Posted: Mon Feb 08, 2010 8:00 am Post subject: Jerusalem's Rebellion, Redemption, Restoration
I sense we are soon to enter the days described below.
The Lord alone knows the timing, and the arrogance of the nations (including Israel) is about to be brought low.
But oh what glory there will be in Israel for "On that day I will gather you together and bring you home again".
Ultimately it is the Lord who is our home, but first the restoration here on earth, then in heaven.
First the natural then comes the spiritual. Time to rejoice for the Father's will is coming to the earth.
May we be about the Father's business to prepare a people for His habitation.
Jerusalem’s Rebellion and Redemption
Zephaniah 3
Judgement of Jerusalem & The Nations
Judgement begins with God's people
1 What sorrow awaits rebellious, polluted Jerusalem, the city of violence and crime!
2 No one can tell it anything; it refuses all correction. It does not trust in the Lord or draw near to its God.
3 Its leaders are like roaring lions hunting for their victims. Its judges are like ravenous wolves at evening time, who by dawn have left no trace of their prey.
4 Its prophets are arrogant liars seeking their own gain. Its priests defile the Temple by disobeying God’s instructions.
5 But the Lord is still there in the city, and he does no wrong. Day by day he hands down justice, and he does not fail. But the wicked know no shame.
6 “I have wiped out many nations, devastating their fortress walls and towers. Their streets are now deserted; their cities lie in silent ruin.
There are no survivors, none at all.
7 I thought, ‘Surely they will have reverence for me now! Surely they will listen to my warnings.
Then I won’t need to strike again, destroying their homes.’ But no, they get up early to continue their evil deeds.
8 Therefore, be patient,” says the Lord. “Soon I will stand and accuse these evil nations.
For I have decided to gather the kingdoms of the earth and pour out my fiercest anger and fury on them.
All the earth will be devoured by the fire of my jealousy.
Restoration of God's people
9 "For then I will restore to the peoples a pure language, That they all may call on the name of the LORD, To serve Him with one accord.
10 My scattered people who live beyond the rivers of Ethiopia will come to present their offerings.
11 On that day you will no longer need to be ashamed, for you will no longer be rebels against me.
I will remove all proud and arrogant people from among you.
There will be no more haughtiness on my holy mountain.
12 Those who are left will be the lowly and humble, for it is they who trust in the name of the Lord.
13 The remnant of Israel will do no wrong; they will never tell lies or deceive one another.
They will eat and sleep in safety, and no one will make them afraid.”
14 Sing, O daughter of Zion; shout aloud, O Israel!
Be glad and rejoice with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem!
15 For the Lord will remove his hand of judgment and will disperse the armies of your enemy.
And the Lord himself, the King of Israel, will live among you!
At last your troubles will be over, and you will never again fear disaster.
16 On that day the announcement to Jerusalem will be,
“Cheer up, Zion! Don’t be afraid!
17 For the Lord your God is living among you. He is a mighty savior. He will take delight in you with gladness.
With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.
18 I will gather you who mourn for the appointed festivals; you will be disgraced no more.
19 And I will deal severely with all who have oppressed you. I will save the weak and helpless ones;
I will bring together those who were chased away.
I will give glory and fame to my former exiles, wherever they have been mocked and shamed.
20 On that day I will gather you together and bring you home again.
I will give you a good name, a name of distinction, among all the nations of the earth,
as I restore your fortunes before their very eyes. I, the Lord, have spoken!”
The rise and fall of Babylon is prophesied in Scripture. When we see the historic repeats and understand the time cycles involved, it is a testament to the sovereignty of God and the fact that nothing in history occurs outside of God's knowledge and determination.
Israel's first captivity to Babylon occurred in Judges 3, where we read,
(7) And the sons of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and forgot the Lord their God, and served the Baals and the Asheroth. (8) Then the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, so that He sold them into the hands of Cushan-rishathaim, king of Mesopotamia; and the sons of Israel served Cushan-rishathaim eight years.
Mesopotamia, "land between two rivers," is the land watered by the Tigris and Euphrates. It later took on the name of its dominant city, Babylon. So this was Israel's first captivity to Babylon, and it lasted eight years.
In Chapter 10 of my book, Secrets of Time, I explain how this captivity put Babylon on a long-term Cursed Time cycle. The legal process is as follows:
Israel sinned against God, thus incurring a debt to the law. (All sin is reckoned as a debt in Scripture.) Israel was unable or unwilling to pay the debt, so God brought the nation into the Divine Court for judgment. He found them guilty of idolatry, and because they could not pay, they were SOLD to slavemasters (in this case, Mesopotamia).
This was according to the law found in Exodus 22:3, "He shall surely make restitution; if he owns nothing, then he shall be sold for his theft."
In biblical law, the one who buys a debtor is a redeemer. In other words, the debtor comes under the authority of the redeemer and must serve him according to the number of years mandated by the court. In return, the redeemer is responsible to pay the debt of the debtor.
It is a good trade-off. The debtor does not have to be put to death for his inability to pay off the debt, while the redeemer can profit from the labor of his newly-purchased slave. The downside, of course, is that the debtor loses his freedom, and on the other side, the redeemer becomes responsible for the debt.
In the case of Israel as a nation, the prophets speak of this situation in terms of God planting a vineyard in the land of Canaan, and the people were responsible to bring forth fruit unto God. This is the parable of the vineyard in Isaiah 5 and again in Matthew 21:33-43.
This parable shows us that God expected Israel to bring forth the fruits of the Kingdom. However, they failed in this responsibility, refusing to render to God the fruits of His labor. This became a "debt" to the law, and under those circumstances God "sold" Israel to the king of Mesopotamia for eight years.
This "sale" was a merciful act of God, for on a legal level it temporarily relieved Israel of her responsibility to pay off the debt that was owed. It gave time for the nation to repent. It gave them a grace period. Their responsibility to pay the debt was transferred to Babylon for a time, and if the debt remained unpaid, the Babylonians were held accountable--not Israel. After all, Israel was only the slave, and by the law of authority, Babylon was responsible for the debt.
