102 Proof that the Jews of today is Jud

Prove that the Jews of today are from the house of Judah.

There are people from the lost ten tribes of Israel in South Africa who are beginning to discover their Israelite roots, but who have been so deceived in the recent past that they insist the Jews of today cannot be from the tribe of Judah, but are in fact modern day descendants of Esau. The only tribes that returned with Ezra, Nehemiah and Zerubbabel after their 70 year captivity in Babylon by king Nebuchadnezzar was Judah, Benjamin and most of the tribe of Levi (since Jeroboam made priests from among all the people who were not of the sons of Levi[1]), as may be seen from Ezra 1: 5 and 2. This view of these deceived returnees from the lost ten tribes is a sore point with me which I am prepared to defend, since the Holocaust Museum in Israel have lists of Jewish people who were killed during World War II, under which a number of my family surnames appear and have been killed by Hitler and his Nazi party during the second world war lasting from 1939 to 1945. The names of Jews who were killed during the Holocaust can be proven by similar lists kept by the Nazi regime, since they numbered and recorded the name of every Jew they killed during World War II.

To commence with, I would like to say to those Israelites who have become very arrogant in their outlook, unless and until you find out who the house of Judah is today, and make an effort to become reconciled with them, there cannot be a kingdom of Elohim over Israel, since Messiah’s main purpose was to save the lost ten tribes of Israel, in order to eventually unite them with the house of Judah and to come and rule the commonwealth of Israel as the Kingdom of Elohim, when He returns in the near future. If you truly understand Isaiah 49: 5 & 6 and Ephesians 2: 11 – 19, you will know that Yahshua who was born a Jew, came specifically to bring the lost sheep of the house of Israel back into the faith into which He was born. For those who insist that Yahshua was not Jewish, kindly read John 4: 9, 21 & 22[2] in your own Bibles. Proof number one, has to do with both the house of Judah, but also with the Israelites to be found in South Africa. The book of Zephaniah deals with a time before ‘the great day of YHVH’ and as mentioned in Zephaniah 2: 2 the time frame is set to being immediately prior to ‘the day of (YHVH)’s anger.’ Verses 4 & 5 of Zephaniah 2, pronounces a ‘woe’ upon the cities and the inhabitants of the seacoast of Palestine, namely Gaza, Ashdod and Ekron. Verse 7 describes the woe to occur to the people presently living in these cities on the coast in Palestine, as follows: ‘And the coast will be for the remnant of the house of Judah, they will pasture on it. In the houses of Ashkelon they will lie down at evening; for YHVH their Elohim will care for them and restore their fortune.’ This prophecy clearly shows that YHVH will give the historic land of the Philistines (Palestine) to Judah, just prior to the ‘Day of YHVH.’ Because Jews have been a stateless scattered people who wondered among the nations of the world and had not been a people who have had their own nation from 40 years after Messiah’s death, resurrection and ascension to heaven. YHVH knew where they were and the fact that He chose to use the modern day Jews to fulfill the prophecy about the house of Judah since 1948, when the Jewish nation was born in the seacoast region of Palestine, is the most powerful evidence that they are the modern day descendants of the house of Judah. The prophecy in Zechariah 14 supports the facts given in Zephaniah 2, but Zechariah 14: 1 begins with the coming of ‘the Day of YHVH.’ Zachariah 14: 2 & 3 tells us that at that time all nations will be gathered to battle against Jerusalem. Jews and a number of believers in Messiah know that this will be when Messiah will come to establish the kingdom of Elohim over the commonwealth of Israel, with David as their prince and Messiah as their shepherd. We see from verse 5 that Messiah will bring His saints consisting of a remnant of the house of Israel and the house of Judah together in one body or congregation (as is confirmed in Ephesians 2: 14 – 19[3]). The rest of chapter 14 gives more details regarding this climatic battle and the establishment of Elohim’s rule on earth. We read from verse 14: ‘And Judah also will fight at Jerusalem.’ Not one of the other tribes of Israel is mentioned in this prophecy, but Judah is present in sufficiently large numbers to warrant Elohim’s mentioning them by name. This is consistent with Zephaniah’s prophecy that Judah will build a nation in Palestine in the latter days. Zechariah’s prophecy that the Jews will be fighting to defend Jerusalem during the war before Messiah’s return, should be ample evidence that they are the people presently living in the Promised Land. The prophecy in Ezekiel 37: 15 – 28 confirms that the house of Judah and the house of Israel will remain two separate entities, until they will be reunited under King David after Messiah’s return.

