ZARAH, THE PRINCE OF THE SCARLET THREAD

There is very little in the Scriptures that applies specifically to Zarah, the Prince of Judah. His immediate posterity is given as follows: "And the sons of Zarah; Zimri, and Ethan, and Herman, and Calcol, and Dara; five of them in all" (I Chron. 2:6). Two of his descendants are given as authors of certain of the Psalms. And Solomon is described as having wisdom greater "than Ethan, the Ezrahite, and Herman, and Calcol, and Darda (I Kings 4:31). However, there is a bountiful supply of data in historical records, generally overlooked by Bible scholars, which sheds light on the fulfillment of Jeremiah's commission.

It seems certain that the family of Zarah aspired to the sceptre of Judah but failed to attain their ambitions. After a time, Zarah's entire household seems to have migrated out of Palestine. Where the Scriptures allow the record of Zarah's line to lapse (we believe purposely), we find secular history provides the necessary clues. When properly fitted together, these enable us to blend the whole into one continuous recital down to the present day.

An examination of some of the historical clues reveals that Darda, "the Egyptian", (son of Zarah) was "Dardanus", the Egyptian founder of Troy: "Hecataeus, therefore, tells us that the Egyptians, formerly, being troubled by clamities, in order that the divine wrath might be averted, expelled all the aliens gathered together in Egypt. Of these, some, under their leaders Danus and Cadmus, migrated to Greece" (Fragmenta Historicorum, by Muller; vol. II, pg. 385 - copied from the works of Hecataeus of Abdera, a fourth-century B.C. Greek historian).

The "clamities" referred to were obviously the plagues which God brought down of the Egyptians, and the "aliens" were the Israelites, some of whom migrated to Greece with Danus and Cadmus, while others, under the leadership of Moses, made their exodus to the Wilderness of Sinai.

Diodorus gives us another version of the same story: "Now the Egyptians say that also after these events a great number of colonies were spread from Egypt all over the inhabited world ... They say also that those who set forth with Danaus, likewise from Egypt, settled what is practically the oldest city of Greece, Argos, and that the nations of the Colchi in Pontus and that of the Jews (remnant of Judah), which lies between Arabia and Syria, were founded as colonies by certain emigrants from their country; and this is the reason why it is a long-established institution among these peoples to circumcise their male children, the custom having been brought over from Egypt. Even the Athenians, they say, are colonists from Sais in Egypt" (Diodorus of Sicily, by G.H. Oldfather, 1933, vol 1, bks 1 -II, 1-34 pg. 91).

The descendants of Darda ruled ancient Troy for some hundreds of years, until the city was destroyed in the famous "Siege of Troy". Aeneas, the last of the royal blood, (Zarah-Judah), collected the remnants of his nation and traveled with them to Italy. There he married the daughter of Latinus, king of the Latins and subsequently founded the great Roman Empire. Aeneas' son (or grandson) Brutus, with a large party of the Trojans, migrated to Malta, and there was advised to re-establish his people in "the Great White Island" (an early name for Britain due to its chalk cliffs).

This advice is recorded in an archaic Greek form on the Temple of Diana in Caer Troia (New Troy). An historic stone still stands in the town of Totnes, on the shores at Torbay, commemorating his coming (Circa 1103 B.C.). Brutus then made contact with his kindred blood in Britain and built for himself a new capital city to which he gave the name "Caer Troia", or New Troy. The Romans later called it "Londinium", now known as London.

The actual date of the founding of London is suggested in the Welsh bardic literature: "And when Brutus had finished the building of the city, and had strengthened it with walls and castles, he consecrated them and made inflexible laws for the governance of such as should dwell there peacefully, and he put protection on the city and granted privilege to it. At this time, Beli the Priest ruled in Judea, and the Ark of the Covenant was in captivity to the Philistines" (The Welsh Bruts).

The reference in the above quotation to Beli the Priest, is obviously of Eli of the first book of Samuel. Such remote prehistorical antiquity of the site of London is confirmed by the numerous archaeological remains found there, not only of the New Stone and Early Bronze Ages, but even of the Old Stone Age, thus indicating that it was already of settlement at the time when Brutus selected it for the site of his new capital of "New Troy".