Of course, we know that Babylon cared nothing about the law. From their perspective, they had conquered Israel by their own power and might. They seemed unaware that their conquest made them accountable to God to bring forth the fruits of the Kingdom. They never dreamed that divine authority came with a divine responsibility.
After eight years, Israel repented and seemed ready to handle the responsibility to bring forth the fruits of the kingdom. So when time ran out for the king of Mesopotamia, God brought judgment upon him and reversed the captivity. Israel was once again set free and regained the responsibility that came with being "chosen."
Being "chosen" brings authority and responsibility as I have just demonstrated. Whenever God sold Israel, it was because they failed in their responsibility, and God held them accountable. Israel experienced six distinct captivities in the book of Judges, and each time they were "sold" into the hands of a different nation.
Being "chosen" is a legal term. It means "the elect." Israel was "elected" by God to rule the world by the Dominion Mandate of Gen. 1:26. But they were also "elected" to bring forth fruit by the Fruitfulness Mandate of Gen. 1:28. These two Mandates--the authority to rule and the responsibility to bring forth fruit (the sons of God)--constitute the Birthright. Whoever holds the Birthright is "chosen."
When God planted His Israelite Vineyard in Canaan, Israel was the chosen people. But when God sold them as slaves to the king of Mesopotamia, they lost their chosen status temporarily, and Mesopotamia became chosen. That is, Mesopotamia was given the Dominion Mandate, and Israel was subordinated to the will of the king of Mesopotamia. Likewise, Mesopotamia became responsible to bring forth the sons of God ("fruit" of the kingdom).
Obviously, Mesopotamia failed, because it was not in the Divine Plan that they should succeed. Nor was it even the Divine Plan that fleshly Israel should succeed. Ultimately, all flesh fails to bring forth the sons of God as God intended from the beginning. But in passing the "chosen" status back and forth among various nations, God gave each of those nations the opportunity to prove itself to be incapable of permanently holding the Birthright. None of them could fulfill its responsibility, though everyone wanted to enjoy its authority over other nations.
Finally, the northern tribes of Israel were sold to the Assyrians (745-721 B.C.), and Judah went into a Babylonian captivity a century later (604 B.C.).
The story becomes more complex at this point, because by this point God had split the tribes into two nations--Israel and Judah. The two Mandates comprising the Birthright were also divided between the two nations. Judah had been given the Dominion Mandate (Gen. 49:10), while Joseph had been given the Fruitfulness Mandate (Gen. 49:22).
After this division between the two Mandates, the Fruitfulness Mandate came to be known as the Birthright. Hence, the term took on a more limited meaning, because it no longer included the Dominion Mandate that had been given to Judah. Hence, we read in 1 Chron. 5:2,
"Though Judah prevailed over his brothers, and from him came the leader, yet the birthright belonged to Joseph."
When the Kingdom was divided (after the death of Solomon), the tribes of Joseph separated from Judah, causing a further division between the two Mandates of the original Birthright. Both nations eventually went into captivity, Israel to Assyria and Judah to Babylon. Hence, the Birthright went to Assyria, while the Scepter went to Babylon.
From this point on in biblical history, we must follow TWO story lines in order to obtain the complete picture of the Divine Plan and how God intends to "repair the breach" and re-unify the two Mandates under one Head, Jesus Christ.
A big part of the plan is bound up in the fact that Jesus would have to come TWICE. The first time He came of the tribe of Judah and of the seed of David in order to secure His claim to the throne. But a second coming is required in order to secure the Birthright of Joseph. For this reason, Rev. 19:13 says, "And He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood." This identifies Him with Joseph, whose robe was dipped in blood (Gen. 37:31).
Coming twice, once through Judah and the second time through Joseph, is the manner in which the two mandates of the original Birthright are reunited. And those who become manifested sons of God are the ones "chosen" to rule with Him.
Posted: Mon Feb 08, 2010 1:21 pm Post subject: Re: Jerusalem's Rebellion, Redemption, Restoration
CJ wrote:
Judgement begins with God's people
I couldn't agree with this more - Jesus even talked about how his DISOBEDIENT servants would get MANY stripes, while the ones that are unbelievers et al will get FEW stripes.(no, not saying at all that an athiest will get a free pass)
Bottom line, it's the pastors job to watch over the flock, it's the church's job through the Lord Jesus Christ to witness his name. We're NOT seeing this in today's Apostate Church. They're 501c3 corporate entities, pastors are putting more attention on money, church leaderships are yoking with other pagan religions like RCC and Rick Warren(and less not forget about Billy Graham too)...
I don't mean to sound doom and gloom, but don't be surprised if your or any other pastor which may seem godly and Christ-like to sell his congregation members down the river when the fan hits the ceiling. If/when this H1N1 false flag gets implemented, these 501c3s WILL be vaccination centers(and not by their own choice).
I have tried to show that the two Mandates of Genesis 1:26-28 are the two halves of the Birthright. The Dominion Mandate represents the divine calling (election) to rule as God's representative in the earth. The Fruitfulness Mandate is the responsibility that comes with divine authority, and it is the responsibility to "be fruitful and multiply." The intent of God was not merely to produce fleshly offspring, but to bring forth children in the image of God.
In other words, those placed in authority were responsible to come into the image and likeness of Christ.
It is plain from the Scriptures, even in the OT, that this idea of being "chosen" is based primarily upon the law than upon genealogy. Genealogy takes a back seat to the law, because God reserved the right to remove Israel's Dominion over the nations whenever they fell into idolatry. In putting other nations in authority over Israel, in fact, the situation was reversed, and it can be said that in a legal sense, the dominant nation had become "chosen" (at least temporarily).
It is self-evident that those other nations would fail to live up to the responsibility that comes with divine Authority, because they too were carnal. So their "chosen" position was only a temporary opportunity. But yet in the bigger picture it was the intent of God to prove that NO FLESH--not even Israelite flesh--could succeed in bringing forth the sons of God.
The manner in which this authority and responsibility are to be fulfilled is made much clearer in the NT than in the Old. This is to be expected, seeing that the NT was written under the greater anointing and inspiration of Pentecost. So what were types and shadows in the OT are greatly clarified in the NT.
