eTPL 2016

December: Considerations of  Zechariah 13 and 14

Zechariah 13

Jerusalem and Judah: Their redemption

The immediate result (of the last portion of Chapter 12) shall be that a remedy shall be instituted for their advantage. It is expressed as being a fountain opened to the House of David, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and for uncleanness.

Although we do not know the intimate details of this institution at this time, it shall become apparent to them at that time as a universal mechanism for confirming their repentance and acceptance of Messiah, the King of Israel, as He takes His seat upon the Throne of David upon Mount Zion in the Holy City.

Zec 13:1  In that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness.

This benefit of a mechanism of their cleansing – of whatever it consists – comes to them as a result of their repentance and subsequent mourning for their crucifixion of Jesus as well as their ready acceptance of Him at His Second Advent..

The next verse indicates the removal of all impediments to their understanding of and worship of the LORD Jesus Christ, Whom they shall at that time have accepted as Messiah and King.

Their cleansing and sanctification; all corruption defeated

Zec 13:2  And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the LORD of hosts, that I will cut off the names of the idols out of the land, and they shall no more be remembered: and also I will cause the (false) prophets and the unclean spirit to pass out of the land.

In our studied opinion, this provision means that the Land shall be cleansed drastically: it indicates the expulsion of all the Jews who are “gay,” who will be cut off from the land and people; in includes everyone who is engaged in business theft or corrupt practices; and all those who claim to be atheists; and those who practice prostitution of all kinds; or are the proprietors of gambling establishments, casinos, etc.

All these evil and ungodly practices and professions will be removed from the people and the culture forever. Our reason for saying so is that all these practices were condemned in the tenets of the Law of Moses. In so claiming, we are not advocating that the Law shall be re-established in that future time, but are at the same time, recognizing that the stipulations of the Law are an expression of the standard of the righteousness of the Almighty which He had revealed to them in that statutory body of legal documents. We cannot but be convicted that such conduct and such practice shall be summarily forbidden in the administration which at that time becomes instituted in the Land for His People’s benefit and guidance.

 The false prophets also, who now predict other than godly outcomes are to be expelled as well – the subject of the next verse. These are referred to in the context of the false prophets which plagued Judah in the days leading up to the Babylonian captivity – a period when their presence was rampant in the country.

 False prophets nullified, destroyed out of the land

Zec 13:3  And it shall come to pass, that when any shall yet prophesy (that is, of his own convictions, one who prophesies falsely), then his father and his mother that begat him shall say unto him, Thou shalt not live; for thou speakest lies in the name of the LORD: and his father and his mother that begat him shall thrust him through when he prophesieth. 4 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the (false) prophets shall be ashamed every one of his vision, when he hath prophesied; neither shall they wear a rough garment (their outward identification as a “prophet”) to deceive: 5  But he shall say, I am no prophet, I am an husbandman; for man taught me to keep cattle from my youth.

Now their attention is riveted upon Jesus as His identity is announced to them in this astounding “show and tell” session which He holds with them, in answer to their queries: we visualize this episode as occurring immediately after some semblance of order has been restored in the nation, after His feet touch the Mount of Olives, subsequent to His complete victory over the thorns and briers of the Land between the Rivers and the Seas (Abraham’s promised land).

Israel’s recognition of Jesus

Now comes “the moment of truth” as we so often describe pivotal events:

Zec 13:6  And one shall say unto him, What are these wounds in thine hands? Then he shall answer, Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends.

The Revelator finds it necessary to insert relevant background information here, determined to be of the categories, What? and Why?

The narrative now shifts back to that time when He first came, and was indeed betrayed. The prophecy is one of the most succinct, fully explanatory prophecies of this terrible episode in Judah’s history.

The prophet now explains in great detail how and why Messiah should be subject to the wrath of His fellows, and be wounded and killed in the manner which they shall then view with horror.

Bear in mind – these prophecies are necessary in order that the Spirit may establish its case in future history. These prophetic words will prove beyond any doubt to future consideration, that the events which shall come to pass relating to Jesus, were prophesied OF HIM – accurately, graphically, and in truth. They will verify the testimony of all the Father’s prophets.

 The prophet is now directed to raise an alarm: “Awake, O sword …."  The words introduce some of the critical details of the final persecution of Jesus leading to those wounds which still, at his Second Advent, reside in His palms and His side.

Subject: How He should be betrayed; 

the consequences of the Shepherd smitten

Zec 13:7  Awake, O sword, against my Shepherd, and against the man that is my fellow, saith the LORD of hosts: smite the Shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered: and I will turn mine hand upon the little ones.

Recall, please, that this prophecy lies well beyond (ahead of) the times of Zechariah, and as already stated, foretells in great detail much of the future history of his people, and His Son in particular.

It gives the reasons why certain key fulfillments came about, and in what manner they would do so.

This call is for a “sword” to be raised against two subjects: first, against the man Judas Iscariot, Jesus’ fellow who betrayed Him, and second, against Jesus Himself, the Shepherd Designate of Israel, Whose time had not yet come to fulfill that role.

First must come His sacrifice of shame, which should immediately result in His victory over sin and death, by resurrection.

These words foretell the man Judas, who betrayed his Friend Jesus; they also foreshadow the final moments of the life of the LORD, and his treatment before Pilate, some six hundred years future from the day of this revelation.

Judas’ “smiting” was his immediate recognition of the enormity of his act of betrayal, so severely overwhelming that he hanged himself, an act which was fatal to him.

The “smiting” of Jesus took the final form of crucifixion, the summary description of which is recorded in the gospel of John; its result was directly converse to that of Judas; it led to His salvation, and that of His followers:

John 19:14 And it was the preparation of the passover, and about the sixth hour: and he saith unto the Jews, Behold your King! 15 But they cried out, Away with him, away with him, crucify him. Pilate saith unto them, Shall I crucify your King? The chief priests answered, We have no king but Caesar. 16 Then delivered he him therefore unto them to be crucified. And they took Jesus, and led him away. 17 And he bearing his cross went forth into a place called the place of a skull, which is called in the Hebrew Golgotha: 18 Where they crucified him, and two other with him, on either side one, and Jesus in the midst.

This vile deed, promoted by the Jews, and executed by the Romans, could not stand without repercussion upon them, although it was fully providential. Its near-term consequences should become one of the most savage conquests of a people ever known – the destruction of Jerusalem and Judah in 70AD to 73AD, in which the curses of Deuteronomy and Leviticus came to bear with great vengeance upon the remnant of Judah.

The siege of Jerusalem was one of the final acts of this horrid, morbid drama. The Roman general Titus besieged the city for several months before he could conquer it. The walls were built of massive limestone blocks weighing many tons, and stacked as high as 60 feet.

The City contained its own abundant water supply, whereas the Romans were compelled to cart water from as far away as Caesarea Maritima, some dozens of miles away, for its thousands of soldiers. The Jews of the City taunted the Romans by soaking blankets with their abundant fresh water and hanging them over the walls to show the Romans that their supply of fresh water was not threatened.

But foodstuffs were a different story. Their supply of grains, dried vegetables, and meats was limited. As the siege wore on and on, those supplies dwindled and finally were depleted.

Caloric intake is absolutely necessary for human survival. As siege stones were catapulted over the walls, buildings were wrecked and people were killed within the city. One might suppose that the cannibalism which occurred at that time may have been initiated when some felt compelled to consume the carcasses of some of those persons killed in this way.

But later in these desperate times, women actually slew and boiled their own children in order to survive. Deuteronomy 28: 52-57 prophecied that destiny for many. The siege lasted from Passover to mid-August, 70AD.

Here is the crux of the prophecy: During that time, Josephus the historian, records that a third of the people died in warfare, a third starved to death, and a third were taken captive, fulfilling to a word this terrible prophecy of what was to come in days well after those of Zechariah.

It requires no “faith” at all to accept these facts as fulfilling this direct prophecy of their fate at the hands of Rome, the awful sentence of which lies in Zechariah’s next words. They follow closely upon the previous narrative, indicating the ultimate fate of those left living.

Zec 13:8  And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, saith the LORD, two parts therein shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein.

Of the third who lived, and were taken captive, many survived a life of Roman slavery, going forward into freedom at some point, marrying and rearing families in the Jewish tradition.

The Jews of Judah continued to resist Roman overlordship, and in 135AD, under Bar Kockhba, they rebelled again, with consequences nearly as severe.

Jewish slaves were sold and deported all over the known world. It is said that the price of slaves in the markets of the Middle East dropped sharply, as the supply of slaves was overwhelming; there were not enough buyers of these miserable human properties.

Out of this oppressive milieu came the Jewish populations of much of Europe during the next centuries.

However, at the time of this great siege, many of the growing community of affluent Jews were already in dispersion, living in various parts of the Empire at the time of Jerusalem’s destruction, witness to which we summon the record of the many synagogues in which the Apostle Paul and his companions taught the Way of Christ, but were rejected.

In the years that lay ahead of them, the Jews in particular were most oppressed of all Europe’s peoples, hunted and slain, accused and persecuted for all sorts of vile crimes and trumped-up charges, killed, tortured, maimed and vilified universally as a people.

In our opinion, all these folk represent the “third” that were brought through the fire of the Jewish rebellion, were refined as silver and as gold, the descendants of whom are in our present age coming home to Israel, and eventually shall come to call upon God’s name.

That is a time which lies yet beyond our own day, for their national recognition of Him, as already referred to by Zechariah, lies yet in their future.

They have significantly returned to their homeland from the Valley of Dry Bones as a re-assembled skeleton, standing upright, with skin and sinews (muscles) in place and with breath in their nostrils.

They have stood upon their feet as an exceedingly great army. Ezekiel 37: 10.

But today they still lack the infused Spirit of God, which shall ventilate and permeate their vital bodies in the near future – in that singular moment when they, seeing the thunderous  actions of the LORD Jesus Christ being exercised on their behalf (such as in Isaiah 63), shall cry as one man, “Blessed is He Who cometh in the name of the LORD,” as they shall do in fulfillment of the Master’s words in Luke 13:35.

We believe this to be a valid explanation of this critical passage of scripture relating to the two thirds destruction of Jews – that these terrible consequences have passed, because they are a matter of record; these are therefore not events which are yet to be expected in Israel’s future history.

To regard these horrible events as to be expected in future confuses our understanding of events to come.

 Just how does such a drastic outcome as their future slaughter correlate with all the positive statements of the Spirit as to Israel’s future to the present day?

It does not correlate.

In our opinion it is not even possible.

Indeed, the sure prophecy of Amos, among several others, foretells a much different future, which is bright in prospect and sure of fulfilment:

Amos 9:11  In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof; and I will raise up his ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old: 12  That they may possess the remnant of Edom, and of all the heathen, which are called by my name, saith the LORD that doeth this. 13  Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that the plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him that soweth seed; and the mountains shall drop sweet wine, and all the hills shall melt. 14  And I will bring again the captivity of my people of Israel, and they shall build the waste cities, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and drink the wine thereof; they shall also make gardens, and eat the fruit of them. 15  And I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be pulled up out of their land which I have given them, saith the LORD thy God.

It surely must be agreed by every student of the Word that this described condition partially exists even now in Israel. Well over six million of His People have returned and now inhabit the Land! Although Edom (the PLO, etc, as described in Obadiah 1: 19, 20) is not fully conquered as yet, it is surely contained, and restrained from any further real harm to God’s people. 

That hot conflict, in which this resistance is exhaustively crushed and destroyed, lies inevitably in their immediate future, in our opinion.

Its consummation, along with the comprehensive destruction of all the Islamic enemies between the Nile and the Euphrates Rivers, brings the personal return of Christ into their midst, for verse 21 informs the reader, that Saviors shall come up on Mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau, and the Kingdom shall be the LORD’s, meaning, surely, that He and His now immortal Saints are personally there and occupying the restored Throne of David.

And although the Tabernacle of the Millennium shall not at that time have had its foundation laid, that remains the privilege of the Man, the BRANCH, Who when He comes, shall “build the temple of the LORD.” Zechariah 6:12.

And now the prophet’s words address the third part which historically escaped destruction at the hands of Rome. Their final refinement and redemption as a great body of fervent believers is depicted.

Zec 13:9  And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The LORD is my God.

Through the years subsequent to 70AD, the dispersed people are indeed subjected to refining as are precious metals. The end result shall be their humble submission to His will and way; and His response to them in that day will be clear and unmistakable. 

The end of the matter sees their reconciliation to Him, and his declaration: “It is My people.” These are the ultimate, concrete events which are to be expected as a long-term result of His refining them, and removing their dross.

The end result is their sincere confession of His name and His Fatherhood.

 But could there be another, additional implication of this prophecy?

We are not normally proponents of “secondary fulfillments” of prophecies, although sometimes such may be reasonably expected and actually seen.

In the soon-coming prophetic fulfillments, we may be able to perceive an “echo” fulfillment of this ninth verse of Zechariah 13.

The City of Jerusalem today prides itself in accommodating all its citizens, be they Jewish, Christian or Muslim – the three recognizable divisions of “religion” located there today.

