[NOTE: The map above is
not that shown on the front cover of the author’s book.]
[Writing from back
cover]
An intractable
{Page II}
“He sheweth his word unto Jacob, his statutes and
his judgments unto
He hath not dealt so with any nation: and as for his
judgments, they have not known them. Praise ye the Lord” (Ps. 147: 19, 20).
“What advantage then hath the Jew? Or what profit is there of circumcision?
Much every way: chiefly, because that unto them were committed the
oracles of God” (Rom. 3: 1, 2).
“Who are Israelites: to whom pertaineth
the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of
the law, and the service of God, and the promises;
Whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came,
who is over all,
God blessed
forever” (Rom 9: 4, 5).
“For I would not, brethren,
that ye should
be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits: that blindness in
part is happened to
And so all
-------
{Page III}
MIDDLE EAST PEACE:
HOW? WHEN?
BY
ARLEN
L CHITWOOD
-------
{Page IV}
By the
Same Author -
HAD YE BELIEVED MOSES
COMING IN HIS KINGDOM
WE ARE ALMOST THERE
THE MOST HIGH RULETH
FROM ACTS TO THE EPISTLES
IN THE LORD’S DAY
FROM
LET US GO ON
REDEEMED FOR A PURPOSE
JUDGMENT SEAT OF CHRIST
PROPHECY ON
MYSTERIES OF THE KINGDOM
THE BRIDE IN GENESIS
SEARCH FOR THE BRIDE
SEVEN, TEN GENERATIONS
THE TIME OF JACOB'S TROUBLE
THE TIME OF THE END
DISTANT HOOFBEATS
SALVATION BY GRACE THROUGH FAITH
SALVATION OF THE SOUL
SO GREAT SALVATION
THE SPIRITUAL WARFARE
BROUGHT FORTH FROM ABOVE
THE STUDY OF SCRIPTURE
SIGNS IN JOHN’S GOSPEL
MOSESANDJOHN
RUN TO WIN
GOD’S FIRSTBORN SONS
BY FAITH
JUDE
RUTH
ESTHER
-------
[Page V}
CONTENTS
FOREWORD Page vii
I YOUR
HOUSE LEFT DESOLATE (1) Page 1
THE HOUSE OF
II YOUR HOUSE LEFT DESOLATE (2) Page 9
DESOLATION TO CONTINUE UNTIL… THEN…
III THE INTRACTABLE MIDDLE EAST PROBLEM (1) Page 17
GOD’S NATIONAL FIRSTBORN SON, RETURNING BEFORE THE TIME
IV THE INTRACTABLE MIDDLE EAST PROBLEM (2) Page 29
GOD’S FIRSTBORN SON, RETURNING BEFORE THE TIME
V THE TURBULENT MIDDLE EAST (1) Page 39
UNREST IN THE MIDDLE EAST - THE REASON, THE SOLUTION
VI THE TURBULENT MIDDLE EAST (2) Page 45
UNREST IN THE MIDDLE EAST - TO ONE DAY CEASE
VII TIME OF
VIII TIME OF
IX THE GREAT IMAGE, GREAT BEASTS (1) Page 71
IDENTITY OF DANIEL’S IMAGE, THE FORTH GREAT BEAST
X THE GREAT IMAGE, GREAT BEASTS (2) Page 81
THE FOURTH PART OF THE IMAGE, THE FOURTH GREAT BEAST
XI THE BEAST AND THE WOMAN (1) Page 97
MYSTERY,
XII THE BEAST AND THE WOMAN (2) Page 117
THE WOMAN WHICH THOU SAWEST IS THAT
XIII THE BEAST AND THE WOMAN (3) Page 113
THE
XIV THE BEAST AND THE WOMAN (4) Page 133
KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS
APENDIXES
I. THREE
DAYS AND THREE NIGHTS Page 171
II. YAD VASHEM Page 181-186
SCRIPTURE INDEX Page 187-190 *
[*Not
included]
-------
{Page
VI blank: Page VII}
FOREWORD
This book has to do with
Solely from a Biblical
perspective, what place does
Note Deut.
32:10b
and Zech. 2:
8b as somewhat parallel verses to begin
dealing with the matter, again, solely from a Biblical perspective:
“... He [God] kept him
[
In short, God views all affairs
occurring in the human race through one means alone, through
Now, let’s approach the matter
from a different standpoint. Apart from
Israel, even with the nation’s present state of unbelief and disobedience, the
Gentile nations all find themselves in exactly the same position relative to an
association with the one true and living God - estranged from God, “without God in
the world” (Eph. 2: 12b).
And that should be simple enough
to understand, for, according to Gen. 9: 25-27 as the starting point - to begin explaining Eph. 2: 12a {Page VIII}
relative to Christians and Ps. 96: 5 relative to
the Gentile nations - not only is Israel the only nation on the face of the
earth with a God, but “the gods of the nations” are
clearly stated to be, “idols [lit., ‘nothing’ (compared to the one
true and living God), or ‘demons’].”
How can the preceding be true as
it pertains to the thought of “demons”
relative to the nations? The answer to
that is in the latter part of Daniel chapter ten. In the closing part of this chapter, the
government of the Gentile nations is seen from two perspectives - earthly
and heavenly.
In the earthly realm,
individuals in the human race occupy positions of power and authority.
In the heavenly realm, angels occupying positions of
power and authority in the kingdom under Satan (demonic beings) rule from the
heavens through those occupying positions of power and authority on earth (Dan. 10: 12-20; Eph. 3: 10; 6: 12).
Note where this places the
Gentile nations in relation to possessing a God during the present day and time
when they, because of Israel’s unbelief and disobedience, can’t go to the one
nation in possession of a God. They are left with the only god available, as
their rulers occupy positions of power under demons. They are left with “the god of this world [‘age’ - one age, covering Man’s 6,000-year Day]”
(2 Cor. 4: 4).
(For additional information on
both
Now, put just these two parts of
the picture together and one can easily and clearly see how and why God views
all activity occurring among the nations after only one fashion - through
1)
2) And the nations, unlike
And the preceding is exactly what
God has done since the call of Abraham 4,000 years ago, continues to do today,
and will always continue to do (or, this, as well, would have to be seen in the
lineage from Adam to Abraham throughout the twenty generations during the first
2,000 years of human history [e.g., Noah
and his family]). God has to do things
in this manner, for
(As an example of the bowels of
Abraham, note in Gen. 10: 5, 25, 32; 11: 5-8; Deut. 32: 8 that God
divided the nations and set their boundaries following the Flood, during
Peleg’s day, “according to the number of the children
of Israel.” And
God did this before Abraham was even born [Peleg’s death preceded Abraham’s
birth], centuries before
Or, note
the beginning of the sojourn of the seed of Abraham thirty years before Abraham
even had a seed [cf. Gen. 15: 13, 14; Ex. 12: 40, 41; Gal. 3: 17, 18; ref. Ch. VI in
the author’s book, WE ARE ALMOST THERE].)
Remove
However, leave
But, again, this can be brought
to pass only one way, as revealed in the Word - through
(Clarification needs to be made
about Christians in the preceding respect.
Unlike the nations, but like
Then, exactly in accord with Deut. 32: 10b and Zech. 2: 8b, God
views Christians through
Putting all of this together,
note the present situation in the
To introduce the picture of the
existing situation, in the light of that which has already been presented,
let’s drop back some 3,500 years in Jewish history, to Moses’ day.
Moses, during his forty-year
rejection by the Jewish people, was tending sheep on the far side of the desert
when a burning bush captured his attention.
“The angel of the Lord” appeared to Moses out of
the midst of the fire, the bush burned continuously but was not consumed, and “God called unto him out of the midst of the bush...” (Ex. 3: 2-4).
It is evident from the context -
“I have seen the affliction of my people which are in
Exactly the same thing is seen
over 900 years later in the book of Daniel.
Three Israelites, representing the nation as a whole, were cast into a
fiery furnace, heated seven times hotter than normal. Then, a fourth person is seen in the fire
with them. And these three Israelites
emerged completely unharmed, without the smell of fire on their garments,
without even a hair on their heads singed (Dan.
3: 19-27; cf. Dan.
6: 16-24).
Again, God viewed matters during
Daniel’s day from the same vantage point seen during Moses’ day.
{Page
XI}
Then, bringing this down into
modern times, where was God when 6,000,000 Jews were slain during the
twelve-year reign of the Third Reich?
The answer, of course, is seen in Exodus and Daniel. God was there, in the midst of His people,
viewing the persecuting Gentile nation from that vantage point. And though 6,000,000 Jews perished, the
nation itself lives.
Note one of the many promises
which
“No
weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment
thou shalt condemn…” (Isa. 54: 17a).
So, where does that leave the
world with the current situation in the Middle East - with
As this is being written
(August, 2014), here’s the picture in the
The Palestinian Arabs, ruling in
Even though the nation exists in
an unrepentant and unbelieving state, God still resides in their midst and
views the Gentile nations through
(In this respect, note the
inseparable association of God [manifested in the flesh] with
{Page XII}
One’s attitude toward and
treatment of Israel [individuals or nations] - whether negative or positive - is an
attitude toward and treatment of the One in Israel’s midst, the
God of Israel, the one true and living God.
“
Then there is the matter of individuals
trying to effect peace between
These individuals really need to
check the Book and find out not only who they are dealing with but what they
are dealing with. The Middle East
situation which man is vainly seeking to deal with has its roots in 4,000 years
of Jewish history and can only be dealt with by the One in Israel’s midst (cf.
Ps. 139: 1ff).
(For information in the
preceding realm, refer to the author’s book,
Though an Israeli nation exists
in the
And, with this in mind, how does
God view the Gentile nations where these Jews are scattered? The answer, of course, is evident. It has already been given in the two verses
quoted at the beginning of this chapter.
God resides in the midst of His people and views these nations through
the Jewish people in their midst.
The whole of the matter is
really that simple, in the
“For my
thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your
ways my ways, saith the Lord.
For as the heavens are
higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways,
and my thoughts than your thoughts” (Isa. 55: 8, 9).
* * *
[Page 1]
CHAPTER I
Your House Left Desolate (1)
THE HOUSE OF
Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify;
and some of them
shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city:
That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the
earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias
son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar.
Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this
generation.
O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them
which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together,
even as a hen
gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!
Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.
For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say,
Blessed is he
that cometh in the name of the Lord (Matt.
23: 34-39).
When God called
[Page 2]
And everything which has occurred within
Israeli history down through the years, from Moses’ day until the present day,
has had its roots within
A theocracy, with God’s
firstborn son realizing the rights of primogeniture within that theocracy, was
in the offing during Moses’ day. But,
because of unbelief, the people refused
to enter the land at Kadesh-Barnea and conquer the inhabitants, as God had
commanded.
And, as a result, the Israelites
entering the land and realizing a theocracy within the land was delayed until
that entire unbelieving and accountable generation (those twenty years old and
above [Num. 14:
29]) had
passed off the scene.
As well, because Moses
subsequently struck the rock in Num. 20: 8-11, in
direct disobedience to God’s command, he was also numbered with that generation
and was not allowed to lead the Israelites into the land. The Lord, instead,
subsequently appointed Joshua for this task (Num.
20: 12; 27: 12-14; Deut. 34: 1-12).
Thus, once all those having a
part in the unbelief exhibited at Kadesh-Barnea had died, along with Moses,
Joshua was allowed to lead the nation into the land. And the theocracy, which had come into
existence at
The theocracy lasted until the
time of the Babylonian captivity, when the Glory departed from the
The theocracy though, throughout
the centuries of its existence - because of continual disobedience on the son’s
part - never came anywhere near the heights which God’s calling for His son
involved.
Then, when Christ came about six
hundred years following the Babylonian captivity and the end of the theocracy,
a remnant had returned to the land (a return which had begun under Zerubbabel over
five centuries earlier). And though a
remnant was in the land at this time, forming an Israeli nation, there
was no restoration of the theocracy, for there was no Glory.
[Page 3]
The Glory would not return until
following
The Times of the Gentiles
The Times of the Gentiles has to
do with that period of time during Man’s Day when the Gentiles hold the sceptre, when the Gentiles exercise control in
the government and in world affairs.
The Times of the Gentiles has to
do with that period of time during which there is no Glory in the camp of Israel (though there may be an existing
Temple); or, another way of stating the matter, this period has to do with the
time lying between the departure of and the subsequent restoration of the Glory.
The Times of the Gentiles was
running its course when Christ was here the first time.
And, though a
But events transpired which
resulted in a complete reversal of the
position which
[Page 4]
And centuries later, when Christ
was upon earth, the Gentiles still exercised control over world affairs,
something which has continued down to the present day and time.
Why had this been allowed to
occur? Why had matters been allowed to
go in this direction, with the Gentiles exercising governmental control after
this fashion - control which included both the Jewish people and their land? Why
had God dealt with
And not only was Israel under
Gentile dominion when Christ came the first time, but the nation, in its
unbelief and disobedience, wanted nothing to do with the One announced by the
wise men to be their King; nor did they want anything to do with the [Messiah’s] proffered kingdom.
Why? After all, acceptance would have freed them from
1) The
Offer and Re-offer of the Kingdom
God went to great lengths in
both an offer of the kingdom preceding Christ’s crucifixion (an offer lasting about three
and one-half years) and a re-offer of the kingdom following Christ’s
resurrection and ascension (a
subsequent offer lasting about thirty additional years). But
In the first offer of the
kingdom, the Jewish people,
in their rejection, went so far as to crucify the One making the offer. The religious leaders, even though they knew
Christ’s identity - One Who had come from God, the Heir of the vineyard - were not going
to have this Man reign over them. Thus,
they not only cast Him out of the vineyard but slew Him (cf. Matt. 21: 33ff; John 3: 2).
Then, in the
re-offer of the kingdom,
They still were not going to
have the Heir of the vineyard
reign over them (which would, during the re-offer of the kingdom, have
necessitated His return from heaven [cf. Acts
3: 19-21;
7: 56, 57]).
[Page 5]
The entire nation, save “a remnant according to the election of grace” (Rom. 11: 5), followed the downward course set by its
religious leaders; and this resulted in God eventually ceasing His dealings
with Israel (about 62 A.D.) for the remainder of what can only be seen as a new
dispensation (no longer a Jewish dispensation, but now a Christian dispensation
[moving from the typology of Gen. 23 to that of Gen.
24]).
(Israel was set aside in 33 A.D.
at the time of Christ’s crucifixion, at the end of the sixty-ninth week in
Daniel’s Seventy-Week prophecy [Dan. 9: 24-27]. God,
so to speak, stopped the clock marking off time in the prophecy, and set the
nation aside until time in the prophecy again resumes [seven years remain in
the prophecy, which will be fulfilled during the coming seven-year
Tribulation].
Then, fifty-three days later, on
the day of Pentecost, God called into existence the one new man “in Christ,”
to be the recipient of that which Israel had rejected, which had been taken
from Israel [Matt. 21:
43; 1 Peter 2:
9, 10] -
the proffered kingdom, the heavenly sphere of the kingdom, not the earthly sphere [the kingdom covenanted
to David, which can never be taken from Israel].
And though
As the Twelve and the Seventy had been called to carry the message to
And the reason for the re-offer of the kingdom [as
seen in the parable of the marriage festivities in Matt.
22: 1-14] could only be the same as the reason for previous offer. It had to do with
[Page 6]
2)
Blessings and Curses
But, even though
(God, through Moses, had
outlined this entire matter in graphic and minute detail to
And throughout the remainder of
that dispensation and the ensuing dispensation, during the time when
Blessings of this nature would
have to await a time when
The picture is that of God’s
firstborn son,
However, some of the Gentiles
(nations and individuals) - not really understanding that which has happened -
have brought curses upon themselves by seeking to help God chasten His son.
“And I
will ... curse him that curseth thee...” (Gen. 12: 3a).
“...I am jealous for
And l am very sore
displeased with the heathen [the Gentiles] that are at ease; for I was a little displeased [with
my son], and they helped forward the affliction
[anti-Semitic actions of the Gentiles]” (Zech.
1: 14b, 15).
Others (nations and
individuals), on the other hand - some understanding, some not understanding
that which has happened - have brought blessings upon themselves by being a
friend to the Father’s son (though not the abundance of blessings reserved for
the Gentiles, with
“And I will bless them that bless thee...” (Gen. 12: 3a).
3)
Recognizing
The whole of world conditions
down through the centuries has revolved around God’s plans and purposes
surrounding Israel in the preceding respect - i.e., His dealings with Israel relative to the
nation’s calling, and His resultant dealings with the Gentile nations relative to
Israel’s calling.
Everything in this respect has
revolved around and continues to revolve around
And, apart from the Gentile
nations of the world occupying their proper place in God’s plans and purposes
surrounding
That’s how IMPORTANT the nation
of
Nor can that which has happened
to Israel over the centuries - from the brickyards in Egypt to the crematoriums
in Auschwitz, typified by the ever-burning bush in Arabia during Moses’ day, or
the three Hebrew men in a furnace heated seven times hotter [Page 8] than normal during Daniel’s day - be explained any way other
than that which is set forth in Scripture relative to the nation’s calling.
The Father is chastening
His son, because of disobedience. And, at times, the Gentile
nations have stepped in and “helped forward the affliction [the
chastisement],” something which God has allowed in order to effect His
purpose for uprooting His people from their land and scattering them among the
nations (though these same
Gentile nations have paid or will pay dearly for their part in the matter [Gen. 12: 3]).
As long as God’s son continues
unrepentant, the chastisement will continue.
And not only will it continue, but in the latter days, through the
Gentiles seeking to help “forward the affliction,” conditions will become so
tumultuous that “except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved” (Matt. 24: 22a).
But in That Day
But in that day, God is going to
intervene in man’s vain attempts to help chasten His son. God is going to supernaturally shorten those
days, and He will do this for the sake of His son.
And it will be following this
time that all of the past chastisement will bear fruit. The son will ultimately be brought to the
place of repentance, allowing God to send the Deliverer, restore a converted
Jewish people to their land, bring the Times of the Gentiles to an end, and
restore the theocracy to
There is that which Scripture
has to say about
the matter, and there is that which man may think or say about the matter. The two are worlds apart.
The Creator has stated the
matter in no uncertain terms, and He has stated the matter to both inform and warn His
son. Obedience results in blessings, and disobedience results in
curses.
God’s disobedient son must be brought to the place of
repentance. Only then can God bless
(For additional information on
the preceding, refer to the author’s books, ISRAEL - FROM DEATH TO LIFE and DISTANT HOOFBEATS.)
* * *
[Page 9]
CHAPTER II
Your House Left Desolate (II)
DESOLATION TO CONTINUE UNTIL... THEN...
Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify;
and some of them
shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city:
That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the
earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias
son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar.
Verily I ay unto you, All these things shall come upon this
generation.
O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them
which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together,
even as a hen
gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!
Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.
For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say,
Blessed is he
that cometh in the name of the Lord (Matt.
23: 34-39).
When Christ came the first
time, He appeared to
“Repent ye [the entire
nation]: for the kingdom of the heavens is at hand” (Matt. 3: 1, 2; 4: 17; 10: 1-7).
[Page 10]
The theocracy could have been
restored (cf. Acts 1: 3-7); and
though only the heavenly aspect of the kingdom was being offered to the nation at this time, any realization of
the heavenly would have necessitated a realization of the earthly as well. One cannot exist in its fulness in this
respect apart from the other.
(“Repentance”
and the use of the word in Scripture is, more often than not, misunderstood [e.g., unsaved individuals often called
upon to
repent prior to believing (some
attempt to make repentance and belief synonymous or inseparable); or,
in a similar respect, seeing the call for Israel to repent in the gospel
accounts and in Acts as a call to the
unsaved].
The word “repent” is a translation of the Greek word, metanoia, or in its verb form, metanoeo. Both
are compound words [the preposition meta (meaning, “with”) prefixed to
words derived from vous (meaning, “mind”)]. Thus,
these compound words, in their base sense, mean “with
the mind.”
The word [either noun or verb
form] refers to doing something with the mind, and that referenced through the use of this word has to do with changing
one’s mind. And that is really all that the word
means.
The Jewish people in the gospels
and Acts were called upon to
change their minds relative to their continued disobedience, which would lead to a change of
actions, etc.
Relative to salvation today,
does an unsaved person have to repent?
He does if he has to change his mind about Christ before he can believe,
though most today would probably have to make up their minds rather than change
their minds prior to belief. But either
way, it is believing that saves a person, not making up or changing one’s
mind. The latter would only place a
person in the position where he can believe and be saved.)
The message proclaimed to Israel
during Christ’s earthly ministry was God through one Son calling His other son to
acknowledge that which had been done, and repent (cf. Ex. 4: 22, 23; Hos. 11: 1; Matt. 2: 15; Heb. 1: 6). But the other son refused, and the story of
Cain and [Page 11] Abel in Genesis chapter four
began to be fulfilled in the antitype.
One son rose up against the other Son, and slew Him. As Coin rose up against Abel and slew him,
Then the story continues from
Genesis chapter four. Cain’s punishment
for this act was something which he looked upon as greater than he could
bear. He was to be driven from the
Lord’s face out upon the earth, he was to be “a fugitive and
a vagabond in the earth [a fugitive moving from place to place across the face of the
earth, with no permanent home]”; and, in this condition, he would find himself
at the mercy of those upon the earth.
Others would seek to slay him,
but would be unable to do so. God, in
spite of that which Cain had done, would not only supernaturally protect Cain,
but He would judge those who did seek to slay him (Gen.
4: 13-15).
And this is exactly what has
happened to the Jewish people over the centuries since they slew their Brother.
Some of these Gentile nations
where the Jewish people have been scattered have sought to help God chasten His
son through forwarding the affliction (Zech. 1: 14, 15). They, as Cain feared would happen to him when
he was driven out in this manner, have sought to take
But
[Page 12]
The classic example of this in
modern times would be that which occurred in
The Third Reich built the
concentration camps, the crematoriums, and sought to produce a Jew-free
Where though was God when the
Jewish people were suffering and dying by the tens and hundreds of thousands in
the Nazi death camps? Moses provides the
answer to that question as well, along with the answers to any other questions
which can be raised relative to the Jewish people.
The answer is seen by asking:
Where was God when the Israelites were suffering under the Assyrian Pharaoh in
Note where God was during the
sufferings of the Jewish people in Moses’ day:
“And the angel
of the Lord appeared unto him [Moses] in a flame of fire out
of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with
fire, and the bush was not consumed.
And Moses said, I will
now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt.
And when the Lord saw that
he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said,
Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I...
And the Lord said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in
[Page 13]
The picture is that of
(Exactly
the same thing can be seen through the sufferings of God’s Son at
This is why treatment accorded
either Son - whether good or bad - is treatment accorded God Himself (Matt. 25: 31-46). It
was God Himself, manifest in the flesh, dying at
The burning bush during Moses’
day, representing
Thus, where was God when the
Jewish people were being gassed and placed in the crematoriums at
Israel could no more be consumed
in the gas chambers and crematoriums during the reign of the Third Reich than
could the three Israelites be consumed in the fiery furnace during
Nebuchadnezzar’s day - a furnace heated seven times hotter than it was normally
heated, so hot that it slew those who cast the three Israelites into the
furnace (“seven,”
a
complete number, evidently
indicating that the furnace was to be heated as hot as
possible without destroying the furnace).
[Page 14]
The fire though had no power
over these Israelites, none whatsoever.
Not a single hair on their heads was singed by the fire; nor was there
even the smell of fire or smoke on them or their undamaged garments.
(For additional information on
the preceding, refer to the author’s book, DISTANT HOOFBEATS, Chs. I-II] and the two appendixes.)
During “the time of Jacob’s trouble” (Jer. 30:
7), when Antichrist exercises full power, he
will enact a form of anti-Semitism without parallel in history. He will seek to destroy the Jewish people,
not just in the Middle East and
(Some 6,000,000 Jews were slain
in
During the coming Tribulation,
mainly during the last half [the last three and one-half years], two-thirds of the
Jewish population of the earth will die [about 9,000,000 by today’s
count]. One part will die as a result of
famine and related diseases, the other part by the sword [Ezek 5: 12; Zech. 13: 8, 9].
This will be the day when Satan,
through the one who will sit on his throne in that day - to whom Satan will
give “his power” and “great
authority” [Rev. 13: 2] - will
seek to do and complete that which the Third Reich under Hitler, among others
preceding him, attempted. Satan in that
day, through the one seated on his throne, will seek to bring about that which
the Third Reich called, the “Final Solution to the Jewish
Question,” often termed
simply, “Final Solution.”
And the end result of that which
Satan will attempt in that day will be exactly the same as the end result of
any and all of his attempts [Page 15] to
destroy the Jewish people down through history.
It cannot be otherwise, for he can succeed only by destroying the One in
the midst of the burning bush during Moses’ day, the fourth Person in the
furnace during Daniel’s day.
Satan knows that the only way he
can remain on the throne is to do away with
God has established
The Jewish people, remembering
the Holocaust, have a saying today: “Never Again!”
But,
a problem exists.
And that which is about to occur
will be worse, far worse.
The Old Testament type for all of
this is set forth in the Book of Exodus.
Moses wrote about the matter in great detail almost 3,500 years ago -
detail which will be fulfilled exactly as recorded:
The Assyrian Pharaoh, seeking to
destroy the Jewish people in Egypt during Moses’ Day (Ex.
1: 8ff; Isa. 52: 4),
typifies the Assyrian (Antichrist) of the end time, who will raise his hand
against Israel after the same fashion (Isa. 10: 5; 14: 25; 23: 13; 30: 31; 31: 8; Hosea 11: 5).
Just as God supernaturally
protected His people under the post Assyrian, He will supernaturally protect
His people under the future Assyrian (Ex. 1: 11 ff; Micah 5: 5, 6).
Just as the Jewish people in the
past were driven to the place where they cried out to God for deliverance, the Jewish
people yet future will be driven to the place where they will cry out to God
for deliverance (Ex. 2: 23; Hosea 5: 15).
Just as God heard His [persecuted and suffering]
people’s cry in Egypt, remembering His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,
He will hear His [persecuted and suffering] people’s cry yet future,
scattered throughout the earth, [Page 16]
remembering His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Ex. 2: 24 - 3: 9; Hosea 6: 1, 2; Ezek. 39: 25-29). Just as God then sent Moses back to His
people to deliver them in the past, He will then send [their Messiah,] Jesus
back to His people to deliver them yet future (Ex.
3: 10; 4: 19ff; Rev. 19: 11ff).
Just as the Jewish people
received the one whom they had previously rejected (Moses) when he returned in
past time, the Jewish people will receive the One Whom they had previously
rejected (Jesus) when He returns yet future (Ex.
4: 29-31; Zech. 12: 10-14). Just
as the Jewish people slew paschal lambs and applied the blood in that past day,
the Jewish people yet future will apply (through believing) the blood of the
Paschal Lamb Whom they slew 2,000 years ago (Ex.
12: 1ff; Isa. 53: 1ff).
Just as God, in that past day,
then led His people out of Egypt under Moses, God, in that future day, will
then lead His people out from a worldwide dispersion under Jesus (Ex. 12: 40, 41; 14: 13-22; Matt. 24: 29-31).
Just as the power of
The Son of righteousness will
arise with healing in His wings (Mal. 4: 2), a
repentant nation will look upon the One Whom they pierced, a nation will be born
in a day, the nation will be restored to the land, and the theocracy will be
restored to Israel (Deut. 30: 1-3; Isa.
66: 8; Ezek. 37: 1ff; Joel 3: 17-21; Zech. 13: 6; Rev. 1: 7).
The Prophets have spoken; and
it will all happen, exactly as foretold in the unchangeable
Word.
Then, and
only then, will blessings flow out from God through
* * *
[Page 17]
CHAPTER III
The Intractable
GOD’S NATIONAL FIRSTBORN SON, RETURNING BEFORE THE TIME
Thus saith the Lord,
And I say unto thee, Let my son go, that he may serve me... (Ex. 4: 22b, 23a).
There is an existing
problem in the Middle East, having to do with
“
James Baker was also one of the
two men who co-chaired the Iraq Study Group in late 2006, turning out an
assessment and recommendations - The Baker-Hamilton Report - on
[Page 18]
Was James Baker correct in his
assessment of the situation in the
Were James Baker, Lee Hamilton,
and others in this group correct concerning the more recent assessment of the
1) From a Biblical standpoint,
the situation is far worse than the report indicates.
2) Also from a Biblical
standpoint, the situation is much brighter than the report indicates.
And the preceding would require explanation,
providing, at the same time, information to address the whole of the issue at
hand.
A Biblical Base
First, dealing particularly with
the intractable problem in the
A Biblical base is simple and
easy to come by. However, it would
not be acceptable to the
secular world at all.
How could it be acceptable when
most of those in the Middle East are Moslems, along with the fact that the
Bible would not be acceptable as a base to work from by any nation attempting
to solve the problem, whether the United States or elsewhere?
Even
And the preceding would be true
even among many Christians in these nations, among those purporting to believe
the Bible.
Allow an example to illustrate
the point, part of which bears directly on the
[Page 19]
The One Nation with a God
In 1954, at the urging of President Eisenhower, the words “under God” were added to a line in the United States
pledge of allegiance to the flag, making the pledge of allegiance read, “one nation under God” (the words “under God” [or similar words] had been used in
statements and documents by a number of preceding U.S. presidents, beginning
with Washington, the first president).
But is the
Christians will fight the ACLU
and others through whatever means deemed necessary over this issue. But does either side really know what
Scripture has to say about the matter?
The Biblical base for this and
all the remainder of the
For “one
nation under God” a person would begin with Genesis chapter nine and
proceed from there. This chapter deals
with Noah and his three sons following the Flood, and everyone in the human
race today can trace their ancestry back to Noah through one of his three sons.
Note Gen.
9: 24-27:
“And
Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his
younger son had done unto him.
“And he
said, Cursed be
And he said, Blessed be the Lord God of Shem; and
God shall enlarge
Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of
Shem; and
[Page 20]
Only one of these three sons - Shem - is said to have a God (v. 26). Neither
Ham nor Japheth had a God, which is evident from the continuing text. If either was to receive spiritual blessings,
which could come only from and through the one true God, they had
to go to the one son with a God.
As stated in the text, Ham and/ or Japheth had to “dwell
in the tents of Shem” (v. 27).
That is to say, in order to
receive spiritual blessings, Ham and / or Japheth had to go to and partake of that
which God had bequeathed to Shem. Or, in the words of the
explanatory statement by H. C. Leupold in his word
studies in the Hebrew text of Genesis, the expression “implies
friendly sharing of his hospitality and so of his blessings.”
This is the manner in which God
has established the matter in Genesis, and it can never change.
The lineage from Shem, in the
respect seen in Gen. 9: 26, goes through Abraham nine generations later and then through Isaac, Jacob, and Jacob’s twelve sons, from whom
sprang the twelve tribes of
Other descendants of Shem, such
as the Arab nations (from Abraham through Ishmael, or through one of the six
sons of Keturah, or through Isaac’s son, Esau), are as the descendants of Ham
and Japheth in this respect. They are to be “reckoned among
the nations [Gentile nations].”
And the preceding is not only
because of that stated in Gen. 9: 26 but that stated in Isa. 43:
1ff as well.
The former forms the base for the latter, explaining the “why” of that stated in Num.
23: 9:
“But now
thus saith the Lord that created thee, O Jacob,
and he that formed thee, O
I will say to the
north, give up; and to the south, Keep not
back: bring my sons from far, and my daughters from the ends of the earth;
Even every one that is
called by my name: for I have created him for my glory,
I have formed him; yea,
I have made him” (Isa. 43:
1a, 6, 7).
Within the lineage from Shem
through Abraham to Jacob, [Page 21] God waited
eleven generations until Jacob appeared on the scene to act in a manner which
set the one group of people with a God completely apart from the remainder of
the human race. God, at this time,
performed a special creation in the person of Jacob.
God could not have performed
this special creative act prior to Jacob, for sons outside the lineage would
have been involved in this creative act (e.g.,
both Abraham and Isaac had more than one son).
Then, with the creation having
occurred in connection with the natural man, “Jacob,”
rather than the spiritual man, “
Isaiah 43: 6, 7 clearly states that every
descendant of Jacob is himself a special creation, as Jacob is seen as a
special creation back in
verse one). This can be true because, as
previously seen, God performed a special creation in Jacob, the
natural man (not
Thus, the fact remains that, because
of creation, “Jacob” is seen as a son
of God; and, through
procreation, all of his
descendants are seen in Scripture individually as sons of God, with the nation as a whole seen
collectively or corporately as God’s son. And, following the
adoption, the nation would be viewed as God’s firstborn son,
something which can never change (Ex. 4: 22, 23).
(Only “Sons”
rule in God’s kingdom, whether in the angelic realm or in the human realm. “Sonship” in
Scripture has to do with creation and regality, not with salvation [though everything is tied together,
and salvation results in creation (a new creation “in Christ” today) and is for
purposes having to do with sonship and regality].
All angels, because of their
individual creation, are seen as sons of God. Angels occupy varying
positions in God’s government of the universe and must occupy a position of sonship to do so.
Note what are evidently congresses
of the sons of God in the
opening two chapters of Job [angelic rulers appearing
before the Lord at evidently scheduled times (1:
6ff; 2: lff)], with Satan
appearing among other sons of God [Satan, the appointed ruler over the earth,
one province in God’s [Page 22]
kingdom; the other sons of God appointed rulers over other provinces in the
universe]. And Satan, as the others, is seen as a son of God simply because “sonship” has to do with creation and regality, with his
fall not causing a change in his position as God’s son.
“Adam”
was a
son of God because of creation [Luke 3:
38].
God created Adam with regality in view [Gen. 1: 26-28]. Man
was created to replace the incumbent ruler, Satan [man and his progeny to
replace Satan and his angels]. But, Adam,
as the federal head of a new order of sons, fell, disqualifying him and his
progeny from occupying the position which this new order of sons was to assume.