The bottom line is that God does not intend to let anyone rule His Kingdom by the power of the flesh. Without Christ, no one will rule His Kingdom, nor indeed will they even enter into it. The idea that someone is chosen on account of their genealogy, while rejecting Jesus Christ, is a total illusion based upon the glorification of carnal flesh.
Israel was certainly given the revelation and calling to rule, but whenever they proved their unworthiness, God did not hesitate to strip them of their favored position ("election") and put them into captivity to other nations.
Paul tells us that this was done under the principle of "jealousy." In discussing Israel's fall from election and her captivity to Assyria, Paul says in Romans 10:19,
"But I say, surely Israel did not know, did they? At the first Moses says, 'I will make you JEALOUS by that which is not a nation, by a nation without understanding will I anger you."
God is a "jealous" God (Ex. 34:14). So when Israel preferred idols and false gods, God became like a jealous husband. Israel provoked God to jealousy, so God provoked Israel to jealousy in return by seeming to prefer other nations. He did this by putting Israel under the authority of other nations, treating them as if those other nations were "chosen."
This policy was designed to provoke Israel to jealousy. In the book of Judges, we find that it worked, because after living some years in captivity, the people repented and turned back to the true God. Unfortunately, the next generations had to learn the lessons all over again.
The problem in the OT was that they had received the law in its external form, and so it was being imposed upon them against the will of their flesh (carnal mind). Until the law could be written on their hearts, the flesh will always fight against the Spirit in the attempt to get its own way (Rom. 8:7). And so we read in Rom. 8:7 that "those who are in the flesh cannot please God."
God gave the flesh ample time throughout the OT to prove that it was incapable of pleasing God by the will of the flesh. Only a few individuals had genuine faith in God, and in such people the law of God was written in their hearts. So ultimately, God brought Israel into captivity to Assyria, never again to return to the old land and the old Jerusalem. It appeared as if the Birthright would be lost forever.
But God had another plan that had only been given in hints and suggestions in the OT. The plan was that God would cast down Israel in order to reconcile the world (including Israel). Jesus' death and resurrection brought a New Covenant, through which the whole world would be saved. This New Covenant employed a new method. Instead of imposing the law from the outside upon a carnal mind that would obey only grudgingly, the New Covenant gave the Holy Spirit by which the law would be written on the heart.
Further, the blessing of the Covenant was opened up to all men. It took awhile for even the disciples themselves to understand this important factor, but God assisted them by using the temple priests to scatter them abroad (Acts 8:1). Then He called and trained the most exclusive minded zealot among them, a man named Saul, and gave him the clearest revelation of God's plan to break down that dividing wall and to make of all men "one new man" (Eph. 2:15).
No longer would God allow men to build a wall that kept women and non-Jews farther away from God in the temple. The New Covenant was for all men, Jew, Greek, Roman, and Israelite alike. To be "chosen," one first had to have faith in Jesus Christ and then start down the path of Pentecost into the full image and likeness of Christ (feast of Tabernacles).
Those who overcome are destined to rule. Those who simply believe in Jesus but who do not attain to the feast of Tabernacles are the citizens of the Kingdom. While those of certain genealogies or nationalities have been privileged to hear the gospel first, they cannot use their genealogy as a "pass card" into the Kingdom. Jesus Christ is the only Door to the Kingdom (John 10:9), and all men have equal access to Him.
The first Covenant (under Moses) became "old" with the introduction of the New Covenant, as we read in Heb. 8:13,
"When He said, 'A new covenant,' He has made the first obsolete. But whatever is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to disappear."
God still has a plan for Israel as revealed by prophecy. God has plans for all the nations. But no nation and no individual person will inherit the Kingdom apart from faith in Jesus Christ. All men are equally capable of having faith in Him, though every man has a different level of knowledge and understanding. The only distinctions are based, not upon genealogy, but upon their progression in their faith-life, going "from faith to faith" (Rom. 1:17). They must move from Passover Faith to Pentecostal Faith and finally to Tabernacles Faith.
No one will attain the Kingdom through the Old Covenant, because it is not possible to discipline the flesh sufficiently to imprint the image of Christ upon it. The sentence of death is already upon the old Adamic man, and it can do nothing but die. The "new man" of Eph. 4:24 must be put on, because only this "new man" will inherit the Kingdom.
This New Man is "Christ in you, the hope of glory" (Col. 1:27). It has been begotten in you by the Father through the seed of the gospel (1 Cor. 4:15). It is this spiritual man(child) that is the new creation man. The new body of spiritual people being raised up are the inheritors of the Birthright. They will be given authority to rule, because they have been proven worthy and responsible by fulfilling the Fruitfulness Mandate. These are the sons of God who fulfill the divine plan that He contemplated from the beginning.
Prophecy is usually multi-layered. Many have said that there is only one true fulfillment of prophecy. The truth is that they have only seen one fulfillment, and if another shows up, they delete it to maintain their traditional belief.
In the case of Israel's first captivity to the king of Mesopotamia (i.e., Babylon), there is both a short-term and a long-term fulfillment. In the short term, it was an eight year captivity to Babylon. In the long term, it began a very long time cycle of 8 cycles of 414 years.
The 414-year cycle is what we call "Cursed Time." This cycle is explained and illustrated in detail in my book, Secrets of Time. For newer readers, it is actually a Grace Period from the time that God pronounces sentence (curse of the law) until the time that the sentence is executed. The purpose of Cursed Time is to give the cursed nation time to repent.
If repentance and real change occurs during that Grace Period, the Cursed Time cycle ends without consequence, and the nation then begins a 76-year "cleansing" period. At the end of 76 years, the nation under the curse of the law has reached the 490-year point, which begins its "Blessed Time." (414 + 76 = 490)
I have found in my own life that this same principle works in the short term, but when applied to individuals, it is in 414-DAY cycles, followed by a 76-DAY period.
