The God Culture: The Philippines is the Garden of Eden, the Land of Ophir, and Filipinos are Members of the Lost Tribes of Israel

Who doesn't want to believe they have a destiny? Who doesn't want to believe there is more out there for them than their normal humdrum life? Who doesn't want to believe they belong to a people with a collective special purpose? That even though now they are downtrodden, the scum of the earth, the lowest of the low at some time in the future they will rise up and cast off their chains and boldly rush in to claim their inheritance!

The story of the poor downtrodden nobody who is really a princess or a chosen one is ubiquitous. From Cinderella to Star Wars to the Matrix the story of a poor oppressed person or an unknown neophyte chosen one rising up to riches or leading the people to victory abounds.

What if you were part of a people group who have been essentially colonised for 500 years and have practically lost all real sense of culture from before that time? What if someone came along and said, "You have been lied to all this while and I can give you the answers to who you are?" Don't you think those people would prick up their ears and listen?

I introduce to you The God Culture.

The God Culture is a Youtube channel and website promoting the idea that the Philippines is the location of the garden of Eden, King Solomon's mines (the land of Ophir), and that Filipinos are part of the lost tribes of Israel.  There are 85 videos on the channel and many of them are over an hour long which makes sorting through this series overwhelming. What I hope to do here is give a very brief taste of what is in these videos.

The best place to start is this video which is an animated 6 minute recap of the series about the lost tribes.

This picture shows us that members of the northern nation of Israel settled in Kurdistan (that is the red county) but some members decided to sail far away to the land of Ophir which is the Philippines.

This picture shows us how these lost tribesmen have been dispersed throughout all nations according to Bible prophecy and that is due to the OFW program. Starting at 4:22 we hear:

The lost ten tribes of the northern kingdom in the Philippines through its overseas workers programs have now spread literally into every nation on earth and from Kurdistan the lost tribes have scattered into 66 countries but they retain their Filipino and Kurdish identities mostly.  

That's right the OFW program is Bible prophecy in action.

The yellow in this picture represents the dispersion of the Jews after 70 AD and the fall of Jerusalem. The narrator, his name is Timothy Jay Schwab, has this to say at 4:43

And the three southern kingdom tribes of Africa were scattered all over the Americas, Europe, and even Asia many as slaves in the most brutal and evil of deportations again scattered but they too retained their identity with their homeland. 

Have you spotted what's wrong yet? Let me tell you. The Israelites are Semitic people descended from Shem.  All Middle Eastern people groups are Semitic.  Are Filipinos Semites? Are the black Africans who were enslaved in the Americas Semites? The answer to both questions is NO! As for the Kurds they come from Iran and are wandering nomads with no relation to Israel whatsoever. Right away his whole story falls apart solely based on race.

A Kurd, Filipino, and American slave. Do these people look like they are from the same genetic group?

The second place to go is this video which is a 28 minute long recap of the videos proving that the Philippines is both the garden of Eden and the land of Ophir, Solomon's mines. The Philippines has a surprisingly long history of being identified as Ophir and that claim is not limited to this series of videos. 

At 2:02 Timothy Schwab says:

In the Book of Jubilees which was considered canon scripture and inspired by the ancients John the Baptist and even the early church fathers....  

Here is where a huge crux of Timothy's argument lies. Throughout all of his videos he is constantly referring to the Book of Jubilees as if it is a reliable piece of scripture and history. He even has an entire video dedicated to its defence. For now let's just say unequivocally that the Book of Jubilees was never a part of anyone's canon expect the Ethiopian church and a small Jewish sect. Let's look at two more pictures from this recap video before we explore that.

In this picture we see that Noah's ark landed on Mt. Everest! Did he not read the text he is quoting? The flood waters only rose 15 cubits which is 22 feet! Mt. Everest is 29,000 feet high!! Obviously the ark did not land on Mt. Everest.

In this picture we see one of the most creative aspects of his whole revisionist history. The wisemen from the east who visited the child Jesus bearing gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh all came from the Philippines! Is your mind blown yet? No? Well hold on to your butts!

In his defence of the Book of Jubilees Timothy Jay Schwab cites John the Baptist as holding to its inspiration and canonicity. He does this by asserting the the Dead Sea Scrolls were the personal library of John the Baptist.

At 51:35 in this video we hear: 

So let's address some questions that arise as a result of proving that John the Baptist lived in Qumran and the Dead Sea Scrolls represent John's library.

