BlackHistoryFact.com

ETHIOPIAN CITIZENS OF ZION

 

Genesis 10:6 “and the sons of Ham;Cush, and Mizraim, and Phut, andCanaan.”

Ethiopiain the Bible is called “thelandofCush”. It consisted of the continent ofAfricabelowEgypt, a continent stretching for some 12 million square miles, 22 % of the world’s land-mass and only 16% of the world’s population.

Ethiopiais a land of fascinating contrast, dense tropical forest, vast stretches of savanna land, mountains, lakes, rivers, arid desert and even snow at the top ofMount Kilimanjaro.

Most Scholars believe thelandofCushorAfricaas it is called today was the home of the Garden of Eden.  The oldest bones discovered were found in this region of the world. Africais regarded as the Mother of Civilizations, and the origin of all races, not just of Blacks, as the wordEthiopiasuggests.

Jesus lived on the continent ofAfricaduring the early years of His life.  When he chooses His disciples, some argue that at least one of them was a Black man.  One must admit however, that it is very likely that all the disciples were Black sinceIsraelhad intermarried extensively with the indigenous Black population.  We do know that by the time Jesus died on the cross, many Africans had become believers.  The Ethiopian Eunuch, Simon of Cyrene, Rufus, Simon the Black disciple of Jesus also calledNiger, Paul of Tarsus along with the multitudes who were converted on the day of Pentecost must have returned to their homeland to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

It was inAfricathat the strongest churches were to develop, which challenged the very authority ofRomeitself.  The African church was so strong, with its center atAlexandriainEgyptthat ultimately there was a split between the African church and the Roman church,

Africaflourished as aChristianCenter, and even thought the first leader of an African nation to be won to Christ according to recorded history took place in the fourth century with the conversion of Ezna, the king ofEthiopia, the people ofAfricahad been Christian for centuries before and were in close contact with their Lord and Master

When the world itself followed after Catholicism, and the Crusades and Holy wars raged, there was one nation quietly serving God in seclusion.  Cut of by Moslems invaders, and fighting for survival, the “Land of the Cushites” vigilantly upheld the gospel of Jesus Christ.  During the centuries when the church was to turn form the true Sabbath to Sunday-keeping, the Ethiopians or Cushites as they called themselves, committed their ways to God, and upheld the name of His Son and His Sabbath.  Here sprang up a true breed of Christianity preached by Christ in the first century.  It was a Christianity deeply rooted in the African soil, with no taint of colonialism or Catholicism.  The Africans worshipped God as Black men should worship God, with a lively service of praise and fervor.

The demise ofAfricaas a center of greatness Black pride and Christianity came with the coming of Islam.  Mohammed, born inMecca570 AD, served at first to antagonize most of his fellow townsmen, and in 622 he was forced to flee for safety toMedina.  A few years later the prophet returned with an army, cleansed the Kaaba of its idols and vigorously spread the tenets of his faith throughoutArabia.  After Mohammed’s death in 632 AD his monotheistic teachings were compiled in what became known as the Koran, the Holy of the Holiest to all Muslims and the repository of Islamic doctrine and obligations.

 

          “Then followed on of the most amazing epoch of religious expansion in history. Mohammed had succeeded in organizing the Arabs into a militant proselytizing force which set about to annex new territories and peoples under the banner of Islam. Within some forty years they had conquered territory extending from Tunisiathrough Egyptand across the Fertile Crescentto include Iraqand Persia.  Within a century of the Prophets death, Muslims had stormed into the Iberian Peninsulaand over the Pyreneesto be turned back only after reaching Toursin central France.”[1]

Islam now compassed three continents and the sale of African slaves followed the goods that crossed the continents.  The Africans were told to convert, or be enslaved.  Many chose slavery because they were Christians, and Christians they would die.

 

          “From the earliest times, the elimination of African states as independent African sovereignties had been an Asian objective”[2]

They came as trading Partners and were allowed to set up their trading posts.  They hired Black soldiers to protect their goods, and then used the army against its people. Africawas a Christian community, and the Moslems would not have this so close to the center of Islam which was just across theRed Sea.

Islam would have us believe that the Muslim faith is the natural religion of the sons of Ham.  This is far from the truth.  Consider the following facts:

1.     Romeaccepted Christianity in 322 AD with the conversion ofConstantine.

2.      Christianity enteredEnglandin 597.

3.      It came toGermanyin 476 whenRomefell to the Barbarians and toRussiain 956 whenVladimirthe grand Prince of Kiev accepted Christ as his savior.

4.      On the other hand, Philip talked to the Ethiopian Eunuch in AD 30-40 when he was sent by Amanateree Queen ofEthiopiato bring back the truth concerning Jesus of Nazareth.

5.      Simon ofCyrenewas inJerusalemat the crucifixion in AD 31 and was responsible for helping Jesus carry the cross toGolgotha.

