#129 From Manassas to Malahide and the Battle of the Boyne

Issue #129

August 2009

We have spent the last three issues of FMS giving our readers some understanding of the prophetic works that occurred before, during and after our 2009 Passover-Resurrection Bible Conference in Manassas, Virginia. I could go on for another three or four issues, but I shall conclude with this one and simply encourage readers to obtain the recordings from the Conference (see Resource List on pg. 4).

Oh, how astounding this last story became as it played out in Manassas! It reaches back to the 1600s! It involves our friends from Ireland and myself, as we stood in proxy for large people groups. It also involved my wife, though she was not present, nor is she involved in the work of this ministry. But the way that our Father brought about her spiritual participation is most astonishing as I will now relate.

The connections were not fully perceived by any of us until our arrival in Manassas this past April when I met the 12 who had journeyed “across the pond” from Northern Ireland. I was dining with Bill and his wife, Maureen, Stephen and Paula, Joe and Fiona, and with those couples’ children, and the couples’ friend, Peter. I felt an immediate bond with these dear brothers and sisters in Christ.

One of, if not the major theme, which emerged from the Manassas Conference was reconciliation. We have briefly discussed it in previous issues and have detailed it extensively in my lectures at Manassas, entitled Inheritance at Manassas & the Davidic Covenant.Our Manassas experiences foreshadow the times of reconciliation between many large people groups: reconciliation between the Houses ofIsrael and Judah (the two sticks of Ezekiel 37:16-19); reconciliation between descendants of the opposing sides in the U. S. Civil War, the War Between the States; reconciliation between and among all races—not to promote homogenization of all into one, but to be able to live amicably and demonstrate agape (the love of Christ) towards one another, to recognize the giftings and special callings of each and all races in our—may I use the word?—in our diversities.

Further, there is coming soon reconciliation between Protestants and Catholics, between male and female, between young and old, and ultimately between Christian Israel and the rest of the non-Israel and non-Christian world. All of which will only manifest fully as God opens the eyes of all people to learn their particular roles in God’s Great Plan of the Ages. For this to occur, modern Israel must awaken first, to her identity as Israel, and then to fully carry out her God-ordained responsibilities.

(For more on that last particular, obtain our most recent lectures, The New Covenant Prophesied—To Whom and For Whom? See Resources.) For any new readers, our reference to modern Israel (who are currently “blinded in part” {Romans 11:25}) is to the Anglo-Saxon, Keltic, Scandinavian, Germanic, and other related peoples too numerous to list. We are the literal descendants of the Israelites of the Old Testament. We were called for a special purpose, which entails firstsubmitting to Jesus Christ as our King and Savior.

Satan (the adversary—however you wish to define him/it—we will not debate that here) has had a program of divide and conquer, but the time is coming soon when satan will be cast down and the bitter divisions will be healed.

Luke 10:18 And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.

Revelation 12:12 Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.

It is in regard to two of those above-mentioned divisions to which we now turn our attention: the divisions between male and female, and between Protestants and Catholics. The women’s liberation movement of the past several decades is a clear example of the pendulum swinging too far the other way. In God’s Kingdom, there will be perfect balance and harmony between male and female. As for reconciliation between Protestants and Catholics, neither I nor our Irish friends advocate any compromise with the Word of God. Ultimately, Protestants do not “return to Rome;” nor do Catholics become Protestants. What I see is that both have serious problems and both will be replaced in the Age of Tabernacles with the true Way of Christianity.

I was born into and raised in a devout Catholic family. When I left the Catholic seminary and the Roman church altogether as a young man, I thought that since I believed in God and Jesus, that my action of leaving Romanism automatically made me a Protestant. However, with many years of hindsight and experience now to draw upon, it is evident that I am not a Protestant either—nor halfway between. I am a Christian, period. I assert my right to have a direct relationship with God, without intermediaries, Catholic or Protestant.

Apparently, the idea of these reconciliations had been quickened in the minds of our brethren in Ireland for some time because when I first met and dined with the 12 from Ireland, Bill (or was it Maureen) remarked to me something to the effect, “We are glad to see you playing your part, James.” (That was a direct quote. The rest of the dialogue is not exact, merely to the best of my recollection—JWB.)

“What do you mean?” I asked.

