BREAKING THE CO DE O F THE FEAS TS
Co pyri py righ ghtt © 2007 2007 by Perry Perry Ston Sto n e, Jr. Jr. Voice of Evange Evan gellis m Outreach Outreac h Ministri Minist ries es,, Inc. All rights gh ts reserved. es erved. No No part p art of this this book bo ok may may be b e reprod reproduced uced or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or otherwise, or by any inform nformation ation s torage and an d retrieval etrieval sys sy s tem without tho ut the perm pe rmiis s ion of the th e auth au thor or,, excep exceptt for brief brief quot qu otat atiions on s in critical critical review eviewss , arti articl cles es or broadcas ts. ts . ISBN-13: 978-0-978-5920-4-2 Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from the ew Kin Kin g James James Version ers ion,, © 1990 1990,, 1995 1995 b y Tho Th o mas Nels Nels o n Publishers, Nashville TN. Cover ov er des de s ign: gn : Michael Dutton Dutto n
Dedication I wi wis h to t o dedi ded icate this boo b ook k to my dear d ear personal person al friend and colleague in ministry, Bill Cloud. I first met Bill when he was the youth pastor at a church in Deland, Florida. There, Bill developed an interest in Hebraic roots and through intense s tudy and dedi d edicati cation on has become become a noted no ted voi v oice ce in in thi th is unique field. After leaving youth work, he served on my staff for three and-a-half years before beginning his own ministry. I am grateful for for Bi Bill's fri friends end s hip, his research rese arch and an d the th e ti t imes we have hav e "revelated" from God's Word as we studied the amazing Hebrai eb raicc foundat foun datiion of the th e Chri Chriss tian faith faith..
Contents Contents TITLE PAGE COP OPY YRIGHT & PERMISS P ERMISSIONS IONS DEDICAT EDICATIION FOREWORD CHAPTER ONE: OPENING THE BOOKS IN HEAVEN T HE BOOKS IN T HE HEA HE AVENLY T EM EMP P LE T HE SEV SEVENEN-S SEAL EALED ED BOOK IN I N HEA HE AVEN THE LAW OF JUBILEE T HE REAS REASON ON FOR SEV SEVEN EN SEAL EALS S THE JUDGMENTS
CHAPTER TWO: GOD'S BEST KEPT SECRET FOUR LEV LE VEL ELS S OF ST ST UDY THE HIDDEN DIMENSION PAUL AND MYST MYST ERIE ERIES S OF T HE KING KI NGDOM DOM
IN T HE MOUN MOUNT T OF T HE LORD LORD
CHAPTER THREE: THE PROGRESSION OF REVELATION T HE PLACE PLACE OF REDEMPT ION W HERE HEA HE AVEN AND EAR EART T H MEET ME ET A LIGHT UNTO THE GENTILES LEARNING FR FROM OM P ICT UR URES ES NEVER NEV ER BEFORE IT S T IM IME E P ROPHE ROPHECIES CIES RES RESER ERV VED FOR T HE END
CHAPTER FOUR: THE EXODUS CODE T YP YPES ES AND SHADOWS SHADOWS CHRIST CHRIS T IN T HE PASS PASSOV OVER ER T HE PAS PASS SOV OVER ER ORDER O RDER T HI HIS S IS MY BODY THE PROMISE OF THE FATHER
CHAPTER FIVE: FROM REDEMPTION TO RESURRECTION FROM FR OM SINAI SINAI T O MORIAH FROM FR OM REDEMP REDEMP T ION T O SANC SANCT T IFICAT ION PROTECTION AFTER REDEMPTION FROM REDEMPTION TO RESURRECTION
CHAPTER SIX: THE MYSTERY OF THE FALL FEASTS T RIUMP IUMPET ET S AND T HE RESUR RESURR RECT ECTION ION THE CONCEALMENT OF THE SAINTS T HE DAY DAY OF AT AT ONEME ONEMENT NT THE SEVEN THUNDERS GAT HERI HERING NG OF T HE NAT NAT IO IONS NS
CHAPTER SEVEN: THE TRIBULATION CODES THE HIDDEN PROPHECY HAMAN THE ANTICHRIST T HE HIDDEN CODES CODES THE RISING PRINCE OF PERSIA HIDDEN IN I N HANUKKAH HANUKKAH T HE T RIB IBULA ULAT ION TEMPL T EMPLE E
CHAPTER EIGHT: SECRETS OF THE PARABLES THE TIMING OF CHRIST'S RETURN P REPAR REPARA AT ION PAR PARABLES ABLES T HE END END TIME T IME BA BAT T LES ENCODED PARABLES
CHAP CHA P TER NINE: THE ARMAGEDDON
CODE T HE DEA DE AT H OF DAMASCUS DAMASCUS THE WMD FACTOR THE GAZA PROPHECY GIDEON AND ARMAGEDDON ISHMAEL AT THE END
CHAPTER TEN: WHERE ARE WE PROPHETICALLY? T HE FOUR FOUR MONT MONTH H " GAP" GAP" T HE SEAS EASONS ONS OF REPENT REP ENTANCE ANCE FOUR MONTHS THE "NO RAIN" THEOLOGY LIVING FROM PENTECOST TO TRUMPETS THE TABERNACLES OUTPOURING OUT OF YOUR BELLY ONE LAST LAST T HOUG HOUGHT HT
BACKCOVER
Foreword If you yo u are fami familiar wi with our ou r weekl weekly y telecast telecas t Manna Man nafest fest,, you yo u are aware that the emphasis of our teaching and preaching ministry nis try is three-f th ree-fo o ld. To win people to Christ, and help them grow in the grace of God. To minister a "right now" prophetic word and help dis dis cern cern the ti t imes and an d seaso s easons ns.. To To teach t each believ believers ers the t he Hebraic Hebraic roots root s of thei th eirr ffai aith th.. This This book bo ok is is more than a teachi teach ing about abo ut the Hebrew roots oo ts of our faith and more than an explanation of the Seven Feasts Breakk ing in g the t he Co C o de of o f the th e Feasts Fea sts , gives of Israel. The book title, Brea you a clue to the content of this book. Just as the parables o Jesus contain stories hidden within a story that required an explanation by the master teacher, the feasts and special celebrations of Israel have more than just a practical meaning. They are both practical and prophetic. Each feast contains clues clues pointing pointing to future events . This is important to understand because the feasts can reveal incredible insight into what has been fulfilled through Ch ris ris t and a nd what wil will be fulfi fulfillled in the t he n ear future. futu re. I have also included unique codes found in the celebrations of Hanukkah and Purim as well as unique insight
into the Final Battle commonly referred to as Armageddon. O all places, the story of Gideon is what may provide the best paral pa ralllel for thi th is com co ming even ev ent. t. A ll in all, all, thi th is boo bo o k wil will demonstrate the depth and inherently prophetic nature o God's Word. So, get ready for an amazing journey into the depth dep th of Scri Scripture pt ure and an d Hebrai eb raicc wis wis dom do m! Be bles blesss ed. Perry Stone Jr.
Chapter One OPENING THE BOOKS IN HEAVEN "And there are also many other things that Jesus did, which if they were written one by one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. Amen." – John John 21:25 21 :25
It might be true that temporal books down here on earth couldn't contain all the works of Jesus, nevertheless, there are books bo oks in Heaven Heave n that th at not no t onl on ly cont co ntain ain what He has ha s done do ne,, is doing and will do, but they keep a record of everything you and I have don d one, e, as well ell. No No detai d etaill, no s ituati tuat ion or scenari s cenario o has escaped His attention. The man who penned the passage above, abo ve, John, John , saw fir firs t hand h and jus t how h ow magn magniificent and s upr up reme eme God truly is and how meticulous He is when it comes to recording ecording thos tho s e thi th ings ng s that have hav e been, been , are are and will be. Born into a priestly family and last of the original twelve apostles, John eventually found himself imprisoned by Rome on the island of Patmos. While he was there, he had an experience that resulted in the book we call "the Revelation o Jesus Christ"; one of the most mysterious books in all o Scripture. It happen hap pened ed that th at John was in the th e "Spir "Spirit on the Lord's Lord's day" day "
and was caught up into Heaven. There he saw, not only visions of future events, but a glorious vision of the heavenly Throne Room and all those who were gathered there. From his description of the Throne Room of God, we know that the floor is made of clear glass that, like a crystal, changes colors from blue to t o red to t o clear. clear. We also know that the Throne of God has the appearance of Jas Jasper per and Sar Sardi dius us s tone. It It shou s houlld be noted that Jasper Jas per and Sardius are the first and last stones on the breastplate of the Priest. Of course, we know that our heavenly High Priest is the th e First First and an d the th e Las Lastt (Rev (Revelation elation 1 :1 :11). Behind the throne there is a rainbow, the token of the covenant He made with earth and its inhabitants when He said that He would never again destroy the earth with a flood o waters (Genesis 9:11-15). Surrounding the Throne are four living creatures who cry day and night, "Holy, Holy, Holy" (Revelation 4:8) as well as twenty-four lesser thrones upon which the twenty-four elders sit (Revelation 4:4). Among all of the indescribable features of God's Throne and the heavenly Temple, there exist some very important books bo oks;; s ome ome of which which are open op en and an d s ome ome of which which are s ealed. Let us begin our study by examining these books and their relevan elevance ce to our ou r s ubj ub ject.
THE BOOKS IN THE HEAVENLY TEMPLE The Bible tells us that there are five significant books in Heaven.
The Book oo k of the Living The Th e Book Boo k of Lif Lifee The Th e Book Boo k of Tears Tears The Th e Book of o f Works Works The Book of Remembrance The first one, the Book of the Living, contains your perso pe rson n al inform nfo rmat atiion, on , the th e num nu mb er of your yo ur days da ys and an d your yo ur des tiny. tiny. The The Jews als als o cal ca ll thi th is the th e "B " Book oo k of Des Destiny tiny." ." "Let them be blotted out of the book of the living, and not be written with the righteous." – Psalms 69:28 "Your eyes e yes s aw my sub s ubss tance, tance , bei being ng yet unformed; unformed; and i n Your book book they all al l wer eree written, ri tten, the days fashi fas hioned oned for me, when as yet there there wer eree none of of them them." ." -Ps -Psalm almss 1 3 9 :16
The Ampli Amplifi fied ed Version of the th e Script Scriptures ures s tates tat es it thi th is way: "Your eyes s aw my unformed sub s ubss tance tance, and in Your book all the days of my life were written before ever they took shape, when as yet there were none of them." – Psalm 139:16 (AMP)
The Bible tells tells us there th ere is is a "B " Book oo k of Tears Tears." ." "You numbe number my wand wandeeri ngs ng s ; put put my tears tear s i nto Your bottle ottle;; are they not in Your boo book k ? " – Ps alm 56:8 56 :8
Even though the New Testament reveals that there are multiple "books" in Heaven, the most notable of these is the "Book of Life," also referred to as the "Lamb's Book of Life." o doubt referring to this book, Jesus said, "Rejoice because your names are written in heaven" (Luke 10:20). Apparently, even Moses knew about this book because he warned against havi hav ing one's on e's nam na me bl b lotted ot ted out! ou t! (Deuteron (Deuteronom omy y 29 :20). "He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels." Revel Revelation ation 3:5 "And I saw s aw the dead, ad, s mall and g re reat, at, stand s tandii ng before God, od, and books were opened and another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books." Revel Revelat ation ion 20:12 20 :12 "And I urge you also, true companion, help these women who labored with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book o life." - Philippians 4:3
Of the th e Boo Book k of Work Workss , the Bible says s ays : "And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works ork s ." - Rev Revel elat ation ion 20 2 0 :12
Finally, there is the Book of Remembrance. "Then those who feared the LORD spoke to one another, and the LORD listened and heard them; so a book o remembrance was written before Him for those who fear the LORD and who meditate on His name. They shall be mine, says the LORD of hosts, on the day that I make them My ewels. And I will spare them as a man spares his own son who s erves erves him." him." - Malachi 3:16-17
Aside from the Book of Life, this is one of the most interesting books kept in Heaven, for those who are written in thi th is book bo ok make make up " God's od 's jewel jewelss ." In Hebrew the word "j " jewels ewels " segul seg ulah ah.. This is the same word that is used in is Exodus od us to des cribe cribe His peopl peo plee Israel jus t after He He br b rough ou ghtt them t hem out ou t of Egy Egypt. pt. "Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and kee My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people, for all the earth is Mine, and you shall be to Me a k i ngd ng dom of pri pries es ts and a hol hol y nation." nation." - Exo Exod dus 1 9 :5-6
Segulah is is transl trans lated here as "a s pecial treasur treasu re."
God' od 's "s pecial treasur treasu res," es ," His His " jewel ewelss " are are thos th os e who obey o bey His voi vo ice (Ex (Exodus od us 19:5 9:5), wh wh o fear Him Him and an d medi ed itate ta te upon up on His His nam na me (Malachi 3: 16). Speaking to the believers in Jesus Christ, Peter echoes echo es this s ame ame them the me in in hi h is firs t letter letter when when he s ays :
"But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light." - 1 Peter 2:9
Another important feature of this book is the fact that this is the one God refers to when it is time for Him to move on someone's behalf. The fact that it is called the Book o Remembrance spea s peak ks to thi th is is s ue. You You s ee, from from a Hebraic Hebraic poi po int of view, view, " to remem remembe ber" r" means ean s much uc h more than th an what we think of in in the t he West. es t. The word zik ron , translated as "memorial" means "a memorable thing," "a day" or "a writing." This word expresses that "s ometh omethiing is written to remi emind s omeon omeonee to do s omething omething on a certain day." To some degree, that sounds a lot like our meaning of the word. However, when we look at the root word zak a r , the true intent makes a deeper impression. Zak a r , translated as "remembrance," means "to speak on behalf" o someone or something. The Bible tells us that when God "remembers" someone, something miraculous happens. Below are just a few examples of what happened to certain people when God " remem remembe bered" red" them th em.. He open op ened ed up Rachel ach el's 's womb womb – Genes ene s is 30:22 He del de livered ve red Israel Is rael from from bond bo ndag agee - Ex Exodus od us 2:2 2:24 He open op ened ed Hannah Hann ah's 's womb womb – 1 Samu Samu el 1 : 19 When God "remembered Noah" (Genesis 8: l), the Scripture wasn't inferring that God had forgotten him. No, the text is saying that, due to Noah's obedience, it had come time
for God to speak on his behalf. When He began to speak on oah's behalf, the flood waters began to abate. Oddly enough, the day on which Noah removed the cover of the ark and dis dis covered that the t he s urface urface of the ground was dry was was "in the first month, the first day of the month" (Genesis 8: 13). This parti pa rticu cullar day would wo uld lat later er be kno known wn as Yom Teruah or the Feas Feas t of Trum Trumpe pets ts . The Feast of Trumpets, as it turns out, is also known as Yom Ha Zikkaron or the "Day of Remembrance." This is the zik k aron aron ) of blowing day that God said was to be a "memorial ( zik of trumpets" (Leviticus 23:24). It is believed that, on this day, the Book of Remembrance is opened so that God can deliver thos th os e who " fear His nam na me.'' e.'' The Purpose of the book seems to be that those whose names are written in this book are in line to receive a breakthrou breakth rough gh in their th eir lives ve s or del de liverance ve rance from from adve ad vers rsiity. The Bible tells us that God remembers His covenant with his peop pe oplle. God God remem remembe bers rs thos th os e who wh o fear Him Him. He remem remembe bers rs His His children in time of need and delivers them in times of trouble. Apparently, it is the existence of this book that provokes Him to do these thes e things things.. For those of us in this day and time, it is important to be listed in this book because this generation faces the threat o calamity and destruction unlike anything the world has ever seen. "For behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven; an all the proud, yes, and all who do wickedly will be stubble. An the day which is coming shall burn them up, says the LORD o hosts, that will leave them neither root nor branch." - Malachi
4:l
According to Scripture, for those whose names are written in the Book of Remembrance, there is the promise that He will deliver them when the "seals are broken" and the day o trouble str st rikes the earth earth..
THE SEVEN-SEALED BOOK IN HEAVEN "And I saw in the right hand of him who sat on the throne a scroll written inside and on the back, sealed with seven seals. Then I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, 'Who is worthy to open the scroll, and to loose its seals?' "Revelation 5:l-2
There are diverse beliefs about what this seven-sealed scroll or book is, but the idea that makes the most sense to me is that th at it is a Divine Divine Wil Will or a Title Title Deed, Deed , if if you yo u wil will. As the th e s eals are opened and certain consequences are manifest on earth, it beco be com mes appa ap parent rent that th at the th e origina originall owner owne r is is reclaim reclaimiing what is his. Considering what we have learned about the Book o Remembrance, it stands to reason that this book is related to that one; o ne; God God is about abou t to s peak on behalf behalf of His purposes purpos es and reclaim and restore the earth to His original plan and intent. an d with God is remembering His covenant with earth and mankind. That the earth is being "restored" to its original owner s peaks peaks to us u s of the law lawss concerning concerning the th e Yovel or or as we say s ay,, the Jubilee. Apparently, the opening of this sealed book initiates the Jubilee that redeems the earth from Satan's control once
and for all. So then, to understand the purpose of these seals and the effects they cause on the earth, it is important that we under und erss tand what the th e Scri Scripture has to s ay about abo ut the t he Jubil Jubilee.
THE LAW OF JUBILEE "And you shall consecrate the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a Jubilee for you, and each of you shall return to his possession, and each of you shall return to his family." Leviticus 25:10
The theme of Jubilee was and is redemption, freedom and restoration. God established this statute for Israel so that all those who were oppressed and in tribulation were released; slaves were freed to return to their homes. For those who had fallen on hard times and had lost their land and inheritance, it meant they could legally reclaim it -with certain conditions bei be ing met - and an d be resto res tored red to their th eir land. lan d. In othe ot herr words , the th e land that t hat had h ad been lost os t to s omeone omeone els els e was was given given back b ack to the t he family God had originally given it to. Finally, that year was a year of res restt for the peop pe oplle and for the land. The laws of Jubilee were enacted after seven Sabbaths o s even years, or o r a total tota l of forty-ni forty-nine ne years. y ears. In In the t he fiftieth tieth year on the Day of Atonement, silver trumpets were blown to announce the Jubilee had begun. Once the trumpets had been sounded, any family that could present proof of ownership - a written will or genealogy - of a piece of property could redeem it back. If they were unable to do this themselves, they could have their next of kin – a go el or "kinsman redeemer" - buy
back ba ck the th e righ rightt to the th e prope pro perty rty for them th em.. Interestingly enough, wills in the biblical era were often sealed seven times, meaning that only someone of supreme importance was authorized to open the will. It is recorded that Caesar Augustus had his will sealed with seven seals. Tradition has it that Jewish families who lost possessions, whether it be land or other items, would itemize these pos po s s ess es s ions on s in a s croll s ealed with with s even ev en s eals. eals . This was done do ne s o that t hat in the t he ti t ime of o f Jub Jubiilee, they woul ou ld be b e prepared to redeem them back. Sometim Sometimes es thes th esee scrol s crollls had writing riting on o n the t he ins ide (referr referred ed to as recto) and outside (called verso ). Some scrolls, called opisthographs, were written on the front and back. These types of scrolls would be similar to what the prophet Ezekiel described. "Now when I looked, there was a hand stretched out to me and, behold, a scroll of a book was in it. Then He spread it before me, and there was writing on the inside and on the outside and written on it were lamentations and mourning an woe." - E Ezek zekiel iel 2:9-10
Here is what I want you to see. After he was given the dominion over the earth (Genesis 1:26), Adam lost his inheritance to the Adversary. Nevertheless, God had already recorded in heaven who the rightful inheritor was, and had already made provisions for the "kinsman redeemer" to restore it back to its original owner. In other words, before man even knew of a Jubilee, God had already determined when it would take place; it was written in a book and then sealed until
someone worthy could break the seals. Even though Satan is presen pres ently tly the th e ruler of o f this t his world world (John 14: 14:30), 0), the th e king kingdo dom ms o this world must be subject to Christ. In fact, notice what happens after the seventh seal of this heavenly scroll is opened. "When He opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and to them were given seven trumpets. . . . So the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepare themselves to sound." - Revelation 8:l-2, 6
That there is a silence in heaven of about half an hour s ugge ug gess ts thi th is is taking taking place on o n Yom Kippur pp ur.. Recall Recall that, th at, according to Scripture, the silver trumpets announcing the Jubilee Jubilee are sou s ound nded ed on o n Yom Yom Kippur pp ur.. At the t he ope o pening ning of o f the th e seventh seal, seven angels are given trumpets and prepare to s ound ou nd them; them; Jubilee Jubilee is is about abo ut to t o begi b egin. n. The Bi Bible continues : "But in the days of the sounding of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound, the mystery of God would be finished, as He declared to His servants the prophets." Revelation 10:7
When the seventh trumpet sounds and finalizes the advent of Jubilee, the Scripture declares that "the mystery o God" od " is compl completed eted.. In In other o ther words words,, all all of thos tho s e thi th ings ng s that have hav e remained hidden are being manifest in the earth. This is a very important fact for us to understand and remember. With the
breaking breaking of each eac h of o f thes th esee seals s eals,, mys mys teri te ries es – hi h idden dd en truths trut hs – are bei be ing revealed. reve aled. A s thi th is revel reve lati at ion procee pro ceeds ds , God God's 's great plans plan s and pur pu rpos po s es are are made made know no wn to t o manki mankind nd.. His ultimate purpose is that the "land" - the earth - be restored es tored to its righ rightful tful owner and heir. heir. All All lost os t pos p os s ess es s ions on s are are going to be reclaimed by the one who has the power and authority to repossess them. And so, we understand that the seven-sealed book is the Title Deed to the earth. When the seals are opened and the seventh trumpet sounds, the restorati es toration on pr p roces s is compl completed eted.. "Then the seventh angel sounded. And there were lou voices in heaven, saying, 'The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He s hall hall re reig ign n fore forev ver and and ever ever!' !' "
- Revelation 11:15 As you see, all of these events transpire in accordance with the th e laws laws of Jubi Jub ilee. Notice Notice tha t hat: t: The Ti Title Deed Deed is opene op ened. d. Seven Seve n Trum Trump p ets et s are bl b lo wn on o n Yo Yo m Kip Kip p u r. Thos e in in tribu tribullation are rel releas eased ed.. The earth is redeemed. redeemed. God God''s peopl peo plee are res restored tored to t o the inher nh eriitance. tan ce. Chri Chriss t estab es tabllis hes a Sabbath for the earth.
THE REASON FOR SEVEN SEALS
"And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the seven lampstands one like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band.... He had in His right hand seven stars ... He laid His right hand on me, saying to me, 'Do not be afraid, I am the First and the Last.... The mystery of the seven stars which you saw in My right hand, and the seven golden lampstands: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands which you saw are the s even even churches.' churches .' " - Revel Revelat ation ion 1:12 1:1 2 -13,16 -13 ,16-17 -17,, 20
Even though there were hundreds of churches in Asia Minor when John wrote the book of Revelation, only seven o them are mentioned. The leaders of these congregations are likened unto stars and their churches likened unto the seven branch bran ches es of the th e menorah en orah.. I s ubm ub mit to you yo u that th at what the th e branch bran ches es of the th e menorah en orah and an d s tars ta rs have ha ve in com co mmon is " light." gh t." Light, as we know, illuminates and brings revelation to a dark situation. It seems that these seven churches are to serve as emblems of light; they are witnesses of Him who stands in the mids t of o f the meno menorrah – the Fir Firs t and an d Las Last. t. This is important to understand because, in ancient times, when s croll crolls were sealed, often often the s eal was the s ignet gn et ring ring of a witness impressed into clay or, later, wax. For that scroll to be read, the seven s even witnes witnesss es or their their heir heirs must us t be b e present s o that th at the legal requirements for breaking the seals are satisfied! The seven congregations in Asia are witnesses that He is Alpha and Omeg Omegaa (better (bett er tendered tend ered "Alef " Alef and Tav," av," the th e first first and a nd last as t in in the Hebrew alph alphabet abet)), the Beginn eginniing and the End. nd . As I mentioned earlier, for lands to be restored to the
rightful owner sometimes required the assistance of a near kinsman, a Kinsman Redeemer. This is what the story of Ruth and Naomi is about. Naomi, the Jewess, had lost her inheritance due to the famine and other difficult circumstances. Upon the death of her husband and sons, she determines to return to Bethlehem, the land of her nativity. Her daughter-inlaw, Ruth, is traveling with her. Ruth is not Jewish, but is one who comes from among the Gentil en tiles es.. Neve Nevertheless rtheless , she s he determ de termiines to make ake Naomi Naomi's peop pe oplle her people and Naomi's God her God (Ruth 1:16).This devotion eventually leads to Naomi being reinstated to her inheritance through her near kinsman Boaz. Boaz is from Bethlehem, born of the tribe of Judah. In addition to marrying Ruth, he redeems all all that bel be longed on ged to Naom ao mi's form former hus hu s band ba nd,, El Elimelech elech,, and her deceased sons (Ruth 4:9-10). In the end, this act of redemption gives birth birth to the th e hous ho us e of o f Dav Daviid (Rut (Ruth h 4:2 4:22). The point of all of this is to show that, like Naomi, Adam and all of his descendants lost the planet – our inheritance – to the Adversary Ad versary.. It It took to ok action action in the t he form of the s econd econ d Adam A dam – Jesus, the kinsman Redeemer, born in Bethlehem of the tribe o Judah – to t o restor resto re us back to our inh inher eriitance. tan ce. We should understand that being born again was just the s tart tart of that restoration. restoration. What Wh at happens happ ens with the th e openi open ing of the s eveneven -s ealed ealed s croll croll bring bringss that tha t restorati rest oration on to fruition uition..
THE JUDGMENTS Part of the process that brings everything into fruition is the necessity of judgment. When the seventh seal is loosed and the seventh trumpet sounded, seven vials are released
upon up on the earth bring bringiing judgm ud gment ent upon up on all all of thos tho s e who defied defied the th e God God of Heaven Heav en.. Yet, et , the th e Bi Bible makes makes it cl c lear that th at judgm ud gmen ents ts upon the wicked are not the only judgments that are necessary to bring complete restoration. In fact, it could be said that judgment is not necessarily bad ba d – it jus t depe de pend ndss upo up o n what s ide of the th e law you yo u find find yourself. If you are guilty, then there is a consequence. If you are are inn innocen ocent, t, then there is is a rewar reward. d. The Scri Scriptur ptu re seem s eemss to s ay that this is the type of judgment that will be dispensed during the Tribulation. "The nati nations ons were angr ang ry, and Your wr wrath has come ome , an the time time of the the dead, ad, that the they shoul s hould d be jud judg g ed, and that You s hould re rew ward Your se s ervants rvants the prop prophets hets and the s aints , an those thos e who fear Your name, s mall and g re reat, at, and and s hould des troy thos thos e who des des troy the the earth." e arth." – Revelation 11:18
There is, appa ap parently rently,, anoth ano ther er jud judgm gmen entt after a fter the Tribu ribullation as well, meant to deal with those who died during the Tribulation. "And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake; some to everlasting life; some to shame an ever everlas lasting ting contemp contempt." t." – Danie Daniell 12 1 2 :2
And finally, we see that there is to be what is called the Great White W hite Throne Thron e Judgm Jud gment ent.. "And I saw s aw the dead, ad, s mall and g re reat, at, stand s tandii ng before God, od, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which
is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books." Revel Revelat ation ion 20:12 20 :12
At this final judgment, all of the unrighteous from Cain to the end of the Millennial Reign of Christ will be judged once and for all. This means that all of those who have been imprisoned in Hell, including fallen angels and Satan himself, will have to stand before God and give him an account. It is goi go ing to be an a n awesom awes omee and, an d, yes , terr terrifying day d ay.. And it all begins with the fact that books which had been sealed were opened. As they were opened, hidden truths – mysteries – were made known and God's Plan matured until it was fina finallly com c ompleted pleted.. Now Now,, if if the boo b ook ks in heav h eaven en are goi go ing to be ope o pene ned d s o th t h at God God's 's purp p urpo o s es may be accom acc ompli pliss hed, he d, then th en I s ubm ub mit to you yo u that t hat His Book oo k here on earth earth – the Bible ble – is als als o going going to be opened. op ened. Thi Things ngs that we have never unders unders tood are are going to be, for the first time, revealed. We can know what our God is doing because He wishes for us to know what He is doing. Still, there is only One who is worthy to open to us those mys teri te ries es cont co ntained ained in the t he Bible. Yet, et , it it is He who who,, I bel be lieve, ev e, now no w says say s that the delay delay s houl ho uld d be b e no longer on ger (R (Revelation evelation 10:6). I believe this book, "Breaking the Code of the Feasts," is one resource reso urce that th at wil will hel he lp unlock u nlock glori gloriou ouss mys teries teries of the future. futu re.
Chapter Two GOD'S BEST KEPT SECRET "Nothing is hidden which will not be revealed, nor has anything been kept secret but that it should come to light." Mark 4 :22
It has been supposed by some that when Jesus uttered these words, His intent was to warn you and I to be careful what we say because anything spoken in secret would come to light. While it is absolutely true that we will be judged according to every idle word spoken, that is not the issue that Jesus was addressing in this particular passage. What he was tell telling us is , there is is nothing no thing that t hat God has hidd hidden en that will not, no t, when he n it is time, time, be revealed for all all to s ee. Consider the context of this statement. Jesus taught a parable pa rable abou ab outt a s ower s catte cat teri ring ng s eed, eed , which which is the th e Word o God (Mark 4:14, Luke 8:11). In giving them this parable, Jesus acknowledged that He was telling them something that, if they grasped it, would unlock certain mysteries that had been kept since the foundation of the word (Mark 4:11, Matthew 13:3435). In fact, He told them that this particular parable is unique becau be causs e, if they th ey do not no t unde un ders rsta tand nd the th e Parable of the th e Sower, Sower, then they will be unable to understand any of the other parables pa rables (Mark 4: 13). 3). This is fascinating when you think about it. If one can comprehend this single parable, it will aid in unlocking any
mystery contained within the others. This says to me that when we understand key principles in the Scripture, that princ princiip le wil will be the th e key to unl un lock oc k othe ot herr s ecret cham ch ambe bers rs contained con tained with withiin the t he Word of o f God God.. This This als als o tel t ellls me that: th at: God God does do es have h ave secr s ecrets ets.. He keeps them secret until it is time for them to be revealed. He He onl on ly reveal revea ls them th em to His His peop pe oplle. Wh W h en it is time, time, He will will revea rev eall them th em.. The prophet prophet says: s ays: "Surely the LORD God does nothing, unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets." Amos 3 :7 - Amos
There are other instances in Scripture where Jesus acknowledged the fact that God has secrets and that these secrets are intended to be revealed. Let us note just a few o these ins instances. tances. "For there is nothing covered, that will not be reveale and hidden that will not be known" -Matthew 10:26 "You have have hid hi dden thes e thing thingss from the wi wi s e and prudent and revealed them to babes." -Matthew 11:25
"Therefore every scribe which instructed concerning the k ingd ing dom of heaven heaven is i s lik li k e a hous household eholder er who bri brings ngs out out of of his treasure things new and old." - Matthew 13:52
Everyone understands that Jesus came to save a lost world and thank God for it. Still, it is crucial to understand that He also came to teach us how to live after we are saved. In other words, it is important that we know what God wants us to do and to do that, we must understand what He is doing and how ho w He He is is doi do ing it. Therefore, Therefore, Jes Jesus us came came teachi tea ching ng us, us , not onl on ly about the existence of hidden things but, more importantly, what thes t hesee hidden hidden things things are are and what they t hey mean.
FOUR LEVELS OF STUDY Now, Now, we mu s t also unde un derst rstan and d that th at long on g before be fore Jesus Jes us came, the notion that things were concealed in the Scripture and that these things would be revealed - had been investigated, to say the least, by students of the Word throughout the centuries. Their perspective of this is found par pa rdes de s , within an ancient concept referred to as meaning "garden" or "orchard." This methodology analyzes the Scriptures, and specifically the Pentateuch (the five books of Moses), using four basic categories of interpretation. The four categories are listed here. (Notice the first letters of each pa rdes de s.) word form the th e acro a cron n y m P-R-D P-R-D-S -S or par Peshat - The simple or literal meaning.
Remez - The mean meaniing hinted at in Script Scripture. ure. Derush - The hom ho mileti et ic mean meaniing of th t h e tex t ext. t. Sod So d - The s ecret or conceal con cealed ed meaning. pe shat t The first category, pesha it means what it says. Remez
, is the th e literal te ral appli ap plicat catiion; on ; , the s econd econ d category categ ory,, is a
"hi "h int" or "inference. "inference."" This This means that we can learn earn tr t ruths uth s from certain Scriptures that hint at something. In other words, certain things can be deducted from the text without actually bei be ing s tate ta ted. d. However Howeve r, accordi acco rding ng to the th e pri p rinc nciiple of remez , that it is is not s tated does d oes not make ake it it any less es s true. true. The third category, derush
, is what we detect det ect from from
homiletics. That is to say, we learn a truth when we seek Biblical answers to Biblical questions. Most all of us are familiar with the biblical adage, "Precept upon precept..., line upon line, here a little, and there a little" (Isaiah 28:10). This pas pa s s age ag e teach te aches es us that th at on o n e mus mus t not n ot make conclus con clusiions on s and an d to to establish doctrine or belief based on one Scripture alone, and especially if it is taken out of context. Sound doctrinal interpretation nterpretation is bas ed on a concert co ncert of o f Scr Scriiptur ptu re. This This is what is meant by homiletics or derush . Now we com co me to the th e fourth fou rth and an d , in my opi op inion, nion , the th e mos t intrigu ntriguiing of thes the s e four categori categ ories es of interpretati interpretation on - sod , So d is to be understood as (pronounced sode) or "secret." Sod bei be ing " con co n ceal cea led" ed " in the th e s ame ame way a found fou ndat atiion is con co n ceal cea led from view, and still we know that it is there. In fact, it is what hol ho lds up and an d stab s tabiilizes everythi everyth ing that t hat is bui b uillt upon up on it.
