JUDAH'S SCEPTRE AND JOSEPH'S BIRTHRIGHT #18
by J.H. Allen (published in 1917)
THE "PRINCE OF THE SCARLET THREAD" AND "THE ROYAL REMNANT" UNITED
In connection with the record of the fact that the "high,"
or ruling, Prince of Judah has been uncrowned and dethroned, and
that the "low" has been crowned and placed on the throne, we find
that a royal prince, a royal princess and the ten-tribed kingdom
of Israel are all together in the same country, also that this
royal pair are united and placed on a throne, and are ruling over
the kingdom of Israel.
A RIDDLE AND PARABLE
These facts are recorded in the seventeenth chapter of
Ezekiel in the form of a riddle and a parable, which, together
with their explanation, make up the subject matter of the entire
chapter, which opens as follows "And the word of the Lord came
unto me saying, Son of man put forth a riddle, and speak a
parable unto the house of Israel; and say, Thus saith the Lord
God, etc." The Hebrew word which is here translated riddle is
defined as "A puzzle; hence a trick, conundrum, dark saying, hard
question," etc. These definitions correspond to our English
thought of an enigma, or something proposed which is to be solved
by conjecture; a puzzling question; or an ambiguous proposition.
A parable, on the other hand, is more like a fable or an
allegorical representation of something which is real in its
relation to human life and thought, and is represented by
something real in nature.
Thus the prophet in his introduction prepares us to expect
that the words which follow shall be enigmatical; and, since the
Lord commanded him to use this veiled language, we must adjust
ourselves accordingly, remembering that "it is the glory of God
to conceal a thing; but the honor of kings to search out a
matter." So, then, let us, it a spirit that shall be worthy of
kings, search out the matter of this riddle, which we will notice
is put forth unto the house of Israel, and not to the Jewish
people.
THE GREAT EAGLE
The first part of the riddle is given, as follows: "Thus
saith the Lord God: A great eagle with great wings, long-winged,
full of feathers, which had divers colors, came unto Lebanon, and
took the highest branch of the cedar; he cropped off the top of
his young twigs, and carried it to a land of traffick; he set it
in a city of merchants."
A few moments reflection will convince us that, whatever
else it may mean, the great eagle is intended to represent a
means of transportation; for the declaration is that "it came" to
a certain place, "and took" something which was in that place to
which it came, and "carried it into" some other "land."
We are also told that this means of transportation came to
Lebanon. Since Lebanon is a mountain range in Palestine, then the
place to which it came, and from which it departed is, most
certainly, Palestine.
YOUNG TWIGS
That which was taken away is declared to be "young twigs,"
which were taken from "the highest branch of the cedar" of
Lebanon. Since the personal pronoun "his" is used, having "the
cedar" for its antecedent, it must represent a person. This
person is of the masculine gender, and father of the "young
twigs"; hence, these young scions are also persons.
Furthermore, it is a well authenticated fact that the cedar
of Lebanon is a symbol of royalty. Since the riddle contains
within itself such abundant evidence of this fact, which will be
made clear as we proceed, we will not need to go elsewhere for
proof.
SET IN A LAND OF TRAFFIC BY GREAT WATERS
Again, inasmuch as it is true of twigs that they must be
set, grafted, or planted, in order that they may grow and bear
fruit, or increase, so also it is declared of these young royal
scions that they were "set." The place also where they were set
was certainly well adapted for increase of population, or
subjects; that is, "a city of merchants, in a land of trafick."
The second part of this riddle reads as follows: "He took also of
the seed of the land, and planted it in a fruitful field; he
placed it by great waters, and set it as a willow tree. And it
grew, and became a spreading vine of low stature, whose branches
turned toward him, and the roots thereof were under him; so it
became a vine, and shot forth sprigs."
"The seed o f the land" is most certainly the people of the
land. The land from which "he took" this seed, or people, is
Palestine; and the people of Palestine are distinctly Israelites.
And numerically, hence preeminently, they are always the
ten-tribed kingdom of Israel.
So these people who had been taken out of their own land
were "planted" in another, and that other has become to them "a
fruitful field," which is located "by great waters." Not by the
Mediterranean Sea, or the Great Sea, as it is called in
Scripture. But the new home of this removed people is "by great
waters." In their new home Israel "grew and became a spreading
vine." And since this riddle is dealing with the breach - as we
shall see - in which the "high" and the "low" princes of the
royal house are to exchange places, we are not surprised that
this spreading or outreaching vine is said to be of "Low"
stature, nor that its branches and sprigs turned toward him, or
that its roots, or growing power, was under him. If under him,
then he was over them, i. e., their ruler.
ANOTHER GREAT EAGLE
This riddle further says: "There was also another great
eagle with great wings and many feathers; and behold this vine
did bend her roots toward him, and shot forth her branches toward
him, that he might water it by the furrows of her plantation. It
was planted in a good soil by great waters, that it might bring
forth branches, and that it might bear fruit, that it might be a
goodly vine." Here we have the record of the arrival of another
passenger, who also came to that land of "good soil," which is by
"great waters," and who was brought there by the same means of
transportation, i. e., a "great eagle with great wings," as that
which brought the royal sons. This was not the same eagle, but
"another" eagle, or ship, for we believe this means of
transportation to have been the ships of Dan; since it is
declared that "Dan abode in ships," and that "they have taken
cedars from Lebanon to make masts" for their ships. We also know
that the seaport of Tyre, in Palestine, was the port into which
they must come for the cedars of Lebanon.
Yes, for the cedars of Lebanon!!! be they used as masts for
their ships, or as types of their royal princes. The tribe of Dan
also used the eagle as their standard, and they are said to have
used great carved eagles with outstretched wings as the
figureheads on the bows of their vessels. Also it is a common
thing to symbolize ships which are under full sail as flying
birds; and in this riddle the "long wings" represent the long
sails, which, like wings carry the "great" ship - the large bird,
or eagle ship - and her passengers to the land of traffic.
We are forced to the conclusion that the object which the
writer has in view in mentioning the coming of this second ship
is, that we may guess that another important personage had
arrived; for, after mentioning the ship's arrival, his next
expression is "Behold, this vine did bend her roots toward him."
Thus we learn that the person who came in the second ship was a
woman, and that her inclination and desire was toward the prince
who had preceded her into the same land.
Then, still under the similitude of a vine, and that which
is essential to its life and growth, viz., land and water, there
follows that which clearly indicates a unity of life, claims and
purpose. In fact, there was a marriage between the "her" and the
"him" of this riddle, the result of which was that she, too, was
"set" or "planted" in that land of a "goodly vine," albeit that
goodly vine is of "Low Stature"; and bore "fruit." That is,
offspring.
JEREMIAH AND KING'S DAUGHTERS
Since it is true that a prince can wed only with a princess,
it will be well for us, at this juncture, to remember that we
left Jeremiah and his little royal remnant of king's daughters on
their way to a land which was strange, or unknown, to them; yet
to a place where this preserved seed of David's line was to be
"planted," again "take root," and "bear fruit."
Now, it is a fact that the man and the woman of this riddle
were united. Also it is a fact that the woman was "planted" in
that land of good soil, into which she did "take root," and these
things were accomplished in order that she "might bear fruit."
In other words, that which hitherto has been the subject of
prophecy concerning Jeremiah's commission, and concerning his
royal charge, is now recorded as a matter of history. The analogy
is complete.
MEANING OF THE PARABLE
Still the explanation of this riddle makes all these things
so plain that we are not left to conjecture. For at the eleventh
verse the prophet says: "Moreover, the word of the Lord came unto
me, saying, Say now to the rebellious house, Know ye not what
these things mean? Tell them, Behold the king of Babylon is come
to Jerusalem, and hath taken the king thereof and the princes
thereof, and led them to Babylon."
The king of Babylon was Nebuchadnezzar, as we know. The king
of Jerusalem, and the princes thereof, were, as we also know,
Zedekiah and his sons.
Then follows a brief account of Zedekiah's treachery with
the king of Babylon, how he rebelled against him, and sent to the
king of Egypt for help.
Then comes a prophecy concerning the fact that King Zedekiah
shall die in Babylon.
After this comes the prophetic account of that band of
fugitives going to Egypt, and the declaration that they should
fall by the sword, etc., all of which we have given in detail.
But the outcome of it all, and that which pertains to our
immediate subject, begins again with the twenty-second verse. The
prophet, still using the symbols of the riddle, explains as
follows:
"Thus saith the Lord God, I will take of the highest branch of
the high cedar, and will set it." This is the royal prince who
came in Ship Number 1. He then proceeds to say: "I will crop off
from the top of his young twigs a tender one, and will PLANT It
upon a high mountain and eminent." This is the second importation
of royal branches, but this time it is the "top" or one whose
right it is to rule, a "tender one." That is, it is a tender
young girl, the top-most one of the young twigs that came in Ship
Number 2.
