LIA FAIL or THE STONE OF DESTINY
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INTRODUCTION.
The Coronation Stone has from time immemorial been called the "Lia
Fail" or "Stone of Destiny." It is recorded in Ireland’s ancient
annals. It found its way to Scotland for the crowning of the Irish
Prince Fergus I. Then it was eventually removed to Westminster Abbey in
1296 AD where it became the Coronation Stone of the British Royal House
To the Scots it was known as "The Stone of Scone" because of its long
association with that historic place.
In this article we submit this stone to be the original "pillar"
anointed by Jacob at Bethel; a pillar destined to become a witness to
God’s everlasting covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, whose name
was changed to Israel at Peniel. Jacob subsequently passed on his
birthright and the pillow-stone, to Joseph, Genesis 49:24 "But his bow
abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the
hands of the mighty [God] of Jacob; (from thence [is] the shepherd, the
stone of Israel.)"
It was not as is generally supposed, bequeathed to Judah, 1 Chronicles
5:1-2, "Now the sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel, (for he [was]
the firstborn; but, forasmuch as he defiled his father's bed, his
birthright was given unto the sons of Joseph the son of Israel: and the
genealogy is not to be reckoned after the birthright. For Judah
prevailed above his brethren, and of him [came] the chief ruler; but
the birthright [was] Joseph's.)"
Sir Walter Scott's famous translation of the old Gaelic distich makes
sense, if the Scots of both Ireland and Scotland derive their name from
Scota, and if her offspring past and present are associated with a
simple sandstone block or Stone of Destiny:
Unless the fates have faithless grown
And prophet's voice be vain.
Where'er is found this sacred stone
The Scottish race shall reign."
After four thousand years of history it rested in Westminster Abbey,
worthless in its intrinsic value, invaluable in its most priceless
associations. 11 ( from the Film: "Stone of Destiny.")
This article was first written in 1977, when Britain celebrated with
thankfulness the Silver Jubilee of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. We
are sure the "Lia Fail" takes on a new and even greater significance as
a witness to our identity as Israel-Britain.
THE LIA FAIL or STONE of DESTINY.
Early in this century two well-known personal personalities stood
gazing at the Coronation Stone in Westminster Abbey, one was a world
famous poet and the other an Irish patriot. After a while Maud Gonne
MacBride turned to William Butler Yeats and said: "And now Willie, let
us talk of. the Lia Fail." In the subsequent record of their
conversation Maud Gonne stated:
"We stood in the great grey Abbey in front of the great grey stone, the
stone that belongs to Ireland, and that must be brought back again to
Ireland, the Stone of Destiny, the stone on which the kings of Ireland
used to be crowned…."
Strange, indeed, to read that the Irish and Scottish Nationalists claim
ownership of the Lia Fail for their respective countries, as if the
Stone were an essential a part in the reconstitution of their kingdoms.
Only when the history of the Coronation Stone is a fully understood and
its spiritual significance appreciated in all three kingdoms of Ireland
Scotland and England, will these ancient kingdoms unite and enjoy the
benefits of the Divine Covenant it represents under the one and only
throne of David.
That the Stone is still the focus of much attention prompts us to look
a little closer, especially at the happenings of the past few decades
in Westminster Abbey.
Towards the end of December 1950 four young students visited
Westminster Abbey with a plan to remove the Coronation Stone and take
it back to Scotland. Those months of preparation should have been
devoted to removing 458 pounds of sandstone from England to Scotland,
especially on Christmas day, proves that at least they knew a great
deal more about the Stone than most people. They succeeded in their
plan. When the disappearance was discovered, the hue and cry was
unprecedented.
There were many and varied reactions. Church dignitaries frowned upon
the incident as sacrilege and the Dean, The Very Rev. Campbell Don
vowed that if necessary, "I will go to the ends of the earth to recover
the Stone. It is the most devastating thing which could have happened,
and a deed which until rectified would never permit us to be happy
again."
