FUTURE OF THE LEVITES
There are a number of Scriptures which clearly show us that the Levitical Priesthood will be restored during the time of the Messiah – His Millennial reign on earth. Many of the Psalms double up as prophecies. For example, the following is clearly Millennial: “O house of Israel, bless the LORD! O house of Aaron, bless the LORD! O house of Levi, bless the LORD! You who fear the LORD, bless the LORD! Blessed be the LORD from Zion, he who dwells in Jerusalem! Praise the LORD!” (Ps 135:19-21)
Look at the chapters in Ezekiel on the Millennial temple and the role of the Priests and Levites: “And he said to me, “This chamber that faces south is for the priests who have charge of the temple,
and the chamber that faces north is for the priests who have charge of the altar. These are the sons of Zadok, who alone among the sons of Levi may come near to the LORD to minister to him.” (Ezek 40:45-46. See also 48:31)
The Levites are mentioned in another Millennial prophecy in Zech 12:12-13. As we can see, during the Millennial reign of the Messiah, the Levites will function once again (Is 66:20-21) even though they, as a tribe, have always been around (Jer 33:18). Currently their physical role is on hold while there is no Temple in Jerusalem and Israel has not yet been fully regathered into the Holy Land (this will be fulfilled at the Second Exodus). Like all the tribes of Israel, they have gone into apostasy (Jer 33:20-22; Ezek 43:19; 44:10) but it is prophesied that they will repent (Mal 3:3; Ezek 48:11-31; 45:5; Ps 135:19-20; Rev 7:7).
You can read more about the revival of the Levites and the sacrificial system during the Millennium in the articles by this author listed at the rear of this section. In the meantime, are there Levites among today’s Christian clergy (and Jewish community)? “Since many of the Levites undoubtedly remained among the Ten Tribes -- although we know many continued among the Jews -- and since those remaining among the Ten Tribes have lost their identity along with all Ten Tribes, it is entirely possible that many if not most, of the called true ministry of Jesus Christ through the centuries have been of the tribe of Levi.” (Herbert W. Armstrong, United States and Britain in Prophecy, p. 56)30
30 Even some Mormon (Latter-day Saints) believe that their ministry is the restored or continuation of the Levitical Priesthood. One such group is Aaronic Order which published a book The True Church of God (With His Levites). See pp. 19-23, 64, 83, 85-87, 90-91, 95, 112, 118-119.
Given the multi-racial and multi-national component of the ministry (one can easily discern their physical differences), it is more likely that the word “some” would be better that “many if not most”. One issue that can arise due to this belief by certain ones is that some place themselves above the brethren claiming to be priests or sort of priests instead of elders that guide the flock.
Sometimes this belief is probably generated by the belief that they arise from genetic Levitical stock, and this somehow justifies their cruel and oppressive behaviours toward the brethren. Shouting, setting people up, slander, wrongful excommunications and such like. However, it is possible that some elders descend from Levitical stock, but that does not make them priests today nor should they act in that fashion. “Enoch David and William Davis, two leading Sabbatarian ministers, were of Welsh descent. Welsh influence among Sabbatarian Baptists may parallel that among the first-day Baptists, in replacing Arminian philosophy with Calvinism. Davis played a powerful role in shaping the future of Sabbatarian Baptists. It has been stated that William Davis has never lacked a direct descendant as a Seventh Day Baptist minister, and the denomination today is studded with his descendants. Corliss Fitz Randolph, the late "official" historian, was a descendant of Davis and colored his view of history in favor of his ancestor.” (Richard Nickels, Sabbatarian Baptists in America, ch. 5)
“Welsh Sabbath-keepers were prevalent until 1115, when the first Roman bishop was seated at St. David’s. Vavasor Powell (1617-1671), a Welsh preacher with quite a following, had “the sentiments of a Sabbatarian Baptist” (Neal’s History of the Puritans, pages 2, 274).”” (Richard Nickels, Sabbatarian Baptists in America, ch. 1).