Where was she planted? "In the mountain of the height of
Israel," is the Divine reply. "What, ISRAEL?" Yes, Israel,
national Israel. Israel as a nation; but not Jewish-Israel, for
that kingdom is overthrown; the people are gone into the
Babylonish captivity; the king, with his eyes put out, is doomed
to die in chains in a Babylonish prison; the princes are dead;
the king's daughters have escaped out of Jerusalem; and the top-
most one of these tender twigs is planted here in the height of
the mountains of Israel, i. e., the THRONE.
"And it (that which was planted) shall bring forth boughs,
and bear fruit, and be a goodly cedar: and under it shall dwell
all fowl of every wing; in the shadow of the branches thereof
shall they dwell." The purport of this is so glaringly plain that
the most obtuse mind can see that it refers to the mixed
population which Israel, of necessity, must have gathered while
being sifted through other countries.
The prophet further declares: "And all the trees of the
field, i. e., all the people of that kingdom of Israel, "shall
know that I, the Lord, have brought down the HIGH tree, have
exalted the Low tree, have dried up the green tree, and have made
the dry tree to flourish. I the Lord have spoken and DONE it."
(Ezek.17:24.)
"Done what?" Brought down the HIGH from the throne, and
exalted the Low to the throne.
"What else?" Made the long-foretold breach, remembered his
covenant with David, and kept faith with Jeremiah.
THE BREACH HEALED
For, since these trees are the royal cedars, and the male
heirs of the former reigning line have been dethroned in favor of
him that was low, who also is the "spreading vine of Low stature"
of the riddle, and who is now exalted by being enthroned, and
since a royal princess found her way to the land of the "vine of
low stature" and united her interests with his, "that he might
water the furrows of her plantation," we are safe in saying that
God has taken the crown from off the head of Zedekiah, the high,
who was of the Pharez line, and has placed it on the head of a
prince of Zarah, the low, to whom Zedekiah's daughter, the heir
to crown and sceptre, made her way, in company with Jeremiah, who
had charge of the royal paraphernalia, and who was divinely
commissioned to plant and build anew the plucked-up and
overthrown kingdom of David.
Christ came through the family line of Judah, David, Josiah
and Jeconiah, not through the breach; the breach ran through
Judah, David, Josiah and Zedekiah. So, the two branches of the
Judo-Pharez-David line diverge at Josiah. One of these lines
eventually gave birth to the Messiah; and, as we shall prove, the
other line, after having been united to the brother line of the
Scarlet Thread, are still holding that preserved throne and
sceptre, and raising the seed unto their fathers, Judah and
David; so that there shall never be a lack of some one of David's
children to sit upon that throne as rulers over the seed of
Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and that the sceptre may not depart
from Judah till SHILOH COME.
THE ULTIMATE HEALING OF THE BREACH
Thus it is that one of these lines holds that sceptre, and
wears that crown as a fact, but the judo-David house has a
greater son to whom they belong by "RIGHT." When he comes, as
Shiloh, God will give it to him, for unto him shall the gathering
of the people be. At that time the breaches will be healed, and
he shall be called "The Restorer of the BREACH."
The question now is to find where that sceptre and throne
are today, for we are not only confronted with the question of
"Lost Israel," or the "Lost Birthright," which involves the whole
house of Joseph and the many nations into which they were to
develop; but we are also confronted with the question Of THE LOST
SCEPTRE which involves the Zedekiah branch of the house of David
and all its Heraldic Blazonry.
....................
NOTE:
OH, THE WORKINGS OF THE ETERNAL GOD. GREAT IS HIS
WAYS AND WONDERS TO PERFORM. THE PLAN OF GOD IS FOUND
IN THE RIDDLE AND PARABLE. THE ALMIGHTY WILL YET BE TRUE
TO HIS WORD TO DAVID.
DAVID'S THRONE WILL SURVIVE AND BE PLANTED IN A LAND WITH
GREAT WATERS, WHERE IT WILL TAKE ROOT AND EXPAND LIKE A
VINE OVER A WELL, AND A THRONE WILL RULE AND REMAIN EVEN
IN A SPACE-AGE WORLD.
A THRONE THAT MAY NOT HAVE INDIVIDUAL POWER PER SE, BUT IT'S
POWER WILL BE THE HISTORY OF ITS THRONE - SO ANCIENT AND SO
HONORED AND RESPECTED BY THE BILLIONS OF PEOPLE IT REIGNS OVER,
THAT IT WILL NEVER DIE, AND ONE DAY THE SON OF DAVID, HE WHOSE
RIGHT IT IS, WILL COME AND SIT ON THAT THRONE. THE GREATEST
RESTORER OF THE BREACH - THE ONE WHO WILL BRING IN THE
RESTITUTION OF ALL THINGS, WILL COME AND REIGN ON THE EARTH
SITTING ON DAVID'S THRONE.
DOES YOUR HEART REJOICE IN THE BEAUTY AND GLORY AND FAITHFULNESS
OF THE ETERNAL GOD, WHO CAN GIVE A PROMISE TO A MAN, AND BRING
TO PASS THAT WHICH IS PROMISED. PRAISE AND GLORY BE HIS!
Keith Hunt
To be continued
Judah's Sceptre and Joseph's Birthright #19Lost Israel located - First overturnJUDAH'S SCEPTRE AND JOSEPH'S BIRTHRIGHT #19
by Allen (1917)
LOST ISRAEL AND THE FIRST OVERTURN LOCATED
The fact that a great nation, composed of ten tribes of the
posterity of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, is lost, or unidentified,
among the nations of the world is well known to enlightened
students of the Old Testament. This truth has been a source of
such great mystery that it has both puzzled the minds and engaged
the interest of men to such an extent that many of them who are
the intellectual peers of the world have bent their best energies
to the work of hunting for this lost nation.
Thus, for many years, devout minds have been investigating
secular and sacred history, as well as sacred prophecy, which
must have become, or which must yet become, history. These men
have carefully traced, not only the perfectly connected outlines,
but also the details of history. Hence they confidently assert
there are no missing links in the chain of racial and national
events.
A large per cent of the men who have been thus engaged are
eminent in religious, historic and scientific research. Men who
have called to their aid chronology, astronomy, archeology,
ethnology, pyramidology and philology. Indeed, they have used any
and every science that could throw any possible light upon this
subject; for they have been irrepressible in their search after
facts, and are men who purpose, for the truth's sake, that the
Word of God shall be forced to stand every test, be it ever so
crucial, that its own internal matter demands.
It is the consensus of opinion among this class of men, the
number of whom is increasing daily, that the once-lost ten tribes
of Israel are found. Be they right or wrong, we are sure of this
one thing - namely, that there is a race of people here amidst
other races, who do not know their ancestral origin, and who
possess all the distinguishing marks whereby the Scriptures
declare the lost house of Joseph shall be found and recognized,
not only by themselves, but by the rest of the nations of the
earth.
Still, be this as it may, there is nothing for us to do now
but to take up the thread of our story, which is a "scarlet" one
and pertains to those members of the royal family whom we left on
the throne of Israel, and who were holding the sceptre of David
de facto, instead of the one to whom it belongs de jure, and to
whom the Lord will give "it," and not the Sceptre which belongs
to some other royal family, race or kingdom.
While dealing with the breach which occurred in the royal
family - which had been prophesied of, not only in the words
which were uttered by the midwife, but by the peculiar manner of
the birth of the Judo-Tamar twins, which also had been used as a
prophetic type or symbol - we said nothing about the three
overturns which are a part of Ezekiel's prophecy concerning some
of the chief details of this same breach.
One reason for this omission was that we could not give the
proof concerning the location of that "goodly land" to which the
royal branches, i. e., Judah's prince and David's princess, were
carried, and in which they were "set," without making many points
in proof of the present whereabouts of the still preserved seed,
and the perpetuated Crown, Throne and Sceptre of David. For it
was not our desire to give any such proof until we should first
prove that the building and planting which Jeremiah's commission
involved, had been accomplished, and that the transfer of the
crown had been made, that the high branch had been dethroned, and
that another branch--one equally high by birth, but "low," only
in the sense of non-ruling, and because of the law of
primogeniture - had been exalted by being enthroned.
Now, since we have shown that the Word of God emphatically
declares these things to have been accomplished, we are prepared
to show that the three prophetic overturns took place, and that
they took place in connection with these same royal ones,
together with their succession, whom we have followed to a new
country.
It is not possible to follow the history of these overturns,
nor to follow further the history of that branch of the royal
family which came into power when the breach was made, and to do
so independent of lost Israel; for it was to Israel that Jeremiah
fled with the "king's daughters" - the same people with whom the
royal line of Zarah had been for more than a century prior to the
time when Jeremiah joined them, and since that time, nationally
speaking, the fortunes and history of the Sceptre and Birthright
have become one. We must remember that the place where this
prince and princess were planted was in the "Height of Israel";
that it was all the trees in the field of Israel that were to
know the low tree had been exalted; that it was Israel, the dry
tree, which is made to flourish, and that has been dry hitherto
for lack of royal honors and royal blood, but now that a prince
and princess of the blood are on the throne, the once dry tree
doth flourish, but the former green tree, the Jewish kingdom -
not the nation - is dried up.
