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WHAT JEREMIAH PLANTED
By
Bertrand L. Comparet
One of the greatest figures in history is the prophet
Jeremiah. Yahweh commissioned him to carry out a double task. We are told in Jeremiah
1:10, "See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the
kingdoms, to root out and to pull down and to destroy and to throw down; to
build and to plant. His rooting out and throwing down was completed when
Nebuchadnezzar's Babylonian army finished the deportation of the kingdom of
Judah to Babylon. Its last traces being thrown down when the murder of governor
Gedaliah was followed by the flight of the survivors to Egypt, compelling
Jeremiah to accompany them despite his warning against this. What and where
did he plant? Historically, the Bible does not tell us, as it last mentions
him at Tahpanhes in Egypt.
Just as Jeremiah had warned the people of Judah in
Jerusalem, not to rebel against Babylon, so had Ezekiel at Babylon given the
same warning. He gave the parable of a great eagle which cropped off the top
twigs of the cedar tree (an emblem of Judah's royal family), carried it to
Babylon and planted it, where it became a low vine. But another eagle came along
and the vine grew toward him. Ezekiel says the first eagle is Nebuchadnezzar,
and the second is Pharaoh of Egypt. Ezekiel then warns of punishment for
breaking the covenant to be a vassal of Babylon. Then,
in contrast to
what the eagles have done, Yahweh says what He will do.
Ezekiel 17:22-23 records, "Thus saith
Yahweh: I also will take of the highest branch of the high cedar and will set
it; I will crop off from the top of his young twigs a tender one, and
will plant it upon an high mountain and eminent. In the mountain of the
height of Israel will I plant it: and it shall bring forth boughs and
bear fruit and be a goodly cedar: and under it shall dwell all fowl of every
wing; in the shadow of the branches thereof shall they dwell." Feminine
words are used for young twigs a tender one, though masculine words would have
served as well.
II Kings 25:7 tells how Nebuchadnezzar killed all
the sons of the king of Judah, thinking this destroyed the royal family.
However, under Israel law when there were no sons, the inheritance went to the
daughters. Jeremiah chapters 43
& 44 record that he, with his scribe Baruch and the king's daughters,
were taken by the remnant of the people to Tahpanhes in Egypt. There he warned
them that they were all doomed, except those that could possibly escape from
Egypt. This escape is the only possible fulfillment of Yahweh's prophecy that
Jeremiah would build and plant." Churches, which like to call Jeremiah
the prophet of doom, have created the fable that he died in Egypt. By this they
accuse Yahweh of failure and falsehood, for Jeremiah could only build and plant
as Yahweh prophesied, after leaving Egypt. So, let us see what Jeremiah
built and planted and where.
The king's daughters were the tender twigs, which Yahweh
said He would plant. Where could Jeremiah have taken them? Remember, it must be
to a great Israel nation, "In the mountain in the height of Israel".
He did not take them to Babylon, where the people of Judah were captives;
Ezekiel and Daniel would have recorded this if it had happened. He would not
have been allowed to take them through the Babylonian empire to where the ten
northern tribes of Israel were by this time known as the Scythians. The record
is clear that he did not take them back to the old kingdom of Judah to stay,
though he probably stopped off there long enough to pick up the ark of the
covenant, Jacob's pillow, and the stone of destiny which had been hidden from
the Babylonians. Where else were there Israelite kingdoms? They were in Greece,
Spain and Ireland.
Historians agree that Greece was barbarous until settlers
who had come from Egypt brought a high civilization there but were not
Egyptians, being aliens expelled by the Egyptians. These are the Danaoi,
seafarers of the tribe of Dan who had left Egypt by sea; the date is
approximately the same as the exodus of Israel from Egypt. Also near this date,
highly civilized invaders who came by sea, the Tuatha De Danaan, or tribe of
Dan, who ruled Ireland for about 200 years thereafter, had conquered Ireland.
Another Hebrew migration from Egypt was half of the royal
tribe of Judah. This tribe consisted of two branches, respectively the
descendants of Pharez and of Zarah. The Zarahites were men of great ability,
even Solomon being compared to them in wisdom. The Pharez branch was considered
the older, hence entitled to preference as the royal line. So, the Zarahites
sought other lands where their ability might seek its own level. They settled in
Crete, also founding the cities of Troy and Miletus. After the fall of Troy,
somewhere near 1,000 B.C., Brutus the Trojan and his followers went to England,
founding what became the city of London, Miletus became a great power. Milesian
coins bore the lion of Judah and Milesian mercenary troops were hired by Egypt
as its chief border guards. Milesians from Spain, with a considerable fleet and
army, conquered the Tuatha De Danaan and settled in Ireland, where Milesian
civilization lasted as long as Ireland remained independent.
Their language was Phoenician, which is a Semitic dialect
akin to Hebrew and became the Gaelic language of ancient Ireland and Scotland,
which even today is nearly identical with Phoenician. The Irish Chronicles also
record that the Milesians introduced the laws of Moses, which remained Irish law
until the time of St. Patrick.
Ancient Irish history records that about 583 B.C., there
came to Ireland from Egypt Ollam Fodhla, which means the great prophet, with
Brugh his scribe and Tea Tephi the daughter of a king. Irish tradition has
always identified Ollam Fodhla as the prophet Jeremiah. Brugh, his scribe is of
course Baruch, mentioned in the Bible as Jeremiah's scribe.
Near Jeremiah's tomb in Ireland, is a stone inscribed
with hieroglyphics, which show a star formation, which could only have been seen
about 583 B.C., which was the time of Jeremiah's migration from Egypt. While the
Bible records the capture of the Ark of the Covenant by the Philistines, it does
not mention its capture by Babylon. Although it does mention their looting the
golden vessels of the temple, we may be sure the ark was safely hidden.
In taking the king's daughter on his divinely commanded
mission to build and to plant, Jeremiah would naturally try to take along
the remaining sacred objects. While there is no positive record of his taking
the ark, the Irish Chronicles do record his bringing the stone of destiny,
Jacob's pillow. From Ireland it is historically traced through Scotland to
England, where it is now in the coronation chair in Westminster Abbey.
The princess Tea Tephi, brought to Ireland by Jeremiah,
is undoubtedly the daughter of King Zedekiah of Judah. She was married to
Eochaid the Heremon (or chief king) of Ireland, who was of the Milesian dynasty
and therefore of the Zarah branch of the royal tribe of Judah. So the two
branches of the royal tribe were now united in the royal family ruling the free
half of Judah. As Yahweh said to Jeremiah, He would clip off a tender twig from
the highest twigs of the great cedar tree of Judah and plant it in the mountain
of the height of Israel, which was fulfilled by this royal marriage.
Jeremiah was a prophet of doom only to the Palestinian
kingdom of Judah and his prophecies were accurate. But this was not the end, for
Yahweh said, "See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the
kingdoms, to root out and pull down and to destroy and to throw down but also to
build and to plant." Having finished the rooting out and throwing
down, Jeremiah went on to build and to plant in Ireland, where
Yahweh's people Israel had established a high civilization, just as Yahweh had
prophesied. |