This suggest that Christianity is the black man’s natural religion, not Islam, not Rastafarianism, not Catholicism,

Africais a land whose people knew not the meaning of failure.  Whenever adversities came and powerful armies were introduce, unlike any other nation on earth, the African showed a remarkable ability to pick up the pieces of their lives, and start another great kingdom in some other location.

When United Egypt fell,Nubia, thenMeroe, became the center of Black power.  Then there wasEthiopiaorAxumcenter of Christianity.  This nation’s territory was called the Land of the God’s, where Christian churches flourished in magnificence and beauty.  It was from this land that the Queen of Sheba left her Nubian home and traveled toIsraelto see if all the things she had heard about the Black king Solomon was true.  Up until themEthiopia, which ruledEgypt, was the dominant Black nation, and the thought of a king wiser that the Pharaoh of Egypt was ridiculous, especially from a people recently enslaved byEgypt.

History has it that when the Nubian queen came to Solomon, they conceived a son called Menelek.  He became a famous Ethiopian ruler and his lineage ruledEthiopiafor some 2000 years.

It was Cyriacus king of Kings as he was called inAfricathat marched against Islamic ruledEgyptwith 100,000 soldiers and commanded the Muslims to refrain from destroying churches and persecuting Christians or feel the might of African soldiers. Egyptquickly agreed, and the African army soon withdrew.

Then there wasGhana, traders of the world.  Their land was a thriving economy of gold, ivory, paper, copper, emerald, ebony and ostridge feathers.  A strong economy meant a strong army.  One that was feared by bothEgyptand the armies of the world.  The men ofGhanawere militant Africans.  They resisted amalgamation with the whites and Asiatic, unlike the Africans of Egypt.  To the people ofGhana, the rejection of their culture was an insult to their ancestors and their God.

Songhi was an African kingdom that specialized in scholarship.  In Songhi it is reported that people made more money selling books than gold.  It was in Songhi that the famousUniversityofTimbuktuwas organized.  This university boasted the greatest library in the world.  Men came forGreece,Europe,Arabia,SpainandPalestineto study at the feet of the great African scholars.

Maliunder the great king Mansa Musa built in 1312 AD one of the greatest empires of the fourteenth century.

Then there was Alwa.  This was an African city with wide streets lined with palm tree, spacious homes, thriving industries and a strong army augmented by a strong cavalry.

Next was Funji.  The people of Funji struggled to take back all Black land from both the Muslims and the Ottoman Turks who were laying claim to African soil.

Africa was the land which had what all people wanted most - Gold, diamonds, ivory, copper, iron ore, and a group of people that appeared to be physically superior in strength and intellect.  It is the richest continent on earth, and it’s remarkable that it has been the home of Black men and women for over 8,000 years.

According to Chancellor Williams, the Blacks of Africa were people excelling as a line of builders of empires dating back to the Stone Age.  They had scholars, scientists, scribes architects, priests, mathematicians, engineers, and stone brick masons, and generals, carpenters, artists, sculptors, cloth makers, farmers, teachers, smiths and Blacksmiths.

Africaindeed was the cradle of civilization.  This is so forcibly impressed upon history that the white man’s answer was to make men’s forefather a monkey and the African the first man from whom the white man later evolved.

 

          “This continent was so rich, that according to Herodotus, the Africans bound their prisoners in golden chains in about 430 BC.”[3]

What happened to these great empire builders, the tall strong Black men, those geniuses who were the world’s greatest businessmen?  What changed for the brothers who sailed the seven seas in their ships that traveled faster than the wind?  What happened to builders of civilization who gave mankind their first alphabet, the art of astronomy and medicine, its first democratic system and representative government?  What happened that caused the Africans to be enslaved, their land divided, and Islamized, so that today people are starving on the richest continent on earth?

In times past, when war was coming, it was toAfricathat men looked for military assistance.  It was the men ofAfricathat had the might and ability to defeat the coming armies.  When Senecharib was at the gates ofJerusalemand commanded Hezekiah to surrender the city, it was toAfricathat word was sent, “come quickly, deliver your brothers from the hand of the king ofAssyria”, and Shitbitku ruler ofNubia, sent his brother Tarhaka to the assistance of the Black king Hezekiah, ruler ofIsrael.

When Senecharib was at the gates ofEgyptthe Egyptian king wrote toEthiopia, “Let there be peace among us, let us come to a mutual understanding, let us divide the land between us, no foreigners should rule over us.”

The Bible talks about Tarhaka and according to the Historian Strabo, Tarhaka conquered all lands as far asEurope.  This African loved military power freedom and justice, these were their watchwords.