At 52:24:

But was this the library of John the Baptist? I mean really? Can we say that? Yes. We believe we have proven he lived there and even after his death his disciples would have kept an eye on these. All the Dead Sea Scrolls are they inspired? Are they canon? Are they scripture? We get that a lot whenever we use Jubilees or Enoch for that matter. According to John it appears they are indeed inspired. They are canon. But we will go through each one to further test this to be sure. Even if it is determined that some of the writings may not be scripture it does not mean they are not useful which is what really matters. That is the right question. 

You got to hand it to Timothy and his team of researchers, this is an original thesis. The Book of Jubilees was indeed among one of the texts found in the caves at Qumran. Numerous scrolls were hidden away in vases in 11 caves in Qumran and the complete list can be found here. As long as they are useful to prove what he wants to prove then they are all good even if they are not part of the canon. This begs the question about the pagan poets the Apostle Paul quoted in his preaching and letters. Should we now elevate them to the level of scripture? Why not? 

Good luck going through each one of the scrolls which were found and figuring out what is and is not scripture. What measure will Timothy Schwab use to make that determination? Here is what he says at 5:38 in his video defending the Book of Jubilees:

But let's be clear. That canon was chosen by the Catholic Church which has never nor ever will have the authority to censor nor add a single book to the original canon of scripture.

With that statement we know right away we are dealing with a man who does not understand the history of the formation of the canon. The canon took centuries to be defined. It wasn't done at a single council or by the Catholic Church. It was Athanasius who first wrote down the now accepted New Testament canon while his Old Testament canon adds books rejected and excludes books accepted today. Even then there was still debate over certain books like Hebrews, James, and Revelation. Timothy Jay Schwab also appears to have very little understanding of church history whatsoever when he refers to a monolithic Catholic Church. The church, until the schism of 1054, encompassed East and West and the councils were affirmed by all. But what need does he have for the church anyway? This is a man who consistently says we must challenge tradition and who has written:

The God Culture is a group of independent researchers not affiliated with any denomination nor organization.

https://www.thegodculture.com/

Timothy and his crew are not a part of anything. They are totally outside the church. Who is this guy anyway? Just another white saviour! That's right. He is a white guy living in Delray Beach, Florida who is married to a Filipina and through his studies God has enlightened him to knowledge which has been hidden away for centuries and now Timothy is His herald to the Philippines. 

https://youtu.be/ycOWVQ__1ow

Like Prometheus he comes bearing fire to enlighten the minds of the Filipinos as to their true identity. Timothy Jay Schwab is a true gnostic and revealer of the secret fire. Listen to the interview in the link underneath the above picture. What he says in essence is that the facts he is promoting are truths that have been hidden for centuries. Not only have they been hidden but they have been wilfully suppressed by the Jesuits among other people. Now they are coming to light and it is time for Filipinos to RISE up! RISE Up is literally the name of the conferences they just had across the nation.

Why is this white man the one who is bringing the knowledge? When Israel was delivered from Egypt it was Moses, an Israelite, who delivered the people. Why did God not reveal this knowledge to a Filipino, an Israelite?

The fate of the ten northern tribes of Israel have been the subject of speculation for centuries. It seems as if everyone has claimed to be part of the lost tribes. From British Israelites to Black Hebrews to even certain groups in East Africa the lost tribes have been traced all over the world. I wonder what Timothy thinks of the claims of the British Israelites. Does he even know about them? Does he know about the Stone of Scone or the Behistun inscription? How about the prophecies given to Ephraim and Manasseh? I think it's time to end this but I want to leave you with two real gems I found in his videos.

First up is this video at 14:22:

Can you think, by the way, of a more peaceable multitude than the Filipinos? We can't.

Spoken like a man who has never lived in this country! I suppose the peaceableness of Filipinos is why every house is surrounded by a barbed wire topped fence and every business has an armed guard.

The second is from the same video at 34:07:

So check this out! Malacañang ti Amianan..."Bring the messenger of God from Manasseh to protect my people!" Now some may read that as Marcos and maybe it is but we are not saying that because you will find this tribe in more than one place in the Philippines and we don't know whether we can say Marcos was sent from God or not. But you know, even Solomon who was appointed and anointed by YAHUAH God did not prove out to be a very good king in the end.  Yet he was anointed by YAHUAH God. He took many riches for himself and he really taxed the people. The Bible says he was hard on his people. Not justifying but we still wonder if we even know that full story properly. Especially with all the CIA disinformation which usually bears out to have numerous falsehoods in our research. So we'll render no opinion but this palace is the story here. 

