more myth than reality! This is becoming more evident as time goes on. The laws and regulations, both federal and state, are far more than we had under King George of England in 1776. Many reading this will get angry and say, We are the freest nation on earth. However, by historic standards, this simply is not true. It is another lie we are taught from the perspective that democracy equals freedom. The two concepts are not compatible—there is no comparison. By definition, any law is a restriction on what people are allowed to do. More law equals less freedom. Most countries in the world (except six) claim to have democratic government, but that does not prove that the people have liberty.¹ Canada’s criminal code (985 pages) is two-thirds the size of the United States (1,400 pages). Germany’s code is only a booklet compared to the volumes we have. On top of the national criminal code, we have state and local codes too. Then there is the huge tax code of the US (17,000 pages), and finally, the Federal Registry, which record the regulatory requirements (75,000 pages).²

This leads to two other measures of freedom: prison population and lawyers per capita. The percentage of prison populations per capita indicates that some people have had a hard time following the nation’s laws. The number of lawyers shows that many people have a problem understanding the laws (probably what comes to mind at this point is the tax code). And how many people are driven to violent crime (how many of these crimes are actually violent) simply out of economic desperation? As you might have guessed, the United States holds a significant lead in these measures of freedom over every other country in the world. John Wickey, in his book, The Myth of American Freedom, 2010, p. 6, informs us:

With less than five percent of the world’s population, America has almost a quarter of the world’s prisoners. And, after our 2 million incarcerated individuals, the second highest number is a distant 1.4 million in China which also has a population more than four times greater than ours. (It is readily acknowledged that China also has several hundred thousand citizens in labor camps that are not counted in this number as well as a significantly higher number of executions, but it only serves to point out the amazing disparity of our imprisonment rate that even with these added in, we incarcerate a similar percentage of our citizenry as communist China.) Percentage wise the United States is followed fairly closely by Russia as well as several of the old Soviet Bloc countries. Statistics are unavailable for a few countries such as North Korea and Iran. The countries that share proximity with America at the top of the list are not accidental. More prisoners logically derive from less freedom.³

If the founders of America could come back and see us now, they would be very angry and wonder why we tolerate the laws, taxes, inflation, national debt, corrupt politicians, etc. A corrupt system is destined to fail.

If Jesus Christ could walk among us today, He would be a most wanted criminal by the alphabet authorities of the federal government. The FBI would want him for teaching the people that there is a higher power than the state. The CIA would want Him for causing political unrest here and abroad. The IRS would want him for failure to report income. The FDA and ATF would want him for turning water into wine without a license. The EPA would want Him for feeding a crowd, threatening the environment and for cursing a fig tree. Jesus would be wanted by the DNR for fishing without a license. He would be wanted by the US Marshals for telling His disciples to buy a sword; by the SSA for failure to apply for a social security number. Jesus would be wanted by the AMA for practicing medicine without a license; by the NOW for being sexist because of no female disciples; by the NAACP for calling a Syro-Phoenician woman a dog; by the NCC for hating people of other religions and claiming to be the only way to God; and by the NEA for teaching without proper certification. All this? Additionally, Jesus would be wanted by the SPLC and ADL for anti-Semitism because of His condemnation of the Pharisees.

Not only has America become less free because of federal bureaucracies, but morality has been on the decline. Too many Americans seem to think that the Law of God does not apply to their personal lives and that morality is a matter of following a particular religion as if that has anything to do with it. Good government generally begins in the family, and if the moral character of a people once degenerate, their political character must soon follow (Elias Boudinot). Moral decay is at the root of a nation forgetting who they are. The remedy to this destructive trend is not found in the politicians we elect but in II Chronicles 7:14, If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. This is not a matter of religion. God’s Laws are like the laws of physics—if broken a price is paid.

There is a desire for people to know who they are, where they came from, and where they are going. There is an increased interest in genealogy, and with the convenience of the Internet, more people are researching their roots. We instinctively want to know about our family history and heritage. The question of our identity is the point of this book. The following chapters will give the reader a small sketch of the history of a special family, a nation, and a race. The Bible traces this family and their God. It gives us the history of the ancient world and identifies the players on the stage of life. History is His story.