But God provided redemption, something previously unknown in the angelic
world when Satan and his angels fell.
And redemption can only be inseparably tied to the reason for man’s
creation in the beginning.
And God performed all of this in
a manner quite different than man might even think about or consider [Isa. 55: 8, 9], which may very well account for much of the
existing confusion about “salvation” today [i.e., man dealing with the “why” of salvation more from his own finite wisdom and
understanding rather than going to Scripture to see what God has to say about the
matter, resulting in numerous non-Scriptural ideologies].
God waited 2,000 years, then
called one man out of the human race [Abraham], through whom He would later
form a special creation out of his grandson [Jacob] and ultimately form a
nation from the descendants of this special creation.
And through this nation the
entirety of God’s plans and purposes would be accomplished,
beginning with redemption [John 4: 22],
with the end of the matter seen in regality during the coming Messianic Era and
evident regality out in the universe during the ages beyond.
Thus, there is the
importance of not only
And the importance of adoption, as seen in Scripture, then comes into
the picture at this point as well. In
the angelic world, “sons of God” rule [with
adoption unknown]; in the human realm, matters move beyond the thought of
simply Sons holding regal positions in God’s kingdom to that of firstborn
Sons holding these positions
[God’s act of taking a son and adopting this son into a firstborn status (with Christ occupying the position of God’s
firstborn Son through being
begotten)].
Thus, in the human realm, unlike
the angelic realm, only firstborn
Sons can rule in God’s kingdom. With regality in view, Israel was adopted [Page 23] in past time, continuing to hold the position of
firstborn today [regardless of their unrepentant state, for this has nothing to
do with God’s past act of adopting the nation]; with regality in view, Christ occupies this position [that of Firstborn] through a Divine
begetting; and, with regality in view as well, the Church awaits the adoption yet future [awaits being adopted into the position
of God’s firstborn son].
For more information on this
complete subject, including adoption, refer to the author’s book, GOD’S FIRSTBORN
SONS.)
Thus, this entire thought of creation
and sonship, followed by adoption, is what separates and sets apart both the Jewish people individually
and the nation of Israel as a whole from all the Gentiles (individually, or
nationally), with Scripture making a sharp distinction between Israel on the
one hand and the Gentile nations on the
other (cf. Num. 23: 9; Deut.
7: 6; Amos 3:
1, 2).
(Accordingly, prior to that seen
in Isa. 43: 1ff, there
was only one creation in the human race - the creation in Adam.
Following the creation in Jacob in Isa. 41:
1ff [God taking an individual from the
Adamic creation and performing a separate and distinct creation], two creations
existed in the human race.
Then, following the events of
And though the creation in Jacob
can be passed on from father to son [for the creation has to do with the
natural man], the new creation “in Christ” is different. The new creation “in Christ” has to do with the
spiritual man and cannot be
passed on from father to son, though available to the son through his own
personal exercise of faith.
And, just as the old Adamic sin
nature is not done away with in the new creation “in Christ,” neither was it done
away with in the prior creation in Jacob.
All three creations possess this in common. All three have an inseparable connection with
Adam in this respect.)
With the preceding as a base to
work from, one can then understand verses such as Ps.
72: 18 and Ps.
96: 5. The first verse refers to:
“...the
Lord God, the God of
[Page 24]
And the
second verse states:
“For all the gods of the nations are idols [lit., ‘nothing’]...”
That is to say, the gods of all
the nations (whether they be idols, demons, or anything else) are “nothing” in comparison to the God of Israel, the one true and living
God.
Psalm 33: 12 is
often misunderstood in the preceding respect:
“Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord...”
That statement is not a
reference to any Gentile nation. It
can’t be! From a Biblical standpoint, such
could not be possible (unless
projected out beyond Man’s Day, into the Messianic Era, during that future time
when a Gentile nation would be able to associate itself with
The statement, contextually, has
to do with
God made that quite
clear at the
outset of His word, in Genesis chapter nine.
And today, with
For a New Testament reference
relative to the preceding, note Eph. 2: 12. Christians possess a God, but this is only because of and
through a Jewish Messiah Who came through
Thus, from a Biblical
standpoint, it is not possible for any
Gentile nation to look upon itself as “one nation
under God.” And that one
truth really
forms the central base for understanding the whole of the
At the centre of the problem is
Israel, the only nation on the face of the earth with a God, a standing which
Israel’s Position Among the Nations
And, as seen, beyond the
preceding,
The Gentile nations today rule
under Satan and his angels (in accordance with that seen in Dan. 10: 12-20). But
(Note the sharp contrast in the
government of the earth as it has existed during the last 2,600 years and as it
will exist yet future once God’s purpose for the Times of the Gentiles has been
realized. Conditions in the government
of the earth are quite different when the Gentiles hold the sceptre [present],
as opposed to Israel holding the sceptre [past, but more particularly future].
As previously seen, the
descendants of Shem through Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob - comprising the nation
of
The Gentile nations though, as
previously seen, do possess gods, but not the one true and living God. The gods of the nations are said to be “nothing” compared to the one true and living God [1 Chron. 16: 26; Ps. 96: 5]. The gods of the nations could be anything separate from God
Himself - materialism, demons in Satan’s kingdom, etc.
[Page 26]
All of the Gentile nations find
themselves in the same position, in the natural realm. And
they simply cannot move from that realm into the spiritual realm [except, of course,
that spiritual realm where Satan and his angels operate, which is aligned with
the natural]. The man of flesh simply
cannot function in the realm where the man of spirit exists.
Many individuals out of the
nations, over centuries of time, have moved from the natural into the spiritual
realm through a Saviour which came from the one nation with a God. But
it is not possible for the
nations themselves to do this. Again,
nations simply cannot function in this realm.
In this respect, there is no such
thing as a Gentile nation with a God, or a Gentile nation which can be
referred to as a Christian nation [the Church, taken mainly from the Gentiles, is referred to as a “nation” and has a God, though the Church is neither
Jew nor Gentile but one new man, a new creation “in Christ,” with a heavenly
citizenship (Matt. 21:
43; 1 Peter 1:
9, 10; cf.
2 Cor. 5: 17; Gal. 3: 26-29; Eph. 2: 11-15; Phil. 3: 20)].
Gentile nations, in their governmental
structure today, rule within a form of a theocracy, though a corrupted form
connected with Satan and his angels. “Satan” is the god of this present age [2 Cor. 4: 4], and he and his angels rule through the Gentile nations
from their place in a heavenly sphere [Dan. 10:
13-20].
God rules the entire universe,
and He rules over all parts of His kingdom through angels whom He has placed in
regal positions throughout the universe.
The earth, one province in the universe, is ruled in this manner, though
presently through a rebel ruler. God
presently rules the earth through Satan, the god of this age.
God has delegated power to
Satan, and Satan, in turn, has delegated power to subordinate angels ruling
with him. It is this delegated power and
regal position [his throne] which Satan will give to the Beast during the
coming Tribulation [Rev. 11: 2; cf.
Ezek. 28:
14; Luke 4:
5, 6]. Then the Beast will rule in this same manner under
God, as a rebel ruler in a corrupted form of the theocracy.
It is immaterial whether a
nation’s government is like that of the
There is only one
nation on the face of the
earth with a government which rules after any other fashion than the preceding,
and that’s the [Page 27] one
nation with a God, the nation which is not to be “reckoned among the nations” [Num. 23: 9], the nation of
This is why God could establish
a theocracy and rule in the midst of
Israel’s position relative to
the nations is why Israel must be brought to the place of repentance, Gentile
world power destroyed, Satan and his angels removed from power, and God’s three
firstborn Sons [Christ, Israel, and the Church (following the adoption)] placed
in power [cf. Gen. 1: 26-28; Heb. 2: 5].
Satan knows this, and over
millenniums of time he has done everything within his power to thwart God’s plans and purposes by
launching his attack at the fountainhead,
seeking to destroy
But God, in His sovereign
control of all things, will use this man’s efforts to achieve a
completely opposite end - to bring about His Own predetermined plans and
purposes for
“If
Mordecai be of the seed of the Jews, before whom
thou hast begun to fall, thou shalt not prevail
against him, but shalt surely fall before him”
[Esther 6: 13b].
For additional information on
the preceding, refer to the author’s book, THE MOST HIGH RULETH.)
[Page 28]
Satan, of course, knows all of
the preceding, whether
And, throughout this time, Satan
has been doing and will continue doing everything within his power to prevent
the one nation with a God from ever fully exercising her God-ordained position as
firstborn son. He knows that should this occur,
not only would he have to relinquish the sceptre but conditions relative to
“Thus
saith the Lord of hosts; it shall yet come to
pass, that there shall come a people, and the inhabitants of many cities:
And the inhabitants of
one city shall go to another, saying, Let us go speedily to pray before the Lord, and to seek the Lord of hosts: I will go also.
Yea, many people and strong nations shall come to seek the Lord of hosts in
Thus saith the Lord of
hosts; In those days it shall come to pass,
that ten men shall take hold out of all languages of
the nations, even shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, We will go with you: for we have heard that God is with you.”
And in an effort to prevent the
preceding from ever occurring, Satan and his angels, ruling from a heavenly
sphere through the Gentile nations on earth, have been seeking for decades in
the
“Come,
and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of
In Psalm chapter eighty-three, ten
Gentile nations are seen allying themselves against Israel in the preceding
respect (v. 5),
foreshadowing the ten-kingdom confederacy of Gentile nations which will one day
rule under Antichrist and ally itself against Israel in exactly the manner
presented in this Psalm.
But, as
Scripture clearly attests, it will all be for naught. God has already spoken concerning the
matter. God has already had the final
word.
* * *
[Page 29]
CHAPTER IV
The Intractable
GOD’S NATIONAL FIRSTBORN SON, RETURNING BEFORE THE TIME
Thus saith the Lord,
And I say unto thee, Let my son go, that he may serve me... (Ex. 4: 22b, 23a).
If that seen in Chapter III of this book pertaining to Israel in the
midst of Gentile nations in the Middle East (almost entirely Moslem and mostly
Israel’s half-brother [centrally, descendants of Ishmael]) wasn’t already too
much for man to even begin to deal with, there is still more.
And man can’t deal with that which
remains any more than he can deal with that previously seen. It is all outside of and completely beyond
his control. God alone, in His
omniscient, sovereign control of all things, can deal with the present
An Existing Israeli Nation in the
In the preceding respect, there
is the matter of
Or viewing
the matter from another vantage point, though related to the previous, the
Slayer, “
[Page 30]
The Slayer, according to the
type in Numbers chapter thirty-five, cannot return to the land of her possession before Christ completes His
present high priestly ministry in the heavenly sanctuary and comes forth as the
great King-Priest after the order of Melchizedek (cf. Gen. 14: 18-20; Ps. 110: 1-7; Heb. 5: 6-10; 6: 20; 7: 1-2]). And because a remnant has returned before
the time, before Christ
completes His high priestly ministry in the heavenly sanctuary, a major
It is the age-old story of a
disobedient Jonah asleep on board a ship headed away from God’s calling and
then finding himself in the midst of a raging storm out on the sea, a storm so severe
that it struck fear in the hearts of those men on the ship, a storm so severe
that it was about to destroy the ship.
The preceding two types form
Scriptures own word picture and comments pertaining to the dire situation in
the
(For information on the
preceding types, in relation to the antitype of that seen in Numbers chapter
thirty-five and Jonah chapters one through three refer to Chs. V-VIII in this book.)
Then, as if the preceding
addition to the existing problem wasn’t enough, add something else. God pictures
The present nation of
The former (WWI) provided
And the latter (WWII), resulting centrally from the actions of the Third Reich in Europe
- seeking to produce a Jew-free Europe, slaying some 6,000,000 Jews in the
process, in what come to be known as The Holocaust - provided the Jewish people with
the catalyst, with that which was necessary among themselves and world opinion,
to bring about events of May 14, 1948.
On this date, the current
Israeli nation was born. A remnant of
Jews, for the first time since
And it is this
return of the
Jewish people from a worldwide dispersion (referred to through the name, Aliyah) that Bible students often attempt to associate
with the prophesied Biblical return.
The fact of the matter though is
that the Jewish people have sought to return through man’s own power and
strength during a time in which the nation remains in disobedience and unbelief God scattered
the Jewish people among the Gentile nations
because of disobedience, to effect repentance. However, an
unrepentant and a disbelieving remnant returned before the time. A nation
resulted, and that nation has grown over the past sixty-seven years to where it
comprises a sizeable percentage of the world’s Jewish population (about
two-fifths).
A people described in the words
of Isa. 1: 4-6 (“a people laden with
iniquity”) presently reside in the land.
And the land itself is described in the verse immediately following, in
verse seven (“desolate ... strangers devour it”).
Numerous verses in Scripture
deal with
Many Bible students today,
seeking to align the present return of a remnant to the land with God’s
promises in the Old Testament [Page 32] to not
only restore His people to their land but restore their land as well (e.g., Isa. 35:
1, 2) point to the present agricultural progress
of the nation, along with other related efforts to produce vegetation, seeking
to correspondingly align that with the land being restored in conjunction with
the restoration of the people to their land.
But, all teachings of this nature are
only man’s efforts to attempt something which he cannot do. That seen in Israel today, resulting in man’s
efforts over decades of time to cultivate and farm the land, along with certain
other related efforts to produce vegetation on the barren landscape, has no
more to do with Biblical prophecies pertaining to a healing of the land than
does the return of a remnant, during the same time, have to do with the healing
of the Jewish people.
One cannot be fulfilled apart from
the other, with neither having to do with God presently restoring His people to
a restored land in accordance with His numerous promises to do so. Man simply cannot circumnavigate the Word and
make current events relate to something other than that to which they do
relate.
And through attempting to do
something of this nature, man not only has to ignore or misrepresent large
sections of Scripture but he invariably ends up distorting or doing away with
that actually taught in many of these same Scriptures.
Thus, error of this nature is no
small thing, for the promises of God are being completely mishandled.
Note Isa. 8: 20 in this respect:
“To the
Law and to the Testimony: if they speak not
according to this Word, it is because there is
no light in them [or, ‘no dawn to them’].”
That sounds plain enough! And it not only sounds plain enough, it is
plain enough!
The Hebrew language has a way of
often repeating the same statement or truth in different words, allowing the
text to say the same thing twice. The
opening part of Isa.
8: 20 is
a case in point. Both “Law” and “Testimony” point to the same thing, the
complete Word
(the O.T. at the time Isaiah was written,
but including the N.T. as well today, for there is nothing in the New that
cannot be found after some fashion in the Old).
[Page 33]
And everything with the Lord in
His Word is either black or white; there is no grey area in the Word (e.g., one is either for or against the
Lord, he either scatters or gathers; in-between actions of any type, within
the confines of the Word, do not exist [cf. Matt. 12:
30; Luke 11:
23]).
Thus, study the Truth, and study
the Truth after the manner in which God has laid it out in His Word. And, if one does that coming into a knowledge
of this Word, it will matter little what type ism or false teaching
appears. It will be looked upon and
dealt with in the light of the Truth, the Word, wherein no error exists.
With these things in mind, what
does “the Law” and “the Testimony” say about a remnant of Jews having returned to the land
during modern times? Are these Jews
returning in fulfilment of God’s promises to one day regather His people back
to the land? And, is the land being
restored in a corresponding fulfilment of His promises to do so when the Jewish
people are regathered?
According to “the Law” and “the Testimony,” God, in time past, uprooted
His people from their land and drove them out among the Gentile nations to
effect repentance, and He clearly states that He will remove them from the
nations only following repentance. And, further, any restoration of
the land is always connected with that future time when the Jewish people have
been restored to the land, which, again, can ONLY occur following
repentance.
Then, when God restores His
people in accordance with His numerous Old Testament promises to do so, the
Jewish people will NEVER be uprooted from their land again (Ezek. 37: 21-28; 39: 25-29; Joel 2: 27; 3: 17-21; Amos 9: 14, 15). But
the remnant present in the land will be uprooted in the middle of the
Tribulation by the
actions of the rider on the red horse in Rev.
6: 3, 4 (cf. Matt.
24: 15ff).
(For information on the actions
of the four horsemen in Rev. 6: 1-8, refer to the author’s book, DISTANT HOOFBEATS.)
Further yet, the time seen in
Scripture when God will restore His people to their land occurs following
the Tribulation, not before
the Tribulation (Matt. 24: 29-31). And this, of course, is perfectly in line with
the purpose for that which will occur relative to
In short, according to the
latter part of Isa.
8: 20, the teaching that God is presently
restoring the Jewish people to their land in accordance with His many promises
has “no light” connected with it, for such a
teaching is not according to “the Law” and “the Testimony.” The teaching is completely removed from the
light of God’s Word and seen in a completely opposite sphere -
darkness.
And that’s the way anything
being taught or anything which has been taught is to be dealt with.
If it is being taught correctly,
it MUST be according to “the Law” and “the Testimony.” The individual MUST proclaim the Word, not what he thinks, but THAT
WHICH THE WORD STATES (2 Tim. 4: 2).
Thus, if something taught is to
be seen as Truth, that taught in Scripture, it MUST be in
accordance with “the Law” and “the Testimony.” If it is
out of line with this Word, then it is associated with error, not truth. It is associated with darkness, not light.
Again, there is no middle ground;
it has to be one or the other.
The same prophecies which deal with Israel’s
restoration also deal with the reason Israel was driven out among the nations (because of disobedience), along with that which must occur before
God will remove His people from the nations and place them back in the land -
repentance. And the latter has yet to
occur.
Thus, in this respect alone, it is
not possible that the
return of a remnant at a time before repentance occurs can be looked upon as God
restoring the Jewish people in accordance with the numerous Old Testament
prophecies.
If the present restoration of a
remnant to the land is the beginning of the prophesied Biblical restoration of
the Jewish people to the land, God, within this restoration,
would
be seen acting contrary to His revealed Word, not only relative to repentance but in
numerous other realms as well - an impossibility.
Aside from the fact that the
restoration of the Jewish people can occur only following Israel's repentance, this restoration must occur in accordance with the
chronology of that foreshadowed by each of the seven Jewish festivals in
Leviticus chapter twenty-three (which
[Page 35] means that it can only follow Israel’s
national conversion at the end of the Tribulation).
This restoration can
occur only after Christ completes His present high priestly ministry in the
sanctuary.
This restoration can
occur only after Christ has returned at the end of the Tribulation.
This restoration can
occur only after two days, on the third day (only after 2,000 years, in the
third 1,000-year period, which comprises the Messianic Era).
This restoration can
occur only after the Times of the Gentiles has been completed.
This restoration can
occur only after Daniel’s Seventy-Week prophecy has been fulfilled (and seven years yet remain to
be fulfilled in this prophecy, during which conditions will become so terrible
on the earth that the Jewish people will be left without a place to turn other
than to the God of their fathers).
The Complete Picture
Thus, the complete
On the one hand,
God’s firstborn son, the one whose right it is to hold the
sceptre, the only nation with a God, is sitting wounded in a place
where the nation is not even supposed to be today, in the midst of Moslem nations,
with
the nations raging and the whole situation about to tumble out of control (cf. Ps. 2: 1ff).
And on the other hand,
Satan, through existing conditions, is doing all within his power to
destroy
This is why there is a situation rapidly
becoming uncontrollable, with the nations raging, in the
[Page 36]
And this is all perfectly
understandable, for note who rules from the heavens through the governmental
rulers on earth, both among the nations on the one hand and
(These things are clearly stated
and dealt with in the latter part of Daniel chapter ten. Refer to pp. 27, 28 in Ch. III
of this book.)
None of the basics behind these
things are being taken into account in the nations’ endeavours to effect
Both bases are spiritual
and involve supernatural powers - one emanating from the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and the other
emanating from the god of this age.
Man’s best efforts in either supernatural realm would be as powerless as
trying to extinguish the flames of a burning skyscraper with an empty
eyedropper.
And even if the nations could
operate in the spiritual realm, the nations couldn’t cure
The
How soon will it be before the
Then, There Is Something Else
The
preceding outlines the bad news. The
preceding shows [Page 37] why a
report such as The Baker-Hamilton Report (ref
Chapter III in this book, pp. 19, 20) can’t even begin to touch the problem, as
it exists. And this is not to speak
negatively of the report. Rather, it is
simply to say, from a Biblical base, as previously outlined, that there is
an existing problem in the
But there is good news. The more that the matter deteriorates, the
brighter things become in another respect. The dawn always follows
the darkest hour of the night.
The time is rapidly approaching
when the [‘accounted worthy’
of *] Church will be removed,
and after that God will allow conditions to deteriorate to a point,
particularly in the Middle East, where Israel will have no place to turn other
than to the God of their fathers.
Scripture describes that time as a day “that shall burn
as an oven” (Mal. 4: 1), and
Scripture also speaks of conditions deteriorating during that time to a point
where “no flesh” would survive apart from
Divine intervention (Matt. 24: 22).
[*Luke 21: 34-36, A.V. cf. Rev.
3: 10.]
It will be the story seen in the
Book of Exodus all over again.
That coming day will see the “Sun of Righteousness” arise “with healing in His wings” (Mal. 4: 2). Christ
will return,
Then and only then will the intractable problem in the
Middle East be resolved. Then and only then will there be peace in the
Middle East.
“Pray for
the peace of
* * *
[Page 38 blank: Page
39]
CHAPTER V
The Turbulent
UNREST IN THE MIDDLE EAST - THE REASON, THE SOLUTION
Now the word of the Lord came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying,
Arise, go to
But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of
the Lord, and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish:
so he paid the
fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence
of the Lord.
But the Lord sent out a great wind into the sea, and there was a
mighty tempest in the sea, so that the ship was like to be broken.
Then the mariners were afraid, and cried every man
unto his god, and cast forth the wares that were in the ship into the sea,
to lighten it of
them. But Jonah had gone down into the sides of the
ship; and he lay, and was fast asleep (Jonah
1: 1-5).
Would Christians,
Would Christians,
[Page 40]
In this respect, it would appear
that man today might want to consult the centuries-old guide Book on the
matter. But not so! This Book has seemingly been relegated to the
last place which man would turn for information on about anything these days.
Man’s outlook or actions on
anything regarding Middle East conditions though changes nothing. The
Prophets have spoken (Jonah, among numerous other Prophets), and that’s
the end of the matter.
So, let’s look at “the why”
of the problem in the opening five verses of
Jonah. Then we’ll look at “the only solution” to the problem in the continuing verses of this
book.
The Why of the Problem
Jonah, in
direct disobedience to the Lord, booked passage on board a ship, paid the fare, went down into the
ship’s hold, and set sail - fleeing
from the Lord’s presence, travelling west toward Tarshish rather than east toward Nineveh,
where he had been told to go.
Because Jonah had done this, the Lord sent “a great wind” and “a mighty tempest” out on the sea (the
The story of Jonah, a true
account of past events pertaining to one of the Lord’s Prophets (Matt. 12: 38-40), has to
do with events which occurred under the sovereign direction and control of the
Lord in order that He, at a later time, might have these events to draw upon to
teach His people the deep things of God.
In this respect, Jonah forms a
type; and it is evident from this account that his actions foreshadow those of
God’s two firstborn Sons, Christ and
The overall story throughout all
four chapters has to do more specifically with
[Page 41]
(For
information relative to the expression, “three days and
three nights,” seen in Jonah 1: 17 [having to do with the length of time that Jonah
was in the belly of the fish] and referenced by Christ in Matt. 12: 38-40 [having
to do with the length of time that He would be in [‘Hades’] the heart of the earth], refer to Appendix I in this book, “Three Days and Three Nights.”)
God called
1) To give mankind the Word of
God.
2) To give mankind the
Saviour.
3) To be God’s witness to the nations, telling them about the Saviour,
using the Word of God.
And the place where
“The sea,”
throughout Scripture, is used as a metaphor for the Gentile nations, also for the place of death (Rev.
13: 1; 21: 1), with both usages of the word seen in
the opening two chapters of Jonah.
And Jonah on board the ship,
removed from the sea, could only picture one thing. There is
only one place on earth which
can be seen as a place removed from the nations, and that place is the
And the sea raging after a
manner which was about to destroy the ship and its crew could only have to do
with one thing as well
- with unrest of a similar nature among the Gentile nations surrounding
Thus, Jonah on board the ship,
asleep in a place where he wasn’t even supposed to be, typifies
[Page 42]
The Lord sent the great storm in
the type because of Jonah, and the Lord has sent the great storm (unrest among the
nations [with the full unrest, as
will be shown, yet to occur]) in the antitype because of
Jonah was a disobedient Prophet, asleep
in a place where he wasn’t supposed to be (on board a ship rather than headed toward
And this is exactly what has
been foreshadowed in Jonah through the disobedient Prophet being on board the
ship (out of the sea), in an unrepentant state,
asleep in the hold of the ship, asleep to his calling.
And, exactly as in the type (the Lord, because of that which
Jonah had done, caused the sea to rage to such an extent that the ship was
about to be destroyed), so in the antitype (the Lord, because of that which
Israel has done, has brought about unrest among the nations to the same extent
as seen in the type [the present unrest among the nations, though not as
intense as the sea raging in Jonah’s day, will culminate in one just as
intense]).
The type has been set and CANNOT
be changed!
Thus, the trouble among the
Gentile nations in the
EVERYTHING revolves around
(As previously seen in this
book, it is widely taught in Christian circles today that a Jewish nation
presently existing in the land of Israel [since May 14,19481 has to do with God
progressively fulfilling either part or all of His numerous O.T. promises to
restore His people to their land.
[Page 43]
From a Biblical standpoint
though, as also previously seen, such is not at all possible. A
present restoration of the Jewish people [before the time], particularly under
existing conditions [a disobedient and unrepentant people], would have God acting
contrary to His Word in numerous realms - an impossibility.
Aside from that developed in
previous chapters in this book, to grasp an overall understanding of that which
Scripture has to say in this respect, refer to the author’s book,
The Only Solution to the Problem
The only solution to the
existing problem in the Middle East (to bring an end to that which God, because
of
Jonah told those on the ship exactly
what must be done. He must be cast into
the sea (where God would then deal with him relative to repentance). And, after Jonah had been cast into the
sea, the sea ceased raging.
Bringing that over into the
antitype, to put a stop to the unrest among the nations,
And after this has been done, in
complete keeping with the type - after
The preceding may sound strange,
but not so at all. Unrest
among the nations exists because of
God, in His sovereign direction
and control of all things, has set the whole of the matter forth in a perfect
parallel form of this nature.
[Page 44]
According to Scripture,
Then, exactly as in the type,
God will bring about a change in conditions.
The existing unrest among the nations will cease, for the reason why
this unrest had occurred will no longer exist (as the sea ceased raging after
Jonah had been cast overboard in the type, for the reason why it had raged no
longer existed).
But, according to Jonah chapter
two and related Biblical prophecy, another unrest among the nations at this
time will replace the previous unrest, becoming far, far more tumultuous. This though will be for an entirely different
reason, but still having to do with Israel.
Once Israel has been removed from her land,
the previously existing catalyst for unrest among the nations will have been
removed; but, because of anti-Semitism on an unprecedented scale,
which will have begun to occur in connection with Israel’s removal from her
land, a new catalyst
will come into play, having to do with a far, far greater unrest among the
nations than will have ever existed before this time.
And, in the end, the nations,
brought to the brink of complete destruction, resulting from this unrest, will
be prevented from destroying themselves only because of the continuing
presence of the nation of
In little more than three
additional years, the nations will be brought to the place seen in Matt. 24: 21, 22:
“...except
those days should be shortened, there should no
flesh be saved; but for the elect’s sake [for
[*And also for the sake of Christians who will “remain” or are “left”(R.V.) on earth, after the first rapture of those “accounted worthy”(Luke 21: 36ff,
A.V.) have escaped. See God’s conditional
promise in Rev. 3: 10: “Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also
will keep thee from the hour of
temptation (Lit. Gk. ‘the hour of the
trial’), which shall come
upon all the world.”]
Thus, as seen in the preceding
verse, or the Book of Jonah, or anywhere else in
* * *
[Page 45]
CHAPTER VI
The Turbulent
UNREST IN THE MIDDLE EAST - TO ONE DAY CEASE
So the shipmaster came to him [to Jonah,
asleep in the hold of the ship], and said unto him, What meanest thou, O sleeper? Arise, call upon thy God, if so be that God will think upon us,
that we perish
not.
And they said everyone to his fellow, Come, and let us cast
lots that we may know for whose cause this evil [the
raging sea, about to destroy the ship and crew] is upon us. So they cast lots, and the lot fell upon Jonah.
Then said they unto him, Tell us, we pray thee, for whose cause this evil is upon us;
what is thine
occupation? And whence comest
thou? What is thy country? And of what people art thou?
And he said unto them, I am an Hebrew; and I fear the Lord, the God of heaven,
which hath made
the sea and the dry land.
Then were the men exceedingly afraid, and said unto him,
Why hast thou
done this? For the men knew
that he fled from the presence of the Lord,*
because he had
told them.
[* See, and always keep in mind
Peter’s word in Acts 5: 32.]
Then said they unto him, What shall we do unto thee that the sea may be calm
unto us? For the sea wrought, and was tempestuous.
And he said unto them, Take me up, and cast me forth into the sea; so the sea shall be
calm unto you; for I know that for my sake this great tempest is upon you...
So they took up Jonah, and cast him forth into the sea; and the sea ceased
from her raging (Jonah 1: 6-12, 15).
[Page 46]
As seen in Chapter V of this book, the
small four-chapter Book of Jonah, written by a Jewish Prophet over 2,800 years
ago, outlines in exact detail not only the reason for the
current unrest among the nations in the Middle East, extending out into the
world at large, but also the solution to the existing problem.
In the type, there is a
disobedient Jewish Prophet on board a ship headed west toward Tarshish when he
should have been back on the land headed east toward
The land of Israel is the only place which could possibly be in view and still see the
place where Jonah was as separate from the nations (i.e., he was out of the sea, on the ship, not in the sea).
Then, viewing the matter from
the standpoint of the antitype, Israel is on board the ship, out of the sea (i.e., a segment of the Jewish people,
over time, has returned to the land of Israel [under a Zionistic movement];
those comprising this segment have removed themselves from the sea rather than remaining where God
had previously placed them - out among the nations).
And those presently comprising
the nation of
(Any type action on Jonah’s part
in the type or
“Whither
shall I go from thy Spirit? Or whether shall I
flee from thy presence?
If I ascend into
heaven, thou art there; if I make my bed in Hell [‘Sheol’],
behold, thou
art there” (Ps. 139: 7, 8).
For additional information in
this respect, refer back to the foreword in this book, seeing
[Page 47]
And exactly the same thing as
seen in the type has occurred relative to
God has sent a great storm out
on the sea; God has caused great turmoil to exist among the Gentile nations (though
far, far from the intensity about to exist). And it is all because of
And the whole of the matter will
continue, unchecked, only becoming worse and worse with time, until... The
unrest among the nations, particularly in the
(God had previously uprooted His
people from their land and driven them out among the nations to effect
repentance through continuous mistreatment at the hands of the nations. This is not only where but how God had
previously decreed that He would deal with His people in this respect, which
is the primary reason why the 6,000,000 Jews presently in the land must be
uprooted and driven back out among the nations. And the time when this
will occur cannot be far removed.
An interesting thing about the
present unrest among the numerous nations fighting in the
And the whole of that occurring,
under God’s sovereign direction and control -
because of
[Page 48]
Note how God has used and will
continue to use men and nations in this respect. God used the past Assyrian and his armed
forces ruling
“...for
this cause have I raised thee up [the Assyrian Pharaoh ruling
“And the
ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast [the Beast’s ten-kingdom
confederacy], these shall hate the whore [
For God hath put in
their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree,
and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled” [Rev. 17: 16, 17; cf.
Rev. 19: 2, 3])
In the Sea, Then...
One part of the complete story
concerning
But, as previously shown (ref. Chapter V in this book), when
Israel is driven back out among the nations, things not dealt with in the first
chapter of Jonah but dealt with in the second chapter (e.g., vv. 2, 3), along with other Prophets, will then come into
play. Though unrest among the nations
will cease because
[Page 49]
The Beast, empowered by Satan
and seated on his throne (Rev. 13: 2), will
seek to destroy
And Scripture reveals that it
will take the type persecution which will be manifested under the future
Assyrian, the Beast, to bring about
In this respect, God will use
this latter-day Assyrian exactly as He used his Assyrian predecessor during
Moses’ day (Ex. 2:
23ff.
Repentance, Then...
Once Jonah had been cast into
the sea at the end of chapter one (Jonah 1: 15), the events of chapter two relate the account
of Jonah brought to the place of repentance.
And this, of course, foreshadows
Jonah was brought to this place
through circumstances which God had brought to pass. Then, once this had occurred and Jonah
finally acknowledged, “Salvation is of the Lord,” the
Lord commanded the fish to spit him out on dry land (the
Jonah was driven to the place of
repentance while in the sea, he acknowledged the only place from which
salvation exists while still in the sea, and he was then restored to the land (Jonah 1: 15 - 2: 10).
In complete accord with the Book
of Jonah, any of the other types, the Jewish festivals of Leviticus chapter
twenty three, or the Prophets,
[Page 50]
Israel’s restoration will occur following
the nation’s repentance, following Messiah’s return at the end of the
Tribulation, following the nation’s national conversion when they look upon the
One Whom they pierced, and following the resurrection of Old Testament saints
(the dead will be resurrected and restored with the living, exactly as seen in
the type in Exodus during Moses’ day [Moses took the bones of Joseph with him
when he led the Israelites out of Egypt]).
(For additional information on
the preceding, refer to the author’s book, ISRAEL - FROM DEATH TO LIFE.
Also, see “Anti-Semitism,” Appendix I, in the author’s book PROPHECY ON MOUNT
OLIVET.)
Then, in the type, continuing in
Jonah chapter three, Jonah did that which the Lord had commanded him to do in
the first place. He went
to Nineveh with God’s message, resulting
in the repentance of the entire city (Jonah 3:
1ff).
