Deut. 32:7-9; cf. Dan. 10:13, 20 ‘the Sons of Israel’

My attention fell upon these scriptural verses around recent controversy with Heiser’s ‘Number of Angels’ aka., ‘Sons of God’. Surely, the beliefs of the Primitive church deserve serious attention. Nor do I find anything necessarily contradictory with later interpretation (such as with Church of Englandmen Revs. Patrick or Lowth’s commentaries). Instead, early-modern readings lend a critical sobriety or groundedness– magnifying the role of Princes and Covenantal historic lineages– to what otherwise might be the angelic mystery. That said, primitive angelology compels us to review opinions perhaps outside received scriptural canon as well as truth beyond academic wisdom, admitting more of a Heavenly reality, unbound by weakly & immature material experience, even scoffing.

Isa. 60:4, v.9-10, 18 ‘Tarshish First’

The reading for Evening Prayer on the Fourth Sunday after Easter included the second-half of Isa. 60. Indeed, the last chapters of Isaiah are filled with prophecy regarding the coming millennium, so the richness of the text compelled an entire reading. What’s interesting is the method of interpretation this chapter demands, jettisoning any notion that events are either already accomplished or belong to a heavenly rather than physical reality. Part of that ‘physicality’ is locating Britain as a vessel in the Restoration of Israel.

Ezekiel 36: 8-12, v. 23-31 ‘Ye Shall Dwell in the Land’

I came across this reading while listening to the reading of the Word at the first communion service of our class leader, Br. Fargo’s, oldest daughter.  Many national promises were heard therein, but Ez. 36 especially stands out for its stress upon replenishing the physical holy-land given to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I’d like to break this chapter into two parts– firstly, the importance of the physical land, and, second, the conversion of Judah and Israel before their return.

Isaiah 43:1-2, v. 5-7 “Sons Afar”

Reading the morning prayer lessons for the First Sunday after Easter, Isaiah 43:5-6 stood out where it says ‘I will bring thy seed from the East and gather from the West; I will say to the North, give up; and to the south, bring back: bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the end of the earth” (v. 5-6). These sort of verses raise flags for Identity students, so I proceeded to my usual 18th-century sources, in this case, mostly the Reverend Thomas Scott for any clues regarding the Restoration of lineal Israel. Scott mostly gives an argument for why the verses are best taken in a futurist or ‘prophetic’ rather than an immediate historical way, namely, due to the absence of regathering from the North and South. 

RT. REV. TITCOMB: FROM THE 19TH CENTURY. CHAPTER 4

In Chapter 4, Bishop Titcomb begins laying the scriptural basis for British Israelism. He reminds us the Mosaic covenant was a nigh interruption between the Abrahamic and Messianic, and we shouldn’t be too distracted by it, “In other words, although the Mosaic Law intervened, yet there was no break between the Abrahamic covenant and the Messianic.” (p. 24) Starting with elements of promise given to Abraham, Titcomb divides the chapter into three parts: “the seed”, the ‘nation’, and the ‘land’, explaining each.

Isaiah 61:4-9 “ye shall have double”

The 61st chapter of Isaiah was the first lesson for our Saturday Morning Prayer as set by the American Prayer Book’s 1943 lectionary. Within this OT chapter was a number of verses describing the blessings of the coming Restoration. To help clarify these select passages. the NT reading was given as Luke 4. Here, the Lord reads the same chapter of Isaiah to the Nazarite synagogue, ending at the third verse (‘the accepted day of God’).  Jesus then closes the scroll and declares, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled”. Consequently, I’d like to understand this prophecy in the context of Luke, meaning it speaking of the believing Jews around Christ rather than omitting such solely in favor of a latter-day revelation of Lost Israel.  This was standard fare in the late 18th-century. 

Micah 5:3 “children of Israel”

Ran across these verses from the book of Micah while keeping up with the select readings from the 1943 American BCP lectionary. Comments from Benson and Scott communicate basic Restorationist views or the mindset of Evangelicals of their age. What I find interesting are three things: 1) there’s no reason why Lost Israel isn’t converted in the dragnet of Gentiles; 2) there’s no hesitancy to identify the catholik church with Zion, and 3) there’s a strong expectation that Jewry will rejoin Israel or the Church toward the latter-days. The verse from the American Standard Version reads: 

Rt. Rev. Titcomb: From the 19th Century. Chapter 3

This is a fourth post in a series on Bishop Jon Holt Titcomb’s evidence for British Israelism. His pamphlet is not only an argument for BI but also a defense of its methodology. Chapter 3 of his book, Message From the 19th-Century, now introduces the point that contemporary events may clarify Scripture’s prophecy regarding the fulfillment of Promises.  

Rev. William Smith: “Isles Afar”

The Rev. William Smith, first provost of the College of Philadelphia and founder of the settlement of Huntingdon in Pennsylvania, was an American episcopalian and advocate of Westward expansion into the Ohio Valley during the colonial and revolutionary eras. Dr. Smith was fascinated by America’s role in bible prophecy. Since Identity students often treat the “Isles Afar” as referring to the British Nation, the Rev. Smith’s learned insights on the same phrase is worthwhile to mention. There is also a related question regarding what constitutes, in terms of geographic boundaries, ‘the world’. Here, Smith also offers sound thoughts. The quotes below are taken from Smith’s 1760 Sermon addressing Christian Education, delivered to the Society for the Promotion of Christian Knowledge. 

Rt. Rev. Titcomb: From the 19th-Century. Chapter 2

This is a third entry in a series on Bishop Titcomb’s probable evidence for British Israelism. Chapter 2 of his book, Message From the 19th-Century, posits unfulfilled promises given to  Abraham, Isaac, and Israel as confirmed in both the Old and New Testament. These promises, according to Titcomb, belong to the latter Messianic dispensation.