Judah

Judah, fourth son of Jacob and Leah, was born to lead. His first notable act was to persuade his brothers to sell Joseph as a slave into Egypt. Later he fathered twin boys, Pharez and Zarah, whose descendants were to play an important role in Israel's history.

Joseph became Pharaoh's right-hand man in Egypt and during the famine that followed, Jacob's other sons (except Benjamin, the youngest) came to Egypt to buy food. There they came before their brother, but did not recognise him. As a condition to obtain further supplies they were to bring Benjamin with them on their next visit. To test his brothers on their next visit, Joseph made it appear that Benjamin had stolen his silver cup, because of which Benjamin was condemned to slavery. Judah pointed out the effect this would have on Jacob and begged Joseph to make him (Judah) his slave instead. Joseph then revealed himself and arranged for Jacob and family to migrate to Egypt.

In his final words Jacob prophesied that Judah would become:

• honoured in Israel because of his descendants;

• a great warrior tribe;

• the royal tribe from which the sceptre and seat of government would not depart until Shiloh (the Lord Jesus Christ) came as king; and

• identified heraldically by the lion.

In the wilderness, Judah, one of the four leading tribes, camped to the east of the tabernacle with Zebulun and Issachar. Under its emblem of the lion this tribe led Israel through the wilderness. After Joshua's conquest of Canaan, Judah was allocated a large portion in the south, with Jerusalem on the northern border.

The lion, although a very widespread heraldic device, has become particularly associated with Great Britain. Nevertheless this insignia also features in the arms of Canada, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg, as well as in a multitude of provincial, municipal, and clan coats-of-arms.

It is again pointed out that there is a widespread occurrence of the heraldic emblem of ancient Judah, as well as those of Reuben and Simeon, in the arms of western European countries and Great Britain. This suggests that ancient Israel, after being ejected from Canaan by the Assyrians, eventually migrated to those countries.

The Davidic Throne

For about 350 years after occupying Canaan Israel existed as a theocracy - a nation ruled by God. Corruption among the priests and judges (God's chosen oversight) led to a demand for a king. God agreed even though this meant that Israel had rejected Him as king (see 1Samuel 8:7 and Deuteronomy 17:14-15).

Samuel, as directed, anointed Saul of the tribe of Benjamin as king of Israel, although this appeared to conflict with Jacob's prophecy. Saul proved to be unworthy and so David of the tribe of Judah was anointed to be king. The prophet Nathan confirmed Jacob's prophecy: David's dynasty, kingdom, and throne would be established for ever (2 Samuel 7:16). Both the prophet Isaiah and the angel Gabriel stated that the Lord Jesus Christ would take up this throne and rule over Israel for ever (Isaiah 9:6-7, Luke 1:26-33).

Because of their persistent idolatry God ejected Israel from the territory of Canaan. Apart from a tiny remnant of the House of Judah, the nation just seemed to disappear. When Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, slew the sons of Zedekiah, who was the last Davidic king to reign in Jerusalem, it appeared that this dynasty had ceased. However, Jeremiah the prophet escaped to Egypt with two princesses (daughters of Zedekiah). The Bible narrative ends here, but ancient historical records indicate that Jeremiah and one of the princesses eventually arrived in Ireland. There the princess married Eochaidh, the King of Ireland, who was a direct descendant of Zarah (one of Judah's twin sons).

About 1,300 years later the Davidic dynasty moved to Scotland and 500 years after that to England, as prophesied by Ezekiel (Ezekiel 21:27). Queen Elizabeth II is a descendant of King David and this throne and dynasty will remain in London until the Lord Jesus Christ returns. The Davidic dynasty's heraldic device was a crowned lion, as occasionally was that of the tribe of Judah. The harp was a personal insignia of David, who was a noted musician and composed many of the psalms and their accompaniments.

The British Royal Coat of Arms, among other features, shows:

• a crowned rampant lion to the left of the shield heraldically identifying the royal tribe of Judah;

• a crown above the shield upon which a crowned lion stands. This is the sign of a supreme monarch. In the Revelation Jesus is described as: " ... the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David ..." (Revelation 5:5); and

• on the shield along with numerous lions is a harp, King David's personal insignia. This emblem appears to be peculiar to this royal crest and those of Ireland.

Jewry

Because of ignorance, Jewry is generally held to be the modern descendants of ancient Israel and the owners of Palestine. The Bible and history show that this is incorrect.

God stated that Abraham's everlasting ownership of Canaan would pass to Jacob's descendants, i.e. his twelve sons and their progeny (Genesis 35:10-12). Under Joshua, Judah inherited part of Canaan. Following King Solomon's death the Davidic kingdom split into the Northern Kingdom or House of Israel and the Southern Kingdom or House of Judah. The word "Jew" (initially meaning a descendant of Judah) first appears in the Bible in 2 Kings 16:6, nearly 1000 years after God's promise to Jacob, and came to apply to the portion of the House of Judah that was not taken captive by the Assyrians. These "Jews" were taken captive to Babylon by King Nebuchadnezzar.

During their captivity in Babylon, a plot was made to annihilate Jewry. This back-fired and many of the indigenous peoples throughout the Persian empire became Jews because of political expediency (Esther 8:17 and 9:27). Of the millions of Israelites that were removed from Canaan only 42,360 Jews returned in about 445 B.C. Subsequently, descendants of these people conquered and absorbed the Edomites (descendants of Esau) into their society. In New Testament times many Jews were not descendants of Jacob. Following rebellion against Rome, Jerusalem was destroyed and the Jews were scattered far and wide, never to be a nation again.

From the time of their captivity Jewry actively sought converts to Judaism, with the result that today, out of the 20,000,000 Jews world-wide, less than 10% are descendants of Jacob. The proselytised Jews have no claim on the Abrahamic promises, including ownership of Canaan; nor indeed have the true descendants of Judah. Canaan belongs to the twelve tribes of Israel! What is more, the Jews with Israelitish origins are probably not even of the tribe of Judah because this tribe is with the sceptre! The throne of David is located in the British Isles, and that is where Judah, along with the other tribes, is to be found as is demonstrated, along with other proofs, by the heraldry of these ancient peoples. It should be remembered that the Lord guaranteed that Jacob's seed would be as the dust of the earth (Genesis 28:14). The population of the Anglo-Saxon Celtic nations, who are the true descendants of Jacob, exceeds 300,000,000!