We have recently heard Mr. Benyamin Netanyahu’s words of rebuke to those of the USA who have voiced their opposition to the immigration of Muslim refugees from the present unrest in Syria and Iraq to come to the USA in 2015.

Mr. Netanyahu proudly claims the truth that all religions are treated the same in Israel today.

Not only are the Jewish synagogues protected, but so are the Christians and their churches; so also are the Muslims and their mosques. All are purported to have equal rights and protection within the State of Israel today – a point of great pride for the Israeli people.

But will this condition persist in Israel?

Will the LORD Jesus continue to hold this principle?

NO; He shall not.

Are all these groups, as such, equally and fully acceptable in God’s sight?

Can He tolerate their continuance within His land?

Shall they continue on unabated into His kingdom?

Emphatically, NONE of these three groups are acceptable to the Almighty, as constituted. 

That statement requires qualification ...

The destiny of the first group is markedly different from the latter two, in this fashion.

The Jews still refuse the person hood of Jesus, the Son of God, Who shall appear soon, as their long-awaited Messiah. They are destined to remain in denial of Him until that future time, although surely under His angelic protection and guidance even as we speak.

Their fate is to be enlightened and converted to the Way of Christ, and not destroyed. These are the People to whom He is returning personally, and who He intends to save and redeem. In such a case, they could be regarded as the third which is saved from destruction.

The Christians have, after inheriting the words of Life from the Savior’s apostles and disciples directly, have corrupted the words of salvation and made a mockery of them, claiming the Son of God to be ‘God the Son;’ claiming him to be a third part of an indivisible trinity of gods, all coequal and co-eternal; they hold that man “contains” an immortal soul which lives on eternally after death in fuller knowledge than ever, denying that “the living know that they shall die, but the dead know not anything” (Ecclesiastes 9:5); they fear an external, hostile Devil-tempter who convinces them to sin, rather than recognize that they, themselves, are inherently evil and sinful; they are led principally by a Papa-figure (the pope) who takes to himself the authority of God in the earth, sitting as he does on ‘the throne of St. Peter” in the Vatican; as God on earth, he forgives sins directly, grants papal exemptions for sin, and generally conducts a richly sumptuous pagan, sectarian empire, giving the true God no real credit; everyone gets the picture here. The destruction and eradication of this System is adequately addressed in the latter chapters of the Apocalypse.

The third group, The Muslims, are a purely pagan, godless people who have never been privy to the truth of God. Their founder knew not God in any sense, but being nominally acquainted with both Judaism and Christianity (as they existed in his day) appropriated many well-known stories of the Bible, and adapted them to his “holy book,” the Koran. He was a man who lived, and ‘converted’ the ‘infidel,’ by the sword, and lorded it over all men with fierce authority. His “religion” is patently man-formed, and based in the fleshly nature of the natural man. Even its most prominent “heavenly” reward is purely of the flesh – unlimited access of each “saved” Muslim to  72 virgins which will be provided for them.

 These three populations are all destined either to be converted or removed from Jerusalem and Israel in the coming Age.

But they shall ALL (as presently constituted) be destroyed in three different modes.

The Jews of Israel are set to recognize and befriend Him, and thus be converted. This conversion changes their belief system to that of their Father, and brings their subjection to Him with gratitude and humility. Thus, this first “third” survives His refining actions upon them, and live on to inhabit the first dominion of the kingdom of God on the earth (specifically promised to them in Micah 4:8, q.v.).

The Christians will resist Him to the end, believing Him to be anti-Christ and many shall be destroyed, although a few, or even many, may convert to His way and be saved. But they shall not be saved into His kingdom as “Christians,” but as Brethren of Christ who shall have submitted to intelligent baptism into His name – and to have repented,  and to have repudiated their former false doctrines.

The Muslims make up the nations round about, and are also mingled within Israel (in the West Bank, Gilead, Gaza, Golan Lebanon, Jordan, Negev and Sinai), whose destiny is that outlined in Psalms 83, Obadiah, Ezekiel 35, Isaiah 11, Zechariah 14, and many other scriptural passages.

Destruction to a man is their destiny, for they will never “convert” to God’s way, nor kneel to the newly returned Jesus Christ; their destruction shall be so pervasive and inevitable that there shall not be any remaining of the house of Esau, as records Obadiah 1:18.

 Those Jews who then remain in Israel shall have been delivered from the vile threats of the nations round about, which they have endured for 68 years (since 1948). The deadly Islamic sword which has overshadowed them shall have been removed permanently, and their peace and safety assured by the LORD Who shall have appeared to them in the last of these end times.

In the terminal chapter of Zechariah, we shall read the exciting and exacting details of that final conflict of Israel with their enemies “round about” them.

The account takes the reader to the end of this conflict, introducing at its end the conditions of “peace and safety” which shall consist when the Gogian host casts it covetous eyes on the great wealth that shall have been amassed by the newly-expanded Jewish Commonwealth which is now under the rulership of its new King, the Lord Jesus Christ. <HEL 12O> ~3400 words. 

Zechariah 14

Subject: The day of the LORD; a narrative which addresses our time

Zec 14:1  Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee.

Most readers tend to think of “the day of the LORD” as the actual day of His reappearance upon the earth in visible form, revealing Himself to Israel in warfare, conquering the nations of the earth.

We submit that the term refers to a much longer period of time which shall lead up to and include the events of His second coming. We refer to the words of the prophet Daniel, in chapter 11, in which he states that, “at the time of the end shall the king of the south push at him ….” Daniel 11: 40. 

Here the "time of the end" is cited as being when this action occurred. Our studied conviction is that the date of this event is 1517AD, when the Ottomans overran the land of Palestine while chasing the Egyptian forces southward after they "pushed at" the Ottomans in the region of Damascus.

At this time, the Ottoman Empire became the last king of the north by displacing the last king of the south, which was Egypt, from its possession/occupation of the Holy Land.

This date is described as "the time of the end," and evidently refers to the latter half of the Times of the Gentiles - a period which terminated in 1917, when Britain drove the Ottomans out of Palestine under the authority of the Balfour declaration. The “time of the end” obviously stretches well beyond this date, however, and occupies the time until the Christ returns to His people.

At this future time, the passage in Daniel 12 comes into play: Daniel 12:4  But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.

This stipulation – knowledge being increased – indicates a marked increase in our understanding of Bible prophecy concurrent with the vast, exponential increase of the “knowledge” of science and technology which we have experienced during the last century.

At this point in time, enough of the end time events have occurred that students are able to make comparisons of history with prophecy and determine much of it having been fulfilled to the current date.

 Zec 14:2  For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city.

These specific actions were fulfilled during the 1948 War of Independence. They must not be expected to occur again because of such passages as Amos 9, as cited above. Any future physical assault upon Jerusalem shall fail.

Israeli forces, near the end of the time leading up to the truce in August, 1946, were unable to hold the Old City of Jerusalem. In an unprecedented defeat, Haganah troops were forced to evacuate it and leave it to the Arab League of Jordan to occupy.

It was the first and only time in history that half of the city was conquered, but the other half was left in the hands of the Jews.

In that war, the LORD surely fought “as in the day of battle” for the 660,000 Israelis who had declared independence on May 14, 1948, in the shadow of perhaps 180,000,000 Muslims of Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and the nearby Islamic states within the Promised Inheritance (between the Nile and the Euphrates, and between the Mediterranean and the Persian Gulf and Indian Ocean).

We don’t believe it should have been possible for Israel to have survived, and to have gained huge amounts of extra territory in the war, as actually happened, without angelic (divine) assistance. We believe that is the meaning of the prophet’s next words – the LORD FOUGHT for His People.

For 68 years at this writing (2016) we have, in wonder, beheld the prowess and fortune of Israel’s Defense Forces in their several wars with the proximate Islamic States.

As the next verses foretell, the conflict is not yet finished. Its end shall come with a remarkable and drastic change in the geopolitical matrix of the entire Middle East.

Zec 14:3  Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle.

His (Jesus’) involvement is no longer to be at a distance, and conducted by angelic intervention. In that day (a code word here for, “when the kingdom comes”) HIS FEET shall stand upon the Mount of Olives, and certain unprecedented tectonic events shall shake the earth to its foundations – a great earthquake which shall rearrange the topography of the Land, and set it up for certain progress into the kingdom age.

Zec 14:4  And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south.

We question sincerely, should this great shaking not cause the demise of many Israelis and other citizens? The answer is found in the text. Evidently, the people shall have been given a warning to “flee to the valley of the mountains,” as in the following verse. In this manner, the populace is saved from great damage by the great shaking of the Land.

The very intense nature of this earthquake signals to Israel and to all the world, that a great change has come with the advent of Jesus Christ, although indications are that the peoples of the nations shall not recognize Him for Who He really is, and that the world of Christendom will sincerely mistake Him as being their prophesied Antichrist of the end time.

Zec 14:5  And ye shall flee (the people are to be warned ahead of time) to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah: and the LORD my God shall come, and all the saints with thee.

This straightforward account in plain Greek tells the essential details of the Second Advent. It attests plainly that the Master returns at that time, and that when He does, He shall bring with Him all the Redeemed Saints (Hebrew, qadosh, which may indicate an angel or a Saint; we prefer the latter meaning here).

All these together shall rescue Israel from its enemies – a fact attested by numerous scriptural references,  and a fact which is true regardless of the confidence of Israel in its own defense forces.

The next verses comment upon the geopolitical “outlook” in general when He comes.

In that day, Israel’s prospects (the light) shall not be clear at all, in our opinion. At that point, the Jewish people may have yet another moment of doubt such as that expressed by Moshe Dayan during the initial days of the Yom Kippur War.

In the first few days, the battle did not go well for Israel. Its forces were largely on leave from duty and its troops were at their homes to celebrate Yom Kippur.

Egypt’s forces attacked at dawn on that significant day. During the next few days they made excellent progress into the Israeli lines in the Sinai. They were immediately joined by forces from Syria, Lebanon and Jordan, approaching the country of Israel from the east and north.

General Dayan went to the prime minister’s office and spoke to Mrs. Golda Meir personally. He said to her on this occasion, “Golda, the Third Temple is about to fall!”

The darkness of possible defeat loomed heavily upon Israel’s leadership.

That ominous report brought a decision by Mrs. Meir to arm Israel’s warplanes with nuclear weapons. She was getting ready to exercise “the Samson Option” of Israeli battle doctrine.

But the spy satellites of both the Soviet Union and the USA quickly noted suspicious activity, which indicated the Israelis’ nuclear intentions of defense in that moment. The USSR raised its threat level to code red; the USA placed its armed forces at, I believe they referred to it as, “Defcon One,” both indicating the nations’ highest threat level.

Even they were preparing for a nuclear exchange by Israel upon the Proximal Islamic enemies – those Islamic nations “round about.”

But immediately a curious, unexpected change in the battle came; Israel began to make clear and obvious advances against their enemies, beginning decisively to repel them on every front.

The threat level was reduced; Israel did not exercise the Samson Option, which is the Jewish State’s military doctrine that, “If we are going down, we will take everyone else – our enemies – down with us.”

How dark that “day” had become!

It may again reach this depth of doubt and uncertainty for Israel in the coming hot conflict which will ensue between itself and its Proximal Islamic enemies. We cannot know for sure, but this is possibly the potential meaning of these next words …

Zec 14:6  And it shall come to pass in that day, that the light shall not be clear, nor dark:

Israel’s leadership may not be sure of a successful outcome in the coming war, for it shall be waged by nearly 200 million Arabs pitted against about six million Jews – not good odds in any case (over 25 to one). The day may look extremely dark for Israel at this time.

However, a new factor enters the picture.

We learn that the result of this New Factor is that the LORD has returned, and is vigorously engaged in the battle for Israel’s survival in this terminal war of Phase One, as we designate it.

The prophet’s next words are extremely telling as he relates the conditions “at evening,” or, we believe he is specifying, “at the end of that day,” when nightfall ordinarily occurs. Instead of darkness, “it shall be light” in a far greater sense than indicated by the words themselves.

Zec 14:7  But it shall be one day which shall be known to the LORD, not day, nor night: but it shall come to pass, that at evening time it shall be light.

Here the narrative leaps into the near future to that day, omitting all the messy details of its fulfillment – the pitched battles in many various locations between  the Rivers, designated by the Prophet Joel as ‘the Valley of Jehoshaphat,” and “the Valley of Decision.”

In II Chronicles 20, one reads the historical forecast – the prototype – of these end-time wars – in the account of these same enemies of today (Moab, Ammon and Edom) approaching the kingdom of King Jehoshaphat, who is clearly not confident (the day is “dark” for him) that he can combat these enemies, so he seeks the LORD in fervent prayer.

King Jehoshaphat asked appropriately and fervently for the LORD’s assistance; he was assured of deliverance from these enemies. The result was that, well before the king and his small army could even reach the field of battle, Edom has been destroyed by Moab and Ammon; and after that, the Spirit informs that Moab and Ammon then slaughtered each other!

In other portions of scripture that action is described multiple times as “every man’s sword against his brother.”

