Beginning with the Assyrian and Babylonian captivities in the 8th and 6th centuries BC, the tribes of Israel were scattered, but they were never lost. James speaks of them in his day. “James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting” (James. 1:1). In the Tribulation, 144,000 evangelists will be sealed out of the 12 tribes of Israel (Revelation 7:4-8). “The mention of the twelve tribes of Israel is likewise a refutation of the idea that the tribes of Israel are lost, as well as of the theory that the lost tribes are perpetuated in the English-speaking people of the world [British Israelism]. Though genealogies have been lost, a modern Jew can be assured that he belongs to the seed of Abraham; and God knows into which tribe he should be classified” (John Walvoord).