Where the Word of God is concerned, it is very possible
that on many occasions, what is revealed on the surface of the text may be there to teach us about what is beneath the surface of the text. In other words, the principle of sod teaches us that God conceals messages within the Scripture. There is a hidden dimen dimenss ion of God God's 's Word. Word.
THE HIDDEN DIMENSION Most Christians have never heard of the "inner dimension of the Torah," Torah," yet thi th is is a very ve ry wel welll-kno -known wn concep con ceptt in Judaism Judais m. It is so well-known that the revealing of this "inner dimension" is considered to be one of the signs of the Advent of the Messiah. According to rabbinic tradition, the Messiah would reveal new insights and would manifest the hidden mysteries of the th e Scri Scriptur ptu res. es . Consider that when we speak of rabbinic tradition, we are talk talking about ab out conclus conclusiions that have h ave been draw drawn by b y a gr g roup o peop pe oplle who had ha d dedicat de dicated ed their th eir entir en tiree lives ve s to s earchi earch ing the th e Scri Scriptures pt ures - they th ey were were no n o novices no vices.. Yet in thei th eirr li life-l fe-long on g s earch, many of these ancient rabbis were forced to acknowledge that there remained many passages whose true meaning still eluded them. They became convinced that there was a hidden "inner dimension" of the Scripture, which could only be revealed by the Messi Mes siah. ah. Not onl on ly did Jesus Jes us confir co nfirm m the th e bel be lief in an " inner nn er dimension" of Scripture, but as I stated earlier, He actually bega be gan n to reveal revea l what wha t thes th esee hidden hidd en thi th ings ng s were were and an d how ho w they th ey were to be applied to our lives just as the Scripture said he woul ou ld do. d o.
"Give ear, O my people, to my law. Incline your ears to the words of my mouth. I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark sayings of old, which we have heard and known, an our fathers have told us. We will not hide them from their children, telling to the generation to come the praises of the LORD."
- Ps alm 78:l-4 If we we take into into account accou nt that tha t Jews Jews had long on g recogni recog nizzed thi t hiss hidden dimension of Scripture, then it becomes clear that Jesus was meeting their Messianic expectations concerning this issue by confirming that there is such a thing as a concealed "inner dimension" of the Word of God. Not only that, but what beco be com mes clear to me is thi th is ; the th e Mes Me s s iah Jesus Jes us IS the th e in ner ne r, hidden dimension of the Word. The fact that so many people who should have recognized Him as Messiah but did not (not to mention the millions more who still have not) is evidence that our heavenly Father has and does conceal things within His His Word. Furthermore, this hidden dimension would have been handed down through rabbinical teaching to all those aspiring to understand more fully the Word of God. So then, when we pond po nder er the th e reali reality that th at othe ot hers rs bes be s ides de s Jesus Jes us were were aware o thes e hidd hidden en treasur treasu res in Scri Scriptur ptu re, we sho s houl uld d not no t be surpr s urpriis ed to learn that t hat Paul is is chi ch ief amon among g them th em..
PAUL AND MYSTERIES OF THE KINGDOM
Keep in mind that Paul was trained in Scripture at the feet of Rabban Gamaliel the Elder (Acts 22:3) and, consequently, would have been well acquainted with the concepts associated pe shat, t, remez, remez, derush de rush and sod . It with the four ou r levels levels of o f study stu dy - pesha onl on ly s eems eems logi og ical that when he becam b ecamee a bel b eliiever in in Jesus Jes us the Messiah, he would have adapted the principles of what he already knew to what the Holy Spirit was revealing to him. Thus, Paul had a lot to say in his writings about these mysteries of the Kingdom. To the congregation at Ephesus he wrote: "How that by revelation he made known to me the mystery; (as I have briefly written already, by which, when you read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery o Christ), which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men, as it is now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets ...And to make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who created all things through Jesus Christ." -Ephesians 3:3-5, 9
To the congregati con gregation on in Coloss e, he wrote wrote:: "I became a minister according to the steward-ship from God which was given to me for you, to fulfill the word of God, the mystery which has been hidden from ages and from generations, but now has been revealed to His saints. To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory o this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory." - Colossians 1:25-27
To the t he Romans omans he wrote: "Now to Him who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery kept secret since the world began, but now has been made manifest, and by the prophetic Scriptures has been made known to all nations, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, for obedience to the faith." - Rom Roma ans 16:25 16 :25-26 -26
It becomes abundantly clear that Paul is well aware of the existence of these hidden elements within the Word of God and, so, s o, he discus s es them at length length.. Per Perhaps haps one of the more more dramatic examples of this understanding is contained in a letter he addressed to the congregation at Corinth. In this letter he reiterated that key and essential truths had been hidden from the foundation of the world and, furthermore, that their disclosure before the appointed time would have been catastrophic catas trophic to mankind ankind.. "We speak wisdom among those who are mature, yet not the wisdom of this age, nor of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory, which none of the rulers of this age knew; for had they known they would not have crucified the Lord o g lory. lory. But as it is i s writt ri tten: en: 'Eye 'Eye has not not see s een n nor nor ear e ar heard, heard, nor nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.' But God has revealed them
to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God."
- 1 Cori Corint nthian hianss 2:6-10 2:6 -10 These are the words of a person who was obviously moved upon by the Holy Spirit and who was initiated in the ancient traditions of Scriptural interpretation. So, when he refer eferss to hidd hidden en wis dom do m that God foreordained, oreordained, he can c an onl on ly be s peaking peaking of one on e thi th ing - the " inner nn er dim dimens ion" on " of Scri Scriptur ptu re and an d thos e things things regarded egarded as sod or or "mys "mysteri teries es." ." In fact, fact, the phrase p hrase "hidden wisdom" is translated from the Greek apokrupto , which means "to hide or conceal." The particular mystery that Paul addresses in this letter happens to be the greatest of all mysteries as far as Scripture is concerned - the death, burial and resurrection of the Messiah. Paul makes it clear that this mystery was deeply concealed that the princes of this world were total tot allly una u nable ble to di d is cern God God's 's pl p lan. Why all the Scriptural cloak-and-dagger? Had they - the princ princes es o f thi th is world world - unrave un ravelled thi th is mys tery te ry the t hey y woul wou ld h ave av e never allowed Jesus to go to the cross. The ramifications o that scenario would be disastrous because, without the crucif crucifixion, on , there the re is is no resurr resu rrect ectiion and an d we wou woulld s till till be in our ou r s in (1 Co rin rin thi th ians an s 15: 15:17). 17). If by "princes" Paul is referring to earthly princes, i.e. the th e Jewi Jewis h ruler rulerss , it it is logical logical to concl con clud udee that th at they t hey woul ou ld not n ot have hav e killed the coming Anointed One. If Paul refers to spiritual princ princes es,, the th e rulers rulers of the th e dark da rkne ness s of thi th is world, world, they th ey woul wou ld certai certainl nly y not n ot have hav e foll followed thr th rough ou gh with a plan that th at led to their own dem d emiis e. Obv Obviious ou s ly, thes e principali principalities ties di d id not n ot discern disc ern that th at the Mes s iah was to die die and to ris ris e again again - that was a tr t ruth that
had been hidd hidden en well ell. Yes, es , God God had ha d hi h idden dd en the th e Plan Plan of Red Redem emp p tion from the th e very v ery foundation (remember a foundation is hidden by what is built upon up on it) of Cr Creation eation and why? hy ? There were were thos e who, had they t hey known, would have prevented it from coming to fruition. Reflect eflect upo u pon n the t he fact that th at when God God began beg an to t o create the th e worl world, angels were present (Job 38:7). One of those angels, Lucifer, fell - we presume - after the creation of heaven and earth (Genesis 1). Knowing all things, including that Satan would try to undermine God's plan for mankind, the heavenly Father had already developed a plan of redemption that would be hidden from "principalities and powers." Again, had they known His plan the t hey y woul wou ld hav h avee atte at tem mpted pt ed to s top to p it. As it turn t urnss out, ou t, their th eir eff efforts to "s top" God's plan plan actuall actually contr con triibuted but ed to its s uccess ucces s . Perhaps erhaps this this is one of o f the reasons reason s Scri cripture says say s : "Having disarmed principalities and powers. He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it." Colos los s ians ians 2:15
And An d so, s o, we we under und erss tand that t hat God God hi h id the: th e: Vir Virg g in bir b irtth (Isaiah (Is aiah 7: 14). 14). Mys tery of the bl b lood oo d of o f Chris hris t. Death Deat h and an d resurrection res urrection of Chris Chris t (1 Cor. or. 2: 2:8). 8). These mysteries were truths purposely kept concealed from the beginning of time, but at Messiah's coming, were
revealed to those who had ears to hear. Likewise, we should under und erss tand that t hat any truth truth that has h as remai emained ned a s ecret ecret unti un till these thes e last days will also be revealed when it is time. I mean, do we really believe that all of God's mysteries have been unveiled? The prophet Daniel was told that certain things would remain a mys tery unti unt il the end en d of days . "But you, Daniel, shut up the words and seal the book until the time of the end. Many shall run to and fro, an k now nowled le dg e sha s hall ll increas incr ease." e." - Daniel Daniel 12:4 12 :4
This This pas s age teaches t eaches us two things. things . Fi Firs t of all all, at the time time of the end there would be mysteries that God's people did not understand. Nevertheless, at the time of the end, God would perm pe rmiit the th e unde un ders rsta tand ndiin g of thes th esee my s teri te ries es to be unve un veiiled. ed . How will these truths be finally revealed? According to Paul, comprehension of this "hidden wisdom" comes by the Holy Spir Spirit as He opens op ens our ou r understand unders tandiing of the Word of God God..
IN THE MOUNT OF THE LORD We understand that when God created the heavens and the earth, He did so completely. We also understand that, in every facet and era of human existence, God always knew just how to deal with mankind. Again, the Lamb was "slain from the foundat foun datiion of the th e world." world." (Rev (Revel elation ation 13:8). Tho Thoug ugh h He always always knew these things, mankind did not always know. So then, through the millennia, God has systematically revealed these hidden truths, and in particular, how He intended to redeem mank an kind; nd ; the t he mys tery of o f mys mys teries teries..
Consider that when mankind fell, God immediately began to reveal that a Redeem Redeemer er woul ou ld one o ne day d ay s ave the t he son s onss of men. men. It was in the Garden that He promised the Seed of the Woman would come and bruise the head of the serpent (Genesis 3:15). After that prophecy, there were only vague hints at the Promised One. That changed, however, when God found a fri friend en d in a man man He called called A braham brah am.. When Abraham was already an old man, he was told that he would have a son - a promised son. Through this promised one, Abraham would become the father of many nations. After that son, Isaac, was born and had matured into a lad, Abraham was told to take take hi h im to the mountains ou ntains of Moriah Moriah and ther the re offer offer him as a burnt b urnt offeri offering ng.. "Now it came to pass after these things that God teste Abraham, and said to him, 'Abraham!' And he said, 'Here I am.' Then He said, 'Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.' So Abraham rose early in the morning and . . .went to the place of which God had told him. Then on the thir day Abraham lifted his eyes and saw the place afar off. ..so Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife, an the two of them went together. But Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, 'My father!' And he said, 'Here I am, my son.' Then he said, 'Look, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?' And Abraham said, 'My son, Go will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering.' So the two of them went together. Then they came to the place o which hic h God God had tol tol d him." - Gene Geness i s 2 2 :l-4, :l-4 , 6-9 6 -9
First notice that God told Abraham to take his only son, Isaac. Why did He say "only son" when, in fact, Abraham had anothe ano therr son call called Ishm Is hmael ael?? It is is becaus becau s e God God cons con s idered Isaac to be the promised "seed" through which the covenant He made ad e with with A b raham wou woulld be fulfi fulfillled. ed . "But God said to Abraham, 'Do not let it be displeasing in your sight because of the lad or because of your bondwoman. Whatever Sarah has said to you, listen to her voice, for in Is aac aac your your see s eed d s hall hall be calle c alled d.' " - Genesi Genesiss 21: 21 :12
The promised son was to become a burnt offering. In fact, when God told Abraham to "offer him there as a burnt offering," the Hebrew literally says to " lift him up" upon the altar as a burnt offering (based upon the Hebrew root alah from which the word
olah "burnt offering" is
derived). Notice also that Isaac is the one who carried the wood. The Hebrew text literally says he carried a "tree" (from etz) and seeing that it was "laid" upon the Hebrew word him, the inference is that it was laid upon his back. So, the prom pro mis ed s on walk walked to the th e top to p of the th e mount ou ntain ain with with a tree upon upo n his back. Now cons co ns ider de r the th e place thes th esee even ev ents ts occu oc curr rred ed.. A braham brah am was directed to travel to the "land of Moriah." Today this area is known as Jerusalem and, specifically, the Temple Mount. This is the same area where, years after this event, Abraham's grandson Jacob saw a vision of angels ascending into and
descending from heaven upon a staircase. This vision caused that s tartled tartled Jacob to t o decl d eclar are: e: "This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven." - G Genesi enesiss 28: 28 :17
As father and son neared the landscape that would one day include the House of God - a place where countless offerings would be made - the Bible says that Abraham saw "the place afar off" on the "third day" (Genesis 22:4). The fact that he h e saw s aw this this place place on the th e "thi "th ird day" day " is interes nteres ting ting enoug en ough, h, but bu t the t here re is is mo re here than th an meet meetss the th e eye ey e when we read read the th e tex te xt in Eng Engllis h. So, let let us look oo k a this phrase ph rase in Hebrew. Hebrew. The Hebrew ha makom. What word translated as "the place" is makes this so interesting is, not only is ha makom understood to be "the place," but is also considered to be a name for God becau be causs e He is is in every ev ery place. place . "If "If I as as cend i nto heav he aveen, You are the therre. If I mak mak e my bed i n hell hel l , behol behold d, You are ther theree." - Psa Ps alm 139:8 13 9:8
In any place you can imagine, God is already there; He is Omnipresent, thus He is "The Place." So, not only did Abraham "see" the place where the Temple would one day stand, but using this rabbinical interpretation of Ha mak om as "the LORD," on the third day, he "saw the LORD afar off' (Genesis 22:4). The word translated as "afar off" is stems from the word
merchok . It
rachak , which means "remote (in
space or time)" or "a great while to come." This interpretation hints at the idea that Abraham probably saw into the future. In fact, Jewish tradition believes that Abraham had a vision of a future event, hinted at by the word merchok . Evidently, whatever it was he saw had something to do with the LORD. Furthermore, his vision of the future convinced Abraham that, on Mount Mou nt Moriah, Moriah, the th e LO LORD wou woulld be b e seen. s een. It seems clear to me that he saw into the future and observed that God would "see (to) Himself a lamb." This literal interpretation points to the fact that God would see to it Himself; in other words, He would become th thee Lamb (the ha seh - ha being the definite Hebrew text renders it article) not merely provide a lamb. Apparently, Abraham saw the LORD, the Lamb of God, being executed near "the place" where he was taking Isaac - Mount Moriah - 2000 years before it actually happened! This is why he called the place "The LORD will Provide," or more properly Yahweh Yireh (Genesis 22: 14). "And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behol behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: an Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son. And Abraham called the name name of that that pl pl ace J ehovahehovah-jir jireh: eh: as i t is i s s aid to this this day, ay, In In the mount ount of of the the Lord Lord it sha s hall ll be s ee een." n." Genes is 2 2 :13-14 :13 -14 (K (KJ J V) -
When Abraham discovers a ram in the thicket, the Hebrew ayil text text us u s es the word, - a ram. In other words, the ram in the thicket became the substitute sacrifice for Isaac, but was obviously not "the lamb" spoken of by Abraham. Perhaps that
is precisely why Abraham declares that, "in the mount of the Lord IT shall be seen" (Genesis 22:14). The question is what is the "it"? I believe that the name Abraham gave the place, Yahweh Yireh , gives us the answer. Understood literally, Ya h weh we h Yireh is is " Yahweh, He wil will s ee (to it)," t)," and an d s o it cou c oulld be underst un derstoo ood d as "in the mou mount, nt, Yahweh Yahweh shal s halll be s een!" Jesus Jes us s aid, aid, "Y " Your ou r father Abraham Ab raham rejoiced rejoiced to s ee my my day: d ay: and he saw it, and was glad . . . Most assuredly I say to you, before be fore A braham brah am was, was , I am" am" (John 8:56). 56). It s eems eems likely that th at Abraham was permitted to see into the future and understand that God Himself would be the Lamb and would suffer in the place o f all man manki kind nd - and an d he s aw it on the th e thi th ird day da y no less es s . Cons on s ider de r the th e foll following owing.. Abr Ab raham took too k "hi "h is onl on ly son s on." ." Is Is aac is the t he Promi Promis ed Seed. Seed . Isaac laid aid the wood oo d (tree) on his his back. Abraham said, "God will provide himself a lamb." A ram ram,, not no t a lamb, amb, was caugh cau ghtt in the th e thi th icket. God God provided a s ubs ub s titut titutee offeri offering ng.. In the time of Abraham, God announced in dramatic fashion how He intended to redeem mankind - God would beco be com me fles flesh h and an d die on his beha be hallf. Yet Yet,, keep thi th is in mind: nd : the th e Lamb was slain from the foundation of the world. That is what He had always intended. Furthermore, even though God made this very clear through the Scripture, until the Messiah was resurrected from the dead, no one understood it - except Abraham.
And thus this example clearly reveals the "inner dimension" of the Scripture, the prophetic layers found within the th e Sacred Sacred Tex Textt and an d the t he progres p rogresss ive revel reve lation of o f God's od 's Word.
Chapter Three THE PROGRESSION OF REVELATION In the previous chapter I mentioned the fact that, throughout history, God has systematically revealed hidden truths truth s , and in particular particular,, how ho w He He intende inten ded d to redeem mankind ankind.. It It s houl ho uld d als als o be noted n oted that He didn didn't 't reveal reveal everythi everyth ing all all at one on e time and when He did grant revelation of certain things, it was sometimes cloaked in symbolism. The Plan of Redemption is ust such an example. Still, it needs to be said again; had the princ princes es of thi th is world world been be en abl ab le to d ecipher eciph er God's od 's true inten nt ent, t, they would have attempted to foil it - thus, secrecy. I think it would be fair to say that God often hides things in plain sight and the greatest greates t exam example ple of this this is Mess Mes s iah's bir birth, death, de ath, buri b urial al and resurr es urrecti ection on.. But let us move ov e on from there and broaden our ou r dis dis cuss cus s ion to examine how God allows revelation of all things to proceed in this manner. That means God reveals His intents and purpo pu rposs es in prog p rogres resss ion, on , and not n ot " everyt ev erything hing,, all at on o n ce."
THE PLACE OF REDEMPTION Jewish tradition has it that Jerusalem was the place where God stood when He created earth. Specifically, a particular area
of the present-day Temple Mount marks the spot where God "hov "h overed" ered" as the world orld cam c amee into into exi exis tence. ten ce. That s pot po t is called called even shetiyah - the "foundation stone." The Talm almud records thi th is as bei be ing the th e place whe where: re: God God s tood to od to cr c reate the t he rest of the worl world. Abr Ab raham boun bo und d Isaac Isaa c as a bur bu rnt of o fferi ering. ng . Jacob Jacob rested his his head and s aw the vision. vision. God took the stones to carve the first tablets of the Law. The Ar A rk of the Cov Covenan enantt eventu ev entual allly rested. rest ed. The blood bloo d of o f Yom Kipp Kippur ur was s p rinkl rinkled ed.. Of course, this "foundation stone" is located on what is now the most disputed piece of land in all of the world - the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. In other words this place is special, to say the least, and becomes indelibly linked to God's plan in deali de aling ng with with the th e redem rede mpti pt io n of man man.. If the th e Blood oo d of the t he Messiah is the ink by which God's redemptive plan was penn pe nned ed,, then th en Jerus Je rusalem alem is the th e scroll s croll upon up on which which it was writt written en.. The importance of Jerusalem is this: it marks The Place God chose to commune with mankind. In the beginning, God communed with man in the "midst of the garden." Before he fell, Adam clearly functioned in the role of a priest. He would meet with God there in what was, no doubt, a Most Holy Place. By the way, there is overwhelming evidence to support the noti no tion on that tha t what is is now no w call called the t he Tem Templ plee Moun Mo untt was once on ce the th e center cen ter of the th e Garden Garden of Eden Eden..
Twenty-five hundred years after Adam, Moses was called up to the top of Mt. Sinai and there saw the heavenly Temple. From the pattern that he was shown in the mount, he built the tabernacle tab ernacle (Hebrew (Hebrewss 8:5). In the th e mi mids t of that th at Tabernacle ab ernacle was was a chamber where God scheduled a meeting with the appointed High Pri Priest es t once o nce a year on the Day of o f Atonem Aton ement ent.. It It is is s aid aid that t hat the Day of Atonement was the only day that Satan was not perm pe rmiitted tt ed to rail rail accus accu s ati at ions on s at Israel Is rael.. Why W hy?? Becaus eca us e Go d was meeting with His people. Perhaps this is one of the reasons Satan hates Israel so desperately; the tent of the meeting on earth was patterned after what existed in heaven - the place Satan was expelled from (Luke 10:18). Here is what I want you to see: the revelation of the Tabernacle and what it was based upon - what man had experienced in the Garden and what Moses saw in the g avee God acces acc es s to man man on Earth. Earth. mount ou ntai ain n - gav The next step on this revelation came to David three thousand years after Adam and five hundred years after Moses. It was permitted for David, and through him mankind, to see the importance of Jerusalem and the Temple that would adorn ado rn her h er.. After David took the stronghold of Zion, he moved the capital of his kingdom from Hebron (where Abraham was buri bu ried ed)) to the th e city of o f Jerusalem Jerus alem;; a city of o f which which it is is wri written tt en:: "Beautiful in elevation; the joy of the whole earth is Mount Zion on the sides of the north, the city of the great King." - Psalm 48:2
Provoked by the desire to see a house built in Jerusalem
for his God, David was given a vision of the Temple. However, even thoug tho ugh h he h e was was given given the plans plans for the Tem Temple, ple, he was not n ot perm pe rmiitted tt ed to t o buil b uild d it. That Tha t hon h onor or was was given give n to t o hi h is s on Solomon Solomon.. "You shall s hall not bui buill d Me a house hous e to dw dwel l i n...And i t shall s hall be, when your days are fulfilled, ...that I will set up your see after you, who will be of your sons, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build me a house, and I will establish his throne forever. I will be his Father, and he shall be My son, ... and I will establish him in My house and in My kingdom forever, and his throne shall be established forever." -1 Chron Chronicl icles es 17:4, 17 :4, 11-14 11-14
As we know, Solomon did indeed build the Temple, which history records as being a structure of untold wealth and indescribable beauty. Still, the most important thing to understand about the First Temple was that it was the place Man had the privilege, indeed the duty, of meeting with God here on Earth. Let me remind you that, in all probability, it was the same place where Adam had communed with God and where he re Abr Ab raham ah am found foun d a ram and an d s aw the Lamb! amb!
WHERE HEAVEN AND EARTH MEET In the above Scripture, it is presumed that the son o David that God referred to - the one whose throne was to be established forever - was Solomon. I believe that on one level the th e li literal te ral level ev el of int interpret erpretat atiion - that tha t is who wh o it refers refers to. to . Yet, et , recall that Scripture is to be understood on four basic levels o
p eshat at , remez , derush , and sod . That interpretation nt erpretation - pesh That bei b eing ng s aid, aid, who should we interpret David's son to be if we view this Scripture on the level of sod , the hidden dimension? Consider the th e foll following owing Scri Scriptures pt ures.. "When Jesus departed from there, two blind men followe Him, crying out and saying 'Son of David, have mercy on us!' "- Matthew 9:27 "And all the multitudes were amazed and said, 'Could this be the Son of David?' "- Matthew 12:23 "And behold, a woman of Canaan came from that region and cried out to Him, saying, 'Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David!' " - Matthew 15:22 "Then the multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out, saying, 'Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD.' " Matthew 21:9
Scripture declares that it is Jesus Christ, the Son of David who will rule and reign forever. It is His throne that has been eternall eternally establi es tabliss hed by God. od . "The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and he shall reign forever an ever." - Revelation 11:15
Every ve ry aspec as pectt of o f Hi His life and ministry nist ry - the virgin virgin bi b irth, that th at
His blood would save people from their sins, etc. - was revealed in Scripture and yet, for the most part, hidden from everyone until it was accomplished. When He did accomplish God's redemptive Plan, the crowning moment - the Resurrection - prov proviided yet another ano ther revelati revelation on.. Where the Tabernacle had given God access to Man and the Temple had given Man access to God, the Resurrection broug bro ught ht h eaven eav en and an d earth toge to geth ther er in every ev ery hum hu man heart he art that th at bel be lieved ev ed.. Pau Paull s aid: "Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price, therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's." - 1 Cori Corint nthian hianss 6:19 6:1 9
Scripture also promises that, because of the work of the Messiah, God and Man will meet together eternally in the New Jerusalem, fulfilling the "restoration of all things" (Acts 3:21). Thus, all the revelation that had previously been unveiled was intended to bring man to this point of understanding - that in the end, man would once again commune with God and God with man just jus t as it had h ad been b een in the begi beg inni nn ing. ng .
A LIGHT UNTO THE GENTILES Another An other truth truth that was expos expos ed by b y the t he resurrecti resurrection on of the Messiah was that God intended to do a work among Jew AND Gentil en tile. e. Initial Initiallly, thi th is was a bi b it di d iffi fficul cu lt even ev en for thos tho s e Jews who were believers in Jesus as Messiah to come to grips with. In
the end, the LORD used a converted tormentor of those early bel be lievers ev ers and an d s ent en t him to the th e Gentil en tiles es to reveal revea l som s omet ething hing that th at had been hidden from the very beginning. The Apostle Paul related elated that: that : "When it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb and called me through His grace, to reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I di not immediately confer with flesh and blood, nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me; but I went to Arabia, and returned again to Damascus." - Galatians 1:15-17
It s houl ho uld d be noted no ted that tha t Mou M ount nt Sinai Sinai is is in Arabia Arabia (Gal (Galati atians ans 4:25) and was the place where God revealed great and marvelous things to Israel through Moses. It seems likely that Paul traveled to Sinai and learned great and mysterious things concerning the "other flock" that Jesus had come to suffer and die for. for. Rem Remem embe berr, Jesus Jes us had ha d s aid: "Other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice, and there will be one flock and and one one s hep hepherd herd." ." - John 10 1 0 :16
It was primarily Paul who made known the mystery concerning the Gentiles; that is, that they too were to come into the knowledge of the one true God and His Messiah. He underst un derstoo ood d that t hat Chris hris t was the promi promis ed "l " light gh t to the Genti ent iles" es " (Isaiah 49:6, 60:3). Consequently, he also emphasized that this was a mystery that had been hidden since the foundation o the th e world! world!
"When you read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ, which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets: that the gentiles should be fellow heirs, of the same body and partakers of his promise in Christ through the gospel of which I became a minister according to the gift of the grace of God given to me by the effective working of His power. To me, who am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given, that I shoul preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in Go who created all things through Jesus Christ." - Ephesians 3:4-9
Paul also, more than any other, resurr resu rrect ectiion of all all believ believers ers in the last las t days da ys .
emphasizes
the
"Behold, I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed - in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead wi l l be rais rai s ed incorrup incor ruptib tibll e, and we s hall be changed chang ed." ." - 1 Corinthian rinthianss 15:51-52 15 :51-52 "For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive an remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede whose who are asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet trumpet of God God.. And the d dead ead i n Chris Chri s t wi wi l l ris ri s e firs fi rs t. Then Then
we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord." - 1 Thes Thesss alonian lonianss 4:14-17 4:14 -17
So, what began with a tabernacle in the wilderness - a place where God woul wou ld meet with with man - ends en ds with with the th e revelation revelation tha t hatt God God would, once onc e agai ag ain, n, com co me down d own to t o meet meet with man, but this time in the air! And this time, not only would He come come for thos tho s e who are ref referr erred ed to t o as Is rael, ael, but al a ls o tho t hoss e who were among the Gentiles who had been grafted into and beco be com me one on e with with His His peop pe oplle Israel. Through this progressive revelation, we see that there are proph pro phet etiic lay layers ers in the t he Script Scripture ure which reveal revea l future futu re even ev ents ts ! To To under und erss tand the t he truths hidden hidden in thes th esee layer layerss , study stu dy is requir equired. Without a doubt, the time that Paul spent in Arabia was filled with study of the Scripture. Study alone, however, is not the answer. True revelation comes through spending time with the Father in prayer and s eeki eeking underst un derstand andiing of what what we stud s tudy y. I can easily imagine that being in Sinai also prompted Paul to seek God's face for answers to many of the questions he had about abo ut the t he Scri Scriptur ptu re. Hence, when searching the Word of God for answers, I recomm recommend thi th is method eth odology ology:: Read the text to understand the literal and historical account. Compare Scripture with more Scripture. Do Do word word s tudi tud ies to und u nder erss tand tan d the th e origi original nal meaning. meaning.
Anal An alyze yze the th e prophet prop hetiic lay layers ers in the Script Scripture. ure. Seek the th e face of o f God God..
LEARNING LEARNING F ROM PICT P ICTURES URES "That whic "That which h has bee een n is i s what wi wi l l be; that whic which h is i s done is is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun." Eccles ias ias tes 1:9
As we study these prophetic layers, it should be noted that many many ti t imes these thes e layer layerss are are hidden hidden in types ty pes and s hadows pictures pictu res.. From From the th e v ery beg be g inni nn ing God has ha s g iven ve n u s pictures pictu res with the Word that th at are to teach us of even greater pri principles. nciples. At the very beginning of Creation, He made the heavenly luminaries - the sun, moon and stars - for days and years, for seasons and for signs (Genesis 1:14). In other words, these signs serve to point to something greater. The moon, for instance is crucial in determining time from a biblical persp pe rspect ectiive, ve , becau be causs e new n ew moo moons ns , sab s abba bath thss and an d feast feas t times times are dependent depend ent on the t he lunar lunar cycle. cycle. These feasts , s abbaths abbath s , and new moons, in turn are critical in understanding how God works in the earth. earth. They are are pi p ictur ctu res that teach of spi s pirritual principl principles es as well ell as s heddi hed ding ng light gh t on o n thi th ings ng s to com co me. "Let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbath, which are a shadow o things to come, but the substance is of Christ." - Colossians 2:16-17
The seven feasts of Israel, the sabbaths and other princ princiip les found fou nd in the th e teach te achiings ng s of Mos Mo s es are unde un derst rstoo ood d to be " s hado ha dows ws o f thi th ings ng s to com co me." They The y poi po int us to thi th ings ng s God wis hes for us to t o understand u nderstand.. Yet, even though thou gh they teach t each us o other things - they are shadows - the one casting the shadow is Christ Himself. In other words, don't dismiss as obsolete that which hich casts cas ts the s hadow. hadow. The "hidden dimension" of Scripture is also contained in the narratives provided in the Bible. As we read in Ecclesiastes 1 and as we have observed in the Scripture, the past indeed reveals the future. The picture can be found in a person's life story, a dramatic event, or anything designed to represent something else. As we have already seen, Genesis 22 and the bindi bind ing of Isaac Isa ac is a det d etail ailed ed pi p icture ct ure of o f the th e cruci cruc ifix fixion of Chri Chriss t. There are dozen of other examples that point to Christ and His s ufferi uffering ng.. Here Here are jus jus t a couple cou ple notab no tablle exam examples ples.. Numbers 19 and the Red Heifer are a picture of the crucif cru cifix ixion ion o f Ch Ch ris ris t. Exodus 12 and the Passover Lamb contain a picture o the pow po wer of Chri Chriss t's bloo blood. d. The brass serpent on the pole is a preview of Christ on the cros crosss .
