Biblical Prophecy of the Arrival of Haile Selassie I as Living God

Essential to Rastafari is that Ras (meaning head, Duke, Chief) Tafari Makonnen, who was crowned Haile Selassie I, Emperor of Ethiopia, on November 2, 1930, is the living God incarnate. Called Jah, he is the black Messiah who will lead all those of righteous livity (wholesome natural lifestyle) into a promised land of full emancipation and divine justice called Zion (a new Earth, Isaiah 65:17). Selassie I also had the titles King of Kings, Elect of God and Conquering Lion of the Tribe of Judah. These titles are a close match for those of the Messiah mentioned in Revelation 5:5 (which verse reads “Lord of Lords” rather than “Elect of God”.) Psalm 87:4-6 is also interpreted as predicting the coronation of Haile Selassie I. King David, ruler of Israel (1004-965 BC), and his son Solomon the Wise (965-930 BC) are said to be direct descendents of Haile Selassie. The Kingdom of Judea (Israel) was crushed by the Assyrians in 722 BC and its people carried off into exile and death. Over a hundred years later, Babylonia conquered the Kingdom of Judea, exiling its inhabitants and destroying Jerusalem.

The Solomonic Dynasty of Ethiopia was founded by Menelik I, the son of Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, who had visited Solomon in Israel. 1 Kings 10:13 claims “And King Solomon gave unto the Queen of Sheba all her desire, whatsoever she asked, beside that which Solomon gave her of his royal bounty. So she turned and went to her own country, she and her servants.” On the basis of the Ethiopian national epic, the Kebra Nagast, Rastas interpret this verse as meaning she conceived his child, and from this, conclude that African people are among the true children of Israel, or Jews. Black Jews have lived in Ethiopia for centuries, disconnected from the rest of Judaism; their existence gave some credence and impetus to early Rastafari, validating their belief that Ethiopia was Zion. Rastas believe that they, and the rest of the black race, are descendants of the ancient twelve tribes of Israel, cast into captivity outside Africa as a result of the slave trade. Bob Marley included Haile Selassie in many songs, including “War” from Rastaman Vibration, which paraphrases Selassie’s speech to the United Nations in 1963: “Until the philosophy that holds one man superior and another inferior is finally and permanently discredited and abandoned, everywhere is war.”

Most Rastafari believe that Selassie is in some way a reincarnation of Jesus and that the Rastafari are the true Israelites. At the heart of Rastafari is the belief in being one’s own “kingman” or “chief”, saying they have been conditioned into slavery, but convert this into a belief in their own divine potential, believing that as Selassie I dwells within them, they also are worthy kings and princes. Many Rastas study the book Kebra Nagast, a sacred text over 1,000 years old, which mixes Jesus Christ with the Old Testament. Based on the prophecies in this book, Rastas determine that Selassie is the 225th regal descendent of Sheba and Solomon, thus a direct relative of Jesus of Nazareth. Rastas are satisfied that Selassie’s bloodline was entirely African and many Biblical persons would have been black, giving the Bible more power to these oppressed African descendents. In this realization, the Bible is much less Eurocentric. Ethiopian culture was perhaps the only African place not influenced by Europeans. Only after Selassie’s death in 1975, did Ethiopia adopt the western Gregorian calendar.

Rastas call Selassie “Jah”, or “Jah Rastafari”, and believe there is great power in these names; he is also referred to as H.I.M. (pronounced “him”), for His Imperial Majesty. They call themselves Rastafari to express the personal relationship each Rasta has with Selassie I. Rastas like to use the ordinal with the name Haile Selassie I, deliberately pronouncing the Roman numeral for “one” – signifying “the First” – like the letter I (“eye”) as a means of expressing a personal relationship with God. Haile Selassie I reigned Ethiopia from 1930 to 1974. In 1936, TIME Magazine named him “Man of the Year” for his brave defense of Ethiopia against the 1935 Mussolini-led Italian fascist invasion.