Preface to Web Edition (2006)

This book, by the late Colonel John Durrant, was originally published in 1988, and reflects the understanding of prophetic fulfilment as at that time. Some light editing has been undertaken. Some references to nations and events are now necessarily somewhat dated, although, of course, the prophecies must continue to hold. The book is presented here, little changed from 1988, as a useful guide for those interested in these fascinating and important subjects.

The book traces historical links to establish an argument that the throne of King David in ancient Israel has not been lost. It provides prophetic material on the Return of Jesus Christ, and most importantly, how we can be personally ready for this great event.

Copyright, Revival Centres International, 1988 - 2008.

CONTENTS

Foreword

Preface

PART 1 - THE THRONE OF DAVID
  1        The Promises
  2        Tracing the Royal Lineage
  3        Judah in Ireland
  4        Overturn, Overturn, Overturn
  5        The Coronation

PART 2 - THE RETURN OF JESUS CHRIST 
  6        The Second Coming of the Lord
  7        The Signs that Precede the Lord’s Return
  8        What Happens When Christ Returns
  9        When Will Christ Return?
10        What We Must Do to be Ready?

PART 3 - LINKING THE TWO PROPHECIES 
11        The Promises

Bibliography

ILLUSTRATIONS
Figure   Subject
  1        Witnesses that the Throne is Everlasting
  2        Parables of Ezekiel 17 and Jeremiah 42
  3        Linking of Pharez and Zarah
  4        The Coronation Chair
  5        The Three "Overturns"
  6        The Plan of Westminster Abbey
  7        The Jerusalem Chamber
  8        The Orb
  9        The Sceptre and Rod
10        St Edward’s Crown
11        The Queen’s Crown, Sceptre, Orb and Rod
12        The Rift Valley
13        A Biblical Time

Foreword

The Throne of David and the Return of Christ
By Colonel J. H. Durrant

Illustrations by Ivan McLennan

Published by     Melbourne Revival Centre
                                    188 Barkers Road
                                    Hawthorn
                                    Victoria
                                    Australia

INTRODUCTION

We recommend this second book of a series by Colonel J. H. Durrant.  It contains a wealth of information and explanation for Bible students, being another important section of the overall plan that the Bible presents

L. R. Longfield, Pastor
Revival Centres International

PREFACE

In my previous book, entitled “THE COMMONWEALTH OF ISRAEL AS REVEALED BY BIBLE PROPHECY”, I directed attention to a statement in 2 Samuel 7:10-13 where God promised that the nation of Israel would dwell in “a place of their own”, and to David He said, “I will set up thy seed after thee ... and I will establish the throne of his kingdom for ever.”

In that book we established beyond reasonable doubt that the Commonwealth of Israel is very much alive today, and that the Anglo-Saxon people of the British Commonwealth and the United States of America are the literal descendants of the original twelve-tribed House of Israel. However in regard to the establishment of the throne of David forever I wrote, “This is a tremendous subject which requires a book on its own.” The purpose of this book is to meet that requirement.

As soon as one starts to examine the subject of the Throne of David, it becomes apparent that there is also involved another great Bible prophecy subject, the Return of our Lord Jesus Christ. For this reason I feel that it is not appropriate to deal only with the throne of David in this book, and therefore it will be presented in three parts:
               Part 1 - The Throne of David.
               Part 2 - The Return of Jesus Christ.
               Part 3 - The Linking of these two Prophecies.

I must admit that I approach the topic of the Return of Jesus Christ with some reservations, as most are no doubt aware that a lot of uncertainty surrounds the interpretation of some of the Scriptures concerning this subject. Many things are quite clear, such as the fact that there will be a return, and who will partake in it, but I readily admit that we are not clear on some of the sequences and details. I believe that if these points were important to our salvation the Lord would have left us in no doubt about what we need to know, and therefore I refuse to be drawn into arguments on points of contention. We have more important things to do than be dogmatic on such issues, and therefore I will be content to mention possible interpretations and the Scriptures that give rise to them.

What makes one sit down and write a book on Bible prophecy? In my case it is the desire to help point out to others some of the great truths of Bible prophecy, and to show that because history has confirmed that God has been able to forecast events so accurately, we are able to trust the Bible as really being the will of God for you and me. In too many places today, men who claim to be serving God are expounding to their congregations their own ideas instead of what is in the Bible. They have lost faith in it, or have probably never been shown the need to have faith in it themselves, so what hope do they have of being able to minister about something they don’t believe?

In the Book of Jude, verse 3, we find these words, “... it was needful for me to write unto you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith once delivered unto the saints.” Do you know what that faith was and do you think that this instruction applies to you also? Have a look at verse 1 and see to whom he is writing. I have no doubt that everyone who reads this would like to be sure that they are “sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ, and called.”

Although I was “confirmed” in a denominational church as a young teenager, it was many years later before I was told that the Bible contained anything about the return of our Lord Jesus Christ. I have heard it said that there are over 300 references in the Bible to this return, and although I have never counted them myself, there are certainly enough to convince me that I need to do something about it personally. Thinking back over those thirty-odd years since I was told about the return of Jesus Christ, I sometimes wonder how keen I would have been to investigate these things without first learning to trust the Bible through fulfilled prophecy.

It is in the hope that I will help others to gain this same trust that I start on this second and even more important subject.

As in my first book, I hope to keep this simple enough to make it readable to those not well versed in the Bible, and also to provide enough material for those wanting to make a more thorough study of the subject. For both types of reader, there will be plenty of Scriptures quoted.

In 2 Peter 1:21 we find the words, “For prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.” Let us see if we can prove that this statement is accurate.

CHAPTER 1

THE PROMISES

When one starts to talk about a throne, there is always a nation or kingdom involved as well, and this case is no exception. The kingdom involved here is known as the Kingdom of Israel, and we find the first mention of that kingdom in the early part of the Book of Genesis in the Bible. This first reference was recorded over four thousand years ago, and is backed up by a number of other writers of the books of the Bible and by recorded history, thus confirming that God knew what He was talking about.

The Promises to Abram

God made the first national promise to Abram in Genesis 12:2, “And I will rnake of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee and make thy name great ...” The promise is repeated in Genesis 17:5- 6, which reads “neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham, for a father of many nations have I made thee. And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee.” Already we have mention of a promise that the descendants of Abraham would form a mighty nation, and that kings would also come from these people.

Promise to Sarah

There was also a promise to Abraham’s wife, Sarah, as recorded in Genesis 17:16, “And I will bless her, and give thee also a son of her, and she shall be the mother of nations; kings of peopIe shall be of her.”

Promise to Isaac

When the angel of the Lord spoke to Abraham concerning his son Isaac the message was similar. Here it is from Genesis 22:17-18, “That in bIessing I will bless thee, and in multip1ying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand of the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies. And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.” This promise is both national and spiritual. Not only does it confirm what God had already told Abraham about a great nation descending from him, but the action of offering his son Isaac as a sacrifice on the altar is a type of the future one perfect sacrifice made by the Lord Jesus Christ to cleanse us all from sin. Provision is also made for Isaac’s descendants to be involved in spreading the Gospel, “and in thy seed” is this message to be taken out, so that “all nations of the earth be blessed.”

Promises to Jacob

In Genesis 35:10-11 the promises to Isaac’s son Jacob, the third generation, are further expanded by indicating that his name would be changed, “Thy name shall not be called any more Jacob, but ISRAEL shall be thy name ... and God said unto him ... a nation and a company of nations shall be of thee.” Jacob’s elder brother, Esau, was the next in line for the national and spiritual blessings, but he had sold his birthright to Jacob for a “mess of pottage” (a bowl of stew). Let us also beware that we do not forego the promises of blessing to us in this day by making them take second place to material things as Esau did. We now have a growing list of literal promises which must be fulfilled if the Word of God is to be believed. Furthermore these are just a few examples, the list is nowhere near complete because of the space available.

Israel’s Twelve Sons

In Genesis 35:22-26 we read of the twelve sons who were born to Jacob/Israel, six to Leah, two to her handmaid Zilpah, two to Rachel the wife of his love, and two to her handmaid Bilhah. Also at this time we might note that Leah’s fourth son was Judah. The Bible pattern at that time was for the eldest son of a family to inherit the family birthright, as we have already noted in the preceding example of Esau and Jacob. In the case of Israel’s family this was also both national and spiritual, and the blessing should have passed to the eldest son, Reuben, but this was not to be because Reuben had lost his inheritance through his unworthy actions. The story of Jacob’s family is recorded in more detail in Genesis Chapters 37 to 49. From these we learn that it was Joseph, the first son of Rachel, who was to be the next chosen ancestor of God’s servant race. This was confirmed on the eve of Jacob’s death, when he called his twelve sons to his bedside to prophesy concerning their descendants in the last days. Genesis 49:26, “The blessings of thy father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills: they shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him that was separate from his brethren.” This separation had occurred when the other brothers had become jealous of Joseph and sold him into slavery in Egypt.

Special Blessing for Judah

We have already seen that part of one of the early promises given to Abraham in Genesis 17:6 included the words “... and kings shall come out of thee,” There was no mention in Joseph’s blessing by Jacob to this part of the inheritance being passed to Joseph. We shall see later that this part of God’s promise through Abraham was to be fulfilled in the descendants of Judah, and although Judah was present when Jacob gave his blessing, God no doubt remembered Judah being a party to the sale of Joseph into slavery.