We must remember that Israel is the ten-tribed nation, the
Birthright people, whose ancient capital was Samaria, whose
representative name is Ephraim, the second son of Joseph, to whom
pertains the birthright; and that his two sons, Ephraim and
Manasseh, were to "grow into a multitude in the midst of the
earth," that they were finally to separate, Manasseh to become a
"great nation," and Ephraim to develop into many nations, a
multitude of nations, or a company of nations, as it is variously
given.
The first of these overturns is the one whose history we
have essentially given while dealing with the preservation of
King Zedekiah's daughters, and is the overturn of the kingdom
from Palestine to that goodly land, by the side of great waters,
where it took root, grew, flourished and became a spreading vine.
A ripple of holy joy went pulsing through our heart when we found
that the prophet had, in his riddle, used the expression,
"spreading vine" in connection with Israel. The Hebrew word,
sawrakh--spreading, as here used, is defined in Strong's
Exhaustive Concordance, "to extend, to spread, to stretch
exceedingly, to extend even to excess." Thus this new country,
this strange and unknown land, in which the royal remnant found
the cast-out people of Israel, is the place from which it is
declared that they shall spread out, that they shall exceedingly
extend their borders and so fulfill their national destiny.
How perfectly this harmonizes with the promises concerning the
"place" which the Lord made to David in connection with the
promises concerning the perpetuity of his seed, throne and
sceptre, and which was given at the same time, as follows:
"Moreover, I will appoint a place for my people Israel, and will
plant them, that they may dwell in a place of their own, and move
no more; neither shall the children of wickedness afflict them
any more, as beforetime."
(The verse just mentioned is VERY IMPORTANT, FOR IT TELLS US THAT
WHEN ISRAEL WAS DWELLING IN PALESTINE OR THE HOLY LAND, GOD HAD
ALREADY PLANNED THAT THEY WOULD BE MOVED, TO ANOTHER LAND, TO THE
VERY END TIME. This verse is in 2 Samuel 7:10 and is with the
context of God promising David that his throne would be forever -
Keith Hunt)
At this juncture we feel impelled, for fear you will not
think it out for yourselves, to point out the fact that the Lord
had cast Israel out of her land, and cast her afar off; and while
going to that far-off land she was to be "sifted through the
nations as corn is sifted in a sieve"; but after they have
reached their far-off destination, their God-appointed place,
then they are to move no more. For it is in reference to this
same casting out of the Ephraimic nation that Hosea declares:
"The children of Israel shall abide many days without a king, and
without a prince." But now, with this prophetic riddle fulfilled,
their king is with them, and the monarchy of Israel is
flourishing as a green, or living, tree.
Our next effort will be to find this far-off land, whose
history has been one of spreading out - yea, spreading out
exceedingly, even excessively.
The very fact that the Jews have a record of the birth, call
and commission of Jeremiah, and the history of the execution of
the first part of his commission, i. e., the tearing down,
rooting out and plucking up of the house and throne of David -
this, considered in the light of the fact that they can give no
account of him after his sudden disappearance from among them, is
evidence that he neither died nor completed his God-ordained task
among them. And all the civilized races of the world know that he
did not build that seat of power, nor plant those royal scions
among the Jews.
But since we find it on record that Jeremiah's work has been
accomplished, we know that it must have been he who did it; even
if his name is not mentioned in the Scriptural account of the
doing of it. For God would not permit some other man to do that
work, after having sanctified Jeremiah before he was born, and
brought him into the world for that purpose. We must bear in mind
the fact that the sacred account of the building and planting is
in the form of a riddle or parable, and that metaphors instead of
names are used for those concerned; the high and the low, the
enthroned and the de-throned, the young twigs and the tender
twigs, the planted and the planter. But we must remember also
that the name of "Israel," the special national name of the
ten-tribed kingdom, is mentioned as the receiver of the planted
and enthroned pair. And since the historic testimony declares
Jeremiah's work to have been accomplished in Israel, it is only
in Israel that we may hope to find evidences of that fact.
This necessitates the finding of Joseph-Israel, and they
shall be found, for God says they shall; and when they are found,
manifestly, there must be found with them a branch of the
Judo-Davidic family, who are their sovereigns.
Since the East is left in such utter darkness, not only as
to the fate of Jeremiah and his little Royal Remnant, but also as
to the destination of "the dispersed" ten tribes, who had been
lost, even to the Jews, so long before Christ came, that some of
them thought that no person except the Messiah could go to them,
or might even know where to find them, we must look elsewhere.
Also, because of their lack of historic data concerning the
completion of Jeremiah's work, and because his disappearance was
almost as marvelous as was the translation of Elijah, they were
ready to say that the Christ was Jeremiah. (Matt.16:14.) Their
thought was, no doubt, that Jeremiah, like Elijah, was still
alive, and that God would yet use him in connection with the
building and planting anew, or the restoration of the kingdom
among them, to which they looked forward with great anticipation
and hope.
But, as we were saying, since there is no light in the East
concerning these matters, let us scan the pages of prophecy to
see if there are any straws which point West. And since it is
said of straws that they show which way the wind blows, it will
be well for us to know that Hosea gives a prophecy concerning
Ephraim, in which he declares: "Ephraim, followeth after an East
wind." As an East wind is one which blows from the East and
travels to the West, this makes it certain that Ephraim did not
travel Eastward. For had he gone in an Easterly direction, he
must needs have gone facing an East wind; then he surely went
WEST. And since he was "cast afar off," he must be in the far-off
West.
When Jehovah confirmed his promise to David concerning the
perpetuity of his kingdom, throne, sceptre and house, and took
oath by his holiness that he would not lie to him, he said: "I
will set his hand (sceptre) in the sea." The clues which the
prophet Ezekiel gives in his riddle, as to the location of Israel
and the royal pair, are, that it is "a land of traffic," that it
has "good soil" and that it "brings forth branches"; that is,
that it is fruitful and populous. We are told it has a "city of
merchants," that "fowl of every wing dwell under the shadow of
its branches," i. e., mixed, or various people dwell under the
protection of its rulers; and that its location is by "great
waters," which, for reasons that will become more and more
apparent as we proceed, we affirm to be the Atlantic Ocean. For
the Lord gives a message to Ephraim through Jeremiah, saying: "I
am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my first born. Hear the
word of the Lord, O ye nations, and declare it in the isles afar
off, and say, He that scattered Israel will gather him." In this
declaration we find that the far-off home of Ephraim-Israel is
in, not an island, but "the isles," i. e., a group of islands.
Thus Ephraim, also, is located in the sea, in the isles afar off.
The prophet Isaiah, in the forty-ninth chapter, addresses these
same people, saying: "Listen, O isles, unto me; and hearken, ye
people from afar. * * * Thou art my servant, O Israel, in whom I
will (still in the future) be glorified." And when speaking, in
the twelfth verse of this same chapter concerning the future
return of this same people to Palestine, their former home, at
which time he will be more fully glorified in them, the Lord
causes the prophet to make proclamation: "Behold, these shall
come from far off, and lo, these from the north and from the
west."
In the Hebrew there is no compound word for north-west as we
use it; hence the expression north and west. There is a group of
isles out in these "great waters," which are just as directly
north-west from Palestine as the lines of latitude and longitude
can lay them, namely, the British Isles. And we may just as well
jump into the midst of our proofs at once, since that is the
place where Ephraim-Israel shall chiefly be found. If not there,
it is because they have "spread out," from these VERY ISLES, for
it is a well authenticated fact that Jeremiah went to Ireland,
where he died, and that his grave is one of the well-known and
proudly-named spots of that country, whose history is one of the
mysteries of the world.
It is a well-known fact that the history of no country on
the face of the earth has so puzzled historians as that of
Ireland. There is both a sacred and secular reason for this. The
secular reason is that Ireland steps into the arena of history
with a monarchical kingdom running in full blast, and men do not
know how it got there. The sacred reason is because God has
issued a mandate, saying: "KEEP SILENCE before me, O islands, and
let the people renew their strength." (Isa.41:1.)
In the next verse the Lord asks the question: "Who raised up
the righteous man from the EAST?" Then in the fourth verse he
answers his own question, saying, "I the Lord, the first, and the
last; I am he," and in the eighth verse of the same chapter,
still addressing the dwellers in the isles, he says: "Thou art
Israel, my servant Jacob, whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham
my friend. Thou whom I have taken from the ends of the earth."
i. e., literally, from the rising of the sun, from the beginning,
or from the East.
This statement, coming from such high authority, forever
settles the question as to the origin of the peoples who dwell in
those far-off northwest isles.