Let’s at this point also briefly consider the prophecy about the Israelites beyond the rivers of Ethiopia in Zephaniah 3. We see from what is described in this chapter that these servants of YHVH pretend to be very religious, but are rebellious and extremely arrogant. YHVH devoted the entire chapter about what is happening in South Africa at this time. We read about the condition of this country which was once part of the developed world, but is fast deteriorating to becoming a third world nation. Reading from verses 1 & 2 of Zephaniah 3, YHVH told us through Zephaniah, saying: ‘Woe to her who is rebellious and defiled, the tyrannical city! (2) She heeded no voice; she accepted no instruction. She did not trust in YHVH; she did not draw near to Her Elohim.’ Even though most white and some colored South Africans descended from a number of the lost ten tribes in Europe and the United Kingdom, claim to know G-d, they have no idea who YHVH is and since they do not ever study the so-called ‘Old Testament’, because J*e*s*u*s* has either abolished the need to keep Torah, or has fulfilled it for them, they have come to believe that they may do whatever they like, as long as they have a full abundant life and enjoy the time they have on earth believing in Him. However, they have no idea what it means to believe in the name of Yahshua and that believing in Him means that we are supposed to do what He taught and did whilst He was on earth. Our people go to church services every Sunday, the day they believe to be the Sabbath or the L-RD’s Day – not knowing the Day of YHVH will be the day during which YHVH will come to punish the nations of the world for daring to gather against His chosen people in Jerusalem. Even though our forefathers left Europe to get away from Catholic Europe, most of us are still very much part of the false religious system that YHVH is warning about in Ezekiel 22: 26, saying: “Her priests have done violence to My law and have profaned My holy things; they have made no distinction between the holy and the profane, and they have not taught the difference between the unclean and the clean; and they hide their eyes from My Sabbaths, and I am profaned among them.” Most of the Israelites in South Africa have also come to agree with the New Age Religionists that the G-d of Christianity, the G-d of the Moslems, in fact the G-d of any known religion on earth is all one and the same being. This is also why some do not care about the correct name of the Mighty One whom they worship.

We read about the new leaders in South Africa from Zephaniah 3: 3, in this way: ‘Her princes within her are roaring lions, her judges are wolves at evening; they leave nothing for the morning.’ Like lions they threaten to take peoples possessions and party from dusk to dawn, eating and drinking everything in sight. But why is this happening? We read the answer in Jeremiah 5: 6 & 7, in this way: ‘Therefore a lion from the forest shall slay them, a wolf of the deserts shall destroy them, a leopard is watching their cities. Everyone who goes out of them shall be torn in pieces, because their transgressions are many, their apostasies (falling away from truth) are numerous. (7) Why should I pardon you? Your sons have forsaken Me and sworn by those who are not gods. When I had fed them to the full, they committed adultery and trooped to the harlot’s house.’ The words adultery and harlot here do not only refer to actual harlotry and adultery, but also to the false religions that we caused our children to follow. Zephaniah writes in Zephaniah 3: 4, saying: ‘Her prophets (religious leaders) are reckless, treacherous men; her priests have profaned the sanctuary. They have done violence to the law.’ As seen in the news, the priests and other leaders in society are setting the examples showing people how to sin and break Elohim’s commandments. Despite all this we read from verse 5 of Zephaniah 3, ‘YHVH is righteous within her; He will do no injustice. Every morning He brings His justice to light; He does not fail. But the unjust knows no shame.’ We should be ashamed because of our deeds, if we consider the blessings that YHVH bestows upon us daily, but most people know no shame. Some drink, fornicate and kill during the night and get up and carry on as if nothing happened the very next day. YHVH therefore warns us through Zephaniah in Zephaniah 3: 6 - 8, saying: “I have cut off nations; their corner towers are in ruins. I have made their streets desolate, with no one passing by; their cities are laid waste, without a man, without an inhabitant.’ (7) “I said, ‘Surely you will revere Me, accept instruction.’ So her dwelling will not be cut off according to all that I have appointed concerning her. But they were eager to corrupt all their deeds. (8) “Therefore, wait for Me,” declares YHVH, “For the day when I rise up to the prey. Indeed, My decision is to gather nations, to assemble kingdoms, to pour out on them My indignation, all My burning anger; for all the earth will be devoured by the fire of My zeal.’ We can pray and do all we like to try and save our planet, if we do not start obeying YHVH, we might as well forget it.