To our knowledge, the word happiness had never been coupled with an old
sandstone block. Nor had we ever heard, not even in official
guidebooks, that it had any great significance. At most it was termed
historical but never of spiritual ritual significance. All the more
reason for perpetuating the Dean’s comments, especially as we know the
Stone has a great part to play in the future of the Celto-Anglo-Saxon
peoples; not as a stone, but AS A PILLAR OF WITNESS.
Returning to the escapade of the Stone’s removal, some considered it a
students prank, but seasoned commandos of World War II spoke of it as a
well executed project. A leading columnist wrote:
In a nation that reverences tradition, and all the relics of the
earliest period of British history, the theft has everybody agog in the
United Kingdom. It is something more than a laughing matter.
Let us pause and ask: Is it not strange, to say the least, that
something so small, and of no commercial value should have "everyone
agog in the United Kingdom?" Those top- level Cabinet meetings had to
be convened on matters regarding a sand-stone block?
Needless to say, the masses could make no sense of the affair, but
those who knew something of the history of the stone, considered the
time had come to re-assess it’s significance and publish it far and
wide.
One thing is quite clear, the Scots who removed it knew that for almost
800 years it had been in Scotland. It had been stolen by by Edward I
and removed to Westminster. It was never returned. These young men
decided to take it back to Scotland and draw attention to the need of
Scots Independence, for after all, they had been declared an
independent people as far back as 1320! These were the thoughts running
through the minds of the young people, but several things went wrong.
The practice they had on removing a stone of similar proportions in
Glasgow turned out to be of little use for two reasons, (1) the
Coronation Stone was heavier by far, and (2) it was cracked diagonally
across the surface, and broke in the course of its removal.
Under the title of the book "No Stone Unturned" Mr. Ian Hamilton tells
the story of his experiences in Westminster Abbey on the night in
question. His hopes gave way to fears as he was left alone to manoeuvre
the larger part to a back door for transport by car to its hiding place
outside London.
Its eventual return is now a fact of history, but since 1950 all sorts
of stories have been in circulation about the incident. There have been
interviews on Television and radio by parties concerned. Most agree
that the real stone was returned to the Abbey authorities. Others
maintain the real stone is still in Scotland. Since this was originally
written the Stone has been returned to Scotland, and is on display in
Edinburgh Castle. No doubt there were ways and means of identifying the
Stone, but experts were agreed that it would have been impossible to
reproduce the ancient rustless iron rings used for carrying the Stone
from place to place.
In a pictorial history of the Abbey produced within recent years a
reference was made to the Coronation Chair as "perhaps the nation’s
most precious relic." Anyone reading this would tend to think more of
the Chair than the Stone, but surely, the chair was a receptacle for
preserving this ancient heirloom bequeathed by Jacob-Israel to Joseph
as a witness to his (Joseph’s) identity in the last days. ( see
Genesis. 49. 1. and v. 24, "And Jacob called unto his sons, and said,
Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you [that] which shall
befall you in the last days … But his bow abode in strength, and the
arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty [God] of
Jacob; (from thence [is] the shepherd, the stone of Israel.)" It is
through the iniquity of a small minded Prime Minister that the
Coronation Chair in Westminster Abbey sit bereft of the Stone of
Destiny. This could never have happened if Cardinals, Hindus, Moslems
and a host of other pagans had not been permitted to worship in
Britain’s most prominent Sanctuary.
Its removal has also removed Divine Protection of the House of Windsor.
It is now displayed in Judah, not Ephraim where Jacob intended it
should remain.Ten years after this event occur occurred, we decided to
visit Scotland. We hoped to meet some of those involved in the affair.
At Arbroath Abbey we learned for the first time the name and address of
the person responsible for repairing the Stone. On proceeding to
Glasgow we contacted Mr. R. Gray. He agreed to our request for sample
chippings of the Coronation Stone. He also furnished us with a letter
describing the state of the Stone and the repairs he carried out.
12th August. 1960.
Dear Sir,
When the Stone of Destiny was removed from West Westminster Abbey on
Christmas Day 1950, it was in two pieces. It had been broken for some
years and was not damaged in any way when being removed It is possible
that it was broken when the Suffragettes attempted to blow up the
Coronation Chair.
We decided to repair it before handing it over to the Church of
Scotland at Arbroath. 1 carried out the repair.
