The Golden Emblem of Solomon

Have you seen our new flag? Did you take a good look at the golden emblem with its intricate design? It represents the spirit of Truth, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. Let me explain, the emblem consists of seven parts and they are as follows:

1.  Fire: Hebrews 12:29 “For our God is a consuming fire.”

• It is this fire that gave light to men and is represented as the flames on the emblem.

2.  Horns: Luke 1:68-69 “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed his people, And hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David”

• There are seven horns each one holding a ‘golden bowl’, which the flames shoot from.

3.  Lily: Hosea 14:3 “I will be as the dew unto Israel: he shall grow as the lily, and cast forth his roots as Lebanon”.

• Look closely at a real lily and those that have eyes to see will see. The lily was a flower that King Solomon used as carvings and decorations for the temple in Jerusalem. 1 Kings 7:26. As such the lily in the centre represents the essence of this emblem.

4.  Double Triangle: Also known as the Seal of Solomon and the Star of David. However two triangles were taken where one triangle was turned upside down and imposed on the other, thus creating a double triangle, this is the symbol that Moses used to lead the children of Israel out of Egypt. This was the symbol that the INWWM used on its flag prior to the new emblem (more on this later). This symbol is woven into the centre of the lily.

5.  Blue Borders: Numbers 15:37 “Speak unto the children of Israel, and bid them that they make them fringes in the borders of their garments throughout their generations, and that they put upon the fringe of the borders a ribband of blue.”
• The blue borders remind us of the Laws, Statues and Commandments.

6.  Seven-Branch Candlestick: Exodus 25:30 “And thou shalt make a candlestick of pure gold:… And six branches shall come out of the sides of it…”

7.   Set among the Royal Colours of Israel: Exodus 26:1 “Moreover thou shalt make the tabernacle with ten curtains of fine twined linen, and blue, and purple, and scarlet.”
This design is flawless but it came after much deliberation, long nights, many disappointments and frustration. The journey actually started during the late 80s early 90s. Elder Shadrock, Master Teacher of the Israel Nation World Wide Ministries (INWWM) undertook the journey to establish the Israelite Nation (known then as the House of Israel) a spiritual and legal entity within Toronto, Canada. He travelled to many different places to gather the items that later on helped to establish the physical identity of this nation. One such place was a little shop on Bathurst Street known for selling amongst other items, various candlesticks. While looking through the store he came across several 3, 6 and 9 branch candlesticks but no 7 branch. He told the owner of the shop what he was looking for and she gave him a quizzical look followed by “those are temple menorahs and are not supposed to be displayed in public”. The nine-branch candlestick was considered a public symbol whereas the seven-branch was reserved for the temple. The lady reinforced her statement with the point that the seven-branch are very hard to get, and suggested that he should go with a 9-branch instead. Eventually, after much discussion, she said that she might be able to place a 7-branch on special order for him. As the years went by, the 7-branch candlestick became more prevalent and available.

By August 1990 the first flag was created (designed by Elder Michael Hinds), it included the royal colours of the God of Israel, Scarlet, Blue, Purple and fine Linen. It was arranged with three columns with a blue double triangle in the centre column. Sometimes you might find the flags on the wall with a border of blue however; during any of these instances you were able to identify the INWWM by its flag. Three things bothered the Elder, first people would leave without any regards to using our flag without permission. Second, the double triangle seemed to be used by just about everyone. Third, there was a lot of negative association with the double triangle.

The time came for a change; the Elder decided that perhaps the 7 branch candlestick should be used instead, however prior to this change in 1998, the Nation had established its coat of arms. It was not a symbol that was displayed in public often for fear of others copying it. Gradually though, we noticed that there was a country using a similar emblem on their podiums, which included a seven-branch candlestick between two-laurel leaves.

In 1998 Elder had added a seven branch candlestick to the centre of his gold double triangle (a gift that was given to him after moving the INWWM to the Accord Centre a building located in North York Ontario), and so this eventually became the inspiration for the creation of a new flag. By 2001 a flag was printed that included a seven-branch candlestick instead of a double triangle yet it felt incomplete. However by 2013 the original inspiration that the elder had (candlestick within the double triangle) was given to several individuals who were asked to come up with a design.

A sample of the flag was printed and presented just prior to the 2015 INWWM Convention known as the ‘Awakening’. It was during this convention that the name ‘Star of David’ or ‘Seal of Solomon’ was dropped and the term ‘Double Triangle’ was adopted since it reflected the true nature of the symbol (the triangle which was the power of old Egypt, and an inverted triangle which was the wisdom of Moses. This move neutralized the powers of the gods of old Egypt by creating a higher spiritual environment, conducive to the God of Israel). Unfortunately it was around this time that a member of the supreme council stumbled upon a website that had a flag depicting the double triangle with a seven-branch candlestick in the middle. The Elder was troubled by this notion and decided to re-think how a new emblem for the flag will be approached.

May 2015, the Elder commissioned several artists within the INWWM, to develop a new emblem that would separate us from similar unassociated organizations and identify us as a uniquely spiritual people. Furthermore it was important to establish a stronger scriptural foundation for this new emblem. The artists were given two parameters to work with, the lily and the seven-branch candlestick. After numerous prototypes the Supreme Council and leadership selected a final rendition, which was enhanced and named by the congregation. Everyone within the congregation was offered an opportunity to submit ideas as to what the emblem should be called. This is the birth of the “Golden Emblem of Solomon”, a symbol of truth, with a scriptural foundation paving the way for the Israelite Nation.

Many thanks to the artists (Roberto Rodrigues, Arlene Gocul and Officer Charmain Ford) that participated in this project and to Roberto Rodrigues whose winning design was selected as the emblem for the flag. Thank you Elder Shadrock for your inspiration and guidance and to the supreme council for your guidance. Thank you Brethren for participating in the selection of this most appropriate name. Finally thank you to the Lord God of Abraham, God of Isaac and the God of Jacob for his mercy and this truth.

By: C. D. Ford – The Proverbial Messenger