NEVER BEFORE ITS TIME Wherever and however these hidden things are embedded in Scripture, the pictures they paint for us are never understood until it is time for them to be revealed. That means
that some things are just now coming to light. Recall what Daniel was told. "But you Daniel, shut up the words and seal the book until the time of the end. Many shall run to and fro, an knowledge shall increase" - Daniel 12:4
This Scripture makes it clear that some mysteries are sealed until the time of the end and those of us living in that time should expect that these hidden things are becoming evident. One example that comes to mind is what is now known as the "Bible Codes." Back in the late 1980s, I was alerted to this phen ph enom omen enaa while while on o n a tri t rip p to Israel Is rael.. Upo Upon n earl e arly y inves nv estigat tigatiion it becam be camee cl c lear tha t hatt there th ere was indeed nd eed s omet omething hing to thi th is . In s hort, ho rt, these codes are based on Equidistant Letter Sequences (ELS). When proper methodology is applied, it has been found that encoded messages, notable personalities and historic events can be found hidden in the Hebrew text, particularly the five books bo oks of Mos Mo s es - the th e Torah Torah.. Even though some rabbis have known about this phen ph enom omen enaa for decad de cades es,, perhap pe rhapss centu cen turi ries es,, mos t of them th em did not realize the extent of this biblical peculiarity. It proves beyo be yond nd doub do ubt, t, at leas t as far as I am concern con cerned ed,, th t h at the th e Bible is the Word of God, that it predicts events before they happen and God God is des perately perately trying trying to t o reach this las lastt day gener gen erati ation on.. Why has God waited until now to reveal things such as this? I believe it is because some things would not have been understood or even possible until this generation. Without the use of computers, for instance, Bible Codes would be almost
impossible to validate as legitimate. Therefore, I will give you for fundamental reasons why I believe God has waited until now no w to reveal certain certain mys mys teries teries.. Popul Popu lation Edu Educat catiion Transportation Co mmu n ication ca tion It has been suggested that in Jesus' time the earth was popu po pullated at ed with with abou ab outt 200 200 mi millio n peop pe oplle. Today od ay there th ere are over ov er 300 million in the United States alone and nearly seven billion peop pe oplle globall glob ally. y. This means ean s that th at,, in the th e pres ent en t age, ag e, more peop pe oplle can be reache reac hed d with with the th e Gos Gos p el than th an at a t any an y oth o ther er tim time in in history. We can potentially reach more people in this generation than all the people who have ever lived in previous gener gen erati ation onss combi combined ned.. In days gone by, relatively few people were educated to the degree that they are now. The limits on education most likely limited biblical understanding as well. That is not to say that there has been no understanding, it is to say that, if a perso pe rson n could co uld not no t read the th e Scrip Scrip ture tu re for hims hims elf, elf, he was dependent on someone else - in most cases clergy - to teach him the th e Script Scripture. ure. In In our ou r tim time more more peo p eople ple have hav e achieved a chieved s ome ome level of higher education, so then, the potential for greater understanding of the Scriptures exists, perhaps as never before. be fore. Not onl on ly do we have ha ve more peo pe o ple and an d more educ ed ucat ated ed peop pe oplle at that th at,, but bu t they th ey are traveli trav elin n g everywhe ev erywhere re tak ta king their th eir
knowledge with them. For centuries people walked, rode animals or sailed upon the water. Then came carriages, trains and steamships. The 20th century saw the advent of the airplane and the automobile. In our day, planes travel at supersonic speeds while trains and cars, though slower, cover ground groun d at incredi incredible ble speeds sp eeds as well ell. This This pheno ph enom menal increas increasee in transportation methods and their speed has caused the world to shrink. The result has been that the transfer of ideas and information is extensive and quick. God has used this increase of kno know wledge edg e - "many "many s hall run to and fro" - to s pread His His Word. Prior to Genesis 11 and the Tower of Babel, all mankind spoke one language. Because they had determined to come together in defiance of God, He went down, confused their languages and scattered mankind around the earth. When the Scripture was first given to mankind it was in the Hebrew tongue. Eventually it was translated into Greek, then Latin and now most every language. Perhaps most prominent among them is English. In our lifetime, we have seen English become the universal language, making it possible to communicate the Scri Scripture pt ure wi with alm almos t every ev ery nati nat ional on aliity in one o ne langua lang uage. ge. Technological advancements in communication have helped in this venture - DVDs, computers and, of course the Internet. Today, someone in the United States can communicate with someone on the other side of the world in real time or, through mass media, without ever meeting the perso pe rson n and an d can s peak pe ak to them th em as many an y times times as that th at perso pe rson n wis hes to lis ten to a CD CD or watc watch h a DVD. DVD. Now that th at we have ha ve briefl briefly y discu dis cuss s ed why I thi th ink God has ha s waited until now to reveal certain things, let us now look at a
few examples of these mysteries that He has reserved for the end of the age.
PROPHECIES RESERVED FOR THE END END Centuries ago before the discovery of flight, Sir Isaac ewton predicted that the outcasts of Israel would return to their ancient homeland by actually flying there. He based that predi pred icti ct ion upon up on the th e foll following owing proph pro phecy. ecy. "But they shall fly down upon the shoulder of the Philistines toward the west. Together they shall plunder the people of the east: They shall lay their hand on Edom an Moab; and the people of Ammon shall obey them" - Isaiah 11:14
Of course, people scoffed at Newton's prediction, but as we know, many Jews have returned to the land of Israel by flying into Ben Gurion Airport just outside of Tel Aviv. Interestingly, when you look at an older map of Israel - one showing ancient boundaries - you will discover that where the Ben Gurion Airport now sits would be on the upper part o ancient Phil Philis tia. tia. In In other o ther words words,, upon upo n their t heir s houlder ho ulder jus t as the proph pro phecy ecy predi pred icted ct ed.. The poi po int is , until un til now no w, that th at proph pro phecy ecy was a mystery and would not have been understood as a literal proph pro phecy. ecy. Now that th at men travel trav el by aircraft aircraft everyd ev eryday, ay, the th e mys tery - or at leas leastt par p artt of o f it it - has been clear cleared ed up. up . Let Let us u s look oo k at a s imilar proph pro phecy. ecy.
"Behold, he is coming with clouds, and every eye will see him, even they who pierced him: and all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of him. Even so, Amen." - Revel Revelat atiion 1:7
To truly understand this prophecy, we must first of all dis dis cus s the meaning meaning of "with "with clouds ." We know about the prophecy Paul spoke of where those of us who are still alive and all the dead in Christ are to meet Him in the clouds. It is interesting to note that the Greek text does not include the definite article, meaning the text literally s ays that th at we who are ali alive will be: be : "Caught up together with them in clouds to meet the Lor in the air" - 1 Thes Thesss alonian lonianss 4:17
Jesus said that He would return in a cloud with power (Luke 21:27). It was a single cloud that received Him out o sight as He ascended into heaven (Acts 1:9). Now consider that the writer of Hebrews recorded that we are surrounded by a great "cloud of witnesses" (Hebrew 12:1). The key to understanding Paul's prophecy is to know that the Greek root word translated as "cloud" in Hebrews 12:1 (nephos) is the same one used in Luke 2 1, in Acts 1 and in 1 Thessalonians 4. In other words, it is very likely that the clouds in all these pas pa s s ages ag es are not no t the th e col co llecti ect ion of moistu ois ture re vap v apo o rs that th at g athe at her r in the sk s ky above abov e us. us . The writer of Hebrews uses nephos or "cloud" to paint a picture pictu re of a large group gro up gath ga thered ered in a s tadium ta dium to watch the th e athletes down on the field. This Greek word is used in classical Greek to s peak of a "cl " clou oud" d" or gather gath eriing of foo foott s oldi oldiers! ers!
Apparently then, when Jesus was ascending into heaven, the cloud that received Him were all of those who had been raised from the dead with Him (Matthew 27:52-53). That great cloud of witnesses mentioned in Hebrews has to be those who have gone into the presence of the Lord (2 Corinthians 5:8). When Wh en He returns returns as King of ki kings ng s and Lord of lords lords,, the cloud He comes with is when the family of God in HEAVEN and in EARTH ARTH meet meet toge to geth ther er as one! on e! Now get g etting ting back ba ck to t o the th e proph pro phecy ecy in Revelation ev elation 1, it s ays ay s He is is " comi coming with with cl c louds ou ds ." Hopefully Hopefully, we we unde un derst rstand and that th at part p art of it much better now. Still, there is something else here that needs to be discussed and that is that "every eye" shall see Him. When John wrote this prophecy, that would have been utterl ut terly y impos po s s ible. However However,, in in our ou r day it is very pos po s s ible. Wi With the technology that exists in our generation, you and I can watch something going on in Israel in real time. It is likely that, at the end of the Great Tribulation, people will be watching television to see the latest on the great war developing in Israel. All of a sudden something is going to appear in the heavens - the Son of Man coming to destroy all the enemies gathered gat hered aga a gaiins t His His peop pe oplle! Eve Every ry eye s hall s ee Him Him! "He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads." - Revel Revelat ation ion 13 1 3 :16
Again, when John wrote these words down, it would have been be en nearl ne arly y impos po s s ible for everyo ev eryone ne in his g eneration en eration to be marked arked in thi th is manne an nerr. Yet toda to day y we can imagi ag ine how ho w som s omeo eone ne with as much power as the Antichrist will possess could use
today's (not to mention tomorrow's) technology to bring everyone under his complete control. In our world one little magnetic strip on the back of a card can contain as much inform nfo rmat atiion as can be accum acc umulate ulated d in a lifetim lifetime. e. Every day we advance further toward a cashless society where all of our critical information is amassed and maintained in a digital format. Furthermore, the technology now exists for this information to be imbedded into your skin eliminating the need to carry cards that might be stolen. I believe this technology techn ology has been devel dev elop oped, ed, prim primari arily, for for nob n oblle pur pu rpos po s es. es . Still, one day a man will arise who will use this technology for evil. He will seek to control the world's markets making it impossible for people to function in any way, unless they s ubm ub mit to t o hi h is control con trol.. "And that no one may buy or sell, except one who has the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name." Revel Revelat ation ion 13:17 13 :17
We live in a day in which all are known by some type o number whether it be a social security number, a bank account num nu mber, ber, a s treet address addres s and s o on. o n. Wi Without tho ut thes t hes e num nu mbers we could not exist in today's society and so we see how this proph pro phecy ecy cou co u ld com co me to pas pa s s in our o ur day da y and an d ti t ime. "And he cried with a loud cry to him who had the shar sickle, saying 'Thrust in your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth, for her grapes are fully ripe.' So the angel thrust his sickle the earth and gathered the vine of the earth, and threw it into the great winepress of the wrath
of God. And the winepress was trampled outside the city, an blood came out of the winepress, up to the horses' bridles, for one thousand six hundred furlongs." - Revelation 14:18-20
This is one of those prophecies that not only was a great mystery in ancient times, but whose understanding remains elusive even in our day. First of all, who uses horses in modem warfare? Second, does it really mean that the blood will literally be thi th is deep de ep?? Lastly as tly,, if thi th is is a des de s cript criptiio n of what happ ha ppen enss dur du ring the battl batt le of o f Armaged Armageddo don n (which hich is an enor eno rmous ou s valley) valley) as many suppose, why is a city mentioned and what city is it? Let us u s deal dea l with with where this batt b attlle takes place first first.. "And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs coming out o the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. For they are spirits o demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle o that great day of God Almighty. . . .And they gathered them together to the place called in Hebrew, Armageddon." - Rev Revel elat ation ion 16:13 16 :13-14 -14,, 16
Notice tha t hatt the t he " kings ng s of the t he earth" earth " gath ga thered ered or as s embled embled not say that in the t he placed placed call called Ar A rmageddo aged don. n. It does not th at the battle battle takes place there although that has been the conclusion many have come to. However, the Scripture makes it clear that the climactic "battle of that great day of God Almighty" will be Jerusalem!
"I will also gather all nations, and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat and I will enter into judgement with them there on account of My people, My heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations ... Let the nations be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat, for there I will il l s it to ju jud dge all th thee s urround urrounding ing natio nations ns.. Put in the the s ick ic k le, le , for the harvest is ripe, come, go down, for the winepress is full, the vat vatss over overflow flow - for for their thei r wic wick k ed ednes nesss is g re reat at." ." - Joel Joel 3:2, 3 :2, 12-13 12 -13 "When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his s heep from from the the goa g oats ts." ." - Matthew 25:31-32
Notice that th at,, accordi acco rding ng to Joel Joe l, the th e nation na tionss who as a s s emble emble at Armageddon march to Jerusalem and gather in the "valley o Jehoshaphat." Notice, too, that the "winepress is full," so the "sickle" is thrust in just as described in Revelation 14. These nati nat ions on s are gathered gath ered in in the t he Vall alley of o f Jehos Jeho s haphat hap hat as Chris hris t returns to take His throne. Since He returns to the Mt. o Olives , which which faces Jerus Jerus alem alem on the th e eas e astt (Zech (Zechari ariah ah 14:4), the evidence suggests that the armies of the nations will most likely be gathered in the Kidron valley, which is just "outside the city." There they will be trampled down in the winepress o God's wrath. Others have made note of the fact that the deci dec is ive batt b attlle is is in Jerusal Jerus alem em,, not no t Arm A rmage agedd ddon on..
"Bengel thinks the valley of Kidron, between Jerusalem and the mount of Olives, is meant, its torrent being about to be discoloured with blood for 1,600 furlongs. This accords with Joel's prophecy, that the valley of Jehoshaphat is to be the scene of overthrow of the anti-Christian foes." -Jamies on, Faus Fausss et and Br Brow own n Comm Commentary
The Kidron, Kidron, or the valley valley of o f Jehoshap Jehos haphat, hat, is is very deep and narrow. It is unlikely that tanks and armored personnel carriers could maneuver efficiently in this setting. In other words, it s eems eems the th e perf p erfect ect place for armi armies that th at s till till uti ut ilize hors h orsee fles flesh h to us e them th em.. You have hav e to keep in mi mind that th at thes t hes e sam s amee nations na tions would have witnessed the total annihilation of Gog's multitudinous armies and all of his sophisticated equipment (Ezekiel 38 & 39). Maybe their destruction came about through the use of an electromagnetic pulse. If the armies that march on Jerusalem suspect something like that might be used on them, then horses would prove prove to be b e valuabl valuable. e. Whatever the reas reason, on, it seems these armies assembled in the valley, or at least a porti po rtion on of them th em,, are are on hors ho rseb eback. ack. Now, Now, I mus t poi po int out ou t that th at s ome ome h ave av e ass as s umed umed that th at the th e description of blood "up to the horses' bridles" is mere hyperbole. For example, one famous commentator said of this great pool po ol of bloo blood: d: "A hyperbolical expression to denote a great effusion o blood. The Jews said, 'When Hadrian besieged the city calle Bitter, he killed so many that the horses waded in blood up to their mouths.' The same kind of hyperbole with that above."
- Adam Adam Clarke' Clark e'ss Com Commentary
Perhaps, but it should also be noted that some countries still use horses, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran and Iraq among them. Furthermore, people have often been proven wrong when he n the t hey y were hes itant tan t to t o take the th e Bi Bible li literall terally. So So then, th en, is it pos po s s ible that th at thi th is is to be interpret nt erpreted ed literal te rallly? Is it not no t pos p os s ible that, when Christ returns and destroys all those assembled against Jerusalem, their bodies will be piled as high as the horses' bridle? This is still a mystery but is becoming clearer in our ou r day. "Standing at a distance for fear of her torment saying, 'Alas, alas that great city Babylon, that mighty city! For in one hour hour your your judg judg ment has come.' come.' " - Revel Revelat ation ion 18 1 8 :10
According to history, the city of Rome was all but completely destroyed with fire while, according to legend, the Emperor Nero danced and made merry as the music played on. History records that Rome's destruction didn't happen overnight, or even in a day and a night, but that it took several days. Throughout history, Jerusalem has been sacked and burned bu rned mu ltiple times times.. Each Each time time it was des de s troyed troy ed it took to ok day d ayss , even weeks, for the end to come. Nevertheless here is a proph pro phecy, ecy, wri written tt en in a time time when b oth ot h of thes th esee cities cities experienced destruction by fire, that declares the great city o "Babylon "Babylon"" will be des d estroyed troyed in just jus t one hour! When John recorded this mystery, there was no way, at
least in human terms, that a great city such as he saw could be destroyed in one hour. This is another one of those mysteries that has been reserved for our time. Because, as we all know, only in the 20th century has it become possible to destroy an enti ent ire city city in one o ne hour ho ur.. The Scripture says that this great city will be "utterly burned bu rned with with fire" fire" in one on e day da y (Rev (Revelation elation 18:9 8:9) and an d that th at the th e peop pe oplle of the th e earth wil will " weep and an d lamen lamentt for her whe when n th t h ey s ee the smoke of her burning" (Revelation 18:9). People on land and on sea, for fear of falling victim to whatever destroyed her, remain afar off and watch her burn (Revelation 18: 10, 17). The only thing known to man that could accomplish this destruction in such a brief time is a non-conventional explosive device - a nuclear explosion of some type, which leads to the next next mys mys tery reserved res erved for the th e end en d ti t ime. "And this shall be the plague with which the LORD will strike all people who fought against Jerusalem; their flesh shall dissolve while they stand on their feet; their eyes shall dissolve in their sockets, and their tongues shall dissolve in their mouths ouths" " -Zechariah -Z echariah 14:12 14 :12
Flesh consumed, eyes melted away in their sockets, tongues dissolved in their mouths before their bodies hit the ground - sounds similar to the effects of the intense and immediate heat generated by a nuclear explosion. Because their bodies bo dies do hit the ground - inferring they are not consumed has led some to think that a neutron bomb might be used. Whatever it might be, the point is, this is another mystery that
has been reserved reserved for the end of days. How could Zechariah or anyone alive during his day have imagined anything that destructive short of what would happen to a human being at the appearance of the LORD Himself? That being said, this destruction is what occurs to them who fight against Jerusalem; those same nations who gather in the valley of Jehoshaphat (Kidron). Interestingly, the Scripture does warn those who oppose Him that they will be destroyed "with the brightness of His coming" (2 Thes s alon aloniians 2: 8). I want to look at one more unusual prediction that could not have been understood until the present time and that has to do with, of all all things, things , chariots chariots in the battl bat tle. e. "For the LORD will restore the excellence of Jacob like the excellence of Israel, for the emptiers have emptied them out and ruined their vine branches. The shields of his mighty men are made red . . . The chariots come with flaming torches in the day of his preparation . . . The chariots rage in the streets, they jostle one another in the broad roads: they seem lik li k e torches torches , they they run lik e lig l ight htning." ning." - Nahu Nahum m 2:2-4 2:2 -4 "With a noise like chariots over mountaintops they leap, like the noise of a flaming fire that devours the stubble, like a strong people set in battle array." 2 :5 - Joel 2:5
What makes these prophecies so interesting is that they are mysteries reserved for this day, but ironically, would have been be en unde un derst rstoo ood d to a degree de gree in the th e day da y they th ey were were wri written tt en.. In
other words, Nahum and Joel knew full-well what a chariot was. evertheless, we know that chariots are no longer used in warf arfare and haven h aven't 't been for centur centu ries - or have hav e they? th ey? Years ago, ag o, I rem remem embe berr bei be ing in Israel Is rael and an d being b eing introd int rodu u ced to the newest tank in the Israeli arsenal. Its name was (and is) av ah.. What shocked me was when I found out what the Merk avah the Hebrew word merkavah means -"chariot"! In fact, that is the exact word Joel uses in his prophecy with the exception that th at it is in the th e femi feminine form merkavot. Nahum Nahu m d escri es cribe bess them th em as movi ov ing fast fas t throu th rough gh wide wide open op en places with with fire fire s pewi pe win n g fro fro m their th eir torche to rchess . Coul ou ld thi th is be a description of the modern Israeli "chariot," the tank called erkavah? All of the prophecies we have examined are mysteries that can only be cleared up by the passage of time. In other words, revelation of God's Word is progressive. That we are living in the end of the age must mean that most of the mysteries are about to be revealed and understood; that should excite you it certainly excites me! Now, Now, let let us u s focus focu s on s ome ome Script Scriptures ures that th at man many y think t hink have hav e provide pro vided d all the th e " nugg nu gget etss " they th ey h ad to offer. offer. A s you yo u wil will see, s ee, thes e Scri Scriptur ptu res contai con tain n a hi h idden dd en vei v ein n s o rich rich that t hat it coul cou ld onl o nly y be app a ppreci reciat ated ed in thes th esee las lastt day d ayss .
Chapter Four THE EXODUS CODE "Moreover brethren, I do not want you to be unaware that all our fathers were under the cloud, all passed through the sea, all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea . . .Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages hav have com c ome." e." - 1 Corinthians 1 0 :l-2, 11
Through Mos es, es , God God establi es tabliss hed and ordained ordained for all all tim time seven moedim ("appointed times") that we typically refer to as the seven feasts of Israel. These seven feasts are notably featured on God's calendar and were fixed in accordance with cycles already inherent in nature - rain cycles and harvest cycles. In the spring and fall comes the rains - the former and the latter rains respectively. Hence, the harvest seasons are fixed as consequence of the rainy seasons. Thus, God appointed His times among these two important cycles, in part, to demonstrate that He alone is responsible for rain and harves t; He is is our ou r Provider Provider.. The lessons of the "appointed times" do not end there. In Is rael' ael's his his tory, tory, key key events even ts happen hap pened ed dur du ring thes the s e times times of rai rain n and harvest and, thus, God attached a significant historical event to an already already exi exis ting ting s eason. easo n. This This helped helped to ensure ens ure that His people would always remember, and hopefully keep, His
feasts. The seven feasts and significant events or themes ass as s ociated ociated with them the m are: Pas Passs over: ov er: Blood oo d of o f the lamb lamb on o n the th e doorpos do orpos ts. ts . Unleav Unleavene ened d Bread: No No time time for the th e bread b read to t o ris ris e. Fi First fruits fruits:: Israel pas s ing thr th rough ou gh the th e Red Red Sea. Pentecos Pente cos t: Is Is rael receive receivess the th e Torah Torah at a t Mt. M t. Sinai. Sinai. Trum Trumpet petss : Sounding Soun ding trumpe trumpets ts / releas releasee from from pris pris on. on . Aton A tonem ement ent:: Judgem Judg ement ent of the righteou gh teouss and wicked. cked. Tabe Tabernacl rnacles es:: Prov Proviis ion in the t he wil wildernes de rnesss . Among these seven feasts there are three so-called "pilgrimage feasts" during which Israel was to present themselves before the Lord. They are Unleavened Bread (Passover), Pentecost and Tabernacles. Concerning these festivals the Scripture declares: "Three times a year all your males shall appear before the LORD your God in the place which He chooses: at the Feast of Unleavened Bread, at the Feast of the Weeks, and at the Feast of Tabernacles; and they shall not appear before the LORD empty mpty hand handeed." - Deuteronomy 16:16
These three feasts commemorate three significant events in Israeli history. Unleavened Bread reminds us of the Exodus from Egypt: Pentecost signifies the giving of the Torah at Mt. Sinai; and Tabernacles is a memorial to how God preserved
Israel in the wilderness. Tabernacles is also the time when Solomon dedicated the First Temple in Jerusalem. All of these event eve ntss are extrem extremel ely y impor po rtant tan t in the t he history hist ory of o f Is Is rael. rael. Still, these special times are much more than historical events. Though many Christians see them as nothing more than something Christ has fulfilled - and consequently, they assume, there is no need to bother with them - the truth of the matter is, these feasts are pictures of the earth's cycles from creation to the future Messianic kingdom. In other words, these things that happened in the past are written as an example to those of us living in the last days. Therefore, if the patt pa tterns erns of thes th esee feasts feas ts affect affect us , s hould ho uld we not no t bett be tter er under und erss tand them? them? Many s tudent tud entss of Scr Scriiptur ptu re are are of the opi op inion nion that the fir firs t four feasts - Passover, Unleavened Bread, Firstfruits and Pentecost - were fulfilled 2,000 years ago and in chronological order. order. Wi With his death de ath,, buri bu rial al and resurr resu rrect ectiion, on , Jesus Jesu s fulf fulfilled the th e feasts of Passover, Unleavened Bread and Firstfruits. Fifty days after His resurrection the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, in Acts Ac ts 2, fulf fulfiilled the t he feast feas t of Pent Penteco ecoss t. Because these have been fulfilled in this manner, people presum pres umee that th at the t he fina finall fall fall feasts feas ts wil will be ful fu lfil filled by b y Chri Chriss t and an d in chronological order as well. I agree with this logic. However, I will add that all seven of these feasts have been fulfilled in some way, and even though they have been fulfilled, all o these feasts have a future fulfillment as well. In other words, the historical events attached to these seven festivals, including how Christ fulfilled them, hint at end time events. Solomon recorded that:
"That whic "That which h has bee een n is i s what wi wi l l be; that whic which h is i s done is is what will be done: and there is nothing new under the sun. Is there anything of which it may be said, 'See, this is new'? It has already been in ancient times before us." - Ecclesiastes 1:9-10
In s hor ho rt, there are are propheti proph eticc mys mysteri teries es hidd hidden en in the feasts feas ts of Israel. Perhaps the most dramatic example of this concept among among the s even feasts is the feast of o f Pass as s over. over.
TYPES AND SHADOWS "On the fourteenth day of the first month at twilight is the LORD'S ORD'S Pass Pas s over. over." " - Lev Leviti iticus cus 2 3 :5
Pesach Pesa ch or Passover, the first of the seven moedim as well as the first of the three pilgrimage feasts, commemorates the Exodus from Egyptian slavery because God's people trusted in the blood of a lamb. The Passover, prepared on the fourteenth Avivv, marks the deliverance from day of the Hebrew month Avi oppression and the salvation of Israel. Most importantly, the Passover speaks of the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world by His crucifixion and subsequent resurrection. In fact, Scr Scriiptur ptu re teaches teach es that He is is the very reason reaso n for all all of thes e feasts east s and appoi appo inted tim times. es . "So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, which are a shadow o things to come; but the substance is of Christ." - Colossians 2:16-17
First of all, let me say that this is one of those passages that is greatly misunderstood. Most theologians argue that Paul is telling the congregation at Colosse they shouldn't let anyone judge them simply because they don't observe new moons and sabbaths. Because these things are referred to as "shadows" - which means to many Bible students that new moons and sabbaths have no real substance - has led people to bel b eliieve that t hat it is is approp ap propri riate ate to t o downp d ownpllay their t heir importance po rtance.. However, consider for a moment that maybe the di d obs Colossians did obs erve erve these th ese things things and were were being being judged for it. Perhaps Paul is encouraging the Colossians not to worry about the judgment of those who don't understand the new moons, sabbaths and festivals of the LORD and it is, in fact, those doing the judging who don't keep these feasts. Here is why I s ay thi th is . Even though Paul states that these sabbaths, new moons and festivals are "a shadow of things to come," we must remember that the one throwing the shadow - the substance is Christ. The shadow is, consequently, a precise similitude o the substance. In other words, new moons, sabbaths and festivals point us to teach us about Jesus Christ. That is why we find Him in all of these patterns. Those who would be willing to dispense with the "shadows" are, in effect, trying to do away with the substance. That is why Paul encourages the Coloss ians not no t to bel b eliieve the th e jud judgm gments ents of others. Furthermore. All things that point to Christ -including sabbaths, festivals and new moons - are prophetic in nature and, consequently, will also be encoded with other future and endend -tim time events even ts.. Thus , the Scri Scriptu pturre says s ays :
"Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit o prophecy." - Revel Revelat ation ion 19 1 9 :10
The emphasis of Passover is the Exodus story; Israel's redemption and salvation by the blood of a spotless lamb. Through the deliverer Moses, God performed great miracles so that His people might be freed from Egyptian bondage. Their sojourn from Egypt would take them to the Promised Land but not before they first traversed the wilderness to receive God's Torah (Law) at Mount Sinai. In fact, it should be pointed out here that, tha t, for for centuri cent uries es,, rabb rabbiis have hav e tied the th e liberty liberty that came came at Passover to the giving of the Torah that came at Sinai. The rabbis argue that "liberty without law results in anarchy." In other words, a free man left to his own devices will not recognize any boundaries but will do whatever seems right in his heart. We need God to tell us what is acceptable behavior and what is not. no t. Thus the Scri Scriptur ptu re war warns ns that: that : "There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death." - Prov Pr overb erbss 14:12 14 :12
What makes this Exodus-Mount Sinai connection even more interesting is that, the day on which God gave Israel the Ten Comm ommandm an dmen ents ts (Ex (Exodus od us 19-20 -20) was was the th e sam s amee day d ay that th at later at er becam be camee the th e feast feas t of Penteco Pent ecoss t. Thus Thu s , the th e even ev ents ts of Pass Pas s over ov er are linked to the events of Pentecost; the freedom the lamb provide pro vided d made ad e it pos po s s ible for Israel Israe l to receive God's od 's Word. I will address this in a bit more detail later on. The pri p rim mary pas pa s s ages age s of Scri Scripture pt ure deal de aliing with the th e Ex Exodus od us s tory, tory, at at least least as far as Pass as s over and Pentecos t are concerned,
are found in Exodus chapters 12-20. In Exodus 12 we see how the Passover was to be prepared on the fourteenth day of the Avivv (Exodus 12:6); and how it is eaten on that Hebrew month Avi night (Exodus 12:8). The Scripture tells us that, on that very nigh night, t, the death deat h of Egy Egypt's pt's firs tbor tbo rn led to Is rael' ael's releas eleasee from from s lavery; and an d how h ow they eventuall even tually y arri arrived at Moun Mo untt Sinai Sinai on the th e first day of the third month, called Sivan in Hebrew (Exodus 19:1). Still, there are many other details to this story that merit our attenti attent ion.
CHRIST IN THE PASSOVER First of all, Exodus chapter 12 gives great detail about the lamb that was to be sacrificed. It was to be a male lamb of the firs t year y ear wi without tho ut blemi blemis h. It It was to be taken taken into the hous ho usee on Avivv. For the next four days it was the tenth day of the month Avi to be b e ins inspect pected ed to be sure s ure that ther th eree wer weree no imperf imperfecti ection onss that woul ou ld disquali disq ualify fy it it from being offered offered as the th e Pass Pas s over ov er lam lamb. b. On the fourteenth day of the month, the lamb was killed "at twilight" (Exodus 12:6). In the Hebrew text, "at twilight"is the phrase bein ha'awayim or literally, "between the evenings." This
has been interpreted as meaning that the lamb was to be sacrificed between the evening oblations or sacrifices. In the days of the Temple, and presumably before that, day-light hours were quartered; six until nine, nine until noon were the morning oblations; noon until three, three until six were the evening evening oblati oblations ons . The The nex n exus us of the eveni even ings or "between the evenings" would be about three o'clock in the afternoon
(which hich would would also be cons co nsiidered dered as the "ni "n inth hour hou r" counti coun ting ng fro fro m s ix in the th e mo rning). rning ). On this first Passover at the appointed time, the father o the house would gather his family, take the lamb to the door o the house and slaughter it. According to tradition, the blood was drained into the basin at the door of the house. Then taki taking a hys s op br b ranch as his his brush, brush , he woul would d appl app ly the th e blood blood to the lintel and doorpost of his home. Again according to ta v , tradition, the blood was applied in the form of the letter tav which in ancient times resembled a cross. According to Scri Scriptur ptu re, it it was the bloo blood d that t hat was goi go ing to protect them from the plagu plaguee comi coming upon up on Egypt's gy pt's firs tbor tbo rn. "Now the blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you; and the plague shall not be on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt."
- E Exo xod dus 1 2 :13 Now it s hould ho uld be unde un derst rstoo ood d that th at the th e meani ean in g of the th e LORD'S Passover is not that He would "pass by" the house when He saw the blood, but that He would "pass over" the house. According to the Scripture, not only did the Lord pass through Egypt that night, but the destroyer passed through the th e lan land d as a s well well (Ex (Exodu od u s 12: 12:23). 3). Howev However er,, the th e des d estroy troyer er was was not no t perm pe rmiitted tt ed to ente en terr the th e hom ho mes of thos th os e who had ha d placed the th e blood bloo d upon up on their th eir door do or.. In fact, God s aw it by " pas pa s s ing over" ov er" their th eir door do or.. If the LORD were going to "pass over" in the sense that He was going to pass one house and go on to another, the
Hebrew ebrew word word that s houl hou ld have h ave been b een us ed is is Hebrew word
avar . Yet Yet,, th the
pasac pa sach h is used here and literally means to
"spread wings over." We see this meaning in a passage found in the t he book bo ok of Is Is aiah. aiah. "Like birds flying about, so will the LORD of hosts defend Jerusalem. Defending, He will also deliver it; passing over, over, He He wi l l pre ress er erv ve i t." -Isaiah 31:5
The Hebrew word translated here as "passing over" is paso p asoa a ch ; the root word being pasac pa sach h , from which we get
pes ach or Passov Pass over er (noti no tice ce that all all three words
are spe s pellled ident de ntiically cally in Hebrew). The poi po int, nt , is is when the th e LOR LORD D "passes over" Jerusalem, it is like a "bird flying"; the passing over infers that His wings are spread over Jerusalem in order to defend and pr p rotect it. So in the case of the death of the firstborn, when God saw the tok to ken of the covenan cov enant, t, the bloo blood, d, He He spread s pread Hi His wing wingss over ov er that home and prevented the destroyer from entering. Therefore, the meaning of the Lord's Passover is not that he pas pa s s ed by the th e blood-s bloo d-spri prinkl nkled ed hou ho u s e, but bu t that th at Jesus Jes us s too to o d at the door and kept the destroyer out - all because of the blood of the th e lamb! lamb! After the blood had been applied to the door, the lamb's carcass was prepared for roasting. The Scripture says that every part of the lamb lamb had h ad to be roasted roas ted includ includiing the t he head h ead and an d its entrails (Exodus 12:9). Everyone knows that meat which is meant to be eaten should not be cooked with the entrails still intact. So, tradition says that the lamb was gutted and the
entrails wrapped around its head. Then two sticks were used one horizontally and one vertically - to impale the lamb making it suitable for roasting. In other words, the lamb was placed upon upo n a cros crosss of sor so rts with its entrail entrails wrapped aroun around d its head! Every as pect of the lamb's amb's death deat h and a nd the impor po rtance tan ce of o f its its blood bloo d point p ointss us to Chris hris t and an d our o ur salvat s alvatiio n thro t hroug ugh h Him Him. The Passover lamb had to be a male lamb without spot or blemi blemis h . Concern on cerniing Chris hris t, Scri Scripture pt ure records reco rds that th at:: "The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, an said, 'Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.' "- John 1:29 1:2 9 "You we were not red re dee eem med wi wi th corr corrup upti tib bl e thing thingss , . . . but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot." - 1 Peter Peter 1:18-19
The lamb was taken into the house on the tenth day o Aviv to be inspected for imperfections and finally, when it was deemed a suitable sacrifice, the lamb was killed at about 3 o'clock in the afternoon of the fourteenth day of Aviv. According to the Scriptures, Jesus fulfilled each of these details. We know that, just days before His death, Jesus rode into Jerusalem upon a donkey's colt to the cries and cheers o "Hosanna to the son of David. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord" (Matthew 21:9). This event is what we refer to as the Triumphal Entry that occurred on what is now called Palm Sunday. Interestingly enough, we can prove from Scri Scriptur ptu re (mos (mos t notab n otablly John Joh n 12) 12) that this t his occurr o ccurred ed on the s ame ame
day that tha t the th e Pass over ov er lam lamb b was being es corted into the t he Tem Templ plee in pr p reparation eparation for its its s acrif acrifice. This This woul ou ld have h ave been the tenth tent h day da y of o f Aviv Aviv.. We are also told in Scripture that from this time until the time time of o f Hi His execu execution, tion, Jesus Jes us was bei be ing dril drilled with with ques qu estions tions in an attempt to find some flaw in His answer and thus find fault with Him. "Then the Pharisees went and plotted how they might entangle Him in His talk." - Matthew 22:15
Neverthe Neve rthelless es s we s ee that th at their th eir plot fail failed and, an d, not no t onl on ly that, we also learn that when He quizzed them about the Scri Scriptur ptu re they th ey were ere forced forced to keep s ilent. ent . In In the end, end , it it was not no t His faults that were exposed, but theirs. And so the Scripture records ecords that: "And no one was able to answer Him a word, nor from that day on did anyone dare question Him anymore." - Matthe 22:46
Still, they pushed for His death and eventually handed Him Him o v er to Pil Pilate at e for exec execu u tion tio n . Yet, et , it it is the th e exec execu u tioner tion er who is forced orced to s ay: "I find no fault in Him at all." - Jo J ohn 18:38 18 :38
He was found to be the spotless lamb after being inspected from the moment He entered into the house of His Father until un til the th e very ve ry mom moment ent He was was led to t o the t he s laugh au ghter ter..