And
Exactly as seen in the type, they
will go to the Gentiles with God’s message. And, as seen in the type,
the Gentiles will hear and respond (Isa. 2: 1-4; Zech. 8: 13, 20-23).
This is what the future holds for
Israel and the nations, as foretold over 2,800 years ago in the Book of Jonah.
* * *
[Page 51]
CHAPTER VII
Time of
Whoso killeth any person, the murderer shall be put to death by the mouth
of witnesses: but one witness shall not testify against any person to cause
him to die.
Moreover ye shall take no satisfaction [ransom] for the life of a
murderer, which is guilty of death: but he shall be surely put to death.
And ye shall take no satisfaction [ransom] for him that is fled to the city of his refuge, that he should come
again to dwell in the land, until the death of the priest [the high priest (v.
25)].
So ye shall not pollute the land wherein ye are: for blood it
defileth the land: and the land cannot be cleansed of the blood that is shed
therein, but by the blood of him that shed it (Num. 35: 30-33).
For over six decades,
since May 14, 1948 - for the first time in almost nineteen centuries, dating
back to the days when
As seen in past chapters in this
book, many Bible students have understood the present restoration of a remnant
of the Jewish people to be a progressive beginning fulfilment of these [Page 52]
numerous prophecies. But, as also seen
in these past chapters, this restoration of a remnant during modern times can
have nothing to do with God’s promises to one day not only restore His people
to the land but to restore their land as well.
Not only will the Jewish nation be healed in that day, but the land
itself will be healed. A repentant and
converted Jewish people will be removed from the nations and placed back in a
land which is going to “blossom as the rose” (Isa. 35:
1ff; Joel 2: 18-32; 3: 17-21).
It is rather amazing that anyone
with an open Bible would equate what has been happening over the past six
decades in the
Scripture lays the whole matter
out, as seen in previous chapters in this book - in numerous ways and places,
in a clear and understandable manner - providing sufficient information
(actually, an abundance of information) surrounding different things having to
do with Israel’s prophesied return that no one should ever go wrong in this
realm of Biblical study; and Numbers chapter thirty-five is another place in
Scripture which deals with the matter in a clear and easy-to-understand manner.
The matter is dealt with in
Numbers chapter thirty-five after a manner not really seen elsewhere in
Scripture, though remaining completely in line with all other places in Scripture
where the fulfilment of God’s promises to one day restore His people and their
land are dealt with. This chapter in
Numbers simply presents additional information for a developing word picture on
the subject.
In this chapter, “a time” during Man’s Day, during the 6,000 years
allotted to man, is given when
The “time” dealt with in this chapter is only one part of the overall equation, though a very important part. Thus, one can understand one
necessary facet of the matter from that revealed in this section of Scripture.
[Page 53]
The Cities of Refuge
Numbers chapter thirty-five
relates the account of God instructing the children of
Three of the cities of refuge
were to be located on the east side of
1) A Sanctuary
These cities were set aside to
provide a sanctuary for any
man who killed another man through an unpremeditated act. The Divine decree given to Noah and his sons
following the Flood required the death of the slayer at the hands of man:
“Whoso sheddeth
man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed:
for in the image of God made he man” (Gen. 9: 6).
And God’s injunction concerning
capital punishment for a capital crime was later reiterated to Moses and is
part of the Mosaic Economy as well (Ex. 20: 13; 21: 12ff.
The command concerning capital
punishment for a capital crime was thus given to Noah and his sons over eight
hundred years before it was delivered to the children of
Although capital punishment for
a capital offence has never been repealed, provision was later made for a man
who killed another man unintentionally. This
was the Divinely established purpose for setting aside the six cities of refuge
(cf. Ex. 21:
12, 13).
These cities were to be located
at places where at least one city would be easily accessible to any Israelite
living in the
It fell the lot of the near
kinsman to fulfil God’s injunction concerning capital punishment for a capital
crime. The near kinsman was to confront the slayer and, in turn, slay him. God’s
requirement in the matter was blood for blood (Num.
35: 16-21; cf. Deut.
19: 21).
God’s previous instructions to
Noah and his sons remained unchanged within the framework of God’s instructions to Moses.
Something though was added to
these instructions within the Mosaic Economy.
Provision was made for the person guilty of accidental, unpremeditated
manslaughter - a city of refuge. And
once the Israelite guilty of such an act had taken advantage of that provision
- once the slayer had fled to and was inside the walls of one of the six
designated cities of refuge - the near kinsman, as long as the slayer remained
in this place, couldn’t touch him.
Any individual though who fled
to one of the cities of refuge must, at a later time, be returned to the area
where the slaying occurred and appear before a judicial court. And, in order for that individual to be found
guilty of wilful murder, at least two witnesses were required to testify
against the man in this respect.
If the slayer was found to be guilty
of wilful murder, he would be turned over to the near kinsman to be slain; and
the near kinsman, slaying the man, would not be guilty of blood himself.
But if the slayer, on the other
hand, was found guilty only of involuntary manslaughter, he would be delivered out of the hands
of the near kinsman and be returned to the safety of the city of [Page 55] refuge to which he had previously fled (Num. 35: 22-28).
2) A
Ransom
Then there was the matter of a ransom.
This ransom constituted a
payment for the life of the one found to have committed involuntary
manslaughter. No ransom though was provided for the life of a person found
guilty of wilful murder. Rather, he was
to forfeit his own life (blood for blood), apart
from a ransom.
But though the ransom was a
provision for the one having committed involuntary manslaughter, there was a
stipulation: The slayer could not avail himself of the ransom until the death of the
high priest (Num. 35: 28, 32).
Once the high priest in the camp
of Israel had died and the ransom had been paid, the individual who had
previously been found guilty only of involuntary manslaughter was then free to
leave the particular city of refuge where he had been provided a sanctuary and
return to the land of his possession. And once this had occurred, the near
kinsman no longer had any claim on that individual.
In the Old Testament (in the
type) it was individual Israelites who
found themselves guilty of manslaughter (premeditated or involuntary) and,
consequently, in a position where they would either be slain or be granted
protection in a city of refuge.
Today (in the antitype) it is the
entire nation of
1)
Premeditated or Involuntary
The nation of
The paschal lamb was given to
Israel today is unclean through contact with the dead
body of God’s Son, with cleansing to be provided on the seventh day - the seventh 1,000-year period, the Messianic Era (Num. 19: 11, 12).
But how is
If it was a premeditated act,
the nation would have to be cut off. No
ransom could be provided (it would have to be blood for blood; the
nation would have to pay with its own life); nor, if a
premeditated act, could the nation ever be allowed to return to the land of her possession (which would
mean, in the final analysis, that God’s promises to Abraham, beginning with Gen. 12: 1-3, could never be realized).
However, if Jesus was delivered
into Israel’s hands after a manner which would allow the nation’s act of
crucifying her Messiah to be looked upon as involuntary manslaughter - i.e., allow the nation’s act to
be looked upon as having been done through ignorance - then Israel could be granted protection and a ransom could be provided.
And beyond that, the nation
could one day avail itself of the ransom, at which time
2) The
Biblical Testimony
The Biblical testimony concerning
the manner in which the nation’s act must be viewed was given by Jesus Himself
at Golgotha; and the some testimony was later provided by Peter, following the
death, burial, resurrection, and ascension of Christ.
Note the words of Jesus:
“...Father,
forgive them; for they
know not what they do” (Luke 23: 34a).
Then note the words of Peter:
“Ye men of
But ye denied the Holy One and the Just, and desired a murderer [Page 57] to be granted unto you;
And killed the Prince
of life, whom God hath raised from the dead;
whereof we are witnesses...
And now, brethren, I wot that through
ignorance ye did it, as did also your
rulers” (Acts 3: 12a, 14, 15, 17).
Thus, Jesus was delivered into
Israel’s hands (cf. Ex. 21: 13; Acts 2: 23) after
a manner which not only allowed the Jewish people to act after the described
fashion but also prevented them from acting after any other fashion as
well. Consequently,
But this will occur only
after the antitype of the death of the high priest. And it will be at this
time - not before - that all of God’s promises to Abraham through
Isaac, Jacob, and Jacob’s twelve sons,
beginning with Gen. 12:
1-3, will
be fulfilled.
Christ’s Present High Priestly Ministry
Patterned After the Order of Aaron, or Melchizedek?
Christ’s present ministry in the
heavenly sanctuary is often associated with that of Melchizedek rather than
Aaron, though Christ exercising a ministry after the order of Melchizedek today
is not possible. As well, associating
Christ’s present ministry in the sanctuary with Melchizedek will close the door
to a proper understanding of the typology seen in Numbers chapter thirty-five.
1) Aaron
Aaron
was a minister in the sanctuary during that period when the children of
This nation was to be
established within a theocracy in the
God had previously mode certain
promises to Abraham, and He had established a covenant with Abraham concerning
the land wherein these promises were to be realized. Before Abraham ever left
Within God’s plans and purposes,
a nation, separate and distinct from the Gentile nations, was to be brought
into existence through Abraham. The
descendants of Abraham through Isaac and Jacob (Gen.
17: 18, 19; 21: 12; 27: 29), comprising
this separate and distinct nation, would come under God’s direct
blessing; but such would not
be the case with any Gentile nation. The
Gentile nations of the earth were to be blessed only through the nation emanating from the
loins of Abraham through Isaac and Jacob, the nation of
And these blessings were to be
realized by and through
Then, in keeping with Deut. 28: 1-14, the
Gentile nations being blessed through
This is how it was to have been
under the old covenant during the days of Moses, and later Joshua; and this is
how it one day will be when God makes a new covenant with the house of
Then, in that coming day, God,
in the person of His Son, will dwell among the Jewish people, in a theocracy (cf.
Joel 2: 27-32).
During Moses’ day, Aaron was a
minister in the sanctuary on behalf of a people who had been redeemed from
In the antitype, Christ is
presently ministering in a heavenly sanctuary (after which the
earthly was patterned), and He is ministering on behalf of a people who have
been redeemed from the present world for a particular purpose. Christians are presently being called out
from this world to one day occupy positions in heavenly places (paralleling
And Christ, ministering in the
heavenly sanctuary today, is ministering after the order of Aaron. He is
ministering on the basis of shed blood on behalf of a redeemed people removed
from this world for a purpose, paralleling
(Note that Christ can minister
in the sanctuary in this manner today, though not of the Levitical line,
because He is not ministering as High Priest to individuals under the Mosaic
Economy. Rather, He is ministering on
behalf of those who form the one new man “in Christ.”
But in that coming day when
2)
Melchizedek
Melchizedek is mentioned eleven
times in Scripture - two times in the Old Testament (Gen.
14: 18; Ps. 110: 4) and
nine times in the Book of Hebrews (chs. 5-7). And the manner in which Melchizedek is
presented in the Old Testament will govern the manner in which he must be viewed in the Book of
Hebrews.
Melchizedek first appears in
Scripture when Abraham was returning from the battle of the kings (Gen. 14: 18, 19). Melchizedek was “king of
Meeting Abraham, following the battle
of the kings, he brought forth bread and wine and blessed Abraham, saying, “Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth” (vv. 18, 19).
It is evident that Melchizedek’s
actions in the type during the days of Abraham were Messianic in their scope of
fulfilment in the antitype. Immediately
prior to Christ’s death at
“...I
will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's
kingdom” (v. 29b).
This could only be an allusion
to one thing - that future day when Christ will come forth in the antitype of
Melchizedek as he is presented in Gen. 14: 18, 19,
with bread and wine to bless Abraham and his descendants, both heavenly and earthly (cf. Gen. 22:
17, 18). And this is an event which will occur
following the battle of the kings (cf. Rev. 19: 17-21).
The one hundred tenth Psalm,
where Melchizedek is referred to the only other time in the entire Old Testament
is also Messianic in its scope of fulfilment.
It must be, for this is the way Melchizedek is presented in Genesis, and
there can be no change when one comes to the Book of Psalms.
[Page 61]
In this Psalm, the Son is told
to sit on the Father’s right hand until such a time as His enemies are made His
“footstool” (v. 1). Then,
after His enemies have been made His footstool, He is going to rule “in the midst” of His
enemies (v. 2). He is going to “strike through kings” and “judge among the heathen
[Gentiles]” in that coming day of His “power” (vv. 3, 5, 6), a day when He will be revealed as the great
King-Priest in
“The
LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right
hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.
The LORD shall send
the rod of thy strength out of
The Lord hath sworn,
and will not repent [will not change His mind], Thou art a
priest forever [Heb., olam, ‘a long period of time,’ not ‘forever,’ which, contextually, can only refer to the Messianic Era] after the order of Melchizedek” (Ps. 110: 1, 2, 4).
Then the subject matter in the Book
of Hebrews has been established through seven Messianic quotations from the Old
Testament in the first chapter, introducing the book (with the last of the
seven quotations taken from Ps. 110: 1 [v. 13]).
And the same subject matter is
seen after a continuing fashion in the second chapter where it is stated that
the world to come - the Messianic Era, dealt with in chapter one - will be
governed by man, not by angels [as the
present world is governed (v. 5; cf. Dan.
10: 12ff;
Eph. 3: 10; 6: 12ff]. These
are the individuals seen at the end of chapter one (v.
14), who are “about to
inherit salvation” (literal rendering of the verse from the Greek text) - a
salvation having to do with rulership in the world to come.
Then, with the introduction of
Melchizedek in chapter five, this same Messianic setting MUST continue in view, which is in perfect keeping with that stated
about Melchizedek in the Old Testament or elsewhere in the Book of Hebrews:
“Thou [Christ]
art a priest forever [Gk., eis ton aiona, ‘with respect to the
age’ (singular, one age, not ‘forever’), which can only
refer to the Messianic Era] after the order of Melchizedek” (5: 6; cf. 7: 17, 21).
[Page 62]
Genesis 14 and Ps. 110 must be understood in the light of
one another (actually, Ps. 110 draws from Gen.
14), and Heb.
5-7 must be understood in the light of both Old
Testament references, along with the subject matter of the book as set forth in
the opening chapter. Thus, all eleven
references to Melchizedek in Scripture can only be looked upon after one
fashion - as Messianic in their scope of fulfilment.
(Christ's ministry in the
heavenly sanctuary on the basis of His Own blood on the mercy seat, is
something seen in connection with Aaron, not with Melchizedek. This is not to say that Melchizedek
ministered as a priest apart from a sanctuary and shed blood. Rather, it is to say that there is no mention
of a sanctuary or shed blood in connection with his ministry in Scripture. This
is seen solely in connection with Aaron’s ministry, forming the basis for his
past high priestly ministry, as it forms the basis for Christ’s present high
priestly ministry.
Concerning the absence of the
mention of a sanctuary and shed blood
in connection with Melchizedek, this would not be the case as matters are
seen in the antitype, in that future day, when Christ comes forth as the great
King-Priest after the order of Melchizedek and a new covenant is made with the
House of Israel. The new covenant, as
the Mosaic covenant, is associated with death and shed blood in Scripture [cf. Gen. 15: 9-21;Jer. 34: 18; Matt. 26: 28]. There is
an allusion to this in Heb. 7: 21, 22:
“The
Lord sware and will not repent, Thou are a priest forever [‘Thou art a priest with
respect to the age’] after the order of Melchizedek.”
By so much was Jesus
made a surety of a better testament [‘covenant’].”
Then, when Christ deals with
Thus, in the preceding respect,
one could find death and shed blood, along with a sanctuary, associated
with the Melchizedek prieshood. But
that is solely future, it involves
* * *
[Page 63]
CHAPTER VIII
Time of
Whoso killeth any person, the murderer shall be put to death by the mouth
of witnesses: but one witness shall not testify against any person to cause
him to die.
Moreover ye shall take no satisfaction [ransom] for the life of a
murderer, which is guilty of death: but he shall be surely put to death.
And ye shall take no satisfaction [ransom] for him that is
fled to the city of his refuge, that he should come again to dwell in the land, until the death of
the priest [the high priest (v. 25)]
So ye shall not pollute the land wherein ye are: for blood it
defileth the land: and the land cannot be cleansed of the blood that is shed
therein, but by the blood of him that shed it (Num. 35: 30-33).
In the camp of
Aaron ministered in the
sanctuary in the earthly tabernacle, with blood, on behalf of the people. Jesus, on the other hand, is presently ministering
in the heavenly sanctuary, with blood, on behalf of the people - a ministry
patterned after the order of Aaron.
And, as evident from Hebrews
chapter five, along with other related Scripture, Christ’s present ministry
after the order of Aaron will not continue indefinitely.
[Page 64]
There is a day coming when
Christ’s present ministry in the heavenly sanctuary will end. And the termination of this ministry, along
with certain events which will occur relative to
And these events, as they
pertain to the slayer, have to do with two things in the antitype:
1)
2) A restoration of the Jewish people to the land of their possession.
Earlier in the Book of Numbers,
in chapter nineteen, information was given concerning cleansing for that
subsequently dealt with in chapter thirty-five - cleansing for those coming in
contact with a dead body. In this
chapter, cleansing occurred through prescribed instructions using the ashes of
a red heifer, running water, and hyssop, foreshadowing a future cleansing of
Israel through the shed blood of the very One Whom they
slew (foreshadowed
also by the ransom in ch. 35) - made necessary through contact
with the dead body of their Messiah at the time He was slain.
Note how Num. 19: 11, 12 reads in
this respect:
“He that
toucheth the dead body of any man shall be unclean seven days.
He shall purify
himself with it on the third day [purify himself using the ashes
of a red heifer, foreshadowing Israel and the shed blood of the One Whom they
slew, placing themselves in the unclean state seen in Num.
19, 35], and on the seventh day he shall be clean: but if
he purify not himself the third day, then the
seventh day he shall not be clean.”
Then, note the use of the
third and the
seventh day. Both of these days, in that being
foreshadowed [
[Page 65]
The three days have to do with the time
between
And the seven days have to do
with the entirety of Man’s Day, leading into the Lord’s Day, the
Messianic Era (after
six days, on the seventh day; after 6,000
years, on the seventh 1,000-year period.)
The beginning time of each is
different, but the ending time of each is the same.
(After two days, on the third day,
and after six days, on the seventh day, are used in the preceding manner numerous times throughout
Scripture [e.g., Hosea 5: 15 - 6: 2; Matt. 16: 28 - 17: 5; Luke 24: 21; Heb. 4: 4-9]. In
fact, the whole of Scripture is built on a septenary structure using six
[Man’s Day] and seven [the Lord’s
Day], or a part of that structure using the last three of the seven days [after
two days, on the third day].
The O.T. is introduced this way
in Genesis, and the N.T. is introduced this way in John’s gospel [which
parallels Genesis throughout and should begin the N.T. rather than Matthew].
For information on John
introducing the N.T. rather than Matthew, refer to Chapter 1, “Genesis and John,” in the author's book, MOSES AND JOHN.
Also, to understand how God
reckons time using days after the manner seen in Numbers chapter
nineteen [e.g., be unclean for
seven days, yet be cleansed on
the seventh day (Num. 19: 11, 12, 19)] refer to the appendix in this book where the
expression “three days and three nights” from
the Book of Jonah and Matthew’s gospel is dealt with from a Scriptural
standpoint.)
The High Priest and the Ransom
The word ransom (Num. 35: 31, 32 [translated
“satisfaction,” KJV]) is from a cognate form of
the word for “atonement” in the Hebrew text. The underlying thought behind “atonement” is to cover; and
that is the same thought expressed by the “ransom” in
this chapter.
This ransom provided a
covering - a
covering from view, a putting away, a blotting out - of the previous capital
act (necessitating a prior,
unpremeditated act for the
ransom to be made available).
[Page 66]
And once the slayer had availed
himself of the ransom, which could only be after the death of the high
priest, the whole matter
was put away. The person was then free to
return to the land of his possession; and the near kinsman of the one slain
could no longer have any claim on him whatsoever, for the matter had been put away and could never be brought up
again.
(In the type, this ransom was
connected with some aspect of the person and work of the high priest, or of
other priests. For example, the slayer
could not avail himself of the ransom until the high priest had died. Then,
this ransom had to do with a covering [with atonement] from
defilement wrought through contact with a dead body. And such a work in Numbers chapter nineteen,
where cleansing from this type defilement is dealt with, was performed by a
priest.
The high priestly ministry of
Aaron and his successors in the camp of
Thus, that being dealt with in
Numbers chapter thirty-five - portending a priestly work - has to do with the
cleansing of saved individuals from defilement [defilement wrought through contact with a dead body], not with
issues pertaining to the death of the firstborn [issues pertaining to eternal
salvation].
And the Jewish people, for two
reasons, find themselves in a position today where they cannot avail themselves
of this cleansing [cleansing from contact with the dead body of their Messiah]:
1) The Jewish people today are
in an
unsaved state.
2) The Jewish people, even if
they were in a saved state today, could not presently avail themselves of the
ransom [cleansing] because of the nature of Christ’s present,
continuing priestly ministry.
Cleansing from defilement [for
the saved] during the present dispensation is brought to pass through only
one means - through Christ’s
present ministry in the heavenly sanctuary, on the basis of His shed blood on
the mercy seat. Though Christ is not of
the Levitical line, His [Page 67] present
ministry is patterned after the order of Aaron’s ministry; and, because Christ
is not of the Levitical line, if God were dealing with Israel on a national
basis today, He could not deal with the Jewish people in relation to Christ’s
present ministry in the sanctuary [else He would violate that which He Himself
established].
The Jewish people, if they were being
dealt with in relation to the priesthood today, would have to be dealt with in
relation to that set forth concerning the priesthood in the Mosaic Economy [as
will evidently be seen through the covenant Antichrist will make with Israel
during the coming Tribulation, when God completes His national dealings with
Israel during Man’s Day (rebuilding the Temple, re-establishing the Mosaic
Economy)]. The priest, within the Mosaic
Economy, had to be of the Levitical line. And
Christ is not of this line. Christ is
from the tribe of
Thus, dealing with the Jewish
people in relation to Christ’s high priestly ministry today would be completely
out of the question in more ways than one. The Jewish people today
find themselves in an unsaved state; and
Christ’s present high priestly ministry, as was Aaron’s ministry in past time,
is solely for the saved.
Even if the Jewish people were
in a saved state today, remaining separate from Christians [though an
impossibility, for Jews saved during the present dispensation become new
creations “in Christ”], they could not go to Christ and receive
cleansing, for the Mosaic Economy does not recognize a priestly ministry of the
nature Christ is presently exercising [a non-Levitical ministry patterned after
the order of Aaron, a Levite]. And any
priesthood which the Jewish people themselves could enact today, from the
Levitical line, would be completely non-efficacious.
However, as seen in Chapter VII
of this book, note that Christ [though from the tribe of
But, before the Jewish people
can enter into the picture as matters pertain to the priesthood and the ransom,
seen in Numbers chapter thirty-five, not only must a national conversion occur
but Christ must terminate His present ministry in the sanctuary and come forth
as the great King-Priest after the order of Melchizedek. And, as well, a new covenant [which will
replace the old covenant] will be made with
In the preceding respect, from
the vantage point of the antitype, it is a simple matter to see why the high
priest in the camp of
Christ’s ministry of the
preceding nature for Christians will end once the present dispensation has run
its course, though this ministry evidently continues for those individuals
saved during the Tribulation which follows.
In this respect, though Christ will judge Christians following the
rapture, preceding the Tribulation, He will evidently still be active as high
priest for those individuals saved during the Tribulation.
Then, following the Tribulation
He will come forth from the sanctuary and appear to
The ransom for
Israel, as the two disciples on
the road to Emmaus in Luke 24: 13ff, must continue in a blinded condition until the resurrected Christ, by
His personal presence at His second coming, opens the Old Testament Scriptures
to the Jewish people’s understanding in this respect (cf. vv. 16, 25-27, 31).
In that day,
It will be in that day - not
before - that
Availing Themselves of the Ransom
Also, the Jewish people one day
availing themselves of the ransom in Numbers chapter thirty-five would have to
do with the fulfilment of events set forth in the second and sixth of the seven
feasts of the Lord in Leviticus chapter twenty-three - the Feast of
Unleavened Bread, which immediately
followed the Passover, and the Day
of Atonement.
“Leaven” points
to that which is vile, corrupt (cf. Matt. 13:
33; 16: 1-12; 1 Cor. 5: 6-8); and
the fulfilment of this festival in the type had to do with a cleansing
of the house, a removing of all leaven from the house immediately following the
Passover (cf. Ex.
12: 8-20; Lev. 23: 6-8).
And in the antitype, it is the
some. The fulfilment of this festival will immediately follow the fulfilment of
the Passover. It will occur immediately
following
[Page 70]
(Refer to Chapters I, II in this book - the
house will be left completely leavened, desolate, until ... )
But, though all things
associated with leaven will be put out of
the house (fulfilling the second festival, the festival of Unleavened Bread), cleansing cannot occur until events
surrounding the fulfilment of the sixth festival (the Day of Atonement).
Only then will the Jewish people be able to
avail themselves of the ransom, be cleansed of defilement resulting from prior
contact with the dead body of their Messiah, and be free to return to the land
of their possession.
Only then can the seventh and last
festival be realized - the feast of Tabernacles, a time of rest at the
completion of the previous six festivals, foreshadowing the time of rest
awaiting the people of God (a seventh-day rest, a Sabbath rest), the Messianic
Era.
This is where the account of the
slayer availing himself of the ransom in Numbers chapter thirty-five, following
the death of the high priest, is seen being fulfilled in the antitype (along
with the fulfilment of that seen in Numbers chapter nineteen).
Accordingly, only in
that coming day, only following
cleansing from
And only then can the Jewish people realize
their calling in this land, with God’s promised blessings flowing out through
* * *
[Page 71]
CHAPTER IX
The Great Image, Great Beasts (I)
IDENTITY OF DANIEL’S IMAGE, FOUR GREAT BEASTS
The “great image” in Daniel chapter two (divided into four parts [vv. 31-43]), and the “four great beasts” in
chapter seven (vv. 1-8), are viewed by most premillennial students of
the Word as representing four successive world kingdoms. These four
kingdoms, as seen by most, begin with
Note a summary picture of the
four parts of the “great image” and the four “great beasts” in the preceding respect, as viewed by most Christians who
interpret Daniel’s prophecies from a premillennial standpoint:
1) The head
of gold (2: 32, 38) and the first great beast (7:
4) have to do with the
2) The breast and arms of silver (2:
32, 39)
and the second great beast (7: 5) have to
do with the Medo-Persian kingdom, beginning
with Darius and Cyrus, rulers of Media and Persia at the time of the conquest
(538 B.C. to 330 B.C.).
3) The belly and thighs of brass (2: 32, 39) and the
third great beast (7: 6) have to
do with the Grecian kingdom (330
B.C. to 323 B.C. and beyond), beginning with a conquest of the Medo-Persian
kingdom by Alexander the Great, who died seven years later (323 B.C.).
The kingdom was then divided
into four parts, with Alexander the Great’s four generals each commanding a
part. And the kingdom, over time, gradually
faded from existence as a world power.
[Page 72]
4) The legs
of iron and feet part of iron and part of clay (2:
33, 40-43) and the fourth great beast (7: 7, 8) have
to do with the Roman Empire, forming a Roman kingdom (27 B.C. to 476 A.D.), followed
by a revived Roman Empire, forming a future Roman kingdom.
This would be the position set
forth in the Scofield Reference Bible footnotes for example, a position
followed by most premillennial commentators.
The only part of the prophecy
really in question would be the fourth part of the “great image” (ch.
2), or
the fourth “great beast” (ch. 7). Daniel identifies the first three beasts (and,
correspondingly, the first three parts of the image) as particular Gentile
nations forming world kingdoms whose governmental rule had been established in
Babylon (the first by conquering the Assyrian Empire [the
beginning of the Babylonian kingdom under Nebopolassar, then
several years later under his son, Nebuchadnezzar], and the succeeding two [Media-Persia and Greece] by conquering Babylon itself). And this part of the prophecy has been
fulfilled and is a matter of history.
But should the fourth part of
the image (or the fourth beast) be identified as
1)
2) The words, “and the people of the prince that shall come shall
destroy the city and the sanctuary,” in Dan.
9: 26, are usually associated with a Roman
destruction in history (by Titus in 70 A.D.) and a Roman prince in prophecy
(the Beast of Rev. 13:
1ff, Antichrist).
In this respect, both the
historical and prophetic aspects, as they are said to relate to
Greece was the third kingdom
(represented by the belly and thighs of brass on the image); and the fourth
kingdom (represented by the legs of iron, and in its final form by the feet part
of iron and part of clay) would, from history, seem to be Rome - the next [Page 73] world
power following Greece - with the final form of the image looked upon as a
revived Roman Empire. And this
interpretation would appear to be substantiated by Dan.
9: 26.
In this verse, as previously
shown, “the prince that shall come, would be Antichrist; and “the people of the prince [understood as ‘his people’],” who would one day destroy the city of
Jerusalem, are looked upon as a reference to the Romans destroying Jerusalem in
70 A.D. under Titus. Thus, Antichrist is
said to be a latter-day Roman prince who will rule a revived
In this respect, all four parts
of Daniel’s “great image” except the feet would have a
historical fulfilment. The legs would
represent the Roman Empire in history, and the feet would represent the revived
And the same would hold true for
the corresponding description set forth by the “four great
beasts” in Daniel chapter seven.
The first three beasts would have a historical fulfilment, and the
fourth would have a fulfilment in both history and prophecy. The fourth beast would represent the
But, is the preceding the way
Scripture sets forth the fourth and final part of this Babylonian kingdom? Or, is this an attempt to interpret Biblical
prophecy through using events in secular history rather than interpreting
prophecy by comparing Scripture with Scripture?
The answer is easy to ascertain
if one remains solely within that which Daniel (and related Scripture) reveals
about the whole matter.
One
Note first of all that Daniel’s
image is seen standing in
But note something often
overlooked about the preceding: This kingdom is Babylonian throughout. The powers represented by the
head of gold, the breast and arms of silver, and the belly and thighs of brass all reigned from
When the Medes and the Persians
came in and took the kingdom in 538 B.C., they conquered the kingdom at
In other words, the image is not
seen lying down, with the head of gold in
The image is seen standing in
(Note that
The fact that the image in
Daniel chapter two is Babylonian in its entirety is one place where those who
view a
And Rome is not Babylon, regardless of the attempts by some
individuals to see certain things moved from
Those viewing Rome as
representing the fourth part of the image try to press secular history into
Biblical prophecy at a point [Page 75] where it
seems to possibly fit, but really doesn’t.
Then they further complicate the matter by a misinterpretation of Dan. 9: 26.
But the most interesting thing
about the whole matter - the central thing which voids all thought of
Daniel, in his identity, has
Antichrist coming into power following a four-way division of the kingdom after
Alexander the Great’s death. The kingdom
under Antichrist follows the Greco-Babylonian kingdom and is
represented by the legs of iron, and in its final form by the
feet part of iron and part of clay.
(No break in time is
seen in the Book of Daniel between powers represented by the third and
fourth parts of the image, similar to no break in time subsequently being seen in the book between the sixty-ninth and
seventieth weeks in Daniel’s Seventy-Week prophecy [9:
24-27]. However, it is evident from both Biblical and
secular history that a break in time exists at these respective points in both prophecies, though no
break in time precedes these
in either prophecy.
This break in time though
between the third and fourth parts of the image doesn’t lead to and end with
Also, as with Daniel’s
subsequent prophecy of the Seventy Weeks, events seen occurring within the
prophecy itself cannot occur during the break in time not seen in the
prophecy. Events seen in the prophecy must
occur within time covered by the prophecy.
For example, the destruction of
In the preceding respect, it is
just as impossible to fit
[Page 76]
The first part of the image is
identified in Dan. 2:
37, 38. Then,
following this, the remaining three parts of the image are presented, though
not identified at this point in the book.
Then, note the prominence given to the fourth part - two verses cover
the first part (vv. 37,
38), one
verse covers the next two parts (v. 39), but
six verses are devoted to the final part, along with its destruction (vv. 40-45). And
such prominence relative to the fourth part is true elsewhere in Daniel as well
(see chs. 7, 8, 11).
Why would such prominence be
given to
The identities of the last three
parts of the image, beginning with the breast and arms of silver, are given in
the interpretation of the vision of the “four great beasts,” and
this interpretation is provided in chapters seven and eight. The “four great beasts” are
said to represent four kingdoms (four sequential kingdoms
forming the one Babylonian kingdom [7: 17; cf. v. 23]); and
beginning with the second beast, the last three are identified in chapter
eight:
For the identity of the
second, compare verses
three and four with verse twenty (cf. Dan. 5:
28, 31).
For the identity of the
third, compare verses five through eight with verses twenty-one and
twenty-two.
For the identity of the
fourth, compare verses
nine through fourteen with verses twenty-three through twenty-six.
Note
that the identity of the second is Media and Persia (a dual kingdom, corresponding to the breast and arms of
silver on the image), the identity of the third is Greece (corresponding to the belly and
thighs of brass), and the identity of the fourth is the kingdom under Antichrist (corresponding to the legs of
iron and the feet part of iron and part of clay).
Where is
Following Alexander the Great’s
death, the kingdom was divided among his four generals (8: 8, 22), and
the vision then goes immediately into the days of Antichrist yet
future (the “little horn” [Page 77] in v. 9 is not
Antiochus Epiphanes, as many expositors contend, but Antichrist [see parallel verses, vv. 23-26]).
Though the prophecy in Daniel
chapter eight covers this division of the kingdom following Alexander the
Great’s death (8: 8b),
it does not cover events during the reign of these four generals following this
division. Rather, following this division of the kingdom, Daniel’s prophecy in
chapter eight goes immediately into the power represented by the fourth part of
the image (or the power represented by the fourth beast), i.e., into the days of Antichrist (vv.
9ff).
(As previously seen, there is a
break in time of over two millenniums at
this point in the prophecy [unseen in the prophecy], between the four-way
division of the kingdom and the rise of the “little
horn” [Antichrist], as there is a break in time of two millenniums between the sixty-ninth and seventieth
weeks of Daniel’s Seventy-Week prophecy [unseen in the prophecy as well].)
