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Who are the Hunters?
Why doesn't your pastor ever speak of them? Did you know that while the Bible speaks of
"fishers' it also speaks of "hunters" in the very same verse? If you are
unfamiliar with this fact, we will quote it from Jeremiah 16:16:
"Behold I will send for many fishers, saith Yahweh,
and they shall fish them; and after WILL I SEND FOR MANY HUNTERS, and they shall hunt them
from every mountain, and from every hill, and out of the holes of the rocks."
Have you ever wondered why your pastor emphasizes with very
much intensity and vigor the subject of the "fishers," and never so much as
mentions the "hunters?" It's as though the Bible never mentioned the topics of
the "fishers' and "hunters" in the same verse! Have you ever asked your
pastor why he never mentions the "hunters' in all his lengthy, politically correct,
and seemingly detailed sermons? After all, your pastor graduated from seminary and knows
all of this, right? Of course, it is probably just a slight oversight on his part that he
has never taken the time to explain this to you, right? Or maybe, he has so many other
more important things to dwell on, he simply does not have time for the insignificant
"hunters." Has your pastor ever used Jeremiah 16:16 for his text?
The pastors are seemingly very quick and prepared to
expound that Christ (whose real Hebrew name was Yeashua), when He called his disciples,
had stated to them in Matthew 4:19:
"And he said unto them, Follow me and I will make you
fishers of men."
Whenever your pastor has quoted this passage, has he ever
made reference to Jeremiah 16:16 and expounded on the relationship of the two verses? If
he hasn't, it would seem quite strange, for "The New Treasury of Scripture
Knowledge," edited by Jerome H. Smith (a special book of cross-references) takes you
to this verse. If then, the calling by Christ (Yeashua) of His disciples was the
fulfillment of Jeremiah 16:16, just when is the fulfillment of the "hunters' supposed
to take place?
Has you pastor ever addressed the question of the
"hungers?" If the calling of the "fishers" is all that important, it
would seem the calling of the "hunters" would be equally significant. Maybe, if
your pastor doesn't want to explain to you who the "hunters" are supposed to be,
with a little ingenuity on your own part, you can figure who these "hunters' might
be, and just what they are to be hunting for. Remember that Jeremiah 16:16 said, "out
of the holes of the rocks?" Who in the world would go "hunting" in
"the holes of the rocks?" Do you suppose it is talking about archaeologists as
being these "hunters?"
If so who would be the "them," for whom these
archeologists would be looking? We can help answer this question of who these
"hunters" are. Do you suppose the "hunters" were to hunt for the same
people the "fishers" were to fish for? Maybe, if one were to read the rest of
Jeremiah chapter 16, one might find who these people are, to whom Yahweh through Jeremiah
referred.
IF THE ARCHAEOLOGISTS ARE THE "HUNTERS' IN QUESTION,
THEY HAVE BEEN QUITE BUSY!
In 1717, the Society of Antiquaries was set up in London.
It received a royal charter in 1751 and issued its first Archeological in 1770. In 1798,
Napoleon "Bonaparte occupied Egypt, which resulted partially in archaeological
investigation. In 1799, the Rosetta Stone (a trilingual inscription) was found which
provided the key to unlocking Egyptian hieroglyphics. In 1805, Ulrich Jasper Seetzen
discovered Caesarea Philippi, Ammon and Gerasa. In 1811, C.S. Rich, the first British
consul at Baghdad, execrated and partially mapped the ruins of Babylon. In 1812, Johan
Ludwig Burkhardt discovered Petra.
In 1815, Lady Hester Stanhope made an attempt to unearth
statuary at Ashkelon. In 1817, Giovanni Battista Belzoni began the search of tombs and
temples of the pharaohs. In 1821-22, Jean Francois Champollion finally broke the
code of the Rosetta Stone. In 1833, Sir Henry Creswicke Rawlinson went to Pesia as a young
officer to organize the Shah's army; became interested in cuneiform; deciphered and later
published the trilingual inscriptions of Darius I on the Behistun.