By the way, not every sin calls for Cursed Time. It appears to be applicable more to callings and leadership issues. For instance, I entered Cursed Time on Dec. 4/5, 1981 for being in a calling that was not mine (i.e., I was a pastor). That time ended on January 22/23, 1983 precisely 414 days later, and then I had a 76-day time of cleansing ("reconciliation") until April 8/9, 1983.
I learned from this that I was not a pastor but a teacher, and I resolved never to make that mistake again.
In applying this to Israel's captivity to the king of Mesopotamia, we find that Israel was not living up to its calling to bring forth the fruits of the Kingdom (the Fruitfulness Mandate). So God brought them into captivity for eight years. By "the Law of First Mention," this first captivity was a pattern-setter that has remained with us until now, the year 2010. My reason for discussing this issue now is because we appear to be ending this long cycle on Feb. 14, 2010. You need this background material, then, in order to be watchful with some degree of knowledge.
In studying the chronology of that first captivity, the Bible is silent on its timing, but the book of Jasher gives us the necessary details. Jasher is a book mentioned twice in Scripture as a historical reference book, and it covers the time from Adam to the death of Joshua and the rule of the elders. Jasher essentially ends with this first captivity.
Though Jasher is not a book of the Bible (nor should it be), I have found it to be helpful on occasion to clarify the biblical account. A very old and faded copy was found in a rabbi's office in Venice, Italy in 1613 and was translated into English in 1840. I have copies for $15 if anyone wants a copy.
Anyway, this first captivity occurred just 42 years after Israel crossed the Jordan into the Promised Land. They repented and God sent Othniel, the first "Judge," to set them free in the 50th year. It was their first Jubilee in Canaan.
Here is a summary of the chronology from Israel's Jordan crossing:
42 years to the first captivity
8 years of captivity
40 years of peace
18 years captivity to Moabites
80 years of peace
20 years captivity to Canaanites
40 years peace
7 years captivity to Midianites
40 years peace
18 years captivity to Ammonites
40 years captivity to Philistines (these last two were back to back)
354 years TOTAL
By working backward, we discover that Saul was crowned king of Israel just 3 years after the end of the Philistine captivity. We know this because the foundation of Solomon's temple was laid 480 years after the Exodus (1 Kings 6:1), or 440 years after the Jordan crossing.
The foundation was laid in the fourth year of Solomon. When we add to this the 40 years of King David and the 40 years of King Saul, we conclude that the foundation was laid 83-84 years after the coronation of King Saul. So 440 minus 84 years brings us to 355-356.
So God's deliverance from the Philistines occurred 354 years after the Jordan crossing, and Saul was crowned king in the third year (355-356) after that deliverance took place. The people demanded an earthly king, because they were tired of God's righteous standard. Every time they became idolatrous, God would bring them into captivity. They had spent a third of their time in Canaan in captivity.
Their solution was NOT to get rid of their idols or purge their hearts of idolatrous tendencies. Their solution was to reject God as King (1 Sam. 8:7) and to put a man in his place who would be more understanding and more lenient with them. They desired the freedom to sin without consequences. Sound familiar? That was their idea of freedom, and it is still with us today.
In further study of chronology, which I proved in Secrets of Time, the Babylonian Empire fell in 537 B.C., which was precisely 2 x 414 years after the king of Mesopotamia first took Israel captive. Babylon fell to the Medes and Persians in the latter days of the prophet Daniel, and this brought Judah's 70-year captivity to an end.
In the short term, Israel had an eight-year captivity at the beginning and a 70-year captivity at the end, but on a deeper level, there was also an 828-year Cursed Time cycle imposed upon Babylon. Babylon was given 2 cycles of Cursed Time in which to fulfill the responsibility of being "chosen." By the law of authority, Babylon was made responsible to bring forth the fruits of the Kingdom, which they were unable to do. Hence, they fell on Cursed Time when the time came to execute judgment.
I don't want to confuse you further, but if you do the math, Babylon fell in the year 3358 (from Adam). The first captivity occurred in 2530. If you subtract the two numbers, you come to 828, which is 2 x 414 years.
When we see events occurring on such specific time cycles, it shows cause and effect. This is one of at least six examples of Cursed Time that we see in Scripture, and by studying them closely, we are able to understand the mind of God and how He judges nations. It is all part of the laws of Time. It was by studying this that I came to understand the laws affecting the Birthright, which I explained in the past two days.
The Birthright includes Authority and Responsibility in equal measures. It is the Dominion Mandate and the Fruitfulness Mandate. To be "chosen" (or "elected") means that God gives Authority and with it comes the responsibility to bring forth the fruits of the Kingdom. This was the main subject of Jesus' parable in Matt. 21:33-43. God planted a vineyard in Canaan and then expected Israel to render to Him the fruit of the Kingdom.
The story is complex, because it also involves transfer of authority to other nations at various times, putting Israel into captivity. Thus, the rise and fall of nations are explained in terms of God's desire for "fruit," which is the "fruit of the womb," or the manifestation of the sons of God. This has always been the divine purpose for the earth, and God will not be satisfied until this purpose is accomplished in his Chosen ones.
This is deep stuff, I know. You may have to read this a few times to understand it. It would be better to read the whole book, Secrets of Time. It is posted online, and is also available in print for $20.
Secrets of Time: http://www.gods-kingdom-ministries.org/books/secrets/index.cfm
Babylon's long-term Cursed Time cycle began in Judges 3:8 with Israel's first captivity to the king of Mesopotamia (Babylon). It is not likely that anyone could make the necessary connections without an understanding of this Cursed Time cycle (414-year cycles).
I did not discover this cycle. It was discovered in 1946 by a man whose son, Lalo Cadona, began to teach about it in the late 1980's. I determined to check it out in 1991, so I spent a week in his home learning and asking questions that filled an entire notebook. Then I went home and read entire library shelves from the history section of the nearby university in order to see if these things could actually be proven by known historical data.
Out of this came my book, Secrets of Time in Prophecy, first published in a small format in 1992, and this was expanded in the year 2000 and given a shortened title, Secrets of Time.