The promise was specifically given to King David, who was a descendant of Judah, over 800 years later. In 2 Samuel 7:16 we read, “And thy house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee: and thy throne shall be established for ever.”  This is further extended in Jeremiah 33:14-15. “Behold the days come, saith the Lord, that I will perform that good thing which I have promised unto the House of Israel and to the House of Judah. In those days, and at that time, will I cause the branch of righteousness to grow up unto David; and he shall execute judgement and righteousness in the land.”

This is an obvious reference to the first coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, whose mother, Mary, was descended from the line of King David. He was to deliver to us the New Covenant, whereby we could walk in the righteousness of the Holy Spirit, instead of trying (unsuccessfully) to establish our own righteousness by keeping the Old Testament law given to Moses on Mount Sinai.

Figure 1.
The eternal nature of the Davidic dynasty is compared with
eight natural features of creation which man cannot alter.

Jeremiah goes on further in verse 17, “For thus saith the Lord; David shall never want a man to sit upon the throne of the House of Israel” and in verses 25 and 26, “Thus saith the Lord; If my covenant be not with day and night, and if I have not appointed ordinances of heaven and earth; Then will I cast away the seed of Jacob, and David my servant, so that I will not take any of his seed to be rulers over the seed of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob ... ” (See Figure 1 for an illustration of these statements.) This might seem a difficult passage to understand at first glance, because it contains so many double negatives. What the Lord is saying is that as long as the sun continues to shine by day, and the moon and stars by night there will always be a descendant of Jacob and David available to sit upon the throne of the House of Israel.

These references are literal promises; therefore somewhere today there must be a descendant of King David ruling over the House of Israel on a literal throne. Those who have studied my first book, “The Commonwealth of Israel as Revealed by Bible Prophecy” will see the nation and company of nations mentioned in Genesis as Great Britain and the British Commonwealth.

The Location of the Nation

The scriptures we examined from the Book of Genesis all related to statements God had made before the children of Israel left Palestine to go down to Egypt to buy corn from Joseph, their stay in Egypt of 400 years, and the Exodus under Moses. After wandering in the wilderness for 40 years, they re-entered Palestine in about 1400 BC under the leadership of Joshua. In about 1000 BC, King David became King over the twelve tribes of Israel. We will now proceed to examine further the question of the identification of the throne which was to be perpetuated from that of King David.

CHAPTER 2

TRACING THE ROYAL LINEAGE

Warning of Punishment for Sin

We have already seen that God has made promises concerning kings coming from the descendants of Abraham (Genesis 17:6), and confirming the promise to the House of David (2 Samuel 7:13). However, there is one other Scripture which has a vital bearing on what we are going to trace, and that is Leviticus 26:27-28, “And if ye will not for all this hearken unto me, but walk contrary unto me; Then I will walk contrary unto you also in fury; and I, even I, will chastise you seven times for your sins.” God made this promise to the Children of Israel, and as we shall see it was no idle threat.

In about 975 B.C., the twelve-tribed House of Israel fell into idolatry, the practice of worship of idols, and failed to keep close to God. They had no cause to rebel against God; He was providing them with all their needs, and protecting them from their enemies while they obeyed Him. We tend to be the same, failing to recognise God when everything is going right, instead of thanking Him for all His blessings. The House of Israel divided into two groups. The larger group, which lived in the north part of Palestine, rebelled first. This group retained the name of the House of Israel. The southern group, the two-tribed House of Judah, rebelled later.

The ten-tribed House of Israel was taken into captivity in two assaults by the Assyrians under Tiglath-pileser, and Shalmaneser in 741 and 721 B.C. respectively and did not return to Palestine. These captivities are described in more detail in 1 Chronicles 5:25-26 and 2 Kings 17:6-21.

Eight years after the second captivity had been completed the Assyrians made another assault into Palestine under Sennacherib and took away the inhabitants of the “fenced cities” of Judah (2 Kings 18:9-13), but the city of Jerusalem was not taken.

In 604 B.C., the Babylonians under Nebuchadnezzar attacked Jerusalem, and many of the inhabitants were taken captive into Babylon. This is described in 2 Kings 24:1 and 3, “In his days, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up, and Jehoiakim became his servant three years ... Surely at the commandment of the Lord came this upon Judah, to remove them out of his sight ...” Jehoiakim was the King of Judah at that time and his ways were evil, as were the ways of his subjects who followed him. Once again God used a man (the King of Babylon) to cause His plan to come to pass.

Jerusalem Captured

In 588 BC, the Babylonians made another attack against the remainder of Judah, and three years later the city of Jerusalem was captured, and the dynasty of David ceased to reign in that city. This is described in Jeremiah 39:1-7, “In the ninth year of Zedekiah, King of Judah, came Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon ... against Jerusalem and besieged it ... and the King of Babylon slew the sons of Zedekiah ... Moreover he put out Zedekiah’s eyes, and bound him with chains, to carry him to Babylon.”

We find another description of this event in Ezekiel 17:3-4, and although this is written in symbolic language we are given the interpretation in verses 12 and 13 of the same chapter. The "eagle" is the King of Babylon, who takes the "highest branch of the cedar" representing King Zedekiah’s family, the rulers of the House of David. The "young twigs" are the royal princes, and they are all taken to the "city of merchants", or Babylon. No doubt after this victory and the captivity which followed the King of Babylon was satisfied that he had put an end to the throne of David, for the custom in his country was for the rulers to come automatically from the male descendants, and in the case of Judah he had them all either dead or in captivity.

The King's Daughters

In Jeremiah 43 we find a description of what happened to King Zedekiah’s daughters. Jeremiah 43:5-7, “But Johanan the son of Kareah ... took all the remnant of Judah ... Even men, women, and children, and the king’s daughters ... and Jeremiah the prophet, and Baruch the son of Neriah ... So they came into the land of Egypt; for they obeyed not the voice of the Lord ... ”. Obviously it was Johanan and all the captains of the forces who were disobedient in forcing the daughters, and Jeremiah and Baruch, to go to Egypt, but the Lord knew that they would do this, and it was all part of His plan to cause the daughters to escape the captivity into Babylon of the rest of their family. According to the Law as given to Moses, the right to David’s Throne passed to the eldest daughter when there were no sons to take the inheritance. Numbers 27:8, “If a man die and have no son, then shall he cause his inheritance to pass unto his daughter.” So the King of Babylon had not removed all the heirs to the Throne of David as he intended. We might note here that the same law applies in relation to our throne today, and by it our present Queen Elizabeth II came to the throne on the death of her Father, King George VI.

Here is another Scripture which we have not looked at before, it is Jeremiah 1, verses 1-5 and 10. “I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations...see I have this day, set thee over the Kingdoms...to root out, and to pull down...and to build and to plant.” The Throne of David had already been rooted out and pulled down by Nebuchadnezzar. Jeremiah was now being informed that he and the daughters were to be manoeuvred into a position where God could build and plant.

Ezekiel’s Prophecy

This is one of the last direct references we have in Scripture to the progress of the descendants of King David. Ezekiel 17:22-23 says, “Thus saith the Lord God: I will also take of the highest branch ... and will set it; and will plant it upon a high mountain and eminent ... and it shall bring forth boughs, and bear fruit, and be a goodly cedar: and under it shall dwell all fowl of every wing ... ” We have already seen that the young twigs at the top of the cedar were the sons of Zedekiah, so the tender one in this case must be a daughter. The balance of the prophecy refers to the throne being transferred to an eminent place where there would be many descendants of the House of David, and the kingdom would be a place of prosperity and protection for the people of many races. (See Figure 2.)

In Jeremiah 25:15 and 22 we are told the names of the nations to whom God would send Jeremiah. “... the nations to whom I will send thee ... the Kings of Tyre ... and the Kings of the Isles which are beyond the sea.” We are not told which sea, but as Tyre is located on the Mediterranean Sea, it is reasonable to assume that God is referring to isles beyond that sea.

Jeremiah, Baruch and the daughters remained only a short time in Egypt, being warned of God to flee (Jeremiah 44:28 “Yet a small number that escape the sword shall return out of the land of Egypt into the land of Judah ... ”). This must have been to Tyre, with their subsequent move being to the only isles beyond the Mediterranean Sea, the British Isles. In my first book, “The Commonwealth of Israel as Revealed by Bible Prophecy”, we examined conclusive evidence that the British Commonwealth is the present-day nation of Israel, and since that nation was never to lack a descendant of King David to rule over it that promise is consistent with the prophecy of Jeremiah 25 quoted above, where God stated that Jeremiah would be sent to “the Kings of the Isles which are beyond the sea.”

National and Spiritual Promises

In that book we also quoted from Genesis 28:14. “... and in thee (Israel) and thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed.” This is also consistent with the quotation from Ezekiel 17:22-23 a few paragraphs back where the Lord said, “... and I will also take of the highest branch of the high cedar ... In the mountain of the height of Israel will I plant it: and it shall bring forth boughs, and bear fruit, and be a goodly cedar: and under it shall dwell all the fowls of every wing; in the shadow of the branches thereof shall they dwell.”

The Throne Enters Europe

We have now reached the end of the Bible narrative of the history of the throne of David in the Middle-East. There are still further prophecies which deal with the movements of the throne once it had reached the “isles afar off”. As we approach the time of the birth of Jesus Christ, recorded history becomes more reliable. We are therefore able to trace the movements of the throne quite accurately and see whether the places where it was established and the ritual surrounding it conform to the Bible pattern.