In 1838, Edward Robinson and Eli Smith traveled throughout
Palestine identifying and describing Biblical cities. In 1842, Paul Emile Botta began
investigation of the mound of Kuyunjik, discovered Khorsabad and the palace of Sargon II,
which opened the way to Assyriology. In 1845, Sir Austen Henry Lyard began excavations at
Nimrud, discovering the 0alaces of Ashurnasirpal, Shalmanese II, find the famous Black
Oblesk and later making other important discoveries. In 1848, F. de Saucy cleared a site
at Jerusalem. In 1840, Karl Richard Lepsius published the results of Prussian expeditions
to Egypt.
In 1850 Auguste Ferdinand Francois Mariette began
investigating "Egypt. In 30 years he excavated and found 15,000 monuments from
Memphis to Karnak in 37 sites. In 1850, W.K. Loftus succeeded Rassam at Nineveh, visited
Erech and other sites in the Wuphrates. In 1850 Konstantin von Tischendorf discovered the
Codex Sinaiticus. In 1863, J.T. Wood explored Ephesus for the British Museum and came upon
the temple of Artemis. In 1864, Giovanni Battista De Rosse began study of the Roman
catacombs. In 1865 the foundation of the Palestine Exploration Fund promoted archeological
research in, and later publication of, Jerusalem and western Palestine.
In 1867, Charles Warren, a British artillery officer, was
financed by the fund to investigate Jerusalem. In 1870, Charles Clermont-Ganneau came to
the French consular service in Palestine, later sent the Mesha Stel to the Louvre;
discovered the famous note prohibiting aliens from intrusion into the Temple Court and
identified the site of Gezer. This same year, the American Palestine Exploration Society
was founded. Also, Heinrih Schliemann discovered Troy, and, with his successor D�rpfeld,
first understood the importance of a tell.
In 1872, The Palestine Exploration Fund sent a party to Palestine to make an
inch-to-mile survey of Western Palestine, headed by Claude "Regnier Conder and
Horatio Herbert Kitchener. This survey was indispensable, basic work for later
archeologists and geographers. In 1873, The Daily Telegraph financed an expedition and
George Smith began work at Numrud; later to Kuyunjik. In 1877, Ernest de Sarzec worked
Lagash, finding statues of early governors and the Victory Stele of Eannatum, awakening
the world to Sumeian archaeology. In 1878, Rassam resumed work for the British Museum at
Nineveh finding a haul of tablets, a clay prism and accounts of the campaigns of
Sennacherib.
In 1879, Hormuzd Rassam investigated the ruins of Babylon. In 1881, Sir Gaston Camille
Charles Maspero discovered many royal sarcophagi at Deir-el-Bahri and continued clearing
work on the temple of Karnak, later publishing his findings. In 1882, Elouard Naville
investigated Egypt. This year also saw W. D�rpfeld join Schliemann at Troy.
In 1884, M. Dieulafoy continued excavations of the royal buildings of Susa. In 1887, a
peasant woman, grubbing for compost in the ruins of Akhenaton's town at Tell el-amarna
unearthed the priceless Tell el-Amarna Letters. In 1888, John P. Peters, directing an
American dig along with Haynes and Hilprecht, discovered 20,000 tablets at Nippur. In
1890, Flinders Petrie spent six weeks on the mound of Tell-el-Hesi, in southwest
Palestine. He succeeded in setting a standard in the principles of stratigraphy and the
utilization of pottery to establish dating.
In 1894, Sir Arthur Evans began work in Crete probing the Minoan civilization. In 1895,
Bernard Pyne Grenfell, with colleague A.S. Hunt, began searching for Greek papyri,
developing the science of papyrology. In 1895, Sir William Mitchell Ramsey, Professor of
Humanity at Aberdeen, did archaeological work in Asia Minor and established the repetition
of Luke as a true historian. In 1896,G.M. Legrain initiated work at Karnak temple. In
1897, J. de Morgan saw work at Susa. In 1898, M. Loret discovered the tomb of Amenhotep II
in the Valley of the Kings.