According to Exodus 12, the lamb was to be killed "between "b etween the eveni even ings ng s ." The Scri Scriptur ptu re is is very clear clear about what time Christ was taken to be scourged, when He was led to Go lgoth go thaa and an d what time time He fina finallly expir expired ed.. "Now it was the third hour, and they crucified Him." Mark 15:25 "Now it was the Preparation Day of the Passover, an about the sixth hour. And he said to the Jews, 'Behold your King!' But they cried out, 'Away with Him'. . . Then they took Jesus and led Him away." - John John 19:14-16 19 :14-16 "Now from the sixth hour until the ninth hour there was darkness over all the land. And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, 'Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?' . . .And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit." - Mat Matthew thew 2 7 :45-46 :45 -46,, 50 50
The Scri Scriptur ptu re paints a picture whereby whereby we understan und erstand d that t hat Jesus was taken to Pilate early in the morning to be judged; then taken to be scourged at about nine o'clock in the morning - the third hour. At about the same time, according to tradition, the lamb that had been in the Temple compound for the previ prev ious ou s four fou r day da y s was tak ta ken and an d tied " to the th e horns ho rns of the th e altar" to await its execution (Psalm 118:27). It was also during this time that the soldiers who whipped Jesus took thorns and fashioned a crown for His head, reminiscent of the first
pas pa s s over ov er lam lamb. b. At about noon, Jesus was led to Golgotha and hung upon the tree, suffering there for the next three hours, suffocating and slowly bleeding to death. The wounds that caused the mass as s ive los s of bloo blood d were were in in His feet, Hi His hands han ds and upon up on His head. The other wound in His side came after he was already dead dea d (John 19:34). Thes Thes e three th ree points on His His body bo dy remi remind us o the blood blood that t hat was was at the th e foot foot of o f the door do or and the bl b lood pos p osted ted on the lintel and two do orposts orpos ts of the Hebrew Hebrew hom ho mes in Egy Egypt. pt. When Wh en the Lord Lord pass ed through the t he land land of Egyp Egyptt and s aw the blood blood upon upo n the hous ho use, e, He said said He He woul would d "pas " passs over" o ver" them and that is to say, as we have learned, that He would spread His wings over them to protect them. Just days before His death, death , Jesus Jesu s all alludes ud es to thi th is firs t Pass over ov er when He said: "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under und er her wings ing s , but but you you wer weree not wi l l i ng! ng ! See S ee!! Your house hous e is is l eft to you you des des olate."
- Matthew 23:37-38 Keep in mind, nd , He He sai s aid d this t his just jus t days d ays before before Pass Pas s over ov er.. The fact that t hat He wanted to exten extend d His His wings ng s but bu t Jerusal Jerusa lem was not no t willing, must mean that the children were not protected. Cons on s equently equ ently,, their hous ho usee was left eft witho without ut children children - des olate. olate. Stil Still, the fact that th at He did exten extend d His His arms arms upon up on the th e cross cros s to be cruci cruc ified fied means ean s that th at you yo u and an d I have ha ve the th e gift of liberty be rty,, salvation and redemption. Just as the blood of the lamb
prote pro tect cted ed Israel Israe l from from the th e des de s troyer troy er,, s o too to o does do es the th e blood bloo d o the Lamb protect us from the Adversary. Not only that; Scripture teaches us that those who partook of the Passover left Egy Egypt pt completel completely y diseas dise asee free. free. "If you diligently heed the voice of the LORD your Go and do what is right in His sight, . . .I will put none of the diseases on you which I have brought on the Egyptians. For I am the LORD who who heals heal s you." - Exodus 15:26
Likewise, the Scripture relates to us that the blood o Mess Mes s iah, the Lamb amb of o f God God,, has the pow po wer to pr p rotect otec t His His peopl peo plee from disease diseas e and an d other o ther suff s ufferi ering ngss . "Who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness - by whos hos e s tripes tripes you you wer weree healed." healed." - 1 Peter 2:24
Understanding the healing benefit of the Passover now leads us to one of the greatest promises made to the end-time generation.
THE PASSOVER ORDER When Israel sat down to eat the Passover, they also partoo pa rtook k of matzah or o r unleaven unleavened ed bread; this is what the LORD had commanded. As I mentioned earlier, Passover actually
initiates the Feast of Unleavened Bread, an appointed time which hich last lastss for seven days . Thi Thiss peri period of seven days teaches that thos th osee who who have h ave been s aved by b y the th e blood blood of the Lam Lamb b (the Pass over) s houl hou ld: "Purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us." - 1 Corinthian Corinthianss 5:7
In other ot her words, because becaus e we we have been s aved by the blood of the Lamb, we are to expunge those things from our lives that are contrary to the will of God. This is to say, "Now that you have been born again, walk in obedience." When we do this, we have the promise of deliverance from the Adversary and from from all all the th e "dise " diseas ases es of Egy Egypt pt." ." I feel it is important to point out that knowing about these princ princiip les is importan po rtant, t, but bu t to expe experi rien ence ce them th em is even ev en more impor po rtant. tan t. In In other oth er words words we s houl ho uld: d: "Be doers of the Word, and not hearers only." - James James 1:22
Likewis kewis e, Pau Pa u l wrot wrote: e: "For not the hearers of the law are just in the sight o God, but the doers of the law will be justified." - Rom Romans ans 2 :13
If Is Is rael had placed placed the bloo blood d of the lamb amb upon up on their doors do ors but bu t had ha d not no t eaten eat en the th e lamb amb or the th e matzah and bitter herbs, would they have been considered obedient? Perhaps they woul ou ld s til till have hav e been b een s aved from Egyptian gy ptian bond bo ndage, age, but bu t would they have left Egypt in a healthy state? Would they have experi experien enced ced abu a bund ndant ant living? That being said, I believe it is important to look at the other elements of the Passover, primarily the matzah (unleavened bread) and bitter herbs, by briefly describing the elements of the Passover Seder. seder sed er (pronounced say First of all the Hebrew word (pronounced sayder) means "order." So, a seder sed er is simply the order of the sed er has been written service. Through the centuries, the seder down so that all of the customs could be preserved for every generation. Consequently, the Passover service of today will clos clos ely ely resem es embl blee the t he s ervice ervice of centur centu ries ago. ago .
On today's Passover table, one will find the matzah (unl un leavened eaven ed br b read) and bitter bitter herbs of course, cours e, but alon along g with with it you will find other elements intended to teach of important components in the Passover story. I have listed the most impor po rtant tan t of thes e elem elements ents and their relevan elevance ce to the Passov Pass over er s tory to ry below. below. Karpa Ka rpas: s: Usually a sprig of parsley intended to serve as a remi eminder nd er of the hys hy s s op branch. Salt Water: Used to remind us of the tears shed in bond bo ndag age. e. A ls o, the th e karpas is dipped into the salt water to remind us of how Israel passed through the sea and emerged free free peop pe oplle, i.e. "born "b orn again." again."
Mar Ma ror: "Bitter herbs" used to recall the bitterness o bond bo ndag age. e. Often Oftentim times es thi th is is hors ho rserad eradiis h and/ an d/or or bitter bitte r lettu et tuce. ce. Charoset: A mixture of apples, nuts and cinnamon, intended to resemble the brick and mortar Israel was forced to make for Pharaoh. Pharao h. Zeroa Zeroah: h: Li Literall terally "arm " arm"" but bu t repres represent ented ed by b y the t he s hank han k bone bo ne of a lamb. Because there is no standing Temple to sacrifice in, there is no lamb on the table. The shank bone is to remind us that the death of a lam lamb b was neces n ecesss ary for for us to be b e made made free. free.
It is customary to have, along with these items, four cups of wine. The basis for these four cups is four promises God made ad e to t o Israel as He was prepari prepa ring ng to deliver deliver them th em from Egypt gy pt.. "Therefore say to the children of Israel, 'I am the LORD; I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians; I will rescue you from their bondage, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments. I will take you as My people, and I will be your God. ..and I will bring you into the land which I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob an I will il l g i ve i t to you you as a heri her i tag tag e. I am am the the LORD.' LORD.' " - Exod Exodus us 6 :6-8 :6 -8
Thus , the four cups of wi wine and what they th ey repres represent ent are: Cup Cup of Sanctif Sanc tifiicati cat ion: on : " I wi will bring bring you yo u out o ut." ." Cup of Affliction: "I will rescue you from bondage"
Cup Cup of Redempt Redemptiion: on : "I wil will red redeem eem you." yo u." Cup Cup of Prai Praiss e: "I wi will take you yo u as My people. peo ple."" The third cup, the cup of Redemption, is the one which comes after supper. Jesus identified Himself with this cup. Accor Acco rding ding to the Scri Scriptur ptu re: "He also took the cup after supper saying, 'This cup is the new covenant in My blood which is shed for you.' "- Luke 22:20
In some Passover seders, the fourth cup is also called Elijah's cup. This cup is prophetic in nature and looks to the coming of the Messiah because, as Scripture foretells, Elijah will announce Messiah's arrival. It is customary during the seder sed er to to set a place for Elijah and for the children to open the door do or to look oo k for his ar a rrival. rival. This proph p rophetic etic them the me inh inherent erent in the th e Passover is seen when Christ, at the beginning of the Last Supper (whi (which ch was a Pass Pas s over ov er Seder) Seder) said said to His dis dis cipl ciples es:: "'With fervent desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; for I say to you: I will no longer eat o it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.' Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, 'Take this and divide it among ourselves, for I say to you: I will not drink of the fruit of the vine unt until il the k king ingd dom of God comes comes .' " - Luke 2 2 :15-18 :15 -18
Becaus e ther th eree is is no legitim egitimate reason reaso n to t o bel b eliieve that t hat Jesus Jesu s ate the Passover with His disciples after He suffered, the question is, "When will the Passover be completely fulfilled?"
Furthermore, if He is going to drink of the fruit of the vine when the Kingdom comes, when exactly will that be? In other words, what prophetic event is being hinted at by the supper at large and the cup of Elijah specifically? "Then he said to me, 'Write, Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!' And he said to me, 'These 'Thes e are the true say s aying ingss of God."' od."'
- Revelation 19:9 There is only one supper in all of Scripture which focuses upon up on a lamb lamb and that tha t is the th e Pass Pas s over ov er.. Furtherm Furthermore, ore, cons idering dering what Jesus said to His disciples on the eve of His death, s haring haring the Passov Pass over er wi with His foll ollowers owers is s omething omething that t hat must us t be don d onee in in the t he King Kingdo dom m when all is fulfi fulfillled. ed . It It seem s eemss to me that th at the marriage supper of the Lamb is the likely time for this to happen hap pen.. That That means when we partake partake of the Pass Pas s over ov er,, not onl o nly y are we remembering the Lord's suffering, but we are also look oo king forward forward to t o bei be ing with with Him Him in the th e King Kingdo dom m. One last thing needs to be pointed out concerning the cups of Passover. In some seder traditions, the cup of Elijah is distinguished from the fourth cup, the cup of Praise. In other words, some traditions have five cups at Passover. The reason for this is due to the multiple promises that God made to His peop pe oplle in Exodu od u s 6. I have ha ve alread already y lis ted te d the th e tradi trad itional tion al four fou r, but bu t for the s ake of clari clarity, ty, I wil will lis t them th em again. ag ain. Cup Cup of Sanctif Sanc tifiicati cat ion: on : " I wi will bring bring you yo u out o ut." ." Cup of Affliction: "I will rescue you from bondage"
Cup Cup of Redempt Redemptiion: on : "I wil will red redeem eem you." yo u." Cup Cup of Prai Praiss e: "I wi will take you yo u as My people. peo ple."" In reality, God actually promised five things. After He prom pro mis ed to tak ta ke them th em as His His p eople, eo ple, He further furth er prom pro mis ed to bring bring them th em into nt o the t he land o f their th eir fathers fath ers.. "And I will bring you into the land which I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and I will give it to you as a heritage. I am the LORD." - Exodus 6:8
That Elijah is connected to this promise is significant becau be causs e El Elijah com co mes before be fore the th e "great " great and an d dreadfu drea dfull day da y o f the th e LORD" in order to "turn the hearts of the children to their fathers" (Malachi 4:5-6). The ultimate fulfillment of this is to bring bring the th e chi ch ildren back ba ck into nt o an unde un derst rstan anding ding of the th e fathers fath ers culminating in a return to the land of the fathers. In other words, the promise to bring Israel into the land is not not lim li mited to what happened under the supervision of Joshua the son o un, but actually speaks of what will happen at the end of the age. In short, the things that have happened will happen yet again. It is clear that the Feasts of the LORD are prophetic in nature.
THIS IS MY BODY At this point, the unleavened bread of Passover needs to be discu dis cuss s ed in a more exha exhau u s tive manne an nerr. As A s has ha s been be en note no ted d earlier, Passover initiates a week of eating unleavened bread exclusively. Today most matzah is made in factories on
machines that produce a square-shaped piece of bread. In ancient times, the matzah was made at home on a grill and, according to some traditions, was triangular in shape and accordi acco rding ng to others ot hers,, it it was circul circular ar.. Whatever the shape may have been or has become, the one thing thing about abou t the matzah that has remained constant is that it contains no leaven. Then as now, precautions were taken to insure that the bread would not rise. To have leaven in the hous hou s e during during the feast of o f unleavened unleavened bread bread was and is s eri erious bus bu s ines ne s s ; you y ou could co uld be cut c ut off from from the th e com co mmuni un ity of bel be lievers ev ers (Exodus 12:15). So through the years, it became customary for families seeking to be faithful to this command to commence clearing their houses of leaven weeks before the advent o Passover. This tradition would climax on the night before the Passover. On this night the family would search the house for the last remaining crumbs of leaven using only candles for light. When the crumbs were located a member of the family would take a feather and sweep the leaven into a wooden spoon and then place it in a bag. The bag would be taken outs ou tsiide the th e hous ho us e the nex n extt morni morning ng and bur bu rned, ned , s igni gn ifying ying that they had faithfully removed all traces of leaven from their house. When Jesus and His disciples left the upper room, they went into the Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus prayed until His sweat became blood. While there, He determined once and for all to go to the cross, denying His own will so that the will of the Father might be accomplished. As a result of His comm commitment tment we are told told that t hat Jesus Jesu s became became the th e "l " leaven" eaven " s o that t hat we could co uld be made made righteo gh teous us..
"He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." - 2 Cori Corint nthian hianss 5:21 5:2 1
Soon after Jesus concluded His prayers in the garden, a band ba nd of guards gu ards carrying torche to rchess , wooden wood en s tave ta vess and an d clubs club s came into the garden searching for Him. When they found Him they took Him to the High Priest for trial. On the next morning, He was led outside of the city and executed. In other words, even in the t he tr t raditi adition onal al s earch earch for leaven leaven,, we we see s ee the th e story s tory of o f the crucif crucifiixion. on . It It also becom beco mes apparent app arent that th at the bread of o f Pas Passs over ov er is representative of Christ. As I mentioned earlier, in ancient times unleavened bread was made on a grill. After the dough was kneaded it was quickly placed on a grill to be cooked. To insure that the bread woul ou ld not n ot ferm ferment and devel dev elop op leaven, eaven , sharp sh arp pins pins were used us ed to pierce the th e doug do ugh. h. The end en d result res ult was bread that th at was unl un leavened, eaven ed, but bu t also s triped triped and pier pierced ced with hol ho les. es . Even Even with today's modern methods of manufacturing matzah , the traditional look has been preserved. The matzah is made in such a way that it is still striped and punctured with holes. In s hor ho rt, it it is is a picture of the s ufferi uffering ng Mess Mes s iah. "He was wounded for our transgressions; He was bruise for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Hi m, and by Hi Hi s s trip tri pes we are healed heal ed." ."
- Isaiah 53:5 "They pierced My hands and My feet."
- Psalm 22:16 22 :16 "Then they the y wi wi l l l ook ook on Me Me whom they pi pi erc rced ed.. Yes , they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for for Him Him as one one gri g riev eves es for for a fir firss tb tborn." orn." - Zechariah Zechariah 12:10 12 :10
Traditionally, three pieces of matzah are used during the Passover and are typically contained in a bag commonly referred to as a "unity bag" which results in three being one: a triunity. There are multiple reasons given for the use of three pieces of matzah to be used in this manner The most common expl explanat anatiions on s are are that th at the t he three matzot repr repres esent ent the: th e: Pri Priests es ts,, the Levites Levites and the rest es t of o f Is Is rael. ael. Three patriarchs: Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Three angels angels who appeared app eared to Abraham A braham.. Three cha c ham mbers be rs of o f the Temple. emple. When you consider that the middle piece of matzah is known as the "bread of affliction" and will be broken in two during the Passover, it becomes clear which of these traditions makes the most sense. In other words, what would be the significance of the Levites being broken? Why would it be necess neces s ary ary to portray portray the th e second s econd angel or the inner inner court court of the Temple being broken? But if the middle piece of matzah corresponds to the middle patriarch, Isaac, then the picture comes comes into focus ocu s . As I mentioned earlier in the book, Isaac was the promised
seed, born of a womb that had to be opened miraculously. He was referred to as Abraham's "only son." He carried the tree upon his back to the top of the mountain in order to be lifted up as a sacri s acrifi fice. ce. He is is a pi p icture ctu re of Chri Chriss t. When the middle piece of matzah is broken, one part of it is eaten while the remaining piece is wrapped in linen and sed er,, after supper, this hidden piece o hidden. Later in the seder matzah will be "resurrected" and will be referred to as the afikomen or "that which comes after." Furthermore, after this piece o f matzah is removed from the linen and eaten, it is considered to be representative of the lamb. Jesus identified Him Hims elf with with thi th is piece of matzah when He said: "This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me." - L Luke uke 22:19 2 2:19
THE PROMISE OF THE FATHER The fact fact that the afikomen is first broken, then wrapped in linen, buried and ultimately resurrected is dramatic enough. evertheless, there is yet another prophetic component to this piece of o f b read. Centuries ago, a custom developed that centered around the hidden afikomen. Because it did come to represent the lamb, thus becoming the most important part of the ceremony, sed er unless the afikomen was found and unwrapped the seder could not conclude. The custom, therefore, was to have the children search for the hidden afikomen. When it was discovered the one who found it could bargain for something in ex e xchang ch angee for the afikomen.
After the bar ba rgain gain was agreed upo u pon, n, the father athe r wou woulld gi g ive a token monetary gift in exchange for the all-important afikomen. Along with the token came the father's promise that there was more to come - the big prize that comes after. This promise came came to be known kno wn as the th e "Pr " Prom omiis e of o f the Father Fath er." ." And so we see that the bread which came down from Heaven, that is Christ (John 6:41), was broken for us and was wapped ap ped in line linen. n. "And Nicodemus, who at first came to Jesus by night, also came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundre pounds. Then they took the body of Jesus, and bound it in strips of linen with the spices, as the custom of the Jews is to bury." -John 19:39-40 "So they both ran together, and the other disciple outran Peter and came to the tomb first. And he, stooping down an looking in, saw the linen cloths lying there; yet he did not go in." - John 20:4-5
When Wh en the t he "chi "c hilldren" found ou nd Him, He He was "unwr "u nwrapp apped." ed." "Then they (the two angels) said to her, 'Woman, why are you weeping?' She said to them, 'Because they have taken away my Lord and I do not know where they have laid Him.' Now when she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there and did not know that it was Jesus." - John 20:13-14
When it was revealed to the disciples that He indeed was
alive - He appeared to them for forty days; from the Feast o Firstfruits until ten days before Pentecost - they desired that He should remain with them. However, as He had already explai explaine ned d to them th em befor be foree His His death dea th,, it it was neces ne cesss ary for Hi Him to go (Joh (John n 16:7). But before be fore He left, left, He mad madee the t hem m the th e prom p romiis e o a s peci pec ial gift. gift. "Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you, but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high." hig h." - L Luke uke 24:49 2 4:49
Thus we learn that the death of the Lamb at Passover made it possible for the "promise of the Father," which is the Holy Spirit, to come. This is the gift that Christ promised to all of those who believe (Acts 2:38). Of course we see that this did, indeed, come to pass fifty days after His resurrection, when "the day of Pentecost had fully come" and the children received the gift (Acts 2:1).
Chapter Chapter Fiv Five FROM REDEMPTION TO RESURRECTION "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone, but if it dies, it produces roduces much grain." g rain." - John 12:24 12 :24
I mentioned earlier that rabbis have long connected Passover to the Feast of Pentecost. In fact, to accentuate this connection, Pentecost has been deemed an atzeret or solemn assembly - a day which brings a close to the season that Passover initiated. So, the giving of the Torah (the Word) at Sinai Sinai was was the fruit uit of o f what what was begun beg un at Pass Pas s over ov er.. We should understand that this connection is more than something rabbis concocted - it is a connection God intended. In fact, He He tel t ellls Israel to: "Count fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath: then you shall s hall offer a new new g rain offeri offer i ng to the the LORD. You shall bring from your dwellings two wave loaves of two-tenths of an ephah. They shall be of fine flour; they shall be bake with leaven. They are the firstfruits to the LORD." - Leviticus 23: 23 :16 -17
This counting begins on the Feast of Firstfruits, a day that comes during the Feast of Unleavened Bread. It is the day when Is rael wou woulld come come and an d present prese nt unto un to God the firs tfruits tfruits o their grain harvest, typically barley. Thus, the counting (it is called the counting of the omer) links the first harvest of grain with the t he s econd econ d har h arves ves t of grai grain, n, i.e. Pentecos Pentecost. t. The Feast of Firstfruits was the same day that Christ was resurrected and became the "firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep" (1 Corinthians 15:20). The Scripture records that when He came forth from the tomb, the saints who had fallen asleep were resurrected along with Him. So, at the same time the men of Israel were preparing to present the firstfruits o their harvest unto the LORD, Christ was presenting His firstfruits unto God. This was made possible because of what He di d id at a t Pass Pas s over ov er.. According to His own words, Christ connected the death of God's Lamb to the fruit that would come at Pentecost. He was the grain of wheat that went into the ground and died so that much fruit could be realized at Pentecost, fifty days after His resurr resu rrection ection.. That is, in fact, what Pentecost means - "fiftieth." Fifty days after Israel crossed the Red Sea, God came down upon Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people and gave them His Torah, His Law (Exodus 19-20). He had already saved them by the th e blood bloo d of o f the Lam Lamb, b, but bu t before b efore He He would allow allow them th em to enter ent er the land He had promised them, He brought them instructions on how ho w to li live. "You have have s een what what I di di d to the Eg ypti yptians ans,, and and how I bor boree you on eagles' wings and brought you to Myself. No
therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people, for all the earth is Mine. And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel." - Exodus 19:4-6
So, we learn that Passover is about redemption, salvation, and protection. Yet Yet we als als o learn learn that t hat Passov Pass over er is is about abo ut departing departing - departing departing bond b ondage age and the ways of the nations nations . At Sinai, Sinai, a saved s aved and liberated peop p eoplle had to learn to live live as s aved and liberated people. In short, God gave the Torah to teach God's od 's peop p eoplle how ho w God God's 's peo p eople ple are are to live. ve .
FROM SINAI TO MORIAH There is a tradition that the stone upon which the Ten Commandments were written originally came from Mount Moriah. This is interesting for several reasons; first of all, becau be causs e " Mori Mo riah ah"" is relat related ed to the th e Hebrew word moreh which means "teacher." The giving of the Law was to "teach" Israel how to live so that they could enter the Promised Land as a "kingdom of priests." The second reason this tradition is so interesting is because of the parallels between be tween what happ ha ppen ened ed at Sin Sin ai and an d what happ ha ppen ened ed in Jerus Jerusal alem em and the th e outp o utpou ourring of the Spir Spirit in Acts A cts 2. When Jesus promised to send the Holy Spirit, He emph emphas asiized the fact that t hat the Spir Spirit of o f God God woul ou ld be b e sent s ent as our ou r Mo reh. eh . teacher teac her,, our ou r Mor
"For the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say." - Luke 12:12 "But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you." - John 14:26
So we see that the giving of the Torah at Sinai and the outp ou tpou ouri ring ng of the th e Holy Holy Spiri Spirit ar a re paral p aralllel events even ts . Here Here are som s omee of the parallels I have considered. First, Moses went up to Mount Sinai while Christ's disciples waited on Zion and went to the Temple emple Mount. Mou nt. The peopl peo plee s aw fi fire on o n the mountaintop ou ntaintop and heard the th e voi vo ice of God God s peak. In fact, according to tradition, when God began to speak, His voice was seen as tongues of fire dividing into every language then known to man. In Acts 2, cloven or divided tongues tong ues of fi fire wer weree wi witness tnes s ed as the di d is cipl ciples es began to s peak in other tongues. The Bible says that they spoke in "every languag ang uagee und u nder er heaven" heaven " (Acts Act s 2:5-8). Moses received the law written upon tablets of stone where the discipl disciples es in Acts A cts 2, and all all thos tho s e who have h ave foll followed, received received the th e Spiri Spiritt of o f God God who wrot wrotee the th e Law Law upon upo n their t heir hearts he arts.. "Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah . . . This is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD; I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be My people." - Jeremiah 31:31,33
Notice also that th at,, after Mos Mo s es received the th e Tabl ab lets et s of the th e Law, Israel fashioned a golden calf according to the manner o the Egyptians. The result was that 3,000 died of the plague (Exodus 33:28). On the day of Pentecost 3,000 were saved and bapt ba ptiized in the th e nam na me of Jesus Jes us Ch ris ris t (Acts (Ac ts 2:4 2:41). If they are parallel events then that means they served the s ame ame pur pu rpos po s e becaus becau s e, in in each case, cas e, the death of the Lam Lamb b had made ad e it all all pos po s s ible. Yes, es , the giving giving of the th e Law Law and the th e outpo ou tpouri uring ng of the Spir Spirit are connected connec ted in that both b oth events even ts were ere intended ntend ed to teach God's God's people how to behave. behav e. Some might be tempted to say what happened at Sinai was ust a shadow of what was to come. True, but remember who casts the shadow - Christ. Furthermore, I think everyone would agree that the Spirit of Truth will never lead God's people into s ometh omethiing that th at cont co ntradi radicts cts the th e Word Word of o f Truth; ruth ; He wi will teach teac h the th e s ame ame thi th ings ng s revealed in God God's 's Word. As A s a matt matter er of fact fact,, loo look k at what Scripture teaches the Holy Spirit will accomplish when He is with withiin us us. "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit with - in you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them. Then you shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, you shall be My people, and I will be your God."Ezek zekiel iel 36: 36 :2626 -28
The Father promised to place his Spirit within His people causing them to walk according to His statutes - His laws. When they learned to walk in obedience, "then" He said, His
peop pe oplle would dwell in the th e Prom Promiis ed Land. an d. This was the th e purpo pu rposs e at Sin Sin ai, but bu t thi th is was also the th e purpo pu rposs e in A cts ct s 2. The Holy Spirit dwells within us to teach us of God's ways and to help us with our weaknesses (Romans 8:26) so that we might be prepa p repared red to ente en terr the th e Pro Pro mis ed Lan Land. d. In case you are thinking that this sounds like what He has prom pro mis ed to do for the th e Jews Je ws onl on ly, you n eed to unde un ders rsta tand nd that th at on Pentecos t, two two loaves of unleavened unleavened bread bread were were brought brough t to the Temple and waved before the LORD. The two loaves o unleavened bread - they are not without sin as was the Messiah - represent those who are Jews and those who have been be en born bo rn again ag ain into nt o the th e hous ho us ehold eh old of God throu th roug g h the th e Mes s iah. Paul makes this t his clear for us . "Therefore, remember that you, once Gentiles in the flesh . . . that at the time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in their world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, ... so as to create in Himself one ne man from the two, thus making peace ... Now, therefore you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God." Ephesians hes ians 2:11-15, 2:11-15 , 19 19
Thus, we learn the death of the Lamb at Passover leads to the harvest of Pentecost. At Pentecost we see that two loaves are presented to the LORD and that those two loaves are
intended to be as one. That means that those who come to Messiah regardless of their ethnicity or cultural background beco be com me on o n e with with His His peop pe oplle Israel Is rael,, and an d are thu t huss entitl en titled ed to the th e same promises just as they are expected to live according to God' od 's s tandar tand ards ds.. That is is the work of the Blood oo d and an d the Spir Spirit.
FROM REDEMPTION TO SANCTIFICATION Most of us understand the concept of redemption s omething omething of o f value is is us ed to t o "r " redeem" edeem" or buy back som so mething else considered to be of equal value. Fewer, I believe, understand that redemption and sanctification work hand-inhand, at least from a Biblical point of view. For example, in Exodus od us 13 God called called upo up o n Israel Is rael to: to : "Consecrate to Me all the firstborn, whatever opens the womb among the children of Israel, both of man and beast, it is Mi ne . . .You shall s hall s et apart apart to the LORD al al l that op open the womb, that is, every firstborn that comes from an animal which you have, the males shall be the LORD'S .... So it shall be, when your son asks you in time to come, saying, 'What is this?' that you shall say to him, 'By strength of hand the LORD brought us out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. And it came to pass, when Pharaoh was stubborn about letting us go, that the LORD killed all the firstborn in the land o Egypt, both the firstborn of man and the firstborn of beast. Therefore I sacrifice to the LORD all males that open the womb, but all the firstborn of my sons I redeem.'" - Exodus 13: 13 :2, 12, 14-15
The Hebrew Hebrew word that is transl trans lated her h eree as "cons "co ns ecrate" is is kadesh. Many times this word is translated as "holy" becau be causs e to b e hol ho ly, from from a Hebraic persp pe rspect ectiiv e, is to be separated out, to be set apart. The greater inference is to be s eparated from from the ways of the nati n ation onss , or in other o ther words words,, to be s eparated epa rated from from s in. Because death claimed the firstborn of Egypt, God placed claims upon the firstborn of Israel - the animals were to be sacrificed and the sons of Israel were to be redeemed with a lamb amb and an d then t hen " s et apart" a part" or san s anctif ctifiied - they were the LORD'S. D'S. In fact, it was the firstborn - not the second or third-born o Is rael - who had been s aved by the bl b lood oo d of o f the lamb! amb! Becaus e we we have hav e been redeemed, edeemed, we we are to be "s et apart. ap art."" To be set apart means that we are to conduct ourselves in a manner ann er that our ou r Heaven Heavenlly Father prescribes prescribes . In In s hor ho rt, we we are to walk alk in obed o bediience enc e to His His ins tructi truct ions on s . Yes, es , we have been b een s aved av ed and have hav e been b een del de liver ve red from from the th e gui gu ilt of o f sin, yet it is is s till till up to us to remove the presence of sin from our lives. Christ has given us the power to quit practicing sin and "to become chi ch ild ren of God God"" (John 1:12). It s houl ho uld d be noted no ted that tha t when the LORD had redeemed edeemed His peop pe oplle from from Egypt gy ptiian bond bo ndag age, e, He broug bro ught ht them th em in to the th e barr ba rren enn n ess es s of the th e wil wildernes de rnes s . It s eems eems that th at He wanted want ed to phys ph ys ically cally " s et them th em apart" from from wha whatt they th ey had ha d known no wn s o that th at He could co uld put p ut His His Word into them th em.. In In fact, in Ex Exodu od u s 13, He He tell t ellss Moses Mos es that the purpose purpos e of the redempti edemption on and s anctif anctification cation o the fir firs tbor tbo rn is is s o: "That the LORD'S law may be in your mouth, for with a strong hand the LORD has brought you out of Egypt." -
Exod xodus 1 3 :9
Furthermore, Scripture tells us that He led them through the wilderness dernes s becaus becau s e if if He He had led them t hem to Canaan by way o the Philistines, they would have encountered armed resistance and would have been tempted to return to Egypt. For Israel, Egypt was a place that would distance them from God's purpo pu rposs es by infus nfu s ing them th em wi with the th e ways and an d practices prac tices of the th e Gentiles.