We have read many authors on the subject of the Hebrews in
Ireland, who claim to have searched carefully and critically
through all available chronicles, records and histories and they
all agree that a perusal of these various authorities is not only
heavy reading, but that they are very obtuse, and that they are
actually confusing, bewildering and tormenting to all who do not
take the word of God as an ally in the work of unraveling their
mysteries; for, all of these authorities do agree in stating the
following facts:
1. About 585 B.C. a "notable man," an "important personage," a
patriarch, a saint, an essentially important someone, according
to their various ways of putting it, came to Ulster, the most
northern province of Ireland, accompanied by a princess, the
daughter of an eastern king, and that in company with them was
one Simon Brach, Breck, Brack, Barech, Berach, as it is
differently spelled; and that this royal party brought with them
many remarkable things. Among these was the harp, an ark and the
wonderful stone called Liafail, or stone of destiny, of which we
shall have much to say hereafter.
2. This eastern princess was married to King Herremon on
condition, made by this notable patriarch, that he should abandon
his former religion, and build a college for the prophets. This
Herremon did, and the name of the school was Mur-Ollam, which is
the name, both in Hebrew and Irish, for school of the prophets.
He also changed the name of his capital city, Lothair - sometimes
spelled Cothair Croffin - to that of Tara.
3. The name of this Eastern princess is given as Tea-Tephi, and
it is a well-known fact that the royal arms of Ireland is the
harp of David, and has been for two thousand and five hundred
years.
Ezekiel in his riddle, when speaking of the coming of the
female passenger who came to that land in the second vessel, whom
he afterwards proves to be a princess, speaks of "the furrows of
her plantation." It is a truth, and, to us, a marvelous one, that
the province of Ulster used to be called the "Plantation of
Ulster," as any one may know if they will take the trouble to
consult "Chamber's Encyclopedia" on the word "Ulster."
Further, the crown which was worn by the sovereigns of that
hitherto unaccounted-for kingdom in Ireland had twelve points.
Who shall say that "the king's daughter" was not planted there;
and that the first of the three of Ezekiel's prophetic overturns
was not from Palestine to Erin?
..........
NOTE:
YES INDEED THE HISTORY OF IRELAND IS PRESERVED IN THEIR
ANCIENT WRITINGS, JUST AS THE ANCIENT HISTORY OF ENGLAND
AND WALES IS PRESERVED IN WELSH WRITINGS. FINALLY TODAY
THE ANGLO-SAXON HISTORIANS HAVE ACCEPTED THE IRISH AND
WELSH HISTORIES AS TRUE AND RELIABLE. SO NOW THE CLOUD
OF MYSTERY THAT HUNG OVER THE ANCIENT PEOPLES OF BRITAIN
IS MADE MANIFEST TO THOSE WHO HAVE A LOVE OF THE
TRUTH.
Keith Hunt
To be continued
Judah's Sceptre and Joseph's Birthright #20Jacob's Pillow-Pillar StoneJUDAH'S SCEPTRE AND JOSEPH'S BIRTHRIGHT #20
by Allen (published in 1917)
JACOB'S PILLOW-PILLAR STONE
When the Abrahamic covenant promises were given to Jacob, he
was making a journey from Beersheba to Padan-aram. He had but
recently received from his father Isaac the "Blessing," which
carried with it those much desired covenants and the special
blessings and promises which pertained to them. When Isaac gave
this blessing to Jacob, he told him not to take a wife of the
daughters of Canaan, the land in which they were then living, but
to go to Laban, his mother's brother, and to take a wife from
among his daughters.
It is hardly to be supposed that Jacob was traveling
entirely alone, for that was not the Oriental custom. We learn,
from incidental remarks that are dropped elsewhere in reference
to this journey, that he had with him a tent which was pitched at
night, and that the journey was made on foot, for he walked with
a staff. The sacred record deals chiefly with that which took
place between Jacob and the Lord, with but the slightest
incidental mention of details, as concerning a certain sundown,
and stones for pillows. The first mention of stones for pillows,
with reference to this occasion, is plural; but suddenly one of
those pillow stones is brought into great distinction.
The facts which brought that special stone into such
prominence may be quickly read, for the Bible account of them is
very short; but we doubt whether many who have read the record of
those facts realize their true symbolic import. We doubt also
whether we shall be able to explain, even approximately, not only
the great distinction which has been bestowed upon that stone as
a symbol, but also the exalted place it has occupied ever since
it came into historic notice, or the supreme greatness of that
position to which prophecy declares it shall yet be raised. If we
read the prophets aright, no such glorious prominence, highly-
honored use, or divinely-declared purpose, has ever been given to
any other inanimate thing on the earth, as that which is yet in
reserve for that special pillow stone upon which Jacob rested his
head on that certain night, when he camped before Luz, while on
his way to Padan-aram.
It seems to have been the custom among Oriental travelers,
when they pitched their tents for the night, to take stones for
headpieces, or bolsters, in order to raise that part of their
bedding on which their heads rested to a comfortable position for
rest and sleep. At least, this is what Jacob did, and as he
slept, he dreamed. In his dream he saw what is called a ladder,
but which may be called a staircase, or an open way that reached
from earth to heaven, for "the top of it reached to heaven." The
angels of God were ascending and descending by this existing way,
which for the time was made visible to the inheritor of the
covenant promises; and, at the top, above all that throng of
radiant comers and goers, the Lord stood, and gave Jacob the full
text of the covenants, as formerly given to Abraham and Isaac.
Upon hearing and receiving these promises from the Lord,
Jacob awoke, startled, convicted and afraid; startled because, as
he thought, he had accidentally got into God's house, and
stumbled through the gate which led away from this world to that
pure one of which he had just caught a glimpse; afraid, just as
any man would be who had defrauded his brother, and taken
advantage of the love and confidence of a blind and aged father;
convicted! It could not have been otherwise, for he had caught a
glimpse of the holiness of God and the purity of a sinless world.
Hence, in the agony of that psychical fear, which must ever be
experienced by the wicked when brought in contact with absolute
holiness, he cried out, "How dreadful is this place! This is none
other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven."
That which would have been a great joy to a holy man was
only a means of torture to this sinful one, who was fleeing from
the anger of an outraged brother. But he soon began to yield
himself to God, and as he yielded there came to him that ever
accompanying desire, i. e., the desire to worship. With these
things there came also spiritual intuitions of coming events, and
of their importance to him in his relations to the divine
covenants. Then Jacob, awed by the sublime majesty of the Holy
One, deeply impressed by the greatness of the promises made to
him, stirred in the depths of his inner nature by the heavenly
vision, pressed by the weight of responsibility, yet encouraged
by the dawning gladness in his heart, and moved by the spirit of
prophecy, took the stone upon which his head had rested, and set
it up for a pillar of witness.
At the same time he anointed it with oil, called it Bethel,
used it for an altar at which to worship, and upon which to make
a vow unto the Lord God of his fathers, saying: "If God will be
with me, and keep me in this way that I go, and will give me
bread to eat, and raiment to put on, so that I come again to my
father's house in peace; then shall the Lord be my God and this
stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall be God's house: and
of all that thou shalt give me, I will surely give the tenth unto
thee."
It is a most significant fact that the name Bethel, or God's
house, should have been given to this stone by the one who was
the father of the twelve patriarchs, who were the progenitors of
that great multitude which is also called "The House of God,"
"The Host of God" and "The Families of God." Also in the
eighty-third psalm, The House of Israel, the Hidden Ones, which,
while hidden, are to develop into many nations, are called "The
Houses of God."
We must bear in mind the fact that Jacob gave the name of
Bethel not only to the place, or locality, where the stone was
set up, but also to the stone pillar, for he emphatically
declared: "This stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall be
God's house." We understand, however, that God inspired both the
choice of this stone and its name, for when he next spoke to
Jacob he said: "I am the God of Bethel." That means, I am the God
of God's house; or, in other words, the God of the Bethel stone
which is in the place called Bethel. Thus the Lord associates
himself not only with the place where he appeared to Jacob, but
also with the Bethel rock.
(I was educated in a Church of England school. The first half-
hour of each school day was devoted to the Bible. When we came to
reading this section of Genesis, I well remmeber our teacher
saying that the "Coronation Stone in the corination chair" was
the stone that Jacob anointed the night he had this dream from
God. When I finally did get to London and Westminster Abbey, in
the very literature at the Abbey, for tourists to buy, was the
tradition that the Corination Stone was Jacob's pillar-stone -
Keith Hunt)
Twenty years later Jacob returned to the land of Canaan with
great riches, and with the knowledge that his prosperity was the
result of divine favor and intervention; for the Lord had shown
him how one who is called "The Angel of God" was given power to
control the breeding of the cattle. Thus Jacob was made to know
that God had accepted and met all the conditions which he had
made to him by vow on the Bethel pillow-pillar stone.
Before Jacob reached Canaan he had confessed his
wrongdoings, and made peace with his brother; and God had taken
away from him not only the name of supplanter, but also the
inborn supplanter nature, and given him the victorious name of
Israel.
It is a well-known fact that the place called Bethel and the
city of Luz were so near each other that the two names are used
interchangeably in the Scriptures, or rather that the name Bethel
often included the little city, which was previously called Luz.