Arab armies today are literally FAMOUS for such confusion.

It happened in Operation Desert Storm. It happened in the Yom Kippur War, and to an huge extent in the Sinai phase of the Six Day War.

Advancing Arabic forces met fierce opposition from Israeli troops [or American troops (in Desert Storm)], and thus were compelled to retreat, but could not do so because of all the troops and armament behind them, so they literally fired upon their own tanks and men who were now in their exit pathway, killing multiple thousands of them completely apart from any involvement of Israeli or American armies! Every man’s sword against his brother, indeed!

Life Magazine’s weekly edition following the Six Day War pictured hundreds of burned out Egyptian tanks, and thousands of dead Egyptian soldiers who had been killed by “friendly fire” as they desperately tried to make their way back to Cairo and relative safety! They abandoned their tanks and half-tracks, their food supplies and water supplies, and even thousands of articles of clothing, including their footwear, in their frantic efforts to escape the wrath of the LORD being thundered from their fleeing fellow troops now trying to make their way back to Egypt; the carnage was multiplied by lightning strikes from the skies above them by the Israeli Air Force and by the tanks and infantry of Israel which were often beyond the horizon – just as in Jehoshaphat’s day.

Every man’s sword against his brother!

It shall be one of the main features of the coming war of Israel with the Proximal Islamic states (Haggai 2:22, q.v.) as well as in the later Gogian conflict (Ezekiel 38:21, q.v.).

The end result of all this bloody conflict is reflected in the prophet’s next words, which depict the long-term outcome of all this carnage – the peaceful, tranquil, abundantly safe environment which shall eventuate after the dust of battle has settled. The scene is that of the peaceable Kingdom of Christ in its nascent years, when He has pacified the entire Land, and brought the Islamic enemies of His people to their knees in battle.

That result brings Israel to a state of rest and peace from their enemies “round about.” Kingdom conditions begin to be developed by the Christ of the Second Advent, Who is now among His People in person – now fully accepted by them, after their universal recognition of Him and their abject repentance for their long denial of His name.

Zec 14:8  And it shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the former sea, and half of them toward the hinder sea: in summer and in winter shall it be.

The Kingdom age is depicted in its early years in this poetic description of the Land in that day. The King is on His throne, and all is finally right with the world!

Zec 14:9  And the LORD shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one LORD, and his name one.

The pervasive peace of that day will be in direct contrast to the turmoil and unrest of today; and the governance by feckless rulers of men shall be replaced by the perfect judgment and righteousness of the King of kings, the LORD of lords, the Lion/Lamb of God!

The safe and peaceable habitation of the Land is then addressed. Its topography shall have been changed drastically by the Olivet earthquake, preparing the great platform as the site of the Millennial Temple which shall soon be constructed in Jerusalem.

In addition, we are convicted that the general physical disruption, the geologic upheaval in the Land prepares the cantons, or provinces, of the Twelve Tribes now as clearly visible to Him, and ready to have their respective citizens brought home to Israel from the four winds, and settled there for the kingdom age that has begun.

Zec 14:10  All the land shall be turned as a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem: and it shall be lifted up, and inhabited in her place, from Benjamin's gate unto the place of the first gate, unto the corner gate, and from the tower of Hananeel unto the king's winepresses.

Zec 14:11  And men shall dwell in it, and there shall be no more utter destruction; but Jerusalem shall be safely inhabited.

Notice carefully this last phrase, that “Jerusalem shall be SAFELY inhabited.”

It has been inhabited officially for 68.5 years to date, but never “safely,” in the sense of being secure from intruders and killers of various sorts, who desired to do damage to Israel and her people.

But now - in that future day - it is specified to be “SAFE.”

The word in Ezekiel 38:8 is “safely,” and comes from the Hebrew word (Strong’s H983) Betach, which means, as safe as if in a fortress, utterly safe, carefree, careless, implying without bars or gates of any kind.

In that day, a failure to comply with the demands of the New Ruler will have direct and clear consequences. His reply to disobedience shall be positive and effective, for it leverages the very existence of His subjects as to their compliance with His will and law.

The results – the plague over which He has complete control – clearly resemble nuclear warfare, but in the circumstances described, can hardly be that. We believe the connotation of these drastic words is that the punishment for disobedience shall be immediate and clearly visible to its victims and any outside observers.

 Zec 14:12  And this shall be the plague wherewith the LORD will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.

The effect of this plague is human dissolution. It is the identical, terminal result seen in leprosy – the rotting flesh, causing portions of bodies to drop away.

Zec 14:13  And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great tumult from the LORD shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbour, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbour.

Again we see the godly exercise of internecine strife as an effective “crowd control” method!

Among the rebellious ones, It is again, every man’s sword against his brother.

Note that this activity is pervasive in ALL the land by our estimation – it occurs in every venue between the Nile and the Euphrates, and from the Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf. The Land is aflame with conflict in a rapid-paced melee of destruction of Islam and its followers!

The prophet’s next words outline in detail the role of God’s people Israel in the coming affair.

As it has to date, Judah also shall fight – and conquer  –  and then gather the wealth of the enemy forces, just as did the army of Jehoshaphat in II Chronicles 20 – no doubt requiring far longer than the three entire days that were required to strip the dead bodies of an incredible bounty of wealth which they had inexplicably brought with them into the notable battle that gave its name to “the Valley of Jehoshaphat!”

In the same manner, shall Christ and His Saints, and Israel, His newly challenged people, gather the enemies’ wealth and lands and properties with their vast deposits of liquid crude petroleum, oil shale, and vast potash and uranium deposits (as in Jordan) – all the currency, the precious metal stockpiles, the mineral wealth, the physical chattels, the liquid capital and all deposit accounts and stock certificates, bonds and debentures of the Islamic States “round about,” and devote these assets to the benefits of the nascent kingdom which the returned Christ shall establish.

In this manner shall the Christ and His People spoil the Gentiles round about, fulfilling the specific wordage of the next verse, which describes those conditions with unmistakable certainty!

Zec 14:14  And Judah also shall fight at Jerusalem; and the wealth of all the heathen round about shall be gathered together, gold, and silver, and apparel, in great abundance.

Zec 14:15  And so shall be the plague of the horse, of the mule, of the camel, and of the ass, and of all the beasts that shall be in these tents, as this plague.

And now, the great preamble to PEACE is voiced by the prophet.

Addressing those who may then remain of their nearby enemies, the LORD reveals that all these nations which “came against Jerusalem,” shall do obeisance to Him in Jerusalem – in that holy city of God which they once claimed as an holy city of Islam – the city that is so “holy” that Mohammed never mentions its name even once in his entire diatribe which is called the Qu’ran (the Koran).

The scene is one of utter peace and tranquility, as the subdued nations come forcibly under the scepter of the newly arrived Shiloh of Genesis 49:10 – that blessed and (to the sons of Jacob) mysterious descendant which should depart from (be born of) Judah, otherwise known as my Servant David, in Ezekiel 37: 24, meaning Jesus, the Son of God.

 Zec 14:16  And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles.

It shall be a bitter pill to swallow for the non-compliant ones of those nations; but of such there shall be NONE remaining. If any of those present nationalities do remain, their nature shall be wholly receptive of the rulership of the LORD, for their “religion” shall have been abolished by the Lion of Judah, its practice outlawed and summarily forbidden by Him and His administrators.

For non-compliance there are severe penalties …

Zec 14:17  And it shall be, that whoso will not come up of all the families of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, even upon them shall be no rain.

Zec 14:18  And if the family of Egypt go not up, and come not, that have no rain; there shall be the plague, wherewith the LORD will smite the heathen that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles.

These horrible consequence has been described in verse 12, above.

 Zec 14:19  This shall be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all nations that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles.

Henceforth there shall be no undercurrent of unrest in the Land – and no overt noise of rebellion among its peoples. Every intention of the righteous reign of the Prince of Israel shall be directed to the honor of His Father – Holiness to the LORD. Every aspect of that administration shall be so marked, even to the ubiquitous and lowly ornaments of its horses even to its cooking pots in the LORD’s house.

Zec 14:20  In that day shall there be upon the bells of the horses, HOLINESS UNTO THE LORD; and the pots in the LORD'S house shall be like the bowls before the altar.

Zec 14:21  Yea, every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah shall be holiness unto the LORD of hosts: and all they that sacrifice shall come and take of them, and seethe therein: and in that day there shall be no more the Canaanite in the house of the LORD of hosts.

This extremely telling, final sentence of the prophecy of Zechariah summarizes the entire message of his entire book – the conquest of the LORD over the nations round about Jerusalem.

The broader, godly expansion of His kingdom to the wider world seems not to be touched upon in this prophet’s words; he leaves these considerations to the large-scale and more global considerations of Daniel and Ezekiel, and of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, in his Revelation.

 This personal review of the writings of Zechariah, son of Berechiah, son of Iddo the prophet of Israel, has been thoroughly profitable to pursue as concentrated research into one of the great prophets of Israel. It is not meant to be an exhaustive study as such, but to be a workable, brief resume of our personal understanding of the overall general and specific meaning of the prophecies as stated.

Other students of prophecy have written in greater depth, bringing in wider considerations than these. We commend for your own further research, for example, John Carter’s Prophets After the Exile: Zechariah (The Christadelphian, Birmingham, 1945) as a credible work, although it contains suppositions that we do not necessarily agree with, or do so only with stipulations. <HEL code 1P>

November: How was Jesus the Son of David?"

Harold Edward Lafferty

When we consider the lineage of the Lord Jesus, we read that he was born of the Virgin Mary, but that the Almighty One was His Father. More than fifteen times in the N. T., Jesus is referred to as “Son of David.”

David was of the Tribe of Judah. But His mother Mary was a Levite – a fact which we had (supposedly) determined by considering her relationship to her cousin Elizabeth, mother of John Immerser (“the Baptist”): Luke 1: 5 and 1: 36 makes the connection between these two women. Elizabeth, Mary’s cousin, is stated to be of the tribe of Levi.

But does this mean that Mary is also descended from Levi? Do cousins necessarily share Tribal inheritance?

If she is, how may Jesus be certified as a “Son of David,” if Mary as a Levite is his only human progenitor?

Can this seeming disparity be explained in another scriptural way?

How can Jesus be “the Son of David” if his only earthly parent (Mary) was descended from Levi, the priestly Tribe?

Jesus posed nearly this precise question to the Pharisees and scribes in the temple, yet in a different context …

Mark 12:35  And Jesus answered and said, while he taught in the temple, How say the scribes that Christ is the Son of David?

Mar 12:36  For David himself said by the Holy Spirit, The LORD said to my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool.

Mar 12:37  David therefore himself calleth him (Christ) Lord; and whence is he then his son? And the common people heard him gladly.

The conundrum to which Jesus referred was this: How can David have called one of his descendants, “my Lord,” and to have recognized that descendant’s superiority to himself in the great elevation (“Sit Thou on My right hand …”) to which he referred?

Sons are never considered lords of their fathers in any commonly accepted sense.

We propose that the answer lies ultimately in the realization that Jesus Christ was Messiah, that He was descended directly from David, and that He was the fulfillment of the prophecy of the Seed of David given in 2Samuel 7: 12-16, q.v.

More than fifteen times in the New Testament, Jesus is noted to be the “Son of David.”

This statement of course does not contend that Jesus was the literal son of David the King – but means that he was a direct descendant of David according to this prophecy.

Now … as the promised Messiah, Jesus had to be of the lineage of David as deduced from this same prophecy as well as others.

The answer lies partially, we contend, in the legality of His being the son of Joseph by adoption, as the matrilineal line is never admitted in Hebrew genealogy.

There might seem to be no other workable answer to the dilemma … But is this so?

Matthew 1 proves clearly that Joseph, Jesus’ legal (adoptive) father (God Himself being Jesus’ actual Father) was of the Seed of David, descended through Judah (1:3).

Luke 3 apparently traces the genealogy of Joseph again (not Mary, as some have claimed) back to Adam!

But that appearance is deceptive, as we shall prove.

When we read the verse in the English translation, as presented, it does seem to say that His lineal descent is attributed to be through Joseph, Jesus’ legal step-father – a common practice (even a necessary one) in Jewish law.

Neither text mentions Mary by name.

The verse reads: Luke 3:23 - And Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, which was the son of Heli…

This verse seems to claim that Joseph’s father was a man named Heli.

But only casual further investigation reveals that Joseph’s father was NOT named Heli.

Joseph’s father’s name was Jacob: Matthew 1: 16.

Instead, it was MARY who was the daughter of Heli, a fact which must be deduced from the record of this verse. As explained below, Joseph married Mary, a daughter of Heli, and therefore Joseph was considered in the genealogies as being Heli’s “son” – or as we say today, his SON-in-law – and therefore was considered to be the LEGAL father of his wife’s Son, who he had not begotten.

The indirect statement of the relationship of Jesus to Heli (grandson, but termed “son”) is thus firmly made in this statement, because Jesus is the son of a daughter of Heli. It is so stated because of the inadmissibility of women in the Hebrew genealogies.