PROTECTION AFTER REDEMPTION As desirous as God was that His people forever leave Egypt, gy pt, He knew knew beforehan beforehand d that t hat Egypt gy pt woul ou ld be b e hes itant to let them go. That is why God brought ten disastrous plagues upon up on them the m. Yet after the des d estructi truction on they the y had h ad s een, astonishingly, Egypt still wanted to bring Israel back under their control. Knowing this in advance, God used this against them th em to utterl ut terly y des d estroy troy them t hem in the t he s ight gh t of o f all all Israel. Israel. "For Pharaoh will say of the children of Israel, 'They are bewildered by the land, the wilderness has closed them in.' Then I will harden Pharaoh's heart, so that he will pursue them, and I will gain honor over Pharaoh and over all his army, that the Egyptians may know that I am the LORD." - Exodus 14:3-4
It is the Adversary's constant strategy to try and entangle God's people in bondage after they have been set free. This is what he h e attempte attempted d thr th rough ou gh Pharaoh and an d thi th is is what he h e tries tries to
do even in our o ur day. day. In In fact, the apos ap os tle tle Paul warned arned us of this this . "Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke o bondage." - Galatians 5:l
Even thoug tho ugh h God God hardened his his heart, there is is no mis taking taking that Pharaoh was a vessel of the Adversary. Considering that 60 0 chariots and chosen men and six is the number o he took to ok 600 man, the armies Pharaoh sent to seize Israel were no less than the minions of Satan himself. Do not forget that Satan has troops troo ps (Eph (Ephes esiians an s 6:12). But when Pharaoh sent armies to destroy them, God set the pillar of fire between Israel and Egypt's chariots and kept Pharaoh at bay. Scripture tells us that for Israel the pillar provide pro vided d light gh t b ut for the th e Egypt gy ptiians an s there th ere was dark da rkne ness s (Ex (Exo d u s 14:1914:19-20) 20).. Without a doubt, Satan will attempt to destroy those who have been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb and will attempt to prevent then from receiving God's Word. But Paul encouraged us to take note of the fact fact that: "You bre brethre thren n are not in dark darknes nes s , so s o that that the Day s houl houl over overtake take you you as a thi thi ef. You are are all s ons of lig li g ht and and s ons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness." - 1 Thess hes s alonian lonianss 5:4-5
Echoing what God said to Moses of Israel in Exodus 19, Peter said:
"But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light." - 1 Peter 2:9
W hat is His marvelou arvelouss light? gh t? "Your Word ord i s a lamp lamp to my fe feeet and a li li g ht to my path." path." Psa Ps alm 119:105 19 :105
The Word of God gives light, and that light enables God's peop pe oplle to procee pro ceed d forward forward into nt o His His purpo pu rposs es. es . Furtherm Furth ermore, ore, the t he Spirit of God gives us understanding of the Word and all of its hidden hidd en rich riches es (1 Corint orinthian hianss 2: 10). 0). When the priests of old needed an answer from God, the Scripture says that they would inquire of the LORD by the Urim and Thummim (Ez urim (Ezra 2:63). 2:63). The Hebrew Heb rew word thummim is literally is literally "lights"; the word "perfect" but in the plural sense of the word. Therefore, some have suggested that the urim and thummim ("perf ("pe rfect ect ligh lights ts"" ) is is s omethi omething ng the pr p riests est s bore on the t he br b reastpl east plate ate which which had h ad to t o do do with lights. It has been theorized that the "lights" were proba pro bably bly the th e li lights gh ts o f the th e sev s even en-branc -branche hed d lamp lamp sta s tand nd,, the Holy menorah. The menorah, of course, represents the illumination that th at co c o mes by the th e Spiri Spirit of o f God God (Rev (Revelation elation 4:5) 4:5).. Thus we see s ee that tha t the th e Spir Spiriit and the Word go hand h and--in-hand. n-hand . This is the message of Pentecost and this is the fruit o redemption. Those who have been redeemed are set apart to receive eceive the t he Word of God God and to walk alk in it. As they th ey do d o thi t hiss , they are promised protection by the Almighty. God destroyed
Pharaoh Pharaoh becaus becau s e Pharaoh Pharaoh was attem at tempting pting to des troy Israel. Israel. Consider something else as well. God used Israel as an instrument in His hand to destroy Pharaoh. In other words, i Israel had not been the object of Pharaoh's ire, then Pharaoh would not have been destroyed. Likewise, God allows and even authorizes those who have been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb and who walk according to His Word to trample upon the serpent (Luke 10:19). This truth becomes critically important to those who are living ving in the th e end of days . "And they overcame him (Satan) by the blood of the lam and by the word of their testimony."
- Revelation 12:11 Victory cto ry over ov er the enem ene my comes comes by the th e bl b lood oo d of o f the Lamb amb and by our obedience to God's Word. Look what happened as Israel stood at the Red Sea. Moses lifted up the rod - the rod that would play a role in so many other wilderness miracles ust as we are to lift up the One who hung in the cross. Just before be fore he di d id this t his,, Mos es declar de clared ed to t o the t he peo p eople ple of God God:: "Stand still and see the salvation ( yeshua) yeshua ) of the LORD, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever. The LORD will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace." Exod xodus 1 4 :13-14 :13 -14
The Hebrew word for salvation,
yeshua yesh ua , is also the
Hebrew name given to Christ. And so, we are to understand that it was Yeshua , Jesus the Lamb of God, who fought the batt ba ttlle for Israel Is rael and des de s troyed troy ed their th eir enemy enemy in the th e s ea. Likewi kewis e it is is Jesus Jesu s , the One One who di d ied for us who fights gh ts the battl batt le for us when he n we walk walk in in His His light. gh t. You You s ee, it it was neces nec esss ary that th at Israel first walk the path through the sea - a path that was being illuminated by the pillar of fire and cloud - before Pharaoh coul cou ld be des d estroyed troyed in the water! water! Consider the fact that Pharaoh was destroyed by blood and by water; the blood of the lamb and the waters of the Red Sea. In contrast, Israel was saved by the same blood and by the same water. Likewise, Satan is destroyed by the very thing that saves the Body of Christ. We have been redeemed by the blood bloo d of the th e Lamb amb and an d s anct an ctiified fied by the th e washing was hing of water by the Word (Ephesians 5:26). Paul wrote wrote:: "According to His mercy He saved us, through the washing and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior." - Titus 3:5-6
From the beginning until now, it is the Blood, the Word (water) and the Spirit that spell Satan's demise (1 John 5:8).
FROM REDEMPTION TO RESURRECTION One of the primary purposes of this book is to demonstrate the prophetic nature of Scripture and specifically how events in our future can be found in ancient events. For
instance, it is very possible the Passover not only teaches us of Christ's death, burial and resurrection, but might also hint at the th e com c omiing Marri Marriage Supper Supp er of the th e Lam Lamb. b. Likewise, the story of Pentecost - the feast that teaches o the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and giving of the Word - may als als o be encod en coded ed with with patterns p atterns for the Res Resurr urrecti ection on.. The text tells us that when Israel arrived at Mount Sinai, God tell tells Mos es to tel t elll the people peo ple to: Sanct San ctiify the t hem ms elves (Ex (Exodus od us 19: 10) 10) Be Be prepa p repared red on o n the t he thi th ird day d ay (Ex (Exodus od us 19: 19: 11) The reaso reason n that t hat they needed to prepar preparee them th emss elves elves in thi t hiss way is because the LORD was going to come down on the mounta ou ntaiin in the s ight gh t of o f all all the peopl peo ple. e. "Then it came to pass on the third day, in the morning, that there were thunderings and lightnings, and a thick clou on the mountain, and the sound of the trumpet was very loud, so that all the people who were in the camp trembled . . .No Mount Sinai was completely in smoke, because the LORD descended upon it in fire. Its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace and the whole mountain quaked greatly." - Exo Exod dus 1 9 :16, :16 , 18 18
Notice that th at the th e dens de ns e s moke on o n the th e mou mount ntain ain was pres ent en t becau be causs e the th e LORD ORD had h ad des de s cende cen ded d fro fro m heav he aven en.. Al A long on g with with it were thunderings and lightnings. Actually the Hebrew word kolot -translated -translated as "thunderings" - is literally "voices."
Many times in Scripture, heavenly voices sound as thunder to peop pe oplle on o n earth e arth.. Anot An othe herr int interes eresting ting poi po in t is th t h at the t here re was was the th e s ound ou nd of a trumpet trumpet growi growing very lou loud. d. The Hebrew Hebrew word word us ed shof sho far , the ram's horn. here for "trumpet" is the word As this this tr t rumpet umpet conti cont inues to soun s ound, d, notice notice what what happens hap pens . "And when the blast of the trumpet sounded long an became louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answere him by voice. Then the LORD came down upon Mount Sinai, on the top of the mountain. And the LORD called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up." - Exodus 19:19-20
As the shofar gets louder, Moses calls out to God. Now the question should be asked, "Who is sounding the shofar?" It isn't Moses and it isn't the Israelites at the foot of the mounta ou ntaiin. It It s eems eems that trumpet trumpet is being s ound ou nded ed by the LORD Himself. Actually, Scripture confirms that God will (and presum pres umab ablly has h as)) blown the th e sho s hofar far.. "Then the LORD will be seen over them. And His arro will go forth like lightening. The Lord God will blow the trumpet, and go with the whirlwinds from the south.. .The LORD their God will save them in that day." - Zechariah 9:14,16
Notice also that th at the th e cloud o f s mo ke o n the th e mount ou ntain ain and an d the blowing of the shofar seems to precede the LORD'S descending upon the mount, for it is after the shofar sounds and Moses calls out to God that the LORD answers him and then arrives upon the mountain. In other words, the cloud o
smoke is seen and the sound of the shofar is heard as the LORD is descending. When all of this climaxes, Moses is called up. In my opinion, this is a wonderful picture of what Paul descri des cribes bes as being the th e resurrecti resurrection on of the Bod Body y of o f Chris hris t. "For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet o God. And the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words." - 1 Thes Thesss alonian lonianss 4:16-18 4:16 -18
Interestingly enough, there are certain Jewish traditions about the feast of Pentecost that might also hint at this future event. One of these traditions has it that Enoch was translated on the day of Pentecost. One of the customary practices o Pentecost is to stay up all night studying the Scriptures becau be causs e, it is bel be lieved ev ed,, at midni dn ight gh t the th e door do or of h eaven eav en wil will be be opened briefly! One of the primary Scriptures being studied during Pentecost is the book of Ruth. In fact, on the day of Pentecost the entire story of Ruth and her relationship with the kinsman redeemer redeemer,, Boa Boazz, is is read in the th e syn s ynago agogu gue. e. I fi find thi th is fasci fasc inati nat ing becau be causs e of its obviou ob viouss mess es s age ag e conc co ncerning erning Christ. hrist . Cons on s ider de r thes e par p aral alllel points points . Bo Bo az was was fro fro m Beth et h lehem lehe m.
Jesus Jes us was from from Bethl eth lehem ehe m. Boaz Boaz was mas master ter of the th e har ha rves ve s t. Jesus is the Lord Lord of the harves harvest. t. Bo Bo az was was a kin kin s man-r an -red edee eem mer. er. Chris Chris t is the th e kins man-r an -red edeem eemer er.. Anoth An other er very im impor po rtant tan t feature of the s tory concer con cerns ns what happened to the Jewess Naomi. She had lost her inheritance due du e to the th e fami famine and was actual actu allly living amon among g the t he Gentil en tiles es in Moab. When she determines to return to her homeland her Gentil en tilee dau d augh ghte terr-iin-law n-law jo jo ins her he r in in s pite of o f Nao Naom mi's adm ad moni on ition to turn t urn back. "But Ruth said, 'Entreat me not to leave you, or to turn back from following after you; For wherever you go, I will go. And whe here rev ver you you lod l odg g e I wi wi l l lodg odg e. Your peopl opl e s hall be my people, and your God, my God' " - Ruth Ruth 1:16 1:1 6
Later, Ruth the gentile will meet the Jewish kinsmanredeemer Boaz during the barley harvest (Ruth 1:22) which, o course, is the time of Passover. She will eventually marry Boaz but bu t onl on ly after s he and an d her he r mothe ot herr-iin-law n-law have ha ve been be en redeem rede emed ed by the th e redeem rede emer er Boaz oa z in the th e pres ence en ce of ten te n elders (Rut (Ruth h 4:2).Traditionally, Boaz and Ruth were married during the time of the wheat harvest, which is Pentecost. Furthermore, their union ushered in the "throne of David." - the kingdom that
woul ou ld never nev er end. end . Just as Boaz restored Naomi's inheritance by taking the gentile Ruth for his bride, so will Christ restore all of Israel to her inh inher eriitance tanc e thr th rough ou gh His uni un ion with tho t hoss e who have hav e grafted grafted into the good olive tree (Romans 11:17). Like Boaz and Ruth, who are introduced to our Redeemer at Passover and, if the traditions are true, are wedded to Him at Pentecost. Let me make this point; the picture that is presented to us in the Spring feasts of Passover and Pentecost is, that after the Redemption of Passover, the Lord will come down and be oined with His bride! Exodus 19 is an amazing code which reveals that Christ will descend from Heaven with the sound o a trum t rumpet pet.. There is one last point that I would like to make before moving on. In these last days, it is critical that you and I under und erss tand God's Word as never before before.. In In the t he days d ays ahead, not only will we need the redemptive power of Christ's blood working in our lives, but we will also need to be impregnated with the s eed of o f the Word, Word, which which was was given given at Pentecos Penteco s t. This This is a mus mus t if we are are to fulfi ulfill God's od 's purpos pu rposes es in the th e end en d ti t imes. es .
Chapter Six THE MYSTERY OF THE FALL FEASTS As we have seen, the Spring feasts are inherently proph pro phet etiic. So too to o are the th e three th ree feasts feas ts that th at com co me in the th e fall fall. Al A ll three of the remaining feasts occur in the same Hebrew month called Tishri . The meaning of this month is related to the idea of "l " look oo king (forw (forward). ard)."" That is exact exactlly what we int intend end to do: do : by examining these appointed times, it will lead us to "look forward" to the future and what it portends for those who have been be en redeem red eemed ed by b y th t h e blood bloo d of o f the th e Lam Lamb. b. The first first of thes th esee three th ree fi final feas feasts ts is com co mmonl on ly referred referred to Hash ana a ; the as Rosh Hashan t he biblical biblical nam na me, howev h owever er,, is is Yom Teruah or the Feasts of Trumpets (Numbers 29; l-6). This day is also referred to as the "Day of Judgement" as well as the "Day o Remem emembranc brance." e." As A s we wil will s oon oo n see, s ee, this day d ay is a pi p icture ctu re of the th e Resurr es urrecti ection on of o f the s aints aints . The second fall feast is Yom Kippur or the Day o Atonement (Leviticus 16). Atonement focuses on judgment o the righteous and the wicked. According to tradition, on this day there are three books in heaven that are used in the Heavenl eaven ly Cou Courrt; the t he boo b ook k of the Ri Righteo gh teous us s ealed ealed with with the t he s eal of God (Revelation 7:3); the book of the Unrighteous (Rev (Revel elation ation 17:8) and the th e Boo Book k of the Intermediate Intermediate - thos tho s e who
are not completely wicked or righteous. In my opinion, Yom ippur tel te lls o f the th e com c omiing Great Tribu ribullati at ion. on . The last of the feasts is called Sukkot or the Feast o Tabernacles (Leviticus 23:33-34). Like the spring feasts, these fall feasts are linked to significant historical events in Israel's history. For instance, Tabernacles is a reminder of how Israel lived in the wilderness for forty years dwelling in "booths" or suk k ot . More importantly, it is a reminder of how God provided for them during those forty years. This feast is kept for seven days. And like the spring feasts, the fall feasts speak proph pro phet etiically cally. Taberna ab ernacles cles is regarded rega rded as the th e Season Seas on o f Joy becau be causs e it celebrates celebrat es the th e King Kingdo dom m of God o n earth and an d the th e reign reign of Mess Mes s iah for a thous tho us and years yea rs (Reve (Revellation 20: 20:4). Agai Ag ain, n, all of them are linked to significant events both past and presen pres ent. t. In thi th is chap ch apte terr, we are goi go ing to focus focu s on their th eir future fut ure significance.
TRUMPETS AND THE RESURRECTION There are several themes associated with the Feast o Trumpets. For our study, I will mention three, but concentrate on one on e pri p rim mary the t hem me. The resur resu rrection ection of the righ righteo teous us.. The cor co ronati on ation on of the King King.. The marr marriiage ag e of the th e Mes s iah. ah . These are the themes we can find in the book o
Revelation. The resurr resu rrect ectiion of the th e righ righteo teous us (Rev. (Rev. 20). The coro c orona nation tion of the th e Kin Kin g (Rev. (Rev. 19). The Th e marr marriiage ag e of o f the th e Mes M esss iah (Rev. (Rev. 19) 19).. Where the resurrection is concerned, it seems that it may be hi h inted nt ed at a t very v ery early early in the th e book bo ok of Rev Revelation. elation. "After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven. And the first voice which I heard was like a trumpet speaking with me, saying, 'Come up here, and I will show you things which must take place after this.' Immediately I was in the Spirit, and behold, a throne set in heaven, heaven, and One s at on on the throne." thr one." - Revel Revelat atiion 4:1-2 4:1 -2
In this passage, a "door" understood to be a literal opening appears in heaven. This is followed by a shout to "Come up here!" This presents a picture of the Temple in Heaven being opened and the saints pouring onto the Temple platform - the th e Throne Thro ne Room oo m - to begin be gin the th e " mo rning rning s ervices." ervices ." Is it poss pos s ible ble that this this s hout hou t is is s ynonym yno nymous ous with the s hout hou t and voice of the archangel referred to by Paul in 1 Thessalonians 4: 16-17? John hearing the "voice like a trumpet" reminds us that when the LORD descends from heaven, it will be with the "trumpet of God." Since the trumpet is such an integral part of this feast, we need to menti ent ion that more than tha n one o ne type typ e of o f trum trumpet pet is referr eferred to in Scripture. Actually, there are three different types o trumpet trumpetss ; the t he s hof ho far, ar, silver silver trumpets trumpets and even gol go ld tr t rumpets umpets .
Silver trumpets were sounded to call the camp of Israel to attention while a second blast was the order to make the ourney (Numbers 10). The silver trumpets were also sounded on the year of Jubilee (Leviticus 25). On every seventh year, i the king king was pr p resent es ent,, a gold trum trumpet pet was s ound ou nded. ed. The shofar or ram's horn was blown on feast days and on new moon to herald the beginning of the month. It was also blown to mus ter te r troops troo ps to b attle at tle and s o forth. forth . But, ut , accordi acco rding ng to tradition, the shofar will be sounded to awaken the dead from their slumber. Thus, because a trumpet is associated with this event, it is my opinion, as well as the opinion of many other students of the Bible, that the Resurrection of the dead in Chris hris t wil will occur occu r duri du ring ng the th e Feas t of Trum Trumpe pets ts.. Concerning the resurrection and its relationship to the Feast of Trumpets, not only do we see this in the New Testament but in ancient Jewish literature as well. In the Talm almud it is recorded that: th at: "In the month of Tishri the world was created ... and in Tishri they (the righteous) will be redeemed in the time to come." - Rosh Hashana 10b-11a
THE CONCEALMENT OF THE SAINTS There are some ancient Jewish traditions concerning the "gate of heaven" which at times is opened for the neu'in or "the home taking." This idea is linked to customs associated with a Jewish wedding. The newlyweds would go into the wedding chamber and shut the door. The inference is that, before be fore they th ey go into nt o the th e cham ch ambe berr, the th e d oor oo r had ha d b een open op ened ed..
Yet, when when they go in, the door do or is is s hut hu t and an d remai remains ns s hut hu t for the next seven days. It is said that the couple is concealed. Interestingly, the Feast of Trumpets hints at this theme o "concealment." Isaiah saw the time of concealment and associated it with the resurr es urrecti ection on.. "Your dead s hall hal l l i ve; Tog Togeethe ther r with my de dead body ody they they shall arise. Awake and sing, you who dwell in dust. For your dew is like the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead. Come, my people, enter your chamber, and shut your doors behind you: Hide yourselves, as it were, for a little moment, until the indignation is past. For behold, the LORD comes out of His place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity. The earth will also disclose her blood, an will no more cover her slain." - Isaiah 26:19-21
It seems to me that the concealment alludes to the bel be lievers ev ers being b eing con co n ceal cea led duri du ring ng the th e time time of tribu tribullati at ion, on , which is definitely a time of "indignation." By indignation, the text conveys the idea of "anger and rage." This certainly sounds similar to the "wrath of God" that will be poured out during the tribulation. "If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark on his forehead forehead or on on his hand hand,, he hims hims elf el f sha s hall ll also als o drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full s trength treng th into the the cup c up of His His indig indigna nation. tion." " - Revel Revelat ation ion 14 1 4 :9-10 :9-1 0
Yet as Is aiah aiah and other ot her prophe prop hets ts record, God God's 's peo p eople ple wi will
enter the "chamber" and be hidden during this time o tribulation. "Gather yourselves together, yes gather together, O undesirable nation, before the decree is issued or the day passes like chaff; Before the LORD'S fierce anger comes upon you, before the day of the LORD'S anger comes upon you! Seek the LORD all you meek of the earth, who have upheld His justice. Seek righteousness, seek humility. It may be that you will be hidden in the day of the LORD'S anger." Zephaniah 2:1-3
A few of the words that are used here merit special attention. First, the word translated as "gather" is a word that is used figuratively to "assemble" but is related to the idea o gathering wood or foraging for food. It seems that those who are being told to "gather" are also being admonished to prepare. prep are. This occu oc curs rs b efore the th e " fierce fierce ange an gerr of the th e LORD. ORD."" The reason reaso n for their their preparation preparation is that tha t they th ey mi might gh t be b e "hi " hidd dden" en" in the day of God's anger. The Hebrew word translated as satar sat ar and "hidden" is and means "to be concealed" or "to be s ecret. ecret."" It can als als o mean mean "to " to be b e abs ent." It seems clear to me that God's intention for His people is that they the y be b e hidden in the t he day d ay of o f Hi His wrath for, or, as the Scri Scriptur ptu re encourages encourages us : "For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain s alvat alvation ion through through our Lord Lord J es us Chri Chriss t." hes s alonian lonianss 5:9 - 1 Thess
Another indication of this principle of being "concealed" has to do with the ten Days of Awe. Beginning on the Feast o Trumpets and concluding on the Day of Atonement is a ten ya mim n ora im, or the Days o day period known in Hebrew as yamim Awe. It is believed that during this ten day period, the "gates of heaven" are are opened open ed to hear h ear the repentant repent ant pr p rayers of o f Is rael. ael. In the t he days d ays of the Tem Temple, ple, after the concl con clus usiion of the feast feas t of Trum Trumpet petss and an d the th e fast fas t of o f Geda Gedalliah (which which occurs occ urs on 3 Ti Tis hri), hri), the High Priest would enter a secluded chamber and be concealed there for the next seven days; this was during the Days of Awe. While there he rehearsed the laws and the proced pro cedures ures for the th e Day of A tone to nem ment en t - the th e day da y when God would judge the wicked and the righteous! The day he emerged emerged from from thi th is conce co nceal alm ment was the t he Day of o f Aton At onem emen ent. t.
THE DAY OF ATONEMENT On the tenth day of the month of Tishri the Day o Atonement is observed. This is considered to be the holiest day in all of Judaism, for it is on this day that Israel would be forgiven their sins or would face judgment. Consequently, the peop pe oplle faste fas ted d and an d s tood to od all day d ay in the th e Temp emp le courts co urts s eeking eeking the th e face of o f God God.. I mentioned earlier that, in this day, the belief was that three sper sp erate ate groups group s were ere being being judged. judged . The total to tallly righ righteou teouss . The totally totally unr un righteou gh teouss . The intermediate.
Whi Wh ile mak makiing s ure that he h e and thos tho s e he represented represen ted would be wri written tt en in the th e Book oo k o f the th e Righte gh teo o us , the th e High High Pri Priest es t o Israel Israe l p erform erformed ed four fou r prim primary proce p rocedu dures res in the th e Tem Temple ple on o n Yom Kippur. The first first tas k was was to take fire fire from from the th e altar of inc incens ens e. The second task was to offer sacrifices and place the blood of the sacrifices in a bowl. The third procedure was to sprinkle the blood bloo d in the th e Holy Holy Place Place and an d upon up on the th e mercy s eat of the th e A rk seven times. The fourth and all-important procedure was to prono pro noun unce, ce, " It is done do ne." ." In Revelation ev elation 8:1 8:1-6, -6, we can s ee the th e paral pa ralllel of thes th esee four fou r even ev ents ts procee pro ceeding ding in the th e Heaven Heav enlly Temple. The first procedure was the burning of incense, which Scripture tells us is representative of the prayers of the saints (Psalm 141:2). In Revelation 8, we are told that there are thirty minutes nu tes of si s ilence en ce in in heav h eaven en followed followed by b y an angel ang el (Chris hris t) who bring bringss a golde g olden n cen c enss o r of inc incen enss e along alon g with with the th e prayers p rayers of the th e s aints aints to the t he gol go lden al a ltar. tar. It sho s houl uld d be noted n oted that, tha t, in in the th e earthly earthly Temple, when the Priest ministered on the Day of Atonement, Jewish history records that there was a span of silence lasting about abo ut thirty thirty minutes nu tes.. The blood that was offered by Israel's High Priest as atonement was critically important to Israel's welfare. In fact, legend has it that God provided a sign - the miracle of the scarlet thread -to show whether or not their sins had been Ag gada dah h (Book of Legends), forgiven. According to the Sefer Agga this miracle ceased to occur "a generation before the destructi des truction on of o f the th e Secon Second d House." Hous e." That, of cour cou rs e, woul ou ld have hav e been be en abou ab outt the th e time time that th at Chris hris t died and an d rose ros e from from the th e d ead and entered into the Heavenly Temple to make eternal
atonement for sin. The writer of Hebrew records that the atoning blood o Chris hris t is is present pres entlly in Heav Heaven en.. "Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the most Holy Place once for all, having obtaine obtained d ete eterrnal red edeemption tion . . . For Christ has not entered the holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us."
- Hebrews 9:12, 24 In the book of Revelation, John reveals to us that, in the Heavenly Temple, the Ark of the Covenant is present (Revelation 11:19). The purpose in bringing this out is to accentuate the parallel between what happened in the earthly Temple emple and what happ h appen ened ed in the th e Heavenl Heaven ly Tem Temple. ple. Becau Becauss e it was considered Judgement Day, no man save the High Priest was able to enter en ter the th e Tem Temple ple whil whilee the th e bl b lood oo d was being appl app lied to the Ark of the Covenant. When the High Priest of Heaven, with His own blood, ministered in the Most Holy of Holies, it was before all of those who had been resurrected with Him were taken taken into Heaven Heav en.. Finally after all sacrifices had been made and atonement had been accomplished, the announcement came from the Priest that all was completed. This same decree comes at the end of the age a ge and an d is made made by b y a voi vo ice out ou t of o f the Tem Templ ple. e. "Then the seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple of heaven, from the
throne, throne, say s aying ing 'It is done!' one!' " - Revel Revelat ation ion 16 1 6 :17
One other interesting point concerning this final announcement: on Passover the priest would say, "It is finished" once the final lamb was offered. On the Day o Aton At onem ement ent he h e wou woulld annou ann ounce, nce, "It is is done." do ne." I beli believe that t hat this is demonstrating a connection between the Redemption o Pass over ov er and the th e Ato A tone nem ment en t of o f Yom Kipp Kippur ur.. In In oth o ther er words words,, those who have been redeemed are under the atonement and prote pro tect ctiive blood bloo d of the t he Lamb amb whil while al a ll thos tho s e who have ha ve reject rejected ed Him are sub s ubjjected ecte d to t o the t he judgm ud gment ent of God God..
THE SEVEN THUNDERS "Now when the seven thunders uttered their voices, I was about to write, but I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, 'Seal up the things which the seven thunders uttered, and do not wri write te them.' them.' " - Revelation 10:4
In many passages of Scripture, God's voice is compared to thund thu nder er.. When He spo s pok ke on Mount Mou nt Sinai, Sinai, His voi vo ice was was as the voice of thunder (Exodus 20: 18). When He spoke as Christ entered Jerusalem, to many it sounded as thunder (John 12:19). Job s aid aid that t hat God s pok po ke thr th rough ou gh thund thu nder er (Job (Job 40: 40:9). In the th e pass pas s age above, abo ve, John John heard heard God God s peak and it was as if seven thunders uttered. Furthermore, John was told not to write what the seven thunders said. Some scholars have
suggested that the seven thunders are similar to a Coptic text in which seven Greek vowels often function as a mysterious divine name. According to the World Bible Commentary , it sometimes appears in the form of the Greek letters "alpha" and "omega" so as to abbreviate all seven vowels. In the Coptic text text this t his crypti crypt ic nam n amee is referr referred ed to as the th e "Seven " Seven Voices." oices ." The point here is this: are the seven thunders uttering a secret name? Remember that the sacred name of God YHVH was a name that only the High Priest could utter and Alp ha and Omega only on Yom Kippur. Furthermore, the Greek Alpha Ale f and is equi equ ivalent to the Hebrew Alef and Tav , which is a title given only to Jesus. It seems possible, at least, that the seven thunders utter a mysterious name that is to be known by no one. "His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns: He had a name written that no one knew except Himself." -Revel Revelat ation ion 19:12 19 :12
All in all, I believe it is to be obvious that hidden within the th e ritu ritual al and tradi trad itions tion s o f Yom Kipp Kippur ur,, there th ere li lies a pi p icture ct ure o the coming judgment upon the nations, and even upon Satan Himself. This time is none other than the Great Tribulation. Imm Immedi ed iately at ely followi following ng Yom Ki Kippur pp ur is the th e Feast Feas t of Tab Tabernac ernaclles the Kingdom Feast. Immediately after the Tribulation of those days day s , Scri Script pture ure tells tells us that th at Chri Chriss t wil will return to the th e earth to t o rule rule and to reign reign with with you yo u and an d with with me.
GATHERING OF THE NATIONS
In the days of the Temple, the Feast of Tabernacles was considered to be not only the Kingdom Feast, but also the Feast of the Ingathering. This was symbolized by the ingathering of the fruits of trees and the field which were broug bro ught ht up to Jerusalem Jerus alem.. It It is und u nders ersto tood od that th at thes th esee fruits fruits were were to s ymbo ymbollize the th e seven s even types typ es of foo food d in Is Is rael. ael. This This was al a ls o to to signify that, in the end, God would have worshipers coming up to Jerusalem to extol Him from every nation and every continent on earth. Tabernacles was the feast that acknowledg acknowledged ed the t he ingath inga theri ering ng of all all God's od 's peop p eoplle. "Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other." Matthew 24:30-31 "Also, that he would gather together in one the children of God who were scattered abroad."- Jn. 11:52
Those Thos e "s " s cattered cattered abroad" is intended ntend ed to mean all all of thos e living among the Gentiles. Scripture tells us that during the Millennial reign of Messiah, all nations shall go up to Jerusalem to worship the King at the Feast of Tabernacles (Zechariah 14: 16). It is at this time that all who have been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb will serve Him as His Priests in a Kingdom that shall never end. This is what we are quickly moving toward. We have seen the redemption of the Passover; we have been to Pentecost. We are now in that dry
peri pe riod od that th at occu oc curs rs between be tween Penteco Pent ecoss t and an d the th e fall fall feasts feas ts , but bu t we are are nonethe non ethelless es s mov moviing towar t oward d the th e sou s ound nd of o f trumpets trumpets !
Chapter Seven THE TRIBULATIONS CODES As we have seen, the biblical feasts are infused with information that speaks primarily of Christ, and secondly o future events. Frankly, I have only dealt with the primary feast days that most Christians are somewhat familiar with. There are, are, in in fact, other im impor po rtant festi es tivals vals and an d s abbath abb athss that tha t teach o Christ and prophetic scenarios, i.e. the new moons and Sabbath cycles (Ezekiel 46:1). However, I will not elaborate on these thes e here. here. At this point, I do want to examine some of the lesser feasts and by that I mean, those feasts that are observed by Israel but weren't necessarily ordained by God. That is not to say, however, that God did not orchestrate the events that led to these festivals. Because of this reality, these lesser feasts should not be discounted as mere historical events just becau be causs e Chris hris tianity does do es not no t percei pe rceive ve any an y real ass as s oci oc iati at ion with them. As we will see, this perception is misplaced. These festivals, like the Seven Feasts of Israel, also speak to us o Christ and of future events. The first such festival I want to Pu rim . address is the one o ne call called Purim "But when Esther came before the king, he commande by letter that this wicked plot which Haman had devise against the Jews, should return on his own head, and that he and his sons should be hanged on the gallows. So they call
these days Purim after the name Pur. Therefore, because o all the words of this letter, what they had seen concerning this matter, and what had happened to them, the Jews establishe and imposed it upon themselves and their descendants and all who join them, that without fail they should celebrate these two days every year, according to the written instructions an according to the prescribed time, that these days should be remembered and kept throughout every generation . . . that these days of Purim should not fail to be observed among the Jews and that the memory of them should not perish among their descendants." - Esther 9:25-28
After the Persians toppled the Babylonian empire, many o the Jews who had been taken captive were assimilated into Persian civilization, some of them migrating to Persia itself. (Persia is now known as Iran.) The story of Esther is believed to have occurred about thirty years before the decree that perm pe rmiitted tt ed the t he Jews Je ws to t o return retu rn to Israel Is rael.. The story begins with the king of Persia, being influenced by wine wine,, calli calling upon up on his wife wife Vash as h ti to p erform erform s omet omething hing that th at she flatly refused to do. Consequently, an enraged King Ahas uerus uerus cons ults ults his his wis e men men who couns cou nsel el him him to have the t he queen deposed and replaced by "another who is better than she" (Esther 1:19). That woman was a young Jewish orphan known as Hadassah. Her appointment as queen merits this observation: even though God is never mentioned in the book of Esther, do we really believe that He had nothing to do with her becoming Queen Esther? Of course not. God has always orchestrated orches trated event ev entss to fulfi ulfill his his pur pu rpos po s es in hi h is tory. tory. The rest rest of the story s tory tell tells us why God God made s ure Hadas Hadas s ah
(Esther) was chosen. He knew in advance that a certain Agagite Ag agite by b y the th e nam n amee of o f Ham Haman an would be inci nc ited to kill the th e Jews in Persia. The reason he devised a plan to destroy them was due to his jealousy of Esther's cousin and guardian, Mordechai. "When Haman saw that Mordechai did not bow or pay him homage, Haman was filled with wrath. But he disdained to lay hands on Mordachai alone, for they had told him of the people of Mordechai; Instead Haman sought to destroy all the Jews who were throughout the whole kingdom of Ahasuerus - th thee people of Mordechai." - E Ess ther 3:6 3 :6
His plan called for all Jews throughout the one hundred and twenty provinces of Persia to be gathered and killed, all in one day! The day determined, the 13th day of the twelfth Ad a r (corresponding to our mid to late month known as Ada February through mid to late March depending on the year), pu rim (Esther 3:7, had been chosen by the casting of lots or purim 13). Jewi Jewis h literature teratu re reco records rds that th at Haman Haman was exci excited ted about abo ut thi th is date because, traditionally, 13 Adar was the day Moses had died. Apparently, if the tradition can be trusted, Haman interpreted this as a good omen for him and a bad one for the Jews. When Wh en it came came to his hated h ated nemes nemesiis Mordechai Mordech ai,, Ham Haman an had special plans. Following the direction of his wife, he had gallows erected in order to hang the man he despised. The story, records, however, that his plan backfired and, in the end, Haman was hung on those very gallows and followed in death by his ten t en s ons on s , als als o hun h ung g on o n the t he gall g allo o ws.