There may be some who doubt that it can be proven that it was 2 x 414 years from Israel's first captivity until the fall of Babylon in 537 B.C. I can only refer you to the book. But when we break up the EIGHT periods of 414 years into two segments (2 + 6), it becomes much easier to prove the final six cycles leading to 1948. The fall of Babylon is a much more recent event in history, and many secular historians have arrived at the year 537 B.C. as the time of Babylon's fall. It is therefore a simple matter of arithmetic to calculate 6 x 414 years from 537 B.C. to 1948 A.D. Just add the two together and subtract one year (because there was no Year Zero).
6 x 414 = 2484 years
537 + 1948 = 2485. Subtract 1 from this gets us 2484 years.
In other words, the year 1948 was the endpoint of a very important Cursed Time cycle. It should have marked the end of Babylon's long-term reign over the nations. When the Israeli state was established in 1948, many prophecy teachers assumed that this was the start of a seven-year tribulation. War broke out immediately after their declaration of independence, and people were confidently predicting the second coming of Christ 3-1/2 years later, or perhaps 7 years later.
Of course, none of this happened. The prophecy teachers did not have enough data at the time to see that there were other things going on under the surface. They made many assumptions that proved to be untrue.
The primary false assumption they made was that the Jews were Israel. No, the Jews are the descendants of THREE nations that are important in biblical prophecy. The first is Judah, from which the term "Jew" is derived. The second is Esau-Edom, which was absorbed into the Jewish nation in 126 B.C. by forcible conversion. The third is Gog and Magog, that is the Khazar-Jewish people of southern Russia and Eastern Europe.
This third group of people converted to Judaism about 740 A.D., and the Jewish Encyclopedia has much to say about them. Likewise, Jewish author, Arthur Koestler, devoted an entire book about them.
We do not have the space to deal with all of these interesting histories here. This is a blog, not a book. But all are very important to the year 1948. The details are in my book, The Struggle for the Birthright. It is available for online reading free of charge.
The first factor that the prophecy teachers in 1948 did not understand is the Esau factor. In Genesis 27 we are told the sad story of how Jacob lied to his father in order to steal the blessing from his blind father (Isaac). Certainly, the earlier prophecy in Gen. 25:23 showed that Jacob (the younger son) would receive the Birthright, rather than Esau (the older twin). But that is no excuse for lying. Jacob obtained it in an unlawful manner, and this elicited a secondary prophecy to Esau from Isaac in Gen. 27:40,
"and it shall come to pass when thou [Esau] shalt have the dominion, that thou shalt break his [Jacob's] yoke from off thy neck."
In other words, the wrong that Jacob did to Esau would have to be made right at some point in the future. The Dominion Mandate would have to be given back to Esau for a season in order to allow God time to fulfill all things in a lawful manner.
But meanwhile, there was a blood feud between Jacob and Esau that continued for many centuries. It finally culminated in the war by which Judah conquered and absorbed the Idumeans in 126 B.C. In no way did this do justice to Esau, nor did it fulfill Isaac's prophecy to him. In fact, it had the opposite effect, because the Idumeans lost what little "dominion" that they had.
God often fulfills prophecy in unusual ways that are impossible to figure out far in advance. But God knew the whole plan from the beginning, even if men did not. The Edomite converts to Judaism became some of the most violent, rabid Jewish nationalists in Judea, and the first-century historian, Josephus, has much to say about them. They were a major cause of the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D., not because they fought AGAINST Jerusalem, but because they were Jewish nationalists provoking the Romans.
When the Jews were scattered, the Edomite converts soon became indistinguishable from the genealogical Judahites. The merger between Judah and Edom was complete.
Then in the 20th century a new movement arose called Zionism. It glorified the first-century rebels who had fought the Romans. It paid no regard to the laws of tribulation in the law of Moses, which said in Lev. 26:40-42 that captivity and dispersion would be reversed only when the people acknowledged their hostility against Yahweh. Neither could they truly worship Yahweh while rejecting the Son. 1 John 2:23 says,
"Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father; the one who confesses the Son has the Father also."
Their hostility against the Son is self-evident to this day. Thus, it was not lawfully possible for Judah to be released from tribulation. But because the Jews were representing TWO nations, it was possible for Zionism to succeed because of Isaac's promise to Esau.
In 1948 Jacob was forced to give the Dominion back to Esau, and this included also the Fruitfulness Mandate of the Birthright. It was not because Esau was righteous. It was because Jacob had taken the Birthright in an unlawful manner back in Genesis 27.
So God arranged for the British to take Palestine in 1917, so that its flag ("Union Jack") would fly over Palestine until 1948. When Union "Jack" (Jacob) was taken down, the dominion returned to Esau, represented by the new Israeli government.
In this way, Isaac's promise was fulfilled, and Esau's representatives took the Dominion not only from Jacob but also from Babylon, for Babylon's time had also been completed in 1948. Likewise, the Latter Rain movement was raised up in 1948, divinely anointed to speak on behalf of the Church to bear witness to the Dominion of Esau.
The Latter Rain was prophesied on Feb. 12, 1948, and the Spirit of God began to be poured out two days later on Feb. 14. The prophecy occurred 62 years ago today. (We will have more to say about this 62-year cycle tomorrow.)
We know from the NT that the Sons of God are the true Birthright inheritors. They are the ones who will end up with the Birthright. But they could not inherit the Birthright until their final competitor had proven himself to be unworthy. Esau had to be given the Birthright until the law of the hated son was satisfied (Deut. 21:15-23).
Esau was "hated" (Mal. 1:3) in a judicial sense, so that he would come under the divine protection of the law of the hated son.
The law of the hated son in Deut. 21 protects the oldest son from a father who prefers to give the family birthright to a younger son--something that was common in those days of polygamy. Wives were often jealous of each other and plotted to make their son the inheritor of the estate. The law made it clear that the oldest son could not be disinherited on the whim of the father.
The NASB below tones down the word "hated," because it is really more of a judicial hatred than an emotional one. It is better understood as being "unloved."
(15) If a man has two wives, the one loved and the other unloved, and both the loved and the unloved have borne him sons, if the first-born son belongs to the unloved, (16) then it shall be in the day he wills what he has to his sons, he cannot make the son of the loved the first-born before the son of the unloved, who is the first-born. (17) But he shall acknowledge the first-born, the son of the unloved, by giving him a double portion of all that he has, for he is the beginning of his strength; to him belongs the right of the first-born.