Most Christians do not have a clue that the answer to saving their nation lies in their identity. By nation, I mean not just the corporate, geographic/political entity, but our very own family/descendants. This will become clearer as we learn who (not what) Israel is. The implications of this could have profound effects upon Christian civilization, not seen since the Protestant Reformation.

WARNING: This book may be considered anti-Semitic⁴ by the Zionist occupied government and by popular opinion. The author denies any such claim since he himself is Semitic, having descended from Shem. This book is not meant to denigrate anyone, but only expose the truth. The author considers this book a matter of free speech even though there are trends in the US that restrict or prohibit such free speech.

1

The Origin of Israel

Because it is sometimes so unbelievable, the truth escapes being known.

—Heraclitus (500 BC)

Critics of the Bible say that it was written by men therefore it is full of mistakes and cannot be trusted. Theologians debate whether it is the word of God or if it just contains the word of God. We are taught that it is just a book on religion and not to be taken seriously or relevant today. There are many translations, some with notes and some without. Then there are many commentaries, which tell us what to believe about what the Bible says. Yes, there are mistakes in the Bible, but these are human errors and most of them are insignificant. The fact that we have found mistakes proves we have studied it, and that is just what the Bible tells us to do, Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth (II Tim. 2:15).

I do not know all the reasons for the alleged errors in the Bible, but it does not matter to the Christian, for we accept it as our book and it is the best we have in literature, divine revelation, and history. I have used many quotes from the Bible because it has been proven accurate when it comes to history. Yes, it is more than just history; it is the Word of God. That makes it a very significant book. The biggest mistake the Judeo-Christian⁵ churches make is that they fail to understand the context in which the Bible speaks. Examples are many, but I will give the one that has to do with this book—the identity of Israel.

The biggest mistakes are not in the Bible; they are in the minds of theologians. Many of these supposed mistakes are simply misunderstandings or deliberate tampering. Perhaps the biggest error that most churches make is concerning the identity of Israel and how it relates to the divided kingdom of Israel. The Bible lets us know who it is speaking about within its history and prophecies concerning the northern House of Israel and the southern House of Judah.⁶ Most Christians think that when they read House of Israel, it is speaking about the Jews.⁷ They also see House of Judah and think that too is the Jews. So likewise, when they read about Abraham, Moses and the Exodus, the prophets, etc., they think they are reading again about the Jews. In other words, if it is in the Old Testament, then it is Jewish. The logic then follows that if the OT is for the Jews, then the New Testament must be for the Christians. Because of this thinking, they also tend to believe that the Law of God does not apply to them because it is in the Old Testament. The concept that the Bible is the history of the Jews is the most misunderstood assumption of our age. Lay it aside.

The famous agnostic and Bible critic, Thomas Paine, also made this mistake. He looked at the jews and saw what the Bible had to say about them (allegedly) and reasoned that it could not possibly be talking about that group of people. He assumed then, that the Bible was inaccurate, full of errors, and could not be the Word of God. This drove him away from the Christian faith and, like many of the Enlightenment period, hated Christianity. This was also true of Voltaire who said that within one hundred years of his time, Christianity would be swept away from existence and pass into the obscurity of history. This noted French infidel, one of the most talented writers of his time, used his pen to oppose Christianity. He once boasted, In twenty years Christ will be no more. My single hand shall destroy the edifice it took twelve apostles to rear.

However, nearing death, Voltaire regretted his life. From the book, Dying Testimonies of the Saved and Unsaved, we read this account:

When Voltaire felt the stroke that he realized must terminate in death, he was overpowered with remorse. He at once sent for the priest, and wanted to be reconciled with the church. His infidel flatterers hastened to his chamber to prevent his recantation; but it was only to witness his ignominy and their own. He cursed them to their faces; and, as his distress was increased by their presence, he repeatedly and loudly exclaimed:

Begone! It is you that have brought me to my present condition. Leave me, I say; begone! What a wretched glory is this which you have produced to me!

