(November 24, 2021) A day of Thanksgiving is an enduring tradition of American
history. But in many cases, the meaning of the day has been lost in the trappings of the celebration; parades, sporting events, and the thanksgiving meal itself. How much time is actually spent on reflecting on the blessings and wealth and the central purpose of the day – Thanksgiving?
Uniquely American
There are other nations that celebrate types of national thanksgiving, but the United States is alone in the foundation of a universal day centered on giving thanks to God. That foundation goes back to the journey of the original Pilgrims who moved to the “New World” to escape religious persecution in England, in 1620. Over the next 150 years, hundreds of thousands of additional “pilgrims” fleeing religious and political persecution and oppression fulfilled an important Bible prophecy about the descendants of ancient Israel found in Amos 9:9. The prophet Amos was a herdsman from the southern Kingdom of Judah, given a message to take to the Northern tribes of Israel.
What Happened to the “Lost Tribes?”
Bible students know that after the death of King Solomon, the United Kingdom of Israel split into 2 nations, the Southern kingdom of Judah, which included some of Benjamin and Levi, and the northern tribes who became a separate nation, referred to in Biblical history and prophecy as “Israel”, “Jacob” or “Joseph”, and sometimes “Samaria,” to distinguish it from Judah and Jerusalem. By the time Amos came on the scene, “Samaria,” or “Israel” and “Judah” had existed as separate nations for over 200 years! One of the messages this prophet of Judah carried to the northern Kingdom was a warning of impending captivity of the entire nation.
The Captivity of Israel
This warning proved to be very unpopular to the advisors of the King, Jeroboam II – and ultimately the message Amos carried to the capital city of Samaria was ignored. (Amos 7: 10-11) Some 50 or so years later, (721-718 B.C.) and after warnings from Amos and other prophets, the fall of Samaria did come, and the entire nation was conquered and carried away by the nation of Assyria.
The Location of the House of Israel
The Kingdom of Assyria was itself conquered by Babylon, (609 B.C.) and the migration of the original people of “Israel,” or “Jacob” had begun. In the middle of the first century AD, the gospel of the Kingdom of God had been taken to these “lost tribes,” fulfilling yet another prophecy, this one given by Jesus to his disciples in Matthew 10:5-7 to take the Gospel to the “lost sheep of the house of Israel.”
The Day of Pentecost, 31 A.D., marked the beginning of the New Testament Church and the Church of God began and grew in Jerusalem and then into the rest of the Roman Empire. The Book of Acts records the work of the Apostle Paul, taking the message of the Gospel to the gentiles. Did the rest of the disciples forget the important mandate to preach to the descendants of Israel? No!
Note the audience James, the brother of Jesus Christ addressed, in his letter, dated around 61 A.D., some 30 years after the birth of the Church of God: (James 1:1) James, a bondservant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad:. The location of the scattered tribes of Israel was known! It had to be, in order for the disciples to fulfill the command that Jesus had given them!
The Apostle Peter addressed the same people and the specified the exact location of the tribes of Israel, in his letter, written around 65 A.D.: (1 Peter 1:1) Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To the pilgrims of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia. Other translations call these people “strangers,” “exiles,” “sojourners,” or “resident aliens.” The areas they were living in at the time of the 1st century was not their homeland. They had moved and migrated there, and would later continue their migration to Europe. These tribes had been dispersed through several migrations at the behest of several conquering nations. This means the gospel message was taken to the House of Israel, a fact which is lost on most secular historians, who have no explanation for what happened to these people after the captivity of the Northern Kingdom.
The message of the Kingdom of God – and the message of Pentecost – ““Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38) – began to bear fruit in all the world. Note 1 Peter 1:2: elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace be multiplied.
In the areas of Pontus, parts of eastern Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, areas just south of the Black and Caspian seas, the Church of God existed in the communities of the scattered “lost” tribes! Peter’s letter is addressed to the “elect,” – the Church of God!
These two brief mentions in the General Epistles of James and Peter help explain the reason Paul and his company were prevented by the Holy Spirit from traveling to these exact locations.
(Acts 16:6-7) Now when they had gone through Phrygia and the region of Galatia, they were forbidden by the Holy Spirit to preach the word in Asia. 7 After they had come to Mysia, they tried to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit did not permit them. Paul and his party were not allowed to go any further east, into Asia, because other Apostles were already there in obedience to Jesus’ command and instruction to take the message of His Kingdom to the “lost tribes!”
In a dream, Paul was instructed to go in another direction: (Acts 16:8-10) So passing by Mysia, they came down to Troas. 9 And a vision appeared to Paul in the night. A man of Macedonia stood and pleaded with him, saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” 10 Now after he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go to Macedonia, concluding that the Lord had called us to preach the gospel to them. Why was Paul prevented from going further east? There was no need. Other Apostles were already there, and Paul was needed elsewhere. The Holy Spirit, or power of God made it clear they could not go there. It was an efficient use of the available manpower. The history of the Church of God and the movement of the descendants of the 12 tribes of Israel would be linked from that time onward.
The Foundation of Religious Liberty and Thanksgiving
When we remember the founding of our nation, the original Pilgrims and the Declaration of Independence in 1776, we should remember that the primary motivation behind our collective history as a nation was motivated by men and women who sought the personal and religious liberties guaranteed by the Law of God! This was the shared motivation of hundreds of thousands from all over Europe for generations to come.
Thus, the fulfillment of Amos’ prophecy of Israel “being sifted through the nations, but not one grain being lost,” gradually came to pass and the main foundation of the New World were the aspirational ideals of The Holy Bible. The founding of America and its rich tradition of giving thanks to God is unique among the nations. The formal codification of a National Thanksgiving Day by Abraham Lincoln had been preceded by dozens of such
announcements and declarations, by State Houses, legislatures, Governors and Presidents Washington, Adams and Jefferson. Their inspiration of giving thanks to God is found within the pages of the Bible.
If you live in the United States, we at World News & Prophecy Review hope you and your family have a wonderful Thanksgiving, a day of remembrance and thanksgiving to God! But no matter where you live, our hope is that you can express your profound thanks to God for His many blessings!
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