Uniting Shem and Japheth

The house of Israel was taken captive by the Assyrians from 745-721 B.C. God divorced them for spiritual adultery with other gods (Jer. 3:8) and sent them out of the house in accordance with the law (Deut. 24:1-4).

Israel (as a nation or as tribal units) never returned to the land of Canaan, for if God had allowed them to do so, one might have charged God with having an illicit relationship with her. It would be the equivalent of a couple living together outside of marriage.

We know from 2 Kings 17:6 that they were re-settled in the area around the Caspian Sea just south of the Caucasus Mountains. But within a few centuries they became so numerous that they migrated north and west from there into new territory. In fact, they overran the territory of Gomer, son of Japheth (Gen. 10:2), and this is how God "lost" the Israelites in order to fulfill His purposes.

The Israelites first lost their name Israel. In captivity, they were called Ghomri (or Gomer) by the Assyrians. The pronunciation of this name was later altered to Khumri or even Humria, as historians have told us. Now the reason the Assyrians called them Ghomri is given by Merrill Unger's Archeology and the Old Testament, page 243,

"The initial contact between Israel and Assyria evidently occurred during Omri's day, for from that time on Israel appears in cuneiform records as Bit-Humri ('House of Omri'). This official appellation was applied to Samaria, the capital city. Moreover, the designation of an Israelite king became Mar Humri ('son,' i.e., 'royal successor of Omri'). Tiglath Pileser III's reference to the land of Israel over a century later by its official name Bit Humria evidences the significance of Omri as a ruler in the history of Israel."

We also learn from Theophilus G. Pinches,

"Omri was likewise pronounced in accordance with the older system, before the ghain became ayin. Humri shows that they said at that time Ghomri." (The Old Testament in the Light of the Historical Records and Legends of Assyria and Babylonia, 3rd ed., 1908)

In other words, the official Assyrian name for Israel was Ghomri, or "of Gomer." As I said earlier, this was also softened to Khumri, as written on the Black Obelisk of Shalmanezer, where Jehu is depicted paying tribute to the Assyrian king:

"Payment of tribute by 'Iaua (Jehu), the son of Khumri (Omri),' who brought silver, gold, lead, and bowls, dishes, cups, and other vessels of gold. The description 'son of Omri' is thought merely to show that Jehu was an Israelite, because Israelitish territory was called 'Bit Khumri'." (A Guide to the Babylonian and Assyrian Antiquities of the British Museum, 1922, printed by the Trustees, p. 46-47)

So the Israelites were called Ghomri, Khumri, or Bit Humria ("House of Omri"). There is no question that these names were derived from King Omri of Israel, the one who built Samaria (1 Kings 16:24). In English we know him as Omri; but in the most ancient Hebrew language, his name was pronounced Ghomri.

For this reason, God chose Gomer to be the harlot wife of Hosea to depict Israel's adulterous relationship with God (Hosea 1:3). Gomer was the official name for the House of Israel used by the Assyrians who would soon take them captive. And Hosea had the same name as the last king of Israel, Hoshea (2 Kings 18:10). Both Hosea and Gomer were prophetic types, and the prophecies are revealed by their very names.

So Israel was taken captive to Assyria under the name Gomer or Ghomri, and it was not long before these Ghomri took over the territory that had already been occupied by another Gomer, the descendants of Japheth's son by that name. This is how God tricked the later historians into thinking that these Israelites were descended from Japheth's son, Gomer, when in fact they were mostly descended from the Israelite Gomer. Hence, Bullinger's note on Gen. 10:2 in The Companion Bible says,

"Gomer. In Assyrian Gimirra (the Kimmerians of Herodotus. Progenitor of the Celts."

A Dictionary of the Bible, by John D. Davis, says in its writing on Gomer,

"They are generally considered to have been identical with the Cimbri of Roman times and the Cymry of Wales. Cambria and even Cumberland still preserves the memory of their name."

Smith's Bible Dictionary says,

"Eldest son of Japheth. Progenitor of the Cimmerians . . . The Cymri of Wales, Cambria, and Cumberland in England are assigned to the same origin."

Historians are well aware that these Gimirra (Ghomri) migrated into Europe, splitting off into many different groups. The Romans fought them in battle many times. Their name is preserved in many places, including England. The Welsh still call themselves Cymri (pronounced Khumri) even today. Where did this name come from? Was it from Japheth's son, as most people assume? Or was it from the Israelite King Omri? Yes, both. "May God enlarge Japheth, and let him dwell in the tents of Shem" (Gen. 9:27).

The prophecy shows that Shem is taking the lead, because it is Japheth dwelling in Shem's tent, not the other way around. However, God also used this situation to hide the lost sheep of the House of Israel by causing the historians to confuse Japheth-Gomer with Israel-Gomer.

Prof. Rawlinson, the great archeologist, mused in a footnote about the possible connection between the Gimirra and the Israelites, but said no more about it. I have read the quotation from a library book, but do not have a copy in my possession. Rawlinson almost revealed the identity of those lost sheep of the house of Israel a bit too early, so God shut him up, lest the purposes of God for modern Zionism be thwarted. 

The very fact that Israel had to be "lost" is prophesied in the life of Joseph, son of Jacob-Israel. Joseph was "lost" in Egypt and presumed dead for a long time. So also, his descendants of the House of Israel would later be lost and presumed dead. Joseph's sons received the name Israel that the angel had given Jacob (Gen. 48:16), along with the Birthright (1 Chron. 5:1, 2). Inherent in the Birthright was the right to become the sons of God, as I have so often explained.

This long biblical story shows that God dispersed Israel, never to return to the old land, even asJoseph never again lived in Canaan after going to Egypt. The prophesied regathering of Israel would be with (true) Judah "under one Head" (Hosea 1:11), and Isaiah 56:8 says that "others" will also be gathered with them. Among these "others" are the descendants of Japheth, particularly Gomer, as I have shown here. But in the end, the new Temple that God has built is a house of prayer for all people (Is. 56:7). This is the Temple built upon the Chief Cornerstone of Jesus Christ and the foundations of the apostles and prophets (Eph. 2:20-22).

If any other temple is built other than this true temple, you can be sure it is a counterfeit. If one is built in Hagar-Jerusalem, you can be sure that it is an Old Covenant temple and is NOT the New Jerusalem temple where Jesus is the high priest of the Melchizedek Order.