Bill then explained to me how the prominence of the whole reconciliation theme at Manassas was also very apparent to them as demonstrated by how quickly we were uniting. (“We” meaning Bill and Maureen and myself. “Uniting” meaning coming together in unity in the Spirit of Christ—all of us sensing that close bond within the first few minutes of meeting one another.)

“I still don’t understand what you mean, Bill,” I pleaded.

“It’s about William and Mary and James II,” he responded. “Maureen is an Irish form of ‘Mary,’ and Bill is short for ‘William,’ of course; and you represent James II.”

“Okay, I get it now, but just dimly,” I acknowledged. “It’s concerning the 17^th century history of England and Ireland, but fill me in on the details,” I requested. “It’s been decades since I studied that.”

Thus, over dinner, my new-found Irish brothers and sisters gave me a brief refresher course on that era of British-Irish history. And may I present a somewhat more extensive version for you, my readers?

It matters not where we pick up the story because since the Reformation, wherever we commence, we find one or the other side in power and abusing their opponents. The House of Tudor’s Henry VIII, for example, was a ruthless tyrant. British monarchs to this day retain the title, “Defender of the Faith.” But how many realize it was first bestowed on Henry VIII by the pope for having written a very critical book about Martin Luther? Henry VIII is best known for being the first English monarch to break from Rome. It was not over any Reformation doctrine, however, but over Henry’s personal desire to divorce his wife and marry another. Thus began the bitter wars and persecutions by Protestant, then Catholic, then Protestant, etc. monarchs in England.

When the Stuart monarchy allowed no tolerance for the newly-arising Puritans to disagree with Church of England forms and doctrines, King Charles I was deposed under Oliver Cromwell. But as Cromwell accumulated power, he proved equally intolerant for those disagreeing with him. As for his treatment of Catholics, in Macaulay’s words, he was “able, straightforward and cruel.”

In Ireland, the same Catholic-Protestant turmoil has ensued since the 1500s—only more extreme—the bitter remnants of which are still seen to this day in that troubled land. It was to beg Father to bring this condition to a close that Bill and Maureen and I undertook to reconcile the parties in the spiritual realm, knowing that the manifestation in the material realm will follow. Under Elizabeth I, Ireland became Protestant. Under Cromwell, Puritan divines had stirred Cromwell’s armies to such fury to “extirpate the Canaanites,” that it led to a massacre of 3,000 Catholic men, women and children at Drogheda in 1649.

Cromwell returned to England in May, 1650, leaving his son-in-law in charge. Catholic resistance subsided within two years.Many Irish (Catholic) men sought their fortunes serving as mercenaries for Catholic monarchs in Europe. Laws were enacted leaving the remaining Catholic land-owners largely dispossessed. Oliver Cromwell had been in Ireland only nine months, but his cruelty left deep and lasting scars in the generational memories of Irish Catholics. “The curse of Cromwell on you” became an Irish oath. Towards the end of his life, Cromwell, too, had become a tyrant and feared assassination. His son, Richard, proved to have neither the desire nor ability to follow in his father’s mold. The House of Stuart was restored to the English throne under Charles II. His father, Charles I, had been executed in Cromwell’s revolution.

While Charles professed Protestantism, shortly before his death, he sent for a Catholic priest to minister the sacraments to him. Charles had no legitimate issue, so his brother, James II, ascended the throne in 1685. He was openly Roman Catholic. In Ireland, Catholics now hoped for a new start, a redistribution of the land settlement and recognition of their church.James II named his close friend and adviser, the Catholic, Lord Richard Talbot, to govern Ireland. But James II was unpopular in England. His intent had been to place England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland back in submission to Rome. Protestants in Ireland were anxious for the future, but took comfort from the king’s the appointment of his Protestant brother-in-law, Lord Clarendon, as lord lieutenant in Ireland.

It was soon clear, however, that the real power lay with Lord Richard Talbot, brother of the dead archbishop. He was James’ confidante and had proved to be a very capable and strong advocate for Catholic claims. He was made Earl and later Duke of Tyrconnell and head of the Irish army, which he proceeded to reorganize by dismissing many Protestants and appointing Catholics instead. Clarendon was soon recalled and Tyrconnell took his place as viceroy. Lord Talbot-Tyrconnell became the first Catholic viceroy in over a hundred years. Catholic judges and privy councillors were appointed, and more and more key posts in the administration were filled with Catholics. Protestants grew worried and many took flight for England.