According to "The Harmsworth Encylopaedia", Cecrops ("Calcol" of I Chron. 2:6 and "Chalcol" of I Kings 4:31, and brother of Darda) was the mythical founder of Athens and its first king. He was thought to have been originally a leader of a band of colonists from Egypt. Dr. R.G. Latham, the ethnologist, asserts:"Neither do I think that the eponymus of the Argive Danai was other than that of the Israelite tribe of Dan; only we are so used to confine ourselves to the soil of Palestine in our consideration of the history of the Israelites, that we treat them as they were 'adscripti glebae' and ignored the share they may have taken in the ordinary history of the world" (Ethnology in Europe, 1852, pg. 37).

Historical records tell of the westward migration of the descendants of "Calcol" along the shores of the Mediterranean Sea. establishing Iberian (Hebrew) trading settlements. One settlement now called "Saragossa", in the Ebro Valley in Spain, was originally known as "Zarah-gassa", meaning "The Stronghold of Zarah". From Spain they continued westward as far as Ireland. The Iberians gave their name to Ireland, calling the island "lberne" which was later abbreviated to "Erne", and subsequently Latinised to "Hibernia", a name that stills adheres to Ireland.

Note that in pre-Exodus days Abraham's descendants were still called by their more ancient name "Hebrews: (See Exodus 2, 6, 13, etc.) or "Heberites" (Num. 25:45), being descended from "Heber" (spelled "Eber" in N.T. Scripture). Heber was Noah's great-great-grandson, and the great-great-great-great-grandfather of Abram or Abraham. Thus, the "Hibernians" or "Iberians" who came to Ireland about 1700 B.C. were undoubtedly Hebrews, descended from Abraham through Judah's son Zarah and grandson Calcol. Later history records that these people grew considerably and expanded into Scotland.

Many historical records point to Israel's presence (particularly Dan and Judah) in Ireland at a very early date. On Ptolemy's ancient map of Ireland we find in the north-eastern corner of the Island such names as "Dan-Sowar" (Dan's Resting Place) and "Dan -Sobairse" (Dan's habitation). Gladstone's "Juventus Mundi" and the "old Psalter of Cashel" both state that some of the Grecian Danai left Greece and invaded Ireland. Writers such as Petanius and Hecatoeus of Abdera (sixth century) speak of Danai as being Hebrew people, originally from Egypt, who colonized Ireland.

The "History of Ireland" (Moore) states that the ancient Irish, called the "Danai" or "Danes", separated from Israel around the time of the Exodus from Egypt, crossed to Greece and then invaded Ireland. The "Tuatha De Danann", means the "Tribe of Dan". The "Leabha Gabhala", or "Book of Conquests of Ireland" give their earlier name as "Tuatha De", meaning "People of God". The great Irish historiographer, Eugene O'Curry, says: "The De Danann were a people remarkable for their knowledge of the domestic, if not the higher, arts of civilized life". The ships of the Tuatha De Danann are accredited with bringing Jeremiah and Jacob's Pillar to Ireland.

Among the early records and chronicles of Ireland, those known as the "Planatation of Ulster" are the best preserved and most complete. They date back to about 700 B.C. and record the first important settlements of Hebrews in Ireland. One section of these chronicles are known as the "Milesian Records". They are named "Milesian" (meaning warrior) because they give an account of the genealogy and history of Gallam (William, the conqueror of Ireland), the last person mentioned in the genealogy. Among the names in the genealogy of Gallam are several that are specifically mentioned as belonging to the "Red" or "Scarlet" branch of Judah.

The Milesians invaded Ireland at about 1000 B.C. subjugating the De Danann. Most conquerors come to despise the conquered, but the Milesians came to honor, almost worship those whom they had subdued. Later generations of Milesians to whom were handed down the wonderful traditions of the De Danann they had conquered, lifted them into a mystic realm, the greatest ones becoming gods and goddesses, giving rise to the early belief that the people in question were mythological.

Both the De Danann and the Milesians were kinsmen, who long ages before, had separated from the main Hebrew stem. Many historians, today, erroneously refer to these people as "Celts" and "Gaels" whereas in fact, they were only forerunners of the Celtic tribes that wound their several ways across Europe from the East, turbulently meeting and finally blending in amity, and flowing onward in one great Gaelic stream into the Islands of Britain. The Celts were also kinsmen but mainly of the later westward migrations of the Israel tribes following their captivity in Assyria between 745 and 721 B.C..

It was Zarah's hand bound with a "scarlet thread" that probably accounts for the origin of the heraldic sign employed today in Ulster, northern Ireland, consisting of a Red Hand couped at the wrist with a scarlet thread. An ancient Irish record entitled "Cursory Proofs", lists five equestrian orders of Ancient Ireland. Among these five, one was called "Craobh-Ruadh (the Red Branch). The origin of this order was so ancient that all attempts at explanation have hitherto failed. These knights of the Red Branch called themselves "Craunogs", or the "Crowned". Undoubtedly these names have reference to the hand of the Prince of Scarlet Thread (Zarah).