1899 saw Robert Koldweey at Babylon. 1900 saw George L. Robinson at Petra. 1901 saw Gaston
Cros at Telloh (Lagash). 1902 saw R.A.S. Macalister begin his excavation of Gezer, which
lasted seven years, and, also, Ernst Tellin began a three-year survey of Tell Taanach. In
1903, G. Schumacher, trained by Sellin, oversaw investigation of Megiddo, the well-known
Jeroboam seal being discovered. 1904 saw David G. Hogarth at Ephesus. In 1905, James Henry
Breasted contributed his "Ancient Records of Egypt" and 2nd ed. "History of
Egypt," showing striking advances in Egyptology. 1906 found Hugo Winkler working at
Boghazkoy, a Hittiite site. 1907 saw Herman Thiersch, Herman Kohl, Carl Watzinger and
Ernst Sellin surveying the synagogue of Galilee, with Watzinger and Sellin overseeing a
dig at Jericho.
1908 saw D.G. Lyon, C.S. Fisher and G.A. Reisner at Samaria. 1909 saw Duncan Mackenzie at
Bethshemesh. 1910 saw Howard C. Butler at Sardis. In 1913, Watzinger and Sellin
investigated Shechem. 1917 saw The Palestine Department of Antiquities founded, headed by
John Garstang. 1919, with WWI over, saw Albright, Woolley, Fisher, R.L. Hall, Wace,
Montet, and Dunand at various digs. 1922 saw Albright working at Gibeah. Howard Carter
discovering Tutankhamen's tomb in the Valley of the Kings, A. Schmidt and H. Kaer working
at Shiloh and Sir Charles Leonard Foley digging at Ur.
1923 saw W.J. Phythian-Adams and John Garstang at Ashkelon. 1924 saw David M. Robinson on
the Pisidian Antioch. 1925 saw Dr. Edward
Chiera at Nuzi discovering the Patriarchs were true historical people. 1926 saw W.F. Bad�
at the Biblica Mizpah. In 1928, Elhu Grant began a series of five campaigns at
Beth-Shemesh. 1929 saw Dorthy Garrod investigating Palestinian caves. 1930 saw Theodore D.
McCown with C.S. Fisher continue work at Gerasa, G.L. Robinson discovering Petra's
"high place" and John Garstang working at Jericho. In 1931, Ernst Herzfeld was
at work at Persepolis and A. Maiui at Pompeii and Herculaneum. O. R. Sellers with W.F.
Albright was working at Bethzsur. Also, J.W. Crowfoot continued the project at Samari
where Reisner left off. Then M.E.L. Mallowan appeared on the scene with work at Nineveh.
In 1932, G.E. Ederkin explored the site of Syrian Antioch. J.L. Starkey began a dig at
Lachish. R.W. Hamilton investigated a site at the foot of Carmel. In 1933, Roman Ghirshman
began work at Tepe Siyalk. P. Dikaias was working at Cyprus, Charles Morey continued work
at Syurian Antioch, aided by Richard Stillwell. In 1934, excavations at Bethel were
conducted by J.L. Kelso and W.F. Albright. 1935 saw J.P. Black working at Samari, Erich
Schmidt at Persepolis, and Gordon Loud at Megiddo. 1937 saw Nelson Glueck excavating a
cemetery at Jebel-el-Tannur. In 1938, J.L. Starkey was murdered while Lankaster Harding
and Charles H. Inge continued briefly at Lachish. 1947 brought to light the Dead Sea
Scrolls, of which W.F. Albright later commented. In 1948, Robert Braidwood worked at Qalat
Jarmo, in NE Iraq. 1950 saw William Morton at Dibon in Moab. 1953 saw Joseph P. Free at
Dothan. 1954 saw Kurt Bittel at Boghazkov investigating the Hittite Empire, Zakarie
Goneiun busy at Sqqara, Richard Haines at Nippur, Philip Hammond at Petra, Kamal el
Mallakh at Giza and Jean Perrot at Tel Abu Matar, near Beersheba, etc.
