ST GEORGE PATRON SAINT OF ENGLAND<\/p>\n
BY DAVID MCLURE, SCOTLAND<\/p>\n
Who was St George? A full account can be found in the book
\nwritten by the late Mrs Isabel Hill Elder entitled “George of
\nLydda – Soldier, Saint and Martyr” which is published by the
\nCovenant Publishing Company. In it she helpfully separates fact
\nfrom fiction. How ever, for the purposes of this article, only a
\nbrief outline of his life will be given.<\/p>\n
George was born in the year 280 AD at Lydda in Pal estine. Lydda
\nwas located 23 miles north west of Jerusalem and 12 miles south
\neast of the sea port of Joppa. His mother was a devoted
\nChristian, her father being the Count of Lydda. She was a
\ndescendant of those written of in Acts 9 v 32: “And it came to
\npass, as Peter passed throughout all quarters, he came down also
\nto the saints which dwell at Lydda.” George’s mother was of the
\nIsrael people at Lydda who had received the Gospel of Christ. His
\nfather was also a Christian, from a noble Cappadocian family.
\nCappadocia was among the places where dispersed Israelites dwelt
\nto whom the Apostle Peter addressed his Epistle: “Peter, an
\napostle of Jesus Christ, to the strangers scat tered throughout
\nPontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia.” (1 Peter 1 v.
\n1).<\/p>\n
George was brought up in a Godly Christian Israelite family, but
\nsadly his father died while he was still a youth. Due to the
\nprestige of the family, the Governor of Palestine took him into
\nmilitary service. Such were George’s abilities that, although
\nstill young, he was appointed as a General over 5,000 men. It was
\nsaid of him at the age of 20 that “he was so exceeding strong and
\nvaliant that he was the leader in battle; there was no one among
\nall the company of soldiers who could be compared with him for
\nstrength and beauty, and the grace of God was with him……..
\nall who saw him marvelled at his power and youth, and God was
\nwith him in all his ways”.<\/p>\n
But, all was not well. The Roman Emperor, Diocletian, had issued
\nedicts against Christianity throughout the Empire (which included
\nthe land of Palestine) and persecution of Christians was severe.
\nBy the end of the 3rd Century AD, persecution was intensifying to
\na terrible extent.
\nLike his parents, George was a fervent and zealous believer in
\nthe Lord Jesus Christ. He bravely sought to appeal to Diocletian
\nagainst the increasingly tyrannical edicts against Christianity
\nat a time when most would not have dared to do so for fear of
\ntorture and death. Appealing to the Emperor, he boldly declared:
\n“I am a Christian and I believe in my Lord Jesus Christ”. Because
\nof his status, character and military renown, strenuous attempts
\nwere made by the powers of Imperial Rome to persuade him to
\nrenounce his faith. These all failed. Eventually he was brought
\nbefore a cruel individual named Galerius who has been described
\nas “more wicked than any other man upon earth at that time, and
\nthe most fearsome people secutor of Christians.” Interestingly,
\nat the trial, Galerius referred to George as “chief of the
\nGalileans” which is another evidence of George’s Israel identity.
\nSadly the trial ended with Galerius pronouncing the sentence of
\ndeath. On April 23rd, 304 AD George, the mighty warrior, faithful
\nChristian and valiant opponent of evil, was beheaded at the age
\nof 24. As he was being led to his death he prayed for his
\npersecutors and then turning to the guards said “Come with me
\nbrethren and fulfil your order, do what ye have to do”.<\/p>\n
From the time of his death George’s memory was revered. Accounts
\nof his life and martyrdom were passed down from generation to
\ngeneration. Illustrations and paintings of George began to
\nappear, portraying him as a mighty, noble warrior mounted on a
\nwhite horse slaying a hideous dragon with a spear or a sword.
