The Monarchy and the Throne of Great Britain are part of a divinely ordained royal succession that is descended from the scepter-holding line of Judah, and the royal throne of David. The evidence for this can be traced as far back as Abraham, but this article will concentrate on later evidence, including that from England's Coronation Service.

At the coronation of Edgar in 973, and at each coronation since, the scepter -- the sign of kingly power, promised never to depart from the line of Judah -- has been a part of the regalia bestowed upon the monarch at his or her enthronement. The anointing of the monarch's head with holy chrism, a fragrant mixture of olive oil and balsam, accompanied by prayers calling upon the holy spirit to descend and sanctify the monarch, recalls the Kings of the Old Testament who were similarly anointed.

There is, too, a solemn moment in the Coronation Service which inextricably joins the British monarch to King David's son, Solomon, the first after David to sit on the throne which YEHOVAH God promised would never become empty: it is the ritual of anointing in the Coronation Service when the anthem, "Zadok the priest, and Nathan the prophet, anointed Solomon king," is sung, together with the acclamation, "God save the King, long live the King, may the King live for ever."

These rituals connected with the kingly line -- which was both promised and begun in the Old Testament -- have been a part of the English coronation service going back at least to the time of King Edgar, to the present Coronation ceremony as it was last enacted in 1953 for the present monarch, Queen Elizabeth II.

There is another item which links the patriarchs of the biblical lands and the throne of Britain: it is a block of sandstone, called in Irish the Lia Fail, and in English the Stone of Destiny. A tradition regarding the Stone is that it is the stone that Jacob used as a pillow, as told in the Book of Genesis. The Stone has played a role in the coronations of many kings and queens of Ireland, Argyll, Scotland, and England -- including the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II.

It became known as the Stone of Destiny because it was alleged that the stone had the oracular property of "roaring" when a rightful heir to the throne was seated on it. In Ireland, a stone slab or flagstone played an essential part in the inauguration of a monarch, and the Stone of Destiny is the most celebrated of many such. Fergus Mor Mac Erca appears to have had knowledge of the virtues of the Stone of Destiny, because he sent a request to his brother Muircheartach in Ireland to send the Stone to Argyll for Fergus' coronation as king of that part of Scotland.

Three and a half centuries later the Stone was still in Scotland and in use, and in 843 when Kenneth MacAlpin transferred the center of his kingdom to the Pictish east he moved the Stone of Destiny to Scone, near Perth, and set the Stone in a wooden throne. It was on this throne that Kenneth and all his descendants were crowned king of Scotland, until the time of the English king, Edward I. The Stone of Destiny is still today sometimes referred to as the Stone of Scone. Edward I took the Stone of Destiny in 1296 during his Scottish campaign, and placed it in Westminster Abbey at the shrine of Edward the Confessor where, set beneath the Coronation Chair, it became the royal seat and part of the English Coronation service, from where it has played an important role in the succession of monarchs.

At some point in Irish history, a prophetic rune became attached to the Stone, which Sir Walter Scott translated as:

Unless the fates have faithless grown,
And prophet's voice be vain,
Where'er is found this sacred stone,
The wanderers' race will reign.

Are the British the wanderers' race? Are the British people descended from those ten tribes of Israelites who settled in Scythia, dispersed through Asia Minor, and then went on to Europe, and are now reconciled, as the prophets always said they would be, with their Judean counterparts in Great Britain through the British monarchy? These are huge matters. But Scripture must be fulfilled, and if it is being fulfilled in and through the British nation, then they have a great heritage but also one which comes with great responsibility.

When James VI of Scotland ascended the English throne as King James I, he proclaimed a view of the monarchy that accorded with YEHOVAH God's promise of an enduring throne of David. James came to the throne with the firm belief that the sovereign had a right to the throne that was derived directly from YEHOVAH God: a belief that came to be known as the Divine Right of Kings, by which the King was the rightful inheritor of the Crown, to whom his subjects rendered fealty.

None of the Hanoverians claimed a Divine Right of Kings. The alliance of YEHOVAH God and the monarchy was now sealed by the hand of Providence, which was seen to have been instrumental in bringing the House of Hanover to the throne. At the Coronation of George I, William Talbot, Bishop of Oxford, in his Coronation sermon cast Britain in the role of the new Israel, eulogizing the new king as being of the line of King David, and taking as his text: "This is the day which the Lord has made; we will be rejoice and be glad in it" (Psalm 118:24).

These lines from Psalm 118 were traditionally composed by David after his anointing as King of Israel. Such a reference to the divine nature of the appointment of this ruler from the new Hanoverian dynasty was not confined to the Coronation of George I. At his successor's Coronation, John Potter, the Bishop of Oxford, exalted the new king, George II, as "seated on God's throne, and King for the Lord his God."

