MANASSEH AND THE UNITED
STATES
By
Revd
Joseph Wild, P.P
Extracts from
a pamphlet published by the Reverend Joseph Wild in 1882. This is one of the most famous
pieces published by the British-Israel movement. We reprint it here for your reading
enjoyment.
NO one interested in the course of human
events can reasonably afford to be indifferent of the history of the United States, for in
the future history of the world, this country has to play a prominent and successful part
... For the past century the population has been doubled every twenty five years: ... The
tyrannies and intolerance of the past make us blush for our sires, because their
opportunities were so grand and the results so feeble
FOR WHOM
DID GOD INTEND THIS COUNTRY?
and what is the
Divine ideal belonging to it? In answering these two questions we will need to go back to
the beginning of our race, not simply to the Pilgrims and Puritans, but back still, for
these folks were Pilgrims and Puritans before they came to this country.
These people had their own ideas very distinctly defined politically, socially, and
religiously, and they were to the rest of England as offensive as their ideas were
distinct. But whence came their ideas, and how came they to be distinct? Divine adaptation
reigns through all known creation. ... Primary differences respond to nature and
Providence, and in this they make known to us the intentions [of the] Creator, both
through man and beast.
The Pilgrims and Puritans stand for a peculiar character, a regular sui generis,
a character who in form and habit, in speech and manners, and in ideals and practice, is
in some degree in contrast with the rest of mankind. But again we ask, how came he by
these distinct traits? ... “God speaks once, yea, twice, and man perceiveth it
not”. The great and mighty rivers have their rise and origin far back inland... A
knowledge of the beginning enables us to analyse the waters, forecast the course, and see
the end. So a knowledge of
OUR ORIGIN
will enable us to
judge more correctly of our work and place among the nations. A true conception of the
beginning will give us a prospective view of our destiny and end.
Let us travel back ... to the place of our birth back some 3,500 years ... About this time
Egypt was great and prosperous, well versed in astronomy, agriculture, architecture, and
sociology. There are two kings on the same throne Pharaoh and Joseph. This Joseph had
risen to power and honour from the humble position of a slave. He was the eleventh son of
the Hebrew Patriarch Jacob, and the firstborn of Rachel, his beloved wife.
His father and brethren were sojourning with him at this time. He had married into the
priestly family of Potiphera, by taking for his wife, Asenath. Joseph was known in Egypt
by the name of Zaphnath-paaneah, which meant the revealer of secrets. Of his children, two
sons are brought to special notice. Let us now repair to the death-bed of the venerable
Patriarch Jacob, and listen to the benedictions given and prophecies uttered. He first
recounts to Joseph how God had appeared to him at a place called Luz, and how and what the
Almighty had promised to him and his seed after him.
Then he says, “Thy
two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, which were born unto thee in the land of Egypt before I
came unto thee in Egypt are mine: as Reuben and Simeon, they are mine”. These two grandsons the old Patriarch
adopted, making them joint-heirs with his own sons. It is very important that we
thoroughly understand the nature of this will, what it contains as to time, men, and
things, and what the distinction was with respect to Ephraim and Manasseh.
Having ascertained this, we must then follow in
THE FOOTSTEPS OF
EPHRAIM AND MANASSEH
on the line of
history relative thereto, to see if the said will has been executed and fulfilled. The
whole will was entailed, even to the end of time, in the bounds of the tribe, it was
tribable in its clauses - that is, what was said to each of the twelve sons as well as to
Ephraim and Manassch was to descend to the Tribe, and belong to the Tribe, and be
characteristic of the Tribe. This is even true of the children of the concubines of Jacob
Take for an illustration the case of Ishmael, the brother of Isaac, and son of Abraham;
indeed the first-born of Abraham, and we find that the Angel of the Lord said concerning
him: “And he shall
be a wild man; his hand will he against every man, and every man’s hand against him
and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren” (GENESIS 16:12). Now it will
be apparent to all that such a prediction was tribal and national. It is not only Ishmael
that will be wild and free, but that his descendants will be. Ishmael will relive and
reappear in his seed after him. And will one conversant at all with history deny that
these predictions have been literally fulfilled, even to this day? The Arab is proud to
claim lshmael as his father. Will any one be bold enough to claim that the angelic
predictions touching Ishmael should be spiritualised? Nay, verily not, because the land
and the people are literal facts which none can hide away or truthfully deny...