About three hundred years
following Alexander the Great’s death,
According to the way that the
Book of Daniel is structured, this prophecy cannot again continue to be
fulfilled until Antichrist appears at the beginning of Daniel’s Seventieth Week. Then,
and only then, will the fourth part of the image from Daniel chapter two and
the fourth beast in Daniel chapter seven come into existence.
(Also, as previously seen,
Daniel’s image presents matters as if the Babylonian power represented by the
fourth part of the image [the future kingdom under Antichrist] immediately
follows, in time, that seen represented by the third part of the image [the
kingdom under Greece]. However, there is
a gap of over two millenniums between these two parts of the kingdom, which is
not seen in the prophecy.
This may seem strange to the
Western way of viewing material of this nature, but not so with those in the
East. Those in the East are interested
in the
next important event, not in
the time which might intervene between two events. And Scripture, humanly speaking, is an
Eastern book.
Franz Delitzsch, a Hebrew
scholar from past years, put the matter in these words: “Prophecy
sees together what history unrolls as separate.”
[Page 78]
This same thing can be seen in
Daniel’s vision of the “four great beasts” in
chapter seven and the interpretation of the vision in chapter eight. These four great beasts simply present
another picture of the four parts of the image in chapter two, with added
details provided in the interpretation.
And, as in chapter two, the complete prophecy presents matters as if
there were no break in time between any of the four parts, though the same
break in time exists between the third and fourth parts as exists between the
third and fourth parts of the image.
Examples of this same thing can
be seen in other parts of Scripture as well.
This is simply a peculiarity of the way Scripture is structured, which
is seen at the very beginning, in the opening two verses of Scripture.
“In the
beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
And the earth was
without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God
moved upon the face of the waters” [Gen.
1: 1, 2].
Scripture presents all of the
events in these two verses together, as if no break in time exists. But, in reality, two breaks in time exist, a
break between the two verses, and another break between the first two sentences
and the third sentence in verse two.
Note another similar example in Isa. 9: 6. Over two
millenniums lie between the first sentence and the remainder of the verse,
though Scripture places all of these events together, as if no break in time
exists:
“For
unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given:
and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful Counsellor, The mighty God, The
everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.”
Or, another example would be Isa. 61: 1, 2:
“The Spirit
of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord
hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the broken hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound:
To proclaim the
acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of
vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn.”
Christ, in the synagogue in
“This
day is this Scripture fulfilled [lit. ‘This day
this Scripture has been fulfilled’ (Creek perfect tense, pointing to a
fulfilment in past time, with the matter existing during present time in that
finished state) in your ears” [Luke 4: 16-21].
Christ stopped reading at this
point in the passage because the
remainder had to do with events which would occur at the time of His second
coming. But note how the whole of the matter has been placed together in the two verses.
And understanding the manner in
which Scripture is structured in this respect is vitally necessary when studying
Biblical prophecy, particularly in the Book of Daniel when studying prophecies
relating to the great image in ch.
2, the four great beasts in ch. 7, of the Seventy Weeks in ch. 9.)
The People of the Coming Prince
Now, what about “the people of the prince that shall come” destroying the city of
But, as previously seen, events
in the prophecy have to occur within time covered by the prophecy, with the events in 70 A.D.
occurring outside the
scope of the prophecy.
First note the expression, “the people of the prince that shall come,” and compare this with a
similar expression in Dan. 7: 27 - “the people of the saints of the most High [lit. ‘the high places’ (also plural in the Hebrew
text in vv. 18,
22, 25b)],”
who will one day take the kingdom (v. 18).
Note in verse eighteen that the
ones who will one day take the kingdom are said to be “the saints of the most High [‘the high places’],”
and in verse twenty-seven they are said to be “the
people of the saints of the most High [‘the
high places’].” The expression, “the people of the saints of the most High [‘the high places’]” in verse twenty-seven, is,
contextually, a reference to the saints themselves from verse eighteen.
And this same type expression in
Dan. 9: 26 should be [Page 80] understood
the same way that interpretation has already been established in the previous
chapter of the book. “The people of the prince” in Dan.
9: 26,
contextually, has to be understood as a reference to the
prince himself (and
possibly also including those ruling with him). Failure to recognize the book’s own built in interpretation for Dan. 9: 26 has resulted in confusion.
And the destruction of Jerusalem
in Dan. 9:
26, as previously seen, cannot be a
reference to the destruction which occurred in 70 A.D, for this destruction
occurred outside the scope of Daniel’s Seventy-Week prophecy. Rather, since the
destruction seen in this verse did not occur during the first sixty-nine weeks
of the prophecy, it can only be a reference to a future
destruction under Antichrist during the Tribulation.
This is the same destruction
referred to in Luke 21: 20-24 (cf.
Rev. 11: 2). Also
note that Matt. 24:
15ff and Luke 21:
20ff parallel one another, depicting events
in and around
Again, the destruction in Dan. 9: 26 must occur within the framework of time
covered by the Seventy Weeks. This destruction has to
do with events occurring in connection with Daniel’s prophecy of the Seventy
Weeks; and, contextually, it is seen occurring in connection with Antichrist
breaking his covenant with Israel (v. 27 [cf. Dan.
11: 22-32; 12: 11; Matt. 24: 15; 2 Thess. 2: 3, 4; Rev. 6: 3, 4]).
And where this man’s actions
will then lead is outlined in detail in both the Books of Daniel and Revelation,
along with a number of other books and numerous sections of Scripture. This is the man whom God, in the final
analysis, will use to bring His plans and purposes surrounding Israel to
pass. Despite this man’s goals, aims,
ambitions, and aspirations - as he exercises power and great authority from
Satan’s throne itself (Rev. 13: 2) - God, in His
sovereign control of all things, will use this man to bring both
This will then be followed by God’s
judgment failing upon this man, on the basis of the unchangeable principles set
forth in Gen. 12: 3.
* * *
[Page 81]
CHAPTER X
Great Image, Great Beasts (II)
THE FOURTH PART OF THE IMAGE, THE FOURTH GREAT BEAST
The Book of Daniel is
about the kingdom of this world during the Times of the Gentiles, to
be succeeded by the
The Times of the Gentiles exists
for two main reasons:
1) Because of Jewish transgression.
2) To bring the Jewish people to the place
of repentance, through Gentile persecution.
The Times of the Gentiles began
about 605 B.C, with Nebuchadnezzar’s invasion of the southern
The sceptre was removed from
Israel’s hands and placed in the hands of the Gentiles at this time. And the sceptre has remained and will
continue to remain in the hands of the Gentiles until the appearance and
destruction of the Beast’s kingdom, Antichrist’s kingdom, yet future.
Antichrist’s kingdom, as
Nebuchadnezzar’s, will be centered back in the
[Page 82]
This man will be the last
king of
The Book of Daniel is the one
book in Scripture which deals with this complete sequence of events, and the
whole book is given over to revelation having to do, after some fashion, with
this subject. That depicted by the “great image” in chapter two and the four “great beasts” in
chapter seven deal with the same thing from two different vantage
points.
These two sections of Scripture
deal with Gentile world power throughout the Times of the Gentiles (throughout
that time when the sceptre is held by the Gentiles), and the
overthrow of Gentile world power at the end of the Times of the Gentiles. And
these two sections of Scripture, together, form the foundation upon which the
remainder of the book rests.
Final Form of Gentile World Power
The emphasis in Daniel is exactly
where it is seen in all other parts of Scripture where the subject is dealt
with. It is upon the final form of the kingdom seen depicted by the fourth part
of the great image in chapter two and the fourth great beast in chapter seven.
And, in a respect, all of the
remainder of Daniel forms commentary on that depicted by the great image and
the great beasts in chapters two and seven, with the book, particularly from
chapter seven forward, centering on the Jewish people, the
last king of Babylon, and the final form and destruction of this
man’s Babylonian kingdom.
The subject was introduced some
nine hundred years earlier in Moses, through the types, after exactly the same fashion as later
seen in Daniel. And, accordingly, one
can only find that the matter is no different in the Psalms or any of the other
Prophets.
[Page 83]
And though the gospels, Acts,
and the epistles carry matters mainly in an inseparably related, different direction
for a time, the Book of Revelation provides summary material for the whole of
preceding Scripture. And most of this book is taken up with the
final form of the kingdom, the Jewish people in that day, the
last king of
The Book of Daniel is the one
book in Scripture providing a complete, overall view of the kingdom of Babylon,
dealing with all four parts, showing the complete picture of the
kingdom of this world, from beginning to end. But, as elsewhere in
Scripture, the emphasis in Daniel is on the final form of this kingdom.
In Daniel’s reiteration of
Nebuchadnezzar’s dream about the great image in chapter two, Scripture devotes
four verses to the dream itself - two verses describing the image (vv. 32, 33) and
two more verses stating that which would happen when the final form of that
depicted by the image appeared (vv. 34, 35).
Then, in the interpretation of
that depicted by the great image, Scripture devotes one verse to the head of
gold (v. 38), one verse to both the breast and arms
of silver and the belly and thighs of brass (v.
39), but
six verses to the legs of iron and the feet part of iron and part of clay (vv. 40-45).
And the image is then seen
struck at this final form (in both the dream and the interpretation) by a “Stone cut out of the mountain without hands.” The complete image is destroyed, and the
Stone becomes a great mountain and fills the whole earth (vv. 44, 45; cf. vv.
34, 35).
Years later, in Daniel’s
reiteration of his own subsequent dreams and visions about the four great
beasts in chapter seven, Scripture devotes one verse each to the first three
great beasts (vv. 4-6). Then, beginning with verse seven and
continuing through the remainder of the chapter (vv.
7-28), Scripture deals with things surrounding
the fourth great beast, the Stone from chapter two, and the destruction of the
kingdom represented by this fourth great beast.
Then, in the interpretation of
that depicted by these four great beasts, in chapter eight, the first beast is
passed over without [Page 84] mention
because that part of the image was about to become history. Though Belshazzar still ruled at the time of this
vision (v. 1),
the Medes and Persians would shortly conquer the kingdom (5: 30, 31).
Thus, the interpretation begins
with the second great beast, by picturing a ram with two horns (vv.
3, 4, 20). Then
the third great beast is depicted by a male goat (vv.
5-8, 21, 22). And
quite a bit of space is devoted to information concerning this male goat,
apparently because the ruler associated with the fourth great beast (“the little horn” [7: 8]) is seen
coming out of a part of his kingdom (Alexander the Great’s kingdom).
Then, along with the latter part
of chapter seven, the remainder of the book has to do with different aspects of
revelation which mainly centre around or have something to do with this man and
his kingdom, depicted by the fourth part of the great image and the fourth
great beast.
The Little Horn
The Prince of the Covenant
The little horn in Dan. 7: 8, 20; 8: 9 is none other than the future world ruler
when the final form of the great image or the great beasts is seen - the Antichrist,
the man of sin, the Beast.
This is the man whom the Lord
will raise up, place in the highest of regal positions, and use to bring the
Jewish people into such dire straits that they will have
nowhere to turn other than to the God of their fathers (cf. Ex. 3: lff; 9: 16; Dan. 4: 17, 25, 26).
Thus, this is the man whom God
will use to bring Israel to the place of repentance. The
Caesars during the time
Jewish persecution under this
man will far exceed anything which has ever occurred in the past, resulting in
the actions of the wondering and persecuted Jewish people closing out 2,600 years of a human drama in which no
Jewish person has ever wanted to participate but in which all
Jewish individuals have had
to participate.
[Page 85]
As previously seen, this little
horn will arise from one of the four divisions of Alexander the Great’s kingdom
- the northern division, which covered what is today northern Iraq and parts of
Iran, Syria, and Turkey (Dan. 8: 9). This
is the part of the world from which this man will arise, not from Europe but
from the Middle East.
This man’s ten-kingdom
federation is referenced through the use of “ten horns” in Dan. 7: 7, 24, referring to “ten kings.” And he is said to
subdue three horns (three kings [7: 8]). But these subdued horns (subdued kings),
couldn’t be three of the ten, for these ten horns (ten kings), are to reign
with this man (Rev. 12:
3; 13: 1; 17: 12).
Rather, let
Scripture interpret Scripture, and the matter becomes clear.
Note the parallel verse in Dan. 8: 9, referring
to the four parts into which Alexander the Great’s kingdom was divided. The three horns, three kings, which he
subdues can only be those who ruled the other three parts of the kingdom (the
matter is viewed, with no break in time seen in the prophecy [ref Chapter IX in this book, pp. 75-79], as if
this kingdom still existed when the little horn comes into power [cf. Dan.
2: 44, 45; 7: 12], else
he couldn’t be seen coming out of one part of the kingdom, then subduing those
ruling the other three parts [Dan. 7: 23, 24; 8: 8-10, 21-23]).
The kingdom of Babylon, which
was divided four ways at the time of Alexander the Great’s death - divided
among his four generals - must be seen as one undivided kingdom in its
final form.
Thus, the first thing mentioned
is the “little horn” subduing three kings - referring, as previously seen, to those ruling the other three parts of the
kingdom - showing the kingdom being brought back together again under one ruler.
Then the covenant which this man will make with “many” in
(The word “covenant” appears seven times in the Book of Daniel,
all in chapters nine and eleven [9A, 27; 11: 22, 28, 30 (twice), 32].)
[Page 86]
The Mosaic Economy, the
The covenant which the man about
to appear will make with Israel will, of necessity, have to involve things in the
Mosaic Economy, particularly things having to do with the
Temple Mount and the Temple itself. This can
be clearly seen both from events which will transpire in Israel during the
first half of the Tribulation and from the way this man will break the
covenant.
The Jewish people, during the
first half of the Tribulation (actually, as will be shown later in this
chapter, at or near the beginning of the Tribulation) are going to gain access
to the Temple Mount, rebuild their Temple, and reinstitute the Old Testament
sacrificial system.
Then, in the middle of the Tribulation,
the man having previously made a covenant with
And this
[* NOTE: The
This man is going to walk onto
the Temple Mount, enter into the Temple, and desecrate the Holy of Holies (the
innermost part of the Temple, the dwelling place of God among His people in the
O.T. theocracy), declare himself to be God, and subsequently destroy the Temple
and the city of Jerusalem.
And he will then set his sights
on efforts to destroy and do away with the Jewish people, not only in
1) A
Brief History of
All of this can be clearly seen
from that which occurred in 1967 in
From the time of the
construction of the Tabernacle during Moses’ day to the time of the Babylonian
captivity, about eight and one-half centuries passed. And during all of this time, the
people of Israel were in possession of the Tabernacle or the succeeding Temple,
with a theocracy existing in the camp of Israel (discounting the time [about 100
years] that the ark of the covenant was separated from the Tabernacle and in
the hands of the Philistines [1 Sam 4: 11; 2 Sam. 6: 17]).
Then, the Jewish people were
without their
Thus, in the overall history of
And though the Glory did not
return to the
However, things have been quite
different in this respect for the past nineteen and one-half centuries. Since 70 A.D., when [Page 88] the
Never in Israel’s history, prior to
the destruction of the second Temple, had generations of Jews come and gone
without direct contact with either the Tabernacle or the Temple; and
until the recent establishment of
All of this though began to
change with the establishment of the nation in the land once again, and it is
about to change even more, in a very real and tangible way.
2) A Third Temple - How?
The question is not, “Will a third
As previously seen, Antichrist
will, at this time, desecrate the
The question concerning the
building of a third
There are two major events which
have occurred during modern times, with a third yet to occur, which can only be
seen as progressively setting the stage for a rebuilding of the
1) The
first was the
establishment of the
2) The
second was the
capture of the Old City of Jerusalem (the place of the
3) The third will be that day
when the
During
the battles which immediately followed
And at the very point of
conquest, the interest of the captors became focused on one
thing in the
And in many cases, because of unfamiliarity
with the
They came, stood before the
wall, and prayed and wept; and during the days and years since, they have
continued to come to stand there, to pray and to weep.
For the Jewish people, there is
presently no place on earth like the Wailing Wall. This is
the closest they can presently come to their
And the entire matter dates all the
way back to the days of Moses - almost three and one-half millenniums. It is then no wonder that they continue to
frequent this place day after day after day, standing before this wall, praying
and weeping.
But the Wailing Wall is still
not enough. The Jewish people want that which
the Wailing Wall only portends, calls to mind.
They want their Temple once again, for they know that without the Temple
there can be no restoration of the kingdom and the accompanying Glory.
Unfortunately though, the
In keeping with this law, after
the Israeli troops captured the Old City of Jerusalem in 1967, Jewish authorities turned over [Page 90] responsibility of the Temple Mount to an Islamic charity.
Then, to further complicate
matters, the Dome of the Rock is not just any religious shrine. It dates all the way back to 691 A.D. and is the
third most
sacred site in the world for the followers of Islam (after
The Dome of the Rock stands over
the site from which Moslems believe Mohammed ascended (leaped) to heaven. And to even further complicate matters beyond
the preceding, the EI Aksa Mosque, built after the
Dome of the Rock, is also on the
Thus, even though the Jewish
people control the Old City of Jerusalem, they do not control the
Not only is this the case, but
for
Officials in
What then will transpire to
allow
As previously seen, the man of
sin will break his covenant with Israel by stopping the Jewish sacrifices,
entering into the Holy of Holies, and declaring himself to be God (cf.
Dan. 9: 26, 27; 11: 30-32; Matt. 24: 15; 2 Thess.
2: 3, 4; Rev. 11: 1, 2).
In view of this, the ratifying
of the covenant will somehow evidently involve or allow a restoration of the
Mosaic Economy, with its
Accordingly, this man will evidently
be the one to bring about a solution to the present dilemma in which the Jewish
people find [Page 91]
themselves. We know from Dan. 11: 39 and Joel 3: 2 that he will be instrumental in
dividing the land (establishing borders) in the Middle East; and the Temple
site, located on the Temple Mount,* the most important piece of real estate, not
only in the land of Israel, but on earth, could only form the major part of the territory in view.
[* If this area is where Solomon’s Temple once stood - which I
believe it is not - then we have another example of how Tradition has become the enemy of
Truth! - Ed.]
To move beyond the preceding
thoughts though is to move beyond information which Scripture provides. But, things which we can know for certain are
these:
1) A seemingly intractable
situation presently exists, denying
the Jews access to their
2) The seemingly intractable situation will one day
be resolved, giving the Jews access to this site (and this is one reason,
among others, that Antichrist undoubtedly fits into the picture, bringing
about a resolution to the problem in that coming day).
3) The Jews will rebuild their
In 1903,
In like manner, as previously
seen, the Jewish people would never consider building their
The Jews have an affinity for a
particular land insofar as the nation is concerned, and
they have the same affinity for a particular place in that land insofar as
the
3) A
Note the words of General Shlomo Goren, chief rabbi of the Israeli
armed forces, as he stood at the wailing wall on June 7, 1967 following the capture of the Old City
of Jerusalem during the Six-Day War (June 5-10):
[Page 92]
“We
took an oath today, while capturing the city.
On our blood we took an oath that we will never give it up, we will
never leave this place.
The Wailing Wall
belongs to us. The holy place was our
place first, our place and our God’s place.
From here we do not
move. Never! Never!”
After the Old City of Jerusalem had
fallen to the Israeli troops during the Six-Day War in June 1967, the commander
of these troops stood at the Wailing Wall and announced:
“None
of us alive has ever seen or done anything so great as he has done today.”
Defence Minister Moshe Dayan stood
at the Wailing Wall that day and vowed:
“We
have returned to the holiest of our holy places, never to depart from it again.”
Rabbi Shlomo
Goren, along with the preceding quote, stood at the
Wailing Wall on that day and cried out:
“We have
taken the city of
Why did the chief rabbi of the
Israeli armed forces, the troop commander, and the defence minister view the
Wailing Wall after this fashion? Why did
the chief rabbi of the Israeli armed forces further associate Jewish possession
of the Wailing Wall with the nearness of the Messianic Era? The answer is singular and very simple: This
site not only reflects on a past
General Shlomo
Goren, from 1967 to 1994 (the time of his death),
become a leading authority on the
[Page 93]
A third
When asked about how this could
be brought to pass, his reply was simply, “It’s a big
problem.”
The Prince of the Covenant
The “big
problem” concerning a particular piece of real estate on the
Scripture clearly reveals what
the nation of
Note how Dan. 8: 13, 14 reads in a somewhat round-about
way of revealing when this
“Then I
heard one saint speaking, and another saint said
unto that certain saint which spake, How long
shall be the vision concerning the daily sacrifice, and the transgression of desolation, to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under
foot?
And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed [220
days (7 months, 10 days) short of the full 2,520 days (7 years)].”
According to these verses, there
will be “two thousand and three hundred days” from
the point when sacrifices begin in the rebuilt
Thus, Dan.
8: 13, 14 places
the building of the
[Page 94]
The event which will mark the
beginning of the Tribulation is the ratifying of a covenant between the man of
sin, the Antichrist, and
(For additional information on
this covenant which a man about to arise on the scene of world affairs will
make with Israel, refer to Chapter V, “Rider on
the White Horse,” in the author’s book, DISTANT HOOFBEATS.)
God has placed
And it is evident from things
stated in Daniel’s prophecy that the covenant which “the prince that shall
come” will make with “many” in
For the Jewish people to attempt
something of this nature today, under present conditions and circumstances,
would, as previously stated, present insurmountable problems. If they tried to do this today, the Moslem
world surrounding
But in that coming day things
will somehow be quite [Page 95]
different. They will have to
be different. And this [coming evil and satanic-filled] man will
apparently possess the ability to bring about the necessary changes to make
possible that which man would find impossible today.
In Daniel’s prophecy of the
Seventy Weeks, where this man and the covenant are first introduced, as
previously stated, things related to both his making and then breaking the
covenant occupy centre-stage. In
reality, things surrounding the two together (his making and then breaking the
covenant) comprise all that is revealed about this man in the prophecy of the
Seventy Weeks.
Then, following the reference to
“the prince that shall come” (9:
27), he
is seen as “the prince of the covenant” (11: 22). And
Scripture again refers to this covenant several times during things revealed
concerning his reign (11: 28, 30-32). And the things revealed about this man
and the covenant in these subsequent verses have to do with exactly the same
things introduced in Dan. 9: 27, when he breaks the covenant.
Once the covenant is broken by
this man entering into the rebuilt
This man is going to have an
affiliation with those who forsake the covenant, he
will pollute the sanctuary, take away the daily sacrifice, and
make it desolate. He will “corrupt by flatteries” those who side with him against the covenant. He will “do according to his
will,” exalting and magnifying himself “above every god” (Dan.
11: 30-32, 36; cf.
Dan. 9:
27; Matt.
23: 37-39). He will not regard any God [the true God, or false deities
of the Gentiles). Rather, he will “honour the god of forces [power]” (Dan. 11: 36-38).
But, after all has been said and
done - following this man’s reign of terror, with the nations lying in ruin,
and
millions on top of millions slain (one-fourth of the population of
the earth [Rev. 6:
8], which
by today’s count would exceed one and one-half billion) - this man is going to
“come to his end, and
none shall help him” (Dan. 11: 45; cf.
Isa. 14: 15-17; Jer.
4 : 23-28).
[Page 96]
And
The story is told and re-told,
different ways and through different means, time after time after time in
Scripture. But, though that which God has revealed concerning
Though all of this information
is available, and has been for millenniums, with the end being told before the
beginning (Eccl. 3:
14, 15), man, down through the centuries has
ignored that which God has revealed and has continued to try the impossible -
to do away with the Jewish people. And
the last of those attempting the impossible is about to appear on the scene.
Through it all the Lord is seen sitting
in the heavens, laughing (Heb., a contemptible type laugh [Ps. 2: 4]) at
man’s feeble efforts to thwart His plans and purposes. Then, in the final analysis of His sovereign
control over all things, God will deal with the nations* “in his wrath” (Ps.
2: 55; cf.
Rev. 6: 14-17).
[* Not only will God deal with the
nations “in His wrath,” but He will also deal “in His wrath” with
those disobedient, regenerate and apostate Bible Teachers,
which He has placed in positions of authority but have wilfully continued to neglect
and hide
from His redeemed people His unfulfilled prophetic and accountability
truths! Col. 2: 8; 3: 25ff.; Acts 20: 25-31; 1 Cor 6: 9ff. Gal. 5: 21. cf. Eph. 5:
5-6; Rev. 2:
14-17,
R.V.]
And in that day (Mal. 4: 1), following “the Sun of
righteousness” arising “with healing in his wings” (Mal. 4: 2), matters as they presently exist on the earth
will be completely reversed (Mal. 4: 3).
Israel, so to speak, will walk
out of the furnace heated seven times hotter than normal, completely untouched by
the fire, while those casting them into the fire will be slain by the fire (Dan. 3).
The preceding is where matters
are headed, and God has laid all of it out in His Word for any and all who
would want to see and know these things.
“Thus
saith the Lord of hosts; In those days it shall
come to pass, that ten men shall take hold out
of all the languages of the nations, even shall
take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying,
We will go with you: for
we have heard that God is with you” (Zech.
8: 23).
* * *
[Page 97]
CHAPTER XI
The Beast and the Woman (I)
MYSTERY,
And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven
vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great
whore that sitteth upon many waters:
With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants
of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.
So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman
sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads
and ten horns.
And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with
gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of
abominations and filthiness of her fornication:
And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY,
BABYLON THE
GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH
(Rev. 17:
1-5).
The Book of Revelation is where many
expositors and Bible students commit mayhem in Biblical interpretation, and
that is especially true beginning with chapter seventeen and continuing through
the first six verses of chapter nineteen.
These are chapters where
interpretation, for the most part, has remained unchanged over the years, with
expositors seemingly being unable to break away from an erroneous view which
has been held by individuals in one form or another for at least the last five
hundred years, since the time of the Reformation.
[Page 98]
Among those expositors viewing
the book in some semblance of the correct manner - referred to as “futurist,”
understanding events in the book, particularly in chs. 6-19, as future
and having to do with events during Daniel's unfulfilled seventieth week - almost all, when coming to chapter seventeen,
seem to forget what the book is about and begin dealing with material
completely foreign to the subject matter of the book.
And this foreign
subject matter, more often than
not, is the Church of Rome (or this Church as the centre into which numerous
false religions will be drawn in that future day). Individuals seek to understand and present “the harlot” in these chapters in this manner.
Then, if the preceding manner of
mishandling Rev. 17:
1ff wasn’t enough in and of itself - i.e., attempting to see God dealing with
the Roman Catholic Church during “the time of Jacob’s
trouble” (Jer.
30: 7), the seven-year Tribulation - there is
still more.
The “harlot” in Rev. 17: 1 - 19: 6 is
clearly identified in these chapters in several unmistakable ways (as
other than the Roman Catholic Church), in complete keeping with the
subject matter being dealt with in this section of the book (chs. 6-19).
Christians will be removed from
the earth and dealt with at the end of the present dispensation, prior to “the time of Jacob’s trouble” (chs. 1-3). And it is completely outside the scope of
anything taught in Scripture to
attempt to see God dealing with anyone or any group of individuals associated
with Christianity (either true Christianity or a so-called false Church) during
the Tribulation.
Misguided interpretation of the
book of the preceding nature (which is not really interpretation at all)
results in two things:
1) People are misled, causing
them to believe that which is “not according to this Word” (Isa. 8: 20).
2) Proclaimed error at any point in Scripture invariably closes the door
to a correct understanding of the passage being dealt with, which, many times
will close the door to correctly understanding related passages of Scripture as
well.
Thus, mishandling Scripture
after this fashion is a serious matter. The end result
can and often does have far-reaching ramifications, moving far beyond one
passage dealt with in an erroneous manner.
[Page 99]
Again, beginning with Rev. 6: 1, this book is dealing with “the time of Jacob’s trouble,” not the time of the Church’s trouble
(either the true Church or a so-called false Church).
God, at this time, will have
completed His dealings with the Church during Man’s Day. And beginning with Revelation chapter six,
God is seen turning back to Israel and completing His dealings with the Jewish
people during the last seven years of Man’s Day, fulfilling events which will
occur during the final week of Daniel’s Seventy-Week prophecy (along with the
nations to be dealt with through Israel at this time, with the Messianic Era to
follow).
Subject and Structure of the Book
Note the subject matter of the Book of Revelation and how the
book has been structured, given in the opening verse of the book.
“The
Revelation of Jesus Christ,
which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to
pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John.”
Then, with these things in view,
the time element - “the time of Jacob’s trouble,”
beginning in chapter six - can be dealt with and understood within its proper
context and the manner in which the material has been put together in this
book.
The first five chapters of the
book deal with events which will occur immediately preceding “the time of Jacob’s trouble” - the Church [overcomers will be] removed* and dealt with at Christ’s judgment seat (chs. 1-3), the
twenty-four elders cast their crowns before God’s throne (ch. 4),
and the search for One worthy to break the seals of the seven-sealed scroll (ch. 5).
[* That is, by means of a Pre-tribulation Rapture of living
saints. See Rev.
3: 10. cf.
Luke 21: 34-36, R.V. & A.V. Note: There is no mention of a
Resurrection of the dead at this time, for the “First Resurrection” cannot occur until the end
of the Tribulation, when our Lord Jesus will return. 1
Thess. 4: 16, R.V.]
And, beginning with chapter six
and continuing through the first six verses of chapter nineteen, events are
dealt with which will occur during or immediately beyond “the time of Jacob’s trouble,” a time when the seven seals of the scroll
are broken - a period dealt with time after time throughout Moses, the Psalms, and the
Prophets.
1)
Subject
The word “Revelation” in the opening verse of this book is a [Page 100] translation of the Greek word apokalupsis, which means to “disclose,” “reveal,”
“uncover.”
And this word, along with its verb form (apokalupto), are together used forty-five times in
the New Testament in passages such as Rom. 16: 25; 1 Cor. 2: 10; Gal. 1: 12; Eph. 3: 3, 5; 1 Peter 1: 7, 13; 4: 13.
The Book of Revelation, the Apokalupsis, the “Apocalypse,”
is about a disclosure, an uncovering, an unveiling of that which the Father had
previously given to and would accomplish through His Son (cf. John 3: 34, 35; 5: 20-22; 7: 16; 8: 28). And that which the Father had previously
given to and would accomplish through His Son is seen in both Old and New
Testament Scripture as “all things” (cf. Gen. 24: 36; 25: 5; John 16: 15; Col. 1: 16-18; Heb. 1: 2-13).
Then, more directly, in the
words of the book itself, that being made known pertains to a
revelation of the Son Himself. This book is an opening up of
that which relates all that the Father has given to and would accomplish
through His Son, revealed through a revelation of the Son Himself.
And the revelation of the Son,
according to this opening verse, is going to be accomplished through a
specific, revealed means through revealing “things which must
shortly [Gk., tachos, ‘quickly,’ ‘speedily’] come to pass.” That is to say, once this revelation of the
Son begins through an unfolding of future events, the revelation will occur in
a quick or speedy fashion - actually over time covering little more than seven
years.
(On the translation of tachos in the opening verse as “quickly”
or “speedily,” refer to a cognate word, tachu, used seven times in this book, translated “quickly” each time [2:
5, 16; 3: 11; 11: 14; 22: 7, 12, 20].)
According to John 1: 1, 14, the incarnation was simply the Word (the Old
Testament Scriptures) becoming flesh.
There is the written Word (which is living [Heb. 4: 12]), and there is the living Word (which is the written Word,
inseparably connected with the Father, made flesh).
The Book of Revelation is thus
an opening up of the Old Testament Scriptures through a Person,
through the Word which became flesh. And any thought of an
opening up of the Old Testament Scriptures extending to and including an
opening up [Page 101] of the
New Testament Scriptures as well could only be completely out of place, for there is nothing in the New that
cannot be found, after some fashion, in the Old. If there were, there could not be the
necessary corresponding completeness between the written Word and the living Word at a time before
the New Testament even began to be penned.
The New Testament, at any
point, of necessity, can
only have to do with revelation which can be seen as having an Old Testament
base. Revelation in the New Testament must bear the same inseparable
connection with the Word made flesh as revelation in the Old Testament bears.
Thus, the existence of the Word
made flesh preceding the
existence of the New Testament clearly relates the truth of the matter concerning
the content of the New Testament. The
New can only be an opening up and revealing of that
previously seen in the Old. To state
or think otherwise is to connect the Word made flesh with one Testament and
disconnect Him from the other - an impossibility.
In short, the Old
Testament is complete in and of itself; the Word made flesh incorporates this same completeness, and the New Testament adds nothing
per se to this
completeness. Any supposed subsequent
addition would be impossible, for this would be adding to that which God had
already deemed complete through the incarnation, the Word made flesh.
The preceding is why Christ,
shortly after His resurrection, began at “Moses and all the
prophets” (an expression covering the whole of the O.T.) when He
appeared to and began making Himself known to two disciples travelling from
Through this means, those being
addressed would be able to see one (the word picture) alongside the other (the
Word made flesh). And, comparing the
two, they would be able to come into an understanding of not only the
identity of the One in their midst but an understanding of that which had occurred in
[Page 102]
This is the manner in which God
has put matters together in His Word, making Himself, His plans, and His
purposes known to man. And this is why
the Son - God manifest in the flesh, the Word made flesh - undertook matters
after exactly the same fashion when making Himself, His plans, and His purposes
known to two disciples walking from
Then, the same thing is seen
when He appeared to ten of the eleven remaining disciples (with Thomas absent)
in
And this is the manner in which
the Book of Revelation must be studied. Since it is
an unveiling of the living Word, it is equally an unveiling of the inseparable
Old Testament Scriptures, which, throughout, have to do with both of God’s
firstborn Sons - Christ and Israel (Ex. 4: 22, 23; Heb. 1: 6), with one Son seen inseparable from the other
Son (cf.