The story of Jacob's Pillar" may be likened to an arch, the left-hand span of which, starting at Bethel, carries us through Biblical history up to the destruction of Jerusalem about 584 B.C. The right-hand span of the arch begins at Westminster Abbey in Britain and reaches backwards to Tara in Ireland, just after 584 B.C. The Keystone upon which the story rests is the "first overturning" contained in Ezekiel's prophecy (Chapter 21: 27). That takes the Stone from Jerusalem, after the city's destruction, to Tara.

From Bethel to Westminster is a long distance in both time and space. Any attempt to connect the two involves the necessity of reconstructing a consecutive, feasible story. There is a tradition that has subsisted from time immemorial, and is quoted in official guides, that the Stone of Scone, set in the Coronation Throne in Westminster Abbey, is none other than that on which the head of Jacob rested when he dreamed of the ladder with angels ascending and descending upon it. Is it just an interesting fable? Traditions do not spring from nothing, and this one is at least worthy of impartial examination.

The arrival in Ireland of the Bethel Stone rests upon the authority of the ancient records of Ireland and the traditions which abound there. Here let us understand that the ancient historical legends of Ireland are, generally speaking, far from being baseless myths. The Irish people are a people who eminently cling to tradition. Not only were the great happenings that marked great epochs enshrined in their memory, forever, but even little events that trivially affected the history of their race, were, and are, seldom forgotten.

The Irish poets and "seanachie (shanachy, the historian) of the remotest antiquity were honored next to the king, because of the tremendous value which the people set upon the recording and preserving of their history. The poet and the historian, following the fashion of the time, took advantage of their artist privilege to color their narrative to an extent that to the modern mind would seem fantastic. But it was with the details of the story that they were granted this liberty. The big, essential facts, had to remain unaltered. The things of importance no poet of repute, however highly he might color, could, or would dare to falsify. However strange are the story-tellers description of ancient tradition, when examined carefully provide substantial links which give credence to the basic truth of the traditions.

The modern part of the story from Westminster back to Ireland, rests on a succession of well authenticated Irish, Scottish and English historical documents which may be regarded as practically undisputed. Writers on the subject, quoting from such works as "The Chronicles of Eri", "The Annals of the Four Masters", "The Annals of Clonmacnoise", etc., locate the Stone originally at Tara, County of Meath, Ireland. Naturally, such early records as these are uncertain as to dates, but from the "MS Cambrensis Eversus" (by Dr. Lynch), published in Latin in 1662 and translated in 1848, the year circa 584 B.C. may be taken as the Tara starting date.

Scota was one of the earliest names of Ireland - so named, it was said, from Scota, the "daughter of the Pharaoh" one of the ancient female ancestors of the Milesians. These people were commonly called "Scotti" or "Scots", both terms being frequently used by early Latin historians and poets. The Irish legends also relate how this same "Scota" while in Egypt married "Gallo" (Gathelus), a "Miletus" (Milesian) chieftain, and that from this union the kings of Tara were descended. The marriage is said to have occurred during the reign of a Pharaoh who was "drowned" in the Red Sea. This would have been the Pharaoh-Hophra (XXVI Dynasty) who provided refuge to Jeremiah and the daughters of Zedekiah, and who was later murdered in his boat in 566 B.C.

The "Chronicles of Scotland" by Hector Boece (translated into Scottish by John Bellenden, 1531), tell us the ancestor of the Scots was "ane Greyk callit Gathelus (father of Eochaidh, the Heremon, or Eremon), son (sometimes used to denote a descendant) of Cecrops (Calcol) of Athens, untherwayis of Argus, King of Argives", who came to Egypt when "in this tyme rang (reigned) in Egypt Pharo ye scurge of ye pepill of Israel". Gathelus gained a great victory for Pharo against "the Moris and Pepil of Yned" and "King Pharo gaif him his dochter, callit Scota, in marriage" (Vol. I, pgs. 21-27). Neither the name or surname of Pharaoh is given but the word Pharaoh is the Egyptian term for "king" or "monarch". The fact that the records called Scota the Pharaoh's "daughter" is proof that they knew her as merely "the King's Daughter".