Remembering these facts, let us examine
THE WILL
OF JACOB MADE TO EPHRAIM AND MANASSEH
but with special
reference to Manasseh. The language of Scripture recording the same is inimitable...
Genesis 48:8-22:
"And Israel beheld
Joseph’s sons, and said, Who are these? And Joseph said unto his father, They are my
sons, God has given me in this place, And he said, Bring them, I pray you, unto me, and I
will bless them. “Now the eyes of Israel were dim for age, so that he could not see.
And he brought them near unto him; and he kissed them, and he embraced them. And Israel
said unto Joseph, I had not thought to see your face; and lo, God has shewed me also your
seed. And Joseph brought them out from between his knees, and he bowed himself with his
face to the earth. And Joseph took them both, Ephraim in his right hand towards
Israel’s left hand, and Manasseh in his left hand towards Israel’s right hand,
and brought them near unto him. And Israel stretched out his right hand, and laid it upon
Ephraim ‘s head, who was the younger, and his left hand upon Manasseh ‘s head,
guiding his hand wittingly; for Manasseh was the first-born. And he blessed Joseph, and
said, God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac did walk, the God which fed me all my
life long until this day, The Angel which redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads; and
let my name be named on them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them
grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth. And when Joseph saw that his father laid
his right hand upon the head of Ephraim, 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 first-born; put thy right
hand upon his head. And his father refused, and said, I know it, my son,I know it: he also
shall he great: but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his seed shall
become a multitude of nations. And he blessed them that day, saying, In you shall Israel
bless, saying, God make you as Ephraim and as Manasseh, and he set Ephraim before
Manasseh. And Israel said unto Joseph, Behold, I die; but God shall be with you, and bring
you again unto the land of your fathers. Moreover I have given to you, one portion above
your brethren, which I took out of the hand of the Amorite with my sword, and with my
bow." - (GENESIS
48:8-22).
Here, I believe, we have the origin of the American nation; here we have welded out the
first Puritan And as in lshmael and Esau’s case, we find a literalness, so in this
case.
The old Patriarch was evidently guided by Heaven in blessing the lads. It was not the will
of Joseph that Ephraim should precede Manasseh. Joseph tried to rectify it, he made
objection, and tried to change the hands of his father. The old Patriarch had crossed his
hands, and in that position they made a cross, what is now called St. Andrew’s cross.
You will also see that if you fold the cross together from the centre, you have the shape
of the Pyramid. The St. Andrew’s cross is nearly like the letter X. A portion of the
Scots are from Joseph, hence their plaid of many colours and the St. Andrew’s cross.
You will observe that Joseph put his two sons in the right position, before his father -
namely, Manasseh, his oldest son, on the right hand , and Ephraim, the youngest on the
left hand - but Jacob’s crossing his hands changed the whole purpose of Joseph. Nor
would the old Patriarch yield, though importuned by Joseph to do so. There surely was a
Providence in the
whole proceeding. The birthright, and preference, and pre-eminence was given to Ephraim.
We should remember that Ephraim became the representative of all national and political
blessing, for he not only was set before Manasseh, but he was set before Reuben, the
first-born of the twelve sons, as we read in I Chronicles 5:1:
“Now the
sons of Reuben, the first-born of Israel (for he was the first-born, but forasmuch as he
defiled his father’s bed, his birthright was given unto the sons of Joseph, the son
of Israel; and the genealogy is not to be reckoned after the birthright. For Judah
prevailed above his brethren, and of him came the chief ruler; but the birthright was
Joseph’s).”