Ex. 12: 1ff
[John 4: 22;
Acts 4: 12];
Jonah 1: 17
[Matt. 12:
39, 40]; Hosea 11:
1 [Matt. 2: 15]).
Then, another person is seen
throughout the Old Testament as well - the Beast, introduced in Gen. 3: 15 and
dealt with throughout Moses, the Psalms, and the Prophets. And he, accordingly, is seen and dealt with
extensively in Revelation chapters six through twenty.
Thus, understanding the Book of
Revelation after the preceding fashion is the only way a person can
come into a proper and correct understanding of the various things opened up
and revealed in this book, which, of
course, would be equally true of any other portion of Scripture.
2)
Structure
The word “signified” in the opening verse of this book is a translation of the
Greek word semaino, which is
the verb form of the word for “sign” (semeion). The Apostle John introduced, opened up,
and developed matters in his gospel account through signs. And in
the Book of Revelation, matters are introduced, opened up, and developed in a
similar manner.
God, throughout His revelation
to man, shows an affinity for the use of types,
numbers, signs, and metaphors to make Himself, His plans, and
His purposes known. And this must be
recognized, else man will find himself failing to go beyond the simple letter
of Scripture (cf. 2 Cor.
3: 6 - 4: 6).
[Page 103]
Man, for example, will find
himself understanding Biblical history but failing to understand the
God-designed typical significance of that
history. Or if numbers,
signs, or metaphors are used - which they often are
- he will fail to understand the God-designed significance of these as well.
At the very outset, God makes it
clear that the Book of Revelation has been structured in a
particular manner, closely related to
the manner in which John was led by the Spirit to structure his gospel.
The Gospel of John was built
around eight signs which Jesus had previously performed during His earthly
ministry, and these signs were recorded and directed to the Jewish people
during the time of the re-offer of the kingdom to
And the Book of Revelation -
dealing largely with the Jewish people once again (exclusively, along with God’s dealings with the
nations through Israel, in chs.
6-19, covering time and events during and immediately
following Daniel’s Seventieth Week) - uses the verb form of the word for “sign” at the very outset in order to reveal the manner in which
this book has been structured.
To understand how the word semaino, translated “signified,” is used introducing the Book of Revelation, note how John
uses this same word three times in his gospel, in John
12: 33; 18:
32; 21: 19. The context leading into each verse
provides an illustrative statement which allows that stated in the verse to be understood.
Note the first of these three
usages, within context:
“And I,
if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me. This he said, signifying [from semaino] what
death he should die” (vv. 32, 33).
Aside from Rev. 1: 1 and the three verses in John’s gospel, the only
other usages of the word semaino in the New Testament are in Acts
11: 28; 25:
27. And the same thought is set forth through
the use of the word in these two passages, though the illustrative statement is
inferred in the first usage.
Thus, “signified,” a translation of semaino, has to do with [Page 104] making something known through a manner which carries the reader
from a somewhat indirect means to a direct means, using an illustrative statement
as a means of explaining a matter.
And this is seen accomplished in the Book of Revelation centrally
through the use of numerous numbers and metaphors, though other illustrative means
are used as well.
In the preceding respect, all
illustrative means of this nature in the book are, they would have to be, in line
with the meaning of the word semaino and the manner in which this word
is used elsewhere in the New Testament.
“Mystery,
Note that the identification of
the “harlot” in Rev. 17: 1ff with “
1) A
Mystery
The word, “mystery,” is not part of the harlot’s name - such as mystical, etc.
Rather, the word, “mystery,” states something about the
harlot, aiding in the identification of the harlot.
“A mystery” in the
New Testament does not have to do with something completely new, something not
dealt with at all or unknown in the Old Testament (a common misconception which
is often taught concerning the meaning of the word). This, of course, couldn’t be true, for, as previously
seen, there is nothing in the New that cannot be found after some form in the
Old.
Rather, “a mystery” in the New Testament has to do with an
opening up and an unveiling of something previously introduced and dealt with
in the Old Testament. “A mystery” has to do with additional revelation, commentary, on
that already seen in the Old Testament, allowing the Old Testament
revelation to be fully opened up and revealed (e.g.,
note that a full revelation of the
Son in the Book of Revelation allows the “mystery of God” [Rev. 10: 7] to be correspondingly fully opened up as well,
for Christ is God manifested in the flesh).
And the preceding is exactly
what is in view through referring [Page 105] to “the woman” and “the beast” by the use of the word
mystery. There is an opening up, an
unveiling of that previously revealed concerning the woman and the Beast,
which, of course, would necessitate prior revelation on the subject.
This alone would tell a person
that foundational material for both can, and must, be
found in the Old Testament, for, again,
there is nothing in the New that does not have its roots someplace in the Old.
And, as previously seen, a
relationship of this nature between the two Testaments can be seen in the
opening verse of the last book of Scripture, the Book of Revelation, stating at
the outset the nature of the book’s contents.
The entirety of the Old
Testament is about the person and work of Jesus Christ (Luke 24: 25-27; John 5: 39-47). And the New Testament, continuing from the
Old - with “the Word” (the Old Testament Scriptures)
becoming “flesh” (John
1: 1, 2,
14) - must be viewed in
exactly the same light.
The New is an opening up and
unveiling of the Old; and the Book of Revelation, forming the capstone to all
previous revelation (both the Old and New Testaments), completes
the unveiling. The Book of
Revelation, by its own introductory statement - an introductory statement
peculiar to this book alone - forms the one book in Scripture which brings all
previous revelation to its proper climax.
2)
Thus, “the harlot” being inseparably identified with Babylon is not something which
suddenly appears in chapter seventeen, apart from prior revelation - revelation
which would allow one to know who is being referenced and why an identification
of this nature is being used.
The word “mystery” alone would tell a person that prior revelation exists,
allowing the referenced identification to be easily understood.
Most of the prior revelation is
in the Old Testament, but some can be found in the immediately preceding
chapters of the Book of Revelation. And,
even without these immediately preceding chapters - knowing that these are
central entities dealt with during “the time of Jacob’s
trouble” - plain common sense would seemingly tell any individual
with a good grasp of the Old [Page 106] Testament
Scriptures what and who is being dealt with, for that seen throughout Rev. 17: 1 - 19: 6 is a major subject of Old Testament Scripture.
Metaphors and other forms of
figurative language are used extensively in these chapters, not only relative to
“the harlot” and “the
beast,” but numerous other places as well (e.g., the descriptive destruction of the harlot, “with fire,” the harlot referred to as “that great city, Babylon,” or the “great riches” enjoyed by the nations at the harlot’s expense). And the use of metaphors or other forms of
figurative language is seen throughout the book, in line with “signified [semaino]” in the
opening verse of the book.
And, with the preceding in mind,
relative to the inseparable association of the harlot with
In the first verse (11:
8), where the first of nine references in
the book to “the [or, ‘that’] great city” is found, this city is associated with both
“And
their dead bodies [the two witnesses] shall lie in the street of the great city,
which spiritually
is called
In the second verse (14:
8), where the second reference to “that great city” is found in the book, the destruction of the harlot is seen
(detailed more fully in chs.
17-19a);
and the harlot, previously associated with
“And
there followed another angel, saying,
(The inclusion of “that great city” in this verse is often questioned on
the basis of manuscript evidence. But
the question, in reality, is mute. Note Rev. 16: 19; 18: 10, 21, where
no manuscript variance exists, with “
In the third verse (16:
19), where the third reference to “the great city” is found in the book, the end of the harlot is seen
again. But in this verse, additional
explanatory material is given. “The
great city ...
“And the
great city was divided into three parts, and the
cities of the nations fell: and great
(The identification of “the great city” [or, ‘that
great city’ (same structure in the Greek text throughout)] with
Note also that “
Thus, to see “Babylon” used as a metaphor for Jerusalem - i.e., referring to the Jewish people - in the Book of Revelation, one could only expect to find a prior
Jerusalem-Babylon association in the Old Testament, for, again, there is
nothing in the New Testament that does not have its roots somewhere in the Old
Testament.
In this respect, not only should
a Jerusalem-Babylon association be found in the Old Testament, one which would
allow “
Note again that “
(Note how the preceding would
negatively reflect on the false teaching that “the harlot” in Rev. 17-19a is a reference to the Roman Catholic Church.
“The
harlot” is a mystery, necessitating that the harlot be found in the Old
Testament. And to carry such a teaching pertaining
to the harlot and the Roman Catholic Church through to its logical conclusion, this
Church, of necessity, would have to be found in the Old Testament, which,
of
course, it isn’t.)
[Page 108]
Dealing with
The kingdom of Babylon is
brought into full view in this book, Daniel deals with Israel and the nations
in relation to this Babylonian kingdom, and Daniel places a particular emphasis
on details pertaining to the latter days - details having to do with Babylon’s
end-time ruler, the Beast, exactly as seen in the Book of Revelation (though
this man had previously been introduced in different ways and places in the Old
Testament, beginning in Genesis, then quite extensively in Exodus).
The complete period of the Times
of the Gentiles is depicted through two main means in the Book of Daniel -
through a four-part great image in chapter two (revealed through a dream) and
through four great beasts in chapter seven (revealed through a vision). That depicted by the great image in chapter
two is Babylonian in its
entirety (from the head of gold to the feet part of iron and part of clay), as
is that depicted by the four great beasts in chapter seven (from the lion to
the dreadful, terrible, and exceedingly strong beast). The great image and great beasts present exactly
the same picture, though from two different
perspectives.
That seen through the great
image and the great beasts centers around and sets forth Gentile
world rule during the Times of the Gentiles, from
its beginning to its end, as this period relates to
God used the first king of
Babylon (Nebuchadnezzar [the first king during time covered by the great image,
or the great beasts]) to complete the removal of the Jewish people from their
land - because of their prior, continued disobedience, extending over centuries
of time - resulting in an end to the Old Testament theocracy.
And God will use the last king
of
The former theocracy was
established under the old covenant, and the latter theocracy will be
established under a new covenant (cf. Ex. 19: 5, 6; Jer. 31: 31-33).
The Visions of Zechariah
With these things in mind, note
the eight visions in the first six chapters of Zechariah, for these visions
deal with exactly the same thing seen in both
the Books of Daniel and Revelation, though from a different perspective
yet. These are visions revealed to and
recorded by Zechariah following the return of a remnant from the Babylonian
captivity. And it is within these
visions that possibly the best Old Testament basis for an association of “
1)
Understanding the Visions
These eight visions are
introduced by the Lord’s statement surrounding
Disobedience resulted in the Times of the
Gentiles, and repentance would ultimately be effected
through Gentile persecution during this period.
Then, following the six
introductory verses, the eight visions begin with verse seven and continue
uninterrupted until part way through chapter six of the book.
These visions have to be
understood in the light of the manner in which they are introduced. They
have to be understood in the light of Israel’s past disobedience,
which has resulted in the Times of the Gentiles; and they have to be understood in the
light of the reason for the Times of the Gentiles - Israel not only reaping the
consequences of her actions, but ultimately bringing the
nation to the place of repentance - and that which will occur once God’s
purpose for this period is realized.
The visions, understood
contextually, must be looked upon as having to do with
[Page 110]
(Note that one of the laws of
the harvest has to do with the fact that a person not only reaps what he sows but
he always reaps more than he sows.
Thus, with
Though God drove His people out
among the nations, to effect repentance, the principles set forth in Gen. 12: 3 remain.
God will not only use Gentile persecution to bring about repentance but He
will also subsequently judge the Gentiles because
of this persecution.
Summarily, these
visions bridge the centuries of time between the first and last kings of
Only then will
That, in short, is how the eight
visions in Zechariah must be understood.
Each presents
a different facet of the matter, and all of the visions together form a composite picture of that
which God revealed concerning
Then, immediately after the last
vision (6: 1-8, dealing with the destruction of Gentile world
power), Zechariah calls attention to the crowning of Joshua, the
high priest, with reference then made to “the man whose name is The BRANCH,” which is followed by a
reference to the building of the Temple (6: 11-13).
The name “Joshua” (Heb., Jehoshua) is
an Anglicized form of the Hebrew name for “Jesus” (Gk., Iesous). The
Septuagint (Greek translation of the O.T.) uses Iesous in Zech.
6: 11, and
this is the reason that the KIV translators erroneously translated Iesous as “Jesus”
instead of “Joshua” in Acts
7: 45 and Heb.
4: 8. They are the same name, whether Iehoshua in
Hebrew or Iesous in Greek.
[Page 111]
And the name, “The BRANCH,” in Zech. 6: 12 is a Messianic title applied to Christ
elsewhere in the Old Testament (Isa. 4: 2; 11: 1; Jer. 23: 5; 33: 15; Zech. 3: 8).
Thus, note that which is in view
immediately following the visions in Zechariah, immediately following the Times
of the Gentiles, when
Events surrounding the
crowning of Joshua (at the
termination of the visions), the high priest during Zechariah’s day, foreshadow
future events surrounding the crowning of Jesus (at the termination of that set
forth in the visions), Who will then be the great King-Priest.
And the building of the
2) The Woman in the Ephah
Now, with all that in mind, note
the seventh of the eight visions - a woman seated in the midst of an ephah (5: 5-11) - immediately before the vision having to do
with the destruction of Gentile world power (6:
1-8). This vision of the woman seated in the ephah
has a direct bearing upon a proper understanding and interpretation of
Revelation chapter seventeen through the opening six verses of chapter
nineteen, paralleling, in a number of instances, that seen in these three
chapters.
The destruction of Gentile world
power then follows in both Zechariah’s visions and that revealed to John in the
Book of Revelation. And the crowning of
Joshua and the reference to “The BRANCH” building the Temple foreshadow and have to do with that
which follows in the Book of Revelation - Christ appearing as “King of kings, and Lord of
lords” (ch.
19b), with certain events then occurring
both preparatory to and during His millennial reign (ch. 20a).
Thus, there is a parallel
between the seventh and eighth visions and that which immediately follows in
Zechariah with that seen
in Revelation chapter seventeen through the opening six verses of chapter
nineteen. Both sections of Scripture
deal with exactly the [Page 112] same
thing, from two different perspectives. They deal with
And similar parallels can be
seen between a number of other things in Zechariah’s first six visions and
other parts of the book of Revelation as well.
“Then
the angel that talked with me went forth, and
said unto me, Lift up now thine eyes, and see what is this that goeth forth.
And I said, What is it? And he said, This is an ephah
that goeth forth. He said moreover, This is
their resemblance through all the earth.
And, behold, there was lifted up a
talent of lead: and this is a woman that sitteth
in the midst of the ephah.
And he said, This is wickedness.
And he cast it into the midst of the ephah;
and he cast the weight of lead upon the mouth thereof.
Then lifted I up mine
eyes, and looked, and, behold, there came out two women, and
the wind was in their wings; for they had wings like
the wings of a stork: and they lifted up the
ephah between the earth and the heaven.
Then said I to the
angel that talked with me, Whither do these bear the ephah?
And he said unto me, To build it an
house in the
There are numerous metaphors
throughout Zechariah’s visions, and the vision of the woman in the ephah is no
different. Metaphors are used for
practically everything in this vision, including “an house in the
However, metaphors, as used in
these visions, or elsewhere in Scripture, do not lend themselves to fanciful
interpretation. Scripture uses metaphors
after a consistent fashion (e.g., “a mountain” always
has to do with a kingdom, “the sea” always
has to do with the Gentiles or the place of death, “a fig tree” always
has to do with Israel or showing a connection with Israel, etc.). Metaphors found anyplace in Scripture are to
be understood and explained contextually and/or through comparing Scripture
with Scripture, in accordance with how Scripture deals with the metaphors being
used.
[Page 113]
For example, three
women are in
view in this vision - one in the ephah, and two who transport the ephah (with a
woman inside). Since the manner in which
the visions are introduced at the beginning of Zechariah has to do with Israel
and the nations, ascertaining who
these three women represent is quite simple, for “a woman” is sometimes used in Scripture, in a metaphorical way, to represent a nation (Isa. 47: 1-7; 62: 1-5; Rev. 12: 1; 17: 3ff).
Remaining with the
subject matter of the visions and the metaphorical use of women elsewhere in
Scripture, the “woman” in the ephah can only represent
And though the matter has its
roots in history, where exactly the same thing occurred, the vision must be
understood relative to the end times, for the destruction of Gentile world
power follows in the next and last vision.
That is to say, the same thing
occurred through the Assyrian and Babylonian captivities, bringing about the
Times of the Gentiles following the Babylonian captivity; and the same thing
will occur yet future, bringing a close to the Times of the Gentiles.
During the end times, the
Babylonian kingdom of the man of sin will encompass all the Gentile nations;
and “the land of Shinar,” used in a metaphorical
sense (in keeping with all the other metaphors used in the vision), would
refer, not to one tract of land in the Mesopotamian Valley but to the
origin (the land of Shinar) of a Babylonian kingdom which will then exist
worldwide.
Thus, since the woman is moved to “the
As previously stated, this
occurred in history when the Jews were transported to the actual land of Shinar
by the first king of Babylon (the first king as seen in Daniel’s image), and this will occur yet future, once again,
when the Jewish people are uprooted from their land and scattered throughout a
Babylonian kingdom which will then exist worldwide (though evidently with a
Middle [Page 114] Eastern capital). This disbursement of the Jewish people throughout
the Gentile world, both past and future, is exactly what is seen in Rev. 17: 1, 15 - the
woman, referred to as “the great whore” both here and in numerous Old
Testament passages, seated in the midst of the nations, scattered throughout
Antichrist’s kingdom (cf. Isa. 1: 21-24; Jer.
3: 1-14; Ezek. 16: 26-39; Hosea 2: 1ff).
The woman in the ephah is
described by the word “wickedness [or, ‘unrighteousness’]”
(v. 8),
which would be in perfect keeping with her harlotry as she courts other lovers among
the nations, particularly as she continues to court the Gentile nations in the
final form of the kingdom of Babylon.
The “ephah” was
the largest measure for dry goods used by the Jews, though of Egyptian origin. And the “ephah,” when
used in a symbolic sense, would invariably be thought of as referring to trade or
commerce. This was simply the manner in
which the “ephah” was used, allowing it to be a
natural emblem for merchandising.
The woman seated in the midst of
the ephah, in this respect, would point to one characteristic of the Jewish
people after being removed from their land - transformed from a nation
primarily involved in agriculture to a nation primarily involved
in merchandising. Note that merchandising is a main realm in which the woman
is seen involved throughout a large section of Revelation chapter eighteen (vv. 3, 9-23).
The vision of the woman seated
in the midst of the ephah though could refer to something else as well. As previously pointed out, the “ephah” was
the largest of the measures used by the Jews for dry goods, though of Egyptian
origin. “
The woman in the vision sought
to escape from the ephah (ref. v. 8,
NASB, NIV), probably realizing the fate about to befall her should she remain
in the ephah. But she was prevented from
[Page 115] escaping, and she was cast back into the
ephah and kept inside by a lead covering placed over the top, weighing a
talent. The woman was to realize her own
inevitable fate, in the midst of the ephah in the
This is where the harlot would
be destroyed, as seen in
Revelation chapters seventeen through the first part of nineteen.
A talent of lead placed over the
opening of the ephah kept the woman inside.
A “talent” was the
largest weight used among the Jewish people, and “lead” was one of the heaviest of metals. Such a
covering showed that there was no escape from that which must
occur, for her sins had “reached unto heaven,”
and
God had “remembered her iniquities” (Rev.
18: 5).
The heaviest of weights (a
talent of lead) was placed over the opening of the largest of measures (the
ephah) to keep the woman (
Two women (which could only
represent other nations, Gentile nations), with stork-like wings (the stork, an
unclean bird [Lev. 11:
13, 19; Deut. 14: 12, 18]), lifted the ephah up from the
And there, among her Gentile
lovers, the woman,
(The vision of the ephah could only
span the centuries of time covering the entire Times of the Gentiles [some
twenty-six centuries] as seen in Daniel’s great image or the four great beasts,
though with a particular emphasis upon the latter days.
With
Note, according to Zechariah’s
vision of the woman in the ephah, that which must ultimately occur relative to
the remnant of Jews presently in the
[Page 116]
They must be removed from their
land and driven back out among the Gentile nations once again. And among the nations [in the sea] the Jewish people will be viewed as dead [as Lazarus in the seventh sign in John’s gospel, John chapter
eleven], awaiting God’s breath to bring about life [Ezek. 37:
1-14]. Then, and only then [after life has been
restored], can they be removed from the sea, from the nations.
God drove His people out among
the nations to deal with them there relative to repentance, and that is exactly where He will deal
with them at the end of Man’s Day. If
for no other reason than this, the Jewish people presently in the land must be
uprooted and driven back out among the nations.
That is not only the place where
God has decreed that He will deal with them but that is also the place from
whence God will regather them when He brings them back into the land, following
repentance,
belief, and the restoration of life.)
The Jewish people were carried
away into
In the latter days, when the
final form of Daniel’s image appears - the final form of the
These are the things forming the
Old Testament connection which allow “Babylon” to be
used as a metaphor for Jerusalem in the Book of Revelation - as previously seen, a reference
used more directly for the people of the city, the Jewish people (cf. Ps. 122:
6; Jer. 44:
13; Lam. 1: 7, 8, 17; Matt. 23: 37; Rev. 21: 9, 10).
* * *
[Page117]
CHAPTER XII
The Beast and the Woman (II)
THE WOMAN WHICH THOU SAWEST IS THAT
And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven
vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great
whore that sitteth upon many waters:
With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants
of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.
So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and saw a woman sit
upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns...
And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate
the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her
flesh, and burn her with fire.
For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree,
and give their
kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled.
And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over
[lit., ‘which possesses kingly authority over’] the kings of the
earth (Rev. 17: 1-3, 16-18).
Revelation chapters
seventeen through the first part of chapter twenty provides a climatic sequence
of events which bring about the only possible proper end to Daniel’s Seventy-Week
prophecy - the conclusion seen in the prophecy itself, as laid out in a
six-fold manner in the introductory verse of the prophecy, in Dan. 9: 24:
[Page 118]
“Seventy Weeks [lit.,
‘Seventy sevens (contextually, sevens of years -
490 years)] are determined upon thy people [the
Jewish people] and upon thy holy city [the City of
1) “To finish the transgression.”
2) “To make an end of sins.”
3) “To make reconciliation for iniquity.”
4) “To bring in everlasting righteousness.”
5) “To seal up the vision and prophecy.”
6) “To anoint the most Holy.”
Four hundred and eighty-three
years of Daniel’s prophecy have been fulfilled.
They were fulfilled during the years preceding and leading into the time
of Christ’s crucifixion (beginning with the decree referenced in the prophecy
[issued in 444 B.C.] and ending with the crucifixion [in 33 A.D.], also
referenced in the prophecy).
Time being fulfilled in the
prophecy though stopped in 33 A.D. On
the day that God’s Son was crucified (fulfilling that set forth in the type in
Genesis chapter twenty-two [Abraham offering his son at a
particular place which God had revealed to him]), God, so to speak, stopped the clock
marking off time in the prophecy.
God then set
And, anticipating that set forth
in the type in Genesis chapter twenty-four (Abraham’s eldest servant sent to
another land to acquire a bride for Isaac), fifty-three days later, on the day of Pentecost, God brought into
existence the one new man “in Christ.”
At this point in time, God began
an entirely new dispensation, with the Spirit of God given the specific task of
calling out a bride for God's Son from among those comprising this new man (fulfilling that set forth in
the type in Genesis chapter twenty-four).
But, seven years yet remain to
be fulfilled in the prophecy, which MUST
come to pass. Once the Spirit has acquired
the bride, God will remove the one new man “in Christ” (all [‘accounted worthy’] Christians, as seen in the latter part of Gen. 24), turn
back to Israel, begin the clock marking off time once again in Daniel’s
Seventy-Week prophecy, and complete the last seven years of the previous
dispensation.
And once this time has been
completed (the full seventy [Page 119] weeks,
490 years), the six things listed in the opening verse of the prophecy,
pertaining to
In short, Israel will be brought
to the place of repentance, a nation will be born in a day, Israel’s sins - all
types of disobedience, including harlotry, resulting in and climaxed by the
crucifixion of the nation’s Messiah when He came the first time - will be done
away with, everlasting righteousness will be brought in, the mystery of God
will be finished through a full revelation of the Son (sealing up [nothing more
to be added, a bringing to completion] of the vision and prophecy), and the
Glory will be restored to Israel within a Temple which Messiah Himself will
build (anointing the most Holy).
This is what Revelation chapters
six through the first part of chapter twenty are about. They are about God completing His dealings
with
(For additional information on
Daniel’s Seventy-Week prophecy, refer to Chapter XII, “Daniel’s
Seventy Weeks,” in the author’s book, THE TIME OF THE END.
For additional information on
the typology of Gen. 22-25, refer to Chapter II,
“Isaac and Rebekah,” in the author’s book, THE BRIDE IN
GENESIS, or in the author’s book, SEARCH FOR THE BRIDE.)
And, as well, all the various
facets of this same end (that seen occurring at the completion of the time in
Daniel’s Seventy-Week prophecy) are seen time after time in the Old
Testament. A corresponding parallel, as
illustrated in the preceding paragraphs (a sequence of events foreshadowed in Gen. 22-25), can
only be expected, for the structure of later revelation must
always be in complete keeping with the structure of earlier revelation.
Later revelation must always be
completely in line with and rest on the foundation set forth in earlier
revelation.
This climax, seen in both
Testaments - stated in a broad but succinct manner - has to do with:
[Page 120]
1) The realization of God’s purpose
for driving the Jewish people out among the nations over 2,600 years ago
(bringing all six things seen in Dan. 9: 24 to pass).
2) The corresponding destruction
of Gentile world power.
3) The corresponding ushering in
of the long-awaited Messianic Era.
Through the judgments and
different events brought to pass during the Tribulation, seen in Revelation
chapters six through sixteen, everything is set in place for these climactic
events to be revealed and occur.
Then, beginning in chapter
seventeen and continuing into the first part of chapter twenty, numerous
details are given concerning these climactic events, with three
individuals occupying centre-stage:
1)
2)
3) Israel, the nation itself,
around which everything revolves - seen as the harlot woman - brought to repentance,
cleansed, never to be defiled again (Rev. 17: 1ff).
Most of this closing section of
the Book of Revelation, leading into Christ’s return (19:
11ff), the destruction of Gentile world
power (19: 17-21), and the Messianic Era which follows (20: 1-6), is taken up with detailed information pertaining
to the Beast, his kingdom, and a harlot woman occupying a central
place in this kingdom (chs. 17-19a).
This is the subject matter seen
in this climactic part of the book immediately preceding Christ’s return,
climactic dealings with
“The Beast” and “the woman” are both referenced in metaphorical respects. And that being referenced through the use of
both metaphors is made clear in the numerous Old Testament
passages dealing with the subject, in earlier parts of the Book of Revelation,
and in chapter seventeen through the first part of chapter nineteen as well.
[Page 121]
Then, through the use of the
word “mystery,” any teaching surrounding that
being dealt with can only be seen as inseparably connected with the Old
Testament Scriptures, drawing from these Scriptures. And both
the Beast and the
woman are
referred to by this word (17: 5, 7).
(As previously seen in Chapter XI
of this book, “a mystery” in the New Testament
refers to something made known in the Old Testament which has yet to be fully
opened up and revealed. And the opening up and complete unveiling
of that referred to as “a mystery” in the New
Testament, referring back to something in the Old Testament, awaited the
additional revelation seen in the New Testament.
Dealing with events foreshadowed
in Gen. 22-25 in connection with
And, as seen in Romans chapter
eleven [vv. 1-26], one mystery is inseparably linked to the
other mystery.
There are numerous other places
in the Old Testament which deal with things having to do with the mystery of
In the preceding respect, note
the folly of individuals having one Testament without the other, particularly
the New without the Old [which would be somewhat akin to viewing a house
without its foundation]. One Testament
is to be understood in the light of the other - the Old in the light of the
New, and the New in the light of the Old.)
Thus, not only must material in
these chapters in the Book of Revelation (chs. 17-19) be in complete keeping with the
manner [Page 122] in
which matters are set forth in the Old Testament but this material must also be seen as a climactic opening up and
unveiling of that previously presented in the Old Testament. These chapters in the closing part of the
Book of Revelation, leading into the Messianic Era, remove any remaining
wrappings and present the Beast and the Harlot in full exposure
for all to behold.
In Both Testaments
Again, the two
central individuals seen
throughout Revelation chapter seventeen and continuing through the first six
verses of chapter nineteen are the Beast and the Harlot. And both
of these individuals are dealt with extensively in these chapters immediately
prior to a third individual appearing,
coming through an opened heaven on a white charger to take care of matters as
they will exist on the earth at this time.
And conditions on the earth when this third individual
appears -
Resulting from famine, various
plaques and diseases, and the sword, one-fourth of the earth’s population will
have died, or will shortly die (over one and one-half billion, by today’s
count), which will include two-thirds of the earth’s Jewish population (some
nine million, by today’s count). And
conditions in general at this time will be of such a nature that “except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved” (Matt. 24: 22).
This is where things are headed
for our so-called enlightened society of today, with all of its changing mores,
political correctness, etc. And that
fast-approaching Day cannot
be far removed from the present day.
(For more information in this
realm, refer to the author's books, WE ARE ALMOST THERE, DISTANT HOOFBEATS, and
1) The
Beast, Seen in Both Testaments
The Beast - the name used in the Book of Revelation for the [Page 123] man of sin, the Antichrist (Rev.
13: 1ff; 17: 8-14) - is presented a number of different ways throughout
a large section of Scripture in both the Old and New Testaments. Revelation concerning this man (first
mentioned in Gen. 3:
15) begins with Nimrod, the first king of
However, throughout Scripture,
revelation concerning the Beast is NEVER solely about this man alone.
Revelation concerning “the Beast” is ALWAYS seen in conjunction with revelation concerning Abraham and his
lineage through Isaac, Jacob, and Jacob’s twelve sons, - the nation of
This is the manner in which
revelation about the Beast begins in Genesis, continues throughout the Old Testament,
continues into the New Testament, and concludes in the Book of Revelation. When the Beast appears in
The preceding is an axiom in
Biblical studies surrounding the Beast - unchangeably set in Gen. 3: 15 - which cannot be ignored.
Thus, when an individual arrives
at Revelation chapter seventeen and sees the Beast and a harlot woman (both
spoken of in the same metaphorical fashion) extensively dealt with together at
the close of Man’s Day, at the close of that part of the Book of Revelation
having to do with Daniel’s Seventy-Week prophecy - knowing that both are
referred to as a “mystery,” and knowing that the Beast never
appears in Old Testament Scripture apart from Israel and Israel’s Messiah - only one
thing concerning the identity of the woman could possibly be uppermost in one's
mind.
2) The
Harlot, Seen in Both Testaments
In Old Testament history,
because of the Jewish people’s continued disobedience over centuries of time,
God uprooted His people from their land and drove them out among the
nations. And the major part of this
disobedience was harlotry, which caused God to divorce
[Page 124]
Revelation chapter seventeen
through the first part of chapter nineteen presents, in detail, the end of the
matter.
The preceding though, as will be
shown, is far from the only means of identifying the harlot woman. Attention has been called to this means of
identification first in order to show the unity of all Scripture
surrounding revelation concerning the Beast and
In this respect, note a number of
Old Testament references having to do with
“How is the
faithful city become an harlot” (Isa. 1: 21a).
“Thou
hast played the harlot with many lovers... Thou
hadst a whore’s forehead, thou refusedst to be
ashamed” (Jer.
3: 1b, 3b; cf. vv.
6-14).
“Son of
man, cause
“And the
Babylonians came to her into the bed of love, and
they defiled her with their whoredom... So she
discovered her whoredorns, and discovered her nakedness...” (Ezek. 23: 17a, 18a; cf.
vv. 35-37).
“And now
will I discover her lewdness in the sight of her lovers, and none shall deliver her out of mine hand” (Hosea 2: 10; cf.
vv. 2ff).
[Page
125]
Then, viewing the end of the
matter in the Book of Revelation, chapter seventeen through the first part of
chapter nineteen has to do with
If “the great whore” in these chapters is other than
Apart from understanding that
the “woman” represents
Apart from seeing
But, as previously stated, the
preceding is just one way in which the woman can be identified. As will be shown, this chapter goes on to
state, in so many words, that
“the woman” is
The Woman Which Thou Sawest Is...
In that part of the Book of Revelation covering events on the earth occurring
during and immediately following the last seven years in Daniel’s Seventy-Week
prophecy (chs. 6-19), a woman is used in a metaphorical respect in two different places - in
chapter twelve, and in chapters seventeen and eighteen, continuing into the
first six verses of chapter nineteen.
And, in either instance, as previously seen in the latter section, one
is not left to his own imagination to identify the woman. In both instances the woman is dearly
identified.
The woman in chapter twelve is
easily identified through that stated in the first verse - “clothed with the sun, and the
moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown
of twelve stars,” along with events dealt with in subsequent verses.
Metaphors are used extensively
in this “great wonder [‘sign’],”
with the entire matter seen as regal.
The “sun,” “moon,” and “stars” have to do with governmental powers, from
the greater (the sun) to the lesser (the stars), with the woman seen as
crowned.
In short, the
woman is seen in possession of all power, though not yet exercising this
power (the latter - yet to exercise this power - is seen in the
type crown which the woman has on her head (something discussed later in this
chapter).
“The woman” in the
chapter is clearly seen to be
In the type in Genesis, the
reference to the sun, moon, and
stars making “obeisance” to
Joseph had to do with Joseph and his immediate family (v.
10).
And that being foreshadowed by this type has to do with Christ and His immediate
family -
But in Revelation chapter
twelve, material drawn from this type has to do with
“Christ” is
presently King, for He was born King (Matt.
2: 2);
but He has yet to exercise His kingly office. That awaits the Messianic Era,
when Christ exercises the rights of the firstborn.