The Chronicles of Scotland continue the story of Gathelus, recording that he left Egypt with his wife (Scota), his friends and a company of Greeks and Egyptians rather that "to abyde ye manifest wengenance of goddis" (reference to God's ilidgment on the remnant that had Red to Egypt to escape Nebuchadnezzar) and, travelling by sea (Mediterranean), after, "lang tyme he landit in ane part of Spayne callit Lusitan" (later called Portingall). After this, he built the city of Brigance and "callit his subdittis (subjects) Scottis in honour and affeccioun of his wyiff". And, peace having been secured, "Gathelus sittand in his chayr of merbel within his citie".

This chair of "marble" had such fortune and omen that wherever it was found in any land the same land "shall become the native land of the Scots"-

The Scottis sall ioyis and brouke the landis haill Quhair yai fynd it, hot gif weirdis faill."

Translation:

"The Scots shall brook that realm as native ground if words fail not, where'er this chair is found."

It should be noted that "The Students English Dictionary" defines "marble" as "any species of calcareous stone susceptible of a good polish". It is reasonable to assume the "marble chair" referred to was the Coronation Stone or the Bethel Stone, still in the hands of the sons (descendants) of Jacob when in the care of Gathelus and his Queen Scota.

Many of the ancient Irish records, when making reference to an "eastern king's daughter", also mention an old man; "a patriarch, a saint, a prophet", called "Ollam Fodhla" and his scribe-companion called "Simon Brug, Brach, Breack, Barech, Berach", as it is variously spelled. Reportedly, they carried with them many ancient relics. Among these were a harp, an ark or chest, and a stone called, in Gaelic, "Lia-Fail (pronounced Leeah-Fail), meaning "Stone of Fate" or "Hoary of Destiny".

Tradition asserts that Ollam Fodhla was none other than Jeremiah, the prophet; that the king's daughter was the heir of Zedekiah, the last king of Judah. Simon Brug (Baruch) was Jeremiah's scribe who figures prominently in Biblical history, and the harp was the one belonging to King David. The ark or chest was the Ark of the Convenant. Finally, that the stone, "Lia Fail" was the stone that Jacob anointed with oil at Bethel.

One story relating to Scota tells of her son, named "Eochaidh" (later called Eremhon or Heremon, meaning King) marrying a girl named "Tea Tephi." The following account, found in the "Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland by the Four Masters," states: "Tea (sometimes spelled Teah), the daughter of Laghaldh, son of Ith, whom Eremhon married in Spain was the Tea who requested of Eremhon a choice hill as her dower, in whatever place she should select it, that she might be interred therein. The hill she selected was Druimcaein, i.e., Teamhair (in Ireland)" (Vol. 1 pg. 31).

In the "Chronicles of Eri", by Milner, we find Eochaidh, the husband of Tea Tephi, associated with the Stone Lia Fail. The account is titled, "The Story of Lia Fail", and states: "In the early days it was carried about by priests on the march in the wilderness (hence the much-worn rings still attached to it, one at each end). Later it was borne by the sea from East to West-'to the extremity of the world of the sun's going' (an expression used by the Romans to describe Britain). Its bearers had resolved, at starting, to 'move on the face of the waters, in search of their brethren.' Shipwrecked on the coast of Ireland, they yet came safe with Lia Fail...Eochaidh ,sent a car for Lia Fail, and he himself was placed thereon."

The story of the Stone was then repeated by his order, "And Erimionn (Heremon) was seated on Lia Fail, and the crown was placed upon his head, and the mantle upon his shoulders, and all clapped and shouted." And the name of that place, from that day forward, was called "Tara" (spelled "Tamhra" in the Irish language). The fact that the story of the Stone was repeated by his (Eochaidh) order suggests definitely that this Stone was of ancient origin and custom, quite possibly of the earliest Israelites.

Another version lists Tea Tephi as being the daughter and heir of King Zedekiah (Scota, her younger sister, having married in Spain) who accompanied Jeremiah to Ireland to meet and marry Eochaidh. In this version Tea was made Queen at her husband's coronation (by Jeremiah) on the Stone of Bethel. The name of the capital is said to have been changed from "Lothair" to "Tara" and the Harp of David became the national emblem.

There are many other variations of the story of the Stone being brought from Egypt to Ireland, which when added together present us with a rather confused story. This is understandable when it is realized that the Irish records are compilations at a late date of very early tribal histories. Each of these, written in a tongue difficult to translate, gives its own aspect of the one great story. However, they all agree in the following: The Stone, known as the "Stone of Destiny", came from Spain, and before that, from Egypt, It came in the company of an aged guardian, who was called "Ollam Folla (Hebrew words that mean "revealer", or "Prophet"). Eochaidh (Eremhon) with his Queen Tea Tephi was crowned King of Ireland upon the Stone which remained at the Palace of Team-hair Breagh. It was the Coronation Stone of every "Ard-Righ" (High King) of "Eireann" for a period of about 1040 years; from King Eremhon (the Heremon) to the 131st Ard-Righ, named Murcheartach".