Continuing in verses 9 & 10 of Zephaniah 3, YHVH says: “For then I will give to the peoples purified lips, that all of them may call on the name of YHVH, to serve Him shoulder to shoulder. (10) From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia My worshippers, My dispersed ones, will bring My offerings.” The purified lips that YHVH is talking about here have two meanings; firstly it means that people will stop swearing and cursing, and secondly it means that YHVH will eventually let all Israel including our Jewish Brothers speak a pure form of Hebrew, once again. Fact is, if we do not humble ourselves before YHVH, showing Him that He is our Elohim, He is going to humble us, as He tells through Zephaniah in Zephaniah 3: 11 & 12, saying: “In that day you will feel no shame because of all your deeds by which you have rebelled against Me; for then I will remove from your midst your proud, exalting ones, and you will never again be haughty on My holy mountain. (12) But I will leave among you a humble and lowly people, and they will take refuge in the name of YHVH.” YHVH is going to intervene severely, but because He promised our forefathers that He will give us the Promised Land of Israel for ever, He is going to save a remnant of the lost ten tribes, plus those few Gentiles who are truly prepared to follow Him with us, from beyond the rivers of Africa. Next YHVH talks about those amongst us who are grieving because people do not keep Elohim’s appointed Feast days, or because some are adamant to keep Feast days of their own design, to try and prove that the Jews are also ‘wrong’, saying in verse 18: “I will gather those who grieve about the appointed feasts— they came from you, O Zion (these feasts came from Judah[4]); the reproach of exile is a burden on them.” Many in South Africa believe we have never had it so good but do not realize that we are living in exile, where our children do not get jobs and are persecuted for trying to obey YHVH. Believe me, those who keep the Feast Days of Elohim, according to their own devised calendars, are definitely not grieving about Elohim’s appointed Feast Days – since they are too arrogant. They spend many hours watching for the crescent moon instead of using the calendar preserved for us by the house of Judah, since their return from captivity about 2,500 years ago in Nehemiah’s time. This is also why Isaiah wrote in Isaiah 47: 13, saying: “You are wearied with your many counsels; let now the astrologers (among you), those who prophesy by the stars, those who predict by the new moons, stand up and save you from what will come upon you.”