CHAPTER 3

JUDAH IN IRELAND

Judah's Twin Sons

The next place we find the throne established and operating is in Ireland, but before examining this in detail it is necessary to go back several hundred years and look at the descendants of Judah to see which one was chosen to be an ancestor of the royal lineage and what happened to the others. You will recall that Judah was present when his father Jacob/Israel gave the promise of national blessing to Joseph, and specific mention was made of Judah of the kingly succession. The literal promise of the kingly succession was first given to King David, a descendant from Judah, over 600 years later. We are told that Judah had five sons, but two of these did not go down into Egypt to buy corn in 1706 B.C., when there was a drought in the land. The other three sons were Shelah, and the twins Pharez and Zarah (Genesis 46:12).

At the birth of the twins, Zarah was born first, and the midwife “took and bound upon his hand a scarlet thread” (Genesis 37:27-30) to distinguish him from his brother Pharez. We find in Matthew 1:3-6 and Luke 3:31-33 that the lineage from Judah to David is counted as being through Pharez, although as we have already seen Zarah was born first, and would therefore seem to be the one through whom the lineage would be continued.

Migration of Zarah’s Line

The descendants of Judah are listed in 1Chronicles 2:3-6. This shows that he had five sons (as we have already seen) and seven grandsons, two of whom came from Pharez and five from Zarah.

However, in Genesis 46:12 only two of the grandsons, Hezron and Hamul, the sons of Pharez, are listed as going down into Egypt. Zarah’s sons are not mentioned here, therefore they did not go down into Egypt. This was probably why the Zarah line was excluded from the lineage at this time, though as we shall see, they were included again later.

Dara and Calcol

Two of Zarah’s sons were particularly noteworthy as far as the narrative is concerned. Dara (the name is spelt ’Dardanus’ by the Jewish historian Josephus) established a kingdom on the shores of what we now call the Dardanelles, a name very familiar to us because of the landing of the Anzacs there in 1915. The capital of this kingdom was the famous city of Troy, which was overthrown in the famous siege of Troy many years later, and Aeneas, the last of the royal line, took the remnants of his nation into Europe. His son Brutus was advised to lead the nation to “The Great White Island”, an early name for Britain used on account of the chalky white cliffs. He accepted the advice, and landed at Torbay in southern England. A stone monument at Totnes still commemorates his arrival. He later contacted others of the House of Israel already in England, and founded a capital city which he called “Caer Troia”, or New Troy. The Romans later called it “Londonium” and it is now known as London.

History records that the descendants of the other brother, Calcol, moved westward along the north shore of the Mediterranean Sea and established Iberian (Hebrew) settlements. One of these was “Zarah- gassa”, or “The Stronghold of Zarah” in Spain. The town is now called Saragassa. From there they continued westward to Ireland (Camden’s ‘Historia Britannica’). Early Irish history records that the earliest inhabitants of Ireland were “Iberii”, and the land was called “Iberne”, which the Romans changed to “Hibernia”, recognising that the early peoples were “Heberites” or Hebrews, a term still commonly used before the Exodus to denote the descendants of Abraham.

The Kingdom of Ulster

Calcol arrived in Ireland with his remaining descendants of Zarah Judah in about 1600 B.C. He established the Kingdom of Ulster, which then had, and still has 3600 years later, an emblem of a Red Hand circled with a Scarlet Cord. You may recall the reference we quoted from Genesis 38:28 where Zarah, the first of Judah’s twin sons to be born, had a scarlet thread tied around his hand by the midwife. That event is still remembered in the emblem of Ulster.

Arrival of the Tribe of Dan

When the Children of Israel returned to Palestine after the Exodus, and each tribe was allotted a portion of the territory, the Tribe of Dan received the smallest portion even though they were the largest tribe in numbers. They were located on the shore of the Mediterranean Sea, and became a nation of seamen and merchants, and many of their number were constantly absent from their homeland. Deborah complained of this in Judges 5:1,17 “... and why did Dan remain in ships?” when they could have been assisting to defend Palestine.

We find another reference to the sea-faring activities of Dan in Ezekiel 27:3,12,19 and 25, “And say unto Tyrus, (Tyre) O thou that art situate at the entry of the sea, which art a merchant of the people of many isles ... Tarshish was thy merchant by reason of the multitude of all kind of riches; with silver iron, tin and lead, they traded in thy fairs … Dan also and Javan going to and fro ... were in thy market ... The ships of Tarshish did sing of thee in thy market …”. Ezekiel wrote this passage about 588 B.C., but there is historical evidence to show that Dan, who was a sea-faring tribe by 1285 BC when Deborah complained of their remaining in their ships, had begun to trade with Tarshish by 1000 B.C. We believe Tarshish could be Britain, and that Israel was receiving her supplies of tin from the mines in Cornwall. Tin was one of the commodities mentioned in the quotation from Ezekiel 27 above, as being an item of trade between Tyre and Tarshish, with the tribe of Dan being very much involved in that trade.

Ancient Irish history records that some of the early colonists of Ireland were the “Tuatha de Danaan”, which means “The tribe of Dan”. We might also note at this point that Tyre, a port on the Mediterranean coast, was mentioned in Ezekiel 27 as one of the terminal points in the sea trade between Israel and Tarshish. Now you may recall, near the end of Chapter 2, we looked at a reference in Jeremiah 25, where Jeremiah was told by God of the nations to whom he would be sent. Jeremiah 25:15 “... the nations to whom I will send thee ... the Kings of Tyre ... and the Kings of the Isles which are beyond the sea.” Remember that Jeremiah had in his charge the daughters of Zedekiah and also Baruch the scribe. We have now discovered that Tyre was the jumping off point for the trade route of Dan’s ships to Tarshish.

Jeremiah Arrives in Ireland

Let us go to about 583 B.C. again and refresh our memory about where everyone is. We have looked at a large amount of detail and a number of Scriptures, and it does all get a bit complicated, so this might be a good point to sort it out. The ten tribes of the House of Israel and part of the House of Judah are in captivity in Assyria, an immense multitude, who are never to return to Palestine but will be sifted through the nations to a new home in the Isles beyond the sea. The remainder of the two-tribed House of Judah is in captivity in Babylon, and King Zedekiah has been captured, his eyes put out, and all his sons slain. The Throne of David has ceased to operate in Jerusalem, and the only rightful inheritors still free are Zedekiah’s two daughters (descendants of Judah’s twin son Pharez), who are in Egypt with Jeremiah the prophet and his scribe Baruch. Jeremiah has instructions from God to take them to the Isles beyond the sea, via Tyre. The descendants of Judah’s other twin son, Zarah, and his grandson Calcol have already been dwelling in Ireland for several hundred years, as have some members of the tribe of Dan.

About the year 580 B.C., the king who was reigning in the eastern part of Ireland was named Eochaidh. He had been recognised by the other kings in that part of Ireland as the Heremon, a title which acknowledged that the other kings accepted him as the senior king and gave him their respect as such. While he was preparing for his coronation news was brought that a group of important people had arrived on the coast. Because much of this information was passed down by folklore, the time cannot be determined exactly, but there appears little doubt that the visitors, who were presented to Eochaidh, were an aged prophet named in the Hebrew tongue Ollam Fodhla, his scribe Simon Brug, and a beautiful princess named Tamar Tephi (or Tea Tephi). They had come from Egypt via Spain.

There is a lot of circumstantial evidence to connect this party with the prophet Jeremiah, his scribe Baruch, and the elder of Zedekiah’s two daughters. Certainly the time fits, and their point of origin and the route they took is consistent with the plan of God and the established shipping route of Dan. Irish legend tells of a younger sister who married into the Spanish nobility, thus accounting for the disappearance of the second daughter of Zedekiah. Perhaps the most convincing evidence is the names of the party. In the Hebrew tongue, Ollam means “the possessor of hidden knowledge”, while Fodhla (or Folla) is “wonderful”. The name of the princess is given as Tamar Tephi, which means in Hebrew “Palm Beautiful”. Sometimes the name appears as Tea Tephi, or “Beautiful Wanderer”. The name of the scribe, Simon Brug, recalls the name of Jeremiah’s companion, the scribe Baruch.

Eochaidh was obviously impressed by Princess Tamar Tephi in more ways than one, because shortly afterwards they were married. I cannot say that they lived happily ever afterwards, history does not tell us that, but we do know quite definitely that that was not the end of the story, in fact as far as the history of the throne of David in the Isles beyond the sea is concerned, it is only the beginning, as we shall see later. This marriage also brought about the fulfilment of the last part of the Ezekiel prophecy concerning the tender twig of the cedar tree. It is contained in Ezekiel 17:24, “And all the trees of the field 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 have done lt.”

You will recall that we spoke of the descendants of Judah through the elder twin Zarah and his son Calcol arriving in Ireland many hundreds of years before the time of Jeremiah. There is evidence to show that Eochaidh traced his lineage through that Zarah line, whereas Tamar Tephi was from the Pharez line, thus the descendants of the twins were united by that marriage, but that is not all.

Figure 3.
Descendants of Pharez and Zarah, the twin sons of Judah, were separated, but re-united during the transit of the Davidic dynasty from Palestine to Ireland by the marriage of Tea Tephi to Eochaid, the Heremon.