But before we can understand the true relation of both Bethel and
the Bethel rock to our general subject, we must know to whom, or
to which one of the tribes, Bethel was given as a possession.
The sacred historian, when describing the boundaries of the "lot"
in Canaan which fell to Joseph, describes one of those border
lines as follows: "And (it) goeth out from Bethel to Luz, and
passeth along unto the borders of Archi to Astaroth." (Josh.16:
2.) Also, in the description of that portion which fell to the
children of Benjamin - their portion lay between Judah and
Joseph, Judah being to the south, and Joseph to the north of
Benjamin - we have the following: "And the border went over from
thence (Beth-aven) toward Luz, to the side of Luz, which is
Bethel, southward." (Josh.18:13.) From this we perceive, not only
that Benjamin's border was south of Bethel, but also that Bethel,
the place where Jacob set up the Bethel pillarstone, was on the
south side of the city proper.
Further, it is recorded that the children of Dan could not
conquer the Amorites, but that the Amorites drove them into the
mountains, and occupied those portions of Dan's inheritance which
best suited them. But it is also recorded that the house of
Joseph did conquer those Amorites, that they compelled them to
become their dependents, and that they fixed their boundary
lines. In the description of these boundaries we have the
following: "And the coast of the Amorites was from the going up
to Akrabbim, from the rock, and upward." (Judges 1:36.) Some may
think that this reference to the rock refers to the rock Etam, or
Etam-rock. This is not possible, because both Etam, the city, and
the rock Etam are southwest of Jerusalem in the hill country of
Judea, and had nothing whatever to do with the borders of Joseph,
Dan or the Amorites. Hence the phrases, "from the rock and
upward," can mean only Bethel, the place of the rock, or, from
the BETHEL ROCK, and up into the mountains of Ephraim-
Samaria-Israel.
Again, concerning the house of Joseph, Bethel and Luz, we
have the following: "And the house of Joseph, they also went up
against Bethel and the Lord was with them. And the house of
Joseph sent to descry Bethel. (Now the name of the city was Luz.)
And the spies saw a man come forth out of the city, and they said
unto him: Shew us, we pray thee, the entrance into the city, and
we will Shew thee mercy. And when he shewed them the entrance
into the city, they smote the city with the edge of the sword;
but they let go the man and all his family. And the man went into
the land of the Hittites, and built a city, and called the name
thereof of Luz." (Judges 1:22-26.) Thus, with the building of
that other Luz, the name of Luz not only departed forever from
Bethel, but it is never again mentioned in sacred history.
Finally, when Jeroboam, of the house of Joseph, was made king of
the ten tribes, and became fearful that the people would, if
allowed to go up to Jerusalem to worship, kill him, and go again
to Rehoboam, king of Judah, he, to prevent this, made two golden
calves, of which it is said: "He set the one in Bethel, and the
other put he in Dan." His right to place one in Bethel was
undisputed, because it was not only "the king's sanctuary," but
it was also in his own tribal territory. He had a sovereign's
right to place one in Dan, for all who went there to worship were
confederate with him. The Dan referred to was the city of Dan,
which was situated in the northern part of his realm.
Now, one point is settled beyond the possibility of doubt,
and that is, that Bethel was a part of the inheritance which fell
to the house of Joseph when the land of Canaan was divided among
the children of Jacob. This brings us to a vital point concerning
the subject in hand, namely:
That not only Bethel, the city, or place, but also that Bethel
the pillar-rock was given to the birthright family; and that
Israel carried that rock with them into Egypt and in their
subsequent journeyings in the wilderness.
Proof:
Jacob died in Egypt, and his posterity were in Egypt at the
time. When dying, "Jacob called unto him his sons and said,
Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which shall
befall you in the last days." When his sons, in response to his
call, came together, he gave a prophecy concerning that which the
posterity of each of them would be in the last days. But while he
was making the prophecy concerning Joseph and his house, to whom
he had just given the birthright, he stopped in the midst of his
prophetic utterances, and used the following parenthetical
expression: "(from thence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel":)
"Thence," as herein used, is an adverb used as a noun, and
is equivalent in value to that place, or the place to which it
refers. The phrase, from thence, means "out of there, out from
thither, (or) out of that place." Since the place from whence*
the stone came was the inheritance of Joseph, and since Bethel,
the place of the stone, was the inheritance of Joseph, we must
know that it came from thence, i. e., Bethel. Thus, the very fact
that Jacob, when dying in Egypt, made use of those words in
reference to that Bethel stone, carries proof on its very face
that the stone was not, at that time, in the place where it had
formerly been, but that it was with them there in Egypt, and had
previously been committed to the care of the house of Joseph.
......
* Whence, present form of the old word thence.
......
It has been estimated that the number of the Israelites
which came out of Egypt in the Exodus were two millions and a
half. All who will take time to think will soon comprehend how
impossible it would be, even for a fertile country, much less a
desert, to supply such a multitude, as well as their cattle, of
which not a hoof was left behind, with food and water unless
special arrangements were made for an extra supply. But in this
case, as a matter of course, that was not done; hence it became
necessary for God to furnish the supply of food and water for
that vast concourse of people, and also for their herds and
flocks.
It is a well-known fact that the Lord continually provided
food for Israel during these forty years of wanderings in the
desert-wilderness. But, because there are only two instances
recorded in which the Lord supernaturally provided them with
water, most people think these were the only instances in which
water was thus provided. Yet, all who will give the subject just
a little investigation will soon know that such is not the case.
The first mention of no water for the people to drink was while
the Israelites were encamped at Rephidim. Without previously
selecting one special rock, the Lord said unto Moses: "I will
stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb, and thou shalt
smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it." The
phrase, "There in Horeb," points out the place where the rock was
at the time, and if the Lord, when he spoke of the rock, had used
the demonstrative form, and said "That rock," then we should know
that he was designating which one, or a certain one not yet
selected, but the fact that he said "The rock" is proof to us
that he was speaking of a rock with which they were already
familiar. May it not have been the Bethel pillar rock, "the
shepherd, the stone of Israel," which had been committed to the
keeping of the house of Joseph?
This possibility is more clearly manifest in the account of
the other circumstances when there was no water, which occurred
at Kadish, a city in the border of Edom, the country which
belonged to the descendants of Esau. At this place the people of
Israel were very bitter against Moses and Aaron, and said unto
them, "Why have ye brought up the congregation of the Lord into
this wilderness, that we and our cattle should die there? And
wherefore have ye made us to come up out of Egypt, to bring us
into this evil place? It is no place of seed, or of figs, or of
vines, or of pome-granites; neither is there any water to drink.
And Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly unto
the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and they fell
upon their faces, and the glory of the Lord appeared unto them.
And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying: Take the rod, and gather
the assembly together, and speak ye unto the rock before their
eyes; and it shall give forth his water, and thou shalt bring
forth to them water out of the rock; so thou shalt give the
congregation and their beasts drink. And Moses took the rod from
before the Lord, as he commanded him. And Moses and Aaron
gathered the congregation together before the rock, and he said
unto them: Hear now, ye rebels; must we fetch water out of this
rock? And Moses lifted up his hand, and with his rod he smote the
rock twice: and the water came out abundantly, and the
congregation drank, and their beasts also." (Num.20:5-11.)
We have quoted this account in full, from the beginning of
the complaint by the people until the water was given, that our
readers may see that, although the phrase "the rock" is used four
times, there is not the slightest indication that there was any
selection, or indication of preference for any certain rock in
the vicinity of Kadish, or that one was not already chosen, and
in their midst. It was to show also that at the very first
mention of water for the people from "this rock," all that was
necessary, as a preparatory measure, was for the Lord to say to
Moses, "Speak to the rock"; and also that when the people were
commanded to "gather before "the rock," they understood so well
which rock it was that, in all that vast company of two and a
half millions, no explanations were necessary. Hence, it must
have been among them before this, and well known. Let us also
bear in mind that this name, "The Rock," was used in the same
relation at Rephidim, and yet the children of Israel had removed,
journeyed and pitched their tents twenty-one* times after leaving
Rephidim, and here at Kadish there is with them that which is
still familiarly known as "THE ROCK."
We all know that stones are rocks, and that rocks are
stones, so that a rock or stone is only one rock or stone, and
the appellation "The Rock," and "The Stone," must refer to some
special or particular stone or rock. As we have seen, Israel must
have been in
......
*See Numbers, 33d chapter.
......
possession of just such a special rock, i. e., the Bethel stone,
and that Jacob set it up and called it a "Pillar." Later, in the
days of Athaliah, after she tried to destroy all the males of
"the seed royal," but did not succeed, for the reason that an
infant son of Ahaziah, whom Athaliah succeeded to the throne, was
stolen from those whom she had ordered slain and hidden. The
stealing and hiding of this infant was so cleverly done that it
was not missed by the court slayer. This infant, whose name was
Joash was kept hidden from the wicked queen for six years.
