I’ve been in George Washington mode for a couple months – just finished a thousand page biography of him and am just starting another thousand pages on him. (Here’s the book I’m reading now. Excellent, just excellent!) When I finish that book I have a little study plan mapped out in prep for Kaitlyn/my annual trip to DC and Mount Vernon in May. Here’s an amazing thing I uncovered today (in light of what I dub “Recognition Theology” — (America as “Israel” or as an Israelite nation and the nation we call “Israel” today, to be Biblically precise, actually being Judah).
Prior to his public service, George Washington was a land surveyor (as was his father who died when George was 11.) Using his father’s surveying equipment, as a young man, Washington surveyed and purchased land. Below is a picture of the front cover of his surveyor’s notebook which as you can see, has some scribbles, a couple calculations, and a one-sentence, very cryptic quote in his own handwriting —- historians never mention this quote apparently disregarding it as being without context and therefore gibberish and entirely meaningless to us today.
Here’s the quote as it’s tough to read in the pic…
If you can’t find it in the book of Ezekiel, look for it in Israel.
It reads like a riddle – a prophetic surveyor’s riddle.
Google the riddle and you’ll see that absolutely nothing comes up. It’s on no historical radar anywhere that I can find. Yet, Peter A. Lillback does mention it. He discovered the page in the Library of Congress and he writes the following about why Washington might have written that on the cover of his surveyor’s notebook;
As Washington was taught the Scriptures by his Anglican childhood tutors, he learned that Israel was a nation marked out by very clear boundaries (Joshua 13-21), such as would be well understood by surveyors. And the book of Ezekiel concludes with a remarkable survey of the New Jerusalem (Ezekiel 40-48). The young surveyor apparently autographed his official record with this observation. His task in the pristine woods of the New World in some way reminded him of the Biblical accounts of marking off expanses of land that had been gifted by God. [George Washington’s Sacred Fire, by Peter L. Lillback, page 108-109]
Lillback obviously has a sense of what this is about— but I believe Washington knew that blood descendants of Abraham came here and that this land is the land of promise spoken of by Hebrew prophets like Isaiah, Ezekiel and Joel. It is foretold in Joel 2:20 that at the time they are attacked at the end of the age, the people of Israel will be occupying a vast land between an eastern and a western sea (America is the only non-island nation spanning from “sea to shining sea“). Perhaps you are aware that when Washington died, Thomas Jefferson wrote; “verily a great man hath fallen this day in Israel.”
What did these guys know about “Israel” that few recognize today? (Did you know Jefferson was a “Jew?”)
End Time Israel is not just a little nation in the Middle East but rather “a nation and company of nations” with a population as innumerable as the sand on the seashore, just as God told Abraham it would one day be. Hosea 1:11 foretells the coming day when “the people of Judah and the people of Israel will be reunited...”
Judah = Jews. “Israel” refers to the ten northern Hebrew tribes – the blood descendants of Abraham who were scattered and migrated mainly through the Caucasus Mountains and populated Europe and eventually the New World. It appears Washington had some sense of these things.
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Mar 16, 2010 at 9:56 pm
Glenn
This is very interesting…hidden history…the Glory of Kings searching out a matter! Blessings gleaned from your thirst of history. More revelation Holy Spirit to Steven & His children. ~Glenn
Mar 17, 2010 at 12:13 am
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Sep 8, 2012 at 4:22 pm
Anonymous
If you are implying that America replaces Israel, then you are certainly in need of a lot more biblical study. Maybe a little less study with biographies and commentaries would help you to become a better student of God’s word.
Israel has always been, and will always be, God’s chosen. Gentile believers were grafted in (read Romans). Replacement theology is a demonic doctrine and is a lie directly from Satan himself.
Yeshua (Jesus) is coming back to claim His bride the Church. He is not coming back to the good ole USA…..he is coming back to Jerusalem.
Sep 8, 2012 at 4:27 pm
Steve Hickey
No sir I’m not implying America replaces Israel . I reject replacement theology. You should read more carefully, and be less snotty.
Sep 9, 2012 at 6:18 am
Anonymous
Forgive my snottiness, please. It wasn’t my intent to come across that way, but I do get rather defensive about replacement theology. When you said ” but I believe Washington knew that blood descendants of Abraham came here and that this land is the land of promise spoken of by Hebrew prophets like Isaiah, Ezekiel and Joel”, it sounds as if USA is that land of promise.
It certainly is not. If that wasn’t your intent, than so be it…..but it sure sounded that way to me.