Back to prove number two that the Jews in the present state of Israel in the Middle East are from the house of Judah. Some maintain that the Jews cannot be an Israelite tribe, since they rejected Yahshua as the Messiah. However, there are many witnesses in the Scriptures informing us that the house of Judah will only accept Yahshua as the Messiah, after He brought the ten lost ten tribes of Israel back to the covenant they made with YHVH, together with the house of Judah at Mount Sinai, and come to rule the world from Jerusalem. Zechariah 12: 7 - 10 is a prophecy about Messiah’s return to save the house of Judah from imminent destruction, as follows: “YHVH also will save the tents of Judah first in order that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem may not be magnified above Judah. (8) In that day YHVH will defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and the one who is feeble among them in that day will be like David, and the house of David will be like Elohim, like the angel of YHVH before them. (9) And it will come about in that day that I will set about to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. (10) And I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplication, so that they will look on Me whom they have pierced; and thy will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him, like the bitter weeping over a first-born.” Verse 9 of Zechariah 12 parallels Zechariah 14 which speaks of a time when ‘all nations are gathered against Jerusalem.’ Observe that many nations are besieging ‘Judah and Jerusalem’; the Scriptures presents ‘Judah and Jerusalem’ as so closely connected with each other in the latter days that they are mentioned together. This has obviously happened as the Jewish Israelites have made Jerusalem the capital of the Jewish state, and has indeed become ‘a cup of trembling’ – or a major flash point in world politics. However, verse 6 of Zechariah 12, shows how Elohim will intervene for His people, in this way: “In that day I will make the clans of Judah like a firepot among pieces of wood and a flaming torch among sheaves, so they will consume on the right hand and on the left all the surrounding peoples, while the inhabitants of Jerusalem again dwell on their own sites in Jerusalem.” Elohim prophesied that Judah would be a militarily victorious nation in the Middle East during the latter days. This prophecy clearly shows that Judah will ‘consume’ the nations who border them. Those who are old enough will recall how dramatically this prophecy was fulfilled by the Jewish Israelis in the Arab-Israeli wars of 1948, 1956, 1967 and 1973, during which the small state of Israel conquered territory of all those around them, taking control of the Golan Heights, the Gaza Strip, the Egyptian Sinai and Jordan’s West Bank. Even though some of this territory has been bartered away as part of the ‘Middle East Peace Process’, this prophecy was fulfilled nevertheless.

Zachariah 14 prophesied that Judah and Jerusalem will be invaded just prior to Messiah’s return, and the phrase ‘Mount of Olives’ in verse 4 confirms the setting is the geographical city of Jerusalem in the state of Israel. Zechariah 14 parallels Acts 1: 9 – 12 which confirms that Yahshua the Messiah ascended to heaven ‘from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey away’, but also that He would return ‘in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven.” Revelation 16: 12 – 16 describes an invading army headed by ‘the kings from the east’ which will march toward Jerusalem across the Euphrates River and gathering in a place called Armageddon in the present state of Israel. We’ve seen from Zechariah 12: 9, that Messiah will destroy the nations that come against Jerusalem and verses 10 – 14 reveal some surprising information; Judah, the house of David, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and the Levites – all part of the house of Judah are astounded and dismayed at the identity of their Messiah. No one less than the Elohim of the Scriptures who inspired that Judah (the Jews) ‘will look on Me whom they have pierced,’ and will ‘mourn for Him as one Mourns for an only son’, as Elohim gives them ‘the Spirit of grace and of supplication.’ This prophecy clearly shows that Judah and Levi will not accept or recognize Yahshua as the Messiah, until He rescues them from an invading army at the end of the age. We see a prophecy by Rav Shaul in Romans 11: 15 that when they one day accept Yahshua at His return in the near future, the dead in Messiah will be resurrected, saying: ‘For if their rejection be the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead?’ The prophecy in Zechariah 12 confirms that the non-Christian descendants of Judah and Levi will be living in Jerusalem during the latter days, prior to Messiah’s return.