What Did These Hunters Find:
While all of these archaeologists found many things verifying Biblical places, times and
events, probably the most important of these were the cuneiform clay tablets found in the
excavations of the Assyrian royal library at Nineveh. It might appear today, after a lapse
of 2500 years, all hope of tracing the Israelites had been lost in the midst of antiquity.
Archaeologists have, though, during the last 100 years, unearthed and published the
original contemporary records of the Assyrians who took the Israelites captive.
From these records, in recent years, vital clues have come to light. These records consist
of cuneiform clay tablets which can be found today as archaeological evidence of Israel's
migrations. These clay tablets were frontier post reports of Assyrian spies, to the
Assyrian king, keeping watch over the captive peoples. Among these tablets were over 1,400
different texts, including reports of how the captive peoples (Israelites) were breaking
away in small groups and heading northwest in the general direction of Europe.
"Ephraim feedeth on wind, and followeth after the east wind..." (Hosea 12:1)
The texts of these Assyrian clay tablets were not deciphered until about 1930. These
Assyrian reports were saying in effect:
"The last time we saw those sons of Omri (as the Israelites were called by the
Assyrians), they were breaking away and heading in a northwesterly direction toward
Europe."
Not to inquire about this evidence, found by the prophesied "hunters," would
therefore be foolhardy; for there is nothing imprudent in Scripture! After all, who are we
to condemn, repudiate, disavow or scoff at Jeremiah's inspired written prophecy? If
Jeremiah predicted "hunters," you can be assured there would come a time for
"hunting." To accept the "fishers" without the "hunters" is
to embrace only half of Yahweh's Word!
Besides, all this is substantiated by the "apocryphal" book that used to be in
the original King James version of the Bible before the enemies of Yahweh removed it, 2
Esdras 13:3945. The 1611 King James had 2 Esdras in it:
"And whereas thou sawest that he gathered another peaceable multitude unto him; Those
are the ten tribes which were carried away prisoners out of their own land in the time of
Osea the king, whom Salmanasar the king of Assyria led away captive, and he carried them
over the waters and so came they into another land. But they took this counsel among
themselves, that they would leave the multitude of the heathen, and go forth into a
further country, where never mankind dwelt. That they might there keep their statutes,
which they never kept in their own land. And they entered into Euphrates by the narrow
passages of the river. For the most High then shewed signs for them, and held still the
flood, till they were passed over. For though that country there was a great way to go,
namely, of a hear and a half: and the same region is called Arsareth." (Also check
Josephus, Antiquities, 8:11:1; 10:9:7 and 11:5:2)
At this juncture, we can no longer say no one ever told us who the "hunters"
are, or the people for whom they were "hunting!" As a matter of fact, our
Redeemer made it quite clear who the people were to whom He was sent when He instructed
His disciples in Matthew 10:5-6:
"These twelve Jesus (Yeashua) sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the
way of the Gentiles (heathen), and into ANY city of the Samaritans enter ye not: But go
RATHER TO THE LOST SHEEP OF THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL."
This passage is reinforced by Yeashua the Messiah Himself when He said in Matthew 15:24:
"...I am not sent but unto the LOST SHEEP OF THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL."
This coincides perfectly with Amos 3:2 where Yahweh speaks of Israel:
"You only (Israel) have I known of all the families of the earth..."
These passages also accord with Deuteronomy 7:6 where we find:
"For thou ART an holy (set apart) people unto Yahweh thy Mighty One: Yahweh thy
Mighty One hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all the people that
are upon the face of the earth."
This is the same idea brought forth in, and conveys the same meaning as 1st Peter 2:9
which says:
"But ye are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar (set apart)
people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you o ut of darkness
into his marvelous light." (See also Exodus 19:5-6)
The same concept is expressed in Psalm 147:19-20:
"He sheweth his word unto Jacob, his statutes and his judgments unto Israel. HE HATH
NOT DEALT SO WITH ANY NATION: and as for his judgments, they (the non-Israelites) have not
known them."