So, how did it happen that those who sought to destroy God's people were themselves destroyed, and on the very day that they had determined to destroy the Jews? Perhaps more importantly, what message does this story convey to those o us living in the last days? The answer is found in the central character cha racter of the th e sto s tory ry - Es ther th er..
THE HIDDEN PROP PROPHECY HECY Es ther is is a picture of hidd hidden en things t hings;; her h er very very nam n amee hints at this. First of all, remember that Esther was not her real name; Hadassah was her true identity. Nevertheless she became Esther, which is a name of Gentile origin, not Hebrew. In fact, Esther is the Persian equivalent to Astarte, Ashtaroth (1 Samuel 12:10) and Ishtar, who was also known at times as Easter. Depending on which culture you found her determined what she was called, but all of these names speak of the goddess of fertility. This is what Esther's name is associated with. Stil Still, if we read
Es ther th er as a Hebrew word ins tead te ad
of a transliterated name, the results are interesting. In Hebrew the same letters translated as Esther could also be read as esater which which means, "I will conceal." It is obvious that the one who was concealed was Hadassah; but who was the one on e conceal con cealiing her? That ans wer s eems eems obvi ob viou ouss as well ell. As I said, God is never mentioned in this book, but who can deny His workmanship in the outcome? Who determined that Hadassah should be chosen as queen? Who made sure that Mordechai found out about Haman's wicked plot? Who
was it that awakened the king out of his sleep causing him to read the history of his kingdom which led to Mordechai being honore hon ored? d? God God is the one o ne who conceal con cealed ed her h er s o that th at she s he would would be pos po s itioned tion ed to be His His ins trumen trumentt of del de liverance ve rance,, jus t as he had already done with Moses (raised as an Egyptian in the hous ho usee of Pharaoh Pharaoh)) and Jos eph (viceroy (viceroy to Pharaoh). So then, Esther is the one who looked like and was bel be lieved ev ed to be a gen g entil tilee to t o the th e deg d egree ree tha t hatt s he carried carried the th e nam n amee of one of the Pers Pers ian god g oddes des s es. es . Yet, she s he knew and more more importantly God knew that she was one of the chosen. Not only had God chosen her, but she had been chosen queen becau be causs e the th e previ prev ious ou s queen qu een had ha d been be en disob dis obed ediient; en t; Vasht as htii refused the king's invitation to come and sit at his banquet table. It is is impor po rtant to note n ote that the one on e he chos ch os e was was a virgi virgin n who was foreign to his people and that she was acknowledged as queen - she became his bride - in the seventh year of the kin kin g 's reign (Es (Es ther th er 2: 16). 16). When the hidden plot to destroy God's people was uncovered, it was the virgin bride who was used to deliver all of God God's 's peop p eoplle. Stil Stilll, it was the t he king king who pronou pron ounc nced ed s enten ent ence ce upon up on the th e adversa adv ersary ry Ham Haman an and an d all of his his minions . This is what I see being presented to us through this story. Scripture relates that when Christ came to His own peop pe oplle, the t hey y did not no t receive Him Him (Joh (John n 1:l 1:ll). Jesu Jes u s h ad foretol foreto ld of thi th is and what the t he result es ult of thei th eirr refus refusal al to receive receive Him Him would be. be . "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks
under her wings under ing s , but but you you wer weree not wi l l i ng! ng ! See S ee!! Your house hous e is is l eft to you you des des olate." - Matthew 23:37-38
This desolation occurred because they had refused to come come to his banqu ban quet et tabl tab le. "Then he said to his servants, 'The wedding is ready but those who were invited were not worthy. Therefore go into the highways, and as many as you find, invite to the wedding.' " Matthew 22:8-9
Who were these that would be invited in the stead o those who had refused to come? After witnessing a Roman centu cen turi rion on's 's faith faith,, Jes Jesus us tol to ld the t he Jews Jews foll following owing Him that: th at: "I say to you that many will come from east and west an sit down with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom o heaven. But the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." Matthew 8 :11-12 :11-1 2
When some of the "sons of the kingdom" refused to come sit at His banquet table, the Father invited those from the east and west to come sit at the table. He chose people who were from the "outs "o uts ide" to be b e amon among g tho t hoss e who who woul ou ld be b e Hi His bride. bride. Outwardly, they are considered to be gentile but, like Esther, they have hav e a secret secret - they have hav e been chos en by the th e Ki King. "You di di d not choos c hoosee Me, but but I chos chosee you and app appointe oi nted d you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit shoul
remain, that whatever you ask the Father in my name He may give you." - Jo J ohn 15:16 15 :16
Those He has chosen are intended to be His bride and His bride bride,, like Es ther th er,, mus t be a chas ch aste te virgin virgin (2 Cori Corint nthian hianss 11:2 1:2). Esther, you will recall, was married to the king of Persia in the seventh year of his reign (Esther 2:16). Prophetically speaking, the Messiah will be crowned as King on some future Rosh Hashanah - the Feast of Trumpets. Seven years later, the marriage between the bride and bridegroom will be cons con s umm ummated at the t he Marri Marriage Supper Supp er of the Lam Lamb. b. Through Esther, God delivered His people from those who would have destroyed them. Each time they have been threatened, whether before or after the time of Esther, He has saved them from annihilation. Scripture tells us that before Christ returns, the Antichrist will seek to destroy Israel once and for all, I believe that through His bride, God will again deliver His people from those who seek to destroy them from the th e face of o f the earth (Rev (Revelation elation 19:1 9:14).
HAMAN THE ANTICHRIST If there is is to be del d eliiverance ther th eree mus mustt be b e an antago an tagoni niss t to Pu rim gives us a prophetic be del de livered ve red from from.. The s tory to ry of Purim picture pictu re of who that th at is -the com co ming A nti nt ichri ch riss t and an d his dem de moni on ic kingdom. First of all, it should be noted that Haman is not a Persian but bu t is called called " the th e A gagite" ga gite" (Es (Es ther th er 3:1). 1). This is to s ay that th at Haman was descended from the kings of the Amalekites (1 Samuel Samuel 15 15:8). It is is believe believed d by b y mos mos t s chol cho lars tha t hatt Agag A gag was not no t
a name but a title for the Amalekite kings just as Pharaoh was to the Egyptians. Some believe that Agag should be considered to be equivalent to Gog of Magog (Ezekiel 38:2). The reason for this is based on the fact that in Numbers 24:7, m'agag. the Hebrew phrase translated "than Agag" is In fact, the Septuagint version, a Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures, translates the phrase as "than Gog." The poi po int is that th at A gag ga g and an d the th e kings ng s of the th e A maleki alekites te s are viewed as antago an tagoni niss ts where Is Is rael is concerned. co ncerned. Furthermore, it is important to understand that the father of the Amal Amalek ekiites was a des d escend cendant ant of Jacob's chief foe, Es Es au. "Now Timna was the concubine of Eliphaz, Esau's son, and she bore Amalek to Eliphaz. These were the sons of Adah, Esau's wife." -Genesis 36:12
This This is to s ay that Haman aman was was a descendant des cendant of those thos e who who hated Israel and who had consistently displayed the will to des troy the th e son s onss of Jacob. Jacob . Furth Furtherm ermore, ore, Scri Script pture ure makes makes it clear clear that, in the end of days, the same enemies under the control o the Beast will be seeking to destroy Israel, In short, I believe that Haman aman is a pi p icture of o f the Anti An tichri chriss t. The Bible records that Haman was exalted in the kingdom to the point that he wanted people to bow down to him. The Benjami enjamite Mordechai M ordechai ref refus us ed to do s o and, an d, thus th us,, Ham Haman an s et hi h is heart against him (Esther 3:l-6). Likewise, the Antichrist will exalt himself and, through the False Prophet, will command that all peop pe oplle bow b ow and an d worship wors hip hi h is image ag e (Rev (Revelation elation 13 :1 :15). Consider also that the beast has seven heads and ten horns (Revelation 13: 1) which are ten kings (Revelation 17: 12;
Daniel 7:24). There are seven princes in the king's court (Esther 1:14) before Haman is exalted over them (Esther 3:1). The story als als o ment mentiions on s that Haman aman has h as ten son s onss (Esther 9:10-14). According to Scripture, the Antichrist will arise from the same region that the Persians once controlled (present-day Iran Iran,, Iraq Iraq and an d Syria) Syria) and wil will s eek to s ubj ub jugate ug ate or kil kill the peo p eople ple of Israel. Like Mordechai, many of them will refuse to bow to their oppressor. In the end, what the Antichrist determines to do to them will come back upon his own head for Jesus will des troy him and all all of the th e enem en emiies of Is Is rael when He returns . "And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lor will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with thee bri th brightnes ghtnesss of His coming coming." ." hes s alonian lonianss 2:8 - 2 Thess
Because of His devotion to His bride, the King stood up and had Haman aman and his his ten s ons on s killed. In the futur utu re, the King King of kings will stand up and destroy the lawless one in defense of Hi His peop pe oplle.
THE HIDDEN CODES "And in Shushan the citadel the Jews killed an destroyed five hundred men. Also Parshandatha, Dalphon, Aspatha, Poratha, Adalia, Aridatha, Parmashta, Arisai, Aridai and Vajezatha - the ten sons of Haman the son of Hammedatha, the enemy of the Jews - they killed, but they did not lay a han on the the p plund lunder.. er.... .. Then Then E Ess ther s aid, aid, 'If it ple pleas ases es the k king ing,, let le t it
be granted to the Jews who are in Shushan to do again tomorrow according to today's decree, and let Haman's ten sons be hanged on the gallows.' " - Esther 9:6-10, 13
When you read this in English, it looks like nothing more than a roster of the ten sons of Haman that were executed on the gallows. However, if you were to see this passage in Hebrew, you would notice that the first, the seventh and tenth names contain a Hebrew letter that is significantly smaller than the other Hebrew letters. Those smaller Hebrew letters are tav ta v, shin shi n and zayin zay in . Many people have wondered what thes e thr th ree sm s mall aller letters letters were ere sup s uppo poss ed to s igni gn ify. Then on October 16, 1946, something very significant happened. On that day, eleven prominent Nazis, including Hermann Goering, were to be hung for their part in Nazi atrocities against humanity, specifically their crimes against Jews. However, just two hours before his execution was to take place, Goe Goeri ring ng com co mmitted tt ed s uicide uicide by tak ta king a caps ca ps u le of o f poi po is on he had kept hidden. This last minute suicide meant that only ten of the cond co ndem emned ned men went to t o the t he gal g alllows. The fasci fasc inati nat ing poi po int of all thi th is is that th at October cto ber 16, 16, 19 1946 on the Hebrew calendar was 21 Tishri 5707. The Hebrew year 5707 woul ou ld be writte ritten n (tav, shin, zayin ) - the three small letters contained in the names of the ten sons of Haman who were ere hung hu ng on o n the th e gall gallows. Wi Without tho ut a dou d oubt, bt, the s tory of Es Es ther is to relate how those who seek to destroy God's people will thems thems elves elves be des troyed troyed.. During the first Gulf War in 1991, Saddam Hussein unl un leashed eas hed no n o les lesss than thirty-ni thirty-nine ne Scud mi mis s iles on the t he state s tate o
Israel. His goal was to draw Israel into the war so that other Muslim nations would join the fight. Things didn't work out that way, ay, however, however, and in fact, he was forced to s ue for a cease ceas e fire. The war that was supposed to be the "mother of all batt ba ttlles" es " onl on ly laste as ted d abou ab outt forty days da ys . It ende en ded d , as a matte at terr o fact, on Purim. Years later at er,, Pres Presiident de nt George eo rge W. Bus Bus h picked up u p where hi h is father, President George H. W. Bush, had left off. Citing the need to remove any WMDs that Hussein may have had in his ars ars enal, Bus h comm committed US troo troops ps to once on ce agai ag ain n fight gh t agai ag ains nstt the Butcher of Baghdad. The first engagements of Operation Iraqi Freedom began on March 18, 2003. That day was the beginn be ginniing of Purim Purim. It was, was , if y ou wil will, a cont co ntiinuat nu atiio n o f what had started twelve years before. Furthermore, it seems that, bes be s ides de s remov removiing Saddam Sadd am from from the picture, pictu re, it it has ha s s et the th e s tage ta ge for Pers Pers ia (pres (present ent day Iran Iran)) to ris ris e agai ag ain. n.
THE RISING PRINCE OF PERSIA History teaches us that the Persian empire defeated and then swallowed up the previous world power, Babylon. Most of you are probably aware that Persia and Babylon are present day Iran and Iraq respectively. It is interesting to note that, since Saddam is gone, Iran is trying to determine the future o Iraq. Iran, a predominately Shi'ite nation, is trying to influence the majority Shi'ite population in Iraq to see to it that Western efforts to democratize Mesopotamia fail. Not onl on ly that th at,, but bu t the th e Pres Presiident de nt of Iran Iran has ha s threate th reatene ned d to wipe Israel off the map and destroy all the Jews. Let me point something out here that might surprise many of you.
Obvi bv ious ou s ly the t he Iranians of today tod ay and the Nazi azis of the 1930s and 1940s share the same opinion of Jews - they should be destr des troyed oyed.. But But did did you y ou know that the t he pr p resent es ent day d ay Irani Iranians ans and the Nazis of World War II era share the ideology of being part of the " master as ter race" race"?? The Naz Naziis put pu t forth forth the t he idea idea that th at onl on ly thos th osee of pure Aryan Aryan blood bloo d were were worthy worth y to liv e with withiin the th e borders bo rders of German ermany; y; all others were inferior humans. Lowest on the pecking order, according to them, were the Jews. The radicals in Iran feel the s ame ame way. Here Here is why: why : until un til 1935, 935, the th e nat n atiion we refer refer to as Iran Iran was called called by its anci anc ient en t nam n amee Pers Pers ia. The reason it was changed to Iran was to pay homage to all of the Aryan tribes who had settled the region long ago. In other words, "Iran" is derived from the word "aryan." No wonder on der they the y hate h ate Isr Is rael. ael. This This whol ho le region region hates hat es Is rael and, to a large degree, always has. No wonder the Antichrist comes out ou t of o f this region of the th e world world (Daniel 8:9). 9). It has been well documented that the Iranian leaders are looking for al Mahdi - the Islamic messiah. Those who anticipate his coming believe he will conquer the world in the name of Islam and rid the earth of infidels - namely Jews and Christians. This "coming one" fits the biblical description o the Antichrist. With that in mind, I need to point out that Scripture does not teach that this man will come as a false messiah to the Jews as many have stated. To the contrary, the Bible teaches that this man, true to the nature of his predece pred ecess s ors, ors , wil will try t ry to kil kill all of o f Israel Is rael.. If he h e does do es com co me from from thi th is region region,, and I am convinced con vinced that th at he h e does d oes , he wil will mos t lik likely ely be Mus Mu s lim. [For [For more inform nfo rmat atiion, on , s ee my boo bo o k, Unleashing the Beast ]. ].
In Islam, there are two "houses" or groups of people on earth today; the Dar al Islam (The House of Islam) and Dar-al -Harb arb (The House of War). Islamic everybody else - Dar-al-H fundamentalists believe that the "house of war" must be transformed into the "house of Islam" and this will come jihad ad or "ho through jih " holly war." war." Theref Th erefore, ore, unbeli un believe evers rs mus mus t either be beat be aten en into nt o s ubm ub mis s ion or be killed outri ou trigh ght. t. This is the th e s entiment entiment that exi exis ts in present presen t day d ay Iran and a nd it is gr g rowing owing every day amon among g the t he radical radical Mus lims living there. th ere. Cons on s ider jus jus t a few quot qu otes es from from the th e Koran: Koran: "Warfare is ordained for you, though it is hateful unto you; but it may happen that you hate a thing which is good for you, and it may happen you may love a thing that is bad for you. Allah knoweth, ye know not."
- Surah 11-126 "Let the people of the Gospel judge by that which Allah hath hath rev r evel eled ed ther therei ein. n. Whoso Whos o judg judg eth not that that whic which h Allah All ah hath hath rev re vealed eale d; such s uch are evil evil doers ." - Surah 5-47 "O ye that believe. Take not the Jews and Christians for friends. They are friends one to another. He among you who taketh friends is (one) of them. Lo, Allah guideth not wrongdoing rongdoing folk folk ." - Surah S urah 5 -51 -5 1 "O ye who believe. Choose not for friends such of those who received the Scriptures before you, and of the
disbelievers, as make jest and sport of your religion. But kee your duty to Allah if ye are true." - Surah 5-57
The following passages from the Koran illustrate the desi des ire of o f Musl Mus lims to fight gh t agai ag ains nstt non n on Mus lims . "Then when the sacred months have passed, slay the idolaters wherever you find them, and take them (captive), an besiege them, and prepare for them each ambush." - Surah 9 5 "Fight against such of those who have been given the Scripture as believeth not in Allah nor the Last Day, and not that which Allah hath forbidden by His messenger, and follo not the religion of truth, until they pay the tribute readily, being brought low." - Surah IX - 30
The purpose of sharing these with you is to demonstrate that the hatred exhibited by Haman and all of those like him resides in in the th e pages of the Kora Koran. n. It It is is als als o to s how that thos th osee who espo es pous usee Is Is lam must hate hat e Israel and s trive trive to t o des d estroy troy her h er,, i for no other reason than to remain true to the religion they adhere to. It seems very probable to me that the "man of sin" will come from this region preaching his hatred for Israel becau be causs e thi th is region is alread already y prepared prep ared to receive that th at message. Nevertheless, in the end the enemies of Israel will all fail for the King will save His people because He loves His bride bride.. Now I want to " s witc witch h gears ge ars"" as they th ey s ay and an d look oo k at
another anoth er of the les les s er feasts east s and dis dis cover som so me of its its s ecrets ecrets..
HIDDEN IN HANUKKAH "Now it was the Feast of Dedication in Jerusalem, and it was winter. And Jesus walked in the temple, in Solomon's porch." - John John 10:22-23 10:22 -23
Theologians have taught that the four centuries between the prophecy of Malachi until John the Baptist are the "four hund hu ndrred year y earss of si s ilence." This This is to mean that t hat dur du ring this ti t ime nothing of a spiritual nature (i.e. a word from God) happened unti un till John began beg an to t o pr p reach " Repent epen t for the King Kingdo dom m of Heaven Heaven is at hand" (Matthew 3:2). If, as it is taught, there was no word from from the th e Lord Lord then th en there t here was no n o proph p rophetic etic anoi ano inti nt ing eith either er.. This is not totally true. There was a significant spiritual event that occurred, but because it is considered "Jewish," most Christian theologians choose to ignore it. The event, which occurs almost two centuries before Christ, involves the Temple emple in in Jerus Jerus alem alem,, an evi ev il dictator dictato r by the th e nam n amee of o f Antiochu An tiochuss Ep ip h anes an es IV, and an d an a n alleg alleged ed miracle. These events gave cause for the Jews to commemorate Han uk k a h , or them in an eight day festival called Hanuk "Dedication." What makes this minor feast day so interesting to us as Christians is that Jesus obviously observed it; the pas pa s s age ag e in John Joh n is evi ev idenc de ncee of thi th is . In fact, the th e p ass as s age ag e in John is the th e only o nly men mention tion of o f this this feast feas t in the th e Bi Bible! Furthermore, Furthermore, the fact that Jesus, the Light of the World, goes into the Temple during this time is a hint of the nature of this feast. I bel be lieve ev e it is to be a p icture ct ure of anot an othe herr future futu re even ev entt - the th e
rebui rebu ild ing of the t he Temple emple in Jerus alem. alem. The First Temple was destroyed by the Babylonians in about 606 BC. That Temple was rebuilt by Nehemiah, Ezra and thos tho s e returning returning to Is rael during during the Pers Pers ian era, era, howbeit, howbeit, in in the midst of trouble. Eventually the Greeks overthrew the Persians under Alexander the Great. As powerful and dominating as he was, as , Alexan Alexander der neve n everrthel th eles esss was extrem extremel ely y tol to lerant of the th e Jews and their Temple practices. That changed, though, when he died in Baby Babyllon. on . When he died, he left no instructions regarding his kingdom and thus, the vast Grecian empire was divided into four parts. One of those divisions was the Seleucids (Syria). From From thi th is group grou p aros a rosee Ant A ntiiochus och us IV, the man who woul wou ld s ubject ubject the Jews Jews to cruel tyranny and an d in in the th e process become become a picture pictu re of the th e Ant A ntiichri ch riss t. Like Pharaoh and Agag, Antiochus is actually a title given to the monarchs of Syria during this era. There were actually thirteen different monarchs who ruled for close to two centuries. Antiochus Epiphanes (which means "the risen god") invaded Israel in part because of their refusal to acknowledge him him or any of the other o ther pagan gods go ds as deity. deity. When he invaded Israel, he overran Jerusalem and the Temple, changing laws so that the Jew's obedience to the Law of Moses would be deemed illegal. He removed the rightful Temple priests and replaced them with Greek priests. He forbade the Temple offerings and sacrifices, the keeping o Sabbath, circumcision, and celebrating the Feasts of Israel. To add insult to injury, he sacrificed unclean animals, primarily swine, upon the holy altar. He built altars, shrines and images dedicated to Zeus with the Temple compound. As a result,
many Jews fled and went into hiding. For this reason, Jewish and Christian commentators have concluded that this fulfilled certain certain proph p rophecies ecies of Daniel Daniel.. "And forces shall be mustered by him, and they shall defile the sanctuary fortress; then they shall take away the daily sacrifices, and place there abomination of desolation." aniel 11:31
There were devout Jews who quickly tired of this tyranny. One of them was a priest known as Mattathias. The Greek tried to compel him to sacrifice swine and when he resisted, a confrontation ensued which resulted in the death of a Greek at the hands of Mattathias. Thus began the Maccabean revolt which hich would eventuall even tually y be b e led led by b y one o ne of o f Mattathias' Matt athias' fi five s ons on s , Judah Maccabee. According to tradition, the revolt began on the 25th of the Ki slevv. Three years later to the day, the Jews Hebrew month Kisle who had turned back to the Greeks, rededicated the Temple in Jerusalem. They made new doors, new curtains, rebuilt the Altar, and rekindled the Holy Menorah. In fact, the Menorah takes takes center cent er s tage in this this s tory. tory. sha mash "servant" - of the Menorah The main lamp - the shamash was supposed to bum day and night. Upon removing the pol po lluti ut io n and an d debris de bris from from the th e Temple, emple, it was disco dis cove vered red that th at there was only one container of holy oil sufficient for just one day. According to legend, that oil lasted for eight days, just enough time until more of the holy oil could be prepared. This is why Hanukkah is also called the Festival of Lights - lights are ki kindl nd led for eigh eightt ni n ights gh ts..
So each year ye ar in in late Novem Nove mber or Decembe Decemberr (de (depen pending ding on on the year), Jews will light a nine-branched Hanukkah menorah (eight lights for the eight days of Hanukkah and one light to sha mash or servant light). They will eat mounds represent the shamash ge lt of potato pot ato cakes cakes call called latkes. The chi ch ildren wil will compe compete te for gelt (typically chocolate coins) with wooden dreidels (a four-sided top). On each side of the top there is inscribed a different nun, gimel, Hebrew letter. The four different letters hei he i , and shin shi n form the acrostic,
nes ne s
adol hayah sham - "a great g reat mi miracle racle happ h appene ened d there." t here."
All of this activi a ctivity ty and an d cel ce lebr eb ration is des d esiigned gn ed to t o remem remember ber what happened so long ago. What I would like to do now is examine what future events this story may allude to, namely thos th os e inv involvi olving ng the th e future futu re Tem Temple. ple.
THE TRIBULATION TEMPLE For close to two-thousand years no Temple has stood upon up on Moun Mo untt Mori M oriah ah in Jerus alem alem.. Tod Today, ay, the th e Mos Mo s que qu e of o f Om Omar, ar, bett be tter er known as the th e Dome Dome of the th e Rock, oc k, s its atop at op the th e hol ho ly mountain. There are, however, certain prophecies that foretell of a future temple that will be built in Jerusalem that will factor prom pro min ently en tly in in the t he s even ev en-yea -yearr Tribu ribullati at ion. on . For instance, the prophecy found in Daniel 9:27 indicates that, during this final seven year period, the Antichrist will cause "the sacrifice and oblation to cease." The "sacrifice" alludes to the sacrificial offerings at the Temple in Jerusalem. Some would suggest this was fulfilled already since no Jewish Temple exists. Notice, however that Paul speaks of the coming
man of sin sin and s ays that he: h e: "Opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God, or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple o God, od, s howi howi ng himsel hims elff that he is i s God." od." - 2 Thes Thesss alonian lonianss 2:4
This man who will sit in the Temple of God will also be "destroyed by brightness" by Christ's coming (2 Thessalonians 2:8). All of this this is to s ay that, t hat, if if the s ame ame person pers on who sits in the Temple causing Temple sacrifices to cease is ali alive at Chris hris t's comi coming, ng , there the re has to be a future futu re Tem Temple ple for him him to sit in. In addition to these passages, the Book of Revelation plain plain ly s tate ta tess that th at there th ere wil will indeed nd eed be a Temp emp le in Jerusalem Jerus alem duri du ring ng the th e Tribu ribullation. "Then I was given a reed like a measuring rod. And the angel stood, saying 'Rise and measure the temple of God, the altar, and those who worship there. But leave out the court which is outside the temple, and do not measure it; for it has been given to the Gentiles. And they will tread the holy city underfoot for forty-two months.' " -Revelation 11:l-2
If there is no Temple now, but there is one during the Tribul bu lation ation,, then it onl o nly y makes akes s ens e that th at at s ome ome poi p oint nt before before or at the beginning of the seven years, efforts to rebuild the Holy Temple will begin. After studying this for years, I am going to suggest to the reader that this Temple will be constructed in Jerusalem during the first forty-two months o the th e Tri Tribu bullation. Here are my my reason reas onss .
Orth Orthod odox ox Jews Jews bel be lieve ev e that t hat the th e proph p rophet et Elijah will reap reappea pear r in the th e futu futurre and annou ann ounce nce the t he com co ming of the Mes s iah. This This , is is of course, bas ed on o n the th e prophecy proph ecy in Malachi Malachi 4: 4:5, which which says s ays:: "Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD." - Malachi 4:5
Christ Himself stated that, "Elijah must first come and restore all things" (Matthew 17:11). I believe that part of this restoration will be when Elijah appears as one of the two witnesses in Revelation 11 to assist in the rebuilding of the Temple. There is a noted professor in Jerusalem who has spent thousands of hours studying the Temple, its ancient location and the process of rebuilding the House of God. He admits that, under normal and peaceful circumstances, the process would not take that long. However, because of certain required prayers pray ers and an d ritu rituals als duri du ring ng cons co ns truction truc tion and an d the th e s ubs ub s eque eq uent nt dedication, the process would take about three-and-one-hal years, or forty-two months. In fact, he suspects that when the time comes to rebuild it, the process will begin in the fall with the th e Tem Temple ple being ded d ediicated cat ed at a t the t he ti t ime of o f Pas Passs over ov er.. This is very interesting considering that the two witnesses, one being Elijah, are empowered for forty-two months on ths before before being being s lain ain by the Beas Beast. t. If If the pr p roces s began beg an at the beginning of the Tribulation and concluded forty-two months later -at the midpoint of the Tribulation - the Antichrist would invade Jerusalem, kill the two witnesses, take over the entire Temple Mount and stop any Temple rituals including the
s acrifi acrifice ce and an d oblati o blation on.. What does this have to do with Hanukkah? As we have learned, when this Temple is eventually erected, it will soon thereafter be polluted and defiled by another "Antiochus," the A nti nt ichri ch riss t. Li Like An A n tiochus tioch us IV, we we know kno w that tha t the t he A nti nt ichri ch riss t wil will not only present himself as being above God, but will intentionally defile God's house by setting up an abomination that makes desolate (Daniel 11:31). I believe that this "abomination" is the "image of the beas be ast" t" s poken po ken of in Revelation ev elation 13: 13:15. 15. Even ve n thou th ough gh the th e proph pro phecy ecy in Daniel is thou th ough ghtt to have ha ve been be en fulfi fulfillled by Antiochus IV - and it was - Christ confirms that the prophecy will be fulfilled again. "Therefore when you see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (whoever reads, let him understand), then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.''
- Matthew 24:15-16 That Matthew adds a parenthetical statement -"whoever reads, let him understand" - strongly suggests that the proph pro phecy ecy in Daniel was thou th ough ghtt to have ha ve been be en fulfi fulfilled in the th e wa s fulfilled and yet Christ's warning not only First century. It was says the prophecy will be fulfilled again, but connects the comi coming Antichri An tichriss t to t o his forerunn forerunner er Antiochu An tiochuss IV. That means ean s that, without a doubt, Hanukkah presents a picture of the future temple, its defilement and, ultimately the rededication o the Temple of God and the restoration of God's people. Now cons con s ider this this inter nte resti es ting ng s cenario. cenario.
The prophetic Scriptures give us certain numerical calculations to determine when certain things will happen. Many of these calculations center around the future Tribulation. For instance, the Bible makes sure we understand that th at the th e first first forty forty-tw -two o month on thss of the th e Tri Tribu bullation are 1,2 1,26 60 days (Revelation 11:3, 13-5). As we have already noted, the Antichrist will kill the two witnesses, defile the Temple and set up his image to be worshiped by millions in the middle of the s even eve n years y ears,, or after 1,2 1,26 60 days da ys . Now recall that th at A nti nt iochu oc huss defi de filled the th e Temple emple of God and an d set up an abominable image in its courts. History records that for three years, the Temple was desecrated until it was finally cleans cleansed ed and an d rededicated ededicated by b y the t he Maccabeans M accabeans.. Als Als o recall ecall that Daniel had predicted this would happen and centuries later Christ, quoting Daniel, predicted that it would happen again. But now n ow loo look k at what els els e Daniel Daniel had to t o say s ay abou ab outt thi th is event. even t. "And from the time that the daily sacrifice is taken away, and the abomination of desolation is set up, there shall be one thousand two hundred and ninety days." - Daniel Daniel 1 2:11
Again the first half of the Tribulation is 1,260 days. After this time, the Antichrist will kill the two witnesses. I believe that Daniel's prophecy indicates that thirty days later, he will set up the abomination that makes desolate which would account for the 1,290 days mentioned in Daniel 12: 11. When the two witnesses are killed at the midpoint of the Tribulation there would still be 1,260 days remaining in the Tribulation. ow Daniel Daniel records that: th at:
"Blessed is he who waits, and comes to the one thousan threee hund thre hundre red d and thirty-fi thirty-fiv ve days." ays ."
