TRANSLATING THE BIBLE INTO ENGLISH HAD AN ENORMOUS IMPACT ON ANGLO-SAXON CULTURE. Most importantly, Britons began to feel an identification with the characters of the Old Testament. This identification eventually created a movement called British-Israelism. The theology of British-Israelism and its racially-aware offshoot of Christian Identity is described by Michael Barkun in his 1997 book Religion and the Racist Right.
The concept behind British-Israelism is the belief that the British people are descended from the “10 Lost Tribes” of Israel. The 10 Lost Tribes disappeared from history after the northern part of Israel was conquered by the Assyrians. (This is described in the Old Testament’s Second Book of Kings.) As such, the British people are God’s “Chosen People” and are expected to play an important role in the final battle between good and evil within Christian eschatology.