His Imperial Majesty Jah Rastafari

Rastas worship His Imperial Majesty Emperor Haile Selassie King of Kings, Lord of
Lords, Conquering Lion of the Tribe of Judah, Defender of the Faith, King Elect of God,
Jah Rastafari as their messiah, He fulfills the prophecy of a black Ethiopian king.

…the coronation of Haile Selassie I fulfilled a prophesy that a black king would return to the throne of Ethiopia. This was not only a vindication for Jamaicans under colonial rule, who now had their own royalty, a black messiah. It also reinforced their relationship to Judaism: Selassie, or Ras (Prince) Tafari Makonnen was considered the 225th Emperor, directly descended from the Solomonic line of kings. Among many majestic titles, he's revered as the Conquering Lion of the Tribe of Judah. Selassie quickly attract ed unsolicited followers in his name, as the Rastafarians were certain he was the living God, or Jah, as named in Psalm 68:4. (Siwek)

Many Rastas saw Marley as a prophet, chosen by Jah to stop Babylon from oppressing good people. He spread the message of peace, love and understanding and aimed to stop war, greed, hatred and other vices that kept his people downtrodden. The love he exaults is fundamentally a love of life itself, deeply imprinted by the memory of slavery as the suspended sentence of death which could be carried out at any time by masters and mistresses who act with impunity. This defence of life was tied to Marley’s opposition to all war and to his stalwart advocacy of peace. This is his gift to us and to the future (Gilroy 20).

The emphasis on Marley sprang partially from his charismatic personality and partially from his vision of the Wailers' importance. A devout Rastafarian, Marley believed that Ethiopian emperor Haile Selassie I was God incarnate and that Ethiopia was the true homeland for all people of color. Although the Rastafarians were well established in Jamaica before Marley grew famous, his international recognition provided new exposure for the tenets of his religion, and he used himself and the Wailers as vehicles for the Rasta message. Combining his songwriting and his performance style, Marley crafted an image as a Rasta prophet, spreading their message of harmony and praising the power of Jah--the shortened version of "Jehovah," which Rastafarians regularly use to refer to Selassie. When, in 1978, one of Selassie's children gave Marley a ring that the emperor had worn, the prophet's anointing seemed complete. (Nash 2)