A Stone of Destiny

Inside Westminster Abbey in London, England, sits the old coronation chair on which the kings of Ireland, Scotland and England were crowned. There was a stone under that chair until 1996, when it was moved to Scotland. The stone was returned to London in 2023 and placed under that chair for Charles iii’s coronation, but then returned to Perth, Scotland.

This stone is rich in history. Like Britain’s royal family, it too points back to Britain’s inspiring connection with King David and biblical Israel. Beyond that, what has happened with that stone in recent years is a great warning to Britain—and a gigantic sign of where God is working today!

Some people take issue with the idea that God would put such emphasis on a physical rock. But before you dismiss the idea, read the biblical history. The fact is, God does use physical objects at times to convey crucial spiritual truths!

Arrival in Ireland

God’s Church has been talking about this stone for decades.

Herbert Armstrong wrote in The United States and Britain in Prophecy: “[I]n 569 b.c. (date of Jeremiah’s transplanting), an elderly, white-haired patriarch, sometimes referred to as a ‘saint,’ came to Ireland. With him was the princess daughter of an eastern king and a companion called ‘Simon Brach,’ spelled in different histories as Breck, Berech, Brach or Berach. The princess had a Hebrew name Tephi—a pet name—her full name being Tea-Tephi. …

“This royal party included the son of the king of Ireland who had been in Jerusalem at the time of the siege. There he had become acquainted with Tea-Tephi. He married her shortly after 585—when the city fell. Their young son, now about 12 years of age, accompanied them to Ireland. Besides the royal family, Jeremiah brought with them some remarkable things, including a harp, an ark, and a wonderful stone called ‘lia-fail,’ or ‘stone of destiny.’ A peculiar coincidence (?) is that Hebrew reads from right to left, while English reads from left to right. Read this name either way—and it still is ‘lia-fail.’

“Another strange coincidence—or is it just coincidence?—is that 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’ (Genesis 28:18).”

Years after that was written, English officials removed the stone from underneath the old coronation chair, returning it to Scotland. Why? Because England has degenerated in its faith. The once great British Empire has lost the knowledge of its identity as Ephraim, one of the most important tribes of Israel.

Why is this stone called the “stone of destiny”? No other nation in history has had a coronation stone like England does. No other nation on Earth can claim such a breathtaking, rich history for its throne.

A Miracle Stone

The remarkable origin of this stone is described in Genesis 28:10-22. There is something special here that commentaries struggle to explain. But let’s just accept what the Bible says!

Jacob, tired after a long journey, stopped for the night. “And he lighted upon a certain place, and tarried there all night, because the sun was set; and he took of the stones of that place, and put them for his pillows, and lay down in that place to sleep” (verse 11). Notice that he took of the stones—plural—and put them—plural—for his pillows, probably covered with his coat or some animal hide.

“And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, Surely the Lord is in this place; and I knew it not” (verse 16). What made Jacob think that?

“And he was afraid, and said, How dreadful is this place! this is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven” (verse 17). These are profound words! Jacob was commenting about something that had happened. He realized God was there, and the way he viewed it, there was a gate into heaven!

“And Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put for his pillows, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil upon the top of it” (verse 18). Notice—those “stones” from verse 11 are now one single “stone.”

These stones became one stone! There is no other way to read the Hebrew. Surely no small part of Jacob’s excitement was about this miracle! “How dreadful is this place” is a poor translation. Gesenius’ Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon defines the word dreadful as “to fear; to reverence as one’s parents; … to tremble for joy; … stupendous; admirable; wonderful.” Jacob was filled with wonder and joy at what had happened! He realized that God had performed a tremendous miracle! These stones had literally become one stone: Jacob’s pillar stone.

Thus began the history of England’s “stone of destiny”!

What had been a pillow, Jacob turned into a “pillar.” The word for pillar, matstsebah in the Hebrew, means a memorial stone. What does God want us to remember about that stone? What is it a memorial of? This was an event where God was personally involved, performing miracles! Jacob knew it was something to really get excited about!

If you want a gate right into heaven—or if you want contact with this God of miracles and of great power—here is how to do it.

Why don’t more people believe this history? Why is it so hard for scholars to understand this? It shows how strong Satan’s power is that he could obscure such a wonderful miracle.

Jacob changed the name of that place to Bethel (verse 19), which means house of God. This stone was called the house of God, and that place where the stone was located was also called the house of God. God actually dwelled there, in that house!

This stone—which you can visit to this day—had great symbolism. God called that place His house because He was right there with that stone and performed a miracle to turn the stones into one stone. That stone represented something very special that points out into the universe and eternity!