Again, the same thought is advanced in Deuteronomy 14:2 which says:
"For thou art a people set apart unto Yahweh thy Mighty One, and Yahweh hath chosen
thee to be a peculiar people unto himself, ABOVE ALL THE (other) NATIONS THAT ARE UPON THE
EARTH."
For another rendering of the same basic precept, Isaiah 41:8 says:
"But thou Israel, art my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham my
friend."
CONTRARY TO WHAT THE LYING, DECEIVING, DECEIVING JUDEO-CHRISTIAN CLERGY TEACH, YAHWEH DOES
NOT PROMOTE THE DOCTRINE OF UNIVERSALISM.
More On The Fishers and Hunters:
For this phase of this presentation, we will quote from Howard Rand's "Study in
Jeremiah," pages 81-82 entitled "Fishers And Hunters" (we will use Yahweh
(Tetragrammaton) instead of God:
"Yahweh sets forth the method by which He will bring Israel back to Himself. This is
a most important prophecy for in sending for fishers and hunters the way in which Israel
is to be awakened to spiritual values and to the need of obeying His Covenant is revealed
to Jeremiah:
'Behold, I wills end for many fishers, saith Yahweh, and they shall fish them; and after
will I send for many hungers, and they shall hunt them from every mountain, and from every
hill, and out of the holes of the rocks.' (Jeremiah 16:16)
"Who are these fishers and hunters and what is the particular task each is to perform
in the respective fishing and hunting periods? The sending of these two groups designated
as fishers and hunters indicates that there are two entirely different methods by which an
appeal would be made to Israel. A fisherman patiently waits as he undertakes to snare the
fish in a net or catch it on a line, but the hunter tramps through the woods and over the
hills and mountains exerting energy and strength as he travels in search of his especially
selected prey. Actually Jeremiah prophetically referred tot he two distinct phases of the
Gospel in their respective appeals to Israel for the purpose of bringing them back to
covenant relationship with Yahweh. The first would require fishers and the period of their
fishing is clearly defined by the events of the Gospel Age. The second would require the
hunters and the period of their activity would be at the end of the Gospel Age. This is
demonstrated by the activities of those who have sought to establish the Identity of
Israel in these last days, hunting out the evidence and tracing Israel from Palestine,
throughout her years of wanderings, to the present time. History reveals how faithfully
the predicted fishing and hunting missions have been carried out by those chosen of Yahweh
for each purpose."
Now for some excerpts from this same book from pages 85, 86, and 87 on this same subject
of the fishers and hunters:
Page 85: "The fishers were to be followed by many hunters according to Jeremiah, thus
indicating a change in method and message. The task of the hunters was to SEARCH for
Israel. The fisherman blindly casts his net and gathers into it all kinds of fish, SOME
GOOD AND SOME BAD. (Some Israelite which are to be kept, and some non-Israelite which are
to be cast away at the end of the world. Matthew 13:47-49) That is not so with the hunter
who seeks to find the particular object of his search. All this points to the modern
endeavor to identify the House of Israel in the world today..."
Page 86: "Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel, till the Son of man be
come.' (Matthew 10:23) But the Gospel of the Kingdom was to be proclaimed exclusively to
the Israel peoples. All the cities and towns in the Israel lands have not yet heard this
message which the hunters have been commissioned to proclaim..."
Page 87: "Hearken to me, ye that follow after righteousness, ye that seek Yahweh:
look unto the rock whence ye are hewn, and to the hole of the pit whence ye are digged.
Look unto Abraham you father, and unto Sarah that bare you." (Isaiah 51:1-2)
The New Jerusalem:
In the Book of Revelation, chapter 21, we are told of a city four-square having twelve
gates in all. The city is described as having a great high wall. There are three gates on
each of its four sides, east, north, south and west, with the names of the twelve sons of
Jacob/Israel. In order to enter this city, one is required to be able to enter the gate
according to their tribe. Because nothing abominable will be allowed to enter, each one
entering will have to be a racially pure Israelite with his father's line going through
one of the twelve Patriarchs. Unless one can enter through one of the gates named after
the twelve Patriarchs, there is simply no other way into that city. If you are a racially
pure Israelite, it was your father and mother who made it possible in qualifying for
entering into that city. When we consider all of these things, it becomes quite evident
why we must understand just who the "hunters" are of Jeremiah 16:16.