- Daniel Daniel 12:12 1 2:12 This prophecy suggests the possibility that the cleansing of the Temple that has been defiled by the Antichrist may occur during Hanukkah just as it had occurred centuries before. be fore. Here Here is is how ho w this is pos po s s ible. When Wh en Christ returns retu rns to the th e earth with with the t he s aint aintss at the th e end of the Tri Tribu bullation (Jude 14), 14), that th at will mark the end of the second 1,260 day period. All the clues given in the seven biblical feasts indicate that this will be duri du ring ng the th e fall fall - the time time of o f Ros Ros h Hasha Has hana na,, Yom Kipp Kippur ur and an d Tabernacles. Specifically, we understand that Christ will judge the nation na tionss o n s ome ome future fut ure Yo Yo m Kipp Kippur ur which falls falls on 10 Ti Tis hri. hri. Still, the prophecy of Daniel says the blessing is upon those who can wait wait unt u ntiil the th e 1,3 1,335th day. In In oth o ther er words words , if if this future futu re Yom Kipp Kippur ur si s ignal gn alss the th e end en d of the th e last 1,26 ,260 days , there the re are stil s tilll seventy five days until the blessing of Daniel 12:12 is realized. Interestingly Interes tingly enou en ough gh,, beginning at a t Yom Yom Kipp Kippur ur and coun co unting ting forward seventy-five days brings us to 25 Kislev on the Hebrew eb rew calendar calenda r. That day d ay is the th e first first day da y of o f Hanu Hanuk kkah! ah ! We understand that the next temple will be defiled by the Antichrist and that this will occur at the midpoint of the Tribulation (Revelation 135). He will trample down the city o Jerusalem and "make war with the saints" (Revelation 13:7) for that three and one-half years. But when Christ returns and the Antichrist, the false prophet and their demonic kingdom are des troyed, troy ed, then th en Chri Chris t wil will s it upo u pon n His His Throne Thron e and rule rule for one on e thous tho usand and years. Yet, Yet, there seems seems to be b e a hint hint that t hat when He
returns, Christ will first cleanse the Temple Mount - a process that may last seventy-five days - and rededicate His Temple during Hanukkah; a festival, by the way, that celebrates the "Light of the World." And so, the prophecy encoded in the story of Hanukkah, like the story of Purim, paints a picture for us of those things that will occur during the seven year Tribulation and, most importantly, what the outcome will be. At the end of that time, Christ will return to save His people and cleanse the Temple o God once on ce and a nd for all all!
Chapter Eight SECRETS OF THE PARABLES A ccordi cco rdin n g to t o W.E W.E. Vines ne s Dict Dictiionary on ary,, a parable pa rable is is " placing of one thing beside another with a view to comparison. . . .It is a narrative drawn using nature, human circumstances, the obj ob ject of o f which which is to s et forth a spir s piriitual tu al mess es s age." ag e." Though the Bible is full of parables, the one most people are familiar with are the parables of Christ found in the Gospels. To teach in this parabolic manner was commonplace among rabbis of his day and thereafter. It was and is a way to convey deep spiritual concepts in an easy-to grasp word story. This is precisely precis ely what Chris hris t did; He taug ta ugh h t deep de ep thi th ings ng s in s imple ways. But besides employing the teaching methods of the day, it was was impor po rtant that Jesus Jesu s s pok po ke in in parables parables s o that th at the th e words words of the th e pr p rophet op hetss might gh t be b e fulf fulfilled. ed . "I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark sayings of old, which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us. We will not hide them from their children, telling them to the generation to come the praises o the LORD, and His strength, and His wonderful works that He has has done." one." - Psalm Ps alm 7 8 :2-4
Scri Scriptur ptu re teaches te aches us that this is exactl exactly y what Chris hris t di d id.
"But without a parable He did not speak to them; an when they were alone He explained all things to His dis cip ci ples le s ." - Mark 4:34 4:3 4
By teaching in this manner, He hid spiritual wisdom from the th e world world and a nd revealed it it to t o the t he chi ch ildren of o f God God.. "Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. . . .There .T herefo fore re I s peak to them them in parab parable less , bec becau auss e s ee eeing ing they do do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand." - Matthew 13:11,13
Ultimately, all of the parables Jesus taught are intended to educate believers in the mysteries concerning the Kingdom o Heaven. In my opinion, they can be divided into three main groups each dealing with the specifics of these mysteries. The prim primary group gro up cont co ntains ains parables pa rables that th at teach te ach of the th e end en d of the th e age and an d Chri Chriss t's return. These parables parables reveal how vari various ou s end time attacks will occur and of the "age to come" when the Kingdom of God will take control of all nations. Furthermore, a study of the parables will reveal deeper truths often overlooked!
THE TIMING OF CHRIST'S RETURN Many early Christians believed that Christ would return in their day. Some Some even ev en beli believed that tha t it wou woulld be s o s oon, oo n, in in fact, that John the Belov eloved ed would not no t di d ie until u ntil Chris hris t returned (John 21:20-23). By studying the parables, it becomes apparent that
Chris hris t taugh tau ghtt that th at His His return would would occur o ccur in in the t he di d is tant tan t future. "After a long time the lord of those servants came an s ettled ettl ed acc account ountss wi th them." them." - Mat Matthew thew 2 5 :19 "It is like a man going to a far country, who left his house and gave authority to his servants, and to each his work, an commanded the doorkeeper to watch. Watch therefore, for you do not know when the master of the house is coming." - Mark 13:34-35
If you were to read the entirety of these parables, you woul ou ld s ee that th at the th e atti att itude tud e of peopl peo plee concerni co ncerning ng His comi coming is revealed. Apparently, the amount of time that passed in these stories is what made the people feel the Lord was not coming. Consider this account: "But if that evil servant says in his heart, 'My master is delaying his coming'. ..the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him and at an hour that he is not aware of." - Matthew 24:48,50
Again, the parable infers that the Lord doesn't return immediately or as soon as the servants expect, or else they woul ou ld have h ave behav b ehaved ed di d ifferent erentlly. They They woul ou ld not n ot have hav e beat bea t and an d mistreated their workers or ate and drank, becoming drunk (Luke 12:45).The parables tell us that "unprofitable servants" will be cut in two and appointed "his portion with the unbelievers" (Luke 12:46).
We see this in our day as well. Even though it is fast beco be com ming appa ap parent rent that th at we are in the th e end en d of days da ys , s till till peo p eople ple s coff and doub do ubtt as to His comi coming - jus jus t as Scri Scriptur ptu re predicted. predicted. "Knowing this first: that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, and saying, 'Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning eg inning of crea cre ation. tion.'' " - 2 Peter Pe ter 3:3-4 3 :3-4
Even though the parables hinted that the Lord's return would be "far away," at least from the perspective those early bel be lievers ev ers,, thos th os e s ame ame parables pa rables warne warned d all bel be lievers ev ers to be watching atc hing lest es t we mi mis s His His return. "Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord i s comi comi ng." ng." - Mat Matthew thew 2 4 :42
There are several Greek words translated as "watch." The gregor oreu euo o means "to keep a guard word used in this passage greg watch at night." Another word, koustodia , means means "to guard or keep watch over something." It is related to the Latin custodia from from which which we get our o ur Eng Engllis h word "cu " cuss tody. to dy."" In sho s hort, rt, Chris hris t is telling all believers to remain spiritually and morally alert; don't get lazy and careless for He is coming when you don't expect Him.
PREPARATION PARABLES There are four parables that speak very clearly about the
need for His people to remain sober and be prepared in anticipation of His coming. The parable of the ten virgins in Matthew 25 is one of these. In the parable all ten are awaiting the bridegroom's arrival. All ten apparently knew the bride groom was returning but He had delayed his appearing. They all brought lamps and oil for their vigil and they all fell asleep. Yet, et , whe when n the t he call came came at midni dn ight gh t tha t hatt the t he bride bridegro groom om was comi coming, ng , fi five were were prepared p repared and an d five five were not. no t. What was the difference? The five wise virgins had broug bro ught ht along alon g an additiona ad ditionall ves ve s s el of oil jus t in cas e the th e bride bridegro groo o m didn't didn 't com co me when they th ey thou th ough ghtt He woul wou ld. The foolish did not. When the shout came, the foolish were forced to go seeking oil - something they should have already done and were, consequently, shut out of the wedding chamber. They mi mis s ed thei th eirr oppo op porrtuni tun ity becaus b ecaus e they weren't eren't prepared. In that same chapter, Jesus gives us the parable of the three servants who were given talents or money. All the servants were given a certain amount of money to invest; one was given five talents, one was given two talents and one was given one talent. The master took a long journey but then returned to take an account of the investments. In the parable, the two servants who had been given five and two talents, respectively, doubled their investment and were praised for thei th eirr accom acco mplis plis hment hmentss . The last servant who had been given only one talent had done nothing, citing his master's hard nature as the reason why. But the master reveals what the real issue is - wickedness and laziness. In the end, this unprepared and unprofitable servant was cast into outer darkness. It could be argued that, not only was this servant lazy, but his wickedness was
expressed by his greed. In other words, he was not willing to use us e the resour resou rces he had been gi g iven to inves t in in the th e further furtheriing of the th e king kingdo dom m. In Matthew 22, Christ teaches the parable of the Wedding Feast in which a certain king sent out invitations to his son's wedding. Those who were bidden were too busy to come; some even killed his servants as they delivered the invitation. So the invitation went out into the highways and hedges to compel whosoever would to come. One of those who came did not wear the proper garments and was bound and thrown out. Then Chri Chriss t says s ays:: "For many are called, but few are chosen."
- Matthew 22:14 This Scripture is understood to mean, "All are called, few choose to answer the call." Those who were first bidden did not care to answer the call and some of those who did would not wear the proper garment. In other words, they did not prepare prep are them th emss elves for the th e weddi wedd ing by wearing wearing garm ga rmen ents ts o righteousness. Scripture says that the ones who are granted the privilege of coming to the Marriage Supper of the Lamb have hav e made ad e " them th emss elves elves ready" ready " (Reve (Revellation 19:7-8). -8). In all cases, the people and servants in these stories did not take the proper steps to prepare themselves spiritually and practi pract ically cally for the t he com co ming of the th e Mas Ma s ter te r. The Th e Mas Ma s ter te r was then th en forced to expose their wickedness and lack of preparation. What shoul s hould d they have done? They shou s houlld have been b een watchi watching ng and prayi praying ng s o that they th ey
"may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass" (Luke 21:36). They should have taken what they had been gi g iven and put it to the Master Mas ter''s use, us e, whether that be finances, talents or otherwise (Matthew 25:27). They should have kept their proper garments and not defiled them so that they may walk with him "in white" (Revelation 3:4). In short, it is our ou r res respo pons ns ibil bility to remai emain n s ober ob er and to t o do d o what we are told to do that we may stand before The Son of Man having prepared prep ared for thi th is enco en coun unte terr.
THE END TIME BATTLES "Another parable He put forth to them, saying The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field, but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way. But when the grain ha sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared. So the servants of the owner came and said to him, 'Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?' He said to them, 'An enemy hath done this.' The servants sai to him, 'Do you want us then to go and gather them up?' But he said, 'No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.' " -Matthew 13:24-30
Search the Scriptures and you will see that major battles have most often occurred during the time of harvest. In the Bible, the enemy would attack when the grain was about to be
collected to be taken into the barns. Here are just a few examples: Samson's battles were in the time of the wheat harvest (Judges 15: 1); Gideon's battles occurred in the time o the wheat harvest (Judges 6:11); David's battles were centered around the harvest time (2 Samuel 4:6); Rizpa lost her sons duri du ring ng the th e barl b arley ey harves ha rvestt (2 Sam Samue uell 21:9 1:9). Likewise, end time battles will occur at the time of harvest, which, according to Christ, is at the end of the age (Matthew 13:39). In man many y of the th e parabl p arables es,, and espec es peciiall ally in the th e parabl p arablee o the wheat and tares, tares, the th e harvest deals deals with gathering gathering s ouls into into the th e king kingdo dom m. "But when the grain ripens, immediately he puts in the s ick ic k le because ecaus e the harv harves es t has has come." come." - Mark Mark 4:29 4:2 9
Because of what harvest represents, this is also the time when the Adversary, the Devil, is most likely to strike. In the "Wheat "W heat and Tare" parable, parable, we we s ee that t hat the enemy enemy actual actu allly tried tried to undermine the harvest beforehand by sowing a poisonous s eed in the t he fiel field. d. Biblically speaking, the tares, also called darnel in many ziza n ion io n , which is actually translations, come from the Greek zizan zunim zun im. bel be lieved ev ed to be a trans tran s literation te ration of the th e Hebrew zun im is a According to commentator David H.Stern, zunim poi po is onou on ouss rye gras s that th at looks oo ks like wheat until un til the th e head he adss zun im is actually a degenerate appear. According to Judaism, zunim form form of whe wheat at whos who s e origins origins are traced to the th e Floo Flood. d.
Here is the point, the tare is not compatible with the wheat and, so as both these thes e seeds s eeds grow, grow, they are bound boun d to fight with with one another over the same water, the same nutrients and the
same patch of ground. This battle continues until the "time o the harvest h arvest." ." At that tim time, the reapers wil will des troy the th e seed s eed that th at the Devil has sown. Still, and this is the point, the struggle continues right up until that time. Therefore, as harvest - the end of o f the age - approaches approaches , we we shou s houlld not n ot be b e surpr s urpriis ed when attacks att acks from from the th e enem ene my com co me and battles bat tles break b reak out. ou t. Not only o nly that th at,, but thi th is parable pa rable teache teac hess us that th at the t he tares ta res are among the wheat. In other words, they live in the same field that the wheat does. This says to me that many of the battles we will face in the end times will come from our own churches, even our own families - the good live among the bad. Consider the parabl p arablee of the dragnet. dragnet . "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet that was cast into the sea and gathered some of every kind, which, when it was full, they drew to shore, and they sat down and gathere the good into vessels, but threw the bad away. So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come forth, separate the wicked from among the just, and cast them into the furnace o fire." - Matthew 13:47-50
When Wh en the t he net n et is full full - whi which ch s peaks of o f harves harves t -all -all types typ es o fish are pulled in. That means that good and bad, clean and uncl un clean ean or o r kosher os her and non n on--kos her are are gather gath ered ed in in the th e sam s amee net. In other words, the net doesn't distinguish between clean and unclean, it is those who have been given the job of sifting through the catch who make this determination. In the meantime clean fish and unclean fish swim in the same pool o waters.
Such is our situation here on earth. We are living among the unjust and so we should expect that as the net goes forth to gather the harvest, battles will break out as Satan tries to retain retain control con trol and unde un derm rmiine God's od 's Plan. Plan. Even Even s o, keep in mind that, in many of the parables that hint at battles and loss (e.g. Luke 15), the story ends with those who have suffered rejoicing!
ENCODED PARABLES Besi es ides the profou profound nd mess es s ages about abo ut lif life in in general g eneral or the warnings to stay prepared for the end of days, there are parables pa rables which which also have ha ve s omet omething hing uni un ique qu e hidden hidd en with withiin them. This hidden element is especially true when it comes to those of us who live in the West and who do not understand the Hebrew language or culture. In other words, many times Jesus says something that doesn't make sense to us, but made perf pe rfect ect s ens en s e to thos th os e living at that th at time. time. Stil Still, there th ere are thos th os e things that were hidden from everyone until it was time to under und erss tand them. them. In add a ddiition tion to the many parables parables,, this this hidd hidden en elem element ent als als o shows up in different events that occurred in the life of Jesus. For instance, after the Resurrection, Peter decided to return to fishing in the Galilee. On one particular morning, after fishing all night and catching nothing, the disciples spy a man they eventuall even tually y recogni recog nizze as being being Jesus Jesu s . They were were abl ab le to dis dis cern cern His identi den tity ty after after He He has ha s comm commanded and ed them to, "C " Cast as t the t he net on the right side of the boat and you will find some" (John 21:6). When they complied their empty net was filled and they knew the man was the Lord. When the bulging net was dragged to
s hore, ho re, the th e disci disc iples cou c ount nted ed a tot t otal al of 15 153 fis fis h; why 153? One theory is based on the notion that "153" is an important value in Hebrew thought. It is important because o the phrase, "I am the LORD your God." This phrase appears many times in Scripture, one of the most notable instances bei be ing found fou nd in Isaiah. Is aiah. "For I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior...Fear not for I am with you. I will bring your descendants from the east, and gather you from the west. I will say to the north, 'Give them up!' And to the south, 'Do not kee them back!' Bring My sons from afar, and My daughters from the ends of the earth." -Is aiah 43:3, 43 :3, 5-6
This passage is a prophecy of how, in the end of days, God will gath ga ther er all all of Hi His peop pe oplle from from the th e ends en ds of the th e earth and bring bring them th em into nt o their th eir inheri nh erita tanc nce. e. Keep in mind that th at the th e disciples had been called to be "fishers of men" (Matthew 4:9) and many times in Scripture, including an example in Isaiah, the seas are used to personify the nations or the gentiles - that is where he re the fis fis h are! a re! In this passage the Hebrew phrase "I am the LORD your ani an i YHVH eloheicha. YHVH eloheicha. So how is God" is the value 153 associated with this phrase? Because ancient civilizations did not have Arabic numerals (i.e. 0, 1, 2, 3, etc.), letters were also used to express values. In Hebrew this is called called "gem " gematri atria." a." By By sub s ubss tituting the t he num n umeri erical cal equival eq uivalen ents ts for each of o f the Hebrew Hebrew letters letters in the th e above abo ve phrase, p hrase, the th e sum s um of this this phras ph rasee is 153. 53. In othe ot herr words, words , when reading the th e Torah and an d Prophets many Hebrews would see the phrase "I am the LORD
your yo ur God God." ." as being equival eq uivalen entt to 153. When Wh en the th e discipl disciples es - the fi fis hers of o f men - saw sa w that they the y had h ad removed 153 fish from the seas, they knew the One who had commanded and authorized them was the LORD Himself. It s eems eems , then, that this catch cat ch of o f fis h is s ymbo ymbollic of going into into the nations and finding those that belong to Him. Interestingly enough, in the early 20th century, there were about one hund hu ndred red nati nat ions on s in the t he world. world. After Worl World d War II many an y nations na tions were divided and other nations formed so that by the close o the th e 198 1980s there th ere were were reportedly repo rtedly 153 153 nations in the th e world. world. If there there is is a connect con nectiion between thi t hiss and the 153 fis h, then the fact that the th e net was full ull hints hints , perhap perhapss , at the "f " fullnes ullnes s " o the Gentiles (Roman 11 :25). If that is so, then this story in John's gospel has an encoded message concerning the end tim times; es ; that th at is, when when you yo u s ee 153 153 nati nat ions on s in the t he world, world, then you yo u will know no w that the th e time time of o f the fullne fullness s of the th e Gen Gentil tiles es is at hand. han d. When that time comes, then soon "all Israel shall be saved." (Romans 11 :26). Another interpretation of the significance of the 153 fish comes to us from one of the early Christian fathers, St. Augustine. In his opinion the number 100 alludes to the fulness of the Gentiles (Genesis 15:13), the number 50 alludes to the th e full fullnes s of Israel (L (Levi ev iticus 23) and the th e num n umber ber 3 all alludes ud es to the Godhead (1 John 5:7). Therefore, the number 153 would all allude ud e to full fullnes s or completi completion on.. There is another link between Christ and the number 153 and this one involves the Greek alphabet. Like Hebrew, the Greek letters ett ers can be interchan nt erchange ged d for numbe numbers. rs. The three th ree Greek Greek letters IXO, which are an early abbreviation of ICHTUS, form an acrosti acrost ic, "Jesus "Jes us Chris hris t God God's 's Son and Savior Savior." ." Thes e letters letters
in Greek total 153. Therefore the 153 fish would be a hidden all allus ion that tha t Jesus Jes us Chris hris t was tr t ruly uly the th e son s on of God God.. Are all of these points of interest only strange coincidences, or a deeper meaning that must be researched? I we beli believe and under und erss tand the concept co ncept of how stor sto ries can hol ho ld keys to deeper deep er under und erss tanding, tanding, then these th ese thi t hings ngs are are pos s ible. ble. There are many other parables that Jesus taught and many other messages contained within, but all of them lead to this conclusion - all His people shall be saved! To address all of the parables pa rables woul wou ld be close clos e to impos po s s ib le, bu b u t I hav h avee tried tried to give the reader a good idea of how Jesus' parables, as well as other notable events in Scripture, are there to paint a picture of the end of days . Now Now,, there is is one on e more more is is s ue I wi wis h to dis dis cus s and that is the final climactic battle before the kingdoms of this world orld becom bec omee the t he kingdo ng dom ms of our o ur God God and an d of His His Chris hris t.
Chapter Chapter Nine THE ARMAGEDDON CODE "That whic "That which h has bee een n is i s what wi wi l l be; that whic which h is i s done is is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun." Eccles ias ias tes 1:9 "That which is has already been, and what is to be has already been; and God requires an account of what is past." Eccles ias ias tes 3:15
With With all all the prophec prop heciies fulfi fulfillled in the th e last centu cen turry, even in our lifetime, there are still major prophecies that remain unfulfilled. As we begin this chapter, I want to deal with two predi pred icti ct ions on s that th at have ha ve not no t happ ha ppen ened ed,, but bu t are clearly clearly on the th e horizon. The prophecies I am referring to deal with two Middle Eastern cities that are set for future destruction - Gaza and Damascus. The Prophet Isaiah predicted in specific terms that, in the future, futu re, many nati nat ions on s would see s ee des d estruct tructiion. on . Here Here are are a few. few. Bab Babylon ylon (Is (Is aiah 13). 13). Moab Mo ab or Jordan (Is (Is aiah aiah 15). Damas Damascu cuss or Syria Syria (Isai (Isa iah 17). The land beyo be yond nd Ethi th iopi op ia (Is (Is aiah aiah 18).
Egy Egypt pt (Is (Is aiah 18). 18). Arabia A rabia (Is (Is aiah 21). 21). As I said, he made specific predictions about these nations. For example, he says of Egypt that this nation will experience bitter infighting, civil war perhaps: "Egyptian will fight against Egyptian" (Isaiah 19:2). Isaiah speaks in concert with other prophecies all of which further predict that Egypt will ultimately be conquered and suffer intense natural disasters (Isaiah 19:4-5; Daniel 11:40-45; Revelation 16:12). The point here is to show just how specific these proph pro phecies ecies are and an d how ho w othe ot herr proph pro phecies ecies com co mp lemen ementt what Isaiah saw and wrote. That being said, I want to look at the specifics of another Isaiah prophecy, one dealing with the futur utu re of the th e city city of Dam Damas ascus cus .
THE DEATH OF DAMASCUS "The burden against Damascus. Behold Damascus will cease from being a city, and it will be a ruinous heap. The cities ci ties of Aroer Aroer are forsaken. fors aken. They They wil willl be for flock flockss , which which lie l ie down, and no one will make them afraid. The fortress also will cease from Ephraim, the kingdom from Damascus, and the remnant of Syria; They will be as the glory of the children o Is rael, rael , saith s aith the the LORD LORD of of hos hos ts." ts ." - Is aiah 1 7 :l-3
At about 4,000 years old, Damascus is one of the oldest cities in the world, if not the oldest. Its ancient history dates back ba ck at leas t to the th e time time of A braham brah am and an d is mention en tioned ed in Genesis 14: 15.
"Among ancient cities of the world, Damascus is perhaps the oldest continuously inhabited. Its name, Dimashq in Arabic...derives from dimashka, dimashka , a word of pre-Semitic origin suggesting that the beginning of Damascus goes back to a time before recorded history" - Encycl Encyclop oped edii a Bri B ritan tannic nica a
It is is beli believed to t o have h ave been s ettled ettled becaus becau s e it it was was a deser des ertt oasis making it extremely valuable to all those who made their way to the Syrian capital. Still, through the years it has been attacked, its vineyards and orchards destroyed, but always spared total destruction. And despite being in the middle o s everal eve ral wars with with Israel, Israel, mi miraculou raculouss ly, it it has h as cont co ntiinued nu ed as a city to this day. The Bible predicts, however, that Damascus' days are are num n umbered. bered. Why Wh y and how ho w wi will this des truction truction occur occu r? When you consider how the destruction of Damascus affects other regions, the "why" starts to come into focus. The proph pro phecy ecy poi po ints nt s out ou t that th at the th e rami ramificat ficatiions on s of Damas Damascu cuss ' downfall will also bring an end to "Aroer" and the "fortress o Ephraim." Aroer is found in what is now south central Jordan. The fortress of Ephraim, I believe, is referring to lands in Israel that were deeded to Ephraim the son of Joseph. These lands are now referred to by most of the world as the West Bank. So it seems that whatever conflagration destroys Damascus will als als o affect affect a par p artt of o f Jordan Jordan and an d the t he West Wes t Bank. Bank. In the end, Damascus will be no more and those who had heretofor hereto foree cont co ntrol rollled parts p arts of Jorda Jordan n and an d the t he West Wes t Ban Bank k wil will be conquered if not destroyed themselves. In short, this sounds like the war that brings an end to the so-called "IsraeliPalestinian" conflict. The strong inference here is that Israel
will be the th e vi v ictor cto r but bu t at a great g reat pri p rice ce (Isaiah 17: 17:4-9). -9). The cos t to to Israel will be that only a remnant will remain after the destruction! Obviously, Isaiah is describing a cataclysmic event even t that th at wil will, no dou d oubt, bt, reverberate reverberate around aroun d the t he world world caus ca usiing nations to be in an uproar and, eventually, attempting to force "peace" "p eace" upon upo n the regi region. on. "Woe to the multitude of people, who make a noise like the roar of the the s eas, eas , and to the the rrus ushing hing of nat nations ions,, that that make make a rushing like the rushing of mighty waters! The nations will rush like the rushing of many waters; but God will rebuke them and they will flee far away, and be chased like the chaff o the mountains before the wind; like a rolling thing before the whirlwind. Then behold, at eventide, trouble! And before the morning, he is no more. This is the portion of those who plunder us, and the lot of those who rob us." - Is Is aiah 17:12-1 17:1 2-14 4
A war that destroys Syria, adversely affects the current status of the West Bank and parts of Jordan, and causes nations to attempt to plunder Israel sounds like the logical outcome of the current political and military situation evolving in the Middle East. The truly interesting part of this is what transpir trans pires es afterw afterwar ards ds when nations come come rushi rus hing ng in to t o rob and plunde plun derr Israel Is rael.. Isai Isa iah s ays ay s that th at they th ey wil will be b e des de s troyed troy ed - in the th e evening! So, not only will there be a war that destroys Syria, but bu t thi th is appa ap parent rentlly inci nc ites te s ano an o ther th er war jus t as des de s tructive, truc tive, i not no t more more so. so . Moreover, I am of the opinion that what Isaiah describes as the result of Damascus' destruction (the nations rushing as
many waters) sounds very similar to what Ezekiel described in chapters 38 and 39 of his book - the war of Gog and Magog. Consider that Ezekiel describes an invasion of forces from the north who: Com Comee like like a cl c lo ud cove co veri ring ng the th e land lan d (38: (38:9 9) Co Co me to t o take ta ke a pl p lu n d er (38: (38: 12) 12) When Gog and his confederation invade Israel, the Scripture says that Israel is dwelling "safely" (Ezekiel 38:8), something they do not currently enjoy with the current situation. Furthermore, at the time of the invasion, they dwell safely in a land of "unwalled villages" (Ezekiel 38:11). In an effort to protect its citizens from terrorists who would cross from from Gaza aza and an d the th e West Wes t Bank int into o Israel, Israel, the nati nat ion is curr cu rrent entlly constructing a wall to separate Israel from the so-called West Bank. If there was a decisive war that changed the status quo in the West Bank, there would be no need for a wall - "all o them dwelling without walls" (Ezekiel 38:11) - but would incite many nations against agains t them th em.. When Gog comes into the land, God says that He will turn them back with sudden and horrific destruction (Ezekiel 38:22, 39:6). Gog's armies will fall on the mountains of Israel (Ezekiel 39:4) and will be buried in the "valley of the passengers on the east of the sea" (Ezekiel 39:11). This particular passage is fasci as cinating nating when you yo u con c onss ider how ho w it it reads in the t he Hebrew text. text. gai ga i ha The phrase "valley of the passengers" is abarim - the Abarim valley.
Look oo k on a map map and an d you y ou wil will s ee that t hat the th e Aba A bari rim m mount ou ntai ains ns
and the Abarim valley lie just east of the Dead Sea in present day Jordan! But Ezekiel says this valley burial ground will be in Israel. The only way I can see for this prophecy to occur as described would mean, before Gog's armies invade the mount ou ntai ains ns of Israel, Israel, there the re wou woulld hav h avee been b een a pri p rior or war in which the West Bank and parts of Jordan came under Israeli control. Isaiah's prophecy said that the cities of Aroer (part of Jordan) would be forsaken! You mus t also als o con c onss ider that th at Gog Gog's 's arm a rmiies are confi con fiden dentt that they the y wil will be abl ab le to come come and take a spo s poiil. Is Is it becaus b ecaus e the th e war with Damascus and others has left the Israelis weakened? Remember, this is what Isaiah described. Not only that, but look at the roster of nations who invade Israel in Ezekiel's proph pro phecy ecy and an d you yo u wil will not n otiice that th at Syria Syria is not no t mention en tioned ed.. Is it becau be causs e s he is no more? In the th e end en d , Go d's peop pe oplle wil will " h ave av e respect for the Holy One of Israel" (Isaiah 17:7) and His name will be known "in the midst of My people . . .then the nations shall know that I am the LORD, the Holy One of Israel" (Ezekiel 39:7).
THE WMD FACTOR In my opinion, an Israeli war with Syria and other terror Hezbo lla a h and Hamas could be the explosion groups such as Hezboll that ignites the entire Middle Eastern powder keg. The total annihilation of Damascus hints that Israel may employ nonconventional weapons which would, of course, provoke other hos ho s til tile nati nat ions on s to retali etaliate. But But what is the s park that lights gh ts the fuse? First, it should be noted that both Hamas and Hezbollah
receive instructions and support from Damascus. Not only that, but the leaders of both organizations reside in Damascus and from there th ere make make threats agai ag ains ns t Israel Is rael.. Cou Couple ple this with the th e fact that t hat Syri Syria's leaders leaders hip hip woul ou ld love ov e noth n othiing more than to be the state that accomplishes what a vast confederation o Muslim states have been unable to do so far - destroy Israel once on ce and an d for all all, but how? h ow? Recently, a Syrian reporter living in France leaked information concerning an alleged cache of weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) inside of Syria. According to the reporter, a friend in Syrian intelligence told him precisely where the weapons eapo ns were buried. buried. Suppos Suppo s edly, edly, thes e WMDs W MDs are locate located d in three subterranean sites in Syria. They were allegedly purcha pu rchass ed by the th e Syrian Syrian Defen Defenss e Minister Minist er for fifty fifty million dol do llars - but bu t from from who whom m? Ali Ibrahim al Tikriti, the Southern regional commander for Saddam Hussein, oversaw vast amounts of Iraqi chemical and biologi biolog ical weapons weapo ns . A l Tikriti riti defecte de fected d in 1991 991 and an d s ubs ub s equent equ entlly verif verified that tha t Saddam Sadd am did, did, in in fact, have hav e a moderate od erate ars ars enal of WMD WM Ds . An Iraqi known as George Sada was once one of Saddam's top two Air Force officers. He has stated that these weapons were moved to Syria six weeks before the second Gulf War bega be gan. n. He claim claims that th at two Iraq Iraqii A irway rwayss Boei oe ing jets et s were were converted into cargo planes. Posing as regularly scheduled comm commercial ercial fl flights gh ts , thes e pl p lanes ane s flew flew undet un detect ected ed into nt o Syria Syria and an d deli delivered thes th esee weapons to the Syri Syrians . In In all, all, Sada Sada s aid aid it took too k fifty-six flights to accomplish this, but that they were all relocated. Not too to o lo ng ago, ag o, the th e King Kingdo dom m of Jordan Jorda n s uppo up poss edl ed ly
seized twenty tons of dangerous chemicals from al Qaeda operatives. The cargo included VX, Sarin and seventy other types of chemicals that had the potential to kill as many as 80,000 people. The report stated that the deadly contraband was being transported by trucks and that the trucks had origina originate ted d in Syria. Syria. Am A mazi azingl ng ly, the th e med mediia s aid very v ery litt littlle. Here is the point: no significant amounts of WMDs were found in Iraq, much to the dismay of the Bush Administration and an d the t he U.S. U.S.,, for for that th at matte at terr. Yet, et , int intell elliigenc ge ncee sou s ources rces were were convinced that the offending material was there before the war. Where Wh ere did it it al a ll go? go ? Al A ll roads s eem to lead to Syria. Syria. If Saddam Sadd am's 's WMDs did end up in Syria, what might Bashar Assad and his henchmen do with it? Is it possible that the Syrian despots might release some of these weapons to groups such as ezbollah or o r Hamas? Would these groups use these types o weapons against the Israelis? One thing is for sure; if they did us e the t hem m, Is Is rael woul wou ld retali ret aliat atee in overw ov erwhe hellming force.
THE GAZA PROPHECY Hezbo llah ah's 's armies are While the rank and file of Hezboll concent con centrrated in Leban Lebanon on,, Hamas 'militias are centered primarily in the Gaza strip. This is the area that was once home to the anci anc ient Phil Philis tines! tines !