Did the Levites really continue into the Churches in both true and apostate form? Jer 33:18; Mal 2:7-8; 3:3 may indicate such. Notice that some of the Levites entered the ministry in New Testament times (Acts 4:5-6). And in Acts 6:6-7 many of the priests joined the ministry, but now as elders and no longer as priests. This came about as the natural efforts of the Apostles in Acts 2:46; 3:1; 5:42. Notice also that in Acts 15:4-5; 20:17, 28 many of these priests assisted the Apostles and would have served as elders only. One British-Israel author made some interesting comments about the descendants of Levi and that many of them might be within the clergy (and one might add, also the Church of God): “It is true that the Levites were scattered among Israel--not only among the Jews but among the Western nations. Both the Jewish and the Christian clergy Jews but among the Western nations. Both the Jewish and the Christian clergy have their share of Levites. Their names vary somewhat, according to their esidence: Levi, Levy, Levine, Levis, Lewis, Levit, Lewyt, LeVeen, Le Vine,Levenson, Levinsky, Lewisohn, etc. Another family of the Levites are the Cohens (literally "priests") who are known in different lands as Kohns, Cohans, Cowans, etc. "
“However, we should make it clear that the descendants of Levi now have no monopoly of the ministerial or educational fields as they once did in Israel. For since the first advent of the Messiah, Yahshua (who was both the Lamb of Yahweh and a High Priest after the order of Melchizadek), He has opened the door of the priesthood to every true child of Yahweh …” (Angelo Traina,Treasure in the Field, p. 96). An example may be Ken Lewis who was a Church of God minister in Australia, a very nice and kind man. Rather different to wolves that tear apart and scatter God’s children. They will meet their fate. But in the Millennium, the Levitical Priesthood will be revived in connection to the Temple system and the elders will also continue operating in God’s revived and refreshed system on earth.
Suggested Further Reading:
• Do Sacrifices Provide Forgiveness? by Craig M White.
• Understanding the Burnt Offering. by Craig M White.
• Will the Temple, Sacrifices & Tribal Allotments be restored during the Millennium? by Craig M White.
CONCLUDING REMARKS
A Dr. Jacques Abaddie (1654-1727), wrote the following in his Le Triomphe de la Providence et de la Religion in 1723, wrote: "Certainly, unless the Ten Tribes have flown into the air, or been plunged to the earth's centre, they must be sought in that part of the North which, in the time of Constantine, was converted to the Christian Faith - namely among the Iberians, Armenians, and Scythians; for that was the place of their dispersion-the wilderness where God caused them to dwell in tents, as when they came out of the land of Egypt... Perhaps, were the subject carefully examined, it would be found that the nations who in the fifth age made irruption into the Roman Empire, and whom Procopius reduces to ten in number, wer in effect the Ten Tribes,who kept in a state of separation up to that time, then quitted the Euxine and Caspian, the place of their exile, because the country could no longer contain them. Everything fortifies this conjecture; the extraordinary multiplication of this people, marked so precisely by the prophets, the number of the tribes, the custom of those nations to dwell in tents, according to the oracles, and many other usages of the Scythians similar to those of the children of Israel."
Abaddie was the Dean of Killaloe, Ireland and a Huguenot refugee (they were French, Calvinistic Protestants) who put in writing these thoughts. Indeed! For the Israelites did migrate north via the area we call Armenia and the Iberian Caucasus region and into southern Russia becoming known as Scythians and also the Cimmerians. We have seen that the Welsh name Cymry likely derives from Cimmerian, and this can be a variation or transliteration of Khumri (= House of Omri). Further, the Welsh and certain of the Scots descend from this ancient tribe of Levi and continue the bloodline, fierceness and religious fervour (even if their religion has been contaminated). The similarities are just too obvious to ignore.
APPENDIX. WHO WERE THE CIMMERIANS/WELSH? TRIBE OF LEVI
[NB: I came across a protestant website that promotes the belief in the Welsh – Levi connection which I include below. https://christianbaptistliving.com/, 12 Feb 2014].
