The coronation of Charles III will take place today, and though it will be closely watched by every nation on earth, there’s one secret included in the coronation service that most Christians do not know about, and it connects the age-old ritual to Israel.

Essential to the entire ceremony is a secret Biblical relic that is so cherished by the crown, that the coronation service cannot happen without it. This ancient artifact is more important than the ceremony, pageantry, or even arguably more important than the actual throne.

If you look closely at the coronation of the King this week, you will see an old stone placed under the wooden throne. It has been used by every king and queen of England for hundreds of years, as it was for the kings and queens of Scotland and Ireland.

That strange, barely noticeable stone is known as the “Stone of Scone” or the “Stone of Destiny.” Christians and Jews know it better by its Biblical name – Jacob’s Pillow.

The mysterious stone was first captured by England from Scotland in the year 1296. It was a curious relic because of its importance to the kings of Scotland. It was so special to England, that after it was stolen, it was used as the actual throne for several hundred years. Monarchs sat directly on top of the rock before a wooden platform was constructed in the 17^th century.

The stone has been strongly believed by many to be Jacob’s Pillow.

But how did Jacob’s Pillow get from Israel to England?

To understand that, we have to look closely at Celtic legend as it relates to Bible history.

The history of Jacob’s Pillow starts about 4,000 years ago when Jacob looks for a place to sleep, takes a stone for a pillow, falls asleep, and then dreams of angels going up to heaven and coming down to earth on a ladder.

When he awakens, he cries out, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.” (Gen. 28:17) He immediately pours oil on the stone, anointing it, and sets it up as a kind of altar calling it the House of God – or Bethel.

The stone is passed on as a sign of God’s presence to Joseph (Gen 49), then to Joshua (Josh 24), then to the kings of Judah (I Kings 12, II Kings 11 and 23, and Jud 9). Unfortunately, everything is lost when Jerusalem is captured and the King of Judah is tortured.

The King of Babylon kills the sons of Zedekiah, the king of Judah before his eyes, before plucking them out. After the fall of Judah, Jeremiah was able to escape to Egypt with Baruch, his scribe, and the King’s daughters (Jeremiah 43:1-13).

Where the Bible stops is where this folk legend begins, because according to Celtic tradition, in 569 BC, an elderly white-haired patriarch thought to be Jeremiah came to Ireland with the daughter of a king, known as Tea Tephi. The Princess of Judah married an Irish prince named Herremon.

Jeremiah supposedly traveled with the princess and the stone of destiny for the lineage of Israel. The stone continued to be at the seat of every monarch from that time until today – known as the Stone of Destiny, that will be under the seat of King Charles when he is crowned.

The stone has caused many debates over the years with some archeologist pointing out that the stone’s materials are not consistent with the minerals found in the Middle East, while other experts disagree.

In our latest podcast we discuss the matter further and ask the obvious question: if the stone is not real, then why is it so heavily guarded and protected and why has it been the most irreplaceable object of the royal coronation service?

To listen to the podcast click here:

Episode 686: #1 Secret Most Christians Don’t Know About The Coronation