The parliament that Talbot planned to hold threatened to bring about a reversal of the long-standing Protestant predominance in Ireland and to put a Catholic predominance in its place. The situation seemed ripe for a Catholic take-over, supported by the full weight of King James II’s government.

But revolution in England again frustrated the hopes of Irish Catholics. James II’s actions had caused English (Protestant) clergy and nobles to secretly petition Prince William of Orange (in Holland) to bring an army to England, where they would support him and his wife, Mary, to become co-regents on the throne. This situation is reminiscent of the many intrigues in the life of King David and his descendants, the family fights for the throne in the Old Testament, which we have taught about over the course of many issues of FMS. And no wonder it is reminiscent, it is still the family of David involved in these internecine struggles. For you see, Protestant Mary was the daughter of Catholic James II, which makes William his son-in-law! Moreover, being cousins, both William and Mary were grandchildren of Charles I. Upon hearing of William and his armies landing in England, James II fled to his Catholic allies in France (who had been invading Holland, not so incidentally). At that juncture, the Parliament declared James to have abdicated and they received William and Mary as King and Queen. As Bill and Maureen remarked, they were the only true co-regents in the history of the English monarchy, thus illustrating balance between male and female.

James soon went to Ireland where Richard Talbot had assembled an army for him. James envisioned his way back to the British throne through Ireland. William III sent his armies under the command of the veteran Dutch Marshal Schomberg. While Schomberg’s armies made progress, William grew impatient and in 1690 came to personally prosecute the war against his father-in-law once and for all. It was a risky step, because England was threatened by France and William did not have command of the sea. While he was in Ireland the French defeated the English and Dutch fleets at Beachy Head, and the way seemed clear for a French invasion of England, which, however, did not take place.

The two kings’ armies met at the Boyne River, about 25 miles north of Dublin, on July 11 or 12, 1690 (depending onwhom you trust; July 1st under the old calendar). The Battle of the Boyne became one of the great battles in history because with the defeat of James II, it marked him as the last Catholic monarch on the throne of England-Britain. However, the results were predictable with bitterness remaining until this day among both Protestants and Catholics.

When reflecting upon the “Glorious Revolution” of 1688, Mary wrote that “to see my husband and father so far engaged against each other took off all the satisfaction I could have in this world.” One can imagine the turmoil within Mary herself. She was the daughter of the current king of England, but she was married to the man who would dethrone him. Despite her personal conflicts, Mary played a critical role in the Glorious Revolution. She had no desire to rule but when called upon in William’s frequent absences to handle the nation’s affairs, she showed that she was quite capable. Mary was eventually able to reconcile herself to the Revolution by attributing it to the providence of God who had found her father “wanting.”

With all that as background, Bill and Maureen, a lovely Christian couple from Northern Ireland represented William and Mary, in balancing male and female, and represented Protestantism. I, being named James and from a Catholic upbringing, represented Romanism. Together, “William & Mary” and “James” sought peace and harmony for both genders and for unity among all Christians. The most astonishing part is that my wife, Roxanne, is connected with all this in a very literal way. Over 30 years ago, we were given a genealogy chart of her family, a scroll about three feet wide and nine feet long. Prepared by a relative of hers who had traveled to Ireland, he even gave us a photograph of his and my wife’s ancestral family home, Malahide Castle! My wife, Roxanne, is a lineal descendant of this same Lord Richard Talbot! So “Talbot” and “James” (as Roxanne and I) are together again in the 21^st century—not in a reincarnation sense, but in a spiritual sense.

A note on the genealogy chart states that Richard Talbot’s grandson, also Richard Talbot, converted to Protestantism in the 1700s. And concerning the Battle of the Boyne in 1690, a note next to Lord Richard Talbot states that “On the morning of the Battle of the Boyne, 14 Talbots, all 1^st cousins, breakfasted at Malahide and were killed in that battle.” How tragic! Fortunately for Roxanne and me, Lord Richard was not killed. He died in 1703, but what bloodshed there has been through the centuries because, in the final analysis, we all lack the fulness of God’s Spirit. God hasten the day of Tabernacles!