But Jesus’ legal step-father is married to the daughter of Heli; this is the logic behind the entry that was made into the genealogical record.

This genealogy in Luke cannot be that of Joseph, because it is stated to be through Nathan – the third son of David and Bathsheba: Luke 3:31 – rather than Solomon, first son of David and Bathsheba, and the stated ancestor of Joseph (cf., Matthew 1:6).

 The record in Luke is instead the true genealogy of Mary, the mother of Jesus, stated in the legal terms of genealogical record by the Jews of the day.

In this ingenious manner, and by careful, comparative investigation, both Mary and Joseph are shown to be descendants of David by holy writ – a status of both, which cannot be denied.

Their relationship to Jesus is in Joseph’s case, legal; in Mary’s case it is His natural blood line of descent.

But both are descended to Jesus through David’s offspring – his first and third sons.

The earlier supposition that Mary was a Levite can easily be dispelled by considering that Mary, although a cousin of Elizabeth, the mother of John Immerser, Mary, who was the daughter of a father (Heli) who belonged to the Tribe of Judah as already proven, could still have been a cousin of Elizabeth through the wife of Heli, Mary’s mother being a sister of Elizabeth’s mother; we therefore conjecture that Mary’s mother was a Levitess.

But such a reality actually is irrelevant to the real solution.

An explanatory note on Luke 3:23 in ESword, bears this out with our close consideration…

ESword: Note on “Luke 3:23 --- “which:” The real father of Joseph was Jacob (Matthew_1:16); but having married the daughter of Heli, and being perhaps adopted by him, Joseph was called his son, and as such was entered in the public registers; Mary not being mentioned, because the Hebrews never permitted the name of a woman to enter the genealogical tables, but inserted her husband as the son of him who was, in reality, but his father-in-law.

“Hence it appears that Matthew, who wrote principally for the Jews, traces the pedigree of Jesus Christ from Abraham, through whom the promises were given to the Jews, to David, and from David, through the line of Solomon, to Jacob the father of Joseph, the reputed or legal father of Christ; and that Luke, who wrote for the Gentiles, extends his genealogy upwards from Heli, the father of Mary, through the line of Nathan, to David, and from David to Abraham, and from Abraham to Adam, who was the immediate "son of God" by creation, and to whom the promise of the Saviour was given in behalf of himself and all his posterity.

“The two branches of descent from David, by Solomon and Nathan, being thus united in the persons of Mary and Joseph, Jesus the son of Mary re-united in himself all the blood, privileges, and rights, of the whole family of David; in consequence of which he is emphatically called "the Son of David."”

Thus, Paul could write to the believers at Rome this summary description of the Saviour: Concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh; and declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead: Romans 1:3, 4. 

But there is substantively more to the title “Son of David” being David’s “Lord” than a seeming confusion of mere physical genealogy.

The title is decidedly Messianic in nature and implication. When any of His followers referred to Him as Son of David, they were acknowledging that they recognized Him as the long-expected Deliverer, the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies of such a being.

It seems to us that Jesus’ point in asking the question in Mark 12:35, was that He was emphasizing the fact that Messiah is more than JUST the physical descendant of David.

He is also David’s LORD.

And, as such He is greater than David.

Our reasoning follows this line …

In Apocalypse 3: 14, John writes: These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God…

These are the revelation of Jesus Christ, the author of the entire book as dictated to the Apostle John, who faithfully set it to papyrus.

As such, the putative and actual Creator of the New Creation, Jesus, having been elevated to the position of “the beginning of the (everlasting) creation of God,” now becomes the nominal Creator of all that is new (or renewed – as in the sense of resurrected and immortalized, in the future world – of all that lies ahead for the Redeemed Saints; for all the Redeemed Saints, including David himself.

It shall be literally true, in that future economy, that Jesus shall be constituted the LORD of David – the then resurrected and immortalized (former) King of Israel – who shall at that time have become an immortal member of the Kingdom of Christ, and although equal to Him in nature in that future day (along with all the Saints), must still be considered as subject to his greater Son, the King.

      <HEL 8P>  ~ 1650 words. N. B. This article was published in the Christadelphian Advocate in the current year.

October: Some Parallels of Joseph and Christ

Illustrated in The Bible Codes

Harold Lafferty

 There are many parallels to Jesus (Yeshua) in Joseph’s (Yoseph’s) life … a fact that has been recognized for centuries, and throughout the era of the Christ. But it has only become possible within the last several years of this modern era to determine many carefully hidden features of God’s word that have been encoded for centuries, awaiting a certain era of human endeavor.

That possibility awaited the “increase in knowledge” foretold by the Revelator to Daniel the prophet – which is primarily associated with the development of the digital computer and its adjunct accessories (programs).

One such program addresses hidden codes spelled out perfectly in God’s word at equidistant letter spaces (ELS). We consider in this article some of the findings of the Bible Code which will indubitably prove Joseph’s history as being completely parallel to that of Jesus Christ.

We will refer both to “surface” (obvious) references as well as hidden ones. We fully realize that this approach to Bible revelation is denounced by some, who claim it a false construct and therefore not valid. Our view is that if it validates the word of God and is not contradictory to His purpose, it should be investigated by His servants and recognized for the honor and glory that it gives to His name. Please consider the following facts in that context…

 We note some obvious (“surface”) similarities along with some not-so-obvious ones (deeply hidden within the Bible Codes).

In order for one to make much individual progress in this field of investigation, he requires a computer program designed for such searches.

I personally do own such a program, but have not applied myself to its usage to any extent as one first needs to study Hebrew and become familiar with words and spellings in that language. As a matter of course, I am pursuing the study of Hebrew as time and energy permits.

Meanwhile, we are enjoined to make liberal use of others’ work in such investigations – an initiative which bears ripe, delicious fruits, adding greatly to our faith!

Many Strengthening Facts Hidden in God’s Word

In this short article, we have selected some extremely unlikely “finds” from a small book – Yeshua –by Rabbi Yacov Ramsbel of San Antonio, Texas, which is cited in the endnotes.

As we move forward, we consider a few of dozens of “surface” similarities in the careers of these two remarkable men of God. Then, in many of those texts key references to the principals being narrated, specific names are to be found against great odds of their being found by chance.

Betrayal of Both Yoseph and Yeshua

A.  Genesis 27: 26-28  Y’hudah (Judas) betrays Yoseph (Joseph) to be sold to Midianites for 20 pcs of silver.

Luke 22:3-5    Y’hudah (Judas) betrayed Yeshua (Jesus) to Pharisees for 30 pcs of silver.

At the time, this was the standard price for a slave.

Hatred byTheir Brethren Toward Both Men

B.  Genesis 37:1-6 Yoseph’s brothers hated him.

John 19:12-15        Yeshua’s brothers hated him.

This hatred was due to Yoseph’s  dream that he should rule over his brothers (indicated by his sheaf being respected and bowed down to by the others in his dream), and due to his father’s favor for Yoseph because he was the son of his old age and had made a coat of many colors for him – a special mark of favor.

In Jesus’ case, their hatred was based in Jesus’ appointment as ruler over them (as the scene before Pilate proves).

Code: in Genesis 37:6, the word “hear” is shmah. Each time Yoseph bade his brothers to “hear” his dreams, they reacted negatively – refusing to profit from them. From the ayin in that word, counting 214 letters three times from left to right (backwards) spells Yeshua!

In addition, the adjacent letters to those letters spell tummim = spotless, integrity, perfection, truth. This principle was engraved upon the golden crown of the High Priest as he served before the LORD – Holiness to the Lord – and certainly befits the dedication of Jesus to His Father throughout His life.

This code confirms the validity of Yoseph’s dreams as valid prophecies, referring as it does to Yeshua and His faultlessness. Of course, subsequent events prove that too, but such findings are astonishing as to their relevance to the Lord Jesus encoded so many centuries before His appearance!

Two Associates of Yoseph and Yeshua

Suffer Similar Fates

C.  Genesis 40:18-22    The dreams of the baker and the butler of Pharaoh; it was revealed to Yoseph that the baker should be hanged in three days, but the butler would be restored to his position, both of which events came to pass. These two suffered opposite fates.

Luke 23:42,43      At Jesus’ crucifixion, there were two felons crucified with him. One of these exhibited great belief, and faith, and humbly asked to be remembered by Jesus in His kingdom, symbolizing the butler who was exonerated.  But the other scorned that principle and died without hope, symbolizing the baker who was hanged, both pairs of offenders likewise suffering opposite fates.

Extremely Similar Destinies of Both Men as Rulers

In Genesis 41: 34-44, Yoseph is appointed ruler of Pharaoh’s kingdom because of his faithfulness. Romans 14:11,12 reflects the same sort of blessing on Jesus: every knee shall bow to Him – a partial fulfillment of Isaiah 9:6 as relates to Yeshua.

D.                    Joseph’s Four Positions of Authority

1.   Genesis 37:3,4,13-14, 17  Overseer of his brethren

Joseph was sent by his father to visit his brethren who were keeping their flocks in Shechem (meaning, “ridge”). He was asked to report on his brothers, so he was in this case, an “overseer” of his brothers – which they resented.

When he arrived at Shechem (meaning “ridge, or high ground”), his brothers were not there. A local resident told him they had gone to Dothan (meaning, “ritual, or law”).

They were therefore not where their Father had asked them to be.

Yacov (Jacob, their father) had asked them essentially, to occupy and to graze Shechem, the higher ground – the ridge, or lofty principles – as ordered by him.

But Yoseph found them in Dothan, instead – in rituals, or law – in a figure.

Similarly, Jesus’ brethren, the Jewish leaders of His day, were also found figuratively to be in Dothan – not on the lofty ridges (of Shechem) commanded by their Father, and not at all having benefited from the ultimate instruction of the Law of Moses, which should have led them to Christ: Galatians 3:24.

He found His brethren, similarly buried in the ritual of the Law, lacking its higher refinements – the lofty ridges – of love and mercy.

Code:  In Genesis 37:14 (as above), beginning with the last mem, count every 117th letter from right to left. These spell Meshiach – the name of the personage Whom Joseph was portraying here in relation to his people.

2.  Genesis 39:1-5   Overseer of Potiphar’s House

Joseph, after being sold to the Midianites, was taken to Egypt and sold to Potiphar, Captain of the Guard in Egypt. Potiphar immediately saw uncommon merit in Joseph, and promoted him to Overseer of his house.

As a result, Potiphar is greatly blessed. Joseph continues in this position until Potiphar’s wife wrongly accuses him of adultery and has him thrown into prison, where another position of authority is given Yoseph.

Code: In verse 5, beginning at the last yod, every 100th letter from left to right (in reverse) spells Yeshua – a sure indicator of its typical meaning.

In the same sense as Yoseph, Yeshua was Master of His house – Overseer of His errant people – and had power to bless Gentiles as well as Jews, as evidenced by His healing of the Ten Lepers and others.

3.  Genesis 39: 21-23  Overseer of the Egyptian Prison

Now in prison due to the accusation of Potiphar’s wife, for a crime he did not commit, Yoseph is shown mercy by the Almighty, and to Yoseph’s hand was committed all the prisoners!

Immediately we see the parallel between this wrong sentence upon Yoseph and that rendered upon Jesus by the rulers of the Jews, who accused Him of trying to depose Caesar – a crime which He did not commit. But in reality, Jesus was also charged with the care of “prisoners” as we shall see!

We immediately draw from the Bible Code a confirming fact: that Yoseph here is a type of Yeshua.

Code: Beginning at the last chet, in verse 23, count every 117th letter right to left, as in case one, and it again spells Mashiach! This leaves no doubt as to the antitypical fulfillment of this case, for it was Jesus Christ, Who in an equivalent circumstance, was preaching to the spirits in prison, as referenced by 1Peter 3:18-20!

Contrary to all “commentators,” these “spirits” are not the unconscious dead – those in tombs, which Jesus also inhabited for three days and three nights – but were clearly His own contemporary, living people, the Jews of Judea, who were unenlightened – living in the shadow of condemnation and death because of their willing ignorance of their Messiah, Who had appeared in their midst, unrecognized by them!

The diligent student of God’s word is completely aware that those in the grave are deceased (Psalm 9:5, 6) and capable of NO sensuous contact or interaction with the living. Isaiah 26:14 - They are dead, they shall not live; they are deceased, they shall not rise: therefore hast thou visited and destroyed them, and made all their memory to perish.

Of course we must realize that he is here speaking of the ungodly LIVING dead – as some say, “the walking dead,” or those not affiliated with the Messiah and His everlasting covenant – a covenant that had been made with some of their contemporaries – many particular folk, which guarantees them a resurrection from the dead. But while they are deceased, before their resurrection, they are totally incapable of any communication with the living. They are spirits “(or lives – souls) in prison,” i.e., the grave.