Hoping to allay his anguish by a written recantation, he had it prepared, signed it, and saw it witnessed. But it was all unavailing. For two months he was tortured with such an agony as led him at times to gnash his teeth in impotent rage against God and man. At other times, in plaintive accents, he would plead, O Christ! O Lord Jesus! Then, turning his face, he would cry out, I must die—abandoned of God and of men!

As his end drew near, his condition became so frightful that his infidel associates were afraid to approach his bedside. Still they guarded the door, that others may not know how awfully an infidel was compelled to die. Even his nurse repeatedly said, For all the wealth of Europe she would never see another infidel die. It was a scene of horror that lies beyond all exaggeration. Such is the well-attested end of the one who had a natural sovereignty of intellect, excellent education, great wealth, and much earthly honor. We may all well exclaim with Balaam, Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my last end be like his.

Americans should note that the founders of our country were contemporaries of men like this, and it seems to have been our downfall from a blest nation.

The modern Christian will admit that the history in the Bible is to teach us lessons about trusting God, but some of them treat the Bible as if the Old Testament was not in their copy. They would be perfectly happy with half a Bible rather than a whole one. Perhaps if these Christians viewed the Bible as their own history, not just Jewish history, as alleged, they would take a renewed interest in the whole Bible, not just parts of it. It is not just a book on religion—it is the history and genealogy of a special family, a chosen nation. Even if one does not accept the Bible as being inspired, the national life of the people of Israel was and is, for the most part, still based upon this book.

The Patriarch Jacob

Jacob, the grandson of Abraham, fathered twelve sons. These sons became the twelve tribes of Israel. The name Israel was another name for Jacob, and according to the Bible, it was a name change, "And he [the angel] said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed" (Gen. 32:28).

Now that you know the origin of the name Israel and that it refers to Jacob, you can begin to see the foolishness of anyone claiming to be an Israelite unless they can prove they descended from one of the twelve sons of Jacob. In fact, the Bible gives an account of proving one’s identity when a remnant of Israel returned to Jerusalem in 537 BC.

And these were they that went up from Tel-melah, Tel-harsha, Cherub, Addan, and Immer; but they could not show their fathers’ houses, and their seed, whether they were of Israel: the children of Delaiah, the children of Tobiah, the children of Nekoda, six hundred fifty and two. And of the children of the priests: the children of Habaiah, the children of Hakkoz, the children of Barzillai, who took a wife of the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite, and was called after their name. These sought their register among those that were reckoned by genealogy, but they were not found: therefore were they deemed polluted and put from the priesthood. (Ezra 2:59–62)

The Bible indicates that knowing who we are is important. It is instinctive for a nation to know who they are, where they came from, and where they are going. Now you know that the word Israel and Israelite have their origin in Jacob, no one else. Without a link to our past, we lose our way spiritually and ultimately lose our nation. History is full of examples.

A Case of Mistaken Identity

Jacob’s father, Isaac, never intended to bless Jacob because he was not the firstborn son; Esau was. Besides, Esau was his favorite because he brought him his favorite dish to eat. Genesis 25:28 indicates there was some parental favoritism here: And Isaac loved Esau, because he did eat of his venison: but Rebekah loved Jacob. Isaac preferred Esau because Esau did something for him. We tend to like those who do things for us. This is catering to our selfish nature, and we should not be governed by such deeds. Rebekah preferred Jacob because he was home more than Esau the hunter. Perhaps there is more to the story than just this. Did she know more than her husband did? Did she have more spiritual insight (mother’s intuition) concerning the matter?

The account of Isaac passing on the blessing to Jacob (rather than Esau) is found in Genesis chapter 27. But notice the last statement in chapter 26, "And Esau was forty years old when he took to wife Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Bashemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite: Which were a grief of mind unto Isaac and to Rebekah." Originally, there were no chapter designations in the Bible. This last verse from chapter 26 should actually be the first verse of chapter 27 because it fits the context. Note the last verse of chapter 27, "And Rebekah said to Isaac, I am weary of my life because of the daughters of Heth: if Jacob take a wife of the daughters of Heth, such as these which are of the daughters of the land, what good shall my life do me?"