Jacob vowed, “If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on, So that I come again to my father’s house in peace; then shall the Lord be my God: And this stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall be God’s house: and of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee” (verses 20-22).

He is talking about how God will protect us. This is really about how a nation can either survive or not survive, or how an individual can survive or not survive. That is how important this is! If you understand it, you can see that it is a great promise—and also a very great warning!

Why did Jacob do this? Because there was no temple or even a movable tabernacle in his day. Yet he was given an incredible vision of the future about the place in which he slept. Jacob realized that God was going to have a house built to conduct His Work from that place—so he called the stone God’s house. The stone on which he slept would have great significance throughout Israel’s history. This is why it is so appropriate to call Jacob’s pillar stone a “stone of destiny.”

During Jacob’s lifetime, the stone was used to show where God was operating from. Do you realize that Great Britain still possesses that very stone? The English people used to recognize that the stone under the old coronation chair was Jacob’s pillar stone written about in Genesis 28. The history of that stone goes all the way back to the beginning of Israel’s history as a nation!

This knowledge has become embarrassing to the British because of their degenerating faith. Even prior to giving the stone to Scotland, they had removed the sign identifying it as “Jacob’s pillar stone.” Removing a sign does not change history! God has made Himself so well known throughout Israel’s history that they are without excuse!

There were 12 tribes in the nation of Israel. Mr. Armstrong taught us from Scripture that Ephraim (one of Joseph’s sons) was prophesied to be one of the main tribes. With his brother Manasseh, Ephraim was also to carry the name Israel (Genesis 48:16). God changed their grandfather Jacob’s name to Israel when he was converted. And today, we see a stone that could identify where Israel is, if only the people would prove it from the Scriptures.

Jacob’s Name Changed to Israel

Genesis 35 records where God changed Jacob’s name to Israel. “And God said unto him, Thy name is Jacob: thy name shall not be called any more Jacob, but Israel shall be thy name: and he called his name Israel” (verse 10). Do you know where this landmark event took place? In Bethel, where the miracle had occurred with the stone of destiny.

Right in this context, God issues a landmark prophecy for the end time: “And God said unto him, I am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall be of thee, and kings shall come out of thy loins; And the land which I gave Abraham and Isaac, to thee I will give it, and to thy seed after thee will I give the land. And God went up from him in the place where he talked with him” (verses 11-13). What a prophecy! This dovetails with other scriptures to show what the nations descended from Jacob would be like in our time. It reveals essential understanding about the birthright nations of Israel, which were to become “a [great] nation,” meaning the United States, and a “company of nations,” meaning Britain and its Commonwealth.

What did Jacob do when God revealed this knowledge to him? “And Jacob set up a pillar in the place where he talked with him, even a pillar of stone: and he poured a drink offering thereon, and he poured oil thereon. And Jacob called the name of the place where God spake with him, Bethel [which means house of God]” (verses 14-15). Jacob set up a pillar of stone and poured wine and oil on it. Jacob’s pillar stone is directly associated with these two great end-time nations!

This passage shows a sacred promise from God to Jacob that his family would include two great nations in the end time. This promise is made in the context of a stone—or, you could say, in the context of God’s house (Genesis 28:18, 22). But there is also an implied promise from God that at the end time, if you look closely into one of these two great nations, you will find a stone associated with this prophecy!

Jacob’s Name Passed to Joseph’s Sons

At the end of Jacob’s life, his beloved son Joseph visited him with his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim (Genesis 48). At that meeting, Jacob reminded Joseph of that history: “… God Almighty appeared unto me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and blessed me, And said unto me, Behold, I will make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, and I will make of thee a multitude of people …” (verses 3-4). Mr. Armstrong proved in The United States and Britain in Prophecy that Ephraim is Great Britain and Manasseh is the United States. He also showed that these verses applied to the end time.

Jacob—or Israel—adopted these two grandsons (verse 5). He asked Joseph to bring them before him so he could bless them. In his prayer of blessing, Israel said, “The Angel which redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads; and let my name [Israel] be named on them [Ephraim and Manasseh], and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth” (verse 16). At the same time Jacob was blessing Joseph’s two sons, he was also teaching a history lesson—a lesson we need to be reminded of. He was cementing in the boys’ minds the importance of the pillar stone by reminding them of the “Angel” who helped him. He was also showing the boys the significance of their roots. Their heritage came from Abraham and Isaac.