Who were the Cimmerians {KMR}? Where did they come from? Does anybody know?
The Cimmerians {KMR} SUDDENLY show up in history about 710 BC when they were pushed out of the Russian Steppes by the Scythians {SKD}. Some of them moved into what is now modern-day Crimea and in the 5th century BC established the Kingdom of Cimmerian Bosporus. They were there long enough to leave their name there, ‘Crimea,’ which is derived from Cimmeria {KMR}.
The rest of the Cimmerians {KMR} moved south across the Caucasus Mountains first destroying Urartu (near MT Ararat) and then the kingdom of Phrygia in Anatolia (in modern Turkey). In 705 BC Sargon II, king of Assyria, was killed fighting the Cimmerians {KMR}. Appian writes in Mithridates 114 that east of the Roman province of Pontus et Bythinia (in modern Turkey and about 59 BC) lived the Iberi (Hebrews) {BR} and the Albani (Whites, probably because of white skin, most likely ancestors of modern Albania) {LBN}. This is also one of the areas that the Israelites were deported to and also the area that the Cimmerians {KMR} overran.
Herodotus says, “It is that the wandering Scythians {SKD} once dwelt in Asia, and there warred with the Massagetae {SKD} (descendants of the deported Israelites?), but with ill success; they (the Scythians {SKD}) therefore quitted their homes, crossed the Araxes, and entered the land of Cimmeria {KMR}. For the land which is now (circa 440 BC) inhabited by the Scyths {SKD} was formerly the country of the Cimmerians {KMR}.” He also noted, “Scythia {SKD} still (circa 440 BC) retains traces of the Cimmerians {KMR}; there are Cimmerian {KMR} castles, and a Cimmerian {KMR} ferry (on the Tanais {DN} River (modern day Don River{DN}?)), also a tract called Cimmeria {KMR}, and a Cimmerian {KMR} Bosphorus. It appears likewise that the Cimmerians {KMR}, when they fled into Asia to escape the Scyths {SKD}, made a settlement in the peninsula where the Greek city of Sinope was afterwards built.” (History of Herodotus, book IV)
But WHERE were the Cimmerians {KMR} BEFORE 710 BC? History is totally silent regarding their whereabouts. And WHERE are their descendants TODAY? No one seems to know.
What is known is that the Assyrians called ancient Israel ‘mat-bit-Humria’ {MD BD KMR} (the land of the house of Omri) or ‘Bet Omri’ {BD KMR} (the house of Omri) or ‘Bit Humri’ {BD KMR} (the house of Omri) or simply ‘Khumri {KMR}’, calling Israel after its most famous king, King Omri {KMR} (c885-873 BC). We also know that King Tilgath-Pilser III (King Pul) deported most of Israel in 734-732 BC and King Sargon II of Assyria deported the rest of the people of the kingdom of Israel (NOT to be confused with the kingdom of Judah {JD} to the south) in 721-718 BC. The Israelites of the first captivity were settled on the fringes of the Assyrian Empire south of the Caspian Sea, and were eventually referred to as Cimmerians. Those Israelites of the second captivity were resettled primarily in the Assyrian controlled province of Medo-Persia which is to the south and east of the first captivity. These people were eventually referred to as Scythians {SKD}. This is exactly the territory in which the Cimmerians {KMR} and Scythians {SKD} FIRST appeared in history a few years LATER.
