When we use the term ''Prince of peace", we must also know that there's only one man to whom this term should be exclusively attributed .
The one who is worthy of it .But how can we know who is the one that is worthy of south attribute ? This is not so difficult since the many people
that use the term most are people that are, or so be acquainted with the Bible in its entirety or even with the many verses that use the term .
Many people erroneously attribute this title to Jesus, although he himself denied being the Prince of Peace. To assist you with the correct usage of this term in the future ,I'll take you for a philological and analytic journey through the scriptures.
Its is stated prophetically in Isa. 9-6 ''For unto us a child is born, for unto us a son is given ;and the government will be upon his shoulder. And his name will called wonderful ,counselor ,Might King, Everlasting father, Prince of Peace." Many tend to think the fulfilment of this prophecy was the birth of the ''negus'' (The one who you erroneously
call Jesus). But it was actually the birth of the negusa negast ,Haile Selassie I. The birth of the negus of Nazareth fulfilled the prophecy in Isa7;14 which states, ''Behold the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and call his name Immanuel." In an attempt to shine a light on his most glorious appearance, the Negus denied being the "Prince of Peace" Matt. 10:34.
Now, the birth of Haile Selassie I is , without doubt, the fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy. Little by little, we'll go through Isaiah 9:6 and I'll show you in what way did Haile Selassie I fulfilled all that is stated therein.
THE GOVERNMENT SHALL BE UPON HIS SHOULDER
"And the government shall be upon his shoulder" Now a government is a body or successive bodies of persons governing a state. It is also the act, manner and fact of governing. Most likely for the government to be upon his shoulder, He would have had to be a head of state, either a president or king. The term ' the government shall be upon his shoulder' as it is used in the scriptures actually means that he will be the one solely responsible for the administration of all aspect of of government affairs. Leonard Moseley in his book " The conquering Lion of Judah" stated " The weight of the empire rest upon this quite, but iron-hearted little sovereign; night and day he is beset by a thousand different problems, a thousand different worries and perplexities, even while he eats he transact state businesses." Dr. Hoffman, a Canadian journalist stated, " Constitutional reform in 1956 guaranteed all the rights of the people of Ethiopia; though the Emperor retains much power in governing his agricultural nation of 22 million people, all the time seeking to lead his nation toward a fully modern way of life. At 76 years of age, His Imperial Majesty continue to work a twenty hours day, with three hours for rest and one devoted to prayers". In the introduction to the Autobiography of Haile Selassie I, printed and published by the Oxford University press, translated by Edward Ullendorf, a professor of Ethiopian studies, he(Edward Ullendorf) stated, "Greater and more profound changes have occurred in Ethiopia during the lifetime of this emperor than throughout the two and a half millenia of recorded Ethiopian history." And any objective analysis of the life of H.I.M. Haile Selassie I would undeniably bring one to the conclusion that Haile Selassie I positively and significantly contributed to Ethiopia's history and progress.
Now we'll move to the succeeding phrase of the prophecy.
WONDERFUL
"And his name shall be called wonderful" The name Rastafari is a combination of two Amharic words, Ras and Tefari.
Ras is a tittle of nobility given to certain officials and Tefari is the birth name of Haile Selassie I. Tefari, when anglicized, means 'He who inspires fear or wonder' or 'He who is full of wonder' . The reverence Haile Selassie I enjoyed as King of Kings in Ethiopia was hardly accorded to kings and sovereign of other lands. It is important to note that his fear and reverence did not come about as a result of harsh and intolerant rule, but it was embedded in the culture and customs of the people of Ethiopia to respect and revere their sovereign. It was even rumored throughout Ethiopia that no man, in spite of his status, had the audacity to gaze Haile Selassie I directly into the eyes.
COUNSELOR
" And his name shall be called counselor"
Rastafarians refer to H.I.M. Haile Selassie I as the Counselor because whatever may befall a man in this life, he can ultimately overcome if he live according to the wise counsels and examples set by Haile Selassie I. At our disposal we have over a thousand public utterances of Haile Selassie I which can be used as principles and precepts to guide all of our public and private affairs. All that Haile Selassie I has taught us and the faith he has implanted in us assures us of salvation and eternal life on earth.
Aware that we are living in a world tormented between modern knowledge and ancient faith, Haile Selassie I taught us to be free from those irrational fears of traditional superstition and modern skepticism. Aware that we are living in a world that has been scared by the crisis of vile racism and that this man-made philosophy is more shattering to the conscience of the world than any political or economic war, Haile Selassie I has taught us to "extend the hand of universal brotherhood to all without regard to race or color". Aware also that many of us after being wronged, brutalized and oppressed, have the tendency to bow and worship before the shrine of retaliation, Haile Selassie I has given us a different mandate, "We must live in peace with our former colonizers, shunning recrimination and bitterness and foreswearing the luxury of retaliation."
Haile Selassie I is one of the few men of our times that has perfectly bridged the gap between practice and profession. who can doubt that in a society where the doing is, more often than not, the antithesis of the saying and where men fervently speak about their commitment to certain religious and social principles and their lives are drenched with the practices of the direct opposite, that the exemplary character of Haile Selassie I ought to be emulated.