The plain meaning of this passage is, that all political blessings will flow down through
Joseph’s sons; they will have most liberty, and be the most prosperous of the nations
of the earth; in them all the nations of the earth will be blessed temporarily ... in
Judah all the nations of the earth will be blessed spiritually. The inference is clearly
this, that if England stands for Ephraim, and the United States for Manasseh, why then
politically, they must be superior to all other nations.
Other nations must get better as they imitate and practise after England and America.
Through .Judah was to come the best Saviour and best religion... The religion from Judah,
and political freedom of Ephraim and Manasseh, will very generally go hand in hand. The
temporal blessings falling to Ephraim and Manasseh as representatives are, that Ephraim
was to be a nation and company of nations... while
MANASSEH
IS A PEOPLE AND A GREAT PEOPLE
And as recorded in
Deuteronomy 33:17, “His
glory is like the firstlings of his bullock, and his horns are like the horns of unicorns,
with them he shall push the people together unto the ends of the earth; and they are the
ten thousands of Ephraim, and they are the thousands of Manasseh”. This very thing these two nations have
done and are doing.
To better comprehend what follows, let me state a few facts preparatory: About B.C. 980,
the kingdom of Israel was divided; nine tribes went off and formed what is afterwards
called the kingdom of Israel. Their first king was Jeroboam, their last was
Hoshea. This kingdom continued about 250 years. They were carried captive into Assyria
about B.C. 725 ... The Tribes are called the Ten Lost Tribes. The other part of the whole
kingdom of Israel contained the Tribes of Judah, Levi, and Benjamin. It was called the
kingdom of Judah.
Ever after this the Jews and Israelites were a distinct people, and have remained so to
this day... The Tribes were to disappear from view for a time, then come to the fore as
inheritors of ... blessings and they and the Jews are to be joined together in the latter
days. The Jews have never been lost ... Their history and course through the ages is very
different from that of Israel ...the Saxon race are these Ten Lost Tribes. Among them was
hid this Tribe of Manasseh, and as the prophecies began to fulfill on the line of Ephraim,
so it would naturally follow that those having reference to Manasseh would. As pointed out
by the prophets, the home of Israel, when coming to view, would be in some islands, for in
the islands they were to rest and renew their strength.
These islands we take to be the British. The place would, after resting .... get too
narrow for them, hence they will throw off the surplus by emigration. But they are first
to lose some of their own children - namely the Manassehites: “The children which thou shalt
have, after thou hast lost the other, shall say again in thine ears, the place is too
strait for me, give place to me that I may dwell” - (ISAIAH 49:20).
Now God had in reserve this country for them, for, geographically speaking, the whole
world is laid out in reference to Israel.
“When the Most High
divided to the nations their inheritance - when He separated the sons of Adam, He set the
bounds of the people according to the number of the children of Israel” (DEUTERONOMY 32:8).
This same idea is
frequently set forth in the Divine Book...the settlement of America was neither accidental
as to time nor persons.
When
MANASSEH’S
BIRTH TIME OF A SEPARATION
drew near, he began
to get restless; and that his brethren might see him and he learn to know his own,
Providence permitted them to come to the surface under Cromwell, and for several years
Manasseh stood forth in separate character. The people asked Cromwell to be their king,
for as yet they knew not the grand purpose of Providence; he refused, well he might, for
this people are to choose their rulers from among themselves, and their nobles and
governors are to proceed from the midst of
them, as the prophets had foretold. This English Cromwell was only a successor of Gideon
and Jephthah and other democratic leaders of the Tribe of Manasseh.