\nThese paintings increasingly became a feature in many church
\nbuildings in the East. However, as a result of the exploits of
\nthe English Knights under the command of Richard the Lionheart in
\nPalestine during the Crusades, George became the Patron Saint of
\nEngland and the symbol of the warrior on the white horse slaying
\nthe dragon became a common emblem in the “isles of the west”. The
\nstories of the valour of George of Lydda so impressed Richard the
\nLionheart and his English Knights that the cry “For St George”
\nwas used to inspire them as they advanced under the banner of a
\nred cross on a white background. This became the ensign of
\nEnglish Crusader Knights. On his return to England, Richard
\ndecided that the Order of St George should be founded and the
\ntitle “Companions of St George” conferred on those crusaders who
\nsucceeded in scaling the walls of Jerusalem as they liberated the
\ncity from the Moslem Infidel.<\/p>\n
It was from the time of the return from the Crusades that the
\nbanner of the Red Cross (speaking of blood shed in battle) and
\nillustrations of St George on the white horse slaying the dragon
\nbegan to appear on the walls of many Parish Churches in England.
\nWhile there is no historical record of George slaying a beast, as
\ndepicted in these paintings, the image represents his fight
\nagainst wickedness and evil. While the forces of darkness put him
\nto death, yet in his death he symbolised all that was true,
\nrighteous and Godly. His life and death was to inspire multitudes
\nin subsequent generations in the belief that, ultimately, evil
\nwill be defeated and good will triumph.<\/p>\n
What then is the prophetic significance of St George’s Day, April
\n23rd? Why is it that this noble Christian Israelite
\nwarrior-martyr is Patron Saint of a nation that is almost 2,000
\nmiles North West of his Palestinian homeland? What really is
\nbeing declared when England celebrates St George’s Day every
\nyear?
\nThe answer begins in Genesis 3 v.15 when God said to the ser-
\npent: “and I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and
\nbetween thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou
\nshalt bruise his heal.” Prior to these words being uttered, God’s
\nman Adam had fallen from his high calling as head of all creation
\nthrough the beguiling of the one who is described as the serpent.
\nIn Revelation 20 v. 2 the serpent is also referred to as the
\ndragon: “and he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which
\nis the Devil, and Satan….”<\/p>\n
The serpent\/dragon appeared to win a great victory when Adam and
\nEve succumbed to his subtlety, bringing about their ultimate
\ndeath. However, God declared in Genesis 3 v. 15 that this was but
\nthe start of a terrible age-long battle between the seed of the
\nwoman and the seed of the dragon.<\/p>\n
The seed of the woman has a two-fold aspect. The first
\nmanifestation was in the line of Seth from whence came Abram the
\nprogenitor of the nation that would do battle against the powers
\nof darkness: “Thou art my battle axe and weapons of war: for with
\nthee will I break in pieces the nations and with thee will I
\ndestroy kingdoms”. (Jeremiah 51 v. 20).
\nSadly, Israel did not remain faithful to her Divinely appointed
\nrole as the righteous na tion wielding the sword of the Spirit
\nwhich is the Word of God. Their failure did not thwart God’s
\npurposes. The prophecy regarding the seed of the woman was to
\nhave a second manifestation. Israel (the seed that failed) was to
\nbring forth the seed of the woman who never fails, the Lord Jesus
\nChrist. He came to deal once and for all with the dragon who had
\nwrought such havoc in bringing sin, misery, disease and death
\nupon all creation. The Lord Jesus Christ, the mighty one, the
\ngood and upright one, the one to be admired, was willing to lay
\ndown His life for the cause of Truth. He was taken (yet he went
\nwillingly) to the cross of Calvary, having been sentenced to
\ndeath by wicked men. But through that death He destroyed the
\npower of the devil (the dragon\/serpent) that had brought death
\ninto the world: “Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of
\nflesh and blood, he (the Lord Jesus Christ) also himself likewise
\ntook part of the same; that through death he might destroy him
\nthat had the power of death, that is, the devil.” (Hebrews 2 v.