Can you hear the detractors of that day criticizing Jacob? They very well could have said Jacob was worshiping Abraham and Isaac! But Jacob wasn’t. He was carrying on a name and a tradition, passing on God’s promises that had come through Abraham and Isaac. Jacob’s prophecies for Ephraim and Manasseh were to reach through the centuries to our time now.

That stone is a witness of God’s promises made to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, whose name God changed to Israel. What a stone of destiny!

“And when Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand upon the head of Ephraim, it displeased him: and he held up his father’s hand, to remove it from Ephraim’s head unto Manasseh’s head. And Joseph said unto his father, Not so, my father: for this is the firstborn; put thy right hand upon his head. And his father refused, and said, I know it, my son, I know it: he also shall become a people, and he also shall be great: but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his seed shall become a multitude of nations” (verses 17-19).

This remarkable event foretold the history of England and the United States. God revealed to Jacob what would happen to the descendants of his two grandsons during our time now! Collectively, they were to grow into a multitude of people on Earth. Ephraim, the younger son, was to be a “multitude of nations.” No other nation could fulfill this prophecy but Britain, with its Commonwealth. Ephraim’s older brother, Manasseh, was to become one great nation in the end time. Only the United States could fulfill this prophecy. The offspring of these two young boys was to assume great wealth and power. Who could deny that this refers to the United States and Great Britain?

What mind-staggering truth!

Joshua’s Stone of Witness

Jacob’s pillar stone subsequently followed the nation throughout its history.

Dr. Herman L. Hoeh wrote about this stone in the July 1953 Plain Truth magazine: “[The stone is] steel gray in color, mixed with red veins, 22 inches long, 13 inches broad and 11 inches deep.” He then pointed back to its origins with Jacob, particularly a crucial statement he made by calling it a “shepherd”:

“Notice Genesis 49:1. Jacob called his sons together and told them what would befall them in our day, ‘in the last days.’ In verse 24, when speaking of Joseph’s descendants, he interjects by saying that from the tribe of Joseph—not Judah—will be found ‘the shepherd, the stone of Israel.’

“This same rock—the coronation stone—accompanied the Israelites during their 40 years wandering in the wilderness. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 10:4 that just as the Israelites had manna as a type of Christ, so they had, as a type of Christ, a rock which gave them water and which followed or went with them in their wanderings! Christ provides spiritual waters—the Holy Spirit, and Jacob’s shepherd stone, a type of the divine Shepherd, miraculously provided material water in the wilderness. …

“During those 40 years the stone accompanied Israel. That is undoubtedly why the two iron rings fastened to either end are so worn.”

Here is an interesting chapter in the history of Jacob’s pillar stone: “And all the men of Shechem gathered together, and all the house of Millo, and went, and made Abimelech king, by the plain of the pillar that was in Shechem” (Judges 9:6). In the time of the judges, a king of Israel was being crowned “by the plain of the pillar.” This phrase is better translated “by the oak of the pillar.” This “oak of the pillar” is related to Jacob’s pillar!

Let’s rewind to another incident that happened in the days of Joshua: “And Joshua wrote these words in the book of the law of God, and took a great stone, and set it up there under an oak, that was by the sanctuary of the Lord. 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” (Joshua 24:26-27). Joshua was pronouncing an important covenant in the same location where the crowning in Judges 9:6 occurred. Which stone did Joshua mean? It is the same stone as the one described in Genesis 28:18: Jacob’s pillar stone (the King James center reference makes the same connection). To which oak do these verses refer? The oak in Judges 9:6.

The stone is to be a witness to all of Israel. Why? Because it heard “all the words of the Lord.” The stone doesn’t actually hear, but it does represent God’s house, which has recorded much of that history. What Joshua was really saying was that the stone and what it represented, and “all the words of the Lord,” would be a witness against Israel!

It all started with Jacob, whose name was changed to Israel at his conversion. So this stone was taken into Egypt and through the wilderness until Joshua’s death. But that is not all. Joshua 24:27 states: “it shall be therefore a witness unto you.” The word “shall” includes the future as well as the past. It continues to be a witness to the people of Israel until their birth into God’s Family.

Let’s not forget that the book of Joshua is part of the former prophets, so it is prophecy for today and the future. What Joshua spoke here is important for all of God’s people today.

Some religious critics scoff at this history and prophecy. But that only condemns their lack of faith: They don’t believe their own Bibles!

So we can see that Israel—especially the British people—have had a powerful witness against them by having the throne of David, with the stone of destiny. God holds them accountable for that exceptional witness.

More importantly, the Eternal holds His lukewarm Church today far more accountable for rejecting that precious truth!