(signed) Robert Gray.
Monumental Works,
474 Sauchiehall Street,
Glasgow.
With this letter and the pieces from the ‘heart’ of the Stone we
proceeded to ‘scotch’ ideas in circulation that the Stone had been
quarried near Perth. We had information we felt should be reprinted:
"Fergus Mor MacEarca was unanimously elected and chosen as king as
being of the blood royal of his mother. Fergus sent to his brother who
was then monarch of Ireland. His purpose was to obtain the "Lia Fail"
or "Stone of Destiny" to be crowned thereon. This happened accordingly;
for, he was the first a absolute KING OF SCOTLAND of the Milesian Race,
so the succession continued in his blood and lineage ever since to this
day."
("O'Hart’s Irish Pedigrees." 4th edition, Vol. 1, page 713.)
This kingly line in Scotland reached crisis point during the reign of
Edward I of England, when he was called upon to arbitrate regarding the
succession. He decided on John de Balliol whose coronation was fully
recorded by the English Chronicler, William of Rissanger:
"John de Balliol, on the following feast of St. Andrews, was seated
upon the regal stone which Jacob placed under his head when he was sent
from Beersheba to Haran, was solemnly crowned in the church of the
Canons Regular at Scone."
In the nineteenth century another Stone was placed at Tara in County
Meath, Eire, to replace Lia Fail. So far no Irish source had ever
suggested the Lia Fail to be of Irish origin, in fact, those who do
mention it always couple its arrival in Ireland with
"The Tuatha De," or "People of God," who came from Egypt. A large cross
section of people in Scotland recalled being taught the Bethel origin
of the Stone, so, when we heard the report of a public debate in the
City of Birmingham, we determined to proceed as far as possible in our
investigations
The Birmingham report:
"I will not trouble you with the nonsense about the Stone in
Westminster, which is sufficiently refuted by the geology of the case.
The stone it is claimed is of old red sandstone of formation of
Scotland, and has nothing in common with the limestone
rock of Palestine."
If we could prove the possibility of similarity between the Coronation
Stone and a piece from Bethel, we felt the "nothing in common"
statement would fall to the ground for all time, but we were assured by
geologists that there was no sandstone
in Palestine. However, by 1948 Dr. G. S. Blake had compiled his
findings on "The Stratigraphy of Palestine," in which he stated:
"In the Jordan valley exists a sandstone of Pliocene Age. There is an
outcrop north of Jericho."
His illustrations revealed sandstone in and round the Bethel area, so
it seemed that a piece from there would be interesting. We obtained a
sample from Bethel and submitted both it and the Coronation Stone
pieces to a Scottish petrologist, as exhibits A and B. After a careful
examination, a report was as follows: "There is an interesting
similarity in the constituents and it is possible that the specimens
may be VERY CLOSELY RELATED both space and time … they may both be part
rock-bed which shows a graded structure."
We only submit this Report on the analysis prove that sandstone similar
to that of the Coronation Stone does exist in Palestine and at Bethel.
THE ANOINTING
The story of Jacob's dream is fully recorded in Genesis 28:18 "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." After this act of consecration Jacob said in Genesis
28:22 "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.
It cannot be over stressed that this act of anointing was of the
greatest significance: The Hebrew words (and the English dictionary)
signify: "Anoint, to smear or rub with oil: to consecrate to an office
or religious service."
Many years later Jacob was commanded of God to return to Bethel where
God confirmed the Abrahamic covenant and we are told in Genesis
35:1 "And God said unto Jacob, Arise, go up to Bethel, and dwell there:
and make there an altar unto God, that appeared unto thee when thou
fleddest from the face of Esau thy brother." We are told in Genesis
35:14 "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." By this time Jacob's name had been changed to
Israel.The next reference to a specific stone is at to time of Jacob-
Israel’s death. He called his twelve sons together and told them what
would befall their descendants in "THE LAST DAYS." Singling out Joseph
he said in Genesis 49:24 "But his bow abode in strength, and the arms
of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty [God] of
Jacob; (from thence [is] the shepherd, the stone of Israel.)"