Now, let’s turn to the prophecy in Jeremiah 31: 31 – 34 for prove number three that the Jews of today have been loyal to YHVH since their return from Babylon 2,500 years ago, and have been faithfully obeying His Torah given to all twelve tribes at Mount Sinai, after bringing them out of Egypt to be their Elohim. Prove number three is related to prove number two, in that it will only occur at Messiah’s return to earth, sometime in the near future. In fact Rav Shaul also spoke about this prophecy in Hebrews 8: 6 – 12, saying: ‘But now He (meaning Yahshua) has obtained a more excellent ministry, by as much as He is also the mediator of a better covenant, which has been enacted on better promises. (7) For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion sought for a second. (8) For finding fault with them, He says, “BEHOLD, DAYS ARE COMING, SAYS YHVH, ‘WHEN I WILL EFFECT A NEW COVENANT WITH THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL AND WITH THE HOUSE OF JUDAH; (9) NOT LIKE THE COVENANT WHICH I MADE WITH THEIR FATHERS ON THE DAY WHEN I TOOK THEM BY THE HAND TO LEAD THEM OUT OF THE LAND OF EGYPT; FOR THEY DID NOT CONTINUE IN MY COVENANT, AND I DID NOT CARE FOR THEM, SAYS YHVH. (10) FOR THIS IS THE COVENANT THAT I WILL MAKE WITH THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL (only) AFTER THOSE DAYS, SAYS YHVH: (11) I WILL PUT MY LAWS INTO THEIR MINDS, AND I WILL WRITE THEM UPON THEIR HEARTS. (12) AND I WILL BE THEIR ELOHIM, AND THEY SHALL BE MY PEOPLE.” Notice that here as in Jeremiah 31: 31 – 33, YHVH is saying that He will only have to write His laws on the hearts and minds of the house of Israel, even though the Renewed Covenant will be made with both houses. The reason is obvious, since the house of Judah has been Torah observant since the original renewal of the covenant at Horeb. Most people, when asked to identify the Jews of today, will immediately tell you that they are the only ones who kept Elohim’s Torah throughout the ages. There is absolutely no other nation in the world, who is keeping Elohim’s commandments as a nation today. Yes, a number of Israelite nations have discovered their Hebrew roots during the past century and some are even today trying to imitate our Jewish Brothers in keeping Elohim’s annual and weekly Sabbaths and eating only Kosher foods, but only the Jews of the house of Judah have been doing so all along, as testified by Rav Shaul in Romans 8, where he quotes from Jeremiah 31: 31 – 33. This prophecy also witness against those who keep their Feast Days according to their own devised calendars, that they should consult Judah regarding the timing of the Feast days of Elohim, since they have always kept it at the correct time.

Prove number four can be found in Jacob’s prophecy about what is to happen to all the tribes of Israel during the latter days in Genesis 49. We read specifically about the tribe of Judah in verses 8 – 12, in this way: “Judah, your brothers shall praise you, your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies; your father’s sons shall bow down to you. (9) Judah is a lion’s whelp; from the prey, my son, you have gone up. He couches, he lies down as a lion, and as a lion, who dares rouse him up? (10) The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until Shiloh comes, and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples (or Goyim or those Israelites who have come to believe that they are Gentiles). (11) He ties his foal to the vine, and his donkey’s colt to the choice vine; he washes his garments in wine, and his robes in the blood of grapes. (12) His eyes are dull from wine, and his teeth white from milk.” This prophecy reveals a great deal about the Jews of today. To start with, there seems to be an inconsistency in this prophecy. Judah is described as both ‘a lions whelp’ and ‘as a grown lion’ in this section. But, the term ‘a lion’s whelp’ refers to Judah in 1948, when the nation was started in one day. This is consistent with the prophecy in Zephaniah 2, which foretold that Judah would be found and settled in Palestine prior to ‘the Day of YHVH.’ Yet, the same Jews are also the people with a continuous history traceable over three thousand years, and were also a nation in Palestine in ancient times (as an old lion). The modern day Jews fulfill this prophecy since they are a young nation which was founded by a people with ancient traditions and heritage. In Genesis 49: 8 & 9 we read that Judah’s ‘hand shall be on the neck of your enemies’, and refers to Judah as a lion going up to its prey. This prophecy tells us that Judah will be an aggressive nation and will be victorious in warfare during the latter days. Many of the lost ten tribes would like to be known as Zion, but we know from Psalm 78: 67 & 68 that presently only Judah is known as Zion, as follows: ‘He (meaning YHVH) also rejected the tent of Joseph, and did not choose the tribe of Ephraim, (68) but chose the tribe of Judah, Mount Zion which He loves.’ This is confirmed in Romans 11, where Rav Shaul informs us that Yahshua is from the tribe of Judah or Zion in verses 26 & 27, saying: ‘And thus all Israel will be saved; just as it is written (in Isaiah 59: 20), “THE DELIVERER WILL COME FROM ZION,HE WILL REMOVE UNGODLINESS FROM JACOB. (27) AND THIS IS MY COVENANT WITH THEM, WHEN I TAKE AWAY THEIR SINS.” Another truth which no one can deny, but which evidence the Palestinians wanted to destroy when they recently tried to set fire to most of the greenery in Israel, is the fact that the Jewish nation through Elohim’s blessings during the past 69 years have made the deserts bloom, as prophesied by Isaiah 51: 3[5] and also in Genesis 49: 11 where the abundance of grapes that grow on the mountains of Israel is mentioned.