The above account may be put into more modern English as follows:

"This king had at that time a famous stone which was used as his throne, and was regarded as a priceless jewel in Spain. He gave it to Simon, and directed him to take it with him to Ireland and win that country for occupation, and to hold the stone-throne perpetually. Fergus Earcus, a lively descendant of Simon in the fifty-fifth generation as on reckoning one may readily see (genealogy of Victosia Heremon to Fergus inclusive records 54 generations, add one for the father of Heremon, who is here represented as conferring it - 55 in all), brought the stone to Scotland, when he first came over and conquered it".

When the Stone of Destiny landed on Scottish soil, it constituted the second "overturn" ; the first being its removal from Palestine, through Egypt and Spain to rest in Ireland. Undoubledly the Stone was set up a Dunadd, a hill-top fort, where Fergus established his capital. Although several miles inland today, in ancient times a navigable river ran by the hill to the sea. It was at Dunadd that Fergus was crowned King of Scotland on the Stone of Destiny. Near the top of Dunadd is a large flat rock. On the surface is a basin cut into the rock, a deeply carved footprint and a fainter barefoot mark, which may have been connected with coronation ritual. Tradition had that the newly crowned king would place his foot in the footprint as an indication that he would follow the precepts of his forefathers.

Also on the rock face are inscriptions, legible but cryptic. Several lines of Ogam script, consisting of short upright with diagonal lines above, begin near the snout of a carved Boar's head. Ogam script was invented in Ireland and used throughout Scotland about the 4th to 9th centuries A.D. Little remains now of the once defensive enclosures upon the summit of the hill. There is no trace remaining of the timber structures of the early inhabitants. The two wells that supplied their water still exist, one of which still produces water.

Dunadd, before becoming the capital of the Celtic Scots from Ireland, may have been a Pictish fort built to oppose the Celtic invaders from the sea as well as the hills. The remains of a net-work of ancient hill-top forts have been found of various designs and types. They seem to serve different purposes: to guard passes or landings; to watch for distant signals; or to provide refuge for a few families and to protect cattle from wolves. Archaeological excavations indicate Dunadd had been occupied from Middle Stone Age times.

The Picts (or in Gaelic, "Cruithne", meaning "Pictured Men", because they painted themselves) were a confederation of Celtic tribes, mainly in the north and east. They spoke a slightly different language than Celtic and having different customs from the Gaels of the west and the Britains of Strathclyde, though all were Celts (originally Cimmerians). Unlike the Scots who were pure nomads in those days, the Picts had fixed homes. They tilled the soil; raised crops; tended their cattle on their own pasture land. Often confused with the Picts are the Caledonians, another branch of the same people.

For a time Dalriada appears to have been dependent upon Irish Dalriada, but about 575 A.D. Aidan (son of Gabran, king of Dalriada) secured its independence and was crowned King of Scotland upon the "Stone Lia Fail." For this occasion, the Stone was taken to Iona (a tiny island of the Inner Hebrides), Scotland by St. Columba, the missionary grandson of Fergus the Great. Iona is where Columba founded his first Scottish monastery. It was famous as a center of Celtic Christianity from where missionaries were dispatched for the conversion of the pagan tribes in Scotland and Northern England.

Aidan was crowned King of Scotland in a coronation rite that has been used ever since by the succeeding monarchs of Scotland and England. The ritual included a consecration declaring the future of Aidan's children, grandchildren, and great - grandchildren, exactly as was done by Jacob when he blessed his sons before he died.

Columba seems to have had the gift of prophecy, for apart from declaring the future of Aidan's posterity, he seems to have foretold the future of Iona in these words: "Unto this place, small and mean though it be, great homage shall yet be paid, not only by the kings and peoples of the Scots, but by rulers of foreign and barbarous nations and their subjects. In great veneration too, shall it be held by men of other churches." This prophecy has been remarkably fulfilled. Not only did the centuries provide a continuous stream of travelers from all over the civilized world, but for many generations the bodies of princes, chiefs and kings were brought to Iona to lie in its hallowed soil.