The phrase "from thence" means, out of that place, namely, Bethel, and
we know that Bethel became part of Joseph's inheritance.
BETHEL, THE PLACE OF THE ALTAR.
It in refreshing to read an up-to-date article from a secular source
regarding Bethel :
"A village on the watershed of the Judaean hill country, in Palestine
11 miles North of Jerusalem, and 2, 900 feet above sea level. Bethel
(House of God,) now called Beitin, was accounted a holy place, due
perhaps, to the existence near by of a natural stone circle. Here Abram
pitched his tent and built an altar, Genesis 12:8 "And he removed from
thence unto a mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent,
[having] Bethel on the west, and Hai on the east: and there he builded
an altar unto the LORD, and called upon the name of the LORD." Here
Jacob had his vision, and here Samuel used Bethel in his circuit, 1
Samuel 7:15-16, "And Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life. And
he went from year to year in circuit to Bethel, and Gilgal, and Mizpeh,
and judged Israel in all those places.
(Encyclopaedia Britannica 1955 edition.)
. Certainly Bethel was no ordinary place. The, natural stone circle
(like Stonehenge in England.) would have made it a landmark, but the
fact it was in the same area where Abram built an altar to the Lord; an
altar to which he subsequently returned after his visit to Egypt. This
makes it a very special place indeed in Genesis 13:3-4, "And he went on
his journeys from the south even to Bethel, unto the place where his
tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Hai; Unto the place
of the altar, which he had made there at the first: and there Abram
called on the name of the LORD."
During this second visit to Bethel and after he had separated from Lot,
Abram "called on the name of the Lord." God promised he would make his
seed as "the dust of the earth." This is Genesis 13:14-18, "And the
LORD said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up
now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and
southward, and eastward, and westward: For all the land which thou
seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever. And I will
make thy seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the
dust of the earth, [then] shall thy seed also be numbered. Arise, walk
through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for I
will give it unto thee. Then Abram removed [his] tent, and came and
dwelt in the plain of Mamre, which [is] in Hebron, and built there an
altar unto the LORD."
That one family alone was destined to become "a great nation" in whom
all the families of the earth were to be blessed." This the
essential "key" to the message of the Bible. That this nation was
Joseph and NOT Judah is clear clearly seen in the fact that Joseph
received the BIRTH RIGHT AND THE STONE. see 1 Chronicles 5:1-2, "Now
the sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel, (for he [was] the
firstborn; but, forasmuch as he defiled his father's bed, his
birthright was given unto the sons of Joseph the son of Israel: and the
genealogy is not to be reckoned after the birthright. For Judah
prevailed above his brethren, and of him [came] the chief ruler; but
the birthright [was] Joseph's.)"
THE STONE "THAT SPIRITUAL ROCK."
(ANOINTED-MESSIAH, AN EPITHET OF JESUS CHRIST.)
In Paul's epistle to the Corinthians he outlines God's guidance in
regard to His people
1 Corinthians 10:1-4, "Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should
be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all
passed through the sea; And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud
and in the sea; And did all eat the same spiritual meat; And did all
drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock
that followed them: and that Rock was Christ."
The spiritual food mentioned by Paul was the manna: The spiritual drink
was the water out of the rock: The rock was the one which accompanied
them (or went with them) in their journeyings through the Wilderness.
Only ONE STONE was anointed to fulfil this role and that was the STONE
of BETHEL, Jacob's pillow. To the apostle Paul it was not only a Stone
of Witness, but a symbol of the Messiah (Christ) Whom he loved."
We only have to examine the Stone of Destiny to see the hollow from
whence the waters flowed. Higher critics have taken great delight in
pointing out that is some of the places where waters flowed from the
rock, no such rocks are visible. We can inform them with joy that this
stone called "Lia Fail," "The Stone of Destiny," "the Bethel Stone"
and "Jacob’s Pillar Stone" was used on many occasions to provide a
million Israelites including their cattle with water. We don’t deny
that YHWH also used other rocks during this period. The different
Hebrew words used for rock indicate this to be the case.
THE STONE - A NATIONAL WITNESS.