Timothy Jay Schwab is a Marcos apologist. That's what I get from this brief clip. And if you are wondering what YAHUAH is you will have to watch his name of God video series where he tells us how to pronounce the name of God. Every single lost tribe group, without fail, has their own way to pronounce the name of God and of Jesus. Timothy is not unique in this endeavour.

There is so much more I could bring up here but I don't want to expand beyond the bounds of a simple blog post. I have been an off and on student of the lost tribes for years. Also I have delved into church history and the writings of the fathers and the traditions of the church before the schism and I can say without a doubt Timothy Jay Schwab and the God Culture is more ignorant Protestant nonsense which everyone would do good to stay away from.


Post Script

I sent the following email to God Culture via their website:

Dear Timothy Jay Schwab 

A few days ago I wrote to you at schwabmarketing@gmail.com but have yet to receive a response so I am writing to you again through this website contact form in hopes of getting a quicker response. 

I have composed a response and review of your Youtube videos and claims for my blog https://philippinefails.blogspot.com. However before I publish it I have a few questions I hope you will answer. 

1.  You claim to not be part of a denomination or organization yet according to https://talbotspy.org/the-shore-life-magazine-marks-first-anniversary-with-expansion-plans/ you were once a youth pastor and elsewhere you indicate that you were the worship leader at a few churches https://www.linkedin.com/in/tim-schwab-a44173b5/. Are you still part of a church and if so what kind of church? 

2. Are you a trinitarian? Do you believe the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit share one nature and are three separate persons? Or are you a oneness pentecostal who believes that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are manifestations of the same being? 

3. You give a lot of detailed linguistic information in your videos comparing Hebrew with Tagalog asserting that similarity of sound equals similarity of origin. What background in linguistics do you possess? Have you studied Hebrew or Taglog at a collegiate level? 

4. Have you ever lived in the Philippines? Aside from your recent brief trip to the Philippines for the RISE conferences what is your experience with Filipino people and culture? 

5. You claim that Kurds, Filipinos, and West Africans are members of the lost tribes of Israel. Have you heard of other lost tribe theories and claims like those of the British Israelites, Christian Identity, and Black Hebrews? What do you think of their claims?  

6. How can Filipinos and West Africans be members of a Semitic tribe when they are not Semitic peoples? 

7. At 34:07 in your video Lost Tribes 2 G you make some brief comments about Marcos. Are you a Marcos apologist?  Do you think Marcos was ultimately good for the country and all the bad things said about him are CIA disinformation? 

8. You are not a Filipino yet you are claiming to be bringing to Filipinos lost knowledge about who they are. Knowledge which has been suppressed and hidden on purpose. When God delivered Israel out of Egypt he chose Moses, an Israelite, to lead them. Why do you think God has chosen you, a white man, to bring this knowledge rather than a Filipino? What do you think of the claim that to bring such knowledge would make you another white saviour? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_savior 

I hope to hear from you soon.  Thanks.

This was the response I received:

Thank you for your patience. Actually, when I searched for your blog you touted, I found it seemingly was no longer operating, for sale and nothing that made sense so I did not respond. Things like this which were really odd:
 Wednesday, August 9, 2017

Philippinefailblog.com Shuts Down Again!Well it happened again. Philippinefailblog.com has closed it's doors for the 2nd time in just a few months.  Closed in November 2016.  Re-opened in February 2017. Closed once more in August 2017.  For the last time?  Who knows! 

In fact, here are 2 attached.  

Timothy is on vacation after 6 weeks of rigorous touring and will not be responding but you will find we have NO affiliation to any denomination nor organization nor movement nor political force of any sort. Some attempt to pull us into something based on a side note of some sort but that is always just another agitator trying to twist facts. We are researchers period and we say so in every video, every conference, etc. We have all done much in the ministry indeed in the past, yes, but have found we have had to overcome much of that training in order to get to the truth especially regarding Biblical geography prior to the Flood and just after it which is FAR off. Just as Jonah was used as a foreigner in Nineveh, The God Culture is being used to bring repentance to the Philippines and that is already happening. You are very far behind the curve as our track record and fruits already abound and they are abundant.  

Yah Bless, 

The God Culture

Whoever read my email did not even notice that I put the correct URL of this blog in the second sentence! Instead of clicking on that link they actually went searching for my blog and found some "things which were really odd." Whoever read and responded to my email is not a very bright person. If they cannot even read my email and see the link in the text then I have no hope whatsoever for their research skills.