Sep 11, 2012 at 9:41 am
Steve
My contention is the promise must fit in the Promised Land. The promise is descendants innumerable like the stars in the sky and sand on the seashore. The postage stamp piece of ground we call Israel today just doesn’t fit. It is Promised Land, but Gen. 49 the descendants of Joseph will be like a fruitful vine that has branches that go over a wall. It says Zebulun will live by the seashore. Their original land promise allotment in Palestine was like Kansas – NO seashore. So what about the Gen 49 promises to the sons of Jacob/Israel? Migrations and DNA science today put Zebulun in Norway today. The descendants of Joseph (Ephraim and Manasseh) to the UK and America. It’s a huge study and one I contend is the greatest oversight in the history of Christianity – who constitutes the blood descendants of Abraham? Here’s a question for you: there are 18 million “Jews” today and 350 million “Arabs”. I thought Ishmael received the lesser promise??? If we only see the descendants of Judah as “Jews” it appears God DID NOT keep his promise to the descendants of Isaac. It’s simple math, we either have more Ishmaelite’s today or more Israelites. Which is it? I believe God kept his promise and the descendants of Isaac are a much larger group than those we recognize as “Jews” today. Please don’t hear me wrong – Jews (tribe of judah) are the apple of God’s eye. It’s also true that after the time of the divided kingdom, Jews and Israel ceased to be synonyms in the Bible. We see passages like the Jews went to war against Israel. And in the last days the House of Judah and the House of Israel will be united. It’s crystal clear in Hosea one that many in Israel will lose their identity until that time. The land of America is referenced in 2 Sam 7:10… an appointed place. All that said, it erked that you said I need to study biographies less and do a lot more Biblical study. All’s forgiven there but you have no idea the level of Bible study I’ve devoted to this matter. I don’t expect you to agree but I’ll direct you to another post on my blog on this topic: https://stevehickey.wordpress.com/2009/07/04/the-united-states-of-america-in-bible-prophecy/
Sep 11, 2012 at 1:52 pm
Anonymous
You are correct sir in one thing, I do not agree with you.
I do believe you have studied, but it does appear to me that you have studied under a misguided influence. How in the world you come up with America being referenced in 2 Samuel is beyond me. Even your interpretations of YHVH’s blessings are so off-track. Every gentile believer in Yeshua has been grafted into the vine and are now part of the commonwealth of Israel.
I guess when Zechariah said that Yeshua’s feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, you think that’s Mt. Rushmore?
What about when He gathers His children to bring them home (as has been happening a little along already)? Are they coming to New York?
Your doctrine smells of replacement theology to me. I have no interest in any more of your blogs; I have seen enough.
Sep 11, 2012 at 2:14 pm
Steve
What then is the “appointed place” of 2 Samuel 7:10? It says it’ll be a place where they will “not be disturbed.” Did God not keep his promise as the initial land allotment for Israel can hardly (in any century) be called a place where they will not be disturbed? How do you explain God apparently not fulfilling his promise to give a greater blessing to the descendants of Isaac as opposed to Israel? Explain only 18 million “jews” and 350 million arabs??? Explain it, please.
But NO, please don’t put words in my mouth about Jesus returning to Mt Rushmore. I’ve never suggested he’s returning here. And what you are seeing here is not replacement theology. Obviously there are a number of points in Scripture you have yet to consider.
Please know that rabbi’s worldwide tend to agree “jews” today by and large represent two main tribes and that the other tribes were “lost” as they assimilated into pagan nations? But God’s covenant to them is irrevocable and only this explains the many passages like Hosea 1. What do you do with Hosea 1:10-11? And what is meant by the two sticks in Ezekiel 37:15ff?? And why are DNA experts discovering many “gentiles” have semitic haplotypes? http://www.amazon.com/Abrahams-Children-Identity-Chosen-People/dp/0446580635/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1347394081&sr=8-2&keywords=children+of+abraham
Jan 28, 2015 at 10:04 pm
Love
Anonymous, why must you feel like you need to keep going about this. You make good points but so does steve. Who are you, or him for that matter to say what is biblical truth. It is all a mans interpretation of something that cannot and will not be explained through intellectual argument or doctrinal principles. Lean not on your own insight and understanding is what is said. Trust only in the Lord, not what you believe is the truth but what He reveals to you as truth. And if this is part of that then so be it but this is a trivial matter that has become as much divisive as it was educating, at first. The education has ceased and now we have a pissing contest between who knows more biblical doctrine and who swings the biggest sword. It is not any of our swords to swing. Let his word be true and every man a liar!!!
Aug 30, 2013 at 8:45 am
Recognition Theology: America, Israel, the Lost Tribes and now Glenn Beck | Gate Post
[…] Connection to Ancient Israel. You can also read a related post from me on this topic here and here. The best source are the four books by my friend Steven M. Collins which I cite in the footnotes […]