Buchanan's "History of Scotland" gives the following record: "In the Abbey of Saint Columba, the bishops of the Isles fixed their residence, after their ancient se at in Eubonia was taken possession of by the English. Amidst the ruins there remains still a burying place or cemetery, common to all the noble families of the Western Islands, in which, conspicuous above the rest, stand three large tombs, at a little distance from each other; on these are placed sacred shrines turned toward the East, and on their Western sides are fixed small tables, with the inscriptions indicating to whom the tombs belong. That which is in the middle, has as its title, 'Tumulus Regum Scotiae' the Tomb of the Kings of Scotland, for there forty-eight kings of the Scots are said to have been buried. The one upon the right is inscribed, 'Tumulus Regum Hiberniae', the Tomb of the Kings of Ireland, where four Irish kings are reported to rest. And upon the one on the left is engraved, 'Tumulus Regum Norvegiae, the Tomb of the Kings of Norway', general rumour having assigned to it the ashes of eight Norwegian kings" (pg. 47).

On Iona, the "Stone Lia Fail" continued to be used as the Coronation Stone of the Dalriadic kings until its removal to Dunstaffnage, on the mainland of Scotland just east of Iona, where the Lords of ScotlancT were made princes. Tradition has it that the Clan Mac Dougall was made custodian of the Stone at Dunstaffnage till its removal to Scone Scotland.

There is an old tradition at Dunstaffnage to the effect that if a true descendant of the Mae Dougall's with red hair and without freckles should stand in the ancient chapel of Dunstaffnage and shout the battle cry of the Scots, "Strike for the Silver Lion", instead of an echo he will hear a ghostly voice say, "Where is the Stone?"

In 843 A.D., Kenneth Mac Alpin was crowned on the Stone Lia Fail as the first King of the United Kingdom of the Picts and the Scots. One of his first acts as King was to found a church at Scone (near Perth, Scotland) because it was there that he had gained his principal victory over the Picts. Kenneth then had the "Stone Lia Fail" brought from Dustaffnage and placed on an adjoining hill named "Moot Hill" or "Hill of Credulity." For centuries the Stone of Destiny was used as a Coronation Stone by the kings of Scotland. One of the earliest records of a coronation is preserved in the account of John of Fordun, the Scottish chronicler who died about A.D. 1384. He tells us that the Stone was used in the coronation of Alexander III in A.D. 1249:

and, having there placed him in the regal chair, decked with silk cloths and embroidered with gold, the Bishop of St. Andrew's, the others assisting him. consecrated his king, the king himself sitting, as was proper, upon the regal chair - that is, the Stone - and the earls and other nobles placing vestments under his feet with bent knees, before the Stone. This Stone is reverently preserved in that monastery for the consecration of kings of Scotland; nor were any of the kings in wont to reign anywhere in Scotland, unless they had, on receiving the name of king, first sat upon this royal Stone in Scone, which was constituted by ancient kings the 'sedes superior' or principal seat."

King Kenneth II (d. 995 A.D.) had the Stone placed on a wooden pedestal in front of the high altar of the Abbey of Scone. This pedestal had a wooden shaft which could be raised or lowered according the height of the monarch to be crowned, enabling the king to sit with comfort and dignity, his kilt being arranged to cover the Coronation Stone completely. At the same time, the King had an inscription engraved on one side of the Stone:

James VI, whose daughter Sophia married the Elector of Hanover; their son became Britain's King George 1.

Another record relating to the kings of Scotland is found in the book, "Scots Coronations" by the Marquess of Bute which tells us that seven prayers were used at the ancient coronation of the Kings of Scotland. The following are extracts:

Prayer IV - "Lord, who from everlasting governest the kingdom of all kings, bless thou this ruling prince. Amen ... And glorify him with such blessing that he may hold the seeptre of Salvation in the exaltation of David, and be found rich with the gifts of sanctifying mercy. Amen ... Grant unto him by thine inspiration even to rule the people in meekness as thou didst cause Solomon to obtain a kingdom of peace. Amen."

Prayer V - "Almighty God give thee the dew of heaven and the fatness of the earth, and plenty of corn and wine. Let people serve thee and nations bow down to thee; be lord over thy brethren and let thy mother's sons bow down to thee. God shall be thine helper, and Almighty shall bless thee with blessings of heaven above, on the mountains and on the hills, blessings of the deep that lieth under, blessings of the beasts and of grapes and apples. The blessings of the ancient fathers, Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, be confirmed upon thee. Amen."