A Coronation Pillar Stone

When Israel was rent in two, the stone stayed with the kingdom of Judah. 2 Chronicles 23 records a coronation that took place many years later, in the ninth century b.c.: “Then they brought out the king’s son, and put upon him the crown, and gave him the testimony, and made him king. And Jehoiada and his sons anointed him, and said, God save the king. Now when Athaliah heard the noise of the people running and praising the king, she came to the people into the house of the Lord: And she looked, and, behold, the king stood at his pillar …. Then Athaliah rent her clothes, and said, Treason, Treason” (verses 11-13). Isn’t it interesting that God records this coronation of a king taking place next to a pillar stone?

How many pillars do you think would be used in a coronation ceremony? Are there 5, 10, 50, 100? There is only one—Jacob’s pillar stone! After the king was crowned, the people shouted, “God save the king”! That sounds very English! Or should we say Jewish? It is a very biblical statement! Remember, this famous shout was made in the presence of the pillar stone.

This is the story of Joash’s coronation. At that time a great civil war raged in Israel. Athaliah was an evil queen who had usurped her authority by slaying all the princes. She ruled from 843 to 837 b.c. But Joash was hidden from her. These verses describe Joash’s coronation in a religious service by a pillar, of all things. The people had had enough of this evil queen and were becoming more religious. They were weary of the horrible times. They realized they had to get back to their roots—back to the religion and promises associated with Jacob’s pillar stone. If they did this, they knew God would back the nation.

There is a great lesson here for us today. We need to be sure we know where God’s house, or God’s pillar, is. If you are standing in God’s house, or with God’s pillar, and you get things right with God, then you will be standing on a rock. It will not matter how many evil kings or queens there are—the Rock will be with you.

Jesus Christ—the ultimate symbol of the pillar—is behind the Church collectively and behind you individually! You must locate God’s house! Jacob’s pillar stone shows that God’s house can be a 2-foot piece of rock. It can be an executive condominium, such as where our original headquarters was located. God can make it so! Then He backs it up, if we trust Him. We need to learn to trust God whether He gives us a rock or a condo! If God is with us, and we show Him we trust Him, then we really have the Rock with us!

The stone represents God’s house, or God’s Church, and salvation for the entire world. Eventually the whole world will learn about this pillar stone and live by the covenant of God!

Britain to Lose the Pillar Stone

Remember Jeremiah’s prophecy: “For thus saith the Lord; David shall never [lack] a man to sit upon the throne of the house of Israel” (Jeremiah 33:17). That is a promise from God! That throne is on Earth today, and it will continue forever. Then, verse 18 says there will always be a man proclaiming the truth about that throne. That twofold covenant is all part of the key of David, and it is absolutely binding (verses 19-22).

That covenant is interesting to consider in light of a prophecy in Hosea 3:4: “For the children of Israel shall abide many days without a king, and without a prince, and without a sacrifice, and without an image, and without an ephod, and without teraphim.”

This is describing a very tragic period—the Great Tribulation—that is almost upon us. It is a prophecy about Ephraim, Manasseh and Judah, when they no longer have a king or a prince. Jeremiah wrote that David’s throne would never lack a man sitting on it—yet here it says that for a time, Israel will have no king or prince. How can this apparent contradiction be reconciled? Remember, the very elect of spiritual Israel are being protected by God at this time.

Consider this as well: The word image in verse 4 refers to Jacob’s pillar stone—the stone Jacob called “God’s house” that stayed with Israel for generations and that to this day resides in Great Britain. God revealed to Hosea that in this end time, Ephraim is going to lose that stone.

We have already explained that England returned the stone to Scotland on the condition it be sent back for the next coronation. But this prophecy indicates that England will eventually lose total control of the stone.

Verse 5 confirms the end-time setting of this prophecy: “Afterward shall the children of Israel return, and seek the Lord their God, and David their king; and shall fear the Lord and his goodness in the latter days.” After the children of Israel lose their king, royal family, religion and stone, they will seek God and King David. This verse is a continuation of the thought in verse 4, which ends with a colon. It is a prophecy for the latter days.

Imagine the peoples of Israel going into captivity and finally coming to their senses. When that happens and they emerge from slavery, David will be right there facing them—resurrected as a fiery God being! That is a truly inspiring “key of David” prophecy! At last, the peoples of Israel will believe God. They will believe and understand the key of David! They will realize that David, who was just a human being, has been exalted into God’s Family. And they will recognize that they too have an avenue into the Family. They will see their incredible potential!