We read from Genesis 49: 8 that Judah’s brothers shall praise him. This has been fulfilled since a large part of modern day Christianity regard Judah as Elohim’s chosen people. The question is why the lost ten tribes acknowledge Judah’s Israelite heritage, whilst losing sight of their own Israelite heritage? The reason is because Judah has preserved identifiable Scriptural customs such as the weekly and annual Sabbaths of Elohim, and they hold to a diet avoiding unclean meats such as pork and shellfish. Now that some of the lost ten tribes are beginning to return to the covenant they made with YHVH together with the house of Judah, through Abraham’s one seed, Messiah, they are also returning to these customs that Judah retained for them throughout history. However, some of them have now come to believe that they know these Laws better than Judah and have even labeled the house of Judah as Esau, not knowing that they personally only escaped of the clutches of Esau recently, from soon after Messiah’s ascension to heaven. But it is further prophesied in verse 8 of Genesis 49 that, ‘your father’s sons shall bow down to you.’ This is further explained in verse 10 (KJV), saying: ‘The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh comes, and to him shall the gathering of the people be.’ Verse 10 prophecies that Judah will be Elohim’s lawgiver, but that Judah will also have kings ruling over the other tribes of Israel, until Messiah (Shiloh) comes. Starting with the dynasty of Kings, David and Solomon, there have always been Israelites of various tribes ruled by monarchs descended from David and Solomon. In fact as we’ve shown in a recent sermon entitled: ‘Stone of Destiny’ during June, 2016, 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, and the seed of David via Tea-Tephi, a daughter of king Zedekiah who married an Irish king shortly after the fall of Jerusalem in 585 BCE. Genesis 49: 10 prophecies that Judah will have kings ruling over the other tribes of Israel, until Shiloh comes, which is a Messianic prophecy predicting that David’s bloodline will be present in the royal houses of the Israelite nations until the coming of Messiah.

