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REASON 3: FULFILLMENT OF GENESIS 49'S PROPHECY Genesis 49 contains prophecies about the identities and roles of each of the tribes of Israel in the latter days. The prophecies about the tribes of the house of Israel (the northern ten tribes) are extensively discussed in chapter 11 of my book, The "Lost" Ten Tribes of Israel...Found! (Order from www.ChristianReality.com), but little was said about Judah as "Judah" was not the subject of that book. If this was an oversight, it will now be remedied. Genesis 49:8-12 states (emphasis added throughout): “Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise: thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies; thy father's children shall bow down before thee. Judah is a lion's whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion; and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up? The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be. Binding his foal unto the vine, and his ass's colt unto the choice vine; he washed his garments in wine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes: his eyes shall be red with wine and his teeth white with milk." This prophecy reveals much information about modern Judah. To begin with, there is a seeming paradox in this prophecy: Judah is referred to as both a "lion's whelp" and "as an old lion." However, this actually fits the modern Jews/Israelis very well. The term "lion's whelp" (a young cub) predicts Judah will be a young (or recently-born) nation in the latter days: a fitting description of the young Israeli nation which was founded in 1948. This prophecy is very consistent with Zephaniah 2, which prophesied Judah would found a nation in Palestine just prior to "the Day of the Lord." Yet, the Jews are also a people with a continuous history traceable for over three millennia, and they also had a nation in Palestine in ancient times (i.e. www.ChristianReality.com Copyright © Steven M. Collins 5 "as an old lion"). The Jews/Israelis fulfill this prophecy as they are a very young nation which was founded by a people with an ancient tradition and heritage. Genesis 49:8-9 states Judah's "hand shall be in the neck of thy enemies," and refers to Judah "as a lion going up from the prey." This prophecy foretells that Judah will be an aggressive nation and victorious in warfare during the latter days, conquering its enemies like a lion brings down its prey. This has been amply fulfilled by Israeli victories in its wars, and this prophecy meshes perfectly with Zechariah 12:6's prophecy which states Judah would "devour" her enemies in the latter days. Not only have the Israelis been successful in warfare, they have leaped out at their enemies even as a lion leaps and stretches out toward its intended prey. The Israelis do not "run and hide" like a prey animal; they attack like a predator. They leaped out to attack their enemies in the 1976 raid on Entebbe, Uganda, and in their destruction of an Iraqi nuclear reactor in 1981 via a bold air strike. Surprisingly, after predicting military prowess for Judah, Genesis 49 next prophesies agricultural success for latter-day Judah. Notice the agricultural words printed in bold type in the above prophecy. Verses 11-12 predict Judah's agricultural success in the latter days, and the Israelis have truly "made the desert bloom" by applying advanced Western technology in an inherently dry climate. Confirming this fact, the Encyclopedia Americana notes that "of the goods exported [by Israel] in the mid-1980's about one-third were agricultural..."[2] Genesis 49:11-12 parallels Zephaniah 2:6's prophecy, further illustrating the consistency of the Bible's prophecies about Judah in the latter days. Genesis 49:1 also prophesies: "Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise." This has been fulfilled in the fact that modern Christendom widely regards the Jews as "the chosen people." Ironically, many of the Christians who regard the Jews as "the chosen people" are themselves Israelites (members of the ten tribes of Israel). Indeed, Christians have labeled the Jews as "the chosen people" even though the Jews have clearly inherited none of the birthright blessings promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob! It is the descendants of Ephraim and Manasseh (the British and Americans) who inherited the birthright promises of population growth, national wealth, empires, and control of strategic geographical "gates." These facts are documented in my book: The "Lost" Ten Tribes of Israel...Found! (Order from www.ChristianReality.com). Why have the other tribes acknowledged Judah's Israelite heritage even though they have lost sight of their own? Because the Jews have preserved identifiably biblical customs such as the Sabbath, the holydays of Leviticus 23, and a diet avoiding "unclean" meats such as pork and shellfish. If the descendants of the ten tribes had also retained these biblical customs throughout history, their Israelite heritage would never have become obscured. It is further prophesied in Genesis 49:8 that: "thy father's children [the other tribes of Israel] shall bow down to thee." This is explained in verse 10, which states: "the scepter [a symbol of kings] shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come: and unto him shall the gathering [hope, expectation] of the people be." Beginning with the dynasty founded by Kings David and Solomon, there have always been Israelites of the various tribes ruled by monarchs descended from David and Solomon. www.ChristianReality.com Copyright © Steven M. Collins 6 This is examined more in the next section (and at length in my book), but the fact that the hereditary ruling houses of Europe can be traced to Davidic kings who once ruled over Scythian kingdoms and the widespread Parthian Empire of the ten tribes [in Asia] fulfills the prophecy of Genesis 49:3 and 10. The ancestry of the kings of England can be continuously traced to the ancient kings of Judah via the royal houses of Ireland and Scotland[3], and the seed of David was spread throughout the royal houses of Europe by frequent intermarriages among Europe's royalty. Genesis 49:10 also prophesies that Judah will have kings ruling over the other tribes of Israel "until Shiloh come." This is a Messianic prophecy which predicts that David's bloodline will be present in the royal houses of the Israelite nations until the coming of the Messiah (Yeshua the Anointed One or Jesus Christ). Even though Europe's remaining royalty now have largely ceremonial roles, the prophecy has still been fulfilled. And, finally, it is the coming of the Messiah toward which the "hope" or "expectation" of both Christians and Jews is directed. We see that the modern Jews and Israelis have fulfilled Genesis 49's prophecy about Judah in the latter days (in fact, no other people on earth do so). All prophecies about Judah in the latter days point to and are fulfilled by modern Jews/Israelis. Secular evidence supporting this identification follows in the next section.
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