But again—consider this apparent contradiction between God’s promise to preserve David’s throne and this prophecy about them losing their king and the stone of destiny. How can this mystery be unriddled?

In my first edition of this book in 2002 (based on articles that appeared in the Trumpet magazine in 1996), I wrote: “We know England is going to lose its king and queen. The royal family will be killed or taken into captivity. What will happen to that stone in the Tribulation?

“What if God worked out a way for the very elect to obtain possession of that stone just prior to the return of Jesus Christ? This is what He did in Jeremiah’s time. God never let the stone fall into the hands of the Gentiles in the time of Jeremiah.”

I speculated about how that would occur. But then in 2017, God put that speculation to rest and showed me exactly how God’s faithful Church would receive the stone of destiny!

Before we look at that, we’ll look at more of what I wrote in that original edition of this Key of David book, specifically a prophecy in Isaiah.

Hiding God’s Outcasts

In the Soncino commentary, Isaiah 16:1 reads, “Send ye the lambs for the ruler of the land From the crags that are toward the wilderness, Unto the mount of the daughter of Zion.”

“Lamb” in the King James Version is better translated lambs. It is a collective noun. Crags is translated from the Hebrew Sela, meaning rocky fortress. The equivalent word in the Greek is Petra.

A special tribute is being sent to the ruler of the place. In other words, there is a group of people who are respectful to the local government. And they are located in Sela, a rocky place situated toward the wilderness—unto the mount of the daughter of Zion. The daughter of Zion is there—God’s very elect! This is a picture of God’s own Church in a rocky fortress, presenting a gift and paying respect to the government of the land.

“Like fluttering birds, like scattered nestlings, so are the daughters of Moab at the fords of the Arnon” (verse 2; rsv). From the context you can see that these events take place during the Tribulation. So the whole region, and the world, is seized with turmoil—and it is affecting Moab, which is modern-day Jordan. “Fords of the Arnon” means that the Jordanian people are trying to get out of there by crossing a boundary at the shallow part of a river. Regarding “the daughters of Moab,” Soncino says, “The inhabitants of the provincial towns, uprooted from their homes and in search of a resting place.” That is Tribulation-associated imagery. At this point, the king of the south has already been conquered by the king of the north (explained in our booklet The King of the South).

There will be violent turmoil in the Middle East, and some of it will spill over into Jordan. The Earth’s inhabitants will be experiencing World War iii!

Will the preliminary turmoil open a way for God’s people to escape to a place of protection?

“Give counsel, grant justice; make your shade like night at the height of noon; hide the outcasts, betray not the fugitive” (verse 3; rsv). Here God is telling Moab to take care of some people who have been cast out. The Hebrew word translated “outcasts,” nadach, means to thrust forth, expel or drive away. How can Moab hide these people in darkness, as if it is night, even though it is high noon? It seems that hiding them in caves would do so.

God is telling these people that there is a very special group of people in their midst. Don’t betray these people! He says. I want you to hide them! Though we can’t be sure, this certainly looks like the place where God’s very elect will be protected during the Tribulation.

“Let mine outcasts dwell with thee, Moab; be thou a covert to them from the face of the spoiler: for the extortioner is at an end, the spoiler ceaseth, the oppressors are consumed out of the land” (verse 4). The context shows why most translations read “my outcasts.” God calls them my people who have been cast out—my Church. And He tells Moab to hide them while others—extortioners and oppressors—are receiving hard correction from God. God appears to be correcting the people of Moab, probably to make them receptive to God’s people.

Revelation 12:14 shows that God’s people will be protected from “the face of the serpent.” God uses the Moabites to protect His very elect from “the face of the spoiler” (Isaiah 16:4). Serpent and spoiler refer to the same being, and it is the same place of safety in both scriptures! Satan is trying fanatically to get at us! We will need protection. He is after us—he always has been and always will be until God puts him away. He will come after us head-on in order to destroy us. We must respond by using God’s power to conquer him!

Now look at verse 5—where God has revealed some new truth to me.

The Throne Shall Be Established

“And in mercy shall the throne be established: and he shall sit upon it in truth in the tabernacle of David, judging, and seeking judgment, and hasting righteousness” (Isaiah 16:5).

This is the same tabernacle of David as the one in Amos 9:11. The Anchor Bible says these two verses are about the same “tent,” or “booth,” of David. The tabernacle here means a hut, or temporary dwelling. The Hebrew-Greek Key Word Study Bible says, “The most common use of the term had to do with the yearly booth made in conjunction with the Feast of the Tabernacles.” Amos 9:11 states that this temporary dwelling has fallen, and Christ will raise it back up through the very elect.