MIGHTY KING
And his name shall be called Mighty King." The name Haile Selassie I is derived from the ancient Ethiopic language, Gi'iz. When anglicized this name means 'MIGHT OF THE TRINITY' Haile Selassie I is a mighty king both in name and nature. One just has to check the chronicle of Haile Selassie I, the many battles he fought and conquered to agree with me in this assertion. Haile Selassie I has lived his entire life battling against tremendous odds and enormous adversities to accomplish what would seem as humanly impossible. As one writer has written, " surely it has been a difficult life he had and yet he is one of the most gracious, one of the most humane, and certainly one of the most distinguished men I have ever known."
Prince of Peace
"And his name shall be called Prince of Peace". Now, I'm at the real purpose and intent of this article. Haile Selassie I's remarkable contribution to world peace is incomparable. It is he who in 1963 gave the world the seven prerequisites for the establishment of world peace. This speech got popularized by the will of Kadamawi Hayle Silase through one of Bob Marley's most famous hit, War.
It is important to note, for peace to be established, all peace-threatening and life-wreckening enigmas must be diminished and extinguished. Peace devoid of justice becomes merely a piece. In endeavoring to spread peace to the four corners of the earth, Haile Selassie I did not fail to establish, simultaneously, her inseparable twin sister, justice.( Isaiah 42:2) Peace, we must know, 'demands the united efforts of us all' Knowing this, it becomes the duty of everyone to put in their lot regardless of how small it might appear, it is valuable nevertheless. And as Rastafari, we have a special, albeit very important role to play in this regard.
For peace to increase there must be a decrease in those social injustices that plague the life of man and rob him of that dignity and freedom that belongs to him as a free gift of the Almighty; injustices such as slavery, apartheid, genocide, ethnic cleansing etc. Haile Selassie I was almost exclusively responsible for the abolition of that form of slavery/serfdom which existed in Ethiopia and internationally he was a loner in his effort at establishing what he called International Morality. Haile Selassie I was one of, if not the first head of state to raise his voice against South Africa's apartheid, and he said he was doing it as an example for other nations to follow. Our redeemer stated, 'We denounce the Government of South Africa because the evil doctrine of apartheid espoused there denies the basic equality of men and raises to the status of sacred dogma an odious and false racism'. And he did not fail to back his words with action. 'As long as apartheid is practiced in South Africa, Africa will have to continue to intensify her opposition until that scourge is totally annihilated from our continent...The glories and advantages of freedom and advantages of freedom cannot be purchased with all the world's material wealth. Freedom price is the sacrifice of innumerable heroes, and in deep realization of this it becomes the duty of free men everywhere to be ever prepared for the defense of their freedom.' Haile Selassie I our shield and defender also granted financial assistance and scholarship to the orphans of those who fell as victims in south Africa.
It is grieving indeed, but not surprising, that many people, particularly African people are not aware of the noteworthy contributions of Haile Selassie I when were it not for Haile Selassie I's incessant plea for the triumph of international justice, Black people might have been totally annihilated by marauding Europeans.
When in 1914 the entire African continent, save Ethiopia, was dominated by European Exploitation and Control, it was Halie Selassie I who wiped every form of oppression from the continent and restored to the people their personality and dignity by setting up himself as a beckon of freedom and dignity, fulfilling Psm 72:4. when the Europeans were endeavoring to 'methodically and by means of all cruelty' eliminate black people from off the face of the earth, starting with Ethiopia(the worlds's oldest sovereign nation, the black nation), they were faced with the worlds firmest man, the black man. He lead his army on the battle field and gave all his commands from the head of his army. (Joel 2:11). The Emperor stated, 'the fact that I was found at the head of my army at once attracted thousands of men, and the fear and the anxiety of our enemy increased much to that extent.' He also remained', according to one writer, 'magically untouched throughout the battle.'
They also had to face him on the diplomatic front and it was at this juncture that one of the most outstanding Bible prophecy got fulfilled.
By the Oxford University, Haile Selassie I was bestowed with a Hon. Doctor of Civil Laws Degree and he was hailed as the Patron of Human Rights. The United Nations, an institution responsible for the peaceful cooperation of nations and for the protection of the territorial integrity of all states, when its charter was drawn up in 1945, after the second world war, Haile Selassie I played a leading role in its drafting. Dr. Hoffman stated 'When the United Nations charter was drawn up after world war II, His Imperial Majesty was one of its original drafters.'
Nfwase Haile, Ethiopia's Min. of State of Information stated, 'Despite the failure of the League of Nations to live up to its covenant and the gruelling distress that both the Emperor and his country suffered as a result, Ethiopia was among the first nations which at San Francisco in 1945 built the United Nations on the ashes of its predecessors, the defunct League of Nations.'
It is written in 1 Thessalonians 5, 'Do not quench the spirit. Do not despise prophecies. Test all things; hold fast to what is good.' We all have a responsibility to be open-minded, astute and discerning. We must think incisively and appraise realistically. We must transcend narrow passions and engage in honest conversation. Now any attempt to reconcile the literal fulfillment of Haile Selassie I with the biblical prophecies pertaining to the Negus of Nazareth(Christ) in his glorious appearance, one would readily see the accuracy in the match.
Haile Selassie I spoke lengthily on many critically important subjects such as the following:
Education
Neutrality
Confidence
Collective security
Disarmament
Colonialism
Racial discrimination
Apartheid
The rights of people
Peaceful co-existence and many more.
Haile Selassie I is the father of the Organisation of African Unity (now the AU) an organisation which has its Headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Haile Selassie I is also the quintessential Head of the Rastafari movement. Who can doubt that with the these trinity of organisations and with the Rastafari movement fulfilling its mandated role that 'of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end.'
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