Posted on 08/30/2007 9:53:38 AM PDT by NYer
TEL AVIV – One-hundred-seventy-four people from a group of thousands in India that believes it is one of the 10 "lost tribes" of Israel landed here this week, fulfilling for many a life-long dream of returning to what they consider their homeland.
Shavei Israel, a Jerusalem-based organization led by American Michael Freund, hopes to bring to the Jewish state the remaining 7,000 Indian citizens who believe they are the Bnei Menashe, the descendants of Manasseh, one of biblical patriarch Joseph's two sons and a grandson of Jacob.
The tribe lives in the two Indian states of Mizoram and Manipur, to which they claim to have been exiled from Israel more than 2,700 years ago by the Assyrian empire.
"I truly believe this is a miracle of immense historical and even biblical significance," Freund told WND as the group of 174 arrived here earlier this week.
"Just as the prophets foretold so long ago, the lost tribes of Israel are being brought back from the exile," said Freund, who previously served as deputy communications director under former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Another planeload of 57 Bnei Menashe is slated to touch down in Israel tomorrow.
The group, which has preserved ancient Jewish customs and rituals, has been trying the past 50 years to return to Israel.
Over the last decade, Freund's Shavei Israel, at times working with other organizations, brought about 1,200 Bnei Menashe members to the Jewish state. Many settled in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria. About 80 lived in Gaza's slate of Jewish communities, which were evacuated by the Israeli government in 2005.
The original batches of Bnei Menashe to arrive here were brought to Israel as tourists in an agreement with Israel's Interior Ministry.
(Excerpt) Read more at worldnetdaily.com ...
Good information. Interesting. From working in Asia as a missionary, I can understand what people do in Pagan lands. Often they just mix what they think they understand of Christian teachings with their own Paganism and idolatry. There are wonderful exceptions to that rule, and enough examples of true conversion to keep us encouraged to keep preaching. The people in this article, in my view of Scripture, are mixed up badly. The New Testament would never recommend a conversion from Christianity to Judaistic religion. (Galatians) Thanks kindly.
Funny you mention Beta Israel, my neighbor and I were talking about them the other day. It’s amazing to know they’ve kept the culture for so long.
No. They look like Rod Carew.
Methinks many have done so already. When I speak of the blood of Israel scattered throughout the civilizations, I am including Christian nations. You may be carrying the blood of Israel and not know it. Pope Benedict may be of the House of Israel.
Technically, while the term "Jew" is a contraction of "Judah", it would represent those of the House of Judah entirely, not only the Tribe of Judah. The House of Judah would be those not taken by the Assyrians- Namely Judah, Benjamin, and Levi. The other 10 tribes make up the House of Israel.
While not against this concept in theory, The House of Ephraim (Israel) is a distinct entity in the end-time wars. That entity has lands and armies (Old Testament prophecies, wars against Edom, War of Gog and Magog).
Also, all of the tribes are represented as distinct entities after those wars- after the coming of Messiah as King, and they are distinct (as a whole) from others who treat them as having an authority over themselves (end of Isaiah)
What I mean to say is that while all may have a portion of the blood of Abraham, Isaac, and Joseph, It cannot be taken as an entitlement as a membership into the Tribes, or there would be no "others" for the Tribes to have authority over...
All who are gathered from the nations (and many who will stay in or go to their respective nations) will ask repeatedly and be taught by Jewish people. Shouldn’t the mundane focus be on learning?
I have no idea on the first question. Nope on the second.
Excellent information Now let’s hope all the little Israelites feel a stirring in their knower :) and pursue this knowledge further.
Sounds interesting but could you cite source?
He also was told to lay 40 days on his left side for the HOUSE OF JUDAH.
Those 390 years were multiplied x 7 according to Lev. 26 if repentance doesn't’t come forth then the judgement was to be multiplied.
390 years x 7 = 2730 years Judgement came upon the House of ISRAEL around 721BC when Assyria conquered and carried off the House of Israel.
Our Judgement is about over, do the math. According to the entire book of HOSEA we are about to be given our identity, which was taken away, BACK. That’s why you see so many evangelicals knowing their Israelites. Went to a Conference last summer where the whole Marriot Convention Center was sold out to Believers who knew they were Israelite. Gal.3:29.
I agree that not everyone is of the House of Israel. That wasn’t the meaning of my post. I meant that the blood of Israel is scattered throughout the world and the “lost” tribes will be identified in the last days. There is another component to blood relations. They will have to have accepted Jesus Christ as the Messiah or the prophecies don’t apply as to leadership of some over others. Blood alone doesn’t qualify one for having a part in the fulfillment of prophecy.
Any isolated peoples will develop particular features as breeding is restricted to the same gene pool over and over again, and reproduction which to a large extent is based on the rules of beauty and desireability is unique to each sub peoples.
I have a Jewish Russian friend who has three daughters. One has a classic Russian beauty look, dark hair, etc. and the family considers her the beauty, but me being scnadinavian think her other blonde haired, blue eyed daughter is much prettier. She told me beauty is a cultural convention.
We do have some jews in Manassas but mostly we have hispanic illegals. We’re changing our town name to Manana.
Cute. Manassas is probably the Americanized-Southern version of Manesseh. ;)
While I largely agree with your post, this part is a bit problematic. I used to believe this to be the case, though more recently I've been told by knowledgable people that there was such antipathy between Judah and Israel that there were, effectively, no refugees that were allowed to cross the border going south. I'm not sure if I really believe that, but I could see it being true (look at the antipathy between North and South, and it was of a much shorter duration).
Indeed. It was a long road for me... The thing that got me started, and the question to answer is: "Who is the barren woman in Isaiah?"
When one can clearly see the answer to that, it will open an entirely new view of the entire Bible and the application of the prophecy in our lives today.
I still don't have the riddle entirely solved, but I can see enough to know the difference.
IMO, idea of “Semitic features” is largely a subjective one. Americans who have only known and seen American Jews (80% or more Ashkenazic) have a certain idea of what semitic features are. Having visited Israel, which has a wider range of ethnic groups of Jews, I thought many Israeli Jews look pretty much indistinguishable from Arabs or Gentile Caucasians (for lack of a better term).
My husband says it’s the best teaching he has ever seen and he’s been studying prophecy 30 years.
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