Because Tamar Tephi was the daughter of King Zedekiah, who had been King in Jerusalem, her status as a descendant of King David was higher than that of Eochaidh. However, as soon as they married, the status of Eochaidh, as the husband became higher than that of his bride. Thus the prophecy was fulfilled. The descendants of the elder twin, Zarah, who had wandered away from their family, had become of minor importance. These were represented by the low and dry tree, and are now made to flourish at the expense of the descendant of the younger twin, Pharez, represented by Tamar Tephi, who now is brought down to second place. The fulfilment of the prophecy in this way is another proof that the party who landed in Ireland must have included Jeremiah and Tamar Tephi, and that once again God has successfully completed what He said He would do.

CHAPTER 4

OVERTURN, OVERTURN, OVERTURN

The Prophecy

This is indeed a peculiar heading for a chapter, but these happen to be the key words in one of the prophecies concerning the throne of David. The prophecy is contained in Ezekiel 21:26-27, “Thus saith the Lord God; Remove the diadem, and take off the crown: this shall not be the same: exalt him that is low, and abase him that is high. I will overturn, overturn, overturn, it: and it shall be no more, until he come whose right it is; and I will give it him.”

The Oxford Dictionary tells us that a diadem is a crown, or a wreath of leaves or flowers worn around the head, or similar symbol of sovereignty, or a crowning distinction or glory. King Zedekiah would have worn such a symbol, but the Lord said through Ezekiel that the crown would be taken off. We have already seen that this occurred when Nebuchadnezzar took the city of Jerusalem, slew the king’s sons, and took Zedekiah captive to Babylon. All that remained of the royal family were the two daughters of Zedekiah, who were carried off into Egypt by Johanan, together with Jeremiah the prophet and Baruch the scribe. We traced their movement back to Tyre and across to Ireland via Spain, where the younger daughter remained, and we saw that the elder daughter, Tea Tephi, married Eochaidh the Heremon, thus re-establishing the throne in the new location, Ireland.

The prophecy also stated that the throne would not be the same. That part has also been fulfilled, because it was no longer a throne in Palestine, but had been transferred to Ireland. We also discussed in the previous chapter how the one who was low (Zarah’s line) would be exalted, and the one who was high (Pharez line) would be abased, as was the case when Tea Tephi married Eochaidh. The throne had also been overturned once, from Palestine via Egypt and Spain to Ireland, and we shall examine the second and third overturnings shortly. Finally the prophecy referred to the throne being given to him whose right it is, and we shall discuss that in much more detail in the closing stages of this book.

The Stone of Destiny

You will no doubt have realised by now that in compiling this book I have not introduced each item for discussion in strict historical sequence, but rather have gone back in time and introduced them as the need arises. I trust that you will not find this confusing, but I feel that it helps to unfold the story more simply. Introducing the Stone now is an example of what I mean. Our story has so far progressed to about 580 B.C. when the marriage of the Princess and the Heremon occurred in Ireland, but we now return to 1760 B.C., in order to pick up another thread.

In Genesis 28:10-22, we are given an account of an incident in the early life of Jacob, describing how he slept out in the open one night on his way from Beersheba to Haran. During the night he dreamed a dream of a ladder reaching up to heaven, and angels ascending and descending upon it. The Lord stood above it and made the famous prophecy concerning Jacob’s seed being as the dust of the earth and spreading abroad to the west, east, north and south. Jacob arose early and took the stone which he had used for a pillow and set it up for a pillar, pouring oil upon the top of it, “And he called the name of that place Bethel:” (literally House of God), and said, verse 22. “And this stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall be God’s house: ...”

Jacob treasured this stone, and upon his death in Egypt he left it to the care of his son Joseph (Genesis 49:22-26). The first verse of this chapter refers to the Last Days, therefore the stone should still be somewhere in the care of the descendants of Joseph today! There are very few other references in Scripture to this stone or pillar: but there is an interesting one in 2 Kings 11:14, which seems to indicate that it was the practice at that time for the kings of Israel to be crowned standing by a pillar, and possibly this was Jacob’s pillar. The incident described here occurred about 800 B.C., some 630 years after the Exodus, and yet there is no Bible evidence of the Pillar being brought out of Egypt at the Exodus or being carried through Sinai as Israel wandered through the wilderness, although other evidence suggests that this did happen.

The ancient Irish writings which mentioned the arrival of Tea Tephi and party in Ireland also record that they carried with them a highly treasured stone, which the Irish called ‘Lia Fail’, which means literally ‘Stone Wonderful’. Totten’s ‘Old Irish Genealogies’ reveals that a continuous succession of ancient Irish kings was crowned on ‘Lia Fail’ for 1083 years.

The Throne in Scotland

Feargus Mhore, King of Argyll, moved the stone to Scotland in 503 A.D. Sixty years later it was taken to the Island of Iona in Scotland, and in 844 A.D. it was moved to Scone, where Kenneth McAlpin was crowned upon the stone.

The “Chronicle of the Scots” by Skene records that as each king was crowned in Scotland, the “bards” sang the Royal Genealogy, tracing their Royal House back to “Eochaidh the Heremon of Ireland.” We have met that gentleman before, and the fact that “The story of the Stone was then repeated by his order” suggests that the Lord wanted to make sure that the origin of the stone was not lost.

The Scots called the stone “Lea Gael”, or “The Stone of Scone”, and all the Scottish kings from 503 A.D. to 1296 A.D., a period of 793 years, were crowned upon the stone. Thus the moving of the stone to Scotland, and its use for this purpose for such a lengthy period, was the second “overturn” of the throne which we referred to at the start of this chapter.

The Arbroath Declaration

This document, also known as “The Scottish Declaration of Independence”, was signed by Scottish barons in Parliament in Arbroath in April 1320. It is interesting because of the claim of the Scots to a lineage going back to Scythia, an area from which the Anglo-Saxons also claim to have come, thus linking them to the same Israelitish origin. Many authorities accept that the term “Scot” is derived from “Scyth”*. The original document was written in Latin, and the following is an extract from a translation which appeared in the “Scots Magazine” dated April, 1934:

In addition to the claims listed before the quotation, we also note that they acknowledge an unbroken lineage of 113 kings “of their own royal stock”, and in the light of their having identified themselves with the House of Israel, this royal stock must be of the House of Judah, which House God had appointed as the kingly tribe. This is another confirmation of the line coming through Zedekiah’s daughter Tea Tephi, from Palestine via Ireland to Scotland.

* [2006 Note: There is another explanation – the word `Scot´ did not necessarily come from the word `Scyth´.  Zarah was in great Scythia from before the building of Troy.  One of their kings `Nuil´ went to Egypt and found a wife by the name of Scota (daughter of Pharoah) and it was this king’s descendants that made their way to Scotland (Scota-land) = hence the kings of Scotland did come out of great Scythia and were descendant from the Zarah line.   ref. “The Forgotten Monarchy of Scotland”.]

The Throne in England

The stone was transferred to England by King Edward I in 1297 A.D., and placed in Westminster Abbey under the seat of a chair which he had specially constructed. (See Figure 4). At the Abbey visitors can now buy a guide book called “Westminster Abbey in Pictures”, and the following is a quotation from this book:

Figure 4.
The Coronation Chair was made by Edward I to enclose the Stone of Scone in A.D. 1297.   Tradition identifies this stone as the one upon which Jacob rested his head in Bethel. Read Genesis 28: 18.

“Beneath the Coronation Chair at the West end of the Confessor’s Chapel, rests the famous Stone of Scone which Edward I captured in Scotland in 1297. Legend traces the history of the stone back to that used by Jacob as a pillow at Bethel (Genesis 38). Certainly the Scottish Kings were crowned on this stone, and it has been beneath the throne of the monarchs crowned at Westminster since the coronation of Edward II. The oak throne was made by Master Walter, the King’s Painter, in 1300; slight traces remain of the original paintwork. The lions at the feet are later, probably Tudor work.”

My wife and I had the privilege of seeing and touching the stone in 1950, probably some of the last of the public able to do more than look at it. Shortly afterwards it was removed from the Abbey by Scottish national students, and since its return, strict security measures keep the public at a distance. We were well able to see the wear of the rings at each end of the stone, and this wear is certainly consistent with the stone having been carried long distances suspended on a long pole passed through the two rings.

The Third Overturn

There are genealogy charts in England in such places as Windsor Castle and the British Museum which trace the lineage of our present Queen Elizabeth II back to King David, and therefore the prophecy in 2 Samuel 7:10-17 of Israel always having a descendant of King David available to sit upon the throne has been and is being fulfilled. Also the symbol of the throne, Jacob’s Pillar, is still in the hands of the descendants of Joseph, represented today by the Anglo-Saxon people, and the move of the throne from Scotland into England, which has been its home for the last 690 years (as at 1987) represents the third “overturn” we wondered about in Ezekiel 21, at the start of this chapter. The throne is now safe, it will not be overturned again, the Lord said so. It will remain until God is ready to hand it over to “he whose right it is.”

[2006 Note: in 1996 the British Government decided that the Stone should be kept in Scotland when not in use at coronations. Whether this contravenes the understanding described here, or is not relevant because coronations will continue to be undertaken in England, is up to the reader. The regard in which the stone is held within the United Kingdom is nevertheless, remarkable, and worthy of consideration as to why this should be so.]

Figure 5.
The prophet Ezekiel stated that the throne was to be “overturned” three times, and then no more. History tells us that this throne was moved to Ireland, to Scotland, and then to England. It will remain there until the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.