Jacob and Esau were twins, but Esau was the first-born. Although this law was written down by Moses many years after the twins were born, it reflects the mind and will of God from the beginning. Thus, Esau had certain rights as the first-born son of Isaac.
Even so, the prophecy itself, given while Rebecca was pregnant with the twins, stated that "the older shall serve the younger." (Gen. 25:23). That was a statement of divine intent, but of course this did not mean that the law could be violated in order to establish the prophecy. In fact, this is the problem with understanding prophecy without knowing the law. We end up trying to fulfill the prophecy in an unlawful manner, and then we mess it up for future generations.
This is what happened in the case of Jacob and Esau. Isaac must have thought he was going to die soon, because he decided to pass the Birthright to Esau. Rebecca panicked and induced Jacob to pretend to be Esau in order to fulfill the prophecy by deception. The plan worked, but not without serious consequences that had to be rectified in the 20th century.
Throughout Scripture we are shown the violent nature of Esau and his descendants (Edom), who lived in Mount Seir. They were angry and bloodthirsty (Ez. 35:6) and constantly plotted a way to get back the Birthright and the inheritance in Canaan (Ez. 35:10). Isaiah calls it "the controversy of Zion" (Is. 34:8).
In other words, the Edomites were the original Zionists. They longed to inherit the land of Canaan and were angry that their desire was thwarted by Jacob's deception. They certainly did not believe the original prophecy given before the birth of the twins. They saw only that their rights were being denied, and they blamed Jacob without seeing the bigger picture.
If they had believed God, they would have understood Isaac's prophetic blessing in Gen. 27::40 and would have prepared their hearts to be worthy of the Birthright, so that when it was returned to them, they would have had the spiritual character to fulfill the responsibility of the Birthright--to become the Sons of God.
But instead, they allowed anger and bitterness to become part of their national character.
God then said in Malachi 1:2 and 3,
(2) "I have loved you," says the Lord. But you say, "How hast Thou loved us?" Was not Esau Jacob's brother?" declares the Lord. "Yet I have loved Jacob; (3) but I have hated Esau . . ."
Many have used this verse to justify their own hatred for those they think are God's "enemies." But in fact, God was telling us that He was going to protect the rights of Esau as the first-born son of Isaac in this matter of the Birthright. Esau, then, could not be disinherited until he had proved himself to be unworthy.
So the Plan of God, as proven by plain history, was to have Esau's descendants (Edom, Idumea, or Mt. Seir) conquered and absorbed by Judah in 126 B.C. They were forcibly converted to Judaism and within a century they were the most rabidly zealous Jews of all.
It is possible to forcibly convert people to a religion, but it is not possible to force someone to really know God or have a personal relationship with Him.
But God used this tactic to unite one fleshly religion with another. If you follow Paul's line of reasoning in Galatians 4:22-31, you see that the old Jerusalem is "Hagar," and those who adhere to that religious system are spiritual Ishmaelites. The Edomites were united with these spiritual "Ishmaelites" already by the time of Paul, and both had fleshly mindsets.
Once united, they were fully integrated in the next 1900 years to make them indistinguishable, except by observing their character. When the Zionist movement began a century ago, it was done by carnal means through stealth, deception, theft, and much bloodshed.
Many streams of prophecy were all fulfilled at the same time. The Edomites, who had desired the land of Canaan, finally fulfilled their dreams. The cursed fig tree of Judah, came back to life and was full of the fig leaves of self-justification. The Old Covenant ("Hagar") was revived and injected even into Church theology, making the New Covenant a temporary interlude to benefit second-class citizens of the Kingdom (i.e., non-Jewish Christians).
Probably the most significant prophecy of all is missed by the vast majority of Christians, because they do not know the difference between the Jews and Israel. They do not realize that the Birthright was actually given to Joseph, not to Judah. Joseph's sons were given the name Israel, the name given to Jacob by the angel who blessed him (Gen. 32:28; 48:16). In 1 Chron. 5:2 we are told outright that "the birthright belonged to Joseph," but it is buried in the genealogy of Reuben where no one can find it.
God's purpose, however, was to make it appear that 'Joseph" had been lost in "Egypt." In other words, the Israelites had been taken to Assyria and were the "lost tribes," even as Joseph himself had been lost in Egypt. The prophecy of Manasseh was about forgetting his father's house (Gen. 41:51). In other words, they would forget their identity as Israelites.
With the descendants of Joseph remaining "lost," and presumed dead, God was able to set up a reversal of the original problem with Jacob and Esau. Even as Jacob pretended to be Esau in order to obtain the Birthright by stealth, so also did the modern representatives of Esau pretend to be Jacob (Israel) in order to regain the Birthright by stealth.
That is the biblical history of modern Zionism, which becomes apparent by studying the law of God. The law of the hated son shows us that a first-born son could not be disinherited except he first prove himself to be unworthy. Hence, the next law in Deut. 21 reads,
(18) If any man has a stubborn and rebellious son who will not obey his father or his mother, and when they chastise him, he will not even listen to them . . .
Such sons lose their rights, even if they are the first-born. The Edomite nation was such a rebellious son. When God chastised them, they only became more and more bitter. They refused to repent. And so God incorporated them into world Jewry and gave them the Birthright in 1948, along with the Birthright name Israel. This immediately placed upon their shoulders the responsibility to bring forth the fruits of the Kingdom.
They have now had 62 years to prove themselves worthy or unworthy. In 1948 they took the authority from Nimrod but did not fulfill the Birthright responsibility to be a blessing to all families of the earth.
In order for God to give justice to Esau, He had to make us as blind as Isaac, so that Esau could pretend to be Jacob and take the Birthright, along with its name, Israel. This was done by the "eye for an eye" law in Exodus 21:24. Just as Jacob had taken advantage of Isaac's blindness and pretended to be Esau to obtain the Birthright in Genesis 27, so also did Esau take advantage of "Isaac's" blindness in the 20th century, pretending to be Jacob.