Could the Cimmerians {KMR} actually be part of the Israelites resettled by Tilgath-Pilser and Sargon II? Yes, for several reasons. First, the Cimmerians {KMR} do NOT appear in history until shortly AFTER the Israelite resettlement. Second, they first appear in exactly the SAME territory. And third, the name ‘Cimmeria {KMR}’actually derives from ‘Omri {KMR}’ the ancient king of Israel. Some say that the Cimmerians {KMR} were descendants of Gomer {KMR} the son of Japheth, but if so, WHY is history silent about them prior to the deportation of the Israelites? Since the Cimmerians {KMR} first appeared in history, they have shown up in various parts of Europe, quite often leaving their name behind. For example, the peninsula Denmark {DN} occupies is the Cymbric {KMR} Peninsula. Names like Umbria {KMR}, Cambria {KMR}, Cumberland {KMR}, Crimea {KRM}, etc are also waymarks of the Cimmerians {KMR}. Even today, the official Celtic name of Wales is CYMRU {KMR} and of the Welsh people is CYMRY! {KMR}
Are the Welsh the descendants of the Cimmerians {KMR}? They claim to be. Their name says they are. Samuel Lysons states, “the Cimmerians {KMR} seeming to be the same people (as) the Gauls {KL} or Celts {KLD} under a different name; and it is observable that the Welsh (a Celtic {KLD} people), who are descended from the Gauls {KL}, still call themselves Cymri {KMR} or Kymry {KMR}.” (Our British Ancestors, 1865, pp 23,27). The time-trail of Cimmerian {KMR} names STARTS in the Russian Steppes about 710 BC and ENDS in modern day Wales!
Does this mean that the Welsh are descendants of ancient Israel? Is there ANY other possibility? Not to my knowledge. Is there anything else that supports the Welsh coming from ancient Israel? Examine the Welsh language. Several studies have been done comparing modern Welsh to ancient Hebrew. What was found? There is an unmistakeable and absolute relationship between them!!! Whole SENTENCES are exactly the same in BOTH languages! Not just one sentence, but hundreds and hundreds. Even more common are exact phraseologies, and more common yet are vocabulary words.
Outside of the Celtic {KLD} languages (Welsh, Cornish, Manx, Gaelic, Breton, etc.) NO LANGUAGE ON EARTH (with the possible exception of Basque, which could be derived from Hebrew {BR} when the ancient Danites {DN} inhabited the Iberian {BR} Penninsula before migrating to Hibernia {BR}, now called Ireland) CAN CLAIM to be even REMOTELY related to Hebrew {BR}, as none of them to the best of my knowledge have more than a small smattering of words and phrases ADOPTED from Hebrew {BR}.
Now before you go out on a limb and say that Welsh and Hebrew {BR} don’t look alike, be aware of several things. First, Welsh is written from LEFT to RIGHT, while today Hebrew is written from RIGHT to LEFT, although anciently Hebrew could be written EITHER LEFT to RIGHT OR RIGHT to LEFT. Second, Welsh and Hebrew use DIFFERENT alphabets. Third, written Welsh uses vowels and ancient written Hebrew does NOT use vowels, although modern Hebrew does use ‘vowel points’. Fourth, over time the vocabularies and structures of both have diverged as new things and new ideas needed to be expressed. Fifth, Welsh sometimes uses two or more words to replace the original Hebrew word and vice versa, but when you concatenate all of these words into a single word, this concatenated word is exactly the same as the word in the other language with exactly the same meaning. To compare these languages, one must use sentences and words extant in ancient Hebrew. When one does this, an extremely large number of these sentences have the same exact meaning in modern Welsh and when spoken can be understood by the modern Welsh. Is Welsh (and by extension, other Celtic languages) really a modernized version of ancient Hebrew? In my opinion, absolutely yes! Does this mean that the Celtic {KLD} peoples are DIRECT descendants of the ancient Hebrews {BR}? I see no other alternative.