So in the midst of worldwide upheaval, there will be a tabernacle in the Middle East. It is there for an important reason. In this context, it is clearly where God is. If it’s the very elect tabernacle, God is right there leading His people. You can see that by the way God is talking to Moab in Isaiah 16—and I have a strong feeling that the people of Moab are going to obey! They will recognize that God is in charge. But still, it is a temporary dwelling. The Kingdom of God has not arrived yet.

Now—look again at Isaiah 16:5. There is an added expression not found in Amos 9:11: “the throne.” This says that the throne will be established in addition to the tabernacle. What throne is this? David’s throne! The same throne that Jeremiah 33:17 says will always be occupied!

This is the only throne on Earth that will last forever! “The throne,” indeed!

Now, here is what the original version of this book said after this point:

That throne of David is in Britain today. For millenniums, the kings and queens who have been crowned on that throne have done so over Jacob’s pillar stone, also called “the stone of destiny.”

How could that throne be established in the context of Isaiah 16? Only the stone of destiny could firmly establish the throne of David!

Is Isaiah 16 telling us that God will somehow give us that stone when God’s people go to the place of safety? After all, we are going to be sharing that throne with Christ in a matter of just a few years!

The stone of destiny is really the symbol of David’s throne—not the chair that sits in Westminster Abbey. That chair was constructed by men rather recently—but the stone has been around for millenniums! It goes all the way back to Jacob! It was at one time called God’s house—where God dwelled!

Where will that stone be during the Tribulation? Again, Ephraim is going to lose it, according to Hosea 3:4. Where will that rock be? Will God give it to the Gentiles? I don’t believe for a minute that He would. He didn’t give it to the Gentiles when Judah was taken captive. Jeremiah was in a prison in Jerusalem—and yet somehow he ended up with the stone, and he eventually took it with him to Ireland!

Wouldn’t God want us to save that marvelous stone of destiny or to gain possession of it? I can’t see this verse as anything but a strong statement about where that rock will be.

God says THE throne will be ESTABLISHED—and it’s in the context of a tabernacle, or temporary dwelling. The word “established” comes from the Hebrew word kuwn, which is used 25 times in Scripture to refer to the establishment of a dynasty. In this passage, it must be talking about the Davidic dynasty! God said there would never lack a man to sit on that throne—and here He says the throne will be established in a temporary, Tribulation setting, with God’s loyal people dwelling in a rocky fortress!

We must have faith to believe what the Bible says! This is an exciting prophecy!

Right now, the pieces seem to be falling into place for us to assist in uncovering the very place where David’s throne was and where Christ will sit on His throne. Do you suppose God might also get us involved with that stone? Does it seem illogical that God would use His people, who have the key of David and are about to sit on the throne of David, to get that stone, which is a symbol of that throne and of Christ? Certainly not to me.

I first wrote the above paragraphs in 2009. I was simply looking at these scriptures in faith. I knew that God would fulfill these prophecies, though I did not know how.

A New Stone of Destiny

Then in 2017, God gave us possession of a new stone of destiny. I explain the details of this change in my book The New Throne of David. Please request a free copy.

It shows that God actually prophesied not just three overturns of David’s throne, symbolized by Jacob’s pillar stone, but then its ceasing. For example, in Ezekiel 21:26-27, God says, “… I will overturn, overturn, overturn, it: and it shall be no more, until he come whose right it is [Jesus Christ]; and I will give it him.” There is a dramatic change here! Yet—even after “it shall be no more,” God says He will give it to Christ. We now know this is because there is a new stone of destiny that replaced the one now in Scotland. And this stone is in God’s Church today.

The stone that we have is the prayer rock of Herbert W. Armstrong, a rock that he prayed at during the period he called “the start of the present Work.” It is a tangible symbol of how God built this Work through Mr. Armstrong on a foundation of fervent prayer, which is how God’s Work is conducted to this day.

Some critics accuse us of idolatry because we have this rock. Would they have made the same accusation against the Israelites for transporting Jacob’s stone through the centuries? That rock symbolized Jesus Christ Himself being with His chosen people! God has a history of using such physical objects at times to teach and inspire us. He has been directing our attention to the importance of Jacob’s pillar stone since Mr. Armstrong’s day. And the Bible’s prophecies about that stone, and about the throne of David, show that He had in mind from long ago to supplant that symbol with a new stone of destiny in this end time.

This is a crucial doctrine that can be proved from many scriptures, and The New Throne of David will help you do that. The stone of destiny is in the possession of God’s Church today. This is a major step toward establishing the rule of God on Earth, and it shows just how close we are to Jesus Christ’s return!

