Hundreds of years ago ten of the twelve tribes of Israel split from the other two tribes–Judah and Benjamin (nicknamed “Jews” by the King James translators)–over a taxation dispute. The ten tribes, called “Israel,” were later defeated by the Assyrians and taken captive because of their sins. Then later God scattered them throughout the world where they became parts of the world’s various Gentile nations into which they immigrated. Over the generations following their global scattering they embraced their respective host nations’ religions, languages, customs, etc. Because of this they eventually lost their Israelite identity. Having become totally “Gentilized,” neither the modern world nor they themselves are aware that they are Israelites. For all practical purposes they are “lost” to themselves and to the Gentile world. For this reason they have become known as “the lost ten tribes of Israel.” Today they number in the hundreds of millions, possibly billions, worldwide. Having become totally Gentilized, they and their Gentile neighbors “know” that they are Gentiles. Though lost to man, the children of Israel are not lost to God. By the time of Jesus’ earthly ministry they had become so much a part of their new localities that only God knew who and where they were. They were still His Chosen People, and as such they had to be told about their Messiah’s arrival on earth. The apostles would be sent to tell them. See Who and Where is Israel Today?

In Matthew 10:6 we find Jesus giving His disciples, soon to be apostles (sent ones) their assignment. They were to go throughout the world, find His lost sheep and tell them that their long-awaited Messiah had come bearing the good news–the gospel–about the coming Kingdom of God. Being “lost,” there is only one way that the apostles could locate them–through divine guidance. By God’s direct (Holy Spirit directed) leadership, the apostles scattered throughout the world, entered the nations where they had settled and told them that the Messiah promised in the Old Testament had indeed come. As they preached His gospel they would perform miracles in order to prove to their fellow Israelites/”Gentiles” that what they were telling them was true.

Bible students will notice that, though the apostles spoke only their native tongue, they were sent into numerous nations whose languages they did not know. The apostles being few and the nations many, each apostle would need to speak several different languages. There is no indication that they used interpreters while preaching in those nations. Question: How did the apostles communicate with their fellow Israelites in their various Gentile languages? Though I have no proof, I believe they did so in the same way they addressed the multitudes who had gathered in Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost, people who had traveled there from “every nation under heaven” (Acts 2:5). Those people were amazed because “every man heard them (the disciples) speak in his own language” (2:6). I don’t pretend to understand the mechanics of this miracle, but I can envision no other explanation for how the apostles communicated with people from many different nations in many different languages. I believe that God’s men will again speak to people in different languages using the same power–God’s Holy Spirit. And I believe that the time is rapidly approaching when this, along with other miraculous acts, will take place as a matter of course. I believe that this, and many other unbelievable, never-before-seen miracles will soon be performed by God’s messengers as part of the “greater things” Jesus promised those who believe and obey His Word.

I also believe that in the near future the Lord’s ministers will experience instant, world-wide travel without mechanical help. Did not Elijah travel through the air in a horse-drawn chariot (2 Ki. 2:11,12)? Was not Philip miraculously transported from one place to another (Acts 8:40)? Did not Elijah outrun King Ahab’s horses (1 Ki. 18:44-46)?

God has always sent warnings before He punished people and nations. The world is about to be punished as never before. Because there are so few true ministers of God and over seven billion people to preach to, He will need to use His miraculous powers to tell the world’s masses His Truth and warn them just before the beginning of the Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord comes crashing down upon them. That the world will hear God’s Truth spoken and see His miracles performed is proved in Matthew 10:5-8 where Jesus is telling His apostles to “… go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And as you go, preach, saying ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand, heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils, freely you have received (power to do those things), freely give (the fruits of that power to others).” Just before His death Jesus told the disciples once again what they were to do and where they were to do it: “This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world as a witness to all nations, and then the end shall come” (Mat. 24:14). The kingdom of heaven is the church that Jesus established on the Day of Pentecost 31 A.D. The true Church of God (not the denomination) is the forerunner of the Kingdom of God He will establish upon His return to earth. The world saw the miracles of Jesus performed by the apostles during their earthly ministries. However, the world has not seen the “greater things” Jesus promised his true saints. I believe that the entire world will indeed see those “greater things” take  place in the very near future. L.J.