Gentiles Included in His Ministry

But is certain that His mission should additionally be to the Gentiles as well …

All these at first (before He came with salvation for them) were in the prison-house of death, unredeemed, un-covered, and destitute. Both these groups – the Jews primarily, but also the Gentiles – were the deliberate targets of Messiah at His first coming, as cited by Isaiah 42:5 - Thus saith God the LORD, he that created the heavens, and stretched them out; he that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it; he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein: 6 I the LORD have called thee (Yeshua) in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people (Israel), for a light of the Gentiles; 7 To open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house.

That inspiring and compassionate picture of Messiah’s mission is one of supreme elegance – of undeniable worth and substance – the very essence of salvation from death – of deliverance unto life eternal in the Almighty’s service!

It is a message which can only be received while one is alive, for now is the day of salvation! (2Corinthians 6:2) For in death, there is no remembrance of Thee; in the grave, who shall give Thee thanks? (Psalm 6:5)

The grave, therefore, is “the prison” from which His people required liberation. However, their ignorance of His Way was a great barrier to their salvation – their unawareness that He bore to them the essential message of redemption. His righteous instruction was necessary to that end – but was largely rejected.

They conveniently ignored the glaring facts that Isaiah was given in Isaiah 61:1 - The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me (Yeshua – a Messianic prophecy); because the LORD hath anointed Me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent Me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; (including those bound to death even while living, as well as providing a portal to resurrection of those who would learn and accept His offer of salvation – His covenant).

4. Genesis 41:38-44   Overseer and Prime Minister of Egypt

In this passage, Pharaoh himself recognized Yoseph’s desirable qualities of efficiency, honesty, loyalty, and diligence. He also recognized that Yoseph was full of the Spirit of God – whatever he perceived about that excellent quality. In this respect he was comparable to Jesus, of whom it is said that, he increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man (Luke 2:52).

 This position is also parallel to Yeshua’s being appointed King over Israel in its restoration as well as the whole world under His Father, to Whom He will give the kingdom when it is perfected (1Corinthians 15:24).

Code: At the last yod, in verse 40, count every 100th letter right to left and it spells Yeshua.

Note that this is the same letter spacing as #2 – Genesis 39:5, just as it was 117 letters in #1 and #3!! I cannot venture to say if this has meaning, but the chances of this combination of ELS happening is 224 which is one in 234,256 chances!

After Jesus’ resurrection, all power in heaven and earth was His – power which He delegated to His apostles and disciples just as Yoseph delegated his authority to assistants in Egypt! His words to this effect are recorded in Matthew 28:28 – All power is given to Me in heaven and in earth.  Cf. also Ephesians 2: 19-23.

When He returns, He shall delegate power and glory to all His faithful servants, allowing them to express the same authority and sovereignty which He possesses.

As an aside, Pharaoh gave to Yoseph the name, Zaphanat Pa’nai’ach, which means “the revealer of secrets.” Jesus reveals this same characteristic about Himself when He says, in Matthew 11:27 – All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him.

In that sense, He is the Ultimate Revealer of Secrets.

Additionally, there is John 16:13 – He will show you things to come.

 Another correlation between these parallel lives of Yoseph and Yeshua is summarized in Acts 7:9-13, which recounts the somewhat implausible, but almost predictable (!) reunion of Yoseph with his brethren on their second trip into Egypt. The emotional strain is so great that Yoseph breaks down in tears, and lovingly reveals himself to his brothers.

The whole affair shall be similar to the reunion of Yeshua with Israel, when He comes the second time – some of the details being foretold in Zechariah 12 and 13.

That reunion shall likewise be with tears of joy and some fear by His brethren of retribution; but He shall quickly clarify to them that He is unmistakably their Brother whom they slew, by exhibiting his hands to them – the wounds received in the house of My friends – and that they are completely forgiven for their aggression against Him.

Their response of regret and mourning shall result in His warm embrace of them in His supreme agape love, and with tears of joy.

 The certain Agent of grace and compassion toward his brothers, and their relieved, grateful response, is illustrated, hidden in Genesis 50:16-21.

Code: At the last mem in verse 18, if we count every 40th letter, right to left, we find Mashiach. This gives us End Time proof that Jesus Christ is the intended anti-type here, of Yoseph in Egypt. Jesus shall redeem the whole house of Israel as did Yoseph.

He will give them the wealth of the nations. Zechariah 14:14.

He will cause them to dwell in peace and safety.  Ezekiel 38:11.

He will raise Israel out of the wilderness of the people, bringing their sons and daughters to Himself, literally elevating them above all other nations, designating them the First Dominion of His Kingdom! Haggai 2: 5-7.

Code: At the 4th to the last yod in Genesis 50:22, count 12 letters right to left, to spell Yeshua … the unmistakable Agent of these great blessings and godly compassion.

Does this 12-letter count represent the twelve Tribes of Israel? Perhaps, as we are informed in Ezekiel 37:19, that He shall unite the sticks of Judah with Israel both in His hand, and they shall again be one people.

  There is one other remarkable detail here. Ephraim and Manasseh were recognized as the de facto 12th and 13th Tribes of Israel, often taking the place of Joseph as “half-Tribes.”

Code: Starting with the sixth to last yod in Genesis 50: 19, counting every 13th letter spells Yeshua ri’mon – meaning Yeshua the pomegranate.

We remember that the pomegranate decorates the lower hem of the garment of the High Priest of Israel – making a pleasant sound against the alternative silver bells also so attached – as he went about his priestly duties.

As the Great High Priest, the Master likewise atones for us on high each hour as Yeshua the pomegranate!

  Now, look briefly at Zechariah 12: 8-10, which tells of Yeshua’s return. The prophecy says that in that day … such and such will happen – namely that the LORD shall defend Jerusalem and destroy their enemies, and pour out a spirit of grace and supplication upon the House of David; they shall look on me ... and mourn for Him.

“In that day” always signifies an important statement for the End Time.

Code: In the phrase ba yom – in that day, count from the mem, every 38 letters, right to left, and spell Mashiach. This code surely confirms from its ancient date of composition, that Mashiach has been recorded here as the Agent Who shall perform these acts, precisely at the time of His second coming!

                         <HEL MD/USA code 11M>  ~3000 words.

Credits: One of my sources for this information is the book, Yeshua, Yacov A. Rambsel [Frontier Research Publications, Inc., ncs, 1996], from which much of this research was drawn. This excellent researcher as well as other investigators have recorded many times this much information in the same investigational vein using the ELS (equidistant letter spacing) in the Hebrew text.

 The Ninth of Av

Now … adding to these wonderful facts, I want to consider several events in the history of Israel which have an astonishing “coincidence” of date of occurrence.

Israel has instituted a fast of mourning which is Tisah Be-Av – the ninth day of the month Av., which occurs around our month of August. There are many good reasons for this date, as we shall see …

1.              The Twelve Spies return from Canaan with their evil report: on Tisha Be-Av! The result of the evil report of ten of these spies was that Israel wandered a year for each of the forty days spent spying out the land. All of them died except Caleb and Joshua.

2.             The destruction of Solomon’s Temple by the Babylonian army: Tisha Be-Av! It occurred at the end of the summer on this sinister day.

3.             The destruction of the Second (actually Third) Temple by the Romans: Tisha Be-Av! General Titus and the Roman army overthrew the City and burned the Temple of Herod, in 70 AD.

4.   The Romans plowed the Temple Mount and sowed it with salt, AD 71.

5.   The destruction of Bar Kochba’s army, AD 135: Tisha Be-Av. This resulted in the overthrow of a rebellious Judea and the end of Roman patience. They expelled all Jews and renamed the land Palestina.

6.   England expelled all its Jews, in AD 1290: Tisha Be-Av. Massacres occurred in various cities, such as the slaughter of nearly 300 Jews in York, where they had taken refuge in the Keep of York Castle. A plaque marks the site today!

7.    Spain expelled all its Jews, in AD 1492: on Tisha Be-Av! At that time, Spain’s Jewish population was the highest of any nation – around 600,000 Jews – and all these were either “converted” to Catholicism, or deported. It was the origin of the Shepardic Jew.

8.   Christopher Columbus departed on the same day on a voyage to find India, but found North America: Tisha Be-Av. It is likely that Columbus was an Italian Jew. In discovering the New World, he opened a safe haven for millions of Jews fleeing persecution elsewhere, and the mainstay of the modern Jewish state!

9.   Russia mobilized for World War I and launched persecutions against the Jews, on Tisha Be-Av – August 1, 1914.  Josef Stalin was one of the most dedicated persecutors of the Jewish people. His Pale of Settlement was a giant Ghetto for Russian Jews.

It is plainly evident that all these events touched the Jews and their destiny deeply. The details of these events are adequately addressed by Grant R. Jeffrey in The Handwriting of God, [Frontier Research Publ., Inc., Toronto, 1957] pp. 195-202.

The Jewish Tetrads – Blood Moon Eclipses

This subject is covered by an adjunct paper entitled “Signs in the Sun and Moon,” an abstract of information by HEL, q.v.

These are occurrences of blood moon eclipses on the feasts of Passover and Tabernacles on sixteen specific dates – all extremely relevant to Israel’s destiny. The years of their occurrence were 1492, 1948, and 1967, with one set of four remaining: 2014 - 2015!   

N. B. All the material in this October insertion may have been published by us at an earlier time as a Circular Letter.   <HEL 11M>  

September: Isaiah 40 - 42

Comfort Ye, Comfort Ye My People

A Voice From the Wilderness

This chapter begins a new prophecy of Isaiah, following upon that of chapters 34 – 35: 10, and the historical episode of chapters 36 – 39.

It begins with an emphatic figure of speech known as Epizeuxis, defined by Bullinger as “Duplication. The repetition of the same word in the same sense.” [Appendix 6, The Companion Bible, Appendix p. 10]. It is used for important highlighting of a principle or benefit.

Isa 40:1  Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God.

At this juncture, His people need to hear comforting words just as they have beheld His comforting actions on their behalf.

Unfortunately, it would be centuries before this principle was applied to them in real time.

But at that time, it comes upon them as a flood of the Almighty’s favor.

And it shall only come to them after they “return to Him” in the sense of returning to His Land in the end time – to the Land of Abraham’s Promise, which they shall soon inherit forever. Cf., Malachi 3: 7.

Much of the previous text leads the student to this conclusion. In Chapter 34 is chronicled the destruction of their arch-enemy of the ages, Idumea (Edom – or Esau) – For it is the day of the LORD’s vengeance, and the year of the recompenses for the Controversy of Zion! (Isaiah 34)

However, this great time would require their patience – and obedience. This achievement lay millennia ahead in future time.

Isaiah perhaps should not fully have appreciated the gravity and weight of this Controversy of Zion; but today, we have realized its troublesome progress for nearly twenty five hundred years – the unvarying resistance of the masses of humanity, here likened to Edom (cf., Obadiah) as a primary oppressor of the people and nation of Israel in its Land.

The last verse of Isaiah 35 (verse 10) assures His people that … the ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion with songs, and everlasting joy upon their heads; they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away!

This grand event shall be the epitome of Comfort for His people!

All these aspects of Israel’s future history were foretold well before their first exile – their first enveloping controversy. It foretold not only their first exile, but also their second, a far longer, more extensive, more protracted and enforced separation from their land.

For centuries, their return to their land was not possible. A safe and secure return was not possible for them, because of two factors: the land lay desolate and forlorn, unable to sustain a population of any number given the agrarian techniques available during that extensive period. It also was not feasible because of the evil beasts who inhabited their land, and who have long coveted their land, and wrought terror upon them day and night for an extended time the peoples round about that Land.

A major portion of that enemy of the end time is defined by the prophet Obadiah as Edom, or Esau.

By so designating this enemy, he is naming its then-present inhabitants – Esau, grandson of Abraham, son of Isaac. The controversy is internecine – all within the family – unfortunately.

But now, in yet future time, their place is projected to be secure, and their Land freed from oppressors, a time after which she shall never again see active warfare.

Her abject repentance shall have gained for her, pardon for her sins.

The absolute end of her suffering is at hand, for she shall then have been punished adequately for her sins, spoken of poignantly as their warfare being accomplished.

Isa 40:2  Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the LORD'S hand double for all her sins.

The interjection, Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, is uttered as the warmest expression of His affection; it is encouragement directed to their hearts – to their thankful, repentant minds and dispositions of that future time. For it shall come after the shattering defeat of the nations round about, and be accomplished completely within the boundaries of His primal inheritance – the defeat of all the interlopers within the covenanted Land from the Nile to the Euphrates – within which the People shall have beheld His pervasive, thunderous authority and glory.

And only then shall Zion have received of the LORD’s hand DOUBLE (meaning, in full) for all her sins.

Now her iniquity is about to be expiated – her transgression removed – by that singular, redemptive, humble, and thankful exclamation that shall be fairly shouted by them when they behold His might and overwhelming power against their strong enemies: Blessed is He Who comes in the name of the Lord! (Luke 13: 35)

These, we are assured, shall earnestly inquire of Messiah, What are these wounds in thine hands? (Zechariah 13: 6) and His poignant reply shall evoke the plaintive, repentant and emotional response described in  Zechariah 12:10 - And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn  for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn. 11 In that day shall there be a great mourning in Jerusalem, as the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon.