During Victoria's reign, various publications began to appear, detailing the Queen's descent from King David. It appears that Queen Victoria was neither unaware of, nor unsympathetic to, these views. Reader Harris, K.C., the founder of the Pentecostal League, wrote in his book, The Lost Tribes of Israel, that: "Queen Victoria was herself interested in this, and it is said that she showed the Revd. Glover, who was a great authority on this subject, her own genealogy right back to King David."

Following the death of Queen Victoria in 1901, the name Saxe-Coburg-Gotha lasted only sixteen years. In 1917, King George V announced to the British nation, now war-weary as a result of the Great War, that the nominal link with Germany was to be severed. Henceforth, the House of Windsor would reign.

On the death of King George V in 1936, it was confidently expected that David, Prince of Wales, would in due course succeed to the throne. He did in fact become King, taking the title of Edward VIII. But on the 10th December, 1936, he abdicated in order to marry Mrs. Bessie Wallis Warfield, better known as Wallis Simpson. His place was taken by his brother, Albert, who was enthroned and crowned as King George VI, together with his consort, Queen Elizabeth. The genealogical descent of his consort, Queen Elizabeth, is significant. Formerly the Lady Elizabeth Bowes­Lyon, the Bowes-Lyon family is traceable back to the Scottish king, Robert the Bruce. Our present Queen, Elizabeth II, is therefore descended from King David through both of her parents.

At the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953, an anthem was sung just prior to the enthronement: "Be strong and of good courage." In the Old Testament, Moses is credited with speaking these exact words to the people of Israel as they are about to cross the River Jordan and enter the land that was promised to their forefathers. The analogy between the reign of our Queen and the imminence of Israel about to cross a threshold (the Jordan) into a new and promised era is worth considering.

So what might that new destination or era be? In reply to this question, I would like to take you back in time to the shores of the Sea of Galilee. The four disciples who had formerly been fishermen -- Simon Peter, his brother Andrew, and the two brothers, James and John -- had been called by the Messiah to "Follow me," and told from that time on, instead of being fishermen, they were to be "fishers of men," catching people, and not fish. But in the final chapter of the Gospel of John we find Simon Peter and six of the other disciples, including James and John, going fishing. They toil all night, but by morning they have caught nothing.

In the morning light, while still in the boat, they see the Messiah standing on the shore; but they do not recognize him. Yeshua calls to them, "Children, have you any food?" They call back "No," Yeshua responds "Cast your net on the right side, and you will catch some." So the disciples cast the net, and now the net fills up with so many fish that the disciples are unable to draw it in. Simon Peter plunges into the sea, and drags the net to the land, full of large fish, totaling one hundred and fifty-three; and although there were so many, the net was not broken.

The writer of the Gospel does not tell us what they all discussed over their breakfast, but he does provide us with a possible clue. When the Messiah tells his disciple Peter to “feed my sheep,” Peter turns and sees another disciple following and asks, "Lord, what about this man?" to which the Messiah replies, "If I will that he remain until I come, what is that to you?" This exchange must have been overheard, because the rumor went about that that disciple would not die.

Is this what the conversation over breakfast had been about: the return of the Messiah? And if so, is this why the Gospel writer tells us the actual number of fish that they caught, and that they were large fish? Is its meaning to do with the end time, when the Messiah will return to sit on the throne of David -- as promised by YEHOVAH God?

In Daughters of Destiny, I trace the genealogical descent of the people who might be the human equivalent of those large fish, beginning with Adam and leading through to Queen, Elizabeth II. As the book progresses, tables of people that comprise this descent are provided, with each person numbered, beginning with Adam who is number one, and ending with the present Queen, Elizabeth II, who is number one hundred and fifty-two.

This means that Her Majesty's successor will bring us to the number that equals the count of the large fish that the disciples caught. This is the number which the Gospel writer considered of sufficient importance to pass on to us because he thought that it might relate to the time when the Messiah will return. The Messiah himself said that no one but his Father knows the day or the hour of his return; but he did say that we should keep alert and look for and interpret the signs of his return.

The remarkable genealogy of Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, reveals that the monarch seated on the throne of Britain fulfils the promises that YEHOVAH God made to Judah of an everlasting scepter, and to King David that he would never lack a person to sit on his throne. When the Messiah returns, according to Scripture he will be given the throne of David -- which presently is the throne of Britain. That time might be near.

Hope of Israel Ministries -- Preparing the Way for the Return of YEHOVAH God and His Messiah!

Hope of Israel Ministries P.O. Box 853 Azusa, CA 91702, U.S.A. www.hope-of-israel.org

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