The entire "blindness" theme in the Bible is rooted in the original pattern of Isaac's blindness. The "blind servant" sections of Isaiah are based upon the fact that Isaac was the son of Abraham who was placed on the altar in Gen. 22, dedicating him as God's servant. It was, in essence, the consecration of Isaac's descendants as "servant people." Isaac was blind for about half of his life, because God had purpose in this to establish a prophetic pattern for future generations.
This blindness also became a factor in fulfilling the pattern of Joseph, the true Birthright holder who was lost in Egypt and presumed to be dead for many years. His descendants of the northern tribes of Israel (including Ephraim and Manasseh) became the so-called "lost tribes of Israel" and were presumed to be "dead" and lost forever. Yet their restoration, Paul says, will be like life from the dead (Rom. 11:15).
It is not hard to find the physical descendants of those "lost tribes," if one cares to look at the historical evidence. But God blinded most people in order to fulfill the prophetic pattern that Joseph himself established in his personal life. And this is what allowed Esau to pretend to be the inheritor of the Birthright in 1948, taking upon himself the name of Israel that had been given to the sons of Joseph in Gen. 48:16.
It used to distress me that people could not see this, because it is so plain in Scripture. But then I realized that this blindness was of God, and no amount of Bible study, logic, or reasoning was going to change this until God brought about the conditions whereby Joseph would be found.
In 1948 God moved by His Spirit in a new way, and the so-called "Latter Rain" movement was initiated. It was prophesied on Feb. 11 or 12 and on Valentine's Day, February 14, 1948 the Spirit of God began to be poured out at Sharon Bible School in North Battleford, Sask. in Canada. In my view, this was the movement God raised up to represent the Church as a whole. On behalf of the Church, they identified closely with the newly-formed Israeli state. They believed that the Latter Rain movement represented the spiritual side of the "natural" Israeli state.
The bottom line is that while this movement was genuine, it also was raised up within the context of Church blindness ("Isaac"). Babylon's time had come, and God raised up the true Birthright holders to receive the "latter rain" of the Holy Spirit. They received the revelation of the manifestation of the Sons of God, the Feast of Tabernacles, and many other things which go with the Birthright.
But because they thought (at first) that Esau was Jacob, they gave away the Birthright to Esau. And so the Latter Rain movement was short-lived, and the truth became perverted. In other words, they believed that the time had arrived for the manifestation of the Sons of God, but not realizing that they had just given away the Birthright and its right to "manifest" as Sons of God, they continued to lay claim to the Birthright that was no longer theirs. In fact, it had been postponed so that Esau could have time to enjoy the Birthright and to see what he would do with it.
Thus, the manifestation of the Sons of God was postponed for a future time, in order to give Esau time to prove himself worthy or unworthy. The Latter-Rain movement, then, was left holding an empty bag. While their revelation of the manifested sons of God was true at its core, they were blind to the revelation of timing. Many were left thinking that they were NOW perfected sons of God. They attempted to hold on by faith, but the reality was evident to most other people that they differed little from the rest of the Church.
The question up to now has been this: How long will God give Esau to prove himself? Back in 1993 we took note that our Jubilee Prayer Campaign was 46 years after the Palestinian Resolution in 1947. The number 46 was the time frame of Herod's Temple in John 2:20. That was the first important endpoint. The next important date was the Israeli's Jubilee in 1998. (I may relate that story later.)
But when the Israeli state continued in its path of violence and Old Covenant patterns, the next date to consider was 2010. This is 62 years after the Israeli state was established, and also 62 years after the Latter Rain.
When Babylon fell to the Medes and Persians, we read the account in Daniel 5:31,
"So Darius the Mede received the kingdom at about the age of sixty-two."
We have pondered this verse for many years. Why would God include this "trivia" in the Scripture? We know that all Scripture is given for instruction, and that the only "trivia" is the material that we do not yet understand.
Beginning in 2009 we started seeing signs of the emergence of Joseph and the transfer of the Birthright to those who would actually fulfill its responsibility to manifest the Sons of God. So we knew that Esau's time was soon to end, and the true Joseph-Israelites would be "found" and would then be confirmed as the true Birthright holders.
Last September the "treasure" hidden in the field was found. At Passover last April (and again this coming April) we will be having a Bible conference in Manassas, VA. Last December we heard the promise of the Father that He was about to open the eyes and ears of the people--which would have the effect of removing the "blindness" from Isaac.
We also have been seeing signs of resurrection, which relates to Joseph who was thought to be "dead," but now is back from the dead.
Yesterday, on the 62nd anniversary of the Latter Rain, I was led to go back to the Church where I had been attending in the past two months. I was certain that I would hear the Word of the Lord that would either confirm or deny my discernment of the Latter Rain. To my delight, the preacher taught the people that "this is the year of manifestation." He spoke of this being the Year of Joseph. He gave practical instruction on what it means to live the life of Jesus Christ, to live according to the principles of the Birthright and act as if we are the Birthright holders.
I knew at that moment that the events of 1948 were being REVERSED in the Divine Court. Joseph had been found last September, blindness had been removed in December, resurrection had occurred in January, and now the Joseph company was receiving the Birthright.
This, of course, has been steadily emerging since last year. It is not happening all at once. But yesterday we reached another very important milestone that revealed the heart of the Father on Valentine's Day. We must still watch what happens February 21 and also at our "Joseph Conference" in San Jose on March 5-7, 2010.
We must also watch the Passover Conference April 2-4 in Manassas, VA. We must also watch the 62nd anniversary of the Israeli state on May 14, 2010. (By the Hebrew calendar, their Independence Day will be held on April 19, 2010, so this may also be a watch date.)
At this point, we know what we know, but we do not have the full picture. We must continue to be watchful so that we understand the revelation as it comes. We will know then what we must do in order to be in agreement with the Divine Plan.
To understand how Bible prophecy is being fulfilled today requires a proper understanding of two things: the feast of Tabernacles and modern Zionism. These are the dominant issues of our time, because we live in the prophesied era of the final struggle between flesh and spirit to obtain the Birthright of Joseph.