The people who are today called Palestinians claim that their heritage goes back to these ancient people, who were constant antagonists where Israel was concerned. Frankly, their ancestry is a matter of debate but what is crystal clear is that thes the s e peopl peo plee are are demand demandiing a s over ov erei eign gn s tate of o f their own, presum pres umab ablly to be called called " Pales Palestine," tine," with with its capi cap ital ta l bei be ing eas t
Jerusalem. Scripture does refer to "Palestine" by name in about ten different passages, but seldom in a positive way, Here are a coup co uplle of o f exam examples ples.. "Indeed, what have you to do with Me, O Tyre and Sidon, and all the coasts of Philistia (Palestine)? Will you retaliate against Me? But if you retaliate against Me, swiftly an speedily I will return your retaliation upon your own head." Joel 3:4
I shoul sho uld d poi p oint nt out o ut her h eree that the contex con textt of this this pass pas s age in in Joel addresses those who seek to part or divide the land o Israel and cast lots for His people (Joel 3:2-3) "Do not rejoice, all of you of Philistia (Palestine) because the rod that that struck s truck you you is broken: rok en: For For out of the ser s erp pent's root root will come forth a viper, and its offspring will be a fiery flying serpent. The firstborn of the poor will feed, and needy will lie down in safety; I will kill your roots with famine, and it will slay your remnant. Wail, O gate! Cry, O city! All you o Philistia are dissolved, for smoke will come from the north, and no one will be alone in his appointed times. What will they answer the messengers of the nation? That the LORD has founded Zion, and the poor of his people shall take refuge in it." - Is aiah aiah 14:29 14 :29-32 -32
The point is, at least as far as these two verses are concerned, Philistia or Palestine will be destroyed at some poi po int in the th e future. futu re. If Phili Philis tia is to be unde un ders rsto tood od as the th e
ancient abode of the Philistines, then the area now called the Gaza strip is set for future destruction. Considering that this is the region region that s pawned pawned and cur cu rrently ently hous h ous es the ter t errror group group Hamas, it is not too difficult to understand why that might happe hap pen. n. Furthermore, Furthermore, I thi th ink it it is interes nt eresting ting that t hat no Israeli Israelis live there anymore - they were forcibly removed from the area. Keep in mind what we have learned about the destruction of Dam Damas ascus cus and the reverberation everberationss that will be felt elt around aroun d the world. Remember that when Damascus is destroyed, parts o Jordan and the entire West Bank will be vanquished by Israel. With that in mind, look at what Amos has to say concerning Damas Damascu cuss or Gaz Gaza. a. "For three transgressions of Damascus, and for four, I will not turn away its punishment, ... I will also break the gate bar of Damascus, ...For three transgressions of Gaza, and for four, I will not turn away its punishment; because they took captive the whole captivity to deliver them up to Edom. But I will send a fire upon the wall of Gaza, which shall devour its palaces .... and the remnant of the Philistines shall perish, says the Lord GOD." -Amos 1:3,5-8
In other oth er words words Amos Amos predicts that, th at, not no t onl on ly wil will Damas Damascus cus be des de s troyed troy ed,, but bu t joining joining her he r wi will be Gaza. aza. In fact, not n ot jus t Gaz Gazaa but bu t Tyre, Tyre, Edo Edom m and an d parts p arts of Jordan Jorda n (Am (A mos 1:9-1 9-15). Theref The refore, ore, it it seems to me that the fire that comes upon "the wall of Gaza" also falls, maybe simultaneously, upon Damascus and her pupp pu ppet et s tate ta te Leban eb anon on (Tyre), (Tyre), upon up on the th e West Wes t Bank an k (Edo (Edom m) and an d parts pa rts of Jordan Jorda n (Amm (Ammon). on ). This certai certa inly s eems eems to agree ag ree with with the scenar s cenariio that Is aiah's aiah's prophecy pr p resents es ents..
There are other prophecies concerning the Gaza Strip's future that makes a clear statement: there are those who live in that region who have h ave provok provo ked the Holy oly One of o f Is Is rael. ael. "For Gaza shall be forsaken and Ashkelon desolate." Zephaniah 2:4 "Ashkelon shall see it and fear, Gaza also shall be very s orrowful, orrowful, . . . the the king k ing s hall hall per eris is h from Gaza." aza." - Zec Zecha hari riah ah 9:5
I will ask the same question that I asked concerning Damascus: Why and how does the destruction come? Once again "why" seems obvious to me. The fanatics in Gaza, those who comprise the ranks of Hamas and similar terror groups will stop at nothing when it comes to destroying the Israelis. They are perfectly willing to use themselves and their children as weapons to murder noncombatants, including women and children. Thus far their tactics have killed dozens at one time, but bu t what hap ha p pens pe ns if they th ey decide de cide to u s e oth o ther er types typ es of weapons weapo ns that th at are a re far far more more des d estruct tructiive? Let me me put p ut it this t his way. way. If Damas amascus cus has WMD WM Ds and the leadership of Hamas is in Damas amascus cus , is is n't it just jus t a matt matter er of time time before b efore Hamas operatives are given these weapons to carry out murderous attacks that can yield far more Israeli deaths? If that happens and the source of these weapons is connected to Syria and other neighboring accomplices, what might Israel be forced to do? In my opinion, the stage is being set now for the next major war and by that tha t I do not n ot mean the t he war of Gog Gog and Magog. Mago g. I beli believe that another will precede that one and this next war will further
cement cement Jerus Jerusal alem em as the " burdensom burdens omee stone" s tone" in the eyes ey es of the world (Zechariah 12:2-3). This may explain "why," but "how" does it come about? Again, it seems Israel may be forced to respond in a very determined and very destructive way, perhaps even using nonconventional weapons. If this were to occur, then imagine what the world's response would be. There would be some like the United nited Nation Nationss who would try to enforce sancti san ction onss upon up on Isr Is rael unti un till they s urrend urrender ered ed their t heir weapons eapo ns and conqu con quered ered terri territories tories.. When that failed, there would be those who would undertake military action to seize Israel's WMDs (Ezekiel 38 & 39), maybe using George Bush's reasons for going into Iraq as their us tifi tificati cat ion for goi go ing into nt o Israel Is rael.. In the end this is what becomes obvious; this will set the stage for the Antichrist and ultimately Armageddon. Going back ba ck to the th e proph pro phecy ecy in Isai Isa iah 14 conc co ncerning erning Phili Philis tia we s ee that when Palestine is broken, not to mention Damascus and other nearby enemies, something deadly arises from the ashes of the des tructi truction. on. "For out of the serpent's root will come forth a viper, an its offspring will be a fiery flying serpent."
- Is Is aiah 14:29 14 :29 To put it into plain language, when this war concludes, soon after a viper will come onto the scene and give birth to a "flying fiery serpent." It is interesting that this description closely resembles the emblem of the PLO. But even more interesti nteres ting ng is what Scri Scriptur ptu re says s ays will occur occu r at the end e nd of days .
"And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great fiery red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and seven diadems on his heads."
- Revelation 12:3 This red or "flame colored" dragon (better rendered "serpent") is mentioned thirteen times in the book o Revelation. This is the beast that will arise just before Christ returns to s it upon up on His Throne in in Jerusalem. Jerusalem. It It appears app ears that th at the th e Beast is given opportunity to arise because of the continual s tate of war war in in the t he Mi M iddl dd le Eas East, t, not no t to t o mention that t hat many of the nations who are currently dominant powers will be reduced to almost nothing. These wars will create a vast power vacuum in the region giving the Antichrist the convenience of walking onto a political stage that has been cleared of the significant obstacles. Consequently, the table will be set for the last great batt ba ttlle the th e world world knows kno ws as A rmag rmaged eddo don. n.
GIDEON AND ARMAGEDDON "And they gathered them together to the place called in Hebrew, Armag Armageeddon." -Revel Revelat ation ion 16 1 6 :16
After the Antichrist seizes power and creates unprecedented, global chaos for forty-two months, humanity will enter the last conflict and finally stand at the precipice o total annihilation. As the armies of the world prepare to march on Jerusalem, they will gather in a 200 square mile valley at the Har Megid iddo don n . This valley is commonly foot of a hill called Har Meg referred to in Scripture (over thirty times) as the valley o
Jezree Jezreell, which mean ea n s " Go d will will s o w." The history of this valley is synonymous with agriculture and, unfortunately, war and bloodshed. It is fair to say that most of the ancient military powers have fought here. The reason for that is due to its strategic location; it is the cros crosss road of the Levan Levant, t, the ferti fertille crescent crescen t that th at stretches s tretches from Egypt to Mesopotamia. In the ancient world, if Egypt wanted to invade Syria or if Babylon wanted to invade Egypt, all roads led through this valley. Consequently the valley has been s aturated wi with the bl b lood of thous thou s ands . One example of this bloody history is found in the book o Judges and the story of Gideon. As the story begins, the Midianites - people from the Arabian peninsula - had invaded Israel with no one willing to resist them. Consequently, they oppress op press ed the t he Israeli Israelis for seven sev en years y ears (Jud (Judges ges 6: 1). We are are tol to ld tha t hat, t, at the t he ti t ime of the th e thresh th reshiing of whe wheat, at, God God sent an angel to a man named Gideon (Judges 6:11). I should remind you here that, attacks almost always come during the time of harvest and, according to the parable of the wheat and tares, the harves t represen represents ts the end en d of the age (Matthew 13 13). When the wheat is gathered in to be threshed, the tool that is used is called, in Latin, a tribulim. This tool is used to crush the grain, more specifically, the hard and unfruitful exterior of the grain called chaff. Once the chaff is broken off, the grain and chaff will be sifted so that the chaff can be removed and discarded, typically by burning it. That is interesting in and of itself but don't miss this point: the tool that is used - the tribulim - is the source of the word "tribulation." At the end of the seven-year Tribulation, or at the end o
the "threshing" if you will, the final battle will occur. It was after seven years of oppression that the Angel of the Lord appeared app eared to Gideon deo n to call him to war on behal beh alff of Is Is rael. rael. When we study the details of this story, we see that also during this time, the Amalekites and the people of the East would come up against Israel as well (Judges 6:3). In Revelation evelation,, we we see s ee that th at the t he "king "kingss of the east" eas t" will come come up u p to to the th e fina finall battle bat tle (Rev (Revelation elation 16:12, 14 14); a batt ba ttlle tha t hatt wil will be joined by all nation na tionss (Zechari (Zech ariah ah 14: 14:2). Just before the climactic battle that Gideon was called to lead, Scri Scriptur ptu re says s ays that tha t the t he Midi Midianites, anites, the th e Am A malek alekiites and the peop pe oplle of the th e East as t gath ga thered ered toge to geth ther er and an d encam en campe ped d in the th e " Valley alley o f Jezree Jezreel" l" (Jud (Ju d g es 6:33 6:33)) or o r as we know kno w it, it, th t h e Valley alley o Armageddon. According Ac cording to the th e accou acc ount nt,, im immediately after this, th e Spiri Spirit of God came upon Gideon who then blew "the trumpet" or the shofar to assemble the people of Israel (Judges 6:34). In the end, his army of thousands was weeded out until there were onl on ly three t hree hun h undred dred remai remaining ning - a remnan remnant. t. Just before the valiant three hundred were to strike the Midianites, God told Gideon to go with his servant to the camp of his enemies. There he heard one of the Midianites tell of a disturbing dream. In the dream the enemy saw a barley cake come into camp, strike a tent and overturn it. Amazingly, the enemy interpreted this to mean that the sword of Gideon would strike and that Midian was to be delivered into his hand (Judg (Jud g es 7: 13-1 13-14) 4).. Barley speaks of Passover and Passover speaks of the Lamb of God. We know from Scripture that it is He who will come against all the enemies who will assemble against Israel
and He wi will destroy des troy them th em!! When Gideon and his men blew the shofar and broke the pitchers pitch ers and an d s hout ho uted ed,, the th e ent e ntiire enem en emy y camp camp fled fled in confu co nfuss ion, on , killing their own comrades as they scattered. Eventually two Midianite princes, Oreb and Zeeb, were captured and slain (Judges 7:25). "Oreb" and "Zeeb" (pronounced "ze-eb") mean "a raven" and "a wolf" respectively. In other words, these two princ princes es pai pa int a picture pictu re of two beas be asts ts bei be ing captu cap tured red and an d then th en destroyed des troyed.. Notice what what happ h appens ens when Chri Chriss t returns returns . "The beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who worked signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast, and those who worshipe his image. These two were cast alive into the lake of fire burning urni ng wi th b bri rim ms tone." tone." - Revel Revelat ation ion 19 1 9 :20
I need to also point out that Zeeb was slain at the winepress (Judges 7:25). In Scripture, the winepress typically indicates war, battle and most importantly, the winepress o God's wrath. "And he cried with a loud cry to him who had the shar sickle, saying, 'Thrust in your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth, for her grapes are fully ripe.' So the angel thrust his sickle into the earth and gathered the vine of the earth, and threw it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. And the winepress was trampled outside the city, and blood came out of the winepress, up to the horses' bridles, for one thousand six hundred furlongs."
- Revelation 14:18-20
It is the Deliverer Christ who will destroy the enemies o Israel and who will trample trample out ou t the t he winepres ne presss . "Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God." - Revelation 19:15
After the deaths of Oreb and Zeeb, Gideon crossed over the Jordan and traveled to Sukkot (Judges 8:5-6). Sukkot, you may remember, is the Hebrew word that is translated "tabernacles." This is the Hebrew term used for the Feast o Tabernacles, which is the last feast of Israel. Recall that this feast feas t com co mes jus t after afte r Yom Kipp Kippur ur - the day d ay God dete de term rmiines ne s who lives and dies - and Ros h Hashana, Hash ana, the feast eas t of o f Tr Trumpets umpets the Res Resurr urrecti ection on of o f the dead. d ead. Sukkot is the picture of the Messianic Kingdom, when all of God's enemies have become his footstool. Before He sits upon His throne, He will tread down His enemies and will rule them th em with with a rod of iron iron (Rev (Revelation elation 19:1 9:15). 5). In In Gideon de on's 's s tory to ry,, the th e Bible ble records records that tha t he "tore " tore the fles flesh" h" of thos e who who resi es is ted him him (Judges 8:7) and ultimately destroyed the army of the Ishmaelites, those who had survived the first battle (Judges 8: 12, 24). That Gideon's opponents were Amalekites (descendants of Esau and ancestors of Haman the Agagite), Midianites and Is hmael hmaeliites (these thes e two groups being being the ancestors ances tors of the Ar A rab peop pe oplles) es ) is s ig nifi nificant, can t, espe es pecial ciallly when it com co mes to the th e
Ishmaelites. The reason is because the Bible has a lot to say about these thes e groups groups at the end of the age. age.
ISHMAEL AT THE END "He shall be a wild man; His hand shall be against every man, and every man's hand against him. And he shall dwell in thee pres th pres ence of all all his brethren."
- G Genesi enesiss 16: 16 :12 Those who attacked Israel in Gideon's day were, by and large, the ancestors of the Arab peoples. This is an extremely important aspect of this picture. In other words, if Gideon's story is encoded with the events of Armageddon then, at the end, the sons of Ishmael will again rise up to destroy the sons of Israel. All the clues in the story seem to point to the radical Muslims who today strive to destroy Israel and those who ali align thems thems elves elves with the t he son s onss of Jacob Jacob.. For instance, the Bible says that, after they had slain the Ishmaelites, Gideon's men took the ornament from around the camel's necks (Judges 8:21). The word that is translated as "ornaments" is, in Hebrew, a word to denote something round "like the moon." Most everyone knows that the crescent moon is the th e em e mb lem o f Is Is lam. am. One of the two kings that Gideon killed just after the first batt ba ttlle was called called Oreb Oreb.. A ctua ct uallly it would be bett be tter er rendered rend ered Orev. The interesting thing about his name, however, is its meani ean ing and an d what othe ot herr Heb Hebrew rew words it is relate related d to. t o. You You s ee, Orev Orev comes from the Hebrew root word arav arav or as we woul
say, "Arab." So do you really believe that the events that are transpiring around the world are just happenstance and that prophecy is not being fulfilled? The Bible is being fulfille before our very eyes! The final revelation that can be gleaned from this story is that, that, when when the battle attle is over, over, Gi Gi deon tells tel ls the p peop eopll e of Is Is rael: rae l: "The "T he LORD LORD sha s hall ll rule rul e over over you." you." - J ud udg g es 8 :23 When Christ has destroyed His enemies and the battle is over, He will rule and reign for one thousand years and the earth will experience something it has not known since before the fall of man - Shalom, Peace! Thus, it will be as it was in the days of Gi Gi deon whe when: n: "The country was quiet." - Judges 8:28
Chapter Ten WHERE ARE WE PROPHETICALLY? Duri During the th e first first appea ap pearance rance of Chri Chriss t, He fulfi fulfillled the th e three t hree spring feasts. He was crucified at Passover, placed in the tomb during Unleavened Bread, and showed Himself to be alive to His disciples toward the conclusion of First Fruits (John 20:2627). Fifty Fifty days d ays later ate r on the t he day da y of o f Pent Penteco ecoss t, the th e Holy Holy Spi Sp irit rit fell fell upon 120 believers and over 3,000 souls were converted to Christ (Acts 1:15, 2:l-4; 2:41). The gift of the Holy Spirit is prom pro mis ed to all believ believers ers u nti nt il the th e very ve ry time time that th at Chris hris t returns retu rns (1 Corinthians 1:7). This means that, prophetically, the church is conti con tinu nual allly livi living ng at the t he Feast Feas t of o f Pente Pentecos cos t. Like the apostle Peter, we are preaching salvation and the infil nfilling of the th e Spiri Spirit to t o tho t hoss e who bel be lieve ev e (Acts (Ac ts 2). But if we we are currently at Pentecost, where are we going? What is the order of events even ts as we mov movee from from Pentecos t towar t oward d the t he fall all feasts eas ts?? On the Jewish calendar the next major feast that follows Pentecost is Rosh Hashana, or the Feast of Trumpets. This feast is one of the "candidates" that many prophetic scholars bel be lieve ev e the th e Resurrect es urrectiion of the th e dead de ad in Chris hris t could co uld occu oc curr on. o n. While there is some degree of speculation concerning this, there is an abundant supply of prophetic evidence from both the Scripture and Jewish tradition that Rosh Hashana will be
the th e ti t ime. Becaus e no other oth er major ajor prop prophetic hetic event has h as occur occu rred on on a fall feast day and the Return of Christ is the next main event, we can apply this to the following concept: the church has been be en " living at the th e Feas Fea s t of Pente Pen teco coss t" for the th e last las t 1,9 1,975 years ye ars!! We have been in the "dispensation of the grace of God" (Ephesians 3:2), also recognized by some scholars as, "The Church Age." The question becomes, where are we proph pro phet etiically cally as we head h ead towar to ward d the th e fall fall feasts feas ts , or o r the t he Raptu ap ture re of the church? Are there any Hebraic prophecy parallels between be tween Penteco Pent ecoss t and an d Trumpe rumpets ts that th at woul wou ld indi nd icate cat e what wil will transpir trans piree before the Rapt Rapture ure occurs? occurs ?
THE FOUR MONTH " GAP" Pentecost falls on the Jewish calendar, fifty days after the first Sabbath of Passover. In Christ's day, the Spirit came when the "day of Pentecost was fully come" (Acts 2:l). This means the fiftieth day had arrived in Jerusalem and the celebration was begi beg inni nn ing at the t he Tem Temple. ple. Once Pentecos t concludes co ncludes,, there is approximately a four month gap until the seventh month, when the fall feasts are celebrated. In the Bible there is an unusual event that occurred on the Jewish calendar between Pentecost and the Feast of Trumpets. As previously stated, Moses Mos es received eceived the law law on Mount Moun t Sinai Sinai and pres pres ented it to the th e peop pe oplle on Penteco Pent ecoss t. For forty days da ys he was alone with with God as God revealed his law for for Is Is rael to the th e prophet prop het.. When Moses came off the mountain the Israelites were worshiping the golden calf (Exodus 32:19). In anger, Moses brok bro ke the th e tablets ta blets cont co ntaini aining ng the th e Ten Comm ommandm an dmen ents ts . Three
thousand Israelites were slain (Exodus 32:28). Moses immediately ascended to the top of the mountain to intercede on behal beh alff of Is Is rael (Ex (Exodus od us 32:30). Mos Mo s es repented repen ted on behal beh alff o the people, spending a second forty day period on the mountain with God (Exodus 34:28). This second forty day peri pe riod od woul wou ld be recogn reco gniized centu cen turi ries es later at er as the th e s eas on o Teshuvah , a Heb Hebrew rew word for repentan repen tance. ce.
THE SEASONS SEASONS OF REPENT REP ENTA ANCE This special season is recognized each year by Jews around the world. It begins on the first of Elul which is the twelfth month on the Jewish secular (not religious) calendar. It is the th e last las t mon month th b efore the th e Jewis Jewis h New Year, ear, called called Ros h Hashana, the Feast of Trumpets. During the twenty nine days of Elul each person is to search their heart and repent. Letters are written to friends and relatives wishing them a good New Year and a good go od outcom ou tcomee on the Day of o f Atonem Aton ement ent.. Of Often the letter will conclude with the words, "May you be inscribed in the book of life." Beginning the first day of Elul, Psalms 22 is recited two times a day, from 1 Elul to 22 Tishri - or for 51 straight days! When Wh en Elul concludes , Ros Ros h Hashan as hana, a, or Tr Trumpet umpetss begi beg ins. ns . This initiat initiates es the th e New Year on the th e Jewis Jewis h cal ca lend en d ar. ar. For For ten days it is believed that the door of heaven is open to receive the prayers of the people. Finally, the season of Teshuvah climaxes and concludes on the Day of Atonement, the tenth day of Tishri. From the first of Elul to the Day of Atonement is a forty forty day period period.. It is interesting that, prior to the blowing of the trumpets
on Rosh Hashana, there is a major season of repenting in prepari prep aring ng of the th e fall fall feasts feas ts . The church ch urch is liv ing between be tween Pentecost and Trumpets! As we come closer to the Rapture when the great trumpet sounds, I believe there will be a major emphasis on repenting and turning to God! This is clear from Acts 3:19-2 1. "Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that He may send Jesus Christ, who was preached to you before, whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began." Act ctss 3:19-21
According to the Apostle Peter, repentance leads to a refr efreshing es hing which which is a par pa rt of o f the "r " restorati es toration on of all all things" things " and that eventually leads to the return of Christ. As the church age comes to a climax and the gospel is preached around the world, there mus mus t be a call to repent, repent , jus justt as the s eason eas on of Tes Teshu huvah vah is a call call to repentance epen tance that leads up to the Feast Feas t of o f Trumpet umpetss .
F OUR MONTHS MONTHS Another interesting aspect of the four months between Pentecost and Trumpets concerns a dry season. According to the prophetic Scriptures, there will be a final outpouring of the Holy oly Spir Spirit in the th e last days day s . Joel s tated: tated : "And it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out
My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions. And also on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days." - Joel 2:28-29
This out o utpo pouri uring ng is identif den tifiied as a s the th e early early and an d latter rai rain. n. "Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early an l atter rain. r ain. You al al s o be be patie patient. nt. Es Es tabl tabl i s h your your hearts he arts,, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. - James James 5:7-8 5:7 -8
The early and latter rains come in the fall months and in the spring months. One rain occurs as the seed is being planted plant ed in the th e grou g round nd and an d the th e s econd eco nd wave of rain falls falls duri du ring ng the early early spri s pring ng months on ths . These Thes e rai rains ns prepare prepare the s oil oil and ass as s is t in the growth of the barley and the wheat. The barley is harves harvested ted around Pass over and the wheat harvest is celebra celebrated ted at Pentecost. From a prophetic perspective the early and the latter rain would allude to two major outpourings of the Holy Spirit on earth. The first occurred in Acts 2 on the day of Pentecost. This initial outpouring of the Spirit birthed the church and continued until the time of the destruction of the Temple in 70 AD. Historically there will be a final outpouring of the spirit "in the last days." It appears this outpouring is occurring now, as millions of believers from all denominations are being baptized
with the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:5). This final outpouring will be unleashed among the sons and daughters, upon the younger generation of believers.
THE "NO RAIN" THEOLOGY Being a fourth generation minister from a Full Gospel backgrou ba ckground nd,, I was taug ta ught ht from from a chi ch ild to bel be lieve ev e in the th e Holy Holy Spirit. Growing up I observed my father praying in the Spirit (in other tongues). Growing up I also heard of many Christians from other oth er denom deno minati nat ions on s who taught taug ht that tha t the t he gifts gifts of the Spir Spirit (1 Corinthians 12) had ceased in the first century. These illinform nformed chu c hurrch mem members bers taught taug ht that people peo ple such su ch as a s my father were either deceived or satanically inspired. They taught that the first and last outpouring of the Holy Spirit was exclusively on the day of Pentecost, to assist in starting the Christian church. They taught that after the death of the original twelve apos apo s tles tles the manif anifestations es tations of the Holy Holy Spir Spirit ceas ed. Often they point out that, after the New Testament was completed completed between b etween the t he thir t hird d and an d fourth fou rth centu cen tury ry,, the mi miraculou raculouss gif gifts ceased ceas ed in the th e church. ch urch. Fr From their poi po int of view view any per p erss on who claims to have received an infilling of the Spirit is deceived, delus delusiional on al or demon demon pos p os s ess es s ed! Des Despi pite te the th e fact fact that th at the Bible predicts there would be an early and latter rain before the return of Christ and an outpouring of the Spirit among the sons and daughters, these passages are relegated to the past or int into o the th e future futu re after Chris hris t returns . I call these individuals the "No rain theology crowd." I have studied church history and it is true that from the third century until modern times there was very little true spiritual
activity. This is not because the Holy Spirit quit working but becau be causs e the th e Chris hris tian church ch urch bega be gan n mixing paga pa gan n ideas de as with with Christian doctrine. The church became cold, formal and ritualistic. This form of Christianity continued for hundreds o years. Because of the pagan ideas, the formalism and unbelief, the Holy Spirit was unable to bless and minister to the people. There was a dry spell for almost 1800 years. The interesting poi po int is , there th ere is is also a dry peri p erio o d from from Penteco Pent ecoss t to Trumpe rumpets ts !
LIVING FROM PENTECOST TO TRUMPETS Pentecost usually occurs in the months of May or June. In Israel this begins the hot summer season. I have been to Israel in May when the temperature in the Judean wilderness was 130 degr deg rees. ees . Duri During ng the t he four mon months ths between Pentecos Penteco s t, the fourth feast, and Trumpets, the fifth feast, there is almost no rain in Israel. As the fall months arrive, Trumpets usually falls in the month of September or October. This is the same season when the rains begin to fall. The clouds are seen forming at first and as the fall months come into the winter it is common to experience large amounts of rain throughout the entire country. Again, this rain is a picture of the rain that helps ripen the fruit of the th e earth ea rth for the th e com co ming of Chri Chriss t (James (James 5:7). Since we are living between Pentecost and Trumpets, it stands to reason that the 1900 years of spiritual dryness is a picture pictu re of the th e s umm ummer dry s eas on b etween et ween Penteco Pent ecoss t and an d Trumpets. When I saw this pattern years ago, it helped me to explain to others why there seemed to be a lack of spiritual manifestations from the third century until 1896, when over 100
Baptist members gathered in a Murphy, NC school house. It was there that the Holy Spirit fell upon them and they spoke with tongues and formed a new denomination which later becam be camee the th e Church hu rch of God (Cl (Cleveland ev eland,, Tenne en ness s ee). This was one of the first major outpourings in North America, but only the beginning. The Holy Spirit was poured out in Kansas and in Los Los Ange An gelles at the t he famou famouss Azuza Azuza Street reviva revivall. As we prophetically move from Pentecost to the Rapture (Trumpets) two things will happen. There will be a major call to repentance to prepare people for the Rapture and the coming Tribulation (pictured through the Day of Atonement). As the church chu rch mov moves es clos clos er to the t he Rapture, Raptu re, jus t as in the th e natural nat ural realm realm, the clouds will begin to form to prepare for the rain. The Holy Spirit will prepare for a final outpouring that will climax when the trumpet sounds! The dry spell of summer is breaking as today we are witnessing a global revival of souls and a fresh outpouring of the Spirit flowing from nation to nation! For those who still doubt that the Holy Spirit is for our time, cons ider this this : Is the death of Christ that occurred at Passover for us today? Is the act of sanctification from sin, Unleavened Bread, still available today? Is the resurrection at First Fruits still a prom pro mis e for the t he dead de ad in Chris hris t for th t h e future? futu re? Is the th e com co ming o Christ, seen in the Feast of Trumpets, going to occur? Do we still receive forgiveness from sin and judgement as Israel did on the t he Day of Aton At onem ement ent?? All Chris hris tians tians must us t ans an s wer, er, "Yes "Yes"" to the above abo ve ques qu esti tion onss . Then why do some ministers and Christians doubt that the church can experience a continual "Pentecost," from generation to generation? After all, the gifts of the Spirit will
continue con tinue unt u ntiil the th e retu return rn of Chris hris t. "So that you come short in no gift, eagerly waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will also confirm you to the end, that you may be blameless in the day of our Lor Jesus Christ." Corint nthian hianss 1:7-8 1:7 -8 - 1 Cori
THE TABERNACLES OUTPOURING The Feast of Tabernacles is the last of the seven Feasts. This seventh feast occurs in the seventh month and lasts for seven days. It is a reminder of how the children of Israel lived in tents t ents for forty forty years y ears in the wilderness dernes s . In the days of the Temple, the priests would practice a unique ceremony called the Water Libation Service. This service is an amazing picture of the outpouring of the Holy Spiri Spirit. In the t he time time of o f the th e Tem Temple ple four fou r great lamps amps were were erecte e rected d in the Temple court. These four menorahs had golden cups to hold the olive oil. Four young priests were trained to climb large ladders to the top, carrying immense oil cans holding 120 logs each with which to fill the giant candlesticks. Once lit, there was not a court yard in Jerusalem that did not glow with the light that emanated from the Temple. As the people sang, righteous and pious men would dance before them juggling torches. All of this was to honor the commandment of the water li libation ba tion.. As the service began the priests would form two rows thirty feet apart carrying twenty-five-foot willow branches. As
they would step forward with their right foot, they would wave the branches to the left and visa versa. The waving motion produ pro duced ced a swi s wiss hing s ound ou nd like a "rus " rushing hing wind wind"" (Act (A ctss 2:2). 2). At Tabernacles the men, women, and children all parti pa rticipat cipated ed.. The women women s tood to od in the th e bal ba lcony co ny of the th e court co urt o the women and watched as members of the Sanhedrin danced. The High Priest would later head to the Pool of Siloam with a Ma yim m Hayim, Hayi m, or the "living waters." special vase called the Mayi This gold vase would be dipped in the pool and carried with great celebration to the Temple. A second vase made of silver had been filled with wine. As the priest approached the gate, a shofar would be blown as a flute player, called the "pierced one," on e," would would begin b egin to play. play. After arriving at the Temple the High Priest would pour water into a silver cup on the corner of the brass altar. As he poured po ured water he woul wou ld quo q uote te Script Scripture: ure: "For I will pour water on him who is thirsty, and floods on the dry ground. I will pour My Spirit on your descendants, an My ble bless s ing on you yourr offs offsp pring." ri ng."
- Isaiah 44:3
OUT OF YOUR BELLY Jesus was in Jerusalem during the last day of the feast o Tabernacles (John 7:37). The last day of the feast may not have been be en the th e s even ev enth th d ay but bu t an addition ad ditional al eighth eigh th day da y that th at was added on, called Simchat Torah or "rejoicing in the Torah." The last day was also when the water libation ceremony
occurred. On this day Jesus was standing near the brass altar watching the High Priests pour out the water on the Altar and quoting Scripture. "On the last day, that great day of the feasts, Jesus stoo and cried out, saying, 'If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.' But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jes Je s us was not not yet yet glorified gl orified." ." - John 7:37-39 7:37 -39
When the High Priest poured out the living water on the four corners of the th e altar, altar, it it was a perf p erfect ect picture of o f God God pouri po uring ng out His Spirit to the north, south, east and west. Jesus knew that the Spir Spirit would would be b e sent s ent to abide in in men men and an d theref t herefore ore used us ed this this occasi occas ion to annou an nounce nce the th e outpou ou tpourring of the Spir Spirit that th at had not yet come but would come in the future! Since our bodies would become the Temple of the Holy Spirit, Christ knew the power po wer of the th e Holy Spiri Spirit woul wou ld dwel d welll with withiin man man and an d the t he power po wer would center in our inner-most being or our "bellies." The area of the belly belly is the center cent er of the hum h uman an s pir pirit. "The spirit of man is the candle of the LORD, searching all the inward parts of the belly." Proverb bs 2 0 :27 (K (KJ J V) - Prover
As I said, this yearly event at the Temple, the water libation, was a perfect picture of the Holy Spirit being poured out on all flesh in all nations. This outpouring, coupled with
the preaching of the gospel to all nations, will climax with the return of the Messiah (Matthew 24:14). I believe this is why God is releasing so much information about the Hebraic roots of Chri Chriss tianity. tianity. It It is to prepare prepa re the Body od y of Chri Chriss t for the th e return retu rn of the Savior and for our 1,000 year rule with Christ in Jerus Jeru s alem (Rev (Revelat elatiio n 20: 20:4). 4).
ONE LAST THOUGHT "Then I said, 'Behold, I come; In the scroll of the book it is writt ri tten en of me' me' "- Psa Ps alm 40:7 40 :7
At the beginning of this book, I wrote to you that I am o the bel b eliief that presentl presen tly y boo b ook ks in Heaven are being being open o pened ed and an d the ramifications of that are being seen and felt down here on earth. earth. That will conti con tinu nue! e! I als als o conv co nveyed eyed to you yo u that t hat the Book oo k, the Bible, is being opened as well - His secrets are being revealed. Ultimately, whether it is books in Heaven or in Earth, it all points to Jesus Christ; it is all written that Christ might be glorified. That being said, if the only thing you take from this book is information, then you have missed the point. More than information, we are in need of revelation, Christ needs to be revealed to the world orld as a s never nev er before. before. The things that are coming upon the earth are coming becau be causs e man mank kind has ha s cons co ns is tent te ntlly turn t urned ed a deaf d eaf ear to His His plea to return to Him. This, and His unwillingness to relinquish His Creation eation to des truction truction,, made made it neces s ary ary for God God to provide provide a Redeemer - Himself. And so, His Word came and healed our diseases; chief among them being our inherent inclination to
sin. It only makes sense then that He would be the most cons con s is tent ten t and an d mos mostt impo imporrtant tan t "cod " code" e" found ou nd in all of Scri Scriptu pturre. He is is the th e su s u m of it all all. Therefore, if you don't know Him or you don't know Him as you should, then I invite you to remedy that situation right now. Ask Christ to come into your life and change you so that your yo ur nam na me wil will be ins ins cribe cribed d in the th e mos mos t impo important rtant book bo ok there th ere is is - the th e Lam Lamb b 's Bo o k of Lif Life! e! Am A men. en .
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