In the previous blog, we saw that Scripture makes a clear distinction between Israel and the nations. Israel is characterized by circumcision, the nations by the foreskin. We also saw that Paul describes his readers in Ephesus as people who had no part in the citizenship of Israel and were strangers to the covenants of promise.
Yet it is regularly claimed that the nations to which Paul was sent were, in reality, descendants of the lost ten tribes of Israel. The idea is then that Paul did not actually go to the Gentiles, but to Israelites who had forgotten their ancestry. Is that correct?
Apostle of the nations
Paul calls himself:
Romans 11 ISA
13 But to you I say, the nations: insofar as I am, indeed, an apostle of the nations, I glorify my ministry…
Paul does not say that he was sent to hidden Israelites. He calls himself the apostle of the nations. This raises the question of what Paul understands by the nations. Does he really mean Gentiles, or are they actually the ten tribes of Israel? To answer that question, we must look at the way Paul uses these concepts.
without distinction
When Paul speaks of the nations, he never distinguishes between different types of nations. He simply speaks of the nations, or in other words: the Gentiles.
Nowhere does he distinguish between an Israelite part of the nations and a non-Israelite part.
That would have been the obvious choice if the lost ten tribes played an important role in his ministry. But Paul does not do that anywhere. For him, the nations are simply the nations.
all everywhere
When Paul speaks on the Areopagus in Athens, he addresses not Jews, but Gentiles. There he says:
Acts 17 ISA
30 Looking past the times of ignorance, God now commands all people, everywhere, to reflect.
It is striking that Paul makes no distinction here between different types of nations. He simply speaks of “all” and of “everywhere.” This aligns with his ministry as an apostle of the nations. Wherever Paul goes, he proclaims the same gospel. In doing so, he makes no distinction between an Israelite part of the nations and a non-Israelite part.
If the lost ten tribes were to occupy a special place within his ministry, it would stand to reason that Paul would mention this somewhere. However, he does not do so anywhere. His message is directed to everyone
nations and Israel
In Romans 9, Paul makes a clear distinction between Israel and the nations.
Romans 9 ISA
30 What then shall we say? That the nations, which did not pursue righteousness, grasped righteousness, a righteousness, however, that is from faith,
31 but Israel, which pursued a law of righteousness, did not attain to the law of righteousness.
Here Paul sets two groups against each other: the nations and Israel.
It is striking that he does not speak of Judah against Israel, or of two tribes against ten tribes. His contrast is that between Israel and the nations. If the nations were actually the ten tribes, this contrast becomes difficult to understand. Then Paul would be placing Israel against Israel.
where are the ten tribes?
It is striking that the New Testament nowhere speaks of “the ten tribes”. That is remarkable, because according to the prevailing view regarding the lost ten tribes, they would still exist as a separate part of Israel. Some even believe that Paul was sent at the beginning of his ministry precisely to reach these lost ten tribes.
However, the apostles nowhere use this designation. They speak of Israel, the twelve tribes, Jews, and nations, but never of a separate group called “the ten tribes.”
Paul even speaks of:
Acts 26 ISA
7 which our twelve tribes, by continually worshipping God night and day, hope to reach (…)
Not two tribes and ten tribes, but twelve tribes as one whole. The apostles do not recognize a separate group of “lost ten tribes,” but speak of Israel as one people, consisting of twelve tribes.
a people that is not a people
A little further on, Paul writes:
Romans 10 ISA
19 But, I say: Did Israel not know it at all? First Moses says: I will make you jealous of what is not a nation, I will provoke you to anger by a foolish nation.
Here Paul quotes Moses and applies these words to his own ministry. God uses a people that is “not a people” to provoke Israel to jealousy. That raises a simple question. How can Israel be provoked to jealousy by Israel?
If the nations are in reality the ten tribes of Israel, Paul’s argument loses its force. Then God would be making Israel jealous by means of Israel. However, Paul distinguishes between Israel on the one hand and a people that is “no people” on the other.
Acts 15
The discussion in Acts 15 is also significant. There, a discussion arises regarding believers from the nations. The question reads:
Acts 15 ISA
5 But some arise from the group of the Pharisees, who have become believers, and they say that they must be circumcised, and furthermore, that they be commanded to keep the law of Moses.
Why is this question asked? Because everyone assumes that these people do not belong to Israel. If they were Israelites, the question would be meaningless. After all, an Israelite does not first have to become an Israelite. It is precisely the discussion that shows that the nations are viewed as people outside of Israel. The apostles’ conclusion is subsequently not that these people must become Israel after all, but that God is also gathering a people for His name from the nations (Acts 15:14).
wild branches
In Romans 11, Paul uses the image of the olive tree. Some branches have been broken off and others are being grafted. To the nations, Paul says:
Romans 11 ISA
17 And if any of the branches are broken off, and you, as a wild olive, are grafted in among them…
The nations are not presented here as natural branches returning to their own tree. Paul actually calls them a wild olive tree. Their place in the olive tree rests not on ancestry, but on faith.
God’s plan for the nations
That God is calling the nations in this time does not mean that they are hidden Israelites. On the contrary. The very fact that they are not Israel shows the richness of God’s plan. God does not limit His actions to Israel alone. Through Israel’s fall, salvation has gone to the nations (Rom. 11:11). Just as God once chose Abraham from all nations, so today He calls the ecclesia together from all nations.
Conclusion
Paul was sent to the nations. Throughout his ministry, he distinguishes between Israel and the nations.
In Romans 9 and 10, Israel and the nations stand opposed to each other. In Acts 15, the nations are seen as people outside of Israel. And in Romans 11, they are presented as wild branches that cannot claim the promises on the basis of their ancestry.
Scripture therefore gives no reason to regard the nations as hidden Israelites. When Paul speaks of the nations, he means nations. When he speaks of Israel, he means Israel.