Continued
CHAPTER 6: “THE SCYTHIAN ’SACAE,’ — THE ASIAN SONS OF ISAAC”
“Scythian” was a term describing many people who lived in ancient Asia near the Black and Caspian Seas. Many Scythian tribes, the “Sacae,” were named after the biblical patriarch, Isaac. The Sacae appear in this region soon after the fall of the kingdom of Israel. The Greeks record the Black Sea Scythians were very civilized people who eschewed foreign religions and had such Hebrew customs as banning the consumption of pork. The Scythians renamed all the major rivers flowing into the Black Sea, giving them their modern names (Danube, Don, etc.) which preserve the name of the Israelite tribe of Dan. The Sacae lived directly north of Palestine (by the Black Sea) when the prophet Jeremiah was told to send a message to the ten tribes of Israel living “north” of Palestine. Few realize that Scythian tribes twice defeated large invasions by the Persian Empire and that they briefly conquered the entire Middle East from Egypt to Mesopotamia. The Greeks recorded much about the Scythians and regarded them as a major power in the ancient world, but modern history almost totally ignores them. Why?
CHAPTER 7: “AN ISRAELITE EMPIRE RISES IN ASIA”
In the 3rd and 2nd centuries B.C., the Parthians defeated the Seleucid Greek Empire founded by Alexander the Great, and established their own empire from the Euphrates River to the western borders of India. They were fellow tribesman of the Scythian Sacae, and several Parthian cities had Hebrew names. One Parthian city, Asaak, was named after Isaac. The name “Parthia” comes from Greek historians, who gave the name “Pretanic” to the Brittanic Isles. When Parthia’s “P” is also changed to a “B,” Parthia’s consonants become “B-R-TH,” the Hebrew word for “covenant.” This chapter lists much evidence that the Parthians were Asian descendants of the ten tribes of Israel.
CHAPTER 8: “PARTHIA — THE FORGOTTEN ANCIENT SUPERPOWER”
Greek and Roman historians regarded Parthia as an equal rival to the Roman Empire, an opinion shared by the famous British historian George Rawlinson. Parthia regularly defeated the Roman Empire in many wars. Many kings of the Sacae Scythians and Parthians bore the name of the royal bloodline of King David, fulfilling God’s promise in Jeremiah 33:17. Even as the Israelites had a hereditary priesthood (the Levites), so did the Parthians (the Magi). The Parthian empire had mounted “knights,” a feudal government system, and a bicameral “parliament” which elected their kings. In the apostolic period, many Parthians became Christians. In the 3rd century A.D. the Parthians were overthrown by the Persians and fled to the Caucasus Mountains and Black Sea region. Classical Greek and Roman writers preserved much information about the Parthians, but modern history texts almost completely ignore them. Why?
CHAPTER 9: “JESUS CHRIST — THE UNTOLD STORY”
Jesus Christ was born during a period of “detente” between Rome and Parthia in which travel and trade flourished. The “Magi” or “Wise Men” who visited Jesus were representatives of the Parthian ruling class who came offering gifts to Jesus, who was “born a king.” Why were Parthians interested in Jesus’ royal bloodline? What was the “star” which led the Magi to Jesus? How large was the delegation of Parthian royalty that visited Jesus Christ? Why did Rome permit Jesus Christ unlimited freedom of travel and speech during a time of often harsh repression of other Jews? Where did Jesus go during the “missing 18 years” of his life from age 12 to age 30? This chapter provides compelling (and surprising) answers for all the above questions, and offers new perspectives on Jesus’ life in light of the geopolitical context of Roman-Parthian relations.
CHAPTER 10: “ISRAELITE MIGRATIONS FROM ASIA AFTER PARTHIA’S FALL”
Vast numbers of Parthians fled to the Caucasus Mountains and Black Sea region after Parthia fell, joining their Scythian cousins who were called “Goths” by the Romans. These armies of refugees needed new homelands, and they sought them by invading the European and Balkan provinces of their historic enemy, the Roman Empire. While some tribes were pagan, others (under Alaric and Theodoric) were more civilized and Christianized than the Romans. As large numbers of refugees poured out of Asia into Europe in search of new homelands, they fought both the Romans and each other. These tribes of Goths, Anglo-Saxons, Germans, etc. overwhelmed Rome and provided the population bases for the modern nations of Europe. These new arrivals brought many aspects of Scythian/Parthian culture with them, including Parthia’s feudal system of government. This chapter examines the role of the descendants of the ten tribes of Israel in these massive migrations.
CHAPTER 11: “THE TRIBES OF ISRAEL IN THE MODERN WORLD”
After tracing the Israelites’ migrations throughout their history, the final chapter seeks to identify each of the tribes of Israel in the modern world. Because God promises that each tribe will be present in the latter days, they must be located among the nations of the modern world if the Bible is truly the infallible Word of God. Using many clues from biblical and secular history as well as a specific prophecy in Genesis 49 about the Israelite tribes in the latter days, specific identifications are offered for all the tribes of Israel in our contemporary world.
© Steven Collins and Origins of Nations Research Project