Although we have said it time and again, it still comes as a surprise to many that the
"Jews" ARE NOT ISRAELITES! We know that this is the message echoed throughout
the Judeo-Christian church world and among the "Jews" themselves, but it simply
is not true. And wishful thinking is not going to make it so. Not one single
"Jew" on the face of the world is an Israelite. Therefore, the biggest lie in
the world is: "the 'Jews' are God's chosen people." The second biggest lie is:
"Jesus was a 'Jew.'" Anyone making these statements is a liar, or is repeating
another person's falsehood. Yeashua told the "Jews," John 10:26: "...ye are
not my sheep."
The Interpreter's Bible vol. 8, page 632: "In that case evidently YOU (Jews) HAVE NO
MANNER OF KINSHIP WITH ME." Again, Yeashua told the "Jews," John 8:47:
"He that is of Yahweh heareth Yahweh's words: ye therefore hear them not, because ye
are not of Yahweh." Yeashua further disassociated himself from the "Jews"
by saying to them, John 8:23: "...Ye (Jews) are from beneath; I am from above: ye are
of this world; I am not of this world."
In Revelation 2:9 and 3:9, Yeashua said of the false Jews: "...I know the blasphemy
of them which say they are Jews (of Judah), and are not, but are the synagogue of
Satan." From this, you can plainly see that "Jews" WILL NOT BE ABLE TO
ENTER THE GATE OF THE CITY MENTIONED IN Relation 21:12 which is inscribed
"Judah."
William MacDonald's Believer's Bible Commentary, pages 2356 & 2359 remarks thusly on
Revelation 2:9 and 3:9:
"As Jews, they claimed to be God's chosen people, but by their blasphemous behavior
they showed that they were a SYNAGOGUE OF SATAN...Those who claimed to be God's chosen
people, though actually a SYNAGOGUE OF SATAN, would be forced to admit that the despised
Christians were actually the chosen flock."
Matthew Poole's Commentary On The Holy bible, volume 3, page 954, goes one step further in
identifying the "Jews" as being the descendants of Cain the murderer:
"BUT ARE THE SYNAGOGUE OF SATAN: but are indeed a collection of devils, or children
of the devil, whose works they do, continually reviling true Christians, and murdering the
saints, after the manner of their father, WHO WAS A MURDERER FROM THE BEGINNING."
Cain was the murderer from the beginning who was fathered by Satan himself in the
seduction of Eve. The "Jews" are actually genetic descendants of Satan himself
walking about in shoe-leather. What does the future hold for Israel then? Jeremiah 46:28
says to our people:
"Fear thou not, O Jacob my servant, saith Yahweh: for I am with thee; for I will make
a full end of all the nations whither I have driven thee: but I will not make a full end
of thee, but correct thee in measure: yet will I not leave thee wholly unpunished."
Again, we ask the question: Who are the hunters? Don't you think it is about time the
pastors in the churches of our Israel lands are asked this question? Why is it that they
refuse comment? After all, the subject of the "hunters" is in the Bible and it
is not going to go away, and the Almighty is going to demand an answer to this question in
Isaiah 56:10-11, it speaks of "shepherds that cannot understand." If our
"shepherds" will not inform us, in the end, it becomes the responsibility of
each one of us to do so. (2 Timothy 2:15)
"Study to shew thyself approved unto Yahweh, a workman that needeth not be ashamed,
rightly dividing the word of truth." (Taken in part from an article by Clifton A.
Emahiser's Teaching Ministries, 1012 N. Vine Street, Fostoria, Ohio 44830, (419) 435-2836)
"Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you,
and when they shall separate you from their
company, and shall reproach you, and cast out
your name as evil, for the Son of man's sake.
Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy: for,
behold, your reward is great in heaven: for in
the like manner did their fathers unto the
prophets." (Luke 6:22-23)
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