Position Statement About the Identity of the Tribes of Israel
The following statement has been prepared to answer media inquiries about the Worldwide Church of God's doctrine regarding the modern identities of the lost ten tribes of Israel:
The church teaches that national identity and ethnic origin have absolutely nothing to do with the believer's standing before God. "There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus" (Galatians 3:28). The knowledge of any proposed biblical identity of modern nations does not forgive sin, assure salvation or improve human relationships.
For over 50 years, the Worldwide Church of God taught that Great Britain and the United States of America descended from two of the lost ten tribes of Israel. However, while the church has held certain beliefs concerning the identity of the lost ten tribes, it has never embraced all the tenets of what is commonly called "British-Israelism."
Today, after having carefully researched the tenets and history of its belief that the United States and Britain are the descendants of the ancient Israelite tribes of Manasseh and Ephraim, the Worldwide Church of God no longer teaches this doctrine. While it may be an interesting theory, there is simply a lack of credible evidence, either in the biblical account or the historical record, to support a conclusion regarding the modern identity of the lost ten tribes of Israel. We recognize that there were hermeneutical and historical inaccuracies in the church's past understanding of this issue.
Therefore, in accordance with the church's historical position of a willingness to change when convicted that its teachings are biblically inaccurate, the church no longer attempts to identify the modern-day descendants of the lost tribes of Israel.
For detailed analysis of the biblical evidence, see our Study Paper on the United States and Britain in Prophecy
See also a book written by David Baron in 1915: The history of the ten "lost" tribes: Anglo-Israelism examined
How did this doctrine get into the church? See the companion article on The History of Anglo-Israelism
Copyright © 1995 Worldwide Church of God