Great Symbol of This Stone Today

One of the most electrifying prophecies in the Bible shows Jesus Christ coming to Earth to supplant the kingdoms of this world and establish God’s government. This is described in several passages. One of the most vivid is in Daniel 2. And it too describes Jesus Christ as a stone.

“This image’s head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass, His legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay. Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces. Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshingfloors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth” (verses 32-35).

The stone of destiny pictures Jesus Christ and God’s Kingdom. Today, Britain, the United States and all of biblical Israel need the strong government of Jesus Christ. Our governments are wickedly corrupt. When Christ returns, He is going to destroy all the rebellious governments on Earth. They will become as chaff and drift away with the wind. The stone of His Kingdom will grow and fill the whole Earth.

This is the Stone backing and supporting the Church today! And He has given us a physical symbol representing Him, just as He did with the ancient Israelites. We have that stone on our campus—a symbol of Jesus Christ and the throne of David. There is great power behind God’s true Church because we have remained true to the Stone, or Jesus Christ. All we have to do is believe God!

“And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever. Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure” (verses 44-45).

A related prophecy of that beautiful future appears in Zechariah 3:9: “For behold the stone that I have laid before Joshua; upon one stone shall be seven eyes: behold, I will engrave the graving thereof, saith the Lord of hosts, and I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day.” When Christ establishes His government, He will remove the iniquities of Israel! “In that day, saith the Lord of hosts, shall ye call every man his neighbour under the vine and under the fig tree” (verse 10). This Stone (Christ) will finally bring peace and prosperity to all nations—far beyond human comprehension today.

This is the ultimate fulfillment of this “stone of destiny.” These are promises on which we can stake our lives! Christ says to the Church, “the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure.” What a stone of destiny! What a key of David! How blessed we are to be here and be a part of it. We must make sure we get it. We must not let this vision escape us.

Spiritual Meaning Behind Stone

The Apostle Peter also spoke of Jesus Christ being the Stone. “Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole. This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner” (Acts 4:10-11). He cited Psalm 118:22 here. Jesus Christ of Nazareth is the ultimate meaning of the stone of destiny. Christ is our Rock. He is soon to reappear to take over the reins of world government.

“Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded” (1 Peter 2:6). The greatest gift God has given the Church is Jesus Christ. He is the chief cornerstone. If we follow Him, we cannot be confounded. Because of His great power, we do not have to fear deception or the world.

Do we believe this with all of our being? We have a great Stone in which to put our faith and trust! As God’s people, we operate from a position of strength! The Philadelphia Church of God has this Stone as our support and our Head.

Christ Himself spoke of the need to build our lives on this Rock: “Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock” (Matthew 7:24-25). This is the Stone, or Rock, to which we should anchor everything in our lives. If we build our lives on this Rock, we will never be confounded. These verses are a promise from the Rock, or God’s house. Do we have the faith to believe Jesus Christ?

We have heard great words from Herbert Armstrong and we are staying true to them. Why has the pcg grown stronger? Because we are founded upon the Rock! Ephesians 2:20-21 show that the true Church is founded upon the Stone—Jesus Christ.

“And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it” (Matthew 7:26-27). Whether it is an individual, a nation or a church, unless it is founded upon Jesus Christ, it will fall. The Laodicean Church will fall greatly because it has rejected the sayings, or knowledge, of Jesus Christ.

The Laodicean churches no longer represent the Stone, God’s house or the Work. Read Matthew 21:42. Jesus Christ said we should hold Him and His Work as a marvelous thing before our eyes. Is the Work Jesus Christ is doing through the new stone of destiny, David’s throne and Mr. Armstrong marvelous in our sight? It should and must be if we are going to make it into the Kingdom of God. Christ’s Work is not a marvelous thing to the Laodicean Church, or it would not have rejected such precious knowledge.

“Therefore thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste” (Isaiah 28:16). God has given us vital knowledge. We hold fast to the knowledge of Jacob’s pillar stone because it represents the Work of Jesus Christ throughout thousands of years. Those who believe the Bible history of Britain’s “stone of destiny”—and the new stone of destiny God has given His Church today—act from faith, not from fear. God says we have a tried stone—a sure foundation. Everything works out right for those who have the faith of Christ.

The whole world will have to come to understand what this stone is all about! Jesus Christ will soon return to this Earth and sit over that stone as King of kings and Lord of lords! Do you really comprehend what this stone means? It really does have to do with surviving as a nation, a Church or an individual. That stone ought to give you a special relationship with God.