Never again shall those evil beasts of terror, pride, and envy rear their hideous heads amongst or against His people; so these gracious words of extreme, heartfelt comfort are tenderly appropriate, and are gratefully received by them as one man.

The mourning of Hadadrimmon refers to the deeply-felt, sincerely extended, and heart-rending sorrow expressed by them for the death of their good king Josiah of that earlier time.

Now the prophet is directed to write yet other verbatim history in advance – words to be spoken by John Immerser, the harbinger of His righteous Servant many centuries later, to the oppressed people of Israel of Jesus’ day, as they gathered to hear John, preaching in the desolate Judean wilderness of that day, and baptizing men and women in Jordan’s waters. 

It was a message that bore for them the elements of salvation itself – their ultimate redemption.

Isaiah 40:3  The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. 4 Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain: 5 And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it. 6 The voice said, Cry. And he said, What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field: 7 The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: because the spirit of the LORD bloweth upon it: surely the people is grass.

John’s joyful proclamation of The LORD was intended to guide those men and women of faith through the difficult time of Roman oppression and exile – and into the blessedness of life eternal.

It was designed and fully intended to place before them the dire matters of physical and spiritual life to be extended to those who should hear the Son which He should send to them. They were now as fragile as the grasses and flowers of the field; He would offer great longevity to them, raising them above this fragile state into that of immortality and eternal life.

He enlightened his brethren of that day of the bright prospect of Jesus’ victory over all obstacles, revealing the glory of the LORD in His determined and dogged pursuit of triumph over all adversity, and illustrated clearly to them that the mere efforts of the flesh (the doing of “works”) could not accomplish this great conquest – that it must be motivated and accomplished by God’s Spirit, actively and aggressively expressed in God’s Son.

This majestic and expansive message of John is quoted in every gospel record, and referred to by the Apostle Peter as well. Its importance is paramount – and supremely germane to His introduction to Israel of His day.

The regal, all-encompassing truths of His will and way are now emphasized to them:

Isaiah 40:8  The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever. 9  O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God!

The personage being adored is the Returned Lord Jesus Christ, Who, at that future day has rightly inherited and exemplifies the Name of God, here expressed as YHVH Elohim.

It is, in our opinion, the plural/collective title of Messiah and all His Saints – all His immortalized brethren who accompany Him in white linen garments, mounted upon white steeds as in Revelation 19: 14, and having in their mouths and hands the sword of the Spirit as also does their Master and Commander.

It is these who effect the physical redemption of His beloved, “returned” People Israel, those Jews who have returned to and are then on hand in the Land to greet their returned Messiah, and to benefit eternally from His salvation and glory, now willingly and lovingly tendered to them with His most heartfelt favor and compassion.

His urgent commission is then expressed in the words of verse 10:  Behold, the Lord GOD will come with strong hand, and his arm shall rule for him: behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him.

No longer is His blessing to be regarded as yet future – inevitably coming to them in some distant time.

His unspeakably valuable reward for them is well expressed in the caring phrases that follow, where it is affirmed that – He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young. (Isaiah 40:11)

The loving figure we see IS that Great Shepherd of the Sheep, the Lord, Jesus Christ, Who in that future day tends His beloved People as the Good Shepherd doth His sheep. He cares for the little ones, gently cradling them in his bosom – protecting and sheltering them from all harm, as He brings the nucleus of His Kingdom forward now with purpose and determination!

The next verses acclaim His omnipotence – His innate ability to bring forth a new Creation upon the earth as the Firstborn of every creature (Revelation 3: 14).

 He shall then have only just begun to accomplish this mighty feat.

But the prophet states His qualifications to bring it about in unequivocal terms, as He applies eternal power to bring about the renovation of the earth which Messiah is now privileged to undertake; think of these in terms of the New Creation being established by One Who is Master of the Spirit of God in that new heaven and earth! (cf., Revelation 3: 14).

His Authority is that of His Father, Whose abilities and character is put forward in a rhetorical series of questions …

Isaiah 40:12 Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance?

13 Who hath directed the Spirit of the LORD, or being his counsellor hath taught him?

14 With whom took he counsel, and who instructed him, and taught him in the path of judgment, and taught him knowledge, and shewed to him the way of understanding?

15 Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance: behold, he taketh up the isles as a very little thing.

This majestic language conjures His omnipotence, His omniscience, and His infinite blessing and mercy to all His people, beginning with His own brethren … indeed, beginning with His only Son as having been sent forth into the earth to conquer the forces of darkness, and to renovate the earth and its peoples.

The brightness of His power and the pervasiveness of His glory conquer all with ease. His majesty rises far above the kings of the earths, whose fleshly bonds are fragile and brittle – and which crumble before His might.

At His Father’s right hand, Messiah has learned well the lessons which He must apply to fleshly powers in order to bring them into submission, into the base and subservient position of a footstool under His feet.

Their fleshly resistance is of little account to Him and the Faithful.

All the might and substance of ALL His enemies are not even considered to be a worthy sacrifice to His Father.

Isaiah 40:16  And Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, nor the beasts thereof sufficient for a burnt offering.17 All nations before him are as nothing; and they are counted to him less than nothing, and vanity.

The prophet’s realization of Messiah’s greatness is keen; magnificence that is so far above that of mere human rulers there is no real or valid comparison.

The weakness and invalidity of their regimes is illustrated in his next words…

Isa 40:18  To whom then will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye compare unto him? 19 The workman melteth a graven image, and the goldsmith spreadeth it over with gold, and casteth silver chains. 20 He that is so impoverished that he hath no oblation chooseth a tree that will not rot; he seeketh unto him a cunning workman to prepare a graven image, that shall not be moved.

The foolish and ignorant ways of men and their idols are of no account in God’s plan, or in His godly arrangements for the earth.

In His next words He addresses His people – those who shall have survived the persecution which He had leveled at them for their idolatry. No others can possibly be meant, as they shall be utterly destroyed.

Now shall Israel be compelled to admit the omnipotence of the everlasting Father of all men, their Creator, and Sustainer.

Isaiah 40:21  Have ye not known? have ye not heard? hath it not been told you from the beginning? have ye not understood from the foundations of the earth? 22  It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in: 23  That bringeth the princes to nothing; he maketh the judges of the earth as vanity. 24  Yea, they shall not be planted; yea, they shall not be sown: yea, their stock shall not take root in the earth: and he shall also blow upon them, and they shall wither, and the whirlwind shall take them away as stubble.

The institutions and pretensions of mortal sovereigns and their superstitions are only transient; as such, they are doomed; they are carried away as the chaff of the threshing floor. Their lines of succession are destined for oblivion as their thrones and institutions crumble before Him!

Isaiah 40:25  To whom then will ye liken Me, or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One. 26  Lift up your eyes on high, and behold Who hath created these things, that bringeth out their host by number: He calleth them all by names by the greatness of his might, for that He is strong in power; not one faileth.

Then shall all know Him – and that it is He Who has created us, and not we, ourselves (contrary to the ignorant claims of the humanists and intellectuals of the earth … men of “science” and theology … the ignorant followers of Darwin and other Humanists of our day); in that day shall His overwhelming might and bright glory be extolled and eulogized by all!

Their lack of wisdom is astonishing to Him…

Isaiah 40:27  Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, My way is hid from the LORD, and my judgment is passed over from my God? 28  Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding. 29  He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength.

No more shall His mortal people err from His ways, nor believe that their ways are not plain and open to His sight and scrutiny.

Their certain realization shall be of His astonishing indefatigability and patience – and the immensity of His understanding – along with the succor and encouragement with which He sustains His new Creation.

Isaiah 40:30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: 31 But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

Natural men of stamina who have always depended upon their own resources are doomed to fail in that day.

Not so with those who place their trust in Him – who wait upon the Lord; their vitality shall be without limit, their accomplishments as those of the strongest of creation, their service to Him unflagging and without fatigue or weariness.

The eternal age of perfect service and overflowing benefits shall have begun in earnest; great shall be the gladness of those who inherit it.   

<HEL MD/USA  8M> ~2575 words.

Isaiah 41

Keep Silence Before Me

Messiah

The opening words of the Revelator invoke humility, and their rapt attention …

Isaiah 41:1  Keep silence before me, O islands; and let the people renew their strength: let them come near; then let them speak: let us come near together to judgment.

Isa 41:2  Who raised up the righteous man from the east, called him to his foot, gave the nations before him, and made him rule over kings? he gave them as the dust to his sword, and as driven stubble to his bow.

The beginning verse of this message demands silence from the peoples of the earth. Let them renew their strength to endure, as their days grow more arduous, and dangers increase. For judgment is near in the earth.

The prophet then is inspired to remember the Almighty, Who raised up the righteous man from the east.

What righteous man is indicated?

It is the notable patriarch, Abram of Ur, in Chaldea of the east.

It was he whom the LORD called out of that pagan land – called him to His feet in the Land in which He had chosen to place His name – eventually to Jerusalem itself (Salem, as it was then known), and before Melchizedek, King of Salem, a Priest of the most high God, and prototype of the LORD Jesus Christ, the High Priest of the New Creation which He shall establish in the identical place … in Zion.

It was the LORD who gave him power over (conquest over) kings, such as in Genesis 14: 1, 8, 9, who he overcame and subdued, as attested by verse 4, and by admitted by Melchizedek in verse 20.

It was the first recorded conquest by Abram of any enemies, which may be the meaning of the phrase in verse 3, He pursued them, and passed safely; even by the way that he had not gone with his feet (i.e., by an action which he had not previously undertaken).

Then the question is posed: 4 -Who hath wrought and done it, calling the generations from the beginning?  The answer is provided: I the LORD, the first, and with the last, I am He.

Here, an hint of the omniscience of the Almighty is foreshadowed in the phrase, calling the generations from the beginning.

It is an ability made feasible by His qualities of being the first and the last – the I Am. Deuteronomy 5: 6.

Abram’s Conquest Over the Kings

We may tend to think of Abram’s conquest of these pagan plunderers as a minor affair, and only regional as to importance: local, relatively meaningless, and pedestrian.

It was not!

Isaiah 41: 5 notes that, The isles saw it and feared; the ends of the earth were afraid, drew near, and came.

This widely expressed notoriety may have been maximized by Abram’s friendship with others in his local area – others whose strength and influence we do not know; these spread his fame far from its epicenter.

We only know of these associates of Abram from the words of Moses in Genesis 14: 13, where we read that … Abram the Hebrew … dwelt in the plain of Mamre, the Amorite, brother of Eshcol, and brother of Aner: and these were confederate with Abram.

We must deduce, however, that any added strength given by the people of Mamre, Eschol and Aner was relatively unimportant, for it is the 318 armed and trained servants of Abram, whose preparedness and skill is emphasized.

The prophet continues his explanation of Abram’s adventure …

Isa 41:6  They helped every one his neighbour; and every one said to his brother, Be of good courage.

Isa 41:7  So the carpenter encouraged the goldsmith, and he that smootheth with the hammer him that smote the anvil, saying, It is ready for the sodering: and he fastened it with nails, that it should not be moved.

Verse 6 seems at the least to point to his confederates’ support and encouragement. Perhaps this support was merely passive.

Verse 7 emphasizes that these confederates were not believers in the LORD God, but were pagan idolaters … worshipers of wood and stone images which they had manufactured with patience and skill. They encouraged each other, urging their idolatrous practices upon the entire civilization.

Perhaps we might understand that the confederates even urged these idolatrous practices upon Abram’s house as well – but his faith was sufficient to resist them and protect his household, holding tenaciously to the way of the Almighty.

Even more importantly, it was the LORD, not these confederates, Who implemented Abram’s victory.

The affair was widely realized.

Its success was duly noted as being unusual even in the coastlands.

Abram became a man of renown.

His victory was celebrated in a later ritual conducted by the Priest of God at Salem.

That notable occasion prefigured yet future, secure promises for Abraham, the friend of God (verse 8), leading to the establishment of an everlasting Covenant with God to Abram. Genesis 15: 17, 18.

We are certainly aware that Israel of Isaiah’s day had become idolatrous, worshiping manufactured “gods” of wood and stone.

This is a reference to that practice. It is in stark contrast to the entities of the next verse – named as Israel, Jacob, and the Seed of Abraham.

The conjunction, “but” lends credence to this notion.

Isa 41:8 But thou, Israel, art My servant. Jacob, whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham, My friend. 9 Thou whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, and called thee from the chief men thereof, and said unto thee, ‘Thou art My servant; I have chosen thee and not cast thee away.

In complete harmony with the Almighty’s foreknowledge of Israel’s destiny – the destiny of the nation which He should bring forth from these progenitors in the distant future – is faithfully foreshadowed in these pregnant phrases.

It appears that a certain double meaning is intended, in that, as God called Abram from the ends of the earth to His Land of Promise, so in the end time would He gather Abram’s seed back to that same Land, from the ends of the earth, to which they should be scattered.

As such, it was an earnest of His faithful and compassionate treatment of His errant Servant, as yet impossible to determine from their actions in the days of Isaiah.

