The descendants of Israel are identified by their emblems

"And Jacob called unto his sons, and said, Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the last days" (Genesis 49:1).

Jacob then gave each of his sons emblems that would identify them in the last days. Some of these emblems are very obvious today while others have virtually disappeared. These emblems combined with God's promises given to Israel help identify the location of the descendants of Israel today, even though they are often referred to as the 'Lost Tribes of Israel' because they were sifted through the nations (Amos 9:9).

Many would argue that the nation of Israel was just a vehicle to bring forth the Lord Jesus Christ, and that its role is now complete. Others would argue that the Church is Spiritual Israel and all the promises God made to Israel are now fulfilled in the modern Church. Both of these views are incorrect. The Bible defines different futures for the Church and Israel, and also says that the Church will rule over Israel (Revelation 20:1-6). Israel was given promises concerning Palestine (and a new home), but the Church has no continuing city.

Israel is a nation chosen by God with a future. Many of the promises God made to Israel are yet to be fulfilled, but one thing is very clear: the modern nation "Israel" that currently occupies Palestine does not represent the Israel revealed to us in the Bible. While there is a small percentage of modern "Israel" that can trace their ancestry back to the dispersions of the Biblical Israel, modern "Israel" does not have the emblems of Israel and does not fulfill many of the promises given to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, or the promises given to king David. An understanding of Israel helps put Bible prophecy into perspective; without this understanding the fabric of Bible prophecy quickly unravels.

Before dealing with the tribal emblems, a prophecy of Balaam (who was called to curse Israel by Balak, the king of the Moabites) helps set the foundations. Remember that this prophecy was after Jacob's death and before Israel entered the Promised Land. God likened Israel to the Lion and the Unicorn. "God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good? Behold, I have received commandment to bless: and he hath blessed; and I cannot reverse it. He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither hath he seen perverseness in Israel: the LORD his God is with him, and the shout of a king is among them. God brought them out of Egypt; he hath as it were the strength of an unicorn. Surely there is no enchantment against Jacob, neither is there any divination against Israel: according to this time it shall be said of Jacob and of Israel, What hath God wrought! Behold, the people shall rise up as a great lion, and lift up himself as a young lion: he shall not lie down until he eat of the prey, and drink the blood of the slain" (Numbers 23:19-25). "God brought him forth out of Egypt; he hath as it were the strength of an unicorn: he shall eat up the nations his enemies, and shall break their bones, and pierce them through with his arrows. He couched, he lay down as a lion, and as a great lion: who shall stir him up? Blessed is he that blesseth thee, and cursed is he that curseth thee." (Numbers 24:8-9).

Israel adopted these emblems as national emblems over most of the tribal emblems. Some writers indicate that when the kingdom of Israel was divided (approximately 975 BC) into the 'House of Judah' and the 'House of Israel', that the 'House of Judah' took the emblem of the Lion and the 'House of Israel' the emblem of the Unicorn (see, for example, Symbols of our Celto-Saxon Heritage, W. H. Bennett, Covenant Press 1985, page 83) (Figure 1).

Figure 1
The Lion and the Unicorn are identified in the Bible with Israel

The Lion and the Unicorn are the main emblems in the British Royal Coat of Arms (Figure 2).

Figure 2
The British Royal Coat of Arms
(click on image to see in detail - 477kb)

There are other Lions and Unicorns in Europe and particularly Western Europe. These were left behind by Israel as Israel was sifted through the nations on their way to their new home (see figure 3) (Amos 9:9 and 2 Samuel 7:10).

Figure 3
Israel is sifted through the nations
(click on image to see in detail - 225kb)

The emblems given by Jacob to his twelve sons (heads of the twelve tribes of Israel) are shown in Figure 4.

Figure 4
Emblems given by Jacob to his 12 sons
(click on image to see in detail - 99kb)

Some of the tribes had multiple emblems and perhaps a more complete portrayal of the emblems of Israel is shown in Figure 5.

Figure 5
More complete list - Emblems of Israel
(click on image to see in detail - 180kb)

The table in Figure 6 indicates where these emblems are to be found today. It is interesting that none of the emblems are associated with the modern nation of "Israel", but most of them are found in Great Britain. God said to Abraham (Genesis 12:2) that "... I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing."

