Editing British Israelism (section)

===Herbert W. Armstrong===
Beginning in the 1960s, [[Herbert W. Armstrong]],<ref name=Parfitt2003/>{{rp|57}} founder and Pastor General of the [[Grace Communion International#Worldwide Church of God|Worldwide Church of God]], vigorously promoted the teaching of British Israelism. Armstrong believed that the teaching was a key to understanding [[biblical prophecy]]: "One might ask, were not biblical prophecies closed and sealed? Indeed they were—until now! And even now they can be understood only by those who possess the master key to unlock them."<ref>{{cite book |last=Armstrong |first=Herbert |title=The United States and Britain in Prophecy |year=1967 |page=5}}</ref> Armstrong believed that God commanded him to proclaim the prophecies to the [[Ten Lost Tribes|Lost Tribes]] of Israel before the "[[Christian eschatology|end-times]]".<ref name="ReferenceA">{{citation |last=Orr |first=R |title=How Anglo-Israelism Entered Seventh-day Churches of God: A history of the doctrine from John Wilson to Joseph W. Tkach |year=1999 |url=https://archive.gci.org/articles/anglo-israelism-and-the-united-states-britain-in-prophecy/ |access-date=19 July 2007}}.</ref>{{unreliable source?|date=May 2019}} Armstrong's belief caused his separation from the [[Church of God (Seventh Day)|Church of God Seventh Day]] because of its refusal to adopt the teaching.

Armstrong founded his own church, first named the "Radio Church of God" and later renamed the "Worldwide Church of God".<ref name="ReferenceA"/> He described British Israelism as a "central plank" of his theology.<ref>[[Joseph Tkach, Jr.|Joseph Tkach]], [https://www.gci.org/aboutus/truth "Transformed by Truth: The Worldwide Church of God Rejects the Teachings of Founder Herbert W Armstrong and Embraces Historic Christianity. This is the Inside Story"]</ref>

After Armstrong's death, his former church abandoned its belief in British Israelism and in 2009, it changed its name to [[Grace Communion International]] (GCI). It offers an explanation for the doctrine's origin as well as an explanation for the church's renunciation of the doctrine on its official website.<ref name="ReferenceA"/> Church members who refused to accept these doctrinal changes left the Worldwide Church of God/GCI and founded their own offshoot churches. Many of these organizations still teach British Israelism, among them are the [[Philadelphia Church of God]], the [[Living Church of God]], and the [[United Church of God]]. Armstrong promoted other genealogical history theories, such as the belief that modern-day [[Germany]] represents ancient [[Assyria]] (see [[Assyria and Germany in Anglo-Israelism]]), writing, "The Assyrians settled in [[central Europe]], and the [[Germans]], undoubtedly, are, in part, the descendants of the ancient [[Assyrian people|Assyrians]].".<ref>{{cite book |last=Armstrong |first=Herbert |title=Mystery of the Ages |year=1985 |page=183}}</ref>