During this time she reigned, not knowing that there was a male
heir to the throne who could dethrone her. But in the seventh
year the secret was revealed to the "rulers over hundreds," and
to "the captains of the guards," and quiet arrangements made to
proclaim the seven-year-old prince as their king. The plans were
successful, and Athaliah knew nothing of it until she heard the
people in the temple shouting "God save the king!"
Thus it is recorded: "And when Athaliah heard the noise of
the guard and of the people, she came to the people into the
temple of the Lord. And when she looked, behold! the king stood
by a pillar, as the manner was." (2 Kings 11:13-14.) Concerning
this pillar, Dr. Adam Clark's translation reads, "Stood on a
pillar," which he explains is "The place or throne on which they
were accustomed to put their kings when they proclaimed them."
But in the revised version it is rendered, "Standing by the
pillar, as was their custom," the article denoting that
particular pillar by, or upon, which it was the custom of Israel
to crown their kings.
Again, when the good king Josiah made a covenant before the
Lord, in the presence of all the people, that he would destroy
idolatry out of the land, it is written, "And the king stood by a
(or the) pillar and made a covenant before the Lord." (2 Kings
23:3.) There is, in the Second Chronicles, a recapitulation of
this circumstance concerning Josiah, which gives the following,
"And the king stood in his place." His place, we are told, was by
the pillar, which might properly be translated pillar-stone, upon
which all the kings of Israel were crowned, made covenants, took
oaths, or made vows, as did Jacob when he first set it up for a
pillar and made it God's house.
This stone is not only called "The Pillar," "The Rock,"
"Bethel," and "The Stone of Israel," but, wonderful to tell, it
is also called "The Shepherd." And since it is really the stone
of Israel we should expect it to be with them to whom it
belonged, but since it is also the Shepherd of Israel, its very
name and character, - for with God names are always
characteristic - demand that it should be with Israel in all
their wanderings. Hence, this SHEPHERD--though it is only a stone
- as any other shepherd would do, must go with His flock.
We have said that this stone of Israel, was a type, or
symbol. For proof, let us go back to the place called Bethel.
There we shall find that Jacob, after setting up "The Rock" for a
pillar, also anointed it with oil, which in sacred symbols is
typical of the Holy Ghost. And, according to sacred history, this
Bethel stone is the only single, individual stone that has ever
been anointed; hence, among stones it is pre-eminently "the
Anointed One." When Christ, the great prototype, came, and was
anointed with the Holy Ghost, he was pre-eminently, among men,
"the Anointed One."
Also, concerning "The rock" which accompanied Israel, the
Lord could say to Israel's leader, "Speak to THE ROCK." But, on
the other hand, Israel also could say, concerning that divine
presence which went with them, "Let us sing unto THE Rock of our
salvation."
Again, this stone is called "The Shepherd o f Israel." But
there is also a divine one unto whom Israel prayed, saying, "Give
ear, 0 Shepherd of Israel." Later, when this same Shepherd was
manifest in the flesh, he said, "I am the Good Shepherd," and his
apostles spoke of him as "The Great Shepherd" and "The Chief
Shepherd." Hence, the oft-repeated metaphor of "sheep" and
"flock," in both the Old and the New Testaments.
Further, Israel had a pillar-rock, which went with them as
their shepherd in all their journeyings in the wilderness; but it
is also written that "The Lord went before them by day in A
PILLAR of a cloud, to lead them in the way; and by night in A
PILLAR of fire, to give them light!"
Still further, that the Scriptures might be fulfilled,
Israel's divine Shepherd-rock was smitten, for it is written,
"Smite the Shepherd." So, too, Israel's literal Shepherd-rock was
smitten. The Lord knew that he must be smitten for the sins of
the people, and, that the type and prototype might agree, he gave
command, "Smite the rock." Oh, the pain of it all!--especially
to him; but he shall yet see the desire of his heart, i. e., his
emotional nature, his soul, and be satisfied. It is also said of
Israel that they "Did all drink the same spiritual drink, for
they drank of that Spiritual Rock that followed them, and that
Rock was Christ." It is also true that they did all drink from
the same refreshing stream which flowed from that literal Rock
which also went with them, for it was their Shepherd-rock. No
doubt Israel was supplied with water from this rock in the
wilderness, as well as at Rephidim and Kadish, for the country
between these two places is much more desert than these cities.
At Kadish Moses sent messengers to the king of Edom, asking
permission for the Lord's host to pass through his country, and
told them to say, "Thus saith thy brother Israel, Let us pass, I
pray thee, through thy country we will not pass through the
fields, or through the vineyards, neither will we drink of the
water of the wells; we will go by the king's highway; we will not
turn to the right hand nor to the left, until we have passed thy
borders. * * * If I and my cattle drink of thy water, then I will
pay for it: I will only, without doing anything else, go through
on my feet."
Just imagine a company of two and one-half million traveling
on foot through a country which is several hundred miles in
length, giving assurance to its ruler that they would keep to the
highway, and not turn to the right and left, for any reason, nor
drink water out of the wells (i. e., pits, fountains, springs, or
wells; literally their water supply) of that country. Israel
could afford to make this proposition, for both their
Shepherd-rocks were with them, i. e., the literal and
the spiritual rock, and they knew that he, who had hitherto
furnished them with food and water, would still continue to
supply them until the end of the journey. Otherwise Moses would
never have made such a promise.
True, there was a conditional promise made, in which there
is a promise to pay for any of the water of Edom which might be
used. But this, as you see, was made chiefly, if not altogether,
on account of the cattle, which they might not be able to control
and keep to the dusty highways, while passing by the cool and
tempting pools and springs of water. This might prove to be a
difficult task for the drovers, especially in the heat of the
day; hence this proviso. They were not supposed to get water from
the rock until they had completed their day's journey and pitched
their tents.
Thus we have seen that among the Israelites there were two
rocks, two houses, two kingdoms, two nations, or a Sceptre and a
Birthright company. Of these two great divisions, Judah and
Joseph are the representatives. By divine appointment one of
these rocks was given to the Birthright family, and the other to
the Sceptre family. The Bethel-Pillar-Shepherd-Stone of Israel
was given to Joseph, but to Judah was given the Spiritual Rock,
for it is written that "Our LORD sprang out of Judah." BOTH OF
THESE ROCKS, each in a different way, HAVE BEEN REJECTED, but
EACH OF THEM SHALL YET BECOME THE HEAD OF THE CORNER.
....................
NOTE:
YES, IT IS OFTEN OVERLOOKED THAT THE TWO MILLION, PLUS
(AND IT MAY WELL HAVE BEEN MORE THAN 3 MILLION PLUS,
WITH THE STRANGERS ALSO THAT WENT UP OUT OF EGYPT WITH
THE ISRAELITES) CATTLE, OF ISRAELITES, WOULD NEED A HUGE
AMOUNT OF WATER EACH DAY. IT IS STRETCHING THINGS TO
THINK THE WILDERNESS WANDERINGS HAD THE NATURAL AMOUNT OF
WATER FOR MILLIONS OF PEOPLE PLUS THEIR CATTLE. SO THE
MIRACLE OF WATER FROM "THE ROCK" MAKES COMPLETE SENSE.
Keith Hunt
To be continued
Judah's Sceptre and Joseph's Birthright #21The Other Overturnsby Allen (published in 1917)
THE OTHER OVERTURNS
In connection with the prophecies concerning the removal of
the crown of David from the head of Zedekiah to the head of a
prime who belonged to the hitherto non-ruling branch of the royal
family of Israel's race, the Lord said, "I will overturn,
overturn, overturn it; and it shall be no more (moved or
overturned) until he comes whose right it is; and I will give it
to him." These words teach that, after the removal of David's
crown from the head of the then ruling prince, there were to be
three overturns - no more, no less and that after the third
overturn the crown must rest, or stay in the place where it is
left by the third overturn, until that person comes to whom it
belongs by right. Then at least one more overturn will be
necessary, for that seat of power must yet go back to the city of
David.
The first of these overturns we have already traced from
Palestine to the islands of the north-west, which are in the
"great waters." We now propose to show that the other two of
these predicted overturns took place in those self-same islands,
or, in other words, that these three overturns landed the sceptre
and throne alternately in Ireland, Scotland and England; and
that, even after the third overturn, the kingdom is still, as the
word of God declares, "in the isles afar off," and "in the sea."
It will be impossible to follow the history of the overturns
of this kingdom, unless we again take up the thread of history as
it concerns the pillar stone, upon which the kings of Israel were
crowned; for, strange as it may seem to some people, both ancient
and modern history come honestly to the rescue of prophecy, and
follow that stone through each of these overturns.
We have already seen, according to Josephus, that, prior to
the return of the Jews from Babylon, Ezra (Esdras) received a
letter from Xerxes, which was so full of offered favors, love,
and fraternal greetings, that he sent a copy of it to the ten
tribes in Media-Persia, and asked them to return with the Jews to
Jerusalem. But the ten tribes refused this offer, and Josephus
tells us that the entire body of Israel remained in that country.