CHAPTER 5

THE CORONATION

Westminster Abbey

The purpose of this chapter is to examine the Coronation Service and the Regalia used at that service, and to compare them with those used at the coronation of the early kings of Israel as recorded in the Old Testament. We have already examined the prophecies given to Israel concerning their continuing dynasty. Back in Genesis 17:16, “And I will bless her, and give thee a son also of her:  yea, and I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of people shall be of her.”  Thus God promised Abraham a miracle, for both he and Sarah were well past the age that they could expect to have children, but the promise was fulfilled in the birth of Isaac.

God made many more such promises, a typical one being to David in 2 Samuel 7:12-13, “And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shall sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build an house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom for ever.”  If prophecies such as this are to be relied upon, the throne and the kingdom must be in existence somewhere, and we are about to see that the form of the coronation service and the royal regalia used are added proof of where that throne is, and who are the kings and queens who occupy that throne.

Most people reading this book will be aware that Queen Elizabeth II was crowned in Westminster Abbey in 1953, and some of us still remember the coronation of her father, King George VI, also conducted there in 1937. Perhaps some may be aware that the Abbey has been used for coronation services for many years before that of King George VI, but I guess that very few would know when the first coronation service was held there.

Figure 6.
The floor plan of Westminster Abbey as it stands today. The present church was opened for service in A.D. 1269 and was successor of one that was consecrated in A.D. 1065.

The Guide Book of Westminster Abbey tells us that there was an abbey on the site long before the construction of the present building. The date of its commencement is uncertain, but it was dedicated in 616 A.D. The first recorded coronation service in England was that of Egferth in 785, but we do not know where that service was held. When the Anglo-Saxons came to England they were converted to Christianity, and when Egferth was crowned the form of service was taken from the Bible accounts of the crowning of the Israelite kings on the Throne of David prior to the dispersion. Remember that these people were entitled to use that form of service, because they were the descendants of Israel, whom God was going to “sift through the nations”, and they had come to dwell in the “isles beyond the sea.”  The same basic form of service has been used for the Kings and Queens of England ever since. The first recorded coronation service in the old abbey was that of William I, who was crowned on Christmas Day 1066, and all kings and queens of England have been crowned on that site since that day. The foundation stone of the present abbey was laid in 1245 during the reign of King Henry III, and when he died in 1272 the building was well advanced, but it was not finally completed until 1745. When James VI of Scotland became James I of England, the Israelitish form of coronation service was already in existence there. All that had to be added were the Coronation Stone which had been used by the House of David in Palestine, and then in Ireland, and later Scotland. It was also necessary for there to be a direct descendant of King David to sit upon the throne. We have already seen from the previous chapters that both of these requirements had been fulfilled when James I was crowned on the Coronation Stone in Edward’s Chair in the abbey.

We will now examine the regalia and the form of service in more detail.

Figure 7.
The Jerusalem Chamber, where the Crown jewels are placed the night before the Coronation. It probably took its name from the original tapestry fragments depicting the return of Sarah from the Egyptians, part of the “History of Abraham”.

The Jerusalem Chamber

The Crown Jewels, a magnificent collection of priceless pieces, some of which are used in the Coronation Service, are normally kept under very tight security in the Tower of London, which is a short distance from Westminster Abbey. The items which are to be used in a Coronation Service are taken from the Tower of London the day before the service, and placed in the Jerusalem Chamber, which is situated on the right of the entrance to the abbey. The name given to this chamber is significant because it was from Jerusalem that the Throne of David was removed in 593 B.C., and that it is to this room that the symbols of sovereignty come after the throne had been “overturned, overturned, overturned”, as described in the previous chapter. The walls are lined with timber, believed to be cedar from Lebanon, the identical material used to line the Temple built by King David’s son, Solomon, in Jerusalem.

Furthermore, it was in the Temple of Solomon that the Old Testament coronation services were held. On the wall of the chamber is a large tapestry which shows “The Judgement of Solomon”. This is appropriate in view of the wisdom of King Solomon in judgements of the people of Israel. It was also in this chamber that a large part of the translation of the King James Version of the Bible took place, and as we shall see shortly, a copy of the Bible is used during the Coronation Service, and so many parts of the service have their origins deep in the early history of the nation of Israel as described in the Bible.

The Service Commences

As the King enters the abbey, the Archbishop of Canterbury, who conducts the service, speaks the following words to the congregation, “Sirs, I here present unto you King ... the undoubted king of the realm; wherefore all you who are come this day to do your homage, are ye willing to do the same?” to which the people reply “God Save the King!” Remember that the King is being crowned not only as the King of England, but of the British Commonwealth, and representatives of all the Commonwealth countries are present in the abbey for this very important service. This presentation is first made with the Archbishop and the King both facing the East, and is then repeated three more times, with the King and Archbishop in turn facing the South, West, and North, so that all present in the Abbey are addressed by the presentation, and have the chance to declare their assent with the words “God Save the King”. This practice is a direct copy of what happened in Old Testament days. After the Exodus, the nation of Israel was ruled by judges, but some 400 years later they sought to have a king. Samuel warned them that they were in effect rejecting God as their King, but in due course they had their way and Saul was crowned as their king. Samuel gathered all the people of Israel together, and we find in I Samuel 10:24, “And Samuel said to all the people, ‘See ye him whom the Lord hath chosen,’ and all the people shouted and said ‘GOD SAVE TKE KING.” Note how similar this was to what occurs in our most recent Coronation Services. We also have here the origin of our National Anthem, “God Save the King/Queen”.

The Coronation Oath

After the presentation, the King takes an oath to uphold justice and faith in the Kingdom. He repeats the words “All this I will do”, and then kisses the Bible and signs his name in it after reading the following statement:

“I do solemnly and sincerely, in the presence of God, profess, testify, and declare, that I am a faithful member of the Protestant Reformed Church, by law established in England, and I will according to the true enactments which secure Protestant Succession to the throne of my Realm, uphold and maintain the said enactments, to the best of my powers, according to law.”

This form of Oath was introduced at the Coronation of King George V in 1911. Prior to that date, the Oath stated that the King believed:

(1) that in the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper there is not any transubstantiation of the elements of bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ, at or after the consecration thereof by any person whatsoever.

(2) and that the invocation or adoration of the Virgin Mary or any other saint, and the sacrifice of the Mass, as they are now used in the Church of Rome, are superstitious and idolatrous.

This Oath is in fact still part of British National Law, and cannot be altered without an act of Parliament.

The Anointing

This is one of the most important parts of the service. The King’s cloak is removed and replaced by a white garment. The oil for the anointing is in a gold container in the shape of a dove about seven inches high called the Ampulla, and a golden spoon is also used, both these items being part of the Crown Jewels.

The Archbishop reads the following prayer:
“O Lord, who by anointing with oil did’st of old make and consecrate kings, priests and prophets to teach and govern thy people Israel; bless and sanctify thy chosen servant..., who by our office and ministry is now to be anointed with this oil, and consecrated King of this realm: Strengthen him O Lord with the Holy Ghost the Comforter.”

These words are significant, because they link “the Anointing” with the Holy Ghost, the Comforter. Jesus himself said in John 14:16-17. “And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him, for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.”

Now let us compare those verses with 2 Corinthians 1:21-22. “Now he which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God; Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.”

We see here another linking of the anointing and the Holy Spirit. When God caused the Old Testament Israelites to anoint their Kings at their Coronation, they were introducing a type of something very precious to believing New Testament people - the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. In 1 John 2:20 we see “But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things.” The Oxford Dictionary says “Unction: Anointing with oil or unguent for medical purposes or as religious rite or ceremonial”.

Obviously the King does not have a Coronation Service because he needs medication, any more than the Old Testament Kings did, it was something with a deep spiritual message, an introduction to the unction from the Holy One. In 1 Samuel 16:13 we see: “Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren: and the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward.”

In 1 Kings 1:39-40 see what happened at the Coronation of King Solomon: “And Zadoc the priest took an horn of oil out of the tabernacle, and anointed Solomon. And they blew the trumpet; and all the people said, God save King Solomon. And all the people came up after him, and the people piped with pipes, and rejoiced with great joy, so that the earth rent with the sound of them.”

In the modern coronation service, the Dean of Westminster pours some oil from the ampulla into the golden spoon, and hands it to the Archbishop, who anoints the King on the head, breast, and palms of both hands, saying, “Be thy hands anointed with holy oil; and as Solomon was anointed by Zadoc the priest and Nathan the prophet so be you anointed, blessed and consecrated king over this people whom the Lord your God hath given you to rule and govern, in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost.” What more direct link can you get between the old and the new coronations?

Before leaving this section on the anointing, let us consider a couple more points from 1 Kings 1:39-40 quoted two paragraphs back. “They blew the trumpet ...” just as occurs in the Westminster Abbey service, “... and all the people came up after him ...” which is almost prophetic. After our king leaves the Abbey he returns up the Mall to Buckingham Palace, and thousands of people surge up the Mall after the Royal Procession to stand in front of the palace waiting for the King to appear on the balcony with other members of the Royal Family. Then they “rejoiced with great joy”, admittedly not so loud as to cause the pavement of the Mall to be “rent with the sound of them”, but certainly a very great noise.