“
And
In the Genesis account, the
complete story extending from
[Page 127]
Then chapter thirty-nine picks
up at the exact place where chapter thirty-seven left off, leaving the chapter
on harlotry to
seemingly be out of place. But not
so! This chapter is exactly where it
should be, the subject is correct, and the right brother among the eleven,
The reason why
In chapter forty-four, Joseph’s
brothers, though not knowing Joseph’s identity, were brought to the place where
they had no choice but to acknowledge to Joseph, in his presence, that which
they had done years before - their rejection of him, followed by their selling
him to the Ishmaelites.
And
1) The one involved in harlotry between the two times in the type (between
the time of the nation’s rejection [ch.
37] and the time of the nation’s acceptance
[ch. 45]).
2) And the
one driven to the place where there was no choice left other than to confess
that which had been done years before to the very one to whom it was done
(rejection, crucifixion).
And the preceding is exactly
what is seen beginning
in Revelation chapter twelve and continuing through the first six verses of
chapter nineteen. The woman in chapter
twelve is the same woman seen in
chapters seventeen through the first part of nineteen.
Regality is seen in connection with the woman in both
sections. This has already been shown in
connection with the woman in chapter twelve, and it will be shown later in this
chapter in connection with the woman in chapters seventeen through the first part
of nineteen.
As well, these chapters in the
Book of Revelation are in exact accord with teachings pertaining to
[Page 128]
With all of this information
staring a Bible student in the face, one often wonders how so many people can
go astray when it comes to a correct interpretation of the harlot woman
beginning in Revelation chapter seventeen. Possibly thoughts from what
Andrew Jukes had to say over one hundred years ago about the neglect of the
study of types by Bible students in his day might apply:
“The
real secret of the neglect of the types, I cannot but think may, in part, be
traced to this - that they require more spiritual intelligence than many
Christians can bring to them.”
1) The
Woman Is That
As the Beast is identified in
chapter seventeen (vv. 8-14), the woman is identified in this chapter
as well. The woman is identified in a direct
and clear statement after a manner which, contextually, no one could possibly
question. The last verse in chapter
seventeen provides, beyond any question whatsoever, in so many
words, the identity of the woman:
“And
‘the woman’ which thou sawest
is that great city, which reigneth over [lit.,
‘which possesses kingly authority over’] the kings of the earth” (v. 18).
The expression “the [or ‘that’] great city” is
used nine times in chapters eleven through eighteen, with six of these usages seen
in chapters seventeen and eighteen. The
first usage in 11: 8 identifies the city as
Note how Rev. 11: 8 reads:
“And their dead
bodies [the two witnesses] shall lie in the
street of the great city, which spiritually is called
[Page 129
Over one hundred years earlier
(about 722 B.C.), the northern ten
tribes had been taken captive by the Assyrians (the world power of that
previous day). But between these two
times, the Babylonians had conquered the Assyrian kingdom, shifting the centre
of world power from Assyria to
Babylon is out in the world, typified
by Egypt; and God allowed
the Jewish people to be uprooted from their land and taken captive to Babylon
because of their numerous transgressions occurring over centuries of time, with
sexual perversion, associated with Sodom, among sins heading the list (cf. Jer. 22:
8, 9, 25).
And this is exactly where “the woman” finds herself in Revelation chapters seventeen through the
opening verses of nineteen - enmeshed in the kingdom of the last king
of Babylon, out in the world (scattered among the nations), and
viewed as a harlot - exactly as portrayed in previous verses (11:
8; 14: 8; 16: 19).
Thus, according to Rev. 17: 18, the
harlot, seen throughout these chapters, is identified as “
(“
The Jewish people,
their land, and their capital city are
looked upon and referred to in an inseparable sense in Scripture. Thus, in an interpretative respect, Rev. 17: 18 would have to read, “And
‘the woman’ which thou
sawest is
2) The
Woman Possessing Regal Authority
Then, Rev.
17: 18 also presents another means of
identification. This verse doesn’t stop
with the identification of the woman as “that great city.” Rather, the verse goes on to provide a second
means of identification, which is in complete keeping with the first part of the
verse.
[Page 130]
The verse continues by adding
the words, “which reigneth over the kings of the earth.” A better translation of these words from the
Greek text would be, “which possesses kingly authority over the kings of
the earth” (ref Wuest’s Expanded Translation - “which possesses [imperial] power over...”), limiting matters in the light of Ex. 4: 22, 23 to
Thus, the woman is identified as
possessing regal authority over the Gentile nations (17:
18b).
This identifying statement reflects back upon and draws from a similar
statement about the woman earlier in the book:
“...and upon her head [the woman’s head,
“Twelve” is the
number of governmental perfection; and this verse from chapter twelve forms part of the contextual
foundational material in the book upon which the identity of the woman in 17: 18 rests.
The word used for “crown” in the
Greek text of Rev. 12:
1 is stephanos, not diadema, indicating that the woman, though
possessing regal power and authority, was not exercising that power and
authority at the time seen in the text (which is a time yet future, near the
middle of the Tribulation, with the woman wearing a diadem and exercising regal power and
authority following the Tribulation).
An individual presently exercising
regal power and authority would wear a crown depicted by the word diadema, not a crown depicted by the word
stephanos. This is seen two verses later (v. 3), where the Greek word diadema is used - showing an exercise of regal power and authority in the
kingdom of Antichrist by the
one to whom Satan will one day give “his power, and his seat [his ‘throne’],
and great authority” (Rev.
13: 2).
(Regarding Israel in possession of regal
power and authority over the Gentile nations, note that which Moses was instructed to make known to the Egyptian
Pharaoh when God sent him to deliver the Israelites [an Assyrian ruler in
Egypt, typifying the coming Assyrian who will rule the world (cf.
Isa. 52: 4; Micah 5: 5)]. Moses was instructed
to say unto Pharaoh, “Thus saith the Lord,
“Sonship”
implies rulership. Only sons can rule in
God’s kingdom [past, present, or future], and in the human realm, only
firstborn sons can rule [only first born sons find themselves in a position to
exercise the rights of primogeniture within a family, with regality being one
of these rights]. In short, Moses,
announcing to Pharaoh that
And this recognition was made
known while
Then, following certain events
occurring while enroute to Kadesh-Barnea - the old covenant given through Moses
at Mt. Sinai, the Magna Charta for the kingdom, containing all of the rules and
regulations governing the people of God within the kingdom, along with the
construction of the Tabernacle, the dwelling place of God among His people
within the theocracy - Israel was to enter into and occupy the land previously
covenanted to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; and once the Jewish people had become
established in this land, they were to rule the nations as God’s firstborn son,
within a theocracy.
Again, note the latter part of Rev. 17: 18. There
is only one nation on the face of the earth that this can be referencing - the
nation which is not to be “reckoned among the nations”
[Num. 23:
9].
Only one nation on the face of the earth possesses a position of regal authority
over the kings of the earth [over all the Gentile nations]. This nation was identified in Ex. 4: 22, 23,
immediately prior to Moses leading the Israelites out of Egypt; and this nation
is identified in Rev. 17: 18, after
exactly the same fashion [previously introduced after this fashion in Rev. 12: 11, immediately prior to Jesus leading the
Israelites out from a worldwide dispersion yet future.
Dating from Moses’ day,
This is why, for the past 3,500
years, since the time this announcement was made, that the one who has held the
sceptre since prior to the creation of Adam [Satan] has done everything within
his power to destroy
Also, note that Israel is spoken
of in both masculine and feminine respects in Scripture - as a son, and as a
woman [cf. Hosea 2: 2, 11: 1], with [Page 132] both
having regal implications. Only sons can rule, and man cannot rule
alone. A man must rule in conjunction with a woman, or a woman in conjunction
with a
man - the man as king and the woman as consort queen. This
is a principle established in the opening chapter of Genesis, which
can never change [Gen. 1: 26-28].
And exactly the same thing, for
exactly the same reasons, is
seen relative to the bride of Christ. The one who will rule as consort queen
with the Son is spoken of in Scripture in both masculine and feminine respects, with both having regal
implications [cf. Rom. 8: 14, 15, 19; Gal. 4: 5; Eph. 5: 23-32; Heb. 12: 23; Rev. 19: 7-10].)
3) The
Woman Guilty of Blood
Further, if Scripture is
compared with Scripture,
“...it cannot be [lit .. .... ‘it is not possible’] that a prophet perish out of
And it is clear from the
subsequent verse (v. 34) that “Jerusalem” is
used in verse thirty-three referring to the entire nation - the Jewish people -
exactly as it is used in Rev. 17: 18.
“O
Jerusalem,
Thus, according to
Thus, Scripture is quite clear
on the identity of the harlot in Rev.
17: 1 - 19: 6, and the
next chapter in this book will deal with the future cleansing of the nation, as
seen in these same three chapters.
* * *
[Page 133]
CHAPTER XIII
The Beast and the Woman (III)
THAT
And after these things I saw another angel come down from
heaven having great power, and the earth was lightened with his glory.
And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying,
For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her
fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with
her, and
the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her
delicacies.
For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath
remembered her iniquities...
How much she hath glorified herself, and lived
deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her: for she saith in
her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no
sorrow.
Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning,
and famine;
and she shall be
utterly burned with fire: for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her.
And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication and lived
deliciously with her, shall bewail her, and lament for her, when they shall see
the smoke of her burning.
Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas, that great city
And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into
the sea, saying, Thus with violence shall that great city
[Page 133]
The main thrust of
Scripture seen throughout Revelation chapter seventeen into the first part of
chapter twenty has to do with God’s plans and purposes regarding the
Jewish people, the Gentile nations, and the Church of God being brought to fruition,
leading into the Messianic Era (cf. 1 Cor. 10: 32).
In a larger sense, the working out of God’s plans
and purposes for all three creations - few, Gentile, and
Christian - has to do with ruined man and involves 6,000 years of restorative work, followed by
the 1,000-year Messianic Era, a Sabbath rest awaiting the people of God. And this is patterned after God’s previous
restorative work surrounding the ruined material creation - occurring over six days time, with God resting on the seventh day (a Sabbath
rest) - in Genesis chapters one and two (Heb.
4: 4, 9; cf. Ex.
31: 13-17; 2 Peter 1: 15-18; 3: 3-8).
In a narrower sense, regarding
Israel and the nations, the
working out of God’s plans and purposes in this respect dates back 4,000 years (to the days of Abraham, about
2,000 B.C.) and 2,600 years (to the beginning of the Times of
the Gentiles, about 605 B.C.).
And in a narrower sense yet,
regarding Christians, the
working out of God’s plans and purposes in this respect dates back 2,000 years to the inception of the Church on
the day of Pentecost in 33 A.D.
The complete scope of God’s
plans and purposes is dealt with numerous places throughout Moses, the Psalms,
and the Prophets - “line upon line, line upon line; here a little,
and there a little” (Isa. 28:
9, 10), with different facets of the matter
being dealt with different ways in different places. Each facet provides a different part of one complete
overall word picture, with
the complete picture presenting the matter exactly as God would have man
view the whole of His plans and purposes regarding
And, regardless of how or where
these things are dealt with in the Old Testament, there is always a
particular emphasis on concluding events - events which bring the whole of the matter to fruition, as
seen beginning in Revelation chapter seventeen and continuing through the first
part of chapter twenty.
Thus, when one arrives at this
closing part of the Book of Revelation and begins reading extensively about a Beast
and a harlot woman, he
is not left to his own imagination and interpretation [Page 135] concerning that which is in view. Scripture will reveal and interpret the
matter for him.
All one has to do is go back to
the Old Testament and see how God has previously laid the whole of the matter
out, beginning in Genesis.
In this respect, through comparing
that which is spiritual with that which is spiritual (1 Cor. 2: 9-13) - in this case, comparing numerous sections
of the Old Testament with that seen beginning in Revelation chapter seventeen -
the Old Testament will interpret the matter for the reader.
(Two Anglicized Greek words are sometimes
used to call attention to correct and incorrect methods of Biblical study and
interpretation - exegesis and eisegesis. The
Greek prepositions ek [meaning, “out of”] and eis [meaning, “into”]
are prefixed to the same word, which, without the prepositions, means “to guide” or “to lead.”
Exegesis has to do with deriving
out of a passage that which
is within the passage. In Rev. 17-19a, exegesis allows Scripture to comment upon and identify the harlot woman. And,
at every turn, Scripture [O.T. or N.T.], reveals that “the
great whore” is a metaphor for
Eisegesis, on the other hand, has to do with reading
into a passage that which is
not in the passage. Eisegesis, rather than allowing Scripture to
identify the harlot woman in Rev. 17-19a, reads a
foreign meaning into the passage, usually attempting to see “the great whore” used as a metaphor for a false religious
system, often seen as the
Roman Catholic Church.
And this type mishandling of the
passage is no small thing. Not only does such a teaching do
away with the correct understanding of the passage but such a teaching has the
Times of the Gentiles ending in the Book of Revelation after a fashion which is
completely
out of line with the way in which the Times of the Gentiles is seen being
brought to a close throughout Moses, the Psalms, and
the Prophets.)
The Old Testament has already
dealt extensively, in minute detail, with the whole of that seen beginning with
Revelation chapter seventeen and continuing into the first part of chapter
twenty. A complete word picture has already been presented, for
all to see. And this part of the Book of
Revelation, dealing with the [Page136] same
thing as previously seen in the Old Testament, places the emphasis exactly
where Moses, the Psalms, and the Prophets had previously placed the emphasis,
which could only be expected.
The Emphasis and Divisions in Revelation 17: 1 - 20: 6
The emphasis beginning in
chapter seventeen and continuing through chapter nineteen, preceding the
Messianic Era in chapter twenty, is placed on
Beginning with chapter seventeen
and continuing through the opening six verses of chapter twenty, this section
of Scripture could be divided into four parts:
1) In Rev. 17: 1 - 19: 6, though both the
Beast and the harlot occupy
centre-stage, the harlot alone, residing in the kingdom of the
Beast, is the one centrally being dealt with throughout.
The subject matter of this
section of Scripture is stated, in so many words, in the opening verse:
“And
there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying
unto me, Come hither; and I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore
that sitteth upon many waters.”
The harlot is dealt with at length pertaining to her identity and where she resides (leaving no possible room for
anyone to question that being pictured [if Scripture is compared with
Scripture]).
And then the
harlot, within the scope
of this section of Scripture, is seen being completely destroyed (again, leaving no possible room
for anyone to question that being pictured [again, if Scripture is compared
with Scripture]).
The Beast and his kingdom, on the
other hand, are dealt with in this section of Scripture only with respect to identity [Page 137] and an impending destruction. The
harlot is the one dealt with in detail throughout, not the Beast.
2) In Rev. 19: 7-10, after dealing with various things concerning the harlot and her
relationship to the nations, followed by the harlot’s destruction, attention is
called to the bride and the marriage supper of the Lamb, occurring in heaven, prior to
Christ’s return to the earth.
This is the first mention of
anything having to do with the bride since chapters one through three of the
book, anticipating the relinquishment of crowns (ch. 4)
and the redemption of the inheritance (chs. 5ff)
- with the redemption of the inheritance being completed following Christ’s
return (ch. 19b), allowing the bride to then become the Lamb’s
wife (cf. Ruth 4: 1ff).
3) In Rev. 19: 11-21, the
heavens are opened, and Christ is seen returning back to the earth “with his
mighty angels” - i.e., the
armies of heaven - accompanying
and following Him at this time (cf. 2 Thess. 1: 7; Rev. 19: 14).
Accompanying Christ, as well,
will be Moses and Elijah (cf. Matt.
16: 28 - 17: 5; Luke 9: 27-32), who will evidently be instrumental in His dealings
with both
(For details on Moses and Elijah
accompanying Christ at this time, refer to the author’s book, MOSES AND JOHN,
particularly Chapters
III, IV.)
The bride, from verses seven
through ten, is not seen among those accompanying Christ back to the earth at
this time. In fact, Scripture is quite
clear that the bride will not accompany Christ back to the
earth when He returns.
Christ will be returning to complete
His dealings with
Note that Joseph’s wife,
Asenath, was in another part of the palace when he dealt with his brethren at
the time he revealed himself to them.
And note that Moses’ wife,
Zipporah, only went part way with him when he returned to
Moses and Zipporah were reunited
only after he had dealt with the Jewish people in Egypt, after he had dealt
with the Pharaoh of Egypt, after the death of the firstborn, after he had led
the Israelites out of Egypt, and after Pharaoh and his armed forces had been
destroyed in the Sea.
And the some sequence will, of
necessity, be followed in the antitype.
The bride, as Zipporah, may very well accompany Christ part way and
remain in the New Jerusalem above the earth while He deals with Israel and the
nations on earth. Then, once these
dealings have been concluded - which will be after Israel’s national conversion
and restoration to her land, and after the destruction of Gentile world power
(which, according to Scripture, will occur in this order) - Christ will be
reunited with the one who will then have become His wife.
(At the time of the destruction
of Gentile world power, all the judgments seen within the breaking of the seals
of the seven-sealed scroll in Revelation chapter five will have come to pass.
This will complete God’s terms
for the redemption of the inheritance - with the marriage of Christ to His
bride and the re-marriage of God to Israel seen as part and parcel with the
redemption of the inheritance [cf. Ruth
4: 1ff]).
The preceding succinctly covers,
in a somewhat general respect, the sequence of events which will occur when
Christ returns to the earth, as seen in Rev.
19: 11-21. Very
few of these events are seen and dealt with in this brief section in the Book
of Revelation, but all are seen and dealt with in prior Scripture, beginning in
Genesis.
[Page 139]
Scripture must be compared with
Scripture in order to put the complete word picture together, exactly
as God has outlined and provided this information in His Word (1 Cor. 2: 9-13).
4) In Rev. 20:
1-6, all is brought to completion and
fruition. Satan is bound, cast into the
abyss, individuals are assigned positions of power and authority in Christ’s kingdom,
and the millennial reign - that toward which everything in Scripture moves -
will then occur.
I Sit a Queen, and Am No Widow,
and Shall See No
Sorrow
There is only one
possible way that a person
could expect the Tribulation to draw to a close and end in the Book of
Revelation. And that would be exactly
the same way it is seen drawing to a close and ending time after time in Moses, the
Psalms, and the Prophets.
Whether in the Old Testament or
in the New Testament, Israel in the end time is seen enmeshed within and
committing harlotry with the most corrupt form of Gentile world power man has
ever known or ever will know.
This will then be followed by
Israel’s repentance, the nation being cleansed of her harlotry (as presented in
Rev. 17-19a, synonymous with the harlot being burned,
destroyed by fire), the destruction of Gentile world power, and the ushering in
of the Messianic Kingdom.
Though the nation will have paid
a heavy price, one beyond human comprehension, Israel’s harlotry will be a thing of the past. Israel’s sins will have been “as scarlet,” “red like crimson”; but, with these sins having
been completely removed - “as far as the east is from the
west” - where scarlet and crimson once existed, conditions will then be “as white as snow,” “as wool” (Isa. 1: 18; cf. vv.
21-26; Ps. 103: 12-22).
And a cleansed nation in that day will realize the
rights of the firstborn, fulfilling the purpose for the nation’s existence (cf.
Rev. 17: 16, 17; 18: 8-21; 19: 2, 3).
1) Material Wealth, Spiritual Wealth
The heavy price paid by Israel
over centuries of time has been [Page 140] both to
her detriment and the detriment of the nations.
Israel has been removed from her land, scattered among the nations, and
has suffered immeasurably at the hands of the Gentiles. And, at the same time, the nations have
suffered as well, having been cut off from the spiritual
blessings which could have been theirs through Israel.
But, though the nations
throughout this time have found themselves separated from spiritual
blessings, they
have, at the same time, found themselves in a position of power and involved
with materialism, becoming wealthy (18: 3, 9-19). And Israel, having left her spiritual
heritage and found herself scattered among the nations, has become inseparably
involved with the world’s materialism and wealth as well (17: 4; 18: 16).
During the Times of the Gentiles
(over 2,600 years), the nations have held the sceptre and have
become wealthy at the expense of Israel (17: 2; 18: 19b). And,
as long as the Times of the Gentiles continues, the nations will continue to
hold power and accumulate this wealth at Israel’s expense.
Or, viewing the matter from
another perspective, as long as Israel remains in the nation’s present
condition - a harlot, co-mingling with and having illicit, forbidden
relationships with the nations - the nations will continue to accumulate their
wealth at Israel's expense, with Israel involved in and sharing in this wealth.
But once Israel is brought to
the place of repentance, followed by Israel’s harlotry being done away with
(burned with fire [17: 16, 17; 18: 8ff]), it will
all be over for the nations.
The Times of the Gentiles will
end, the sceptre will change hands, and the wealth of the Gentiles will be
given to Israel (Isa.
60: 5, 11 [the word “forces,” KIV,
should be translated “wealth”; ref NASB, NIV]; cf. Ex. 12: 35, 36).
The preceding is what a large part
of Revelation chapter eighteen is about (through the use of the type language
specified in the opening verse of the book, in Rev.
1: 1 [ref
pp. 102-104 in Chapter XI of this book, where this is
explained]).
(When seeking to understand the
book of Revelation, a major problem results from not understanding and
interpreting material in the book after the manner in which God has structured
this material - again, [Page 141]
something stated in the opening verse of the book, though largely ignored.
Thus, when individuals attempt
to understand things in this book from a western mindset, or through any other
means different than the way that it was set forth in this opening verse, is it
any wonder that they have trouble?)
Note particularly verses nine through
nineteen in this eighteenth chapter. The
nations will have become rich, and these nations will be quite distraught when all of this is suddenly
taken from them. And it will all be
taken from them through the loss of the harlot in their
midst (again,
note the symbolism and type language being used).
The nations can continue in
their present fashion only as long as the harlot remains in their
midst, for, the fact that Israel is playing the harlot is what
allows them to live in this manner - accumulating material wealth, etc. But once the harlot is no longer present,
once Israel is no longer playing the harlot, things will change completely.
(God will use the Beast to do exactly
the opposite of that which
the Beast will set out to accomplish.
The Beast will set out to
accomplish something wherein utter failure has always marked the path of any and all who have tried - the
destruction of and doing away with the nation of Israel.
And, in line with that which has
happened to all of his predecessors as well, the Beast himself will suffer that
which he will set about to inflict upon the Jewish people - his own utter destruction
instead. Because of God’s
unchanging promises to and regarding Israel, matters of the preceding nature must
always work out in this manner [cf.
Gen. 12: 1-3; Ex. 3: 1-7; Esther 5: 14; 6: 6-13; 7: 8-10; 9: 10-14].
God, turning matters around,
will use the Beast to destroy the harlot [exactly as he used the Pharaoh of Egypt
during Moses’ day to bring about His plans and purposes regarding Israel], with the nation of Israel subsequently existing
apart from her harlotry and God’s complete purpose for calling this nation into
existence then being realized [cf.
Ex. 9: 15, 16; Rev. 17: 16, 17].)
In that day, Gentile headship
will be over, their wealth will be gone, but they will find that they will
possess something far greater. Spiritual
blessings / spiritual wealth, which will be theirs through [Page 142]
restored Israel, will far
exceed anything which they will have possessed throughout the Times of the
Gentiles (cf. Isa. 65:
19; Zech.
8: 20-23).
2) The
Harlot Destroyed, The Nation Cleansed
“The
great whore” in Revelation chapter seventeen through the first part of chapter
nineteen is seen being burned with fire (17:
16; 18: 8, 9, 17-21; 19: 2, 3). This is the picture which Scripture
provides of Israel’s harlotry being done away with. God is seen using the
Beast and his kingdom to do away with Israel’s harlotry through a persecution
of such an intense nature that “except those days
should be shortened, there should no flesh be
saved” (cf. Matt. 24: 22). And
this will occur after 2,600 years of
Gentile dominance and control.
Israel will be brought to the place
where the nation will have nowhere to turn other than to the God of their
fathers. (Rev. 17:
16, 17;
cf. Ex. 3:
23ff).
Repentance and cleansing will then occur (Isa. 1: 16-21),
Israel’s harlotry will be a thing of the past (Rev.
18: 8-10), and it will never again be an issue (Rev. 19: 3).
Note how Rev. 19: 1-3 is worded:
“After
these things I heard a great voice of much people in heaven, saying, Alleluia, Salvation, and glory, and honour, and power, unto the Lord our God:
For true and righteous
are his judgments: for he hath judged the great whore,
which did corrupt the earth with her fornication,
and hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand.
And again they said, Alleluia. And her smoke rose up forever and ever.”
(The words, “forever and ever,” in v.
3 are a translation of the Creek words, eis tous aionas ton aionon, and should literally be rendered, “unto [or, ‘with respect to’] the
ages of the ages.”
The Greek language, as the
Hebrew language, does not have a word for “eternal”
per se. And this is one of two different
ways that the Greek text can express “eternal,”
apart from textual and contextual considerations.
The
other way is through using a plural form of the word aion, meaning “age,”
as the word is used in Heb. 13: 8, where
Christ is said to be “the same yesterday, and today, and forever
[Gk., eis tous aionas (a
plural, articular use of aion preceded by the preposition eis, [Page 143] meaning ‘into,’ ‘unto,’ or ‘with respect to’); lit., ‘unto
(or, ‘with respect to’) the ages’; i.e., throughout
the endless ages, forever].”
The thought set forth in Rev. 19: 3 by the smoke of the burned harlot continuing to
rise up throughout the endless ages has to do with Israel’s harlotry never
again being an issue. The nation’s harlotry
will be completely consumed by the fire, never to rise again [again, note the
type pictorial language being used].)
This picture of the
harlot being burned with fire was
introduced in chapter seventeen (v. 16) and is dealt with extensively throughout
chapter eighteen. In fact, this entire
chapter, one way or another, is taken up with the harlot’s destruction, with attention called to this
destruction occurring through a burning with fire several places (vv. 8, 9, 18).
“Fire” is seen
in Scripture as a purifying agent (Zech.
13: 8, 9; Mark 9: 49, 50). “Fire” is
seen as a separating agent, separating
that which is of value from that which is worthless - by burning the latter,
with the former enduring the fire (Matt. 3: 11, 12; 1 Cor. 3: 11-15; 1 Peter 1: 7).
Thus, the picture of the harlot
being burned throughout these chapters has to do with the harlot - Israel
playing the harlot - passing through a burning fire which purifies in one
respect and destroys in another through separating that which is worthless from
that which is of value.
Once this separation occurs,
Israel’s harlotry will be completely destroyed by the fire; but, on the other hand, the nation
itself will remain untouched by the fire.
Nebuchadnezzar tried to use fire
in the latter respect in Daniel chapter three - in relation to three
Israelites, foreshadowing the entire nation - and failed completely.
With an oven heated seven times
hotter than normal and three Israelites thrown into the midst of this fire (“seven,” a
complete number, showing the completion of that in view, probably indicating that the furnace
was heated as hot as possible without destroying the furnace), not a single
hair on the head of any one of the three was even singed.
Nor could Darius in the
succeeding Medo-Persian kingdom get the lions to eat Daniel (Dan. 6).
[Page 144]
Israel has a God-given promise
that the fire (or anything else) can’t hurt them (Isa. 43:
1-3). They
can remain in the fire (or anywhere else) forever and remain unconsumed (Ex. 3: 1-7). And,
as seen in the previously referenced passage, the reason is evident. God resides in the midst of the nation, and
to destroy the nation, God would have to be destroyed.
But still, Israel is going to have
to pass through one more fire, for there is the matter of Israel’s
harlotry, which has to be
removed by the fire. And the nation’s
harlotry has no chance against the fire.
The harlot is going to be made desolate,
naked, her flesh will be eaten, and she will be utterly burned with fire (Rev.
17: 16).
That is the picture which
Scripture provides of God’s dealings with Israel’s harlotry. The harlot will be utterly destroyed -
consumed by fire on the one hand, and a nation purified by the fire will live
on the other.
Then, and only then, can God
complete His dealing with Israel, deal with the nations, deal with Satan and
his angels, and usher in the Messianic Kingdom.
Israel and the nations - Past, Present, and Future
The definition of and thoughts
surrounding the use of the word “mystery” in the
New Testament have been dealt with at length in the two previous chapters of
this book (Chs. XI, XII). And that which follows in this section - in both
of the two main parts to the section - will deal once again with matters set
forth by the use of this word, from different perspectives than previously
seen.
The first will show the same
statements used of Israel in Jeremiah’s prophecy that are used in the chapter
under discussion of the harlot in the Book of Revelation, presenting matters
from two different vantage points in these two books.
Then, the other will show sharp
distinctions between Israel at two different times, before and after the nation
passes through the fire, as seen in an Old Testament passage from judges,
foreshadowing and shedding light upon that under discussion in Rev. 17: 1 - 19: 6.
When these sections from these
three books are looked upon and studied in the light of one another, the word
picture - seen [Page 145] exactly
as God has set it forth in His Word - begins to take shape in a far clearer manner than if only
two of these sections were used. And a
grave problem can only arise if only one of the three sections is used and the
person tries to figure matters out himself instead of letting Scripture do it
for him.
Scripture must be compared with
Scripture, allowing Scripture to interpret itself.
1) Jeremiah and John
Note that which is stated about Israel
and the land of Israel in Jer.
25: 10, 11:
“Moreover
I will take from them the voice of mirth, and
the voice of gladness, the voice of the
bridegroom, and the voice of the bride, the sound of the millstones, and
the light of the candle.
And this whole land
shall be a desolation, and an astonishment; and these nations [Israel, along with other
surrounding nations, judged with Israel (v. 9)] shall serve the king
of Babylon seventy years.”
Then note that which is stated
about the harlot in Rev. 18: 22, 23:
“And the
voice of harpers, and musicians, and of pipers, and trumpeters,
shall be heard no more at all in thee; and no craftsman, of
whatsoever craft he be, shall be found anymore
in thee; and the sound of a millstone shall be heard
no more at all in thee;
And the light of a
candle shall shine no more at all in thee; and
the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in
thee: for thy merchants were the great men of
the earth; for by thy sorceries were all nations
deceived.”
Exactly the same thing is stated
about Israel in Jer.
25: 10 as is stated about the harlot in Rev. 18: 22, 23.
In the Book of Jeremiah, the
statement had to do with the Jewish people in relation to the land of
Israel at the beginning of the Times of the Gentiles.
Israel had been removed from her
own land and transported into the land of Shinar, from a theocracy into the world
kingdom of Babylon. And in the
[Page 146]
Then, in the Book of Revelation,
the whole of that seen in Jeremiah is turned around and used in a completely
opposite respect at the end of the Times of the Gentiles, over
2,600 years later.
In this book the same statement
has to do with Israel playing the harlot among the nations
in the Gentile lands where the nation had been dispersed throughout the Times
of the Gentiles. And the picture in the Book of
Revelation, reversing the matter, has to do with Israel about to be cleansed of
her harlotry, at which time the nation will be removed from these Gentile lands
and transported back to her own land, with the theocracy restored to Israel.
Once restored to the land, Israel
would no longer experience the things stated in both Jer. 25:
10 and Rev.
18: 22, 23
in
Gentile lands, for God will
have cleansed and removed the nation from these lands.
Then, at that time, God will restore
these things to her, in her own land, in connection
with the restoration of the
theocracy. That taken from the nation in Jer. 25: 10, 11 will be restored to the Jewish people.
2) Judges and John
The five books of Moses, the Pentateuch,
end with the account of Moses’ death, and Joshua assuming the mantle (Deut. 34: 1-12).
The Book of Joshua then begins
with a reference to Moses’ death and continues with a history of the Israelites
entering and beginning to take possession of the land, slaying and / or driving
out the inhabitants, under Joshua’s leadership.
And the book ends about twenty-five years later with a reference to
Joshua’s death and the Israelites burying the bones of Joseph, who had died
about two centuries prior to that time in Egypt (Josh.
24: 29ff;
cf.
Gen. 50: 25, 26; Ex. 13: 19).
The next book, the Book of
Judges, continuing from Joshua, begins with a reference to Joshua’s death,
beginning a period of time lasting over three centuries (some 320 or so years)
when the Israelites resided in the land apart from leadership of a nature
previously experienced - extending from the death of Joshua to Saul being
anointed the nation’s first king.
a) A
Brief Summation of Judges
Two things marked the period of the
Judges:
[Page 147]
1) Disobedience on the part of the
Jewish people.
2) God’s reaction to their
disobedience (which
had to do with anger, followed by a chastisement of the Jewish people to bring about
repentance; and their repentance was followed each time by God raising up one
or more individuals [one or more judges] to deliver His people).
During Moses and Joshua’s day,
God had commanded His people to drive out all of the Gentile nations
inhabiting the land. But, following Joshua’s death,
the Israelites gradually began to cease driving these nations out (cf. Deut. 7: 1, 2, 16, 22-24; Josh. 23: 13; Judg. 23: 1-5; Judg. 1: 1, 19, 21, 27-33).
Then, disobedience
at this point resulted in other forms of disobedience - something which the Lord had previously called to the people’s attention and
had warned them about (cf. Ex. 23: 33; Deut. 7: 4, 16; 12: 30).
God, through Moses, had laid down
the rules and regulations (the Law, the Magna Charta for the kingdom) which His
people were to follow within the theocracy.
But, after failing to drive the Gentile nations out of the land, that
which God had warned His people about began to occur.
The Jewish people, over time,
found themselves gradually being influenced by and conforming more and more to
the ways and practices of the pagan Gentile nations dwelling in the land with
them. And, as a result, rather than the
Jewish people following that which God had stated in His Word, this period is
marked by a departure from the Word.
With the absence of the type
leadership previously provided by Moses, and then Joshua, Scripture reveals one
central manner of living on the
part of God’s people during the time of the judges, lasting for over three
centuries:
“In
those days there was no king in Israel, but
every man did that which was right in his own eyes” (Judg. 17: 6; 21: 25; cf. 18:
1; 19: 1).
And God reacted accordingly. God reacted in exact
accordance with
that which He had previously revealed in His Word through Moses.