When this Tribe was first settled, they were divided in their own land; half of them
stayed on the East of the Jordan and took to farming, the other half preferred exploring
and trading. They had a great desire for more land a desire natural to Americans to this
day. They complained to Joshua saying, “Why hast thou given me but one lot, and but one portion to
inherit, seeing I am a great people?” And Joshua told them if they were a great people to go and clear
land for themselves and drive out the giants from the mountains and wooded country of the
Perizzites. And again “Joshua
spake unto the House of Joseph, even to Ephraim and Manasseh, saying, Thou art a great
power, and hast great power; thou shalt not have one lot, only” - (JOSHUA 17:17) ... What people on the
face of the earth can say as naturally as we can, “We are a great people”?
It is in this Tribe, too, that we find the first Woman’s Rights movement. The
daughters of Zelophehad petitioned the State Council for the privilege to vote. No wonder
that the Woman’s Rights Movement should be so prominent amongst us. You will remember
that Manasseh counted as a Tribe, made thirteen Tribes. So when he settles down to real
independence and distinction , he federates thirteen States. He represents these
symbolically by thirteen white stars in a field of blue, to signify that they were under
Heaven’s protection. He chooses the eagle as his bird of symbolism. This bird formed
one of the four faces of the cherubim. And the Almighty often reminded His children that
He had cared for them as the eagle cared for its young. When the Twelve Tribes were camped
in four squares, the banners outside of the battalions presented the face of a man, ox,
eagle, and lion
Let any one examine
THE GREAT
SEAL OF THE UNITED STATES
and study its
design... facts, providence, and prophecies do so wonderfully agree. Take the obverse
side. Here you have an eagle... in its beak a scroll, inscribed with a motto, “E
pluribus Unum.” One out of many, as Manasseh was ... and as the country is
building up a grand nationality and oneness ... But it is on the reverse side of the Great
Seal that we have a wonder. Here we have an unfinished pyramid... exactly the same as the
Great Pyramid in Egypt is at this day (ISAIAH 19:19): “In that day shall there be an altar to the LORD. And
it shall be for a sign and for a witness unto the Lord of Hosts in the land of
Egypt.” Now it is
somewhat singular that the Congress of 1782 should have adopted so remarkable a sign, one
that would witness to God and tell of their origin. The reverse side is the underside, and
shows from whence the nation came, and on what it is built ... The suggestions of items
upon the Great Seal were from St. John Prestwich, Bart, an Englishman. He gave the
suggestions to the American Minister, John Adams, and thence the same were conveyed to
Congress and adopted.
...When the Tribes marched, Benjamin, Ephraim, and Manasseh went together, on the West
side of the ark, for their homes were Westward. On their battalion banner was the figure
of a youth...
...The word Manasseh in Hebrew is Nenasseh, from Nasshane, and means forgetting.
So England and America will be friends, for Manasseh will forget and forgive.
And at the same time Ephraim at Waterloo conquered a world’s peace, changed the
course and destiny of nations. Ephraim calls us brother Jonathan. All the other colonies
are called sisters. Jonathan was of Benjamin. We speak of ourselves as a people. We begin
our laws of enactment “We, the people of the United States.” How ‘Manasseh
like’ that is! Other
nations legislate by the name of their rulers or the name of their nation. We called
England, John Bull, the very thing that Ephraim was compared to in the Bible. Ephraim was
spoken of as an heifer, and this word in Hebrew is Engle. Of him it was said he
should go forth and grow as calves in the stalls - Ka Engli.
The division of the Tribe away back, accounts for the difference between the Pilgrims and
Puritans, between the North and South. When we remember that Manasseh was deprived of his
birthright, it is no wonder that he set his face against kings, titles, and monarchical
forms of government. This disposition was handed down.
To know our destiny, we must study the prophecies relating to Manasseh... When the Tribes
return to occupy, by representation, Palestine, we find Manasseh has her lot and place. I
can only wish that the glorious truth committed to our keeping may be cherished, and that
we, as a nation, may work out our God-assigned task. The future has work and some trouble
in reserve, but if we are faithful... we need fear no evil...
Courtesy of
Origins of Nations