The Robe and Orb

The King now stands, and the Imperial Robe is placed upon him and the Orb is placed in his hand. The Orb is a sphere approximately 6 inches in diameter, with precious stones around its circumference, and surmounted by a cross encrusted with pearls and precious stones. The Archbishop of Canterbury then gives the following blessing: “Receive this Imperial Robe and Orb, and the Lord your God endue You with Knowledge and Wisdom, with Majesty and with Power from on High. The Lord clothe You with the Robe of Righteousness and with the Garment of Salvation. And when You see the Orb set under the Cross, remember that the whole World is subject to the Power and Empire of Christ our Redeemer. For He is the Prince of the Kings of the Earth; King of Kings and Lord of Lords. So that no man can reign happily who derives not his Authority from Him, and directs not all his actions according to His Laws.”

Figure 8.
The Orb is a golden sphere about 12.5 cm in diameter on which a cross is surmounted, and forms part of the Royal regalia. The Archbishop, when presenting it to the Monarch, says: “... when you see this orb, set under the Cross, remember that the whole world is subject to the power and Empire of Christ our Redeemer. For He is the Prince of the Kings of the earth; King of Kings and Lord of Lords, so that no man can reign happily who derives not his authority from Him... ”

God had promised Jacob/Israel that “in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed.” (Genesis 28:4.) The Archbishop, in this blessing, is acknowledging that the only authority from which the ruler of the Nation of Israel in these days can draw his Power and Wisdom is the giver of Power from on High. Jesus promised His disciples this in Luke 24:49, “And, behold, I send THE PROMISE OF MY FATHER (my emphasis) upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem until ye be endued with power from on high.” Jesus also spoke of this in Acts 1:4, when he “commanded them (the disciples) that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for THE PROMISE OF THE FATHER (my emphasis again), which, saith he, ye have heard of me.” The disciples to whom the Lord was talking here were descendants of Israel, just as our present Kings and Queens are, and it is our national privilege to take out to all nations this promise of blessing in the form of the outpouring of the Holy Ghost, as Acts 1:5-8 declares.

The Sceptre and Rod

We start with the following quotation from Exodus 14:15-16: “And the Lord said unto Moses, Wherefore criest thou unto me? speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward: But lift up thy rod, and stretch out thine hand over the sea, and divide it: and the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea.”

Figure 9.
The Sceptre and Rod are symbols of Royal authority over Church and State. “The government shall be upon His (Christ’s) shoulder... upon the throne of David and upon his kingdom... to establish it with judgement and justice form henceforth even forever”. (Isaiah 9)

We know the result: the Israelites crossed through the Red Sea, and the Egyptians following them were destroyed. This is one of the early examples of a rod being used as a symbol of authority. We also saw in Genesis 49:10, ‘The Sceptre shall not depart from Judah until Shiloh come, and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.”

The Rod and Sceptre are still very much part of the Israel nation’s heritage, both being placed in the hands of the King during the coronation service. The Sceptre, with a cross at its top, is placed in his right hand as an emblem of kingly power, and the Rod, with the dove on top, is placed in his left hand, and this again is a symbol of the power of God through the Holy Spirit. John records after he had baptised Jesus: “... I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him.” (John 1:32).

The Crown

As the crown is placed upon the head of the Monarch, the people in the congregation shout “God Save the King”, the trumpets sound, and a 21-gun Royal Salute is fired by the artillery nearby. Likewise, when King David was crowned, “... thou settest a crown of pure gold upon his head.” (Psalm 21:3). This is just one example of an Old Testament King being crowned, and the practice has been carried on for centuries.

St Edward’s Crown, the Coronation Crown, was made [for] the Coronation of King Charles II, and is used only at the crowning of the sovereign. Because of its size and weight, it was not used at the coronation of Queen Elizabeth I nor King Edward VII. It was reinstated for the coronations of King George V, King George VI, and Queen Elizabeth II. It is made of pure gold, and set with about 440 precious and semi-precious stones. Around the base of this crown are twelve larger gems. God commanded that the High Priest of Israel should wear a breastplate of pure gold, set with four rows of three precious stones, “...every one with his name shall they be according to the twelve tribes.” The types of stones to be used were named, and THEY ARE THE SAME AS THOSE AROUND THE CROWN. Is it just a coincidence, or another identification of the Throne of David existing today?

The Queen’s crown, which is worn during the Coronation Service by the wife of the Monarch, is smaller and has less jewelled decoration than that of the monarch”

Figure 10. 
St. Edward’s crown. Edward the Confessor, founder of the Abbey, had this crown made. It was surrounded by twelve precious stones, which were identical with those on the breastplate worn by the high priests of Israel.

Other Royal Jewels

We still have not mentioned the golden Salt Cellar, the Bracelets, the Spurs, the Swords, and the Ring, all of which play their part in the Coronation Service, and which are all mentioned in the Bible as symbols of Sovereignty for the Kings of Israel, and provide further links between those ancients who sat on the Throne of David, and those who continue the line today.

The Enthronization

At the end of the service, the King is installed on the Throne (see Figure 4), which as we saw in the earlier chapters is King Edward’s Chair with Jacob’s Pillar set under the seat. In the closing prayer the Archbishop of Canterbury repeats the following words from Psalm 89:34-37. “My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips. Once have I sworn by my holiness that I will not lie unto David. His seed shall endure forever, and his throne as the sun before me. It shall be established forever as the moon, and as the faithful witness in heaven.” Here we have the Archbishop of Canterbury saying a prayer which is straight from the Bible, and which outlines the promises that God has made concerning the continuation of the lineage of King David. He must know that he is fulfilling Bible prophecy by the way that he has just conducted the Coronation Service.

The Discussion Thus Far

While a dozen or more thrones have toppled in Europe since the beginning of this century, the British Royal Throne has become stronger. Those other thrones which are left show none of the magnificence which accompanies David’s Throne, and none rules over a nation called Great, nor a nation which has possessed the gates of its enemies. None has the symbols of Judah’s Kings in use in their coronation service, and none has Jacob’s Pillar. Some may be able to trace a lineage to King David, but none so clearly as that of Queen Elizabeth II.

 Figure 11.
Queen Elizabeth II at her Coronation. The Crown, Orb, Sceptre, and Ring are clearly visible. These are all identifiable with her Davidic heritage.

I believe we have shown beyond reasonable doubt that our British Royal House is the continuation of that of King David as set out in the prophecies of the Bible, and yet there must be millions of people in the British Commonwealth who have never heard this message.

It is obvious as we tell many of this wonderful story that there are those in high places, political and religious, who deliberately try to hide or discredit what God is doing. There are strong political views here which push the opinion that Australia should be a Republic, and not acknowledge the British Royal Throne in any way as being part of our heritage. I personally subscribe to the opposite view, not because I belong to any particular political party because I don’t belong to any. However, I do believe God’s Word, and I am thrilled by what the Lord has done, and by the chance to pass on to others this great message of our national inheritance. Also I am well aware that any who try to overthrow what God has set up are in for a rough time.

Here, for example, is a warning against such things. It is contained in Acts 5:39, where one Gamaliel, a Pharisee and a doctor of the law, persuaded the council of the elders of Israel to cease from persecuting Paul and the apostles, with these words: “But if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it; lest haply ye be found even to fight against God.” I believe this Throne of David is of God, and that we do well to respect it.

Finally, please do not think that I am advocating that believers should become involved in political activities which are for the Crown, and against a Republic. I believe that we have something very precious here, a confirmation of God’s word, and that its rightful place is in being used as part of our personal witness, to demonstrate to others that God is capable of making statements and promises, and backing them up with proof right up to this day and age. Hopefully, we can continue to use this information for His Glory.

Now let us turn our attention to the next great subject, the Second Coming, because we will see as we go on that the Throne of David MUST be in existence when the Lord returns. The two subjects are so intertwined that we cannot treat one without treating the other.

We now have a good start by having proved that God meant what He said when scripture was written about the Throne, and therefore we can confidently continue to see what the Bible has to say about events which are still in the future. If you don’t like what you read, sorry, what you are going to see is what God has spoken, and as He said, “I cannot reverse it.”

CHAPTER 6

THE SECOND COMING OF THE LORD

My Lack of Knowledge

For the first thirty-odd years of my life I was a member of a denominational church. I was “christened” as a baby, and was later “confirmed” in that church. I don’t remember the first event, and the second one did very little more for me. The confirmation was preceded by a period of learning the catechism among other things. I was later married in the same church, and continued to attend, though somewhat irregularly, for a few further years. At no stage did I hear the words “the Return of Jesus Christ” mentioned in services in that church, and I therefore assume that others reading this book may commence with the same lack of knowledge on the subject.

The First Coming

Perhaps a very brief outline of the reason for the First Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ would not go astray.

During the four thousand years between the creation of Adam and the birth of Jesus, God made several covenants or promises concerning the standards of behaviour expected of the Adamic race (the Bible quite clearly indicates that there were pre-Adamic races with whom God had no dealings at that stage) and the relationship that would exist between God and His people. The best known and longest running of these covenants was the Law as given to Moses, which required man to observe and obey a set of rules and guidelines. Obedience would bring blessing, and disobedience would bring cursing.

Man made a mess of his part in keeping each of the covenants, particularly the Law, which involved him in having to obey the laws in his own strength. It was basically a way of attaining righteousness through good works and sacrifices, and because it failed through their inability to keep up the standard, God promised a New Covenant which would involve the sending of his Son, who was to be born of a virgin, and was to be called Jesus.

Although the last Old Testament book was written about 400 years before the birth of Christ, the prophecies of the Old Testament accurately foretold the time of His arrival.