When you view the whole story, you can see why Satan wants to destroy this important knowledge. Satan wants God’s Church to get away from The United States and Britain in Prophecy—so he can move the Church into paganism.

These truths are not that difficult to prove. It takes faith to trust God, to look into the Bible and believe what it says. It takes faith to stake our lives on this knowledge!

Sidebar: Establishing the Throne

Here I will include some material that was printed in the previous edition of this book before the revelation God gave about the new stone and new throne. I think it is valuable to see how God was directing me to consider how He would fulfill the prophecy in Isaiah 16, particularly verse 5: “And in mercy shall the throne be established: and he shall sit upon it in truth in the tabernacle of David, judging, and seeking judgment, and hasting righteousness.” Remember, this is in the context of God’s people being protected during the Great Tribulation.

When you read this section in light of God placing the new throne of David in His Church today, so many details of what I wrote then take on increased significance. And the mystery I was puzzling over is perfectly clear.

What follows comes from the previous edition of this book:

Who will sit on that throne at the time described in Isaiah 16? I don’t know—but I do know that someone will be on it, and it will be established—and it appears to be there in the Middle East during a terrible time on Earth.

At the time of Jeremiah, he had with him a queen from the royal family to sit on that throne. Maybe there will be a member of the royal family with us in the place of safety. However, considering Isaiah 16:5 says he will be “seeking judgment, and hasting righteousness,” that doesn’t seem likely.

There is much here we don’t know, but the context seems to imply that the “he” who “shall sit upon” that throne is a man from this Church.

As I point out in Who Is ‘That Prophet’?, Micah 2:13 refers to the office Christ has given me as that of “their king.” That couldn’t be referring to Christ, because the same verse separately mentions “the Lord.” The word king in that verse means the leader, or one in charge—but the word king is appropriate.

In Micah 4:8-9, God asks the Laodiceans, “[I]s there no king in thee?” They don’t have a king. (You can also read about these verses in our free booklet Micah—God’s People Rise Up as His Enemy.)

These scriptures are talking about a man who leads a breakaway from a rebellious church! It’s end-time prophecy in your Bible!

It shouldn’t be too upsetting to think of God calling a man in the Church a “king.” After the 3½-year period of the Tribulation, every converted member in God’s Church will be a king and a priest forever!

Among the jewels of the British crown used at the coronation ceremony, there is a scepter. Genesis 49 (a prophecy for our day, as it shows in verse 1) says that the scepter will not depart from Judah, and that there will always be a lawgiver, who also descends from Judah (verse 10). God’s law is certainly not emanating from the throne of David today.

It did, however, come from Herbert W. Armstrong during his more than 50 years in the ministry. And since Mr. Armstrong died in 1986, God has given me the responsibility of continuing in that same law He established through Mr. Armstrong.

Some of you might remember how surprised Mr. Armstrong was to find that the ancestry on one side of his family could be traced back to King David. I too was shocked to discover this fact concerning my own lineage, also on one side of my family. Is there a reason why Mr. Armstrong and I both can follow our roots back to David’s kingly line—to the tribe of Judah? Does it have anything to do with this “lawgiver” coming from Judah’s feet—or Judah’s descendants—in the last days, “until Shiloh [Jesus Christ] come”?

Mr. Armstrong had to establish God’s law and government. He was the Elijah who restored all things just before Christ’s return. I have continued the same law and government that he taught. No other church can truthfully make that claim!

We must believe God’s Word. I don’t know exactly what God is going to do—but I know He made a promise to David that there would never lack a man to sit on that throne. Could that man be inside the Church of God, helping us to get ready to sit on that throne as kings and priests?

The word throne does not always refer to a literal throne, but the context here sounds very literal to me. It specifically says, “he shall sit upon it.” Someone will be sitting on something real. Gesenius’ Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon says of the word sit, “Specially, to sit is used of judges, where they sit to give judgment …, kings sitting on their thrones ….”

In that place, there will be the tabernacle—and the throne. There is only one throne on Earth that has such meaning for God and His people. Christ discussed it specifically with the Philadelphia and Laodicean eras in Revelation 3. This is all about the key of David, including the throne of David.

“And in mercy shall the throne be established.” What mercy God will shower upon this evil world. Yes, people will suffer. But so soon, they will receive abundant mercy from that throne, and that stone, which is a symbol of Christ Himself. Truth and justice will come from that throne in Jerusalem forever.

Why would God be revealing such details now? We must be getting awfully close to the fulfillment of these prophecies!