[Page 148]
There is a repeated sequence in
the Book of Judges relative to the Jewish people’s disobedience and God’s
reaction to their disobedience. In
chapter two, this sequence is introduced (resulting from the people’s previous
actions, seen in chapter one), setting the stage for that seen throughout the
remainder of the book:
1) Israel’s action:
“And the
children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, and served Baalim.
And they forsook the
God of their fathers ... and followed other gods...” (vv. 11, 12a).
2) The Lord’s reaction:
“And the
anger of the Lord was hot against Israel, and he
delivered them into the hands of spoilers ... and
he sold them into the hands of their enemies...
Whithersoever they
went out, the hand of the Lord was against
them for evil, as the Lord had said, and as the Lord had sworn unto them...” (vv. 14a, 15a)
3) Israel’s reaction:
“...and they were greatly distressed [which
would lead to repentance]” (v. 15b).
4)
That which the Lord then did:
“Nevertheless
the Lord raised up judges, which delivered them
out of the hands of those that spoiled them” (v. 16).
When the Israelites fell into sin,
God reacted through using that which had resulted from His people’s previous
failure - Gentile nations remaining in the land, contrary to His command - as a
means to bring about their repentance.
He delivered the disobedient Israelites into the hands of the same pagan
nations which they had previously failed to drive out (2:
21-23).
And, following His people being
brought to the place of repentance through a judgment of this nature, God then
raised up one or more individuals to deliver them out of the hands of the
Gentiles.
Beginning in chapter three, when
God raised up the first judge to deliver His people, repentance on Israel’s
part is seen first. That is, God
delivered His people into the hands of the Gentiles, [Page 149] persecution at the hands of the nations followed, the people
repented, and God then raised up an individual to deliver them out of the hands
of the Gentiles. And this same order is
continued through eleven of the fourteen judges whom God raised up (3: 7-9, 12-15; 4: 1-4; 6: 1-14; 10: 6-18; 11: 1ff).
Then, following the death of the
eleventh judge (12: 15),
though the same sequence is seen beginning again (with Israel’s disobedience),
certain changes occurred in the complete cycle of events this time:
“And the
children of Israel did evil again... and the
Lord delivered them into the hands of the Philistines forty years” (13: 1).
For the first time there was a
forty-year period in which
the Israelites found themselves in subjection to the Gentiles. “Forty” is one of
several numbers used in Scripture to show completeness, and the number appears numerous
times in Scripture in this respect (e.g.,
Moses’ life is divided into three separate and distinct forty-year periods,
Moses was on Mount Sinai forty days and nights, the disobedient Israelites
under Moses wandered in the wilderness for forty years, each of Israel’s first
three kings reigned for forty years, Christ was tempted by Satan for forty days
and nights, and Christ had a forty-day post-resurrection ministry prior to His
ascension).
In this respect, because of
Israel’s disobedience, God gave His people into the hands of the Gentiles (the
Philistines) for a complete period of time. And this
complete period could only have followed a completion of Israel's disobedience over the years. That is to say, Israel’s cup of iniquity had
apparently become full (cf. Gen.
15: 16),
with God acting accordingly.
However, there is no record of
the Israelites repenting and crying out for deliverance during these forty years.
Nevertheless, God raised up Samson during this time as
the twelfth judge, stating that he would “begin to deliver
The Book of Judges, in the
preceding respect, sets forth the complete history of Israel - from the time of
the inception of the nation during Moses’ day to modern times.
[Page 150]
And the nation is nearing the
end of the final period of their disobedience, with the Jewish people about to
find themselves in the hands of Gentile nations which will render such intense
persecution that repentance, after millenniums of time, will be forthcoming.
And God, true to His Word, will
then send the Deliverer.
b) The
Epilogue to Judges (Chapters
17-21)
Judges chapters seventeen through
twenty-one form somewhat of an epilogue to the book, taking the reader back
several centuries to near the beginning of the period of the judges (note the
mention of Moses’ and Aaron’s grandsons in this section [18: 30; 20: 28], which
would place events back during the early years of this period of time).
And this would account for the
summary statement concerning the absence of a king in Israel, with
every man doing that which was right in his own eyes, not being seen until the opening part
of this epilogue (17: 6). Then,
part or all of this statement is seen several other subsequent times in this
closing section (18: 1; 19: 1; 21: 25).
As previously stated, this
period covering the time of the judges follows the death of Joshua and ends
with the inauguration of Israel’s first king (Saul). And the period between these two times, in
one respect, is exactly where world Jewry finds itself today.
The names translated “Joshua” and “Jesus” in the Hebrew and Greek texts of
the Old and New Testaments are the same word in their respective languages,
both meaning “Salvation.” This is why the KJV translators misused “Jesus” instead of “Joshua” in
both Acts 7: 45
and Heb. 4:
8.
Rather than a mistranslation, there is a misuse of names, for, again,
both are the same word in their
respective languages.
(Note how the eight visions in Zech. 1: 7- 6: 8 terminate in the verses immediately following
the last vision - with the crowning of “Joshua”
in connection with “the man whose name is the BRANCH,” Who will “build the temple of the Lord” [Zech. 6: 11-13].
“The
BRANCH” is a Messianic title, used of Israel’s Messiah, Whose name is Joshua / Jesus
[cf.
Zech. 2: 8-10; 6: 11-13]. Note
the Messianic nature of both of the referenced passages, along with the name
“Joshua” used with the title “the BRANCH” in
both passages.)
[Page 151]
The Jewish people are living
today between these some two times - between the death of Jesus (rather than Joshua) and the Jewish
people possessing their King (their
great King-Priest after the order of Melchizedek rather than Soul).
That is to say, the
Jewish people are living today between the time when they crucified their
Messiah and the time when their Messiah will return as the great King-Priest
after the order of Melchizedek.
As well, in the preceding
respect, the Jewish people today are also living during a time
when they are not only without a King, but a time when everyone is doing
that which is right in his own eyes.
1) Judges Chapter Nineteen
But, as has been shown earlier
in this chapter from Rev. 17: 1ff, things
are about to change. The harlot is about
to be destroyed.
And exactly the same thing is
seen toward the end of the Book of Judges, during the period of time between
the death of Joshua / Jesus and the appearance of Israel’s King.
There is an account part way
through the epilogue section of judges which foreshadows exactly the same thing
as seen by the harlot woman being burned with fire in Rev.
17: 1 - 19: 6.
In Judges chapter nineteen there
is an account of a Levite and his concubine, his wife. The Levite had taken her as his wife and
moved her from Bethlehem to a place some distance north, to his home on Mt.
Ephraim. But, “his concubine played the whore against him” and
returned to Bethlehem, to her father’s house (vv.
1-3).
This was followed four months
later by the man taking a hired servant and travelling to Bethlehem to get his
adulterous wife. And, after certain events
in Bethlehem, a rather lengthy account follows of a journey which the man made
with his concubine and the hired servant, travelling from Bethlehem back to Mt.
Ephraim (vv. 5ff).
Enroute from Bethlehem to Mt.
Ephraim, they entered the village of Gibeah, with a view to spending the night,
which is where a main part of that seen in the account occurred.
After sitting in the streets of
the city for awhile, waiting for someone in the city to befriend them and offer
lodging for the night, an old man came in from his work in the fields, saw
them, [Page 152] and offered them a place where
both their animals (donkeys) and the three of them could spend the night (vv. 10-21).
Then, after all had been
properly taken care of (the animals and the three travellers), “the men of the city, certain
sons of Belial” (a reference to worthless men of the city), came to the house, and began to beat on
the door, demanding that “the man” inside
the house (evidently the husband of the adulterous concubine) be brought out so
that they could have homosexual relations with him.
It is the same picture seen back
in Genesis chapter nineteen after Lot had invited the two angels to spend the
night in the safety of his home (vv. 2ff). And that which then occurred in judges is also
very similar to the account in Genesis.
In keeping with Eastern
hospitality, protecting guests inside one’s home at all costs, in Genesis
chapter nineteen, Lot had offered his two virgin daughters instead (v. 8); and the
man in Judges chapter nineteen, did the same thing, offering his own virgin
daughter, along with the man’s concubine.
The men of the city took
only the man’s concubine, and they
“abused her all the night until morning.” And, when they had finished with her and the
night was almost over, they let her go.
She made her way back to the
house where her husband resided, and, at the dawning of the day, fell at the
door of the house and evidently died (vv. 22-26).
At this point in the story,
there are two women. One was a harlot who had been sexually abused
throughout the night by the men of the city; and the other was a virgin whom the men of the city had
left at the house, untouched.
When the concubine’s husband
came out and found his wife unresponsive, he loaded her upon one of the animals
and continued the journey to his home on Mt. Ephraim.
Once there, he took a knife, cut
the harlot into twelve pieces, and sent one piece to each of the twelve tribes
of Israel (vv. 27-29).
And the account closes with this
statement:
“And it was so
that all that saw it [a piece of the dead harlot] said, There was no such deed done nor seen from that day that the
children of Israel came up out of the land of Egypt unto this day...” (v. 30a).
2) Parallel
Accounts, Judges and Revelation
Scripture presents exactly the
same picture, from two different perspectives, in both Judg.
19: 1-30 and Rev. 12: 1 - 20: 6. In both
passages you have:
1) Israel existing in the condition seen
in Judges - without a King and every man doing that which is right in his own
eyes.
2) An account of both a harlot and a
virtuous woman.
In Judges, the men of the city, seen as
base men, took and abused the Levite’s wife, a harlot, throughout the night, bringing about
her death as a new day dawned.
But the host’s virgin
daughter remained
untouched by the men of the city.
Then, the husband of the dead
harlot cut her
body into twelve parts, “together with her bones,” and
sent one piece of the dead harlot’s body to each of the twelve tribes of
Israel.
The harlot was gone, the
virtuous woman lived, and
the complete matter had to do with the entire nation.
Now, note how this is presented
in Rev. 12: 1 - 20: 6. Two
women are seen. In chapter twelve, a woman
in possession of regality is seen. Then, beginning in
chapter seventeen and continuing through the first six verses of chapter
nineteen, a harlot is seen (the
same woman from chapter twelve, though now presented as a harlot).
And, as in the account in
Judges, the harlot is seen being abused throughout the night - throughout the
time of “the darkness of this world,” prior
to the time that “the Sun of righteousness” arises
“with healing in his wings” (cf. Mal. 4: 2; Eph. 6: 12).
The harlot has been, is being,
and will be abused at the hands of those to whom she was given - the Gentile
nations.
God gave a nation already in the
throws of harlotry over to the Gentile nations; He drove His people out among
the nations, among her lovers, to effect repentance through persecution at the
hands of her lovers.
Then, note how the
nations have abused the harlot throughout the night in Rev. 18: 3:
[Page 154]
“For all
nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with
her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed
rich through the abundance of her delicacies.”
As Israel has continued to play
the harlot, having illicit and forbidden relationships with the nations, the
nations have become rich at Israel’s expense.
But all of this is about to
change.
The men of the city killed
the harlot in
Judges. And the complete picture has to
do with a slain harlot subsequently cut into twelve pieces, with one piece sent to
each of the twelve tribes of Israel.
In Revelation, the corresponding
picture has to do with God using the Gentile power of that coming day to slay
the harlot. In this future instance,
foreshadowed by events in Judges chapter nineteen, the harlot will be burned with
fire, the smoke of her burning will ascend up throughout the
endless ages (i.e., the
harlot will never live again; Israel’s harlotry will forever be a thing of the
past), and this will
have to do with the whole house of Israel, all twelve tribes (seen by pieces of
the harlot sent to all twelve tribes in Judges, implicating the entire nation).
And, exactly as in the account
in judges, the Gentile nations, into whose hands the harlot has been delivered,
cannot touch the virtuous woman (Israel’s status once the harlot has been destroyed and
cleansing has occurred).
And in that coming day, because
of that which will then ensue, Judg. 19: 30 can
only, once again, be seen applying to all throughout the twelve tribes who witness
that to which these two sections of Scripture apply. That stated in this verse,
projected out into that coming day, would read something like this:
“And all that
see it in that day [the dissected harlot / the burned harlot - the
destroyed harlot, with only the virtuous, untouched woman then existing] will
only be able to say, There has been no such deed done
nor seen from the day that the children of Israel came up out of the land of
Egypt unto this day [throughout 3,500 years of Jewish history, with nothing
like this ever seen during all that time; nor will it ever be seen again, for
Israel's harlotry will never exist again].”
* * *
[Page 155]
CHAPTER XIV
The Beast and the Woman (IV)
KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS
And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat
upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war...
And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS,
AND LORD OF
LORDS.
And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a
loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven,
Come and gather
yourselves unto the supper of the great God;
That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of
captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that
sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and
great.
And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies,
gathered
together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his
army.
And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought
miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the
beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with
brimstone.
And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon
the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls
were filled with their flesh (Rev.
19: 11, 16-21).
[Page 156]
The past three chapters in
this book have dealt principally with the harlot in Rev.
17: 1 - 19: 6 residing
in the kingdom of the Beast, followed by the harlot's destruction. The first
part of this closing chapter in the book will continue with a number of related
thoughts on the same subject as the previous three chapters, then move on to
Christ's return and the destruction of the kingdom of the Beast.
God’s Two Firstborn Sons in the Old
Testament
The introduction of the nation
of Israel in Scripture, along with the supply of a continuing wealth of
information pertaining to this nation, is seen at a time much earlier than man
might think or imagine.
For example, in Ex. 12: 40, 41, Israel
is seen sojourning in a land throughout the four hundred thirty years leading
up to the beginning of the nation’s existence - a sojourn which began at the
time Abraham left Ur of the Chaldees, thirty years prior to the birth of Isaac.
Or, in Heb.
7: 9, 10, Levi is seen as having paid tithes in the loins of
Abraham (his great, great
grandfather), at the time Abraham met Melchizedek in Genesis chapter fourteen (Heb. 7: 9, 10), again,
prior to the birth of Isaac.
Thus, a nation which would not
exist until four hundred thirty years had passed is seen in the loins of
Abraham at the time he left Ur at the age of seventy. And matters regarding Israel in this respect
can be taken back even farther than the preceding, much farther (e.g., Shem, nine generations preceding
Abraham).
(For additional information in
the preceding realm, refer to Chapter V1, “The
Selfsame Day,” in the author’s book, WE ARE ALMOST THERE.)
Information regarding the nation
of Israel begins in Genesis much earlier than Abraham’s birth in chapter eleven,
or actually even the account of that stated about Shem in chapter nine. Information regarding Israel in Scripture
actually begins at that time when the Spirit of God moved upon the ruined
creation in Gen. 1:
2b and continues from that point throughout
the first 2,000 years of human history, preceding the birth of Abraham, the
father of the nation of Israel (Gen. 1: 2b - 11: 26).
[Page 157]
References to or events
pertaining to the nation, centuries and millenniums prior to the existence of the
nation, can easily be seen in passages such as Gen.
3: 15
(the Seed of the woman [Israel]), or the typology of Cain and Abel (Gen. 4: 1ff), or that of Noah and his family passing
through the Flood (Gen. 6: 1 - 8: 22), or that
stated about Shem in relation to Ham and Japheth. (Gen.
9: 25-27).
But how can things pertaining to
Israel be seen beginning with the earth’s restoration and continuing into man’s
creation in the opening verses of chapter one?
Note five verses of Scripture in
four New Testament books:
“Ye worship ye
know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews” (John 4: 22).
“For by him were
all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible
and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or
principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:
And he is before all
things, and by him all things consist [‘all things have been established,’ ‘all things hold together’]” (Col.
1: 16, 17).
“Hath in these
last days spoken unto us by [‘in the person of’]
his Son, whom he hath
appointed heir of all things, by whom also he
made the worlds [‘brought into existence (arranged) the ages’]”
(Heb. 1: 2).
“And all that
dwell upon the earth shall worship him [the Beast], whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the
foundation of the world” (Rev. 13: 8).
In the first of the preceding
references, “salvation” is clearly stated to be “of the Jews.” This is the nation
which brought forth the Saviour, Who, in the fourth and last of the references,
was “slain from the foundation of the world” (which
takes one back to the time of Gen. 1: 2bff [cf. 1
Peter 1: 19, 20]).
(How can one son [Israel] be present
at a time prior to that son’s existence?
That has already been addressed after one fashion, but it can also be
addressed by asking, How could Christ have been slain at a time prior to His
incarnation and the events of Calvary?
Then, who slew Christ at the
time seen in Rev. 13:
8 - “from the
foundation of the world” [i.e., from
the time of events in Gen. 1: 2bff ]? Only
one person could possibly be seen as the slayer; only the other son could have
committed this act, as seen in the typology of Cain slaying Abel in Gen. 4.
[Page 158]
Christ was the Paschal Lamb, the
paschal lamb was given to Israel [Ex. 12: 1ff], and only
Israel could slay the paschal lamb.
It matters not whether the event occurred at the time of the restoration of
the ruined material creation or 4,000 years later at Calvary. The same two individuals - the same two Sons
- have to be involved. There is simply
no other way for the event to occur at any time in history.
Suffice
it to say that “with God all things are possible”
[Matt. 19:
26].)
Then note the other two
previously quoted references, the second and third references, which have to do
with God’s actions in relation to the whole of the matter, with
nothing occurring apart from His Son.
Any time God’s work is seen in
Scripture (e.g., His restorative work
occurring over six days time in Gen. 1: 2b ff), His Son, “slain from the
foundation of the world,” has to be seen as well, for nothing has ever occurred or
ever will occur apart from the Son. And this is the One Whom
the nation of Israel would bring forth and slay, though the Son both existed
and was slain prior to this time.
“Salvation” is not
only “of the Jews,” but “Neither is there salvation in any other [a reference to the One Whom
Israel brought forth]” (John 4: 22; Acts 4: 12) - inseparable
references to both of God’s two firstborn Sons.
To
separate God’s two firstborn Sons in Biblical studies (Ex.
4: 22, 23; Heb. 1: 6) - dealing with one apart from the other - is
simply not possible. This is one reason that the same
Scriptures are, at times, used of both (e.g.,
Hos. 11: 1; Jonah 1: 17 [cf. Matt.
2: 15; 12: 38-40]); and
to see one Son (Christ) apart from the other son (Israel) in the restoration
account, beginning in Gen. 1: 2b, can only
be a completely improper way to view the matter.
Beginning revelation pertaining
to Israel has to be seen in Scripture in Gen.
1: 2bff,
for the work was done completely in connection with and through the One in Whom
salvation (restoration) lies; and this Son (Christ) cannot be separated from
the other son (Israel), in whom salvation (restoration) lies as well.
Then, note Genesis chapter two
where details pertaining to man’s creation in chapter one are given. And these details have to do with the bride
being removed [out] from the body.
In the historical account, in
the type, Adam was put to sleep, [Page 159] his
side opened, and God took from his opened side a part of his body (a rib), from
which he formed the woman, Eve. Then God
presented the woman back to the man as a helpmate; and, through this act, the
woman, formed from a part of the man, completed the man.
And the antitype is easy to
see. The second Man, the last Adam, was
put to sleep on the Cross, His side was opened, and out of His opened side
flowed the two elements which God is presently using to form the bride ‑
blood and water ‑ pointing to the present high priestly work of the Son
(a cleansing, on the basis of His shed blood on the mercy seat in the heavenly
sanctuary).
Then,
once the bride has been removed from the body (the Spirit’s work during the
present dispensation), and the bride subsequently revealed (through decisions
and determinations resulting from the judgment seat), the bride, formed
from a part of the Son’s body, will be presented back to the Son as a co-heir,
a helpmate, helping the Son in His millennial rule; and, through this
act, in line with both the type and Heb. 2: 10, the
bride will complete the Son.
Now, note something about the
preceding. None of this can exist apart
from Israel. According to Romans chapter
eleven, Gentiles, who do not have a God (Eph.
2: 11-13), have been grafted into the only nation with a
God (through being “in Christ,” a Jewish Saviour [v. 24]), the
nation which brought forth the Saviour, the only nation which could do so, for
“salvation is of the Jews.”
Thus, Israel is not only seen in
Genesis chapter one, but in chapter two as well.
Then the nation is seen
throughout chapter three in the account of man’s fall, necessitating salvation,
with the account of Israel slaying Christ in the typology of Cain slaying Abel
in chapter four. And material in chapter
four, both before and after the account of Cain slaying Abel, provides a
complete history of the nation of Israel, 2,500 years before the nation even
existed.
Then, none of the events in
chapters five through eight could have occurred apart from Israel being seen
throughout - Enoch being removed from the earth alive, with Noah and his family
then passing through the Flood, foreshadowing the Church being removed prior to
Israel passing through the Tribulation.
[Page 160]
As previously seen, nothing
occurs apart from the Son, which, in reality, as also previously seen, would
have to include both Sons - both Christ and Israel. And aside from the preceding, the typology
surrounding Enoch couldn’t exist apart from Israel, for, apart from Israel,
there could be no Church to be removed in the antitype.
And this could be continued
through subsequent chapters leading to Abraham’s birth (chs. 9 -
11a), but the preceding material should be
sufficient to get the point across. God’s
work through One of His firstborn Sons simply cannot occur apart from the Other
firstborn Son being seen as well.
(Note how this takes care of
a quite-popular, erroneous teaching in Christendom today - the teaching that
the Church has supplanted Israel in God’s plans and purposes, with God being
through with Israel.
If something such as the
preceding has occurred, after any fashion, then Christians can forget about
everything, including their very salvation.
God’s work through One Son is not
seen, it cannot exist, apart from the Other Son. Apart from a connection with both Sons - a Jewish
Saviour, brought forth by the nation of Israel, with Christians seen grafted
into a Jewish trunk - there can
be no salvation, or anything else, aside from eternal ruin and damnation [Rom. 11: 1-26].
And the truth of the preceding
can be seen throughout the first eleven chapters of Genesis, then continuing
with the birth of Abraham in Gen. 11: 27 and
progressively moving throughout the Old Testament.
Note just one example - that of
Shem, in relation to Ham and Japheth in Gen.
9: 25-27. Shem
was the only one of Noah’s three sons possessing a God. The other two sons, without a God, could only
possess a connection with God one way - by going to the son in possession of a God, by going to Shem and dwelling “in the tents of Shem” [the words used in Scripture to denote the only way of partaking
of that possessed by Shem].
Shem’s lineage in this respect
can be traced through Abraham nine generations later, then through Isaac,
Jacob, his twelve sons, and the nation of Israel. All of the other nations on earth can trace
their lineage through either Ham, Japheth, or Shem’s lineage through
individuals other than Abraham Isaac, Jacob, and his twelve sons.
And, exactly the same conditions
exist today in relation to the descendants of Shem, Ham, and Japheth -
conditions which can never change. Israel is the only nation on the face of the earth
with a God, all of the other
nations are as described in Eph. 2: 11-13 [without a God [Page 161] (cf.
Ps. 96: 5)], and the nations are left with only one choice
if they would have any connection with or access to God. They must go to the one nation with a God,
to
a Jewish Saviour Who is God. There is no
alternative.
Now, note what would happen if
Shem were removed from the picture in Genesis chapter nine, or if the nation of
Israel were removed from the picture today [which are two ways of saying the
same thing].
That needs to be thought through
- thought about long and hard - before
giving credence to what so many Christians are stating today about God being
through with Israel, seeing the Church replacing Israel in God’s plans and
purposes.)
Now, keep the preceding thoughts
pertaining to Israel in mind when moving through that part of the Book of Revelation dealing with the Tribulation and
beyond, extending into the Millennium (6: 1 - 20: 6).
Scripture specifically refers to
the Tribulation as “the time of Jacob’s trouble” (Jer. 30: 7). And the purpose for the Tribulation, in
relation to this time of trouble, is to bring Jacob (
Israel occupies centre-stage during this time. And not only does Israel occupy a position of
this nature at this time, but also during the time immediately following when
Christ returns, along with the ensuing Millennium, and even during all of the
ensuing ages beyond.
In the Old Testament, Israel is
seen as the wife of Jehovah, who involved herself in harlotry (among
other forms of disobedience), whom God divorced, and
drove out among the nations to effect repentance.
And, as well, Israel is also
seen in the Old Testament as the one who will one day be brought to
repentance, with God’s plans and purposes ultimately being worked out through this
nation.
This is the
complete story of Israel as presented in the Old Testament Scriptures, stated
in a very succinct manner.
With that in mind, and with
Scripture spending quite a bit of time in the Book of Revelation dealing with a harlot
woman during “the time of Jacob’s trouble” (Rev. 12: 1-17; 17: 1 - 19: 6) - completely
in line with God dealing with a harlot woman during the same time in the Old
Testament (Lev. 26:
39-42; Isa. 1: 21 - 2: 5; Jer. 3: 1 - 4: 31; 30: 1-31: 40; Ezek. 16: 1-63) - the proper identity of the [Page 162] harlot woman in the latter part of the Book
of Revelation becomes a simple matter to ascertain.
In fact, as evident from the
preceding, through comparing Scripture with Scripture, the
Scriptures will clearly identify the harlot, leaving no room for anyone to question
the harlot's identity (refer to the three previous chapters in this book - Chapters XI
- XIII).
Revelation 17: 1 - 19: 6 provides
exactly the some picture seen so many times in the Old Testament. And apart from seeing this section of
Scripture in the Book of Revelation dealing with this subject - i.e., seeing this section dealing with
Israel relative to the nation’s harlotry [which is inseparably connected
with God’s central purpose for having Israel pass through this time - to effect
Israel’s repentance] - then
Israel’s harlotry is not even seen being dealt with in this book.
This would put “the time of Jacob’s trouble” in the Book of Revelation completely out of
line with the reason for the existence of this time. In short, as previously seen,
this would put the Book of Revelation out of line with Old Testament
revelation.
In this respect, a correct,
proper understanding of Rev. 17: 1 -19: 6 cannot be overemphasized, which is why
so much time has been spent in this book dealing with this section of
Scripture.
Error, particularly at this point
in the book, can lead to error elsewhere.
And the whole thing can end up causing a person to possess erroneous
thoughts on other related passages of Scripture, sometimes numerous related
passages, literally closing the Scriptures in this whole overall realm to one’s
understanding.
Or, on the other hand, a correct
handling of this section of Scripture can lead to correctly understanding
numerous related passages of Scripture elsewhere, opening the Scriptures in
this whole overall realm to one’s understanding.
The Scene in Heaven, The Heavens Opened,
Then...
The scene in heaven over the
harlot’s destruction - burned with fire - is one of rejoicing. Only after this has occurred can matters
continue to the point seen at the end of the chapter - the destruction of
Gentile world power, with God’s purpose for bringing Israel into existence then
being realized in all its fulness.
[Page 163]
(Note that events in Rev. 17: 1 - 19: 6 present a complete picture of the harlot in and
of itself, which, time-wise in the text, begins about the middle of the
Tribulation [Israel residing in the kingdom of the Beast after all seven heads
have been crowned] and extends to
that time when Israel is cleansed of the nation’s harlotry.
And Israel being cleansed of her
harlotry [the harlot woman destroyed by fire, with the virtuous woman arising
as a phoenix out of the ashes] will not occur until after Christ returns and
the nation is dealt with in a final sense in this respect [probably by Elijah,
who, along with Moses, will accompany Christ back to the earth].
For additional information about
Moses and Elijah accompanying Christ when He returns, refer to the author’s
book, COMING IN
HIS KINGDOM, particularly Chs. III, IV.
The order of events relative to Israel
will be:
1) Israel brought to the place
of repentance near the end of the Tribulation [calling upon the God of their
fathers for deliverance, though not knowing the identity of their Deliverer at
this time].
2) Christ’s return [accompanied
by Moses, Elijah, and the armies of heaven (angels)].
3) Subsequent dealings with
Israel then brought to pass [which will include Israel’s salvation when they
look upon the One Whom they pierced (Zech. 12: 10-14), Israel’s harlotry becoming a thing of the past,
never to exist again (Jer.
30: 14-17; Rev. 19: 3), the
restoration of the Jewish people to their land, and the theocracy restored to
the house of Israel under a new covenant (Jer. 30:
18-22; 31: 8, 9, 31-33)].
Thus, don’t attempt to read Rev. 19: 1-21 in a
completely chronological fashion, for the material has not been structured this
way. Nor has the whole of that seen in Rev. 6: 1 - 19: 21 been structured in a chronological fashion, which is where so many go astray in
this book - trying to see a chronological sequence of events in places where
they don’t and can’t exist.
A proper chronological sequence
of the events seen occurring different places in the book is not necessarily
seen in and ascertained from the passages themselves. Rather, this chronology of events can be seen
by comparing Scripture with Scripture - seeing a chronology of events as
revealed elsewhere, allowing one to then know the proper sequence of the
different events in Rev. 6: 1ff.)
[Page 164]
Revelation chapter nineteen presents
two suppers which
will occur following the close of the Tribulation (deipnon, the Greek word translated “supper” in
both instances, refers to the principle meal of the day, usually observed
toward evening).
In the first part of the
chapter, immediately following the shouts of hallelujah and praise in
heaven at the
end of the Tribulation (vv. 1-6) - a
jubilation, mainly because of Israel’s repentance, the destruction of the
harlot, and the Son’s impending reign - the marriage supper of the Lamb is seen (vv. 7-9).
Then, immediately afterwards the
heavens are opened, and Christ, as “King of
kings, and Lord of lords,” comes
forth with His armies to tread “the winepress of the
fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.” And this treading of the winepress on earth allows “the supper of the great God [lit.,
‘the great supper of God’]” to occur (vv. 11-21).
Thus, two successive suppers are seen in chapter nineteen -
one in heaven preceding Christ’s return, and the other on earth following
His return. And the two suppers are
completely different in nature, though both are inseparably connected with the
Son’s impending reign over the earth.
(The adjective, “great” [Gk., megas] in Rev. 19: 17, describing a supper [describing God in the KJV]
is used eighty-two times in the Book of Revelation, describing numerous things
[e.g., 1: 10; 2: 22; 5: 2, 12; 6: 4, 10, 12, 13, 17]. The word megas though is never used to describe God in this book, unless this
verse in ch. 19 is the exception.
A couple of Greek manuscripts do
have the word megas describing “God” rather than “supper”
in this verse [including the Textus Receptus, the main Greek text used for the
KJV, accounting for the KJV translation].
However, the vast majority of manuscripts have the word megas describing “supper,” accounting for the
translation, “the great supper of God,” in
almost any English translation since the 1901 ASV.
The word megas appears one-hundred fourteen times throughout the rest of the N.T.
[Matthew through Jude],
and the word is used only seven times throughout this part of the N.T. to
describe Deity - three times
to describe Christ in Messianic passages [Matt. 5: 35; Luke 1: 33; Titus 2: 13], twice
to describe Christ as High Priest [Heb. 4:
14; 10: 21], once to describe Christ as the
great Shepherd of the sheep [Heb. 13: 20], and
once [Page 165] by the Jewish people to describe Christ as a
great Prophet [Luke 7: 16].
The Septuagint [Creek
translation of the O.T.1 uses megas mainly for a translation of the Hebrew word gadol. This word is used some
five hundred times in the O.T., but, as in the N.T., the word is used only
sparingly to describe Deity [e.g., Ex. 18: 11; Deut. 7: 21; 10: 17; Ps. 47: 2; 99: 2; 138: 5].)
In connection with Christ
returning through an opened heaven as “King of
kings, and Lord of lords” to
tread the winepress, an angel is seen standing
in the sun (v. 17). And
this angel cries out with a loud voice to all the birds of the air (land animals
as well in the same scene from Ezek. 39: 17) to
come, gather together, and partake of “the great supper of
God” - a supper which will consist of “the flesh of captains ... mighty
men ... horses ... all men, both free and bond,
both small and great ... the kings of the earth, and their armies” (vv. 18, 19a).
(In both Ezek. 39: 17 and Rev. 19: 17, the cry
is to “all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven,”
not just the carrion birds. And the same
is true of the land animals in Ezek. 39: 17 - “every beast of the field.”
According to the scene presented
when the third and fourth seals have been broken in Rev.
6: 5-8, depicting conditions during the latter part of
the Tribulation, extending into the time of Christ’s return, hunger existing
among animal life at that time may be such that even non-carnivorous animals
will be found partaking of this “great supper.”)
The angel standing
in the sun, uttering this cry,
stands within that used in a metaphorical sense in the Book of Revelation to symbolize
the centre of governmental power (cf. Rev.
6: 12; 8: 12; 12: 1; 16: 8). And the
symbolism used in Rev. 19: 17 is
introduced by and reflects back on the previous six verses, depicting Christ
returning through an opened heaven as “King of kings, and Lord of lords.”
The right to take the sceptre
and rule the earth at this time will have previously been given to the Son by
the Father (Dan.
7: 13, 14; Rev. 11: 15; cf. Dan.
4: 17, 25; 5: 18-21; Matt. 20: 23). And the angel standing in the sun - standing
in that symbolizing the central governing authority - is seen announcing this fact.
(A similar scene occurring at
the time of Christ’s return was depicted earlier in the book, in Rev. 10: 1, 2 - the angel
with the seventh [Page 166]
trumpet, whose “face was as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire,” coming down from
heaven and placing “his right foot upon the sea,
and his left foot on the earth.”)
Then, from this point, the call goes
out to all the birds of the air to come and feast upon that which is
about to remain of Gentile world power when it comes against the King in
Jerusalem, seeking to
prevent Him from taking the sceptre and assuming the throne,
seeking to prevent Him from assuming that
which will then be rightfully His.*
[* NOTE: All
Anti-Millennialists, who persist in teaching and deceiving the Lord’s redeemed
people, that Messiah-Jesus will have no “inheritance”
to receive (Ps. 2:
8), and no “rule”
in the midst of His enemies upon this earth during the millennial day of His
power (Ps. 110:
2-3),
should tremble at the thought of the Divine judgement which will fall upon all who
remain unrepentant! For God is not
a Respecter of Persons IN JUDGMENT! (Col. 3: 3: 25. cf. 1
Tim. 5: 16,
R.V.).]