\n14).<\/p>\n
When George of Lydda, whose life and character was such a
\nreflection of the Christ he honoured, was put to death it seemed
\nthat the dragon (the devil) had triumphed in the form of pagan
\nRome. However only a short while after George’s death, pagan Rome
\nlost its power. Likewise, after Christ’s death, the apparent
\nvictory of the dragon was shattered when Christ rose from the
\ngrave and the Gospel of Truth began to spread like wildfire as
\nrecorded in the book of the Acts of the Apostles. The battle
\nbetween the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent has
\ncontinued to rage down all the centuries of time, right to the
\npresent day. At times the forces of good have gained the
\nascendancy; at other times the power of the dragon has seemed
\nalmost overwhelming.
\nGenesis 3 v. 15 declares that the head of the serpent\/dragon will
\nbe crushed, speaking of his ultimate destruction. The sign of
\nthis certain victory was the resurrection of the Lord Jesus
\nChrist from the dead. The manifestation of this victory will be
\nrevealed to the world when the words of the two angelic beings to
\nthe disciples beholding the ascension of Christ are fulfilled:
\n“…this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven,
\nshall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.”
\n(Acts 1 v 11). <\/p>\n
What happens when Christ comes again?: “And I saw heaven opened,
\nand behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called
\nFaithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make
\nwar. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many
\ncrowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he
\nhimself. And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and
\nhis name is called The Word of God.” (Revelation 19 verses 11-
\n13).
\nThe phrase “dipped in blood” represents the shedding of His blood
\nin the terrible battle with the powers of darkness. He deals with
\nthose who are the willing servants of the dragon (Revelation 19
\nverses 17-21). Then, in chapter 20, we read of the dragon being
\nbound and the commencement of the millennial reign of the great
\nwarrior on the White Horse. For one thousand years the earth will
\nexperience the blessings of Christ’s righteous rule. The dragon
\nis then released for “a little season” and makes one last vain
\nattempt to thwart his ultimate doom, but to no avail. His final
\nand eternal defeat is inevitable: “And the devil that deceived
\nthem was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone….”
\n(Revelation 20 v 10).<\/p>\n
What then is the prophetic significance of St George’s Day? It is
\nan annual witness by the people of England (although they know
\nnot its significance) to the eternal triumph of the Lord Jesus
\nChrist and the destruction of Satan. It declares the wonder of
\nChrist’s death and resurrection, and the sure and certain hope of
\nHis return to bring to this earth all the blessings of the
\nKingdom of Heaven.<\/p>\n
How often have Israel believers said that although blind to their
\nidentity, the Israel people are still God’s witnesses in this
\nworld? If only our people realised the significance of St
\nGeorge’s Day and the symbolism of George slaying the dragon!
\nDespite their blindness, each year on April 23rd the witness is
\nthere for all who will open their eyes and unstop their ears.<\/p>\n
One day the Israel people will be blind and deaf no longer. They
\nwill know who they are and who their God is. In that day
\nthey will look no longer at paintings of St George the mighty
\nwarrior on a white horse, but on THE MIGHTY WARRIOR Himself. He,
\ntheir King and their Redeemer, will return in triumph to set up
\nHis victorious kingdom which will never be destroyed, and He
\nshall reign for ever and ever!<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
ST GEORGE PATRON SAINT OF ENGLAND BY DAVID MCLURE, SCOTLAND Who was St George? A full account can be found in the book written by the late Mrs Isabel Hill Elder entitled “George of Lydda – Soldier, Saint and Martyr” which is published by the Covenant Publishing Company. In it she helpfully separates fact from […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"seo_booster_metabox":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[2843,974,2985,1537,2960,3268,2986,3269,2983,3262,3263,2982,2984,2981,2980],"class_list":["post-10403","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-anglo-israelism","tag-british-israel","tag-british-israel-st-george","tag-british-israelism","tag-celto-saxon-israel","tag-correct-replacement-theology","tag-did-st-george-visit-england","tag-israel-is-the-church","tag-read-book-on-st-george","tag-replacement-theology","tag-scriptures-replacement-theology","tag-st-george-book","tag-st-georges-day-in-england","tag-study-on-st-george","tag-true-israel-christian-nations"],"yoast_head":"\n