There are many issues that feed into this central focus, and to comprehend them all, one must have a good grasp of the Scriptures and of history. One must understand the conflict between the contenders for the Birthright--primarily Esau and Jacob, but also Ishmael and Isaac.
One must also know that this contention has come to us in two parts, because the Birthright itself comes in two parts: Dominion and Fruitfulness, which is Authority and Responsibility. In the first coming of Christ, the primary conflict was over the Dominion Mandate, because it was a struggle over the Throne Rights of the Messiah, Son of David. In the time of the second coming, however, the primary conflict is over the Fruitfulness Mandate given to Joseph, which is called the Birthright in 2 Chron. 5:1 and 2.
So if we had been living in the time of the New Testament, our focus would be different from what it is today. The main biblical pattern of our focus would have been on the story of David and Absalom. That was the OT pattern that played out in the NT, with Jesus playing the role of David, the chief priests playing the role of Absalom, and Judas playing the role of Ahithophel, David's counselor and friend who betrayed him.
But that was then, and now is now. The main story to discuss today is the story of Jacob and Esau and the "controversy of Zion" (Is. 34:8). Zionists may rant and rave against me, but they can never counter the historical data showing that the descendants of Esau (Idumea) were conquered and absorbed by Judea in 126 B.C. That is really the bottom line, and that simple fact ends all argument.
But the story of Esau is not the whole picture. We must also understand the identity of Israel, both on a physical and a spiritual (character) level, because this is the other side of the coin. Further, one must know the difference between Judah and Israel and that after the kingdom was divided into two nations, the prophets always distinguish between them.
The prophecies to each are different as well, because each has a different calling. Judah had been given the Dominion Mandate, and so his calling came to the forefront in the first coming of Christ. But Joseph was given the Fruitfulness Mandate (i.e., the "Birthright"), and so his calling is now coming to the forefront in the time of the second coming of Christ.
The prophets speak of the restoration of "Israel" many times. But the restoration of "Judah" is given only as they are in association with the house of Israel. Yet the nations had two very different histories. Israel was taken to Assyria and "lost." Judah was taken to Babylon for 70 years and then returned to the old land because the Messiah had to be born in Bethlehem of Judea.
Judah was not lost. And "Jew" is simply a contraction for "Judah." Hence, the Jews are not the Israelites of Bible prophecy, although they are trying hard to convince the uninformed that they are physical Israelites as well as Judahites. If their proposition had been true, they too would have been "lost," but it is self-evident that they were never lost. Hence, they are not fulfilling the prophetic pattern set forth in the life of Joseph, who was "lost" in Egypt for many years.
I remember in 1971 sitting down with my dad and showing him that Israel and Judah were two distinct nations. After a few minutes, he shook his head and said in an astonished voice, "I knew that, but I did not know it."
This Bible college graduate, pastor, and missionary had spent many years preaching the gospel, but blindness in part had covered his eyes. Because of this, he had been tricked into thinking that Judah and Israel were the same people, and that the descendants of Esau were those Israelites and Judahites. Like Isaac, he was blind and was unable to distinguish between Judah and Israel and also between Jacob and Esau.
Yet when the blinders were removed, he was able to see it clearly, because he already knew the Scriptures very well, and these came flooding into his memory.
But recently, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu spoke at the 65th anniversary of the liberation at Auswitch, saying that Ezekiel 37 was fulfilled there.
He was linking the valley of dry bones in Ezekiel 37 to the "death camp" as if the Jews had fulfilled the prophecies of Israel. In doing so, he was deliberately perpetuating the classic case of mistaken identity. That chapter is not about death camps, but about the loss of Joseph's tribes in Assyria in 721 B.C. It was about Israel being "swallowed up" by Assyria (Hos. 8:8, 9), even as Jonah had been swallowed up by the great fish before preaching to Nineveh, the "city of fish." As a nation, Israel "died" in Assyria.
Netanyahu probably missed the next prophecy in Ezekiel 37, which speaks of the "two sticks" of Judah and Joseph being re-united. Joseph must be found before he can be re-united with his brethren. So the prophetic pattern shows us in Genesis 45. But Joseph was not found in 1945 when Auswitch was liberated. If Joseph had been truly found, there would have been no Israeli state in 1948, because Esau would not have been able to trick Isaac into thinking he was Jacob and thereby take the Birthright for himself.
No, it is more likely that Joseph is being found in the year 2010. A reader pointed out just yesterday that the year 2010 is 6 x 490 years after the kingdom was divided in 931 B.C. I'm not sure how I missed that. It was staring me in the face for years. But my focus was upon the 210-year cycles (14 x 210) from 931 B.C. to 2010 A.D. I neglected to do the math and see that this is also 6 x 490 years.
As they say, "Pobody's Nerfect."
In Matthew 18:22 and 23 Jesus showed us that 490 (or 70 x 7) is the prophetic time granted before reckoning the accounts. It appears that the year 2010 is the Year of Reckoning, in this case, for Esau and Jacob, who have contended for the Birthright of Joseph-Israel.
This time cycle strongly implies that the problem of division in 931 B.C. is being rectified in 2010. Joseph is found. The bones are coming together. The sticks are being re-joined as one in the hand of Jesus Christ, the Head (Hos. 1:11).
I now have a better understanding of what occurred last Sunday, February 14, on the 62nd anniversary of the Latter Rain. The Birthright reverted back to Joseph, after the Latter Rain (representing the Church) gave it to Esau in 1948. Esau has now lost the Birthright (legally). This could only take place because Joseph has been found.
Joseph was "found" on Sept. 24, 2009, as the signs showed back then.
February 14, 2010 was the historical moment in time when the Birthright reverted back to Joseph, according to the Divine Court ruling. This does not mean that everyone now knows it. No, but it ought to be made known everywhere, for it is a huge step in the divine plan for the earth. Netanyahu's nonsense should be exposed by all who know the Scriptures and the prophetic history of Esau.
The good news is that in spite of all the blindness and mistaken identity, the divine plan is progressing perfectly well, because the Plan called for this blindness in the first place. It was integral to the plan. Up to now.
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