Following this call, both the
Beast and the False Prophet are taken and cast alive into the lake of
fire. Then the Gentile armies of the earth
- which will have dared to follow the Beast, as he led them against the King in
Jerusalem, along with restored Israel in the land - will be trodden under foot
as Christ treads the winepress (vv.
19-21; cf.
Rev. 14: 14-20; 16: 13-16).
These armies will consist of
such vast numbers in that day - myriads
of myriads, referring
to large indefinite numbers (Rev. 9: 16) - that blood will flow in places to a depth
coming up to a horse’s bridle. And this
slaughter will extend over a distance of about one hundred and eighty miles (Rev. 14: 20).
This is how the Times of the
Gentiles will be brought to a close when Christ returns - centrally because of the
outworking of the principles set forth in Gen. 12: 1-3 and Israel’s God-appointed position among the nations
in Gen. 9: 26, 27; Ex. 4: 22, 23. And
the manner in which this will occur results in that which Scripture refers to
as “the great supper of God,” with
trampled Gentile world powers left on the mountains and plains of Israel for
the birds of the air and the beasts of the field to devour.
A Succinct Account, A
Previously Detailed Account
It may appear strange to some
reading Rev. 19:
17-21 that no more space or detail has been given
at this point in the book to that which will occur relative to Gentile world
power when Christ returns. After all,
this is the grand climax of some
2,600 years of Gentile rule, with
Israel about to take the sceptre and realize her [Page 167] God-appointed
position among the nations, which was made known through Moses almost 3,500
years ago (Gen. 9:
26, 27; Ex. 4: 22, 23). But the whole of the matter at this climactic
place in the Book of Revelation is stated in a very succinct manner - five verses, or a total of eleven verses if one begins with Christ
returning through the opened heavens in verse eleven.
Previously in this book, the
same subject was dealt with several times after somewhat the same succinct manner (ref
9: 13-21; 14: 14-20; 16: 12-16). Just
the bare facts are given any place in the book, with very little added
detail. Again, the lack of space and
detail given to this climactic end of the Times of the Gentiles in a book which
brings Scripture to a close, completing God’s revelation to man, may appear
strange to some. But that should not be
the case at all.
The space and detail concerning
the matter has already been given throughout numerous passages in the Old Testament,
passages covering whole chapters at times. In fact, this is the
direction toward which everything moves throughout all ten chapters of the Book
of Esther, or all twelve chapters of the Book of Daniel, with Israel emerging
in the end as the nation holding the sceptre once again.
The whole of the matter is a major subject
of Old Testament prophecy, and everything about how the Times of the
Gentiles will end has already been covered by prophet after
prophet in minute detail. If all the Scriptures written
about this subject in the Old Testament were brought together, one would have a
word picture so complete and detailed that it would defy description.
Thus, when arriving at this
closing place in the Book of Revelation - the book closing the complete canon
of Scripture - nothing needs to be given beyond a simple announcement and
description, connecting that stated with the Old Testament Scriptures.
The same thing could be said
about the 1,000-year reign of Christ in the following chapter. The whole of the matter - from events which
will occur following the binding of Satan at the beginning of the Millennium to
events which will occur preceding the loosing of Satan at the end of the
Millennium (vv. 1-3, 7ff) - is
stated in three verses (vv. 4-6).
Why only three verses to cover
events during 1,000 years of [Page 168] time
which the whole of creation has been moving toward since the restoration of the
earth and man’s creation and fall 6,000 years
ago?
The answer is the same as that
previously seen concerning the lack of detail in this book surrounding the end of
the Times of the Gentiles. All of the
events surrounding the coming 1,000-year reign of Christ have
already been covered b prophet after prophet in minute detail throughout the
Old Testament, beginning
in the opening two chapters of Genesis.
And all that needs to be stated in this closing book of Scripture is
simply an announcement that the time which the prophets had previously
spoken about has now come.
And exactly the same thing could
be said concerning a word picture drawn from the Old Testament Scriptures
pertaining to Christ’s millennial reign that was previously said about a word
picture drawn from the Old Testament Scriptures pertaining to the end of the
Times of the Gentiles. If all the
Scriptures in the Old Testament bearing on Christ’s millennial reign were
brought together, one would have a word picture so complete and detailed that
it would defy description.
Thus, if details are needed
about the end of the Times of the Gentiles, as well as Christ’s millennial
reign, the Old Testament is the
place to go, not the Book of Revelation.
By the time John wrote the Book of Revelation, the
prophets had already spoken and provided all of the details which God wanted
man to know. And, accordingly, the Spirit of
God simply moved John to provide, in a very brief manner,
comments on that which had already been provided in great detail.
These comments would be
comparable to placing a brief epitaph on a tombstone on the one hand (the end of the
Times of the Gentiles) and placing a brief caption on a picture of a sunrise on the other hand (the beginning
of the Son’s millennial reign).
The Old Testament closes in
Malachi chapter four after a manner covering the same subject in essentially the same
succinct way that it
is covered in the Book of Revelation.
And this would be for the same reason seen in the Book of
Revelation. When one arrives at this
chapter in Malachi, the prophets have already spoken, [Page 169] and nothing further needs to be added.
The first verse of this final
chapter in Malachi reflects on the end of Gentile world power, and the second
verse reflects on Christ’s subsequent reign, with the remaining four verses
dealing with both, but ending with the latter.
And that is exactly what is seen
in chapters nineteen and twenty of the Book of Revelation, preceding the
eternal ages beginning in chapter twenty-one.
Israel and the Nations - Old Testament, New Testament
The picture concerning Israel presented
by Moses, the Psalms, and the Prophets throughout the Old Testament is that of a nation
separated and set apart from all
the other nations for purposes having to do with these nations. And these purposes had to do with the
salvation and blessings of those
comprising all the other nations, as Israel became God’s witness to these
nations and exercised the rights of the firstborn, within a theocracy, in the
land covenanted to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (cf. Gen. 12: 1-3; 13: 14-18; 15: 5-21; Ex. 4: 22, 23; 19: 5, 6; Isa.
43: 1-10).
All of this was in the offing
under Moses and Joshua as Israel was led out of Egypt and established in the
land within a theocracy. This is how
Israel was to “serve” God as His firstborn son (Ex.
4: 23).
And that which occurred over
centuries of time (about eight hundred years) - a refusal to be God’s witness (e.g., Jonah in the type, refusing to go
to Nineveh), further disobedience, harlotry - resulted in God eventually
uprooting His people from their land, driving them out among the nations to
effect repentance, and removing the sceptre from Israel’s hand and giving it to
the Gentiles.
This is one
major subject seen
throughout the Old Testament. But there
is another major subject seen
throughout the Old Testament as well, having to do with Israel’s repentance and
restoration, followed by a realization of the nation’s calling as set forth in
the beginning. And this, of course,
necessitates the end and destruction of Gentile world power, with the theocracy
being restored to Israel and the sceptre being returned to Israel.
[Page 170]
All of the different facets of
this whole overall story - past, present, and future - can be seen different
places throughout Moses, the Psalms, and the Prophets. Each writer presents different things about
different parts of a word picture which can be seen in its completeness,
exactly as God desires man to see it, only by comparing Scripture with
Scripture.
No one book presents the
complete picture. This is seen only by bringing together that which the Spirit of God moved all of
the Old Testament writers to record (cf. 2
Peter 1: 20, 21).
This is what the Old Testament
is about, and there is an emphasis throughout the Old Testament on
the latter part of the story - Israel’s
restoration, the nation realizing her calling, and
the Gentile nations of the earth subsequently being reached by and blessed
through Israel. And this emphasis, of necessity,
involves a previous end to the Times of the Gentiles and the destruction of Gentile
world power.
This is seen in typology
beginning as early as the Flood during Noah’s day in Genesis chapters six
through nine, or the destruction of Nimrod’s Babylonian kingdom in Genesis chapter
eleven, or the battle of the kings during Abraham and Melchizedek’s day in
Genesis chapter fourteen. That seen in
later Scripture in Psalms chapters two and eighty-three would be two other
accounts, presented in a different manner; and that seen in Isaiah chapter
fourteen would be another. Then there’s
the Book of Daniel, which presents different facets of the matter throughout,
continuing through the minor Prophets.
An almost endless list of other
similar references could be cited, and many are dealt with in earlier parts of
this book.
The Old Testament, in this
respect, is a treasure trove of information revealing the mind of One with
infinite wisdom and knowledge - the One Who created and exercises sovereign
control over all things - as He makes known His plans and purposes regarding
man, the earth, and ultimately the universe.
It has all lain in the bosom of
the Old Testament for millenniums, and all who have mined its
treasures throughout this time have taken nothing away.
All is still exactly where Moses
and the Prophets left it after penning this Word, and
all is still exactly where any and all who have mined its treasures have left
this Word as well.
* * *
[Page 171]
Appendix I
Three Days and Three Nights
AS JONAH ... SO THE SON OF MAN
AS JONAH ... SO ISRAEL
Now the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three
nights (Jonah 1: 17).
For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly [lit., ‘the huge fish’s belly’]; so shall the Son of man be three days and three
nights in the heart of the earth (Matt.
12: 40).
The Book of Jonah forms a
dual type, foreshadowing, through Jonah’s experiences, different aspects of the
experiences of both of God’s firstborn Sons - Christ and Israel (cf. Ex. 4:
22; Heb. 1: 6).
The book though is more
specifically about one son, about Israel, with the time which both Sons would spend in the place of death seen
in the time which Jonah spent in the place of death. Thus, the book, in a larger scope, is about
both Sons - much like Hos.
11: 1, a
reference to Israel under Moses used as a reference to Christ in Matt. 2: 15.
This time spent in the place of
death is expressed in Jonah (1: 17) and
referenced in Matthew (12: 40) as “three days and three nights.”
And a mistake, having major negative ramifications in Biblical
interpretation, is often made through seeking to understand this expression in
a Western mind-set rather than through comparing Scripture with Scripture,
allowing Scripture to interpret the expression.
The expression “three days and three nights” is often understood as a period of time
comprised of three twenty-four-hour periods - three full days and nights, i.e., seventy-two hours.
Or, other individuals take a
slightly different approach, not contending for three full twenty-four-hour
periods but contending for at least parts of three literal days and three
literal nights.
[Page 172]
And to follow either of the
preceding, or any other similar form of the preceding, is where mayhem in
Biblical interpretation enters into the matter, not only in how Scripture deals
with the expression itself but what this does to numerous passages of Scripture,
including the overall scope of the manner in which the whole of Scripture is
structured.
Thus, it is no small matter
concerning whether this expression is interpreted and understood within man’s
Western mind-set (within man’s finite understanding) or whether Scripture is
allowed to interpret and explain the matter for us (through God’s infinite
wisdom and knowledge, the Author of this expression).
Facts That One Must Face
Christ was raised from the dead after
two days, on the third day (Luke 24: 7); and He was also raised after
three days (Mark 8: 31). Both are true and both must be understood in
not only the light of one another but the remainder of Scripture as well.
(Relative to the timing of
Christ’s resurrection, the expression, “after three
days,” is only used two times in the N.T. [KJV, Matt.
27: 63; Mark 8: 31].
On the other hand, the
expression, “the third day,” is used twelve
times in the N.T. [KJV]. In five of the
references there is some manuscript support for the rendering, “after three days” [Matt.
16: 21; 17: 23; Mark 9: 31; 10: 34; Luke 9: 22]. However, for the remaining seven [Matt. 20: 19; 27: 64; Luke 18: 33; 24: 7, 21, 46; 1 Cor. 15: 41, no such support exists. All existing manuscripts read the same way “the third day,” leaving no room to question how the
text should read.
And it should go without saying
that Christ’s resurrection on the third day, alone, would preclude understanding the expression, “three days and three nights,” as referencing a full seventy-two-hour
period. Christ was raised on
the third day, not at the end
of or following the third day [which a full seventy-two hours would require].
Also, note the expressions, “within three days” and “in
three days,” in Mark 14: 58 and John 2: 19, 20)
Israel, seen
in the place of death today (note both the sign [Page 173] of
Jonah in the O.T. and the sign of Lazarus in John
11), will be raised after two days, on the third day (Hosea 5:
13 - 6: 3), i.e., after
2,000 years, in the third 1,000-year period.
And, as was stated concerning Christ, it can also be said of Israel that
the nation will be raised up after three days (after 3,000 years). And, as with Christ, these statements must be
reconciled, one with the other.
Then there is the matter of Jonah. Exactly
the same thing must be said of him (because of both the typology involved and the
way Scripture uses the expression, “three days and three
nights”).
That is to say, Jonah was raised
from the dead after two days, on
the third day (note
that Jonah died in the belly of the fish; he is seen crying out from Sheol [Jonah
2: 2], the place of the dead). As well, Jonah was raised after
three days.
And, exactly as in the two antitypes
(Christ and Israel), these statements must be understood not only in the light
of one another but also in the light of the remainder of Scripture.
As well, the preceding is
perfectly in line with the septenary structure of Scripture, which must be the
case with any part of Scripture. This
septenary structure is set forth in the opening two chapters of Genesis,
beginning the Old Testament; and it is also set forth in the opening two
chapters of John, beginning the New Testament.
(Note
that John’s gospel should be the beginning book in the N.T., not Matthew’s
gospel. See Chapter I in the author's book, Moses and John, where this is dealt with and explained.)
The whole of Scripture is built
upon this septenary structure, which is seen through the manner in which each
Testament opens.
And this structure is dealt with
after different fashions numerous places throughout Scripture (e.g., the Sabbath given to Israel,
pointing to that coming seventh day of rest, the millennial day; or, it can be
seen in the subject at hand - the raising of Jonah in the type, then Christ and
Israel [yet future] in the antitype).
(Refer to the author’s book, End of the Days, for additional information on the preceding.)
[Page 174]
Problems That Are
Encountered, If...
If a
person follows the approach numerous individuals have taken when dealing with
the expression, “three days and three nights,” in
relation to the timing of Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection, attempting to
understand this period of time as either a full seventy-two hours or a time
encompassing at least parts of three literal days and three literal nights,
that person will encounter insurmountable problems with either
position, along with committing mayhem in numerous facets of Biblical interpretation.
(Those
individuals contending for three full twenty-four-hour periods believe in a
Wednesday crucifixion in order to allow for what they see as a full three days
and three nights - seventy-two hours - between Christs crucifixion and His
resurrection on Sunday [the day Scripture states that He was raised, the first
day of the week, the day following the Sabbath, on the feast of First Fruits]. Any day
other than Wednesday for the crucifixion would not allow the full seventy-two
hours that they believe are needed.
Those individuals contending for
parts of three literal days and three literal nights believe in a Thursday
crucifixion. This allows for part and/
or all of three literal days and three literal nights, though not the full
seventy-two hours.
And, as
will be shown and dealt with later, the preceding way of viewing matters
[seeing a Thursday crucifixion] is usually followed in an effort to allow for a
resurrection on the third day.)
Note several insurmountable
problems one
encounters with either of the preceding views.
Then it will be shown, as well, how holding to
either view causes a person to commit mayhem in numerous facets of
Biblical interpretation.
1)
Insurmountable Problems
Holding to a Wednesday
crucifixion, nothing fits, not
even the “three days and three nights,” the
supposed seventy-two-hour period.
Note that Christ died in the
middle of the afternoon. This is when
His soul descended into Sheol /
Hades. His body was then taken down
from the cross, prepared for burial, and placed in the tomb [Page 175] shortly before the beginning of the next day (sometime before
sunset). Then He was
raised sometime after the beginning of the day following the Sabbath
(sometime after sunset ending the Sabbath, on the first day of the week).
If He was
crucified on Wednesday, nothing short of time extending to at least
about seventy-five hours could possibly exist (time beginning when He died, 3
P.M.).
Then, if one attempts to begin
the supposed seventy-two hours of Jonah 1: 17 and Matt. 12: 40 at the
time His body was placed in the tomb (shortly before sundown), that won’t work either.
Raising Christ exactly seventy-two hours from that point would put the
resurrection occurring shortly before sundown on the Sabbath.
Then there is the matter of
Christ being raised on the third day. Sunday is the fifth day from Wednesday, not
the third day. “After three days,” as used in Matt. 27: 63 and Mark 8: 31
would seemingly fit, but not so. This
expression must be harmonized with, “on the third day,” and has reference to this day.
Then there is the matter of the
day following the crucifixion being “a high [‘great’] day,” i.e., contextually, a high
(great) Sabbath (John 19: 31). Though the day following the Passover was the
beginning day of the feast of Unleavened Bread (a Sabbath day), this day,
standing alone, could not be referred to as a high (great) Sabbath.
The only way one could have a high
(great) Sabbath in the
camp of Israel was for one of the feast days in Leviticus chapter twenty-three
to fall on the regular weekly Sabbath (Alfred Edersheim would be one well-known
authority calling attention to this fact).
Thus, a Wednesday crucifixion fails at this point as well.
And
different things from the preceding could be said about those contending for a
Thursday crucifixion in order to fit at least parts of three literal days and
nights into the matter. Suffice it to say though, contending for a handling of the
expression “three days and three
nights” in this manner (necessitating at least parts of three literal
days and nights) is, as will be shown, as fallacious as the prior position
(contending for a Wednesday crucifixion), for it, as well, is not the way
Scripture handles the matter at all, introducing even additional error into the
matter.
[Page 176]
2)
Mayhem in Biblical Interpretation
Contending for a
seventy-two-hour period between Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection, dealt
with through a supposed Wednesday crucifixion, throws the complete latter part of
the septenary structure of Scripture into disarray.
And exactly
the same problem would confront those holding to a Thursday crucifixion. Contending for a Thursday crucifixion,
exactly as contending for a Wednesday crucifixion, would run counter to Scripture’s
septenary structure as well.
(There is seemingly a way that
those contending for a Thursday crucifixion can show a Sunday resurrection
occurring on the third day, but it is a way arrived at through humanistic reasoning,
completely out of line with the way that Scripture handles different things
about the matter. Accordingly, the day
of Christ’s resurrection through this means is not a third day at all, but a
fourth day following the crucifixion.
The Biblical day ends at
sundown, with a new day beginning at that time [which the Jews have followed
down through the years (Gen. 1: 5, 8, 13, 19, 23, 31)].
Individuals following a Thursday crucifixion ideology, referencing Jonah 1: 17 or Matt. 12: 40, take part of the day
preceding sundown Thursday and all of the day preceding sundown both Friday and
Saturday, giving them three days. Then they take all of the night following
sundown both Thursday and Friday [which would be the beginning part of the next
two days from the previous two days], along with part of the night following
sundown on Saturday [which would be the beginning part of the next day from the
previous day]. And,
with Christ raised sometime following “the end of the
Sabbath” [Matt. 28: 1; lit., ‘the end of the Sabbaths’ (the Passover, the feast of
Unleavened Bread, and the regular weekly Sabbath - three Sabbath days
together)], during the night period of Sunday, before daybreak [which Scripture
attests to], Christ is seemingly raised on the third day, and the supposed
requirement seen for part or all of three actual days and three actual nights
has been met.
The preceding, held by a number
of Bible students, may sound good on the surface, but it is
shot through and through with the same problems that confront those
holding to a Wednesday crucifixion, with an extra problem added.
Suffice it to say, as will be
shown later in this chapter, this is not the way Scripture handles the matter
at all. The whole of the matter, as seen
in holding to a Wednesday crucifixion, is little more than substituting
humanistic reasoning for comparing Scripture with Scripture, and not allowing
Scripture to interpret and handle the matter.
With a Thursday crucifixion, the
time before sundown Thursday,
Friday, and Saturday is, in each case, connected with the time following sundown on each of the subsequent three
days. In each case, this has to do with
taking part of one day, then part of the next day, and viewing these parts of
two different days as one day, something alien to how Scripture views “days.” Scripture, as established in the opening
chapter of Genesis, views the time following sundown to the time
following the next sundown as forming “a day”
[evening,
morning, in that order, not morning,
evening, as required by those
holding to a Thursday crucifixion].
“Three
days and three nights,” in Scripture, can only be
understood as synonymous with “three days,” with each day including its
corresponding evening and morning. “A day”
simply CANNOT be understood as a combination of parts of two separate
days, which the Thursday crucifixion ideology necessitates [in this case, even
mixing two parts of the weekly Sabbath with parts of two non-Sabbath days -
Friday and Sunday].)
As Christ was
raised after two days, on the third day, He, as well, will be raised
up after 2,000 years, in the third
1,000-year period (the Messianic Era).
And
Note what attempting to see a
full seventy-two-hour period in the expression “three days and
three nights” does to the preceding, to the last three days in God’s
septenary structure of Scripture. Or note what attempting to see at least parts of three
literal days and nights in this expression, because of how it is done, does to
the septenary structure of Scripture after exactly the same fashion.
The former has Christ’s
resurrection,
And, as
previously stated, properly understanding the timing of Christ’s crucifixion
should not be thought of as something minor in Biblical interpretation, making
no real difference what one [Page 178]
believes. Rather the opposite is
true. This is something MAJOR, VERY
MAJOR. It makes A GREAT
DEAL OF DIFFERENCE what one believes about the timing of the crucifixion.
The timing of the crucifixion,
followed by Christ’s resurrection, is inseparably tied to how God has
structured His Word - a septenary structure set forth at the beginning (Gen. 1: 1 - 2: 3), with resurrection seen on THE THIRD DAY
within this septenary structure, set forth at the beginning (Gen. 1: 9-13),
something which CAN NEVER CHANGE throughout Scripture.
Thus, not understanding how God has
structured His Word in this respect - revealed at the outset in Genesis and
revealed at the outset in John’s gospel as well (John
2: 1ff), beginning the N.T. - is no small matter
in Biblical interpretation.
No Problems Are
Encountered, If...
If a person interprets Scripture
in the light of Scripture when dealing with the expression, “three days and three nights,” the previously existing problems, or any
other similar problems, will not exist; and everything, in turn, will fit into
its proper place.
And no one
is then left attempting to explain the inexplainable, for Scripture will have
been allowed to explain the whole of the matter itself, through its own
built-in interpretation.
1) The O. T. Handling of Days, “Three Days and Three
Nights”
There are two other places in
the Old Testament where the same or a similar expression to that seen in Jonah 1: 17 is
used (1 Sam. 30: 1, 11-13; Esther 4: 16 - 5: 1). And in both of these
places, along with several other companion places (Gen.
40: 12-20; 42: 17-20; 2 Chron. 10: 5, 12; Matt. 27: 62-64), Scripture relates exactly how Jonah 1: 17 and Matt.
12: 40 are to be understood, leaving no room
for questions in anyone’s mind about how this expression is to be understood
when Scripture is allowed to interpret itself.
“And it
came to pass, when David and his men were come
to Ziklag on the third day, that the
Amalekites had invaded the south, and Ziklag,
and smitten Ziklag, and
burned it with fire...
[Page 179]
And they found
an Egyptian in the field, and brought him to David, and gave him bread, and he
did eat; and they made him drink water;
And they gave him a
piece of a cake of figs, and two clusters of raisins; and when he had eaten, his spirit came again to him: for he
had eaten no bread, nor drunk any water, three
days and three nights.
And David said unto him, to whom belongest thou? and whence art thou? And he said,
I am a young man of Egypt, servant to an Amalekite; and
my master left me, because three days ago I fell
sick” (1 Sam. 30: 1, 11-13).
“Go,
gather together all the Jews that are present in
Shushan, and fast ye for me, and neither eat nor drink three
days, night or day: I also and my maidens will fast likewise;
and so will 1 go in unto the king, which is not according to the law: and if I perish, I perish.
So Mordecai went his way, and did according to all that Esther had commanded him.
Now it came to pass on
the third day,
that
Esther put on her royal apparel, and stood in the
inner court of the king’s house...” (Esther
4: 16 - 5:
1a).
The Old Testament views any part
of a day as covering the whole of that day, with the day’s corresponding night
period as well (Gen. 40: 12-20; 42: 17-20; 2 Chron. 10: 5, 12; Matt. 27: 62-64; cf. Matt. 4:
2; Mark 1: 13). A twenty-four-hour period is not involved at
all.
Nor can non-corresponding parts
of different literal days and nights (parts of two different days of the week
seen forming a day) be involved in the expression, “three days and three nights.”
That’s evident six different places in the opening chapter of Genesis,
where a day and night (“evening” and “morning”, in that order) are dealt with together
as a unit, referred to as “a day” (Gen. 1: 5, 8, 13, 19, 23, 31).
And this initial order establishes
how any twenty-four hour period is to be viewed throughout all subsequent
Scripture, even if “day,” used with “night,” as in
Jonah 1: 17,
is mentioned first (cf. Esther 4:
16, where
“nigh” is mentioned first).
Exactly the same thing can be seen
in both of the previously quoted verses - 1 Sam.
30: 1, 11-13 and Esther
4: 16 - 5:
1 - where
either the same or a similar expression can be found to the expression in
Jonah 1: 17 and Matt. 12: 38-40. In
both places, as in [Page 180] the
opening chapter of Genesis, a day and night are dealt with
together as a unit, referred to as “a day.”
And this
MUST be true of any Scriptures beyond the opening chapter of Genesis which deal
with the subject, for this is the manner in which the matter
has been unchangeably established at the outset.
Thus, viewed
solely from a Scriptural standpoint, any part of Friday, all of Saturday, and any part of Sunday would
be “three days and three nights.”
As well, the expression, “after three days” in Matt. 27: 63 and Mark 8:
31 is
not referring to events occurring on a fourth day (a day following three days,
allowing for a Thursday crucifixion), or even a fifth day (allowing for a
Wednesday crucifixion), but is referring to events occurring on the third of
the three days in view. Note how this
expression in Matt. 27: 63 is understood in Matt. 27: 64. Or, note the sequence of days in Acts 10: 3, 7-9, 17, 23, 24, 30.
2) The
High (Great) Sabbath, the Third Day
Then there is the matter of a high
(great) Sabbath occurring
the day following the crucifixion, which can be fulfilled
only by a Friday crucifixion (allowing a feast day from Lev.
23 to
fall on the regular weekly Sabbath [ref previous
comments, p. 67]).
And, as
previously seen, a Friday crucifixion is THE ONLY DAY which would allow the resurrection on Sunday to have occurred on the
third day (on the
feast of First Fruits [cf. Mark 16: 9; 1 Cor. 15: 20, 23]).
In reality, all one has to do to
ascertain the day of the crucifixion is to count back three days from Sunday,
which takes one to Friday. The matter is
really that simple if one remains within Scriptural guidelines and lets
Scripture interpret itself.
As well, remaining completely
within the way Scripture handles the matter, this
likewise allows one to remain completely in line with the
septenary structure of Scripture.
And the preceding could only be
the case, for Scripture does not run counter to itself That’s left solely for
man to do, which he too often does, something which he seems to do best when it
comes to Biblical interpretation.
* * *
[Page 181]
Appendix II
Yad Vashern
“
A MEMORIAL TO THE JEWISH VICTIMS OF THE HOLOCAUST
Even unto them will I give in mine house and within my walls ‘a place and a name’
better than of
sons and of daughters: I will give them an everlasting name, that shall not be
cut off.
Also the sons of the stranger, that
join themselves to the Lord, to serve him, and to love the name of the Lord, to be his servants,
everyone that
keepeth the Sabbath from polluting it, and taketh hold of my covenant.
Even them will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them
joyful in my house of prayer: their burnt‑offerings and their sacrifices shall be
accepted upon mine altar; for mine house shall be called an
house of prayer for all people (Isa. 56:
5-7).
“Yad
Vashem,” transliterated
from the Hebrew text of Isa.
56: 5
(meaning, “
And “Yad
Vashem,” as well, is not
only a memorial to the Jewish victims of the Holocaust but also a research
centre, fully documenting all aspects of the Holocaust. The Jewish people not only want their own
people but the world at large to know about and never forget that which
occurred in Europe throughout the twelve-year reign of the Third Reich
(1933-1945), both immediately preceding and during WWII.
[Page 182]
The Hebrew word yad in Isa. 56:
5, translated “place” (KJV, NKJV) or “memorial” (NASB,
NIV), is actually the Hebrew word for “hand,”
though it could take on other related meanings within different contexts. In this passage, the way yad is used, the thought
of both “hand” and “place”
appear to come into use together.
That is, the thought
contextually has to do with
Then, there is one other
matter. The two words, yad
vashem in Isa. 56: 5,
appear in a Messianic passage. These
two words actually describe the place which Israel will occupy during the
coming Messianic Era - an elevated place above all the nations
(no longer the tail, but now the head), with at least one form of Israel’s name
in that day seen in Mal. 3: 12:
“And all nations shall call you ‘blessed’...”
Thus, the Israeli people, years
ago, chose a name for their Holocaust memorial from a Messianic passage of
Scripture, actually describing the Jewish people yet future, not today.
But, aside
from the preceding, there would be a marked parallel between how the two words
depict both that seen today and that which will exist yet future.
1) Today
The Holocaust memorial - aptly
named Yad Vashem in one
respect - come into existence in 1953, as the nation had previously come into existence
in 1948, out of the ruins and devastation produced by WWII. As a “phoenix,”
both the nation and the memorial arose out of the ashes of this war.
The memorial has to do with the dead, 6,000,000 of them; but the memorial was built by the living, which has grown to another
6,000,000 in the land today. And they have a message for all those who died:
“We
Live!”
[Page 183]
2) Yet
Future
Yad Vashem in Isa. 56: 5, as previously shown, actually has to do with a description of the Jewish people during
another time, yet future. It has to do
with a time following a future Holocaust which the Jewish people are about to enter into and experience.
During
this future time, the Jewish people forming the present nation of Israel in the
Middle East are going to be uprooted from their land and driven back out among
the nations (either fleeing to “the mountains” in Matt. 24: 16, “the wilderness” in Rev. 12: 6, 14 [two
ways of metaphorically depicting world kingdoms, the nations], or being “led away captive into all nations” in Luke
21: 24). And out among the nations, the Jewish people
will experience something similar to but far worse than that which they
experienced in
And out of
this time a nation will arise and the true Yad Vashem will be seen. As following WWII, as a “phoenix,” the nation, in connection with the
fulfilment of Isa.
56: 5,
will arise out of the ashes of that
which is about to occur.
3) The Post Assyrian, Nebuchadnezzar,
Hitler, the Future Assyrian
The Israelites in
Thus, persecuting
The Israelites during Daniel’s
day were pictured through Nebuchadnezzar having three of their number cast into
a fiery furnace which had been heated seven times hotter than normal, with a
fourth Person seen in the furnace with them (which could only have been the
same Person in the midst of the burning bush in Ex.
3: 2-4). And the three
Israelites emerged from the furnace without a single hair on their heads
singed, their clothes un-burnt, and apart from even the smell of fire or smoke
upon their bodies (Dan. 3: 19ff.
During Hitler’s day, through his
efforts to produce a Jew-free
Then when the future Assyrian
appears, some 9,000,000 Jews will be slain worldwide
in about half the time as died in
4) If One Wants to Do Away with
If one wants to destroy or see
God do away with Israel, he will need to change both laws which God has
established and decrees which He has made (e.g.,
note Isa. 54: 17; Jer. 31: 35-37; 33: 20-26).
Those in the past should have
asked about the matter or read the Book. They found out the hard way.
And the
same could be said for the one about to appear.
His end will be the same. His end has already been foretold time after time in the Book.
Never Again, but...
Relative to the Holocaust, or anything
like the Holocaust, the Jewish people have a
saying today:
“Never Again!”
That is, the Jewish people are
determined to never let
anything like this happen again. The Jewish people are
determined to never again let any
group of people, any nation, or any group of nations, do something such as was
done to them in
And this
would undoubtedly be the main reason for
With a
view to the past, dating back 3,500 years,
with a particular emphasis on the recent past in modern times, how else could
one expect the Jewish people to react (e.g.,
the Jewish people’s present reaction to the U.S. Secretary of State trying
to bring about a peace agreement between them and nations openly proclaiming [Page 186] that they have one goal - to drive Israel into the sea
(In the light of Scripture,
efforts by anyone attempting to bring about peace between
Until then, no power on earth can do a thing about effecting peace in
the troubled
But, as previously
shown, that which the Jewish people have determined to never let happen again will
happen again. And, when
it does happen again, the sufferings experienced by the Jewish people in
The latter will
so far exceed the former,
or any other period of Jewish persecution dating all the way back to the
inception of the nation during Moses’ day in
(For additional information on
the preceding, refer to the two appendixes in the author’s book, DISTANT HOOFBEATS,
titled, “The Holocaust” and “Never Again.”)
The Future Holocaust
Israeli Repentance, Then...
Why will this future Holocaust
occur? And what
will be the end of the matter? The
answers to both questions are very simple, and they have to do with two
inseparably interrelated things:
1)
Israeli disobedience.
2) God driving
the Jewish people out among the Gentile nations to effect
repentance through persecution at the hands of these nations.
[Page 186]
The Prophets have spoken, this
is what they have to say, and God’s Word given through the Prophets
cannot fail of fulfilment.
The future Holocaust will be of
such severity that the Jewish people - after 2,600 years of Gentile dominance,
with the Jewish people scattered among the nations - will be
brought to the place of repentance.
That, in short, is “the why” of the future holocaust, along with its “intensity”; and, as well, that, in short, will be “the end of the matter.”
After
the Jewish people have been brought to the place of repentance through the severity
of the future Holocaust, Christ will return, bring about Israel’s national
conversion, regather the Jewish people from the nations back to their land,
destroy Gentile world power, make a new covenant with Israel in a restored
theocracy, and subsequently work through this restored nation pertaining to
purposes seen in their calling in the beginning.
A repentant, converted, and
restored Israel will then hold the sceptre and occupy a position at the head of
all the Gentile nations; the nations will be blessed through Israel; and Israel
will then carry the message of the one true and living God to the nations
worldwide.
Then, the entire Jewish nation
and the world at large will, at long last, realize
that set forth by the words yad vashem in Isa. 56:
5.
-------
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Nee, David Barron, David W. Dyer, D. M. Panton,
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