Many aspects of the ministry of Jesus were also accurately foretold in the Old Testament, including that of healing the sick, raising the dead, and making the one perfect sacrifice to satisfy all the requirements of the Law, which was replaced by the Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus. The death, resurrection, and ascension were also accurately foretold, as was the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost.

Prophecy also foretold that Christ would return to the earth, though in the case of some events the prophecies it was unclear whether they were to occur at His first coming or His second. This led so some confusion among the Jews, who were expecting His first coming to be as a king to free them from the bondage of the Romans. What they got was a Saviour, who came to free them from the bondage of the Law of Moses, and this led to His rejection and crucifixion by the Jews.

The Return of Jesus Christ Foretold

I had better make it clear from the start that “Second Coming” and “Second Advent” are not Bible terms. They are man-made terms to describe an event which the Bible foretold will occur. As an example, forty days after His resurrection He spoke to the apostles, and commanded them to wait in Jerusalem until they received power after the Holy Ghost came upon them, to equip them to be His witnesses. That is described quite clearly in Acts 1:1-8. The account then goes on in verses 9 – 11: “And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. And while they looked stedfastly towards heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.”

This passage quite clearly speaks of a return with the words “shall so come” and although I know there is at least one religious group which would not agree with me, I have yet to hear any evidence that Jesus has yet returned to this earth “in like manner”, and so we can quite safely say that the event is still in the future.

I must also admit of course that “The Return” is also not a Bible term in the King James version, although it is used in Acts 1:11 in the Living Bible.

Jesus’ Own Promise

During His earthly ministry, Jesus himself made promises concerning His future return to this earth. Speaking to the disciples in John 14: 1-3, He used these words: “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.”

In verse 3, He states quite clearly, “I will come again”. There is no evidence to suggest that He went away to prepare a place for the disciples (and us) during His earthly ministry, but we saw quite clearly in Acts 1:9-11 that He did ascend at the end of His first appearance on earth in human form, and that the angels did speak of a later return, which must therefore still be in the future.

The Testimony of Paul

The Apostle Paul was well aware that there was to be a Return, and he spoke of it many times. Some of his references are very clear and direct, others are much shorter, while others use more obscure terms, though when read in their context, there is no mistaking what he is talking about.

One example of a very direct statement by Paul is to be found in 1 Thessalonians 4:15-18 “For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent [precede] them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, and with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.”

In verse 2 of the next chapter, Paul speaks of “the day of the Lord”, and this is one of the examples of a different term being used to describe the Return. It is used many times in the Bible, and from this and many other examples, it is quite definite that the writer is referring to the Return of Jesus Christ. In verse 23 of the same Chapter 5, Paul says, “... and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the corning of our Lord Jesus Christ.” This is an example of one of Paul’s brief references to the subject.

The Testimony of James

Unlike Paul, who was converted after the death and resurrection of the Lord, James was one of the disciples of Jesus, and heard His ministry first hand. He was well aware of what Jesus had to say on the subject, and therefore it is not surprising to find him making references to the Return also. One of the most direct is in James 5: 7-8: “Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and the latter rain. Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.”

The Testimony of Peter

Like James, Peter also had the advantage of hearing the ministry of Jesus first hand, and was anxious to mention the Return of Christ as an important future event also. Speaking to the elders in 1 Peter 5:4 he says: “And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.”  Jesus is the only person who is referred to as the Chief Shepherd in Scripture, and so the reference must be to His Return.

In 2 Peter 3:19, he also refers to the Return, calling it "the day of the Lord".

The Old Testament

There are a number of references in the Old Testament also to the Return, not so clear as in the New Testament of course, but as they refer to a coming, and the events described did not occur at His first coming, they must refer to the second. An example is Joel 2:1-7: "Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the Lord cometh, for it is nigh at hand. A day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick darkness, as the morning spread upon the mountains: a great people and a strong; neither hath been ever the like, neither shall be any more after it, even to the years of many generations. A fire devoureth before them; and behind them a flame burneth ... yea and nothing shall escape them. Before their face the people shall be much pained: all faces shall gather darkness. They shall run like mighty men; they shall climb the wall like men of war; they shall march everyone on his own ways, and they shall not break ranks."

The reference to “clouds of thick darkness” suggest atomic war, and “they shall march everyone on his own ways” is recognised by Bible students as a description of modern tank warfare, using a before-Christ vocabulary. These points link the coming to an event in our age.

We now have looked at a number of scriptures concerning The return of Jesus Christ, there are many more, but examining others at this stage would only be labouring the argument unduly. After all, the aim of this first chapter of Part 2 was to establish that there is to be a return, and I feel we have achieved that. We can now go on to see what events precede this much looked-for day.

CHAPTER 7

THE SIGNS WHICH PRECEDE THE
LORD’S RETURN

Signs Must be Fulfilled

At this stage we are not discussing when the Return will occur, that will be dealt with in considerable detail in a later chapter. What we want to look at here are those events which must occur before the day of the Lord, and once again the Bible will be our authority.

The Bible speaks of a number of signs which must occur before the Lord returns, so we can examine these to see whether they have been satisfied already, and therefore if the stage is set for this great event to take place.

Apostasy in Religion

In 2 Thessalonians 2:1-11 we read: “Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of the Lord is at hand. Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.”

We see that the Bible is clear that the return of out Lord cannot occur until there be a falling away first. That falling away is occurring, and the man of sin has been revealed, but there are other signs spoken of in this chapter still being played out in these last days. Further down in the same chapter we see (2 Thessalonians 2:9-11) "Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they receive not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie." There are those that claim signs of weeping images, etc., as evidence of the moving of God in their midst. There are those who promote others as a gateway to heaven when Christ said "I am the way, the truth and the life". Many have religious practices that are not found in the Bible and place their congregations under strong delusion . These are all signs which had to be fulfilled before Jesus returns.

The Sign of Perilous Times

The world first knew of the existence of the atomic bomb in August, 1945, when the first one was dropped on Hiroshima, but Bible prophecy spoke of this sort of thing nearly 2000 years ago. In 2 Timothy 3:1 we find; “This know also that in the last days perilous times shall come.” Professor Einstein, one of the men responsible for the splitting of the atom, said after the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki: “Annihilation of all life on earth has been brought within the range of technical possibilities. The ghost-like character of this development lies in its apparently compulsory trend ... In the end there beckons more and more clearly general annihilation.”

This atomic age is certainly perilous, and every continent is now at risk. Not many years ago atomic weapons were limited to U.S.A., Britain and Russia, but France and China have now proved that they possess them. Who else? Israel? Pakistan? If you are in any doubt whether the verse from 2 Timothy 3 above refers to atomic weapons being the root of the “perilous times”, we could look at some more positive references to these devices.

Atomic and Hydrogen Weapons

A clear linking of atomic weapons with the last days occurs in Joel 2:30-31: “And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the Lord come.”

These weapons cause fire and pillars of smoke and much bloodshed. The nuclear winter effect is a modern-day term, but quite aptly described as the sun being turned to darkness and the moon to blood when Bible terms are used. We now know what these terms were meant to convey, we see it more clearly than we did just 50 years ago. They are age-ending signs, but these verses are not the only ones to refer to these weapons.

Jesus also spoke of these things in Luke 21:26: “Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and looking alter those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.” The word “power” in that verse is translated from the Greek word “dunamis”, from which we get the English word “dynamite”, a high explosive. It has been estimated that the present stockpile of nuclear weapons in all nations is equivalent to 100 tons of high explosive for each man, woman and child on the earth, certainly enough to shake the heavens.

Another reference is in 2 Peter 3:10: “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.” Now I have not been unfortunate enough to see or hear a nuclear detonation, but I am aware that there is a great noise, and that the tremendous heat generated is sufficient to melt the elements of the earth, for we have seen pictures of the glass-like substances which remain close to the point of detonation, and this substance is caused by the fusion or melting of the elements of the earth. The Bible and current events today leave us in no doubt what had to occur, and what has occurred.

Earthquakes in Divers Places

Earthquakes are another sign of the approach of the end times. Here is one such reference from Matthew 24:7 “... and there shall be famine and pestilences, and earthquakes in divers places.” Now I know you are going to say “But there have always been earthquakes.” That is right, but not only do we find this reference in Matthew, but it is also in Mark 13:8 and Luke 21:11. A look at some statistics from the “Good Weekend” magazine published by the “Sydney Morning Herald” shortly after the disastrous Mexico earthquake in 1985 might show us something.

Look at the number of major earthquakes there have been “in divers places” throughout the world since the turn of this century compared with the 1900 years before. There has certainly been a large increase in their number, and although one could argue that we have better means of detection than was the case say 100 years ago, you do not need modern technology to be aware of an earthquake which kills a quarter of a million people.

Year                   Place                                       Dead                           Disaster
   79                Mt Vesuvius                 destroyed 3 cities          volcanic eruption
1556                Shensi, China                   830,000                   earthquake
1669                Sicily                               20,000                    Mt Etna eruption
1755                Lisbon                              60,000                   earthquake
1883                Indonesia                         36,000                    earthquake
1902                Martinique                        38,000                    Mt Pelee eruption
1908                Italy                               83,000                    earthquake
1920                China                            200,000                    earthquake
1923                Tokyo                           142,800                     earthquake
1927                China                            200,000                     earthquake
1976                Tangshan, China             750,000                     earthquake
1976                Guatemala                       23,000                     earthquake
1978                Iran                                15,000                    earthquake

The verse we looked at in Matthew 24 not only mentioned earthquakes, it also spoke of ".. famines and pestilences...". No- one watching television in the mid 1980’s could possibly fail to be appalled by the famine in Ethiopia and other South African countries, and the pestilences (diseases) which have accompanied the tragic famines. Despite tremendous efforts by thousands of devoted people the problems in these third world countries just do not seem to go away. Perhaps that is because God said these problems would exist in the end times.