Figure 6
Table showing where the emblems of Israel can be found in the heraldry of modern countries.

Let's go back and consider the promises given to Abraham (see Figure 7). These promises were passed on as the birthright from one generation to the next - the yellow star in Figure 4 indicates the recipient of the birthright.

Figure 7
Unconditional Promises made to Abraham

In Genesis 48 we read how Jacob passed the birthright on over Joseph to Manasseh and Ephraim, "And when Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand upon the head of Ephraim (the younger brother), it displeased him: and he held up his father's hand, to remove it from Ephraim's head unto Manasseh's head. And Joseph said unto his father, Not so, my father: for this is the firstborn; put thy right hand upon his head. And his father refused, and said, I know it, my son, I know it: he also shall become a people, and he also shall be great: but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his seed shall become a multitude of nations" (Genesis 48:17-19).

Ephraim (the younger brother) was under the right hand of Jacob (Israel) and received the greater blessing (birthright), and he was destined to be a multitude (company / commonwealth) of nations - the British Commonwealth.

In Genesis 49, Jacob does not give individual emblems to Ephraim and Manasseh, only to their father, Joseph. These emblems included the fruitful bough and the archer's arrows.

However, towards the end of Moses' life (in Deuteronomy 33), and after the prophecy of Balaam, Joseph's emblems included the unicorn and the bullock. Hence, by the time Israel entered the Promised Land, Ephraim had the emblem of the unicorn (and / or the bull) and Manasseh the emblem of the fruitful bough and arrows.

Manasseh (the elder brother) therefore had taken the emblems that Jacob (Israel) gave to Joseph and Ephraim (recipient of the birthright) the unicorn (and / or the bull).

All these emblems are associated with a company of nations and a great people that can trace their heritage back to Israel (Figure 8). The Union Jack (the union of Jacob (Israel)) signified the union of the scattered of Israel that had collected in the British Isles. In the British Royal Coat of Arms "DIEU ET MON DROIT" is translated as "God and my right (birthright)" and "HONI SOIT QUI MAL Y PENSE" is translated as "evil to him who evil thinks" - probably reflecting God's promise to Abraham: "I will bless them that bless thee and curse them that curse thee". The obverse side of the "Great Seal of the USA" has all the thirteens (13 constellations, 13 olive leaves, 13 berries, 13 stars, 13 letters, 13 arrows and 13 stripes on the shield) reflecting the original 13 colonies that made up the US but also that Manasseh took the emblems assigned to Joseph and was considered the thirteenth tribe. "E PLURIBUS UNUM" is translated as "one out of many" and USA is certainly that, it came out of Israel but it stands alone as a separate nation.

Figure 8
A "great nation" and a "company of nations" that can trace their heritage back to Israel
(click on image to see in detail - 190kb)

All this can sound a little racist. Let's not forget that the heritage of many countries could be written in similar detail. God didn't choose Israel because they were a great and powerful nation (Deuteronomy 7:7); God chose the fathers of Israel because they were obedient to His Word. The nation of Israel commenced with one man, Jacob, and God changed his name to Israel (Genesis 32:28). Anyone was welcome to become part of Israel if they did what God said: "One law shall be to him that is homeborn, and unto the stranger that sojourneth among you" (Exodus 12:49). In John 3:16 we read, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life". God has a plan for all mankind; Israel was an example, a forerunner, a vanguard, a schoolmaster.

John 3:16 (quoted above) tells us that God still cares for all those in the world. And today if you want to be part of God's kingdom here on earth at this time you simply need to be obedient to God's Word. Jesus said:"Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God" (John 3:5).

Peter explained this on the Day of Pentecost when he said, "Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call" (Acts 2:38-39).

You can be baptized and wonderfully filled with the Holy Ghost, speaking in tongues, just like the disciples (Acts 2:4). You can be part of the group of people known as the Church who will eventually bring Israel back to God.

Other articles will detail the travels of captive Israel (summarized in Figure 3) and indicate some of the names and name changes that have applied to them in their travels. This article simply identifies the location of the descendants of Israel by their emblems.

Further Reading

Further detail on each of the emblems of the individual tribes of Israel