Prayer VI - "Bless, 0 Lord, the substance of our prince, and accept the work of his hands; and blessed of thee be his hand, for the precious things of heaven for the dew, and for the deep that coucheth beneath, and for the precious fruits brought forth by the sun and for the precious things put forth by the moon, and for the chief things of the ancient mountains, and for the precious things of the lasting hills, and fulness thereof; the blessing of Him that appeared in the bush come upon the head of (name); and let the blessing of the Lord be full upon his children; and let him dip his feet in oil, let his horns be like the horns of unicorns, with them shall he push the people together to the end of the earth, for let Him who rideth upon the heaven be his help for ever, Amen." (Pgs. 49-58).

The Marquess of Bute also quotes from a pamphlet entitled, "The Forme and Order of the Coronation of Charles, the Second, King of Scotland, England, France, and Ireland. As it was acted and done at Scone, the first day of January" (1651). It is the work of Sir James Balfour, the Lord Lyon King-of-Arms who officiated upon the occasion. The minister, who gave the sermon and exhortations from which the following extracts are taken, was the Rev. Robert Dowglas.

"When the King was set down upon the throne, the Minister spoke to him a word of exhortation: Sir, you are set down upon the throne in a very difficult time; I shall therefore put you in mind of a Scriptural expression of a Throne; it is said: 'Solomon sat on the Throne of the Lord', Sir, you are a king, and a king in covenant with the "he Lord...It is the Lord's Throne, Remember that you have a King above you, the King of Kings, and Lord of Lords, who commandeth thrones ... Your Throne is the Lord's Throne, and your people are the Lord's people. Let not your heart be lifted up above your brethren (Deut. 17:20). They are your brethren, not only of your flesh, but brethren by covenant with God ... Your Throne is the Lords Throne. Beware of making His Throne a Throne of iniquity...But as the Throne is the Lord's Throne. let the laws be the Lord's laws, agreeable to His Word ... Lastly, if your throne be the Throne of the Lord, take a word of encouragement against Throne adversaries. Your enemies are the enemies of the Lord's Throne" (Pgs. 191-201).

The ancient Abbey of Scone was destroyed in 1559 A.D. at the time of the Reformation. Today, that site is occupied by Scone Palace, the home of the Earls of Mansfield. On Moot Hill stands a stone chapel, marking the place where the Stone of Destiny had rested and where the kings of Scotland presided over their Parliaments until Edward I of England removed the Stone to Westminster Abbey in 1296 A.D.

Before the third overturning of the ancient relic, an event occurred that was most noteworthy. Its took place in Arbroath Abbey. Following the removal of the "Stone of Destiny" to Westminister, King Robert "the Bruce" of Scotland was visited by two emissaries of Pope John XXII to whom Edward II of England had appealed for help to compel Scotland to acknowledge England's lordship. These emissaries bore a message from the Pope advising Bruce to submit to Edward's claims, but Bruce and his nobles drafted a letter which they addressed to Pope John XXII and which can still be seen in the Register House in Edinburgh.

It had attached to it coloured ribbons and seals with the signatures of Robert the Bruce and twenty-five of his nobles. The letter which is drafted April 6, 1320, reads in part:

"We know Most Holy Father and Lord, and from the chronicles and books of the ancients gather, that among other illustrious nations, our's, to wit, the nation of the Scots, has been distinguished by many honours; which passing from the greater Sythia through the Mediterranean Sea and Pillars of Hercules and sojourning in Spain among the most savage tribes through a long course of time, could nowhere be subjugated by any people however barbarous; and coming thence one thousand two hundred years after the outgoing of the People of Israel (Exodus), they by many victories and infinite toil, acquired for themselves the possessions in the West which they now hold ... In their kingdom one hundred and thirteen kings of their own royal stock, no stranger intervening, have reigned... "

This letter thus asserts that the Scots who had the Stone were connected with the ancient people of Israel (the so-called Lost Tribes); whom archaeology has established became the Scythians and the Cimmerians of history, whose origin had been a mystery. Lost to their identity as foretold in the Scriptures, (Rom. 11:25),

the Israelites migrated to their appointed land (IISam. 7:10); some crossing Europe by land, others by ships through the Mediterranean to the coast lands of Europe and the Isles in the West. The Scots claim ancestry to the branch of the Cimmerians (Celts) that dwelt in Spain for a period, and eventually came over to the Islands of Britain. They also claim that their royal line of kings (Zarah) has remained unbroken throughout their migrations.