The Persian king Cambyses, after he had captured the Black Empire of Babylon because the Negro Nabonidus was a drunkard and too busy partying to protect his people and his city, decidedAfricawas ripe for the taking.  The Black people ofAfricaposed a serious threat to his power base.  Cambyses then sent spies intoAfricaand before long they were discovered.   The king then demanded of them their reason for being in the motherland.  The spies revealed to the king their mission and he reacted swiftly and wisely.  Taking his massive bow in his hand and pulling as hard as he could, the King of Ethiopia fired the arrow.  The instrument of war whisked through the leaves and found its mark in a distant tree.  “Go tell your king, the Ethiopian said, “Go tell your king that until he can draw a bow as large, and fire it as far as the African, then he dare not enter Ethiopia, and until them, he should thank the God’s who have not put it in the minds of the Sons of Ethiopia to win another man’s country.”  Cambyses was so furious when he received the message, that he started to make immediate preparation to attackEthiopia.

Thus from the beginning Africans were regarded as superior fighting men.  People were beginning to trust the Black men, rather than God.  God brought down the Black nations, because they were beginning to look to their own power, rather than to His. Note the following Old Testament passage.

 

          ISAIAH 43:3 “For I am the LORD thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour: I gave Egyptfor thy ransom, Ethiopiaand Seba for thee.”[4]

Thus God gaveEgypt,Ethiopiaand Seba forIsrael.  He caused the downfall ofAfricato prove a point.  The point was, whether Black or white, there was no race on earth powerful enough to withstand Him.  He was the God who created and protected man.  Even though the Africans had extraordinary strength and intellectual genius, should the African not turn to Him, he would bring his downfall.  This was not just for the African, but any people who would not obey Him.  Note the words of the Prophet Ezekiel:

 

          EZEKIEL 30:4 “And the sword shall come uponEgypt, and great pain shall be inEthiopia, when the slain shall fall inEgypt, and they shall take away her multitude, and her foundations shall be broken down. 5Ethiopia, andLibya, andLydia, and all the mingled people, and Chub, and the men of the land that is in league, shall fall with them by the sword.” (Isaiah 43:3)

It is clear to me that the time has come for the Cushites to return to God.  InAmericawe live in a land that has robbed us of our heritage.  Our historical path we can trace no further back than slavery.  They traveled in their ships and stole us from our homeland.  Our Muslim brother encouraged it by selling our fore parents because they were Christians and resented Islam.  Our kingly past, our royal heritage, our mighty forefathers have been robbed from our lineage and now we travel as a people without a history.  God says however:

 

          “11 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second  time  to  recover  the remnant  of his people,  which shall be left,...from  Egypt, and from  Cush,...and from the islands of the sea.”(Isaiah11:11)

Clearly Africans will gather fromEgypt,Africaand theIslandsof the sea.  This should be good news for all of us.  People of African descent everywhere should be excited that such a day is coming when Jesus will be in charge.  A day when Black and whites the world over will give their hearts to God and racism will be no more.  There will be no need for affirmative action on that day.  “Men will be judged by the content of their character and not the color of their skins.  It will be a day when Black men and white men will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, free at last, free at last, thank God almighty I am free at last.”  When that day arrives, according to the Bible, something special will happen.

 

          “SPA 68:31 Princes shall come out ofEgypt;Ethiopiashall soon stretch out her hands unto God.” (Psalm 68:31)

This is a message that God’s people should be spreading all around the world to our Black brothers and sisters.  We need to tell it on the mountains ofAfricaand in the suburbs ofNew York City.  It should spread to the hills ofJamaicaand in the ghettos of theThird World.  Let it resound in the in the mosque of Allah and the kingdom Hall of the Jehovah Witnesses.  Black men and women everywhere needs to know that out ofAfricawill come princes.  This is not because blacks are born in the royal lineage of the Pharaohs, which we are.  It is not because we are of a long line of Nubian Kings, which we are.  It is because we are brothers of Jesus Christ, sons of God, and if I read my Bible correctly, this God is the Africans God, the Africans God forever, and through Him we are princes.  Neither the Europeans nor Islam can deny us that privilege.  God has made a promise to all that he will return again and received us unto ourselves.  This promise reads:

 

          “1  Let not your heart be troubled:  ye believe in God, believe also in me. 2   In  my  Father’s  house  are  many  mansions:  if  it were not so,  I would  have told you.  I go to prepare a place for you.  3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.”(John 14:1-3)

Our forefathers were enslaved for a long time.  We have been taught that being Black means being second class citizens of the developed World.  Third world nations indicate just that, third class status. Africawas divided by Europeans into 53 nations, running across tribal borders, family territories and language groups that have resulted in constant warfare so thatAfricacan never achieve its full potential.  It was George Washington during the American Civil war who said, “Mississippiwas meant to be the river of one nation.”  He knewAmericacould not be great if she was divided, and men fought and died to keep this nation as one.

I believe theNile too was meant to be the river of one nation. Africa was a great continent, but today it is divided into 53 nations.  Its people are starving because Muslims are fighting Christians, and tribes are fighting tribes.  They are cutting off each other from the sources of food and supplies.  The times has come for Blacks to band together and tell the world God is gathering His remnant fromAfricaand the world, so you and I could be numbered among, “THE BLACK CITIZENS OF ZION."