British Israelism

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Jeremiah 43:5-7

"But Johanan . . . took all the remnant of Judah . . . and the king's daughters, . . . into the land of Egypt."

Problem:

Armstrong reasons on the basis of these verses that David's throne was preserved by one of King Zedekiah's daughters fleeing to Egypt. The royal seed was then replanted about 580 B.C. in Ireland, "later overturned a second time and replanted in Scotland, overturned a third time planted in London, from where it cannot be overturned or moved again until the coming of Christ, when it once again shall be overturned and transplanted back in Jerusalem."¹

The royal party "brought with them some remarkable things, including the harp, an ark, and a wonderful stone called 'Lia-Fail', or 'stone of destiny' . . . many kings in the history of Ireland, Scotland, and England have been coronated sitting over this stone, - including the present queen. The stone rests, today, in Westminster Abbey in London, and the Coronation Chair is built over and around it. A sign beside it labels it 'Jacob's pillar-stone.' (Gen. 28:18)." ²

Solution:

1. Even if Zedekiah's daughters had escaped as stated, they were not in the royal line. Zedekiah was an interloper instated by the Babylonians. "And he [Nebuchadnezzar] carried away Jehoiachin [King of Judah] to Babylon, and the king's mother, and the king's wives, and his officers, and the mighty of the land, those carried he into captivity from Jerusalem to Babylon . . . And the king of Babylon made Mattaniah his father's brother king in his stead, and changed his name to Zedekiah." (2 Kings 24:17). See also the genealogy in Matt. 1:11-13. This evidence completely destroys the case Armstrong is trying to make for the transplantation of the "royal seed."
   
2. Armstrong presents the escape of the daughters of King Zedekiah as a providential move to preserve the "royal seed". Scripture, however, makes it clear that the move to Egypt was for punishment. "So they came into the land of Egypt: for they obeyed not the voice of the LORD . . . " (Jer. 43:7). Even while in Egypt their wickedness was manifest: " . . . ye provoke me unto wrath with the works of your hands, burning incense unto other gods in the land of Egypt . . . " (Jer. 44:8). All but a small number escaped since God had declared "they shall all be consumed, and fall in the land of Egypt . . . they shall die, from the least even unto the greatest, by the sword and by the famine . . . " (Jer. 44:12).
   
3. Armstrong reasons that the small number (Jer. 44:28) included the "royal seed" which departed for Ireland. This conclusion does not follow for these reasons:
   1. The alleged royal seed is not mentioned as escaping. The fact that "all the women" (Jer. 44:15), told Jeremiah that they would not listen to him, but rather preferred the queen of heaven is suggestive that the King's daughters did not escape. (See Jer. 44:16,18).
   2. Those who did escape returned to Judah (Jer. 44:14,28). Scripture is silent about a trip to Ireland.
      
4. The evidence that the Coronation Stone in Westminster Abbey is the stone Jacob used for a pillow is not conclusive. Consider the following:
   1. The Coronation Stone is red sandstone, the stones of Bethel are white limestone.
   2. Jacob said, "And this stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall be God's house . . . " (Gen. 28:22). To set the stone for a pillar is not the kind of language one would ordinarily associate with taking the stone with him on the journey.

5. Ezekiel makes no reference to the throne of David being removed to a different location. This information must be read into the passage. The language employed by Ezekiel is an emphatic denial that the throne of David existed anywhere after the death of Zedekiah. " . . . and it shall be no more, until he come whose right it is . . . "³ (Ezek. 21:27, cf. "there shall not be even a trace of it until he comes whose right it is", R.S.V.).

6. "I will overturn, overturn, overturn, it", ("ruin, ruin, ruin", R.S.V.) may be emphatic emphasis⁴ for the overturning by the Babylonians in the time of Zedekiah, or it may refer to the three invasions by the Babylonians, Antiochus Epiphanes and Titus. The language, "remove the diadem, and take off the crown" (Ezek. 21:26) - symbols of the political government, indicates a termination of the Davidic throne. It would remain so "until he come" - the Lord Jesus Christ. Israel was subsequently to remain "many days without a prince, and without a sacrifice". (Hosea 3:4). This language is incompatible with Armstrong's claim that the Davidic throne merely changed location with out interruption of continuity.

1. Herbert W. Armstrong, The United States and the British Commonwealth in Prophecy, (Pasadena: Ambassador College, 1954), p. 20. Return

2. Ibid., p. 19. Return

3. "Abase him that is high" (Ezek. 21:26) is likely a reference to the subsequent degradation suffered by the wicked King Zedekiah at the hands of the Babylonians. (see 2 Kings 25:7). "Exalt him that is low" may refer to the poor left in the land. (see Jer. 40:7). Return

4. Note the similarity of emphasis on the word "earth" in Jer. 22:29. Return