So, WHICH tribe could the Welsh (Cimmerians {KMR}) be descended from? The Welsh are world famous for their singing and their choirs. Which tribe of Israel contained the cantors of Israel? The tribe of Levi {LV}, whose sole duty was to educate Israel in the ways of God, which included all of the music of the Temple. What about the names Wales and Welsh? Are they in any way connected to the tribe of Levi {LV}? Possibly, but I know of no way of proving/disproving this conjecture. Hebrew, both ancient and modern, uses ONLY consonants when writing, so the tribe Levi {LV} would be written “VL” in Hebrew which writes from right to left. The letters and sounds of V and W are often interchangeable from language to language, like in Latin and German and others. So, since the Welsh now write from left to right, could the name Wales (VaLes, or VL) be a holdover from when the ancestors of the Welsh were of the tribe of Levi {LV} and wrote Levi as “VL”? I don’t know, but this seems reasonable given everything else that points to the Welsh being from the tribe of Levi {LV}. In conclusion, everything points to the people of Wales (Cymry {KMR}) being descendants of ancient lost tribes of Israel, probably from the tribe of Levi {LV}. Michelle - April 18, 2016 at 4:46 pm
Another interesting titbit: the House of Omri (Israelites) was referred to as ‘Bit Humri’ or Bet Omri’. There is a very popular Welsh motto which reads ‘Cymru am byth!’ (Wales forever!). It doesn’t take much imagination to see the connection ‘Bet Omri’ vs ‘Cymru (am) Byt(h). Long live the House of Omri!
There are a number of Scriptures which clearly show us that the Levitical Priesthood will be restored during the time of the Messiah – His Millennial reign on earth. Many of the Psalms double up as prophecies. For example, the following is clearly Millennial:
“O house of Israel, bless the LORD! O house of Aaron, bless the LORD!
O house of Levi, bless the LORD! You who fear the LORD, bless the LORD! Blessed be the LORD from Zion, he who dwells in Jerusalem! Praise the LORD!” (Ps 135:19-21)
Look at the chapters in Ezekiel on the Millennial temple and the role of the Priests and Levites:
“And he said to me, “This chamber that faces south is for the priests who have charge of the temple,
and the chamber that faces north is for the priests who have charge of the altar. These are the sons of Zadok, who alone among the sons of Levi may come near to the LORD to minister to him.” (Ezek 40:45-46. See also 48:31)
The Levites are mentioned in another Millennial prophecy in Zech 12:12-13. As we can see, during the Millennial reign of the Messiah, the Levites will function once again (Is 66:20-21) even though they, as a tribe, have always been around (Jer 33:18). Currently their physical role is on hold while there is no Temple in Jerusalem and Israel has not yet been fully regathered into the Holy Land (this will be fulfilled at the Second Exodus). Like all the tribes of Israel, they have gone into apostasy (Jer 33:20-22; Ezek 43:19; 44:10) but it is prophesied that they will repent (Mal 3:3; Ezek 48:11-31; 45:5; Ps 135:19-20; Rev 7:7). You can read more about the revival of the Levites and the sacrificial system during the Millennium in the articles by this author listed at the rear of this section. In the meantime, are there Levites among today’s Christian clergy (and Jewish community)?
“Since many of the Levites undoubtedly remained among the Ten Tribes -- although we know many continued among the Jews -- and since those remaining among the Ten Tribes have lost their identity along with all Ten Tribes, it is entirely possible that many if not most, of the called true ministry of Jesus Christ through the centuries have been of the tribe of Levi.” (Herbert W. Armstrong, United States and Britain in Prophecy, p. 56)30
30 Even some Mormon (Latter-day Saints) believe that their ministry is the restored or continuation of the Levitical Priesthood. One such group is Aaronic Order which published a book The True Church of God (With His Levites). See pp. 19-23, 64, 83, 85-87, 90-91, 95, 112, 118-119.
