Everything about Richard Brothers totally explained
Richard Brothers (
December 25,
1757 –
January 25,
1824) was born in
Admiral's Cove,
Newfoundland and became well known as both an early believer and teacher of a theory concerning the
Lost Ten Tribes. He was educated in
Woolwich,
England and died in
London,
England.
Brief biography
Richard Brothers entered the
Royal Navy and served under
Keppel and
Rodney. In
1783 he became lieutenant, and was honourably discharged on July 28, 1783 receiving a pension which amounted to half-pay (54 pounds per year). He then travelled on the continent of
Europe and later married Elizabeth Hassall in
1786. His marriage was reported as being "unhappy" and so he returned to service in the Royal Navy.
Because he came to believe that military service wasn't compatible with his new calling to serve
Christianity, in
1789 he once again left the Navy. The theology of Richard Brothers was radically
Protestant and
Calvinist. Built upon the principle of individual revelation, Richard Brothers believed that he couldn't serve the King as head of the
Church of England.
In
1791 he found himself with little income after he began to question the oath required he'd taken for receipt of his military half-pay and actions that he then took reduced him to serious pecuniary straits. Richard Brothers then divided his time between the open air and the workhouse where he developed the idea that he'd a special divine commission. Brothers claimed to hear the voice of an attending angel which proclaimed to him the fall of
Babylon the Great, which was in fact
London. Apparently upon Brother’s plea for mercy, God decided to spare London for a time and the destruction was halted. Around this time, Brothers was also expectant of a heavenly lady who would descend from the clouds showering him with money, love and happiness. In February 1792 Brothers declared himself a healer and claimed he could restore sight to the blind. He drew large crowds, but not due to his healing ability as much as his small gifts of money to those he prayed for.
Publishing career
In 1793 Richard Brothers declared himself to be the apostle of a new religion. He began to see himself as possessing a special role in the gathering of the
Jews back into
Palestine. Brothers differed from the
Puritans of the last century however, by asserting that he'd also gather the ‘Jews’ who were hidden amongst the population of Great Britain. In similarity to modern
British-Israelists, Brothers asserted that the ‘hidden Israel’ had no notion of its biological lineage and that part of his role would be to teach them of their true identity and lead them to the land of
Canaan. Brothers proclaimed himself to be
Prince of the Hebrews, literal descendant of the Biblical
House of David, and the
Nephew of the Almighty who would rule over
Israel until the
return of Jesus Christ. Brothers declared he'd achieve all this using a rod he'd fashioned from a wild rosebush with which he'd perform miracles like
Moses had done.
All this was declared in the first
British-Israel publication:
‘A REVEALED KNOWLEDGE OF THE PROPHECIES AND TIMES, Book the First, wrote [sic] under the direction of the LORD GOD and published by His Sacred Command, it being the first sign of Warning for the benefit of All Nations; Containing with other great and remarkable things not revealed to any other Person on Earth, the Restoration of the Hebrews to Jerusalem by the year of 1798 under their revealed Prince and Prophet (for example, Richard Brothers). London, Printed in the year of Christ 1794.’
Amazingly Brothers began to attract quite a following, but due to his rejection of organisational work and eccentric nature he didn't develop any sort of social movement. In consequence of prophesying the death of the King and the end of the monarchy, he was arrested for
treason in
1795, and imprisoned on the grounds of being criminally
insane. His case was, however, brought before Parliament by his ardent disciple,
Nathaniel Brassey Halhed, an
orientalist and a member of the
House of Commons. As a result Richard Brothers was removed to a
private asylum in
Islington.
While he was in the private asylum Richard Brothers wrote a variety of prophetic pamphlets which gained him many believers. Among, amongst his supporters was
William Sharp, the engraver. Some of his political predictions such as the violent death of
Louis XVI) seemed to be proof that he was inspired. But when Richard Brothers predicted that on
November 19,
1795 he'd be revealed as
Prince of the Hebrews and
Ruler of the world and the date passed without any such manifestation, William Sharp deserted him to become a religious follower of
Joanna Southcott. His followers tended to drift away either disillusioned or embarrassed.
Death in London
Brothers spent the last 30 years of his life designing the flags, uniforms and palaces of the
New Jerusalem. John Finlayson of London finally secured his release from the private asylum in 1806 and Richard Brothers moved into his home where he died a lonely figure on 25th of January
1824. John Finlayson then began his own financial campaign against the Government seeking payment of an enormous claim for his maintenance of Richard Brothers prior to his death.
Further Information
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