During a period of extreme national crisis, Joshua gathered all the
tribes of Israel to Shechem. He outlined how, in the past, the nation
had been delivered. He then admonished them in Joshua 24:14-15, "Now
therefore fear the LORD, and serve him in sincerity and in truth: and
put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the
flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the LORD. And if it seem evil unto
you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether
the gods which your fathers served that [were] on the other side of the
flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for
me and my house, we will serve the LORD."
The result of this challenge was a turning to God, for the people said
unto Joshua: "WE WILL SERVE THE LORD."
Let us note carefully what took place immediately afterwards:
Joshua 24:14-27, "Now therefore fear the LORD, and serve him in
sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served
on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the LORD.
And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day
whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that
[were] on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in
whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the
LORD. And the people answered and said, God forbid that we should
forsake the LORD, to serve other gods; For the LORD our God, he [it is]
that brought us up and our fathers out of the land of Egypt, from the
house of bondage, and which did those great signs in our sight, and
preserved us in all the way wherein we went, and among all the people
through whom we passed: And the LORD drave out from before us all the
people, even the Amorites which dwelt in the land: [therefore] will we
also serve the LORD; for he [is] our God.
And Joshua said unto the people, Ye cannot serve the LORD: for he [is]
an holy God; he [is] a jealous God; he will not forgive your
transgressions nor your sins. If ye forsake the LORD, and serve strange
gods, then he will turn and do you hurt, and consume you, after that he
hath done you good. And the people said unto Joshua, Nay; but we will
serve the LORD. And Joshua said unto the people, Ye [are] witnesses
against yourselves that ye have chosen you the LORD, to serve him. And
they said, [We are] witnesses. Now therefore put away, [said he], the
strange gods which [are] among you, and incline your heart unto the
LORD God of Israel. And the people said unto Joshua, The LORD our God
will we serve, and his voice will we obey. So Joshua made a covenant
with the people that day, and set them a statute and an ordinance in
Shechem. 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. So Joshua let the people depart, every
man unto his inheritance. And it came to pass after these things, that
Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died, [being] an
hundred and ten years old."
Joshua made a covenant.... Joshua wrote the words in the book of the
Law of God.. . Joshua took a great stone, and set it up there at
Shechem which was Joseph's inheritance, under an oak by the sanctuary
of the Lord.... Joshua had said, "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."
THE STONE-A CORONATION WITNESS.
In the days of the kings of Judah they were all crowned accordingly in
2 Kings 11:12-17, "And he brought forth the king’s son, and put the
crown upon him, and [gave him] the testimony; and they made him king,
and anointed him; and they clapped their hands, and said, God save the
king. And when Athaliah heard the noise of the guard [and] of the
people, she came to the people into the temple of the LORD. And when
she looked, behold, the king stood by a pillar, as the manner [was],
and the princes and the trumpeters by the king, and all the people of
the land rejoiced, and blew with trumpets: and Athaliah rent her
clothes, and cried, Treason, Treason. But Jehoiada the priest commanded
the captains of the hundreds, the officers of the host, and said unto
them, Have her forth without the ranges: and him that followeth her
kill with the sword. For the priest had said, Let her not be slain in
the house of the LORD. And they laid hands on her; and she went by the
way by the which the horses came into the king's house: and there was
she slain. And Jehoiada made a covenant between the LORD and the king
and the people, that they should be the LORD'S people; between the king
also and the people."
Is it a coincidence that Her Majesty was crowned sitting on a chair
containing the Coronation Stone. That she too received a copy of the
Bible, the Law of the Lord; that she made a solemn covenant "to govern
the people with justice, and maintain their Protestant Gospel?"
We submit that the Coronation Stone did come to these Islands with the
Royal House of David, and has been a witness at every coronation
service. It has been a witness that all the promises God made to
Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, were fulfilled within
The Celto-Anglo-Saxon peoples.
God’s house is the House of Israel.
The Stone is the Stone of Israel.
The Queen is the Queen of Israel.
Christ is the Redeemer of Israel.
Genesis 28:22 "And this stone, which I have set [for] a pillar, shall
be God's house."
Joshua 24:27 "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."
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