Prove number five. The number one argument opposing a Judaic identity for modern Jews is the contention that modern Ashkenazi Jews are ‘religious’ but not ‘racial’ Jews. This argument alleges that Ashkenazi Jews (those from central and eastern Europe) descended from Khazarian/Edomite non-Israelite bloodline and therefore cannot truly constitute Judah. There is a major misunderstanding about the origin of the term Ashkenazi Jew, and secular evidence indicates they are in fact from the Israelite house of Judah. In an effort to ensure that the erroneous opinion of those Nazarene/Messianic Israelites and like-minded believers, who believe that they will be saved without Judah, is kept alive, they have since the mid-1990’s started teaching that the Jews presently living in the land of Israel in the middle-east consist mainly of Muslim converts to Judaism from Khazaria. In addition some of these Israelites even believe that they are Jews, or that they have replaced the Jews as the ones who have been given the Oracles of Elohim by Yahshua Himself, in the way they interpret Matthew 16: 18; i.e. that they have been given the right to decide the timing of the Feast Days of Elohim and other doctrinal issues all by themselves. Some maintain that the Khazars were non-Israelites who, en masse, accepted Judaism and became the forebears of the Ashkenazi Jews of Europe. But, a recent study published in Haaretz, an internet news agency in Israel proved through mitochondrial DNA testing that most Ashkenazi Jews are descendants of European women who converted to Judaism. Ask yourself: Who could these European women who converted to Judaism be? Yes, you are correct – they are descendants of the house of Israel, who migrated over the Caucasus Mountains west into Europe, and because their forefathers were once part of the United Israel ruled by King David and his son Solomon, they went back to the original covenant relationship they had with the Father. So, these were simply women from the house of Israel, who like us, have returned to our Jewish roots. This was in effect a foreboding picture of what YHVH is doing through us at this time. It also tells us, that as at this time, YHVH is definitely working with women in far greater numbers than men. The difference being that we have been removed so far from the faith of our father’s in the faith, that the only way we can get back to our Father YHVH and Brother Judah is through Yahshua our Messiah. In addition this study debunks the theory that Ashkenazi Jews descended from North Caucasus during the time of the Khazarian empire, whose rulers turned to Judaism around the 10th century CE. The study found no material lineages that could be traced to the Northern Caucasus. Even so, there are a small number of Khazarian converts among the Jews of today, as Steven M. Collins, a like-minded believer from Oregon in the USA wrote in a paper entitled: ‘The Khazars and the Modern Jews’, saying: ‘Let us consider an aspect of Jewish history which is sometimes controversial. This is the history of the Khazar kingdom, whose later monarchs adopted Judaism. Some maintain that the Khazars were non-Israelites who, en masse, accepted Judaism and became the forebears of the Ashkenazi Jews of Europe. This viewpoint tends to disenfranchise Ashkenazi Jews as “legitimate” Jews from the tribe of Judah, and it is historically inaccurate. This viewpoint assumes: (A) all Khazars were gentile; (B) all Khazars accepted Judaism and (C) no member of the house of Judah were already living among the Khazars. All three assumptions are incorrect. It is well-documented that numerous Jews lived in the Parthian Empire and many of them accompanied the migrating Parthians toward Europe through the Caucasus Mountains and into territory north of the Black Sea. Other Jewish migrations to the region of Khazaria occurred in the centuries prior to the fall of Parthia, as we shall soon document. This region (the Transcaucasia and north of the Black Sea), through which hordes of Israelites and Jews passed on their way to Europe, was the homeland of the Khazars. How could the Khazars all be gentiles when their homeland had been the main expressway for the tribes of Israel as they left Parthia and Scythia? The Khazar region also included the former kingdom of Iberia, which had a Hebrew name since its founding soon after the fall of the Israelite capital of Samaria. Iberia had also been ruled by kings with the root-word “Phares” in their names, confirming their descent from King David of Israel. Surely, there were still Israelites left in this region when the Khazars came to power there in later centuries.

There is considerable evidence that the Khazars were a mixture of races and ethnic groups. The Encyclopedia Britannica records that some “Khazars” were first noticed in Armenia in 198 A.D. This was 28 years before Parthia fell. When Parthia collapsed, millions of Semitic people from Parthia poured through the region later to be called “Khazaria” like a tidal wave on their way to Europe. During the centuries of the great migrations of Parthian and Scythian refugees through the Transcaucasia, the descendants of the ten tribes were dominant in the region which later became Khazaria. The Khazar rulers did not adopt Judaism until 740 A.D. or even later. Let us consider how many waves of Jewish refugees entered Khazaria before the event occurred. Large numbers of Jewish refugees had settled in what became Khazaria long before the Khazars were even a recognizable people. It is recorded in ‘The Universal Jewish Encyclopedia’ that: “Vakhushti’s History of Georgia informs us that permission was granted to a Jewish legation which had appealed to the prince of Mtskhet, after the destruction of the First Temple (586 BCE), to settle on the outskirts of Mtskhet.” Jews from the tribe of Judah began settling in the Transcaucasia from the time Jerusalem fell to the Babylonians! The same source records many more waves of Jewish migration to this region: “Another influx of Jewish refugees into various Transcaucasia regions took place after the destruction of the second temple at Jerusalem (70 CE). The height of the influx during the first centuries of Christianity is confirmed by the chronicler Faustus of Byzantium (4th cent CE), who reports that the Persians, under King Sapor II (360 CE), invaded Armenia, and took with them to South Persia more than 75,000 Jewish captives, the progeny of those who had previously come to the Transcaucasia from Palestine.”