On the other hand, Ezra (Esdras), who was in a position to know
more about them, says that they decided not to return, and also
that they took counsel among themselves, and resolved that they
would go further away into an unknown country. In accomplishing
this. Esdras says, "They entered into Euphrates by the narrow
passages of the river. For the Most High then shewed signs for
them, and held still the waters till they were passed over. For
through that country there was a great way to go, namely, of a
year and a half." This is in harmony with the following: "The
breaker is come up before them; they have broken up, and have
passed through the gate and are gone out of it, and their king
shall pass before them; and the Lord on the head of them." (Micah
2:13.)
The clause, "They have passed through the gate," and the one
by Ezra, "They have entered into the narrow passages," are
parallel, and refer to the same circumstance and place. This
gate, or narrow passage, which is up among the headwaters of the
Euphrates, is now called the Caucasian Pass, or the Pass of
Dariel. As Israel goes out through this pass, Micah says that the
Lord is on the head of them, but it is left for Ezra to say that
the Lord gave Israel evidence of his presence, because he gave
them signs and held still the floods, as he did at Jordan, until
they passed over.
But while the Lord is with Israel, it is said of their king
that he shall pass before, or precede them to that unknown
country to which they are going. It is for this reason that Hosea
says, "The children of Israel shall abide many days without a
king, and without a sacrifice, and without an image," or, as the
marginal reading gives it, "without a sanding pillar." Young, in
his Exhaustive Concordance, gives among other definitions of the
original Hebrew word, both that of memorial stone and pillar.
Other scholarly men who have investigated this text, in
connection with its context, even give us pillar-rock and
pillar-stone as the correct rendering.
All this, supplemented by the fact that the word of God
associates the absent king with the absent pillarstone, justifies
our conclusion, that the pillar in question is the Bethel pillar
stone which was used as a coronation stone, consequently it was
left with the royal family which ruled over the Jews until the
overthrow of Zedekiah.
We must also remember that Jeremiah and his little remnant
were taken, against their will, and against the direct command of
God, to Egypt, and that while there they dwelt in Taphanhes.
Morton W. Spencer says, "It is an undeniable historical fact that
about 580 B.C. (i. e., the very time of the captivity of the Jews
in Babylon), that a princess from the East did arrive in the
north of Ireland. Her name was Tephi, a pet name like "Violet,"
denoting beauty, fragrance. Tea Tephi was her full name, found in
Hebrew. The Tea, a little one, and Tephi answering to a surname.
Taph, the root word, is used in many scriptures (Gen.34:29, and
Deut.1:39) (Vide Concordance). Her names were interchangeably
used as Tea, Taffe, Taffes, Tephi, the Eastern Princess, the
Daughter of Pharaoh, and Tea Tephi; either of these serve to
identify her as "The King's Daughter." In Egypt she was offered
protection, and from her the city of Taphanhes or Dahpnae was
named, doubtless, and to this day we are shown the site of "The
Palace of the Jew's Daughter," by the Arabs. The fact that she
fled the country is still preserved in her name, Tarah, meaning
one banished or flight.
The name of Pharaoh is neither a given nor a surname, but it
is the Egyptian name for king or monarch. The very fact that
Irish historians called Tea Tephi "The Daughter of Pharaoh" is
proof that they knew her as "The King's Daughter." Also this
name, "The King's Daughter," is the only one used in the Bible
account of the first overturn to designate that daughter of
Zedekiah who succeeded him to the inheritance of David's throne,
excepting, of course, that metaphorical name, "Tender twig," of
Ezekiel's riddle. Since the name Tea means "little one," and
since a tender twig is also a little one, it certainly takes no
great stretch of faith to believe that these two names belong to
one and the same person. Especially is this the case when we
consider that in the Tea Tephi of Irish history we have a king's
daughter, with a Hebrew name, who not only came from the East,
but also from Egypt, and who is the daughter of a Jew.
But there are still other facts connected with the arrival
of this princess in Ireland, which, as we consider them, will
strengthen our faith more and more. Tea Tephi was accompanied by
an aged guardian, who was called Ollam Folla, more Hebrew words
which mean revealer, or prophet. The prophet was accompanied by a
man who was his scribe, whom the chronicles of Ireland called
Brug, or Bruch. Baruch was Jeremiah's scribe while they were in
Judea; he went with the little remnant to Egypt, and escaped when
the rest did; for his life, like the lives of the rest of his
party, was to be preserved in all places whither he should go.
This little company disappeared from Egypt, but surely they
reappeared in Ireland, for, marvel of marvels! they brought with
them a pillar-stone; which has ever since been used as the
coronation stone of the kingdom.
Later, Tea (sometimes spelled Teah) Tephi herself was
crowned upon this pillar-stone, and the name of Erin's capital
was changed from Cathair Crofin to Tara, which is also another
Hebrew word. But at this juncture history comes to our help, and
with unquestioned authority declares that, from that time until
the present, every king and queen who has reigned in Ireland,
Scotland or England has been crowned upon that self-same pillar
or coronation stone. Queen Victoria herself was twice crowned
upon that stone, the first time as Queen of England, and the
second time as Empress of India.
On the occasion of Queen Victoria's coronation, June 28th,
1837, an article appeared in the "London Sun," which gives a
description of the coronation chair and the coronation stone, as
follows: "This chair, commonly called St. Edward's chair, is an
ancient seat of solid hardwood, with back and sides of the same,
variously painted, in which the kings of Scotland were in former
periods constantly crowned, but, having been brought out of the
kingdom by Edward I, in the year 1296, after he had totally
overcome John Baliol, king of Scots, it has ever since remained
in the Abbey of Westminster, and has been the chair in which the
succeeding kings and queens of this realm have been inaugurated.
It is in height six feet and seven inches, in breadth at the
bottom thirty-eight inches, and in depth twenty-four inches; from
the seat to the bottom is twenty-five inches; the breadth of the
seat within the sides is twenty-eight inches, and the depth
eighteen inches. At nine inches from the ground is a board,
supported at the four corners by as many lions. Between the seat
and this board is enclosed a stone, commonly called Jacob's, or
the fatal Marble, Stone, which is an oblong of about twenty-two
inches in length, thirteen inches broad and eleven inches deep;
of a steel color, mixed with some veins of red. History relates
that it is the stone whereon the patriarch Jacob laid his head in
the plains of Luz." This, as you see, was published more than
sixty years ago, before it was thought possible that the
Anglo-Saxons were the descendants of Joseph, the inheritor of the
birthright blessing which God gave to his fathers, Abraham, Isaac
and Jacob.
This article further says that "this stone was conveyed into
Ireland by way of Spain about 700 years before Christ. From there
it was taken into Scotland by King Fergus, about 370 years later;
and in the year 350 B.C., it was placed in the abbey of Scone, by
King Kenneth, who caused a prophetical verse to be engraved upon
it, of which the following is a translation 'Should fate not
fail, where'er this stone is found, The Scots shall monarch of
that realm be crowned.' This antique regal chair, having
(together with the golden sceptre and crown of Scotland) been
solemnly offered by King Edward I. to St. Edward the Confessor,
in the year 1297 (from whence it derives the appellation of St.
Edward's chair), has ever since been kept in the chapel called by
his name; with a tablet affixed to it, whereon several Latin
verses are written, in old English characters. * * * The stone
maintains its usual place under the seat of the chair."
Prior to the time that King Kenneth had his verse engraved
on that Coronation Stone, there was a prophetic verse which had
attached itself to it, which Sir Walter Scott has rendered, one
word excepted, as follows: "Unless the fates are faithless grown,
And prophet's voice be vain, Where'er is found this sacred stone
The Wanderers' Race shall reign."
Think of it! For more than seven hundred years this stone
has been in Westminster Abbey. Dean Stanley, in his "Memorials of
Westminster Abbey," says: "The chief object of attraction, to
this day, to the innumerable visitors to the Abbey, is probably
that ancient Irish monument of the empire known as the Coronation
Stone." He calls it a "Precious Relic," and says that King Edward
I. said that "It is the one primeval monument which binds
together the whole empire." The Dean further adds: "The iron
rings, the battered surface, the crack, which has all but rent
its solid mass asunder, bear witness to its long migrations. It
is thus embedded in the heart of the English monarchy, an element
of poetic, patriarchal, heathen times, which like Araunah's
threshing floor in the midst of the temple of Solomon carries
back our thoughts to races and customs now almost extinct, a link
which unites the throne of England with the traditions of Tara
and Iona, and connects the charm of our complex civilization with
the favors of Mother Earth, the stocks and stones of savage
nature. Faithful or foolish, the sentiment of the nation has,
through three hundred generations of living men, made it felt
that Jacob's Pillar Stone was a thing worth dying for in battle.
By the treaty of Northampton in 1328, the emeralds, pearls, and
rubies were carried off without a murmur. But the Ragged Old
Stone - Oh no!---the Londoners would have died for that! The
stone of Scone, on which it was the custom for the kings of
Scotland to be set at their coronation, the Londoners would on no
account suffer to be sent away."