Given the multi-racial and multi-national component of the ministry (one can easily discern their physical differences), it is more likely that the word “some” would be better that “many if not most”. One issue that can arise due to this belief by certain ones is that some place themselves above the brethren claiming to be priests or sort of priests instead of elders that guide the flock. They were able to do this via deception: they told the Shechem and his father Hamor that all the men of the city had to be circumcised to enable the marriage with Dinah to proceed (Gen 34:13-24). Given the state that the men of the city were in after circumcision, this provided the ideal opportunity for the brothers to utilise their extreme behaviours on an entire city. While they slaughtered, the other brothers plundered (Gen 34:25-29). The excuse to undertake such a horrific act was supposedly to protect Dinah’s honour, but this did not please their father who anticipated that surrounding peoples would react to the slaughter (Gen 34:30-31). As we have seen, the blessing of Jacob in Gen 49:5-7 reflects this: they would be scattered or allocated among the tribes (this does not rule out concentrations of these people in various places) with the Simeonites allocation within Judah (Josh 19:1-9). Similarly, due to his nature, Levi’s descendants were not allocated a single tribal geographic area at that time, but instead were allocated among the tribes (Num 18:23-24; 35:1-8; Josh 21:1-45) – in this way they became the religious leaders and priesthood without a land allocation (Josh 13:14, 33; 14:3-4; 18:7). No land? No problem! God and the priesthood became their inheritance. This Levitical allocation “out of the inheritance” of the tribes were 48 cities (Josh 21:3, 41-42) including the cities of refuge (Josh 21:13, 21-27, 32-38; Num 35:6). Instead of slaughtering indiscriminately, they now became the protectors of man slaughterers under certain circumstances. But when it was necessary, their violent nature could be unleashed upon the apostate (Ex 32:25-29) in defence of the honor of God Himself. The Levites held various offices such as that of judges, teachers (see Peter Leithart, “What is a Priest?”, Biblical Horizons, Jan 1992, pp. 3-4) and many of their duties are mentioned in Num 1:50; Deut 10:8; 33:10; IIChron 17:7-9; 35:3; Neh 8:7-9; Mal 2:4-7. In this way they redeemed themselves and, in a sense, also their forefather. Their violent nature extended to the daily slaughter of animals as part of the sacrificial system and also to function as the guardians of the Tabernacle and Temple (Num 1:53) as sort of ‘warrior-priests’. They were to “work and keep” the sanctuary (Num 3:7-8; 8:26; 18:5-6).
While the nature of him and his descendants were violent (Gen 34:25-31), this could also be transferred to righteous wrath in service of God (Ex 32:26-28; Num 25:7-13; IIChron 23:1-9). They were therefore ideal for service in the ministerial and priestly capacity at the Tabernacle (Ex 38:21) and set aside for this purpose and for other offices of public service such as in the judiciary (Deut 17:9; Num 8:6, 10-15; IIChron 19:8, 11; Ezek 44:24 etc). The Gershonites and Merarites handled the sanctuary (Num 7:1-8) but not the Kohathites (v 8; 4:15; Deut 10:8; IISam 6:6 – they were not permitted to touch the holy things). Refer also to IChron 13:9-10; Josh 3:3, 6, 8, 17; 4:9-10, 16-18. Other duties included functioning as teachers and health inspectors (Deut 24:8; 31:9; 33:10; Mal 2:6; 3:7; IIChron 35:3; 17:7-9; Neh 8:7; Jer 2:8; 18:18; Ezek 44:23); and money collectors for the national income scheme (Num 18:24; IIChron 24:4-11).
2 Where are the Levites today? Version 1.0 Authored by Craig Martin White. Copyright © Craig Martin White, GPO Box 864, Sydney, Australia 2001. All Rights Reserved. This work is promoted through History Research Foundation (USA), History Research Projects (Australia) and Friends of the Sabbath (Australia) www.friendsofsabbath.org No part of this work may be edited. It may be freely shared as part of research, projects or for educational purposes as long as quotes are properly cited. All graphics are taken from the internet where they were made freely available. “Your majesty says very true; if your majesties is remembered of it, the Welshmen did good service in a garden where leeks did grow, wearing leeks in their Monmouth caps; which, your majesty know, to this hour is an honourable badge of the service; and I do believe your majesty takes no scorn to wear the leek upon Saint Tavy’s day.” (Shakespeare, Henry V: Act 4, Scene 7) DRAFT Where are the Levites today?