Let us take a slight diversion: Some people say that Jacob stole the birthright from Esau through the deception of his father Isaac. The deception is true and Jacob was punished for it, but stealing is not accurate. In Genesis 25:29–34, we have the account of how Esau sold his birthright to Jacob for some food. It ends with, Thus Esau despised his birthright. Esau later regretted his choice.⁸

The account of the deception is seen in Genesis 27:18–24: Jacob was pretending to be Esau and his father fell for it. It was a case of mistaken identity. It says in verse 41, And Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing…Esau said in his heart, the days of mourning for my father are at hand; then will I slay my brother Jacob. Today, there is an identity crisis in reverse: Jacob pretended to be Esau, but now, Esau’s descendants are pretending to be Jacob’s descendants! Jacob’s descendants are the Israelites, and Esau’s descendants are the Edomites (Gen. 36:1), i.e., today’s jews. This is the largest case of identity theft in history! Thus, the true Israelites today have been robbed of their biblical heritage.

Judeo-Christians object to the assertion of an identity theft and cling to the jews are the chosen people myth. They miss a great Bible truth because they believe that Israelite and Jew are the same. This is a mistake. Words have meaning, and these two words have their own etymology. Moreover, let us not forget that Jacob had twelve sons, not one. Judah (from which the word Jew is derived) was just one tribe of the Israelites—there were eleven other tribes! So why are we taught that only Jews are the chosen people (sic) when there are other Israelites? Is this fair, honest, or accurate? The other eleven tribes of Israel have been robbed of their heritage. Even if Jews are from Judah (and they are not), they still are not the only Israelites on the planet.

The Judeo-Christian should note that both the title and the context of the book of Hebrews identify Hebrew Christians as Israelites, not jews. Chapters 8–10 identify them as people who have accepted Jesus and the New Covenant. The book of James likewise, To the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad (1:1) was written to Christian Israelites. The books of Acts, Romans, and Revelation refer to Jews who accepted Jesus. Acts 4:4 says five thousand men believed, but the previous chapter refers to them as men of Israel (the word Jew does not appear). Acts 18:24–28 tells us about a certain Jew named Apollos…instructed in the way of the Lord. Romans 1:16, 2:9–10 tells us that the gospel was preached to the Jew first and also to the Greek. It also speaks of a Jew, which is one inwardly (2:28–29). Finally, Revelation 2:9, 3:9 refers to those who say they are Jews and are not. These various terms can be confusing to the Bible reader and one will likely lump these terms together as being synonymous. The confusion comes in when we identify Jew as it is used today, i.e., those from the country in the Middle East. These are a completely different group of people.

The Jews spoken of in the verses above are converts to Christianity and no longer followers of Judaism. The word Jew in the above references is wrong—it is a mistranslation! It should have been more accurately translated (depending on its context), Judean (a geographic term—a person from Judea, not indicating any racial descent) or Judahite (a racial term—a person descended from Judah, the father of the Israelite tribe). Insert either of these words into the above verses and you will see it makes much more sense. These two terms were the sole meaning and only intent of our Bible over the centuries.

For example, where Paul says to the Jew first and also to the Greek, the context is geographic; therefore, it should be "to the Judean first and also to the Greek (sometimes translated as Jew and Gentiles"). The Judeans were nearby and the Greeks were far away. See the logic (see near and far nations in Acts 1:8). In Acts 3:12–26 where Peter addresses the men of Israel, it is obvious that the men are Israelites, likely most are Judahites, some could be Benjaminites, or some could be from other tribes. It is also obvious that Peter is speaking to Judeans (usually mistranslated as Jews). Why? Because they were in Judea. The result, according to Acts 4:4, is that five thousand of these Judean men (obviously of Israelite descent) accepted the gospel. To call them Jews is confusing because so many jews with whom Jesus interacted rejected Him.