Dr. Poole says: "This stone is a dull, reddish or purplish
sandstone, with a few small embedded pebbles; one of these is
quartz and two others of a dark material. The rock is calcareous
and is of that kind which masons call freestone. Chisel marks are
visible on one or more of its sides." There is no rock of this
kind in England, Ireland or Scotland. But the Rev. Canon Tristram
says that there is a stratum of sandstone near the Dead Sea just
like this stone, which by the English people is called Jacob's
Pillow Stone. This stone is called by the Irish and by the Scotch
'Lia Fail' and 'The Stone of Destiny.' In Irish Lia is stone and
Fail is fate, hence, the stone of fate, or the stone of destiny.
But it is that only because it is Jacob's Pillow-Pillar Stone.
This is the reason that Tea Tephi was called "The Daughter of
God's House." (Log, or Lug, Celtic for God, and Aidh, a house;
hence the word Lughaidh.)
Amergin, chief bard to King Dermod, monarch of Ireland in
the sixth century, in the "Notes of the Annals of the Four
Masters," refers to Tea Tephi as follows:
"A rampart was raised around her house, For Teah, the daughter of
Lughaidh, She was buried outside in her mound, And from her it
was named Tea-mur."
The parentage here assigned to Tea Tephi could have been for
no other reason than that she was the daughter of "God's house,"
to the people to whom she brought "God's house," the Stone, which
was their Shepherd-stone, i. e., Bethel. Morton W. Spencer says
that Lia (sometimes spelled Leag) is an Irish word and means "a
stone," but that Phail is Hebrew, and is itself a Scripture word,
and is of the deepest import, for it means wonderful, and is so
translated in Isa.9:6.
This we have verified, and it clinches our thought that the
Bethel stone, or Lia Fail, the Stone Wonderful, is indeed a
symbol of that Divine Rock, that Wonderful One, THE ROCK OF OUR
SALVATION.
The fact that there are iron rings in the stone which is in
the Coronation Chair, and that they are worn, is remarkable. The
question arises, How and when were they worn? It could not have
been in the royal halls of Tara, nor in the abbey of Scone, nor
since it came to Westminster, nor in the temple of Jerusalem; but
surely it could have been when, for forty years, Israel journeyed
through the wilderness, and had both literal and spiritual drink
from their Shepherd rocks that followed them.
The modern classic Hebrew uses little dots like periods to
represent the vowel sounds. These dots are placed in various
positions about the alphabetical characters which represent the
consonant sounds. But it is a well known fact that in ancient
Hebrew writings, both secular and sacred, there are no
characters, not even the little dots, to represent the vowel
sounds. Hence, the vowels are absolutely unwritten, and the
consonants of a word are so arranged that the speaker is
compelled to give the vowel sound while pronouncing the
consonants. Take, for instance, the word Bethel. There, in the
original, we have only that which is equivalent to the English
B-th-l. At Bethel, as we have already shown, when Jacob set up
the Bethel stone, he used it for an altar, at which he
worshipped, and upon which he made his vow. Prof. Totten, of New
Haven, says: "The altars of ancient Ireland were called Botal or
Bothal, meaning the house of God." That is, it is the Hebrew word
B-th-l, and has the same meaning.
Thus the Bethel stone again proves itself to be a perfect
type of Christ, for although Christ is many other things, he is
also the Christian's altar. Proof: Jesus said to the Pharisees:
"Whether is greater, the gift or the altar that sanctifieth the
gift?" In this we see that the altar is that which sanctifies.
Elsewhere we are told that "Jesus Christ, of God, is made unto us
sanctification." Since it is the altar which does the
sanctifying, then he who sanctifies is the altar. Thus, it is
written, "We have an altar, whereof they have no right to eat
which serve the tabernacle. * * * Wherefore Jesus also, that he
might sanctify the people (i.e., do that which the altar does)
with his own blood, suffered without the gate."
Yes, the Altar-Shepherd was smitten, and concerning that
other rock, Dean Stanley speaks of the crack, which, he says,
"has all but rent its solid mass asunder." Could it be possible
that rent was made when and because Moses smote the rock when he
was told to speak to it? But, be this as it may, history has made
it impossible to escape the fact that, like a true Shepherd,
this stone has followed the fortunes and misfortunes of its
people for two thousand five hundred years. Joshua, at one time,
took a stone, set it up, and said unto all Israel. "Behold, this
stone shall be a witness unto us; for it hath heard all the words
of the Lord which he spake unto us: it shall be therefore a
witness unto you lest ye deny your God." Thus we see that a stone
may be a witness; and the historians of Great Britain, either
wittingly or unwittingly, have made Lia Fail (sometimes spelled
Leag Phail) a witness to an unbroken line of sovereigns, for it
has been the throne upon which their rulers have been
consecutively crowned, ever since it was landed in Ireland.
Further, there have been just three overturns of this
kingdom. The first, as we have shown, was from Palestine to Tara,
in the plantation of Ulster, through Tea Tephi, Jeremiah's ward,
the "King's Daughter." The second overturn was from Ireland to
Scotland, through Fergus, who sent for Lia Fail, the Stone of
Destiny, and had it brought from Tara to Iona, where he was
crowned. The third OVERTURN was from Scotland to England. At this
time the throne was brought from Scotland and placed in
Westminster Abbey, where it rests under the protection of the
greatest monarchy on earth.
Hence, if this Coronation Stone which is in Westminster,
which the English call Jacob's Pillow, and which their Scotch and
Irish ancestors called "God's house," "B-th-l," "The Stone of
Destiny," and "Leag Phail," "The Stone Wonderful," - we say, if
this stone is indeed what these names and what its history
declare it to be, then it is indeed the veritable throne of
Israel, upon which the sons of David were formally crowned in the
Temple of God at Jerusalem. Consequently, in this also, God has
kept faith with David, and preserved his throne through all
generations that are past.
This makes us feel like singing the Doxology, because it is
just as it should be. When the Bethel stone was in Bethel place,
it was "God's house," in God's house; when it was in the Temple,
it was still God's house, in God's house; when, as one of the
jewels of empire, it was taken by Teah, the "tender twig," and
placed in the heights of Israel in the islands of the sea, it was
still God's house, in God's house. The descendants of Teah and
Herremon are the custodians of that rock today, and their
subjects possess all the distinguishing marks whereby prophecy
declares the lost house o f God shall finally be recognized and
found. And in the midst of this great national or racial house
there is a house of God, a "spiritual house," which is by some
called "Spiritual Israel," and which is, like literal Israel was,
FOUNDED ON A ROCK.
..........
NOTE:
CAN IT BE BUT A CHANCE, A STRANGE TWIST OF HISTORY
THAT SUCH A STONE HAS BEEN A STONE TO CROWN KINGS AND
QUEENS OF IRELAND, SCOTLAND, AND ENGLAND, THEM SITTING
UPON THIS STONE. THE CONTINUING THRONE OF BRITAIN, IN A
MODERN SPACE-AGE WORLD IS REALLY QUITE STRANGE IN ITSELF,
BUT TO HAVE A STONE WITH SUCH HISTORY, AND LOOKED UPON
WITH SUCH SERIOUSNESS AND HONOR, MAKES THE THRONE OF
BRITAIN EVEN MORE MYSTERIOUS AND SO TRADITIONALLY
IMPORTANT. THE THRONE IS AS MUCH ENJOYED AND RESPECTED
AS IT EVER WAS. YES THE LATE DIANNA, AND HER CHILDREN
HAVE BROUGHT BACK THE LOVE AND RESPECT OF THIS THRONE,
IF IT WAS DYING IN POPULARITY, IT NO LONGER IS. THERE
IS NOW NO THOUGHT OF THIS THRONE COMING TO AN END. THE
PRESENT QUEEN ELIZABETH CHANGED AND MOVED IN THE RIGHT
DIRECTION AFTER DIANNA'S UNTIMELY DEATH, TO MAKE THE
THRONE EMOTIONALLY CONNECTED TO THE PEOPLE, AND DIANNA'S
CHILDREN ARE MAKING IT EVEN MORE SO. CAN THIS BE SAID
TO BE JUST "CHANCE" OR IS THERE THE HAND OF GOD IN IT
ALL? I THINK THE LATTER IS THE TRUTH OF THE MATTER.
YES, THIS BRITISH THRONE AND ITS ENDURANCE, IS NOT A
MATTER OF JUST CHANCE, BUT IT IS INDEED THE VERY THRONE
OF DAVID, AND WILL GO TO DAVID'S GREATEST SON - CHRIST
JESUS, WHEN JESUS RETURNS TO THIS EARTH TO ESTABLISH THE
KINGDOM OF GOD FOR THE FIRST THOUSAND YEARS, AS WE ARE
TOLD IN CHAPTER 20 OF THE BOOK OF REVELATION.
Keith Hunt
|
|
|
|
No comments:
Post a Comment