Increased Knowledge

Who caused the prophet Daniel to make an accurate statement about an increase of knowledge in the last days? Here it is in Daniel 12:4: “But thou, 0 Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.” Consider the tremendous increase in knowledge that there has been in the first 60 years of this century, compared with the previous 6,000 years. Radio, television, jet aircraft, earth satellites, and atomic power have all been introduced in those 60 years, and scientists have estimated that the world’s knowledge doubled in that 60 years compared with the previous 6,000, but that is not all. It is estimated that by the mid 1980s, the world knowledge had begun to double every two years. Surely that should tell us something in the light of the prophecy we looked at in Daniel.

That prophecy also stated, "... many shall run to and fro..." Running to and fro is a lot easier in this age of jet aircraft, the modern diesel and electric train systems, and our modern motor cars. Even the last named gets a mention in the Bible as one of the last day signs. The reference is in the Old Testament in Nahum 2:4: "The chariots (conveyances) shall rage in the streets, they shall justle one against another in the broad ways: they shall seem like torches, they shall run like the lightnings." One does not have to use much imagination to work out what is meant in this passage of scripture, bearing in mind that Nahum was restricted to the vocabulary of about 630 BC. I wonder how many panel beaters and spray painters are kept in business just in Australia alone as a result of vehicles that " justle one against another" in our streets and on our freeways.

The Rise of Russia

At the time of the Russian Revolution, the nation was considered to be very much a second-rate power in world affairs, but not any more. This is another last day sign spoken of in the Bible, particularly in Ezekiel chapters 38 and 39. The following verses are quoted from Chapter 38:1 and 2 and 9-12: “And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him, Thou shalt ascend and come like a storm, thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land, thou and all thy bands, and many people with thee. Thus saith the Lord God; It shall also come to pass, that at the same time shall things come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought: And thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates, To take a spoil, and to take a prey ... ”

Now Bible students all agree that the land of Gog and Magog is Russia, and that Meshech and Tubal are the Russian cities Moscow and Tobolsc. Verse 9 describes them as a huge army, the people with them being Persia (now Iran), Ethiopia, and Libya as stated in verse 5, none of whom has any great love for Britain and America. They are going to make an assault with evil intent by going “up”, in other words across the North Pole, which brings them against Britain and America, and this is confirmed in verse 18: “And it shall come to pass at the same time when Gog shall come against the land of Israel... ” Any average citizen reading our daily papers must be aware of the dangers of the Russian nuclear arms stockpile. I have even heard and seen President Reagan on TV warning the American people of the need to be prepared, and QUOTING FROM EZEKIEL TO BACK UP HIS WARNING. Not only is Russia going to think an evil thought, but GOD HAS SAID THAT THEY WILL, despite all our peace marches and pleas for an end to the arms race.

Powerless Religion

This is another last days sign, and it is particularly mentioned in 2 Timothy 3. In verse 1, we read: “Know this also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.” We have already looked at this verse previously, but I am quoting it again to set the time frame for verse 5, which warns against those “Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.”

Too many modern churches have a form of godliness, with beautiful buildings and stained glass windows, ornate altars, figures, crosses, candles, robes, etc., but where is the power of God? Ask them to pray for the sick, to have their congregation filled with the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking with other tongues, to allow the Lord to speak through the operation of spiritual gifts, and they will deny that the power of God is for today! Just as the Bible said they would. Probably many could not readily find the scriptures which tell us to “earnestly contend for the faith once delivered unto the saints” or to “covet the best gifts”.

Revival of the Power of the Holy Spirit

While those mentioned in the paragraph above are preaching their powerless religion, God is doing what He said He would do. We see in Joel 2:28: “And it shall come to pass afterward (Hebrew: ’in the latter years’) that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions.”

The Spirit is being poured out on all flesh, for whoever will trust the Lord, not just a chosen few as some would claim. The younger people of today are not satisfied with what they are told, they want to investigate these things for themselves, and rightly so. They find that an experience with the Holy Spirit is refreshing, and gives one a vision of the possibilities of eternal life, while the older generation dreams of the nearness of the passing from this life to the life to come.

The Sign of the Blasphemer

This is mentioned in 2 Timothy 3:2. We have already mentioned that verse 1 sets the time frame: “Know ye also that in the last days. .. ”, then verse 2 continues: “For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy.” The profanities of modern man used to be kept in the background, now they have penetrated to all walks of life, and we are subjected to them day after day in the electronic media. Meanwhile people in all walks of life are increasingly becoming religious blasphemers by ridiculing the Power of the Holy Ghost and the confirmation of the words of the Bible by miracles in these last days.

Before we leave verse 2, what about some of the other descriptions used in this verse, such as men who are covetous, or greedy? That has also infiltrated all walks of life, particularly in the pursuit of higher salaries and wages, without any regard to the effects this will have on other people or the good of our country. Never mind the rest, so long as I get more! Then the verse also talks about children who are disobedient to parents. As parents get further away from God, the family life breaks down, and too many are more interested in their own pleasures than taking responsibility for bringing up children. In fact too many children do not even have parents to care for them any longer. Our modern society now brings up children who do not know what it is to live in a well-ordered, loving family, so what hope do they have of bringing up their children in an environment they have not experienced themselves?

Other Signs

One could go on and talk about the World Wide Armaments Race, the Modern Craze for Pleasure, and the Uselessness of Riches, all of which the Bible mentions as signs which had to be fulfilled before Jesus Christ returns, but I feel that the very names of these signs will indicate to readers that all these things are with us now, without going into any further detail. The stage is now set, there are no further signs mentioned in the Bible which have to be fulfilled before the Return of Jesus Christ.

CHAPTER 8

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN CHRIST RETURNS?

You may recall that in the Preface I warned that the Return of Jesus Christ is a controversial subject in some respects, and that the Bible is not perfectly clear on some items that we would like to know more about. I also promised to mention some theories embraced by others and point out what the Scriptures say. In this way we should be left in no doubt what is fact and what is mere conjecture.

Armageddon

I know some readers are going to wonder why I did not include in the previous chapter the Battle of Armageddon as one of the signs which precede the Return of Christ, but there is a good reason for this, as we shall see shortly.

The name Armageddon is taken from the town of Megiddo, about 80 kilometres north of Jerusalem. It is situated in a valley which was of great strategic importance in Bible times, and has also been important in the several recent wars between Israel and her neighbours. It will no doubt be of similar strategic importance in any future conventional war, and for this reason Bible students view any conflict between Israel and her near northern neighbours with considerable interest. My personal view is that the Battle of Armageddon, or World War III, will be started by a conflict between Israel and her neighbours, with battles using conventional weapons being fought in the Valley of Megiddo or Armageddon, and that the super powers will subsequently be drawn into the conflict, resulting in a nuclear exchange, with all the horrors that such action will involve.

One must also consider the possibility that Armageddon is used in a symbolic sense rather than geographical. The first chapter of the Book of Revelation tells us that the Lord “sent and signified it by his angel” those things which were shortly to come to pass, in other words the Book of Revelation is written in signs and symbols. If that is so, then possibly the Lord is indicating that the whole world is to become an Armageddon. It is not unreasonable to take this view because firstly, the Valley of Megiddo would have little strategic significance in an inter-continental ballistic missile exchange. In Ezekiel 38:8-9: Russia is to be “gathered...against the mountains of Israel... Thou shalt ascend and come like a storm, thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land, thou... and many people with thee.” If Russia is going to come in that manner against Palestine and Jerusalem, it is a bit like using a sledge hammer to crack a peanut, but if the “mountains of Israel” refers to Britain and the U.S.A. then that is a more realistic target for Russia, and would obviously involve the whole world.

However, we must quote some more scripture before coming into a deep discussion on this aspect. The word Armageddon appears only once in the Bible, in the Book of Revelation 16:16, but I want to quote several verses from that chapter to set the time frame. Revelation 16:13-21: “And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame. And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon. And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done. And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great. And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of her wine of the fierceness of his wrath. And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent: and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great.”

Going back to verse 13, I am not going to become involved in a discussion about who the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet are, because quite frankly I don’t know. Some might say China, Russia and the Pope, some might name other nations or identities, but the Bible is not clear on this matter, particularly in view of the fact that the Book of Revelation is written in signs and symbols. Whoever they are to be, verse 14 tells us that they are to gather the leaders of the whole world into a battle of that great day of God Almighty.

Verse 10 in 2 Peter 3 states, “But the day of the Lord will come.. .in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, and the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.” Now the way I read that verse, the Return of Christ, and the Armageddon nuclear exchange, are going to happen as one event, and that is why I have included Armageddon in this chapter and not the previous one, for I believe the two events are so close together that the final battle cannot be considered as a sign which precedes the Return, but accompanies it. Many today predict that the nuclear exchange may be all over in a matter of minutes, or at the most hours, so such a conclusion as this same time theory is possible.

The same day approach is confirmed in Luke 17:28-30: “Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold