I know it has been a long time since I posted, and I do apologize but life has been keeping me busy as I am soon to have my second child, and just been trying to balance home and business. Still the Sistren have been connecting on RasTa Wife Line's facebook group, so if you haven't forwarded there, please do! It is for Dawtas only!
In honour of the King's Earthstrong I have been working on an essay that speaks on HIM and our relationship to HIM as Rastafari, using the Ible. I post it now before July 23rd because I felt the vibes to do so.
I also am working on making my book RasTafari's Virtuous Daughter available for sale as well. I feel the Irit pushing I to deliver the works I have been creating for the last five or so years, especially because Sistren in the FB group have questions and are seeking to find their place in RasTafari. I remember when I needed that guidance and want to be able to help provide some measure of overstanding or simply inspiration. So many works I have written, many of them have been posted here only in part, but hopefully I can present them all for the fullness and benefit of the I Sistren.
So in light of that, I offer this work and do hope it will be a great read in Selabration of the Almighty Kristos King Qedamawi Haile Sellassie....I love my JAH!
The Ible, Emperor Haile Sellassie I and
RasTafari
Core Reasons for Sighting Emperor
Haile Sellassie I as the Messianic King
It is important to overstand that ultimately RasTafari
came to proclaim His Imperial Majesty Emperor Haile Sellassie the First as the
Messianic Lion King due to the religious, inter-racial and political
atmospheres in Jamaica at the time. The 1900s was indeed a century when a
collective Ethiopian Identity arose out of the Diaspora, taking deep roots that
would lead to the formation of many movements for Afrikan empowerment and
liberation. The yearning for the Black Race to have the power to defend itself
against Europe and to govern itself as a race was at an anxious peak in America,
Britain and the Caribbean. The Diaspora was ready to take a stand and be redeemed
from “Hell on Earth,” to fight for an Afrikan or Ethiopian New Jerusalem of
their own making. It was time to fight back, end neocolonial slavery and
reclaim their Homeland. RasTafari as a pan-African Movement fulfilled many of
the spiritual needs and hopes Blacks had at the time, providing a God and King
to lead Afrikan Isra’el to redemption.
The first sense of Emperor Haile Sellassie’s Ivine
Kingship or rule over Afrika stems from the fact that He was the Sovereign Leader
of the only Afrikan Nation to remain free from European colonization. Ethiopia
carries the oldest, longest reign of kings and queens in the world – older than
the contemporary European monarchies and countries of the Emperor’s time.
Because of this, Afrikans of the Diaspora proclaimed Emperor Haile Sellassie
the First to be the True Leader of the entire Negro World at home and abroad. By
the ancient supremacy and rights of His Throne the King of Kings of Ethiopia
was capable of sitting in world government on behalf of Ethiopians; and speaking
on the issues affecting all of Afrika’s children who had been oppressed for far
too long.
RasTafari as a Movement started because it was seen
that this Ethiopian King of Kings was the Messiah prophesied to come to the aid
of the Exiled Ones, the sons and daughters of slaves suffering and fighting in
the Western territories of Babylon. It was Marcus Garvey who entreated the
Negro race to “look to Africa” for a king to arise and be crowned, wielding the
power to deliver the Diaspora from European oppression. For those who became
RasTafari, deliverance was truly near with the arrival of Haile Sellassie the First
on the world forum. The crowning of His Imperial Majesty in 1930 as King of
Kings and Lord of Lords Conquering Lion of the Tribe of Judah not only summoned
some Garveyites to proclaim Marcus Garvey a prophet; but gave their vision of
returning to Afrika with the power of a legitimate leader a whole new meaning
and possibility. The Ethiopia that the Honourable Marcus Garvey had frequently
referred and made claim to for the emancipation of the Black race, had opened
up Her arms to show the Diaspora that She truly existed.
“His foundation is in the
holy mountains.
The Lord loves the gates of Zion More than all the dwellings of Jacob.
Glorious things are spoken of you, O city of God! Selah
The Lord loves the gates of Zion More than all the dwellings of Jacob.
Glorious things are spoken of you, O city of God! Selah
I will make mention of Rahab and Babylon to those who know Me;
Behold, O Philistia and Tyre, with Ethiopia:
‘This one was born there.’
Behold, O Philistia and Tyre, with Ethiopia:
‘This one was born there.’
And of Zion it will be said, ‘This one
and that one were born in her;
And the Most High Himself shall establish her.
And the Most High Himself shall establish her.
The Lord will record,
When He registers the peoples:
‘This one was born there.’ Selah”
When He registers the peoples:
‘This one was born there.’ Selah”
(Psalm
87:1-6)
The second sense of the King’s Messianic Advent for
the Black race is once again tied to His throne, but in the Biblical
significance of such. The Ethiopian New Jerusalem was established by the
Almighty JAH the King of Zion; and His Krist - through the Root of David - had
come to loosen the seven seals (Revelation 5:5) and to fight the final battle
for exiled Israel’s redemption and restoration back to their Father’s Land.
Ethiopia or Kush was at one point Israelite or
Jewish before becoming a Christian nation. This happened when a Kushite Arabian
Queen named Makeda made economic alliances and marriage with King Solomon,
subsequently giving him a man-child to rule Ethiopia as a Jewish king. The Kebra Nagast states that Solomon saw the
expansion of Jerusalem into Ethiopia, showing that the two were made one in his
son Emperor Menelik I. As a result, a whole renewal of Ethiopia happened
bringing the state under the Laws of Jahovah – thus making them a part of
Isra’el. Jerusalem and Axum (and the rest of Makeda’s Ethiopia – Ophir,
Saba/Yemen and so on) made an alliance that led to probably the first migration
of Israelites from each tribe into the Nile Valley and surrounding Nubian
regions, since their escape from Egypt centuries before. At this time, the
sacred Ark of the Covenant - the seat of Jahovah in Jerusalem - was taken by a
son of Levite High Priest Zadok as he was appointed High Priest of Ethiopia’s
Jerusalem. Azariah carried the Ark into Axum to abide with the new Ethiopian King
of Judah David II or Menelik I (Ezekiel 48:11). The anointing of Rehoboam to
succeed King Solomon as King of Judah and Jerusalem was therefore without the
true blessings and power of Jahovah because the Ark was secretly missing.
Because of the knowledge of the Hebrew legacy tied
to the Ethiopian throne through the son of King David and Solomon – His Majesty
being the 226th king to sit on the throne of Solomon in Ethiopia –
the Hola Ible was discovered to be a likely source of Emperor Haile Sellassie’s
credibility on the world forum as a monarch of Ivine proportions. In light of
this, Marcus Garvey’s role in prophesying the Afrikan King’s coming was deemed
a manifestation of John the Baptiser proclaiming the coming of the Messiah
Yesus Kristos in Matthew Chapter 3.
With the throne of David behind HIM, it could not be
denied that Emperor Haile Sellassie the First was the only Black Man of all the
Freedom Fighters during His time Who could gain access and represent Afrika at
the League of Nations (White World Government). He was a king “just as the
White man was a king” proven by His 1930 coronation; and that was something
that the Diaspora and the White World at the time had never seen before. Black
leaders of the West were never men with this kind of power - they were not
rich, or part of nobility like in the White World. The most amazing thing was
that the Emperor, an Ethiopian, could trace His lineage back to the Ible – a
book which (in the Diaspora) had always been “of the White man.” What’s more, the
Emperor was the only leader devoted to an indigenous Ethiopian Christian Church
with its own Bible, a Church not
governed by White men. This was again, a Black or Negro phenomenon to the
oppressed and colonized Afrikans of the Diaspora.
As a result, for RasTafari Emperor Haile Sellassie
I’s Davidic and Ethiopian link to the White Man’s Christian religion meant that
even Europe and her queen would have
to submit to the King of Kings and Lord
of Lords, Conquering Lion of the Tribe of Judah, Elect of God, Light of this
World and Defender of the Faith. The Emperor’s heritage also showed that
the Christian faith rightfully began with the Black Race because Ethiopia had a
much older alliance with Isra’el than the Gentiles. It was seen that Black
people were indeed the Biblical nations of power, and that Western Christianity
(both Protestant and Catholic) could not continue to be used as a tool of
oppression against them. It was not right for them to rule Afrikans who had
their own spirituality centuries before Greece first made the voyage into
Afrika and learned civilization. It appeared that a new Black Spirituality and
Mission for Freedom had been born or recreated from Biblical days for the
exiled Ethiopian. The White man would now be the one to be suffer under his own
religious doctrines. His own god would be punishing him for changing what was
truth and righteous by the same laws he used to abuse Afrika.
In the ghettos of Kingston Jamaica, it was
proclaimed that the judgment upon the European Beasts of Babylon who had enslaved
and ripped apart Ethiopia-Afrika, had finally come to the White World and its
queen by the hand of the oppressed. The land of Ethiopia had been hidden from Europe’s
imaginations until the coming of Emperor Menelik II and his most loyal
successor Emperor Haile Sellassie I; when Ethiopia emerged on the world forum
as a competitor for development. Even though the lost gem had been discovered
again, She was not Europe’s for the taking. Ethiopia’s Kings emerged into world
government to proclaim Her a country in Her own right; a kingdom ready to be
modernized or improved with technology; but not a pie to be divided. The victories
of the Emperors against the Italians in battle and the political and racial
events surrounding such wars, Biblically align to the prophecies that David’s
Zion or Jerusalem (the City where the Ark rests) would never truly belong to
the Gentiles. JAH would not allow the Beasts to sit in His sacred seat because
His Son, the Anointed King of Judah would be there defending in His Name. And
with the defence of Ethiopia or Jerusalem by her King, the rest of Beta Isra’el
would finally find its way back home, being guided by Zion’s shining rainbow
circle throne and tabernacle.
“Behold! My Servant whom I uphold, My Elect
One in whom My soul delights!
I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the
Gentiles.
He will not fail nor be discouraged, Till He
has established justice in the earth;
And the coastlands shall wait for His law.”
(Isaiah 42:1, 4)
The Relationship between JAH, the Hebrew
Tribes and their Righteous King
The Hebrew legacy of kings and their relationship to
Yahweh is in fact part of an ancient worldwide tradition found in Ethiopia,
Persia, Kemet, China and Greece to name a few. The Hebrews were not really the
only special lineage thought to dwell in the earth to rule as priests and kings
of the Almighty God – the king being head of the country and the sacrificial
rites of the priesthood. They were one among many Black tribes that attributed
to their priestly leaders the personality and powers of God in flesh; an Ivine
birth and purpose by bloodline. All priests and kings aimed to obtain a life
everlasting in the heavenly kingdom of the gods by being of certain moralities.
Though the names and places, rituals, laws and dynasties varied, the core ideology
and theocratic rule essentially didn’t change. One can review the similarities between
the Davidic Kingship to the Egyptian kings and queens who ruled as the Children
of Ra, Ausar, Auset and Heru; as well as similarities between the priesthoods
and sacred texts of Jews and Egyptians.
This relationship is not surprising given the fact
that from very early on the Shemite lineage of Abraham - which spoke the same
language as the Khamites – lived among, and became mixed with many tribes of
Kush, Kanaan and Kemet through marriage to the daughters of the land many times
over. Abraham, Ishmael and his sons, Moses, Jacob’s sons and descendants, and the
various Kings of Judah and Isra’el married Afrikan princesses and priests’
daughters and others of good breeding. The Hebrew race was therefore notably
rooted in Afrika from the beginning, long before the alliance between the Queen
of the South Makeda and King Solomon. This strengthens the Rastafari Ideology
of Emperor Haile Sellassie the First being and Afrikan King of Judah; and
RasTafari and Afrikans of the West being the scattered, exiled Twelve Tribes of
Isra’el.
In the prophecy JAH/Yahweh bestowed upon Abraham for
his faith and obedience, the entire lot of his seed would be a nation of kings
and priests. Later on, when Isra’el became the chosen Abrahamic nation to rule
the Promised Land, the Tribe of Levi through the sons of Aaron, was raised up
to be the hola priesthood that would govern the land on Yahweh’s behalf. Moses
gave them a complete moral and ceremonial code by which to righteously rule the
large population. The Levites as priests and prophets would be spread into
every single tribe and never have their own plot of the Promised Land for themselves.
They spread the places of worship and sacrifice but guarded the Ark of the
Covenant. (See Deuteronomy 17:14-20, 21:5, 24:8; 1 Chronicles 15:2, 16:4; Ezekiel
40:46; Hebrews 7:5). The priesthood was the most important body in the kingdom
therefore, because they were the Keepers of Wisdom. They could judge and
prophesy JAH’s Will to the people. Isra’el would not have a king
because their god Yahweh, was the King and Most High – the priesthood did His bidding and spoke His word to Isra’el. Yahweh or Jahovah
was called the “Jealous God” and would therefore not stand for a man or another
god to be more important than He. An Israelite was submissive to Yahweh alone,
and paid all their sacrifices unto Him,
not a fleshly ruler (as was common with other nations).
Yet, a few centuries later Isra’el asked for a king
to rule alongside the priesthood. Though this was against the Covenant, Yahweh
instructed Samuel – a Levite High Priest and Prophet – to anoint Saul of the
Tribe of Benjamin. But Saul let his own pride and jealousy lead him astray from
the Lord’s Word and Will – he didn’t always follow protocol, to wait on
Jahovah’s instruction. The Lord revealed to Samuel that He had chosen Himself another: a righteous, humble
shepherd boy to rule as king. The Tribe of Judah through the Son of Jesse named
David, would unite and reign over the Twelve Tribes of Isra’el. David was JAH’s
beloved, the wise boy who could lead His sheep righteously. He was expected to
rule obediently, to do what was prophesied to him by the Levite prophets and
priests.
“Yet I have set My King on
My holy hill of Zion.”
“I will
declare the decree:
The Lord
has said to Me,‘You are My Son,
Today I have begotten You. Ask of Me, and I will give You. The nations for Your inheritance,And the
ends of the earth for Your
possession.”
(Psalm 2:6-8)
“I have made a covenant with My chosen, I have sworn to My servant David: ‘Your seed I will establish forever, And build up your throne to all generations.’” Selah
My covenant I will not
break, Nor alter the word that has gone out of My lips.
Once I have sworn by My holiness; I will not lie to David:
His seed shall endure forever, And his throne as the sun before Me;
It shall be established forever like the moon, Even like the faithful witness in the sky.” Selah.
Once I have sworn by My holiness; I will not lie to David:
His seed shall endure forever, And his throne as the sun before Me;
It shall be established forever like the moon, Even like the faithful witness in the sky.” Selah.
(Psalm 89:3-4, 34-37)
“I took you [David] from the
sheepfold, from following the sheep, to be ruler over My people, over Israel.
And I have been with you wherever you have gone, and
have cut off all your enemies from before you, and have made you a great name,
like the name of the great men who are
on the earth.
Moreover I will appoint a place for My people
Israel, and will plant them, that they may dwell in a place of their own and
move no more; nor shall the sons of wickedness oppress them anymore…
When your days are fulfilled and you rest with your
fathers, I will set up your seed after you, who will come from your body, and I
will establish his kingdom.
He shall build a house for My name, and I will
establish the throne of his kingdom forever.
I will be his Father, and he shall be My son.
If he commits iniquity, I will chasten him with the
rod of men and with the blows of the sons of men.
But My mercy shall not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I removed from
before you. And your house and your kingdom shall be established forever before
you. Your throne shall be established forever.”
(2 Samuel
7: 8-10, 12-16)
David’s authority took great root in the unification
of the tribes because it appears that Isra’el desired to have a tangible mediator
for their “God in the fire” beyond the priesthood, Ark and Shekinah (Hosea
13:9-10 and Exodus 20:18-20). The priesthood just wasn’t enough anymore because it
had become corrupt and could not effectively defend their land which was
constantly at war with other nations of the land. Isra’el would be better off
if they had a Warrior, someone who could be Champion on their behalf, showing
might in battle and operate with a keen heart. If JAH was to be most mighty and
able to do all things for Isra’el, it was through His anointed Son or Iritually
endowed Prophet, Priest and King that
these powers would be known. Jahovah was basically asked to prove Himself by
giving Isra’el victory over the nations and their idolatrous sins through a
king. Therefore it came to be that officially, the entire personality and power
of JAH had to be ideally represented and exulted by the Righteous King of Isra’el
and his High Priest-Prophet who in the Hebrew case, were born of the lineage of
David-Judah and Aaron-Zadok-Levi respectively.
“There shall come forth a
Rod from the stem of Jesse,
And a Branch shall grow out of his roots.
The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him,
The Spirit of wisdom and understanding,
The Spirit of counsel and might,
The Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord.
And a Branch shall grow out of his roots.
The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him,
The Spirit of wisdom and understanding,
The Spirit of counsel and might,
The Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord.
His delight is in the fear of the Lord,
And He shall not judge by the sight of His eyes,
Nor decide by the hearing of His ears;
But with righteousness He shall judge the poor,
And decide with equity for the meek of the earth;
He shall strike the earth with the rod of His mouth,
And with the breath of His lips He shall slay the wicked.
Righteousness shall be the belt of His loins,
And faithfulness the belt of His waist”
And He shall not judge by the sight of His eyes,
Nor decide by the hearing of His ears;
But with righteousness He shall judge the poor,
And decide with equity for the meek of the earth;
He shall strike the earth with the rod of His mouth,
And with the breath of His lips He shall slay the wicked.
Righteousness shall be the belt of His loins,
And faithfulness the belt of His waist”
(Isaiah
11:1-5)
“For unto us a Child is
born,
Unto us a Son is given;
And the government will be upon His shoulder.
And His name will be called
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of His government and peace
There will be no end,
Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom,
To order it and establish it with judgment and justice
From that time forward, even forever.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.”
Unto us a Son is given;
And the government will be upon His shoulder.
And His name will be called
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of His government and peace
There will be no end,
Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom,
To order it and establish it with judgment and justice
From that time forward, even forever.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.”
(Isaiah 9:6-7)
The Book of
Wisdom is a Hebrew Apocryphal text attributed to King Solomon. In Chapter
six Solomon wrote a word of advice to the kings of the earth, and of course the
kings that would follow him to rule in Judah. He would have asserted his
position as the Son of David and one of the most popular kingdoms of the time.
According to him, the duty of a king was to represent the Almighty Creator and
thereby uphold His law through wisdom. Wisdom would make any king great and
powerful and he would become immortal in Her. Given that this Hebrew Book is
included in the Ethiopian Ible, it is not hard to think that the Ethiopian
Emperor Himself read these very words, honouring the king’s code as a Solomonic
heir.
The Responsibility of Rulers
“So then, you kings, you rulers the world over, listen
to what I say, and learn from it. You govern many lands
and are proud that so many people are under your rule, but this
authority has been given to you by the Lord Most High. He will examine what you
have done and what you plan to do.
You rule on behalf of God and his kingdom, and if you
do not govern justly, if you do not uphold the law, if you do not live
according to God's will, you will suffer sudden and terrible
punishment.
It is for you,
mighty kings, that I write these words, so that you may know how to act wisely
and avoid
mistakes. These are holy
matters, and if you treat them in a holy manner, you yourselves will be
considered holy. If you have learned this lesson, you will be able to defend
yourselves at the Judgment. So then, make my teaching
your treasure and joy, and you will be well instructed.
Wisdom begins
when you sincerely want to learn. To desire Wisdom is to love her; to love her is
to keep her laws; to keep her laws is to be certain of immortality; immortality will bring you close to God. This
desire for Wisdom can prepare you to rule a kingdom. So
then, you that rule the nations, if you value your thrones and symbols of
authority, honor Wisdom so that you may rule forever.”
(Apocrypha,
Book of Wisdom Chapter 6:1-5, 9-11,
17-21 TEV)
As exemplified by David and Solomon, it was through
righteousness, wisdom and truth that any flesh knew and received from JAH; or
became representative, Image, son or daughter of JAH. It was only through righteousness
that a king could truly be named to judge and be successful in any endeavour or
danger as the strong right hand or arm of JAH. He had to be committed to lawful
marriages, fasts, sacrifices, ritual purification and wise governorship to be
the Representative of JAH.
His righteousness in turn had to be passed onto his
sons and shared with his wife to ensure the perpetuation of JAH’s reign in Isra’el.
His wife (being the Queen-Mother/Gebirah
or most trusted adviser of the future Davidic heir) had to be his first true
servant and kindred, representing him in the best way possible by her own
virtue. (Read Proverbs 31 which explains the due righteousness of kings and
their wives.) That is why having foreign wives who were culturally different
was something never recommended by the priests and prophets throughout the Old
Testament (see Ezra 9:2, 10; Genesis 24:36-38; Nehemiah 10:30). An idolatrous
wife would be the downfall of any Davidic King as such was against the Code of
Wisdom by which Judah ruled in Isra’el. The Queen of Sheba or Makeda was the
only Afrikan wife that Solomon took noted to leave her idols and worship the
Living God. Solomon’s other sons followed their mothers in idolatry and brought
the downfall of Jerusalem. It is through Queen
Makeda’s Ethiopian kingdom that the
Ivine Kingship and sovereignty of Zion stood the tests of war and idolatry.
The truth of Afrika, Ethiopia and the Black race as the
genesis of Isra’el is made apparent when one truly takes into account the inheritance,
family life, culture, goals and accomplishments of the Biblical Davidic kings (namely
David and Solomon) and compares them to the heritage, life and times of Haile
Sellassie I. For RasTafari, it is obvious and certain that His Imperial Majesty
was the Son or even reincarnation of small yet mighty King David of Zion;
partaking in the same prophetical anointing, struggle and glory as His ancestor.
It is also relevant to see that the Ethiopian Empress
Menen Asfaw in Her Ivine anointing as the Queen and in sharing the same royal
Solomonic blood and Tewahedo Faith, also embodied the desired hola personality
of the Queen of Judah. She shared in the spiritual leadership, protection and improvement
of Ethiopia’s Jerusalem by Her own wealth, faith and endeavours. Seated upon
the ancient Ethiopian throne of Afrika, She answered the calls of her people
and mobilized them towards a better life. She not only represents the lineages
of outstanding Khamite Queens that ruled the land since the beginning of Man,
but stands as the Ideal of change to the oppressed Afrikan woman. Her
achievements in hola conduct, child-bearing, marriage, business and acts of
charity and defencive warfare; paint a picture of the true nature and roles of
the Black Wombman as a builder of society. Her place as the Emperor’s most wise
and trusted adviser during Her lifetime as His wife, illustrates the Ivine partnership
of Man and Woman, Ivine King and Queen in the Black fight for spiritual and
political autonomy, freedom, justice and development. For Rastafari the Wisdom
of JAH and the healing of the nation can be brought forth in no other way -
every Alpha needs his Omega to bring all works for the City of JAH into
fruition.
Empress Menen is made One with His Majesty in
acknowledging the prophetical fulfilments of His lifetime as the Messianic
Davidic King of Isra’el. It is in this Inited Image of JAH RasTafari that
RasTafari Brethren and Sistren take this name or title, and establish the
Natural Right Livity and repatriation mission for the oppressed children of
Afrika’s Isra’el.
Emperor Haile Sellassie I’s Identity as the Manifested Davidic Kristos
King
Within RasTafari, it is acknowledged that Qedamawi
Haile Sellasie is the last true
reigning Righteous King to govern the seat of the Almighty Creator in Afrika
and King David’s Zion/Jerusalem. For many RasTafari, if the New Testament’s
account of a man named Jesus or Yesus Kristos cannot be absolutely proven as
fact, then I and I can look to the Ethiopian Emperor for the depiction of a real live Krist and Davidic King. Through King Selassie I Abba Janhoy, RasTafari
experience in real life the true
Afrikan teachings of Kristos resurrection as well as the true Afrikan origins
of the Hola Scriptures. It is through HIM that the Ivine Nature, Word and
Wisdom of JAH are known in flesh, and spread across the world by the collective
consciousness of His people. It is by His righteous, wise, loving, just and
moral character in addition to His royal Solomonic birth; that His Godlike power,
land, duties, goals and struggles can all be accurately placed within ancient Scriptural
contexts and beliefs.
In this
time for RasTafari, JAH manifested not only as a Messianic Standard Bearer after
the Order of Melchizedek (Prophet, Priest and King); but as a capable Kristos
King Who brought on the fulfilment of Isaiah’s, Jeremiah’s, Daniel’s and John’s
prophecies of Israelite redemption. A King who never glorified His own work and ability but Who trusted and exalted the Almighty Creator for giving HIM the power to rule and make
political change (unlike Yesus who had no political authority in Judaea).
The Emperor’s
personal afflictions and struggles in bringing Isra’el (Ethiopia) into a new
order of rule under His Ivine authority, defending the land against the
Gentiles, as well as His spiritual feeding of the struggling colonised masses;
were altogether similar to the passions of the Israelite kings, prophets and even
the rejected “sacrificial lamb” Yesus Kristos.
Gentle as
the lamb and fierce as a roused lion, His conquering characteristics were
indeed Messiah-like and complete with the double-edged sword. He invoked the
Ivine Nature of the Biblical Krist being born of mystical signs and hola
traditions, His supreme Wise Mind and His overstanding of the hearts of men.
Such allowed the King to actively predict, thwart and paralyse evil to a great
extent throughout His reign. Because of His two-sword nature as Lion and Lamb,
like Yesus His Majesty was loved feared and
resented by His people and European colonialists.
“These
will make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, for He is Lord of
lords and King of kings; and those who
are with Him are called,
chosen, and faithful.”
(Revelation
17:14)
Like
Yesus, the Emperor was born under signs and stars of prophecy. The day of His
birth brought the rainstorms after a period of drought in Ethiopia. A Muslim
elder and select Orthodox priests who knew His family, all believed that this
man-child of their beloved Ras Makonnen and Woyzero Yeshimebet Ali would be a
special gift to the nation. Not only was this man-child a prince, a son of the
Shewan Dynasty of Solomonic Kings; but it was prophesied that He would be a very
great leader in Ethiopia and Afrika, a Star. As such, His birth and early life
were highly protected by the Tewahedo Orthodox Church priesthood to ensure that
He would survive and grow (unlike his mother’s previous eight children), and also
be raised under the guidance of priests and royal nobility (relatives of the
monarchy). It is noteworthy that throughout His rule, the Emperor was a great
benefactor of the priesthood and devoted to the rites of faith in keeping with
the priesthood’s influence on Him from birth. RasTafari believe that Revelation
Chapter 12 speaks of the war of Satan the Dragon, against Lady Yeshimebet’s
womb and her final victory in bringing forth a man-child to be caught up to
Zion’s Throne.
Like
Yesus, from a young age Tafari Makonnen’s goals to bring positive cultural
change and reforming the Law in the modernization of Ethiopia were painfully
rejected by Ethiopians or in a Biblical sense, by Isra’el (as with many
prophets before Yesus). For them His policies
were too radical, and against tradition. The nobles or leaders (Pharisees) of
the people preferred corrupted tradition to losing their rank no matter how
inhibiting it was to the nation. After outsmarting those who wanted to seize
the throne for many years all the while positively developing and improving the
Ethiopian nation; the Emperor ultimately resigned quietly from His throne
giving Ethiopia’s Isra’el what they wanted. He committed Himself and the last
true Afrikan Monarchy as sacrifices for the sake of the nobility, middle class
and university student body that wanted to follow other Afrikan countries in
their capitalist ventures (which in the end were failures!). The Emperor was
ideally betrayed by the very people He had helped establish themselves in a
blossoming, modern workforce and economy. Like Yesus, He was a man of peace and
progress, and distinctly refused to go to war with His own people even when
they rose up in rebellion against Him. If they could not see His vision then He
would not force them; the ground work had already been laid.
RasTafari
sighting and gathering under the King of Kings as the (Second Advent) Black
Krist or Davidic Messianic King, is a movement in line with the Nazirenes and
Apostles who joined the Church during and after Yesus’ lifetime. It is through
I and I – our consciousness, hearts and righteousness – that the King of Kings
lives on and on, is appreciloved, and honoured in Earth as He reigns in Zion. It
is upon His Ivine Ensample and Wisdom that New Jerusalem or the Kingdom of
Heaven is built.
The Ivine
Names and Titles of JAH upon HIM
Not only do RasTafari refer to His Majesty as JAH
meaning Jehovah, but His personal
names and titles also translate to the Ivine designations of a Kristos, King,
God or Lord (mainly in the Davidic sense). Because of this simple truth, there
is no question for RasTafari that Qedamawi Haile Sellassie is the physical representation
of the Masculine Principles of the Almighty Creator, Elected Light-Bearer of
JAH, the Son of JAH, King of Jerusalem and overall fulfilment of prophecy. The
Emperor’s many names and titles bear witness of His Ivine Essence.
JAH: His Majesty arrived in Jamaica on a stormy, cloudy
day, the heavens cleared when His place broke into the Jamaican airspace, and
it was considered a fulfilment of Psalm 68:4 “Sing
unto God, sing praises to his name: extol him that rideth upon the heavens by
his name JAH, and rejoice before him.” The Ethiopian title JANHOY is
an Amharic word that is also referenced in saying “JAH” as it means “Majesty,”
“His Majesty” or “Your Majesty.” It is Biblical fact that Jehovah or JAH is
called King or Majesty.
TAFARI:
means “to be feared.” JAH is said to be “the one to be feared” in the Book of Psalms. As JAH is feared He is
presented with praise and gifts, and in like manner RasTafari and other nations
around the world treated His Majesty Ras Tafari Haile Sellassie I with the same
reverence attributed to JAH in these verses:
For
great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised: he also is to be feared above all
gods.
(1 Chronicles 16:25 and Psalm 96:4)
God is
greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints, and to be had in reverence
of all them that are about him (Psalm 89:7).
Thou,
even thou, art to be feared: and who may stand in thy sight when once thou art
angry?
Vow, and
pay unto the Lord your God: let all that be round about him bring presents unto
him that ought to be feared (Psalm 76:7,11)
HAILE
SELLASSIE: means “Might of the Trinity” and the Trinity is a title attributed
to the Almighty God or Father, the Irit of JAH and the Ivine Son or
Manifestation of God in flesh and Irit. In the most ancient origins of
Irituality such as India, the Trinity represents Creator, Preserver and
Destroyer. Ras Tafari was therefore given the triple power of the Hola Trinity
to rule. Within the Old Testament the Trinity can be identified as prophet,
priest and king; a triple crown of Ivine leadership of the righteous city.
Over His life the Emperor carried many Amharic titles
of nobility which all point to His leadership in Ethiopia from birth:
RAS: is
Amharic for Duke or Earl, a head of the people. Ras Tafari therefore can be translated as “Head to be feared,”
which can also be further broken down to “Head Creator” given that the Creator
is the Head to be feared.
DEJAZMATCH:
“Keeper of the Door/Gate” Revelation 3:7 says “These things says He who is holy, He who is true, “He who has the key
of David, He who opens and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens.”
NEGUS:
means a provincial “King.”
NEGUSA
NEGAST : means “King of Kings,” the supreme head over all other provincial
kings. (Related to Revelation 19:16).
CONQUERING
LION OF THE TRIBE OF JUDAH: is the name of David’s Messianic Son who would
restore Isra’el. A title of Israel’s Messianic King in Revelation 19:16.
Other titles such as Elect of God, Light of this World, Defender of the Faith, Soldier of
the Cross and Root of David also point to the Messianic role that Emperor
Haile Sellassie I carried in His lifetime. Such truly represent HIM as the
monarch to bring social, economic and political change and stability to the
land, creating a new Ethiopian Jerusalem forever.
The Conquering Lion of the
Tribe of Judah
And behold, One like the Son of Man,
Coming with the clouds of heaven!
He came to the Ancient of Days,
And they brought Him near before Him.
Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom,
That all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him.
His dominion is an everlasting dominion, Which shall not pass away,
And His kingdom the one Which shall not be destroyed.
Coming with the clouds of heaven!
He came to the Ancient of Days,
And they brought Him near before Him.
Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom,
That all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him.
His dominion is an everlasting dominion, Which shall not pass away,
And His kingdom the one Which shall not be destroyed.
(Daniel 7: 13-14)
And I saw in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne a
scroll written inside and on the back, sealed with seven seals.
But one of the elders said
to me, “Do not weep. Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David,
has prevailed to open the scroll and to loose its seven seals.”
Then He came and took the scroll out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne.
(Revelation 5:1, 5, 7)
His Majesty’s special coming at that particular time
in world history, reflected the parts of Ivine prophecy that surround the
Anointed Chosen son the Messianic Lion and Lamb. This king was sent to redeem
the real Tribes of Isra’el from oppression and ignorance at the hand of the
Beast. Being crowned King of Kings and
Lord of Lords, Conquering Lion of Judah; His Majesty is identified as the
Judgment King, the Lion that would defend and the Lamb brought to slaughter for
the sake of New Jerusalem. Only Emperor Haile Sellassie I in this time was the
Root of David, and able to loosen the seals of judgment upon the Beasts
seducing the world into wickedness. His mouth was the double-edged sword that
fought against the injustice of humanity.
His Ivine prophetical purpose was set to redeem
Ethiopia’s or Afrika’s Isra’el at a time when their oppressors in captivity or
colonialism were all rising in power simultaneously, leading ultimately into a
time of world war and racial violence. Europe attacked Ethiopia both
politically and physically. Like King David Emperor Haile Sellassie the First was
forced into battle with an enemy over Jahovah’s land and led Judah in
confidence, wisdom and victory. The Almighty God and the Irits of kings before
HIM led the Emperor as a personal banner of salvation and justice over the
Gentiles.
The Lord also will roar from Zion,
And utter His voice from Jerusalem;
The heavens and earth will shake;
But the Lord will be a shelter for His people,
And the strength of the children of Israel.
And utter His voice from Jerusalem;
The heavens and earth will shake;
But the Lord will be a shelter for His people,
And the strength of the children of Israel.
“So you shall know that I am the Lord your God,
Dwelling in Zion My holy mountain.
Dwelling in Zion My holy mountain.
Then Jerusalem shall be
holy,
And no aliens shall ever pass through her again.”
And no aliens shall ever pass through her again.”
But
Judah shall abide forever,
And Jerusalem from generation to generation.
(Joel 3:16-17, 20)
Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse.
And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and
makes war.
His eyes were
like a flame of fire, and on His head were
many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself.
He was
clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God.
And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen,
white and clean, followed Him on white horses.
Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with
it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of
iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty
God.
And He has on His
robe and on His thigh a name written:
KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF
LORDS.
(Revelation 19:11-16)
Not only
did the sacred seat of David and Zion need to be protected from such Gentile
powers, but the Conscience of the World needed to be tested and Oppressed Isra’el
needed to be awakened. The Emperor had to leave His seat, leave Zion in exile,
to enter Babylon and judge the agenda of its kings. They saw Him as one to be
pitied, as His country was under siege by Italy, but the King knew Ethiopia was
the start of a domino effect that would bring war for them all. May 5th
1936 to 1941 represented His time in battle against the Beast and a fulfilment
of Psalm 110:
The Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit at My right hand,
Till I make Your enemies Your footstool.”
“Sit at My right hand,
Till I make Your enemies Your footstool.”
The Lord shall send the rod of Your strength out of Zion.
Rule in the midst of Your enemies!
Rule in the midst of Your enemies!
Your people shall be volunteers In the day of
Your power;
In the beauties of holiness, from the womb of the morning,
You have the dew of Your youth.
The Lord has sworn And will not relent,
“You are a priest forever According to the order of Melchizedek.”
In the beauties of holiness, from the womb of the morning,
You have the dew of Your youth.
The Lord has sworn And will not relent,
“You are a priest forever According to the order of Melchizedek.”
The Lord is at Your right hand;
He shall execute kings in
the day of His wrath.
He shall judge among the nations,
He shall fill the places with dead bodies,
He shall execute the heads of many countries.
He shall drink of the brook by the wayside;
Therefore He shall lift up the head.
He shall judge among the nations,
He shall fill the places with dead bodies,
He shall execute the heads of many countries.
He shall drink of the brook by the wayside;
Therefore He shall lift up the head.
(Psalm
110)
In 1936
Geneva Switzerland, after leaving Ethiopia in order to preserve Her throne as
the ticket to freedom, the Emperor openly questioned Europe’s true loyalty to
their own codes of world governance and law (League of Nations). The Law needed
to be weighed on the Conscience of the World through its own kings who in the
quest for greater empires were destroying security, peace and the moral fibre
of mankind. The Word went forth from Zion’s King like a sharp double-edged
sword and brought condemnation upon the wickedness of the Four Beasts of Babylon
– especially the eagle, being Italy. The Second World War started three years
later in 1939 because the kings of the earth had not heeded to the King of Zion
in the Battle of Armageddon.
In that day the Lord will defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; the one who is feeble among them in that day shall be like David, and the house of David shall be like God, like the Angel of the Lord before them.
(Zechariah 12:8)
You
saw the angry lion come roaring out of the forest, and you heard it speak to
the eagle and rebuke it for all the evil that it had done and for all that it
had said.
The
lion represents the Messiah, whom God Most High has held back until the end. He
will be a descendant of David and will come and speak to the rulers.
He
will rebuke them for their wickedness, their sinfulness, and their contempt for
God’s ways. While they are still living, he will bring them to judgment,
condemn them for their sin, and destroy them.
But
he will have mercy on the rest of my people, those who are left in my land: he
will set them free and make them happy until the end comes, the Judgment Day…
(Apocrypha, Book of 2 Esdras12:31-34 TEV)
Many years
later after the war, Europe admitted the truth of the King’s warning and
welcomed HIM into their kingdoms in admiration and peace. In every country the
Emperor was given a special medallion of honour and even honorary degrees. Relics
of Ethiopia were returned to their rightful owner to show that the time of
attack had passed.
(See also Revelation 13:6-7 and 17:12-18; Daniel
7:5; Isaiah 42:13; Psalm 77:15)
There will I make the horn of David to bud: I have ordained a lamp for mine anointed.
His enemies I will clothe with shame, but upon Himself His crown shall flourish.”
(Psalm 132:18)
Then the Mighty One of Israel shall glorify Shem.
For the Lord God shall appear on earth, and Himself save men,
Then shall all the spirits of deceit be given to be trodden under foot, and men shall rule over wicked spirits.
Then shall I arise in Joy and will bless the Most High because of his marvellous works,
because God hath taken a body and eaten with men and saved men.
And now, my children, and Judah, and obey Levi and Judah, and be not lifted up against these two tribes,
for from them shall arise unto you the salvation of God.
For the Lord shall raise up from Levi as it were a High Priest, and from Judah as it were a King, God and man,
He shall save all the Gentiles and the race of Israel.
(The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs, Reuben Chapter 3:6-11)
The Coming of Shiloh and Restoration of New Jerusalem
And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an
ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious.
And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand
again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be
left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from
Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea.
[Israelites
in/from Afrika]
And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the
outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four
corners of the earth.
The envy also of Ephraim shall depart, and the adversaries of Judah shall
be cut off: Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not vex Ephraim.
But they shall fly upon the shoulders of the Philistines toward the west;
they shall spoil them of the east together: they shall lay their hand upon Edom
and Moab; and the children of Ammon shall obey them.
And the Lord shall utterly destroy the tongue of the Egyptian sea; and
with his mighty wind shall he shake his hand over the river, and shall smite it
in the seven streams, and make men go over dryshod.
And there shall be an highway for the remnant of his people, which shall
be left, from Assyria; like as it was to Israel in the day that he came up out
of the land of Egypt.
(Isaiah
11:10-16)
Even though
the expectations of the Diaspora from the Ethiopian Throne started way back in
the 1930s, it wasn’t until a few decades later that proper dialogue between
scattered Ephraim and Judah was possible. At the time that Marcus Garvey and
other Black Power Representatives were looking to Ethiopia, She was caught
trying to defend her independence against the kings of the earth. Ethiopia’s
Emperor was occupied with trying to keep His Empire intact while facing
uprisings from within and invasions by Europe. It was a time of vexation and
envy between Ephraim and Judah because the Black West wanted to be seen and
heard by the Motherland which was dealing with her own conflict. But referring
to the Books of Isaiah and Revelation, it is seen that the King must defend the
land first before he can truly tend
to the needs of the people. His first calling is to protect them against their
enemies, and secure their homeland. It is after
this great battle that He is able to bring His children the kind of life they
want, a return to peace and rest in their native city.
So it is
purely a fulfilment of duty and Scripture that decades later, after Ethiopia
had settled and started to grow and improve as a nation, that the King was able
to extend Himself personally to other states of Afrikan heritage. Judah, after protecting the Hola City in the Battle
of Armageddon against the Italian Beast, came in the aid and fortifying
interest of scattered Joseph thus repairing the breach in Isra’el.
“Thus says the Lord God: ‘Behold, O My people, I will open your
graves and cause you to come up from your graves, and bring you into the land
of Israel. Then you shall know that I am
the Lord,
when I have opened your graves, O My people, and brought you up from your
graves.
I will put My Spirit in you, and you
shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I,
the Lord,
have spoken it and performed it’ says the Lord.”
One Kingdom, One King
“Again
the word of the Lord
came to me, saying, ‘As for you, son of man, take a stick for yourself and
write on it: ‘For Judah and for the children of Israel, his companions.’ Then
take another stick and write on it, ‘For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel, his
companions.’ Then join them one to another for yourself into one stick, and
they will become one in your hand.
“And when the children of your people
speak to you, saying, ‘Will you not show us what you mean by these?’— say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Surely I
will take the stick of Joseph, which is
in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel, his companions; and I will
join them with it, with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they
will be one in My hand.”’ And the sticks on which you write will be in your
hand before their eyes.
“Then say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Surely I
will take the children of Israel from among the nations, wherever they have
gone, and will gather them from every side and bring them into their own land;
and I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel; and
one king shall be king over them all; they shall no longer be two nations, nor
shall they ever be divided into two kingdoms again. They shall not defile
themselves anymore with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with
any of their transgressions; but I will deliver them from all their dwelling
places in which they have sinned, and will cleanse them. Then they shall be My
people, and I will be their God.
“David My servant shall be king over them, and they
shall all have one shepherd; they shall also walk in My judgments and observe
My statutes, and do them. Then they shall dwell in the land that I have given
to Jacob My servant, where your fathers dwelt; and they shall dwell there, they,
their children, and their children’s children, forever; and My servant David shall be their prince forever.
Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them, and it shall be an
everlasting covenant with them; I will establish them and multiply them, and I
will set My sanctuary in their midst forevermore. My tabernacle also shall be
with them; indeed I will be their God, and they shall be My people. The nations
also will know that I, the Lord, sanctify Israel, when My sanctuary is
in their midst forevermore.”’”
(Ezekiel 37:12-28)
With the
formation of the Ethiopian World Federation (EWF) in 1937 and the Organization
for African Unity (OAU) in 1963, came a long journey to the true reunion of the
broken bands of Judah and Ephraim. The EWF
promised a home and service to the descendants of Ethiopians and all other
Afrikans whose ancestors were taken from the Motherland. The OAU gave hope to local
Afrikan presidents striving for independence from Europe, that they indeed
could rule their own land. Afrikan Liberation and Restoration was the mandate for the entire Black
race.
In 1961 and 1964 RasTafari were given special
welcome to Ethiopia on the Emperor’s behalf, where they could formally make
their plight for repatriation to Ethiopia and receive His promises of land. The
Jamaican Government hoped that the first “Mission to Ethiopia” trip would have
proved disheartening, but the Emperor along with the Presidents of Nigeria,
Liberia and Sierra Leone were welcoming of the idea of return. They saw it as
an extension of Marcus Garvey’s work for the Diaspora, being a Black man who
was highly respected by Afrikan Leaders. Instead of finding nowhere to call
home, the lost and stolen sheep of Isra’el had finally been claimed by their
True Lord and His fellow leaders. These two visits of RasTafari and other
Jamaican officials to Ethiopia started a bond with the Emperor that could not
be broken by any naysayer.
“For the Son of man is come to
seek and to save that which was lost.” (Luke 19:10)
“Most
assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.
All
who ever came before Me are
thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them.
I
am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out
and find pasture.
The thief
does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy.
I
have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.
I
am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.
But
a hireling, he who is not the
shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the
sheep and flees; and the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them.
The hireling flees because he is a hireling and does
not care about the sheep.
I
am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep,
and am known by My own. As the Father
knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep.
And other sheep I have which are not of this fold;
them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock
and one shepherd.”
(John 10:8-16)
In this kingly duty, the Emperor journeyed outside
the Continent to the Caribbean where He knew many Afrikans lived in exile and
poverty through colonialism. He came to them to give encouragement and
blessings from His kingdom. He went especially to visit Jamaica, after being
visited twice by the RasTafari. His arrival was like lightning striking from
the East to the West. It is recorded by the elders who were present to see the
King arrive, that the day that the Ethiopian Airlines reached Jamaican airspace
was filled with fulfilling prophecies and Godly signs:
When the Emperor’s plane could be heard approaching
the Jamaican airport, the misty rain that blanketed the awaiting gathering
suddenly stopped with a high wind which instantly dried their clothing. Seven
doves were seen to fly across the sky as the plane parted the clouds with the
sun and landed. A tremendous and roaring
sound burst from the crowd waiting to see the Emperor in the flesh. His Majesty
was moved to tears by the over-excited welcome being given, which was nothing
like anything He ever witnessed before in His honour by a foreign nation. He
couldn’t even dismount the plane for fear of being trampled and it was up to
His true servants - the RasTafari - to calm the masses so that the Emperor
could disembark. Like Yesus before Him, He was assured by His new disciples
(RasTafari Elders Moritmo Planno, Douglas Mack, Prince Emmanuel Charles and
others) of His own Ivine Nature, being more than just a man to them.
“Sing
unto God, sing praises to his name: extol him that rideth upon the heavens by
his name JAH, and rejoice before him.” (Psalm 68:4)
For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also
will the coming of the Son of Man be.” (Matthew 24:27)
Unto His Majesty JAH RasTafari came the gathering of
His people, a people who knew Him for who and what He truly was: the King of
Judah, Shiloh. The gathering of
Afrika’s lost children unto their true King was a necessary event in the
fulfilment of Judah’s victorious reign for Isra’el:
“Judah, you are he whom your brothers shall
praise;
Your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies;
Your father’s children shall bow down before you.
Judah is a lion’s whelp;
From the prey, my son, you have gone up.
He bows down, he lies down as a lion;
And as a lion, who shall rouse him?
The scepter shall not depart from Judah,
Nor a lawgiver from between his feet,
Until Shiloh come;
Your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies;
Your father’s children shall bow down before you.
Judah is a lion’s whelp;
From the prey, my son, you have gone up.
He bows down, he lies down as a lion;
And as a lion, who shall rouse him?
The scepter shall not depart from Judah,
Nor a lawgiver from between his feet,
Until Shiloh come;
And unto him shall the
gathering of the people be.
(Genesis 49:8-10)
RasTafari Brethren were given more than one
opportunity to meet personally with the Emperor during His short visit on the
island. They were afforded an audience that only dignitaries and rich members
of society were given. And this was not unnoticed by said ruling class, who
would never be “caught dead” associating with the “dutty” Rastas. Like Yesus
Kristos, the Emperor did not treat the lower class of society as scum or
riff-raff. He dined with the “unwashed ones” even though the Pharisees objected
by rules of law (See Matthew 15 and Mark 7). The reality was that the Jamaican
government had been hoping the Emperor would ignore the RasTafari, so that their
“nonsense” about His divinity and their demands for reparations and repatriation
to Ethiopia would stop. Jamaica’s White leaders wanted a confirmation from Him
that He was not a Black God. But His Imperial Majesty did quite the opposite: ignored
the drama and welcomed the RasTafari with open arms.
“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they
follow Me.
And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall
anyone snatch them out of My hand.
My Father, who has given them
to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand. I
and My Father are one.” (John 10:
27-30)
Indeed I will make those of the synagogue of Satan, who say they are Jews and are
not, but lie—indeed I will make them come and worship before your feet, and to
know that I have loved you.
Because you have kept My command to persevere, I
also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole
world, to test those who dwell on the earth.
Behold, I am coming quickly! Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your
crown.
(Revelations
3:9-11)
RasTafari brethren met privately with the Emperor
where He presented them with medallions for their Ethiopian patriotism. They
presented the Emperor with gifts also, as the three Magi that came to meet the
baby Yesus. Repatriation documents were even submitted for His review. The
Emperor made it known that Ethiopia would remain open to her lost brothers and
sisters in the West as they shared the same blood and race. All that RasTafari
had been enduring at the hands of the Jamaican elite was paying off with such
affection. Their unwavering faith saw them - His disciples and followers -
accepted and acknowledged by their True King in the faces of all those who scorned
and denied them.
The Emperor through the EWF offered Ephraim return
and restoration to Judah. RasTafari and all other Afrikans of the Diaspora were
given a chance to start their lives again in the kingdom of their forefathers.
The land grant of five gashas at Shashemene - private land of the Emperor - is
considered by RasTafari to be the prepared New Jerusalem. It is a reward to
those who followed the Shepherd. In the earlier decades from the 1960s to 1970s
groups of RasTafari moved to Afrika and dwelled in the Land of their God and
fathers, fulfilling the restoration of the Saints to New Jerusalem. The Twelve
Tribes of Isra’el is one mansion that still aids in successful migration to
Ethiopia from the West to date.
(See in
addition to the Scripture below Jeremiah 31:6-11, Zephaniah
3:9-20, Revelation
7:1-6, 9-17).
Now I saw a new heaven and a
new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there
was no more sea.
Then I, John, saw the holy
city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride
adorned for her husband.
And I heard a loud voice
from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men,
and He will dwell with them,
and they shall be His people.
God Himself will be with
them and be their God.
(Revelation 21:1-3)
But now, thus says the Lord,
who created you, O Jacob,
And He who formed you, O Israel:
“ Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name;
You are Mine.
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you.
When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you.
For I am the Lord your God, The Holy One of Israel, your Saviour;
I gave Egypt for your ransom, Ethiopia and Seba in your place.
Since you were precious in My sight, You have been honoured,
And I have loved you; Therefore I will give men for you,
And people for your life.
Fear not, for I am with you; I will bring your descendants from the east,
And gather you from the west;
I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’ And to the south, ‘Do not keep them back!’
Bring My sons from afar, And My daughters from the ends of the earth—
And He who formed you, O Israel:
“ Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name;
You are Mine.
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you.
When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you.
For I am the Lord your God, The Holy One of Israel, your Saviour;
I gave Egypt for your ransom, Ethiopia and Seba in your place.
Since you were precious in My sight, You have been honoured,
And I have loved you; Therefore I will give men for you,
And people for your life.
Fear not, for I am with you; I will bring your descendants from the east,
And gather you from the west;
I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’ And to the south, ‘Do not keep them back!’
Bring My sons from afar, And My daughters from the ends of the earth—
Everyone who is called by My
name, Whom I have created for My glory;
I have formed him, yes, I have made him.”
I have formed him, yes, I have made him.”
(Isaiah 43:1-7).
The Awakened RasTafari Identity
And so,
bearing these various points in mind, RasTafari adopted in part an Ethiopian
Hebrew-Israelite identity and loyality to the reborn King David of Judah. This
Iritual Identity comes first by feeling that we belong to another land and
livity being the children of the “stolen ones.” This very real and blood-tied
Afrikan awakening became a sacred and Ital lifestyle promoted by Black I-story
and tradition. It planted foundation within the Biblical Hebrew Covenant of
Isra’el where Ethiopia and Judah are married by the union of Solomon’s Ethiopian
son Emperor Menelik I and the Ark of the Covenant. His rule brought Ethiopia,
Arabia and other parts of the Afrikan Empire under “Jewish” rule – branches of
David from the Nile to the Euphrates as promised in the Covenant of Abraham.
“Behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord,
“That I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness;
A King shall reign and prosper,
And execute judgment and righteousness in the earth.
In His days Judah will be saved,
And Israel will dwell safely;
Now this is His name by which He will be called:
“That I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness;
A King shall reign and prosper,
And execute judgment and righteousness in the earth.
In His days Judah will be saved,
And Israel will dwell safely;
Now this is His name by which He will be called:
THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.
(Jeremiah 23:5-6)
In that
awakening RasTafari proclaim that the Light of the Living God is within us, and
that we have come to stretch our hands forth unto JAH through Ethiopia. I and I
know our righteous Ivine purpose through the Person, Word and Irit of King of
Kings and Lord of Lords Emperor Haile Selassie I (Psalm 68:5-6, 31). Being the
One Who fought for us, represented us, and reclaimed us truly marks a Messenger
and the Elect of JAH Himself. Therefore RasTafari are those who were once displaced
but who found their true identity through being positively affected by His
Majesty’s works and reign. RasTafari sight and acknowledge the Root of David
that has the Anointing upon Him, and hail livication unto Ethiopia, her King, Hola
Land, relics and Way of Life.
Judah and
Joseph/Ephraim reveal themselves to be alive in the Black Nations who were
stolen from all parts of Afrika in the Transatlantic Slave Trade. In knowing
this truth, RasTafari bring ourselves out of White Supremacist mainstream bondage
back into Black Heritage. Being restored unto Ethiopia Afrika means standing up
for that blood-right and never accepting foreign doctrine over our own
indigenous heritage, truth and knowledge. The Black God-King’s Irit and mission
for righteousness, truth and knowledge is a saving-power to the race and to all
races that want to come out of this current state of slavery the world is in.
The Black God-King is a Captain of Peace and Right that champions policy,
state, family and church as Servant of the Living God of His People - Selah. Because
the King of Kings wanted to see peace on Earth and goodwill pass between all
races and countries, we are all flying the banner of JAH RasTafari when we
abide in peace, rights, Inity and love, with Ethiopia and her God-Head; making
New Jerusalem the reality of our world.
For He will deliver the
needy when he cries,
The poor also, and him who has no helper.
He will spare the poor and needy,
And will save the souls of the needy.
He will redeem their life from oppression and violence;
And precious shall be their blood in His sight.
The poor also, and him who has no helper.
He will spare the poor and needy,
And will save the souls of the needy.
He will redeem their life from oppression and violence;
And precious shall be their blood in His sight.
And He shall live;
And the gold of Sheba will be given to Him;
Prayer also will be made for Him continually,
And daily He shall be praised.
And the gold of Sheba will be given to Him;
Prayer also will be made for Him continually,
And daily He shall be praised.
(Psalm
72: 12-15)
Let JAH be praised Itinually!
Sis. Ila Addis