The Universal Jewish Encyclopedia also states that the conversion of the Khazar “Kahan” and his court may not have occurred until between 786 and 809 A.D. It further records how few people actually converted to Judaism as a result of their monarch’s conversion. It states regarding the Khazar King’s conversion: “…he and about 4,000 Khazars were circumcised; it was only by degrees that the Jewish teachings gained a foothold among the population… the Jews were greatly outnumbered by pagan masses, by Moslem and Christian inhabitants of the cities.” The Khazars were not a majority Jewish state. They had leaders of the Jewish faith, but only a sizable minority of the Jews among their numbers. A total of only 4,000 new conversions to Judaism in a large nation was actually a small number of the converts. The requirement of circumcision was likely a disincentive for most Khazar men to convert to Judaism. Most Khazars remained in pagan or Christian religions. In later centuries of the Khazar kingdom, many adopted Islam. The Encyclopedia Britannica records that one of the major Khazar cities, Itil, had 30 mosques around 934 A.D.’

There is ample evidence showing that both Sephardic and Ashkenazi Jews can lay claim to being the true modern day descendants of Judah. In both histories, non-Israelites who merged with Jews and adopted the Jewish customs and religion became members of the tribe of Judah under Elohim’s assimilation laws in Leviticus 19 and Ezekiel 47. The fact that Elohim Himself used both Sephardic and Ashkenazi Jews to fulfill prophecies of Judah in Zephaniah 2 and Genesis 49 provides powerful support to this conclusion. Halleluyah!

[1] 1 Kings12: 31 & 32: ‘And he made houses on high places, and made priests from among all the people who were not of the sons of Levi. And Jeroboam instituted a feast in the eighth month on the fifteenth day of the month, like the feast which is in Judah, and he went up to the altar; thus he did in Bethel, sacrificing to the calves which he had made. And he stationed in Bethel the priests of the high places which he had made.’

[2] John 4: 9, 21 & 22: ‘The Samaritan woman (not an Israelite, as the lost ten tribes were taken into captivity during 721 – 718 BCE and have not returned to the Promised Land since) therefore said to Him (Yahshua), “How is it that You, being a Jew, ask me for a drink since I am a Samaritan woman?” (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.) Yahshua said to her, “Woman, believe Me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, shall you worship the Father. You worship that which you do not know; we worship that which we know, for salvation is from the Jews.”

[3] Ephesians 2: 14 – 19: ‘For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one, and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall (sins of the house of Israel), by abolishing in His flesh the enmity (or punishment due for our sins), which is the Law of commandments contained in ordinances (or judgments), that in Himself He might make the two into one new man (Israel), thus establishing peace, and might reconcile them both in one body to Elohim through the cross, by it having put to death the enmity (punishment). AND HE CAME AND PREACHED PEACE TO YOU WHO WERE FAR AWAY, AND PEACE TO THOSE WHO WERE NEAR; for through Him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and are of Elohim’s household.’

[4] Zion is the house of Judah, as we read from Psalm 78: 67 & 68, in this way: ‘He also rejected the tent of Joseph, and did not choose the tribe of Ephraim, but chose the tribe of Judah, Mount Zion which He loved.’ Yes, we become part of Zion when we do what they do and accept their authority regarding the timing of the Feast Days of Elohim and eating kosher foods.

[5] Isaiah 51: 3, ‘Indeed, YHVH will comfort Zion; He will comfort all her waste places, and her wilderness He will make like Eden, and her desert like the garden of YHVH; joy and gladness will be found in her, thanksgiving and sound of a melody.’