Little Lion Man

So why "Little Lion Man?"  Well, we signed the paper that says we cannot post any identifying information on our son, until the adoption is final.  Granted we do not know his name and what he looks like, or if he is even born at this stage, but we wanted a way to identify him in our family, promote Christianity, and relish the Ethiopian traditions.  Below is the story of the Lion of Judah, which lead us to choose this pseudonym.

In Christianity, the Lion of Judah epithet is used to refer to Jesus Christ, but that's not where the relevance and meaning of this symbol ends. The Lion of Judah is an ancient symbol. The sign represents the Israelite tribe of Judah throughout the Old Testament of the Hebrew Bible. The symbol also features on the emblem of Jerusalem, recognizing the original tribe and inmates of the Biblical Yehuda or Judah. Traditionally, the tribe is represented by a lion. The symbol dates back to the tribe's patriarch Jacob, who referred to his son Judah as 'Gur Aryeh' or 'the young lion' (Genesis 49:9).

Why is Jesus Called the Lion of Judah?

There are a number of authentic Christian ministries that use this symbol as their emblem or a prefix to their names. The reference appears in the Bible in the Book of Revelation 5:5, in the New Testament. The symbol is read and understood as a direct reference to Jesus, where he is regarded as the 'lion of the tribe' and 'Root of David'. 

The Bible reveals the following instances when Jesus was referred to as the Lion of Judah:
Gen 49:8-9: The Lion of Judah, a strong fighter against the enemy.
Matthew 1:3: Judah begot Pharez and Zarah of Tamar and Pharez begot Hezron and Herzon begot Aram (extolling the genealogy of Christ).
Hebrews 7: 14: It is evident that our Lord has risen out of Judah concerning which tribe Moses spoke nothing about priests.
Christians around the world believe that while the ancient tribe of Levi prepared priests, that of Judah was the tribe of the Kings. Jesus is believed to be a descendant of the Tribe of Judah. Jesus is commonly referred to as the 'overcoming one' and 'the one qualified to open the scrolls and seven seals'. According to the Book of Revelation 5:5, Jesus was the 'sacrificial Lamb' and the 'Lion of Judah'. The prophecy of the coming of the Lord to 'judge the world' as the Lion of Judah is clear all through Revelation 5:1-5. 

Ethiopia's traditions, recorded and elaborated in a 5th-century treatise, the "Kebre Negest", assert descent from a retinue of Israelites who returned with Makeda, the Queen of Sheba from her visit to King Solomon in Jerusalem, by whom she had conceived the Solomonic dynasty's founder, Menelik I. As Solomon was of the tribe of Judah, his son Menelik I would continue the line, which according to Ethiopian tradition was passed directly down from King to King until Emperor Haile Selassie was deposed in 1974. Both Christian and Jewish Ethiopian tradition has it that there were also immigrants of the Tribes of Dan and Judah that accompanied Makeda (Queen of Sheba) back from her visit to Solomon; hence the Ge'ez motto Mo`a 'Anbessa Ze'imnegede Yihuda ("The Lion of the Tribe of Judah has conquered"), included among the titles of the Emperor (King of Kings) throughout the Solomonic Dynasty. 

So as you can see the Lion of Judah has a deep history in Christianity and Ethiopian tradition.