The last assurance is for their ultimate safety and blessing under the Messiah Who is to be introduced in Chapter 42 – I have chosen thee, and not cast thee away.

Their Secure Future

The next three verses emphasize the same foreknowledge of Israel’s future, which is ultimately secure in Him.

Isa 41:1o Fear thou not, for I am with thee; be not dismayed, for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of My righteousness. 11 Behold, all they that were incensed against thee shall be ashamed and confounded: they shall be as nothing; and they that strive with thee shall perish. 12 Thou shalt seek them and, and shall not find them, even them that contendeth with thee: they that war against thee shall be as nothing, and as a thing of nought.

These words relate to the protection and strength that the Almighty had just freely given to Abram and his household servants as they rescued Lot and all his household, who had been taken away by the petty kings of his day.

But because of the transgressions of which they should soon be guilty, they should evidently have much future cause for dismay, and a grave need to be upheld with the LORD’s right hand.

His protection of and strength to the whole House of Israel should be entirely parallel in the end time, when His entire, collective Servant should require and receive His rescue and recovery from the lands of the enemy – all those who were infuriated (incensed) with him, and who strove with him.

These far-reaching words strongly assure this accomplishment, and that His people are to be taken away, then re-assembled – at least partially – before Messiah comes to their aid, and shall be back in their Land and shall have become identifiable AS His people, with the designated name of “Israel.”

In another place, the returned People are indicated as “standing upon their feet, an exceeding great army.” (Ezekiel 37: 10)

His reassurance now becomes effulgent and profuse as His Plan for them matures.

Isa 41:13 For I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, ‘Fear not; I will help thee. 14 Fear not thou worm, Jacob, and ye men of Israel; I will help thee,’ saith the LORD, and thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.

His reassurance thus turns to their roles of the end time – their abrupt change from being a lowly “worm,” to their wholly new identity as the powerful threshing instruments of the Holy One.

His end time grace to be extended to His people is thoroughly documented – His renewed favor to them emphasized.

Isa 41:15 Behold, I will make thee a new sharp threshing instrument having teeth: thou shalt thresh the mountains (the nations “round about”) and beat them small, and shalt make the hills as chaff. 16 Thou shalt fan them, and the wind shall carry them away, and the whirlwind shall scatter them: and thou shalt rejoice in the Lord, and shalt glory in the Holy One of Israel.

Contrary to their earlier plight, His favor shall turn decidedly toward them; the remnant of His people should assemble together and gain in strength, for only as a Collective may such power be exerted against their common enemies – the virtual “mountains” of enemies which surround them on every side, and even inhabit their interior territory.

Their Healing Assured

Now we read a sure prescription for the healing of His People …

Isa 41:17 When the poor and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongue faileth for thirst, I the Lord will hear them, I the God of Israel will not forsake them. 18 I will open rivers in high places, and fountains in the midst of the valleys: I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water. 19 I will plant in the wilderness the cedar, the shittah tree, and the myrtle, and the oil tree; I will set in the desert the fir tree, and the pine, and the box tree together: 20 That they may see and know and consider, and understand together, that the LORD hath done this, and the Holy One of Israel hath created it.

Notice the emphasis by the multiple verbs describing their newly positive insight – seeing … knowing … considering … understanding – together, or as a unity.

 Their recognition and acknowledgment of their God is steadily, progressively and completely committed to His glory and honor.

Show Us What Shall Happen

At this point, the prophet is directed by the Almighty to challenge an accurate prediction of the future by any observer, drawing a clear distinction between Himself and any others in the matters of prescience or foreknowledge.

His challenge to them is compelling – and imperative!

Isa 41:21 Produce your cause, saith the LORD; bring forth your strong reasons saith the King of Jacob. 22 Let them bring forth, and show Us what shall happen; let them show the former things, what they be, that We may consider them, and know the latter end of them; or declare Us things for to come.

In this challenge, the Almighty is laying before His people a clear and unmistakable case for establishing their faith in His word as given them by His true prophets alone. Not only are those challenged required to predict the future accurately – they are tasked with showing the future’s relevance to events of the past (“the former things”).

He addresses His own ability to prophesy with certitude and precision through them, challenging others to do the same, that the latter end of them (the future) be accurately predicted by men claiming to be seers.

But there are none who can fulfill this need! Indeed, Isaiah 41: 21-27 is …

The Ultimate Test of God’s Sovereignty: Prophecy

Not only is it impossible for idols and graven images of stone and metal and wood to speak, hear, walk, or smell; they cannot even move!

So they cannot foretell future events.

Isaiah’s writings are a fertile source of references to Prophecy of Future Events being a quality of the Almighty alone:

Isaiah 41: 21-27 – show us what shall happen … declare us things for to come.

Isaiah 42: 9 – before they spring forth …

Isaiah 43: 9-12 – who among them can declare this, and show us former things?

Isaiah 44: 7 – challenges them to foretell …

Isaiah 46: 6-11 – Declaring the end from the beginning and … the things that are not yet done …

Isaiah 48: 3-6 – God has forecasted future things for them in vs. 4, and challenged their idols to do the same!

Of course it can’t happen.

He continues his requests for any challenger to come forth …

Isa 41:23 Shew the things that are to come hereafter, that We may know that ye are gods; yea, do good or do evil (the overall sense being, Do Something!), that We may be dismayed and behold it together.

His exasperation shows clearly in the urgency of these words – just do SOMETHING to prove your convictions or purpose!

Yet silence only is heard.

Their manufactured and adopted deities neither hear nor speak.

His conclusion is the only logical answer:

Isa 41:24 Behold, ye are of nothing, and your work of naught: an abomination is he that chooseth you!

His disdain is scathing; their pretenses mislead and bring condemnation upon those who practice them.

Their end is to disappear, as a vapor that passes away.

Their pursuit brings an abominable curse to all who follow their ways.

Cyrus – a Portent of Messiah

Now He turns to an exemplary future event which He intends to bring upon them as sure proof of His identity and claims – and illustrating the onus which He has placed upon the pretenders, to prophesy.

By stating it in the past tense, He emphasizes the certainty of it – as if it has already been accomplished.

Isa 41:25 I have raised up one from the north and he shall come; from the rising of the sun shall he call upon My name. And he shall come upon princes as morter, and as the potter treadeth the clay.

Here He is indicating – over 100 years in advance – the rising of a strong man of the east – Cyrus of Persia, who He has already created in a poetic sense (for his appearance is certain); and foretells that Cyrus shall defer to the Almighty in his decrees, honoring the God of Israel – and permitting His people to return freely to the Land from which they shall shortly be snatched by Babylon. 

Note that this strong man is parallel to Abram, of whom a near identical description was given in verse 2 … but is given about 137 years before Cyrus’ birth!

In so saying, the Almighty is illustrating and fulfilling the challenge already issued in verses 21 to 23!

By patient waiting, and review of His word, the future people of Israel shall easily comprehend His omniscience – His singular ability to foretell their destiny both short- and long-term; and by that fact alone, they should learn to trust implicitly in their God, their Maker.

Isa 41:26 Who hath declared from the beginning, that we may know? And beforetime, that we may say, ‘He is righteous?’ Yea, there is none that sheweth; there is none that declareth; yea, there is none that heareth their words.

Of course, the reason that none heareth their words is that no words of such quality are spoken by graven images – indeed no words at all come forth from the mouths of the idols of their vanity.

Only may the Creator, the only Deity, utter such comforting words to His people.

And, by this intractable proof must they admit, that He is righteous.

Isa 41:27 The first shall say (that is, “From the first I have said” – Bullinger), ‘Behold, behold them,’ and I will give to Jerusalem One that bringeth good tidings.

Their plight was clearly in that day that none such were in Jerusalem, for all their shepherds spoke smooth words, reassuring the people of safety from invaders, and encouraging idolatry and iniquity.

They would not hear the warnings of Isaiah or Jeremiah of the coming of trouble from the north – of oppression and captivity which was then impending.

Isa 41:28 For I beheld and there was no man; even among them, and there was no counselor, that, when I asked of them, could answer a word. 29 Behold, they are all vanity; their works are nothing; their molten images are wind and confusion.

The wind (Hebrew, ruach) is their breath, meaning their speech, in the usual usage of the word, but indicates the absence of it; and confusion should have reminded them of Babylon, the meaning of which IS confusion, and the origin of their gods of wood and stone!

The next chapter of Isaiah addresses the coming Servant of the LORD. Only in Him – in this One Who bringeth good tidings – is there salvation – the Elect of God, in Whom His soul delights!     

<HEL 8M> ~2700 words.

Further commentary on this text from an eTPL Circular Letter is enclosed here: these remarks emphasize the latter day applications of these verses.

Israel Penetrates Iranian, Hezbollah Networks 

in Syria: Quntar and Sha’alon – Terrorists No More

From DebkaFile Reports: Israel’s intelligence and air force again displayed their best skills for pinpointing and reaching very small targets in the operation conducted on December 20, 2015, to blow away the Hizballah arch terrorist Samir Quntar.

Quntar, head of Iranian and Hizballah terror networks in southern Syria down to the Israeli border, and his deputy, Farhan Issam Sha’alon, chief of the National Syrian Opposition group on the Golan, lived and worked in two secret apartments on the first floor of a residential building in the Damascus suburb of Jaramana, 10 km southeast of the capital.

One apartment served as living quarters, and the other as operations center for running their terrorist networks.

The four missiles that Israeli warplanes launched Sunday from a point over the northern Israeli Sea of Galilee destroyed the entire first floor of that building – his residence.

Nothing could have survived the blast.

For this Quntar hit, Israel military intelligence made elaborate preparations:

1. To locate his secret residence known to be in or near Damascus.

2. To determine whether he worked from home or another location to prepare Hizballah’s terror networks in southern Syria for attacks deep inside Israel.

3. Since Quntar’s movements could not be tracked electronically from the air, the Israeli planners needed clandestine eyes on the ground to signal his entries and departures from his apartment, to shadow his movements outside, and to identify the signs showing he was at home.

He was therefore under constant surveillance for a considerable period leading up to the assassination.

4. Dozens of undercover agents and local informants were employed in Damascus for this task. One of these agents used a laser beam to guide Israeli warplanes to the Quntar abode.

That agent necessarily was physically within line of sight of the targeted apartment, and was physically pointing a dedicated laser beam at the residence!

That Israel was able to run an undercover operation on this scale, without discovery by Syrian, Iranian or Hizballah intelligence, attests to the depth of Israeli clandestine penetration of the Syrian capital and its environs.

5. The blow against Iranian intelligence was painful. Iran relied on Quntar for its terror and intelligence operations even more than Hizballah. The Iranians kept dark (did not admit publicly) the additional deaths of his two Iranian controllers in the same rocket attack. Debka intelligence sources name them as Mohammed Reza Fahmi and Mir Ahmad Ahmadi.

6. This in-depth penetration of Damascus is not new. Undercover cells have been there for at least eight years.

The modus operandus for the Quntar hit was different from other recent attacks.

When the Israeli spies had confirmed that Quntar was asleep in bed, the deadly rockets were released. They flew through the windows to kill him, his deputy and their Iranian controllers.

The report noted that the four deadly missiles had been released from Israeli warplanes flying above the Sea of Galilee. If readers are aware of the geography of the area, you will realize that the distance from the Sea of Galilee to Damascus is thirty to fifty miles. The target from the warplanes position was hardly in line of sight by any means.

Our understanding is that once the guided bombs were released, they were placed under the dedicated fire control system that utilized the laser beam focused on the target. That beam guided all four bombs to the residence and through its windows to achieve the assassinations.

Earlier Successes by the IAF

The technology used by Israeli Air force bombers and drones for threading rockets through a small window or hatch for precisely targeted assassinations was last demonstrated during the IDF’s Gaza campaign in the summer of 2014.

Information had been received that Muhammad Deif, head of the Hamas military wing, the Ezz-e-Din al-Qassam Brigades, had arranged to visit his wives and children at the home of a trusted associate in the Sheikh Radwan district of Gaza.

On August 19, after he entered the building, a series of at least four one-ton bombs were released by Israeli warplanes located well within Israel.

The building collapsed, but the master terrorist survived, thanks to a mechanical malfunction and Deif’s own ruthless egotism.

A joint Israeli air force-military intelligence probe subsequently established that, after the first bomb failed to detonate, the quick-witted Deif decided to get out fast and sacrifice his family. And indeed, when the second bomb exploded, it destroyed his family, but he had escaped to safety.

That episode demonstrated that even the most superior technology and intelligence cannot be guaranteed to work one hundred percent, and all such operations are touch and go.

And a Still Earlier Operation in Damascus

One such earlier deep-cover Israeli spy network engineered the targeted assassination on February 12, 2008, of Imad Fayez Mughniyeh, Hizballah’s military chief, who was the top Iranian intelligence and terror operative in the Middle East.

He was knocked off outside his home in the exclusive Damascus suburb of Kafr Sousa.

Mughniyeh was a trusted favorite of Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, his status in Tehran at the time comparable to that of Gen. Qassem Soleimani, commander of Iran’s Al Qods Brigades, whose current whereabouts are meanwhile unknown.