Judeo-Christians are under the impression that Israel rejected Jesus Christ. They come to this conclusion (once again) because they are so conditioned to think that Israel and jew is synonymous. Again, this is false. Those descended from Israel, both in Bible times and in our time, have always believed in Jesus Christ. However, this was not true of the Judean Scribes and Pharisees and those loyal to them, such as the modern jews who have descended from them. Throughout the New Testament, one can see how the jews actually sought to kill Jesus. They also persecuted His followers and caused trouble wherever they went, as seen in the book of Acts. History is proof that a majority of Israelites accepted Jesus and their descendants became known as Christians.

Now, let us go back to the context of Rebekah’s statements between chapters 26 and 27 of Genesis. Why was she so distressed about Esau marrying outside his race? Was Isaac overlooking this sin of Esau by wanting to bless him simply because he was the firstborn son and favorite? It would seem so. Perhaps this is why Rebekah did what she did in commanding Jacob to pretend to be Esau and receive the blessing. She remembered something more.

Genesis 25:22 speaks about Rebekah’s pregnancy: And the children struggled together within her; and she said, if it be so, why am I thus? And she went to enquire of the Lord. In other words, there was something unusual about her pregnancy. Therefore, she asks God and this was His reply, "Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger."

Two different types of people would result from Rebekah’s twins. Does this ring a bell? Some Jews hated Jesus and other Jews accepted Him. This explains why she was concerned about who Jacob would marry. Esau had married into the wicked Canaanites. These people were outside of the Covenant that God made with Abraham. She could not allow both sons to do such a thing. Isaac was more wrong in this situation than his wife Rebekah. One commentary⁹ said:

Without regard to the words which were spoken by God with reference to the children before their birth, and without taking any notice of Esau’s frivolous barter of his birthright and his ungodly connection with Canaanites, Isaac maintained his preference for Esau.

God saw the future and knew the result of Esau’s interracial marriages and that they could not be a part of His plan of a chosen family to build His kingdom. They all were punished for what they did. Isaac was punished for retaining his preference for Esau, in opposition to the revealed will of Jehovah. Rebekah was obliged to send her pet son into a distant land in an utterly destitute condition. Jacob had to atone for his sin against both brother and father by a long and painful exile, in the midst of privation, anxiety, fraud, and want. Esau’s contempt for the birthright and his Canaanite wives cost him the loss of the blessing of the firstborn. Esau was never able to recover from his loss, but his descendants today (the jews) are trying hard to make up for that loss.

The Dysfunctional Family

Every family has its difficulties. The biblical family of Jacob/Israel was no different. Can anyone imagine having two wives and one was loved more than the other? Jacob served his uncle Laban seven years to get Rachael and then he wakes up the next morning to find Leah. Then he serves another seven years to get Rachael because he loved her so much. Can you imagine the jealousy between these two women? In addition, the two wives put up their servant girls to compete in childbearing. Genesis gives us the genealogy of Jacob/Israel:

The sons of Leah; Reuben, Jacob’s firstborn, and Simeon, and Levi, and Judah, and Issachar, and Zebulun: The sons of Rachel; Joseph, and Benjamin: And the sons of Bilhah, Rachel’s handmaid; Dan, and Naphtali: And the sons of Zilpah, Leah’s handmaid; Gad, and Asher: these are the sons of Jacob, which were born to him in Padanaram. (Gen. 35:23–26)

By the way, Jacob also had a daughter from Leah by the name of Dinah. One can only imagine all the sibling rivalry that went on over who was more important than the other having been from four different mothers.

This brings us to some problems with Jacob’s children. His youngest and favorite son, Joseph, was almost killed by his brothers because of envy and jealousy. As the boys plot to kill him, Reuben intervenes and convinces them to put Joseph in a pit. Reuben’s intention was to rescue him later and return him to his father. Later, they decide to sell him to a caravan en route to Egypt. Imagine your children doing such a thing. They have to tell their father something, so they make up a story about finding his coat with blood on it, causing Jacob to assume a wild animal killed him. What happened to Joseph in Egypt is nothing short of miraculous. It also shows his exemplary character as a man and how his life is a perfect type of Jesus Christ. The story of Joseph is in Genesis chapters 37–47 (with the exception of chapter 38). It also tells how the entire family was saved from the drought in Canaan and relocated in Goshen Egypt for the next two centuries (215 years).

The Bible