Josephus, the historian, writing in A.D. 70, seems to have had knowledge of the migrations of most of the Israelites from Asia toward Europe for, in his "Antiquities of the Jews" he writes: "...wherefore there are but two tribes in Asia and Europe subject to the Romans, while the ten tribes are beyond the Euphrates till now (A.D. 70) and are an immense multitude, and not to be estimated by numbers" (Book 11, chap. V).

The history of Jacob's Pillar and the Throne of David reveals a fantastic story, fascinating as it is significant; a story that not only epitomizes the history of Ireland, Scotland and England, but offers an astonishing revelation pertaining to the "Ten Lost Tribes" of Israel. Its plot line centers about the destiny of the Anglo-Saxon peoples, in fact, of the entire English-speaking world together with those Western European nations culturally and spiritually identified with it.

In the entire history of mankind no other "stone" or racial symbol has been so long possessed by the descendants of its original owners. Since it first came into historic notice, it has occupied an exalted place. It would be difficult to portray the eventual greatness of that position to which prophecy speaks.

Returning to the prophecy of Ezekial with regards to the "overturnings", we note that there were to be three overturns, but no more, Until he comes whose right it is. In other words, the crown and the throne of David were transferred to the Branch of the Scarlet Thread, to remain there until a certain time when some important person shall come, who has a right to the throne and crown. "He" whose right it is. There can be only one person to whom rightfully belongs the crown and throne of David, and that is God Himself in the person of Jesus Christ: "He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto Him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end" (Luke 1: 32,33).

In Zechariah we have the prophetic promise of a coming day of triumph for this "Stone" when it is brought forth in the coming greatest of all coronations when Jesus Christ shall take over the Throne of David, and reign over the Stone Kingdom, or House of Jacob, forever: "Who art thou 0 great mountain before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain: and he shall bring forth the headstone thereof with shootings crying, Grace, grace, unto it" (Zech. 4:7).

Long ago, God selected a people (through Abraham) to fulfill His purpose in the earth; to become a "great nation" and a "a company of nations" and to establish righteous governments. Through a disobedience to the laws of God, they became "blind to their identity" and were chastised by captivity to become "wanders among the nations" (Hosea 9:17). Within a small remnant of Israel, the Davidic Throne line was carried through the Irish, Scottish nations to ultimately rest in England.

Today, Britain has the honor and blessing of being custodians of Jacob's Pillar and maintaining the continuity of David's Throne. In this way, they fulfill God's covenant with David "Once I have 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 for ever as the moon, and as a faithful witness in heaven" (Psalm 89:35-37).

"For thus saith the Lord; David shall never want a man to sit upon the throne of the house of Israel"(Jer. 33:17). "Thus saith the Lord; If ye can break my covenant of the day, and my covenant of the night, and that there should not be day and night in their season; Then may also my covenant be broken with David my servant, that he should not have a son to reign upon his throne" (Jer. 33: 20,21).

John Harding, the English rhyming chronicler who wrote before A.D. 1465, says of Edward's removal of the Stone:

"And as he came home by Skoon away, The regal there of Scotland than he brought, And sent it forthe to Westmynstre for ay, To ben ther ynne a chayer clenly wrought, For masse prestes to sitte yn whan hem ought, Whiche yit it there stondyng beside the shryne, In a chaier of olde tyme made ful fyne".

Hollingshed's Chronicles gives this account: "When our king (Edward I) went forth to see the mountains, and understanding that all was a peace and quiet, he turned to the Abbey of Scone which was of chanons regular, where he took the stone, called the Regal of Scotland, upon which the kings of that nation were wont to sit at the time of their coronation for a throne, and sent it to the Abbey of Westminster. The Scots claim that this was the stone whereon Jacob slept when he fled into Mesopotamia".

From the time of King Edward I onward, all the Monarchs of England have been crowned on the "Stone of Destiny" and the Coronation Chair with the exception of Mary I (known as Bloody Mary). The present Queen Elizabeth II was crowned upon the Stone.

Comparatively few Bible scholars are aware of the fact that the Monarchy of Britain as well as most of the other monarchies of Europe are descendant from Judah (recipient of the Sceptre promise - Gen. 49:10).

In the Scottish National Library there is a Gaelic manuscript (by Dugald the Scot, son of McPhail, in A.D. 1467) containing the complete

---- genealogies of the Scottish Kings, showing their descent through the Irish Kings by way of Judah, Jacob and Isaac back to Abraham.

In Windsor Castle there is also a genealogical table showing the descent of the British kings from David through the Irish and Scottish lines. Thus the Monarchy existed long before there was a British Nation.