Hope of Israel Ministries (Ecclesia of YEHOVAH):

A Prophecy Not Well Known

by Richard Ibbett

Joshua, who became the leader of Israel after the death of Moses, was nearing the end of his life. Reading from Joshua 24:1 "And Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem,..." Continuing in verses 25-26: "So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day,...And Joshua wrote these words in the book of the law of God, and took a great stone,..."

In the Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament by Harris, Archer and Waltke, under the word "great" (word number 315d) we read: "... meaning 'many' in number and other intensified concepts like 'loudness,' in sound, being old in years, great in importance." Continuing with verse 26 "...and set it up there under an oak, [terebinth. ESV] that was by the sanctuary of the LORD." "An oak," should read, "the oak," as there is a definite article here. In regard to this oak, the 1962 Wycliffe Bible Commentary states: "This tree is mentioned in Genesis 12:6 (literally, the terebinth of the teacher for 'the plain of Moreh'; Compare Genesis 35:4). This tree would have been well over 500 years old at the time of Joshua. Terebinth trees are known to live longer than 1000 years."

Verse 27:

"And Joshua said unto all the people, 'Behold, this stone shall be a witness unto us; for it hath heard all the words of the LORD which He spake unto us: (it shall be therefore a witness unto you, lest ye deny your God).'"

There are four words in the Septuagint (the ancient Greek version of the Old testament), that are not found in the King James Bible, or in any version translated from the Masoretic text. Following is the section of verse 27 above, that was put in brackets. This time from the first English translation of the Greek Septuagint by Charles Thomson, published in 1808. The missing words are underlined. "... and this shall be among you for a witness in the latter days, whenever you prove false to the LORD my God." The addition of these four words, create a prophecy for the very days in which we are now living.

According to the Septuagint, there would be a witness stone of "great importance," among the descendants of Israel in the latter days. Only one stone fulfils this prophecy: The Liafail, or Stone of Destiny. The Coronation Stone of the Monarchs of Israel, both ancient and modern. On May 6 this year, God willing, King Charles III will be anointed King in the presence of this stone, when the words of the coronation ceremony will proclaim: "...as Solomon was anointed King by Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet, so be thou anointed, blessed and consecrated King over the peoples whom the LORD thy God has given thee to rule and govern..."

Four later English translations of the Septuagint all say much the same thing as the translation by Charles Thomson. Except in these four, "latter days" is written as "last days," and in one of them, the last four words of verse 27 read, "the LORD your God" in place of "the LORD my God."

In the presence of the stone of witness, when Joshua was about to renew the covenant between God and the children of Israel, the people said to him in Joshua 24:24, "...The LORD our God we will serve, and His voice we will obey." So what about today? As was foretold, the stone of witness, in these latter days, remains among God's people Israel. Not long from now, many millions of the descendants of those who stood before Joshua at Shechem, will see this stone removed from Edinburgh in Scotland, to Westminster Abbey in London for the coronation. There will no doubt be worldwide coverage of this event in the media. How many of those descendants of Israel, will know that this very stone they are looking at, stands as a witness unto us all? And how many today, serve the LORD our God, and obey His voice?