To kill Mughniyeh, Israel’s agents sneaked into the garage of his home in Damascus, and planted explosives in the driver’s headrest of his car. When he started the engine, the headrest blew up and decapitated him.

The modus operandi for the Quntar hit was different. When spies had confirmed he was asleep in bed, the deadly rockets were released. They flew through the windows to kill him, his deputy and their Iranian controllers.

These three examples of pinpointed Israeli actions against their enemies from a long distance away, are instances of prophetic arrangements announced by the prophet as a divine provision for Israel of the end time.

We believe the account is firm fulfillment of key information given Isaiah in the words, Behold, the Lord GOD will come with strong hand, and his arm shall rule for him: behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him. He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young. Isaiah 40:10, 11.

This observation is not to claim that the present clearly evident assistance and support which the Father is giving Israel is a complete fulfillment of these words, but the enormous ingenuity that we see demonstrated by Israel is not wholly of their doing; these events in our conviction are leading to that end as indicated by these two verses.

Later in Isaiah’s text – the next chapter – we see fuller details of exactly HOW He intended to assist His people against their enemies of this end time.

The narrative is remarkably current!

Isa 41:8 But thou, Israel, art my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham my friend. 9 Thou whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, and called thee from the chief men thereof, and said unto thee, Thou art my servant; I have chosen thee, and not cast thee away.

This is surely the condition which we are observing in Israel today.

He now HAS brought millions of His people together into His Land, taking them out of the jaws of oppression and hate, which the hostile nations have leveled against them through the centuries.

Israel is now His collective Servant, whom He has CHOSEN.

Chosen for what?

Chosen to express his will against their enemies; for their enemies are also HIS enemies. Their foes’ chances of survival are therefore not full of good prospects!

Note well His forceful encouragement of Israel His people, seeming by some to be dwelling as a vulnerable sparrow upon a rooftop (Psalm 102:7); but the back story is, they are no longer alone: “I am with thee” is His promise.

We can see the fact demonstrated each day that passes in this hazardous environment of the Middle East, where Israel is truly standing alone against multitudes of vicious foes.

The prophet’s forecast reads like the daily headlines of the present day Israeli newspapers which chronicle the ingenious, highly successful combat which its armed forces are able to accomplish against the enemies of Zion.

We hope Isaiah’s prophecy of encouragement for the end time is read and understood by some in Israel today, for the promise is sure. The end is certain.

They are no longer a people abandoned to their enemies, no more subject to the soles of their boots or the edges of their swords.

He therefore encourages and comforts them; He reassures them in plain words, applicable to, and intended only, for these last of the latter days prior to the Second Coming of Messiah …

Note well the certainty and finality of these dreadful phrases …

Isaiah 41:10  Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.

Isa 41:11  Behold, all they that were incensed against thee shall be ashamed and confounded: they shall be as nothing; and they that strive with thee shall perish.

Isa 41:12  Thou shalt seek them, and shalt not find them (that is, after their enemies’ destruction), even them that contended with thee: they that war against thee shall be as nothing, and as a thing of nought.

Isa 41:13  For I the LORD thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee.

Isa 41:14  Fear not, thou worm Jacob, and ye men of Israel; I will help thee, saith the LORD, and thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.

Isa 41:15  Behold, I will make thee a new sharp threshing instrument having teeth: thou shalt thresh the mountains, and beat them small, and shalt make the hills as chaff.

Isa 41:16  Thou shalt fan them, and the wind shall carry them away, and the whirlwind shall scatter them: and thou shalt rejoice in the LORD, and shalt glory in the Holy One of Israel.

Conclusion: We are absolutely certain of the continuing fulfillment of these promises, which are intended to encourage His people leading up to the time of their complete exoneration before their enemies.

For His people are in their godly dedicated mode of Return Unto Him, as He admonished them in the words of Malachi 3:7 - Return unto me, and I will return unto you, saith the LORD of hosts.

It shall terminate surely in that blessed time when … thou shalt rejoice in the LORD, and shalt glory in the Holy One of Israel.

From these signs of the times, we may be sure of our convictions that the final day of Israel’s Consolation lies not far into Israel’s (and our) future.       

<HEL 1P> ~1800 words.  An eTPL News Item, issued January, 2016.

Now … one more important and timely observation…

The narrative of Isaiah’s prophecy seems at this stage to have proceeded to a continuous narrative of forward movement of His Plan.

The rising of a powerful Israel in His Land, along with the developed power of enemy resistance which is shown to have grown up among those enemies, both create a crisis of some magnitude for Israel. Israel’s vulnerability to their enemies grows – at least it increases on the surface – a phenomenon which we see today.

The subsequent words of Isaiah illustrate a result whose need seemingly shall have arrived for His People … the Second Coming of the LORD from heaven to rescue and to redeem His People!

As we shall see, the initial words of chapter 42 are…

Isaiah 42:1  Behold my Servant, whom I uphold (His meaning is… in fierce personal combat!); mine Elect, in Whom my soul delighteth; I have put my spirit upon Him: He shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles.

The Judgment of the Gentiles by His Son, in our reckoning, is at that time absolutely required.

His patience has finally run out.

His people have received double for all their sins.

The cup of His Fury has been removed from them and given to those vile enemies.

It is the day of recompenses for the  Controversy of Zion!

In accord with this “set time” (cf., Psalm 102), He sends back to the earth the Son of His Right Hand, along with His faithful Brethren – then having been immortalized – to execute His Vengeance upon them in this thunderous, terminal, utterly terrible slaughter of all His enemies!

<HEL 7P>  An eTPL Exposition…

Isaiah 42

Beginning of the Servant Psalms of Isaiah 42-53

Behold, My Servant!

Messiah

Isaiah 42:1  Behold my Servant, whom I uphold; mine Elect, in Whom my soul delighteth; I have put my spirit upon Him: He shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles.

The figure asterismos opens this section with an attention-getting announcement, inviting us to Behold! My Servant!

The entire word of God speaks of Him, enlightening readers about the Son of God, Who is here announced to them, and is coming.

It is the first of two direct references to the Anointed One in Isaiah.

The second occurs in 65: 3.

Previously, Isaiah has referred to two other servants of the Almighty.

Firstly, to My servant David, in 37: 35; and

Secondly to Israel … my servant Jacob, in 41: 8.

Here the prophet writes a loving and reassuring description of the Savior as One whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth, adding that God has placed His spirit upon Him, and commissioned him to bring forth judgment to the Gentiles.

[Commentators point to this verse as “proof” of the doctrine of the trinity, claiming that God the Father – the speaker – is referring to “God the Son” (the Messiah) – and anointing that Son with “God the Holy Ghost!” Yet, this very act indicates the superiority of the Father over His Son and the Spirit, not co-equality of these values – this supposed anointing of the second person of the “trinity” with the third person! It is an unworkable (and inexplicable) action considered in that context or any other, as coequal persons are not so privileged to command such actions upon any of the others. However, this is merely a note in passing as this subject is outside the purview of our present consideration.]

We learn here many vital characteristics of the coming Savior.

One of the first is that this coming Jewish Messiah shall be specially equipped to bring forth judgment to the Gentiles – all those non-Israelites of the world – providing us with one of the chief reasons for his being instilled with the Spirit of God – abilities  far beyond the limits of human capability or judgment.

He shall be delightful to His Father (well pleasing to Him) because of His perfect obedience, and be upheld by Him by the inerrant operation of that Spirit of His Father within Him.

Further divine traits are revealed in the succeeding verses.

Isaiah 42:2  He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street.

This is to say He shall not “cry” in the sense of making an outcry of contentious disputation, or clamor.

As Matthew 12:19 informs, in paraphrasing this prophecy of Isaiah, He shall not contend with the authorities, i.e., He shall not go out into the streets to cause turmoil.

This trait does not disallow His scriptural replies to His contenders, such as the Scribes and Pharisees, who so often challenged His teachings.

Isa 42:3  A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench: he shall bring forth judgment unto truth.

His rebuttals from the Word should not cause any harm or debasement; He would treat those who were innocent, eager listeners (the bruised, or damaged “reeds,” weakly supported) as ones to be encouraged, and should bring forth a factual, strengthening, and mature understanding of God’s word to them for their comfort and instruction.

Lamp wicks were usually made of flax; when the lamp’s oil was low or depleted, the flax would smoke and sputter, indicating that it was about to self-extinguish.

In His encounters with people showing this metaphorical weakness and aptitude toward failing, He would always strengthen them, adding to their supply of “oil,” meaning His word. Thus He would trim those wicks, and cause them to burn more brightly, increasing the faith of their bearers.

 In this sense, He should bring out of His Father’s treasure house things previously hidden – such as His compassion for them – and for the Gentiles.  Isaiah 40:11 expresses that compassionate care: He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young.

Next, his reliability and constancy is related to them …

Isa 42:4  He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till he have set judgment in the earth: and the isles shall wait for his law.

In vowing that He shall not fail nor be discouraged, Isaiah’s listeners were assured that His efforts in their behalf would not falter in any sense – that His lamp (His teachings) should not flag, nor His plan be thwarted.

To be discouraged in this sense would be for Him to break down, or to fail; He would not allow that.

The result would be that “the isles” – the far-flung places of the earth – should wait for (or be receptive to) His law (His will).

Thus, Messiah, anointed with God’s Spirit, should have a global effect; He should exert forcible influence far beyond this small People of Israel, bringing about vast changes in the sea of humanity – all to the glory of the Father.

Now, building upon the Father’s innate, cited credibility, the Servant’s mission was assured of success. For His Father’s credentials are majestic and stately. The grand announcement is backed by those credentials:

Isaiah 42:5  Thus saith God the LORD, he that created the heavens, and stretched them out; he that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it; he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein: 

No grander qualifications could be offered – and no greater ones required!

Yet it is these precise qualities of the God of Israel which men today try to explain away in humanistic theories – that He hath NOT made us … that we have made OURSELVES – through the process of organic evolution; it is a claim that is directly refuted by these words as well as the words of the author of Psalm 100:3 - Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

This stipulation is only a small portion of His blessing and grace.

In the beginning, He created the entire heavens and earth – all of which are still being “stretched out,” as we understand, scientifically, that the universe is yet expanding.

He has spread forth the earth, and everything it produces. In that manner He gives breath (neshamah – life) to all the peoples, and spirit (ruach – wind, or breath) to everyone who walks therein. He is the originator and sustainer of life itself.

As such, to Him is owed praise and glory from the whole creation.

Now, having defined Himself, He issues His grand commission –

Isa 42: 6 - I the LORD hath called Thee in righteousness, and will hold Thine hand, and will keep Thee, and give Thee for a covenant of the People, for a light of the Gentiles.

Here is reiteration that His salvation shall extend to all nations of the earth! The last phrase makes certain to include the Gentiles – far above and beyond His beloved sons of Israel – for we are all the work of His hands!

We cannot appreciate the succor and strength which God’s Son ultimately received from His Father. We can easily appreciate that none of us mortals could have withstood the rigour, the insults, the intense wrath of His adversaries – even unto submission in abject humility to death itself at their hands! The Almighty did indeed hold Thine hand … and keep Thee.

His divine covenant lies ahead. His intense role in bringing it into certain effect lies in the past.

His work is done as to redemption.

It now remains for the people of God to grasp it and hold it fast, not allowing their names to be blotted out of the book of life by ill manners, unjust actions, iniquity, or trespasses against any – or against Him (Revelation 20:12; 22:19).

Further advantages most surely provided by Him are now enumerated: Isaiah 42:7 - … to open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoner from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house.

This exquisitely poetic language indicates the restoration of the sense of sight to the blind (and healing of all other diseases, by implication), and the resurrection of the dead in Christ who are now prisoners of death, who lie in the dank darkness of the earth, awaiting the last trump.

By extension, the promise of their being lifted from mortality to immortality is here included, for merely bringing one forth to mortal life again should have little meaning without that further lifting up of mortality to immortality!

Now, from His position of strength and sovereignty, the Almighty states again: Verse 8: I am the LORD; that is My name. And My glory will I not give to another, neither My praise to graven images!

He will not give up His name to another; but He will graciously confer it upon the obedient, all of whom shall have taken His Servant as their pattern of conviction and conduct.

In the finality, the Almighty quenches all other glory-seekers, for as Jesus avowed … Thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, forever. It is an esoteric condition of His righteousness and compassion conferred upon His people of all races and tongues.

As unparalleled support for His majesty and authority, He reminds Isaiah’s readers in Verse 9 - Behold, the former things are come to pass, and new things do I declare: before they spring forth I tell you of them.

It is to be an accepted, known and verified fact to the Israelites who are listening!

He had, in multiple times, foretold the invasion of the mighty Sennacherib of Assyria, who had taken captive their errant brethren of Samaria specifically because of their intractable practice of idolatry (praise to graven images of the previous verse).

That promise had come to pass during their lifetimes; so they could plainly see His prescience in these affairs.

And now He shall declare