My mother sent me an e-mail about her stand point on Haile Selassie being the returned messiah. The I's should read it and write what you think.
Rev 1: 5-8 Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the first-born of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood 6 and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. 7 Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, every one who pierced him; and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen. 8 "I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.
Above: Rev 1:5 describes Jesus as the ruler of kings on earth – Haile Selassie, while respected by other Kings and rulers, was the ruler of only one kingdom. This verse goes on to say that through Jesus’ blood, we were freed from sin and made into a kingdom of priests to his God and Father, and that glory and dominion will be His (Jesus’ is implied from the word order and punctuation here) forever. The dominion and glory of Haile Selassie was great while he reigned, but his reign was not eternal in that his own nation asked him to step down as they turned completely away from God. Had he been the returned Messiah, all would have seen him and all tribes of the earth would have wailed on account of him. His people, who are his kingdom, would have been established for all time in Ethiopia and around the world, as also foretold in Rev 5:10-11 below.
Rev 1: 12-15 Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, 13 and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden girdle round his breast; 14 his head and his hair were white as white wool, white as snow; his eyes were like a flame of fire, 15 his feet were like burnished bronze, refined as in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of many waters; 16 in his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth issued a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength. 17 When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand upon me, saying, "Fear not, I am the first and the last, 18 and the living one; I died, and behold I am alive for evermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades.
Rev 5: 10-11 "Worthy art thou to take the scroll and to open its seals, for thou wast slain and by thy blood didst ransom men for God from every tribe and tongue and people and nation, 10 and hast made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on earth." 11
In Rev 1: 17 and 18 above the one like a son of man claimed to be the first and the last, the living one who died but is now alive for evermore. Rev 5:10-11, again states that the work Christ fulfilled on the cross would ransom men for God from every tribe and tongue and people and nation, not just one nation. I realize that the death of Haile Selassie leaves unanswered questions, however, if he had been, in fact, the second coming of Christ, he would have been fully divine, lived forevermore, and reigned with his people on earth, rather than having been asked to step down from the throne and ultimately disappear. While this God loving, Christ centered Man continues to live on in the hearts of those who love him, he does not now reign with his people on earth today. However, he clearly believed in and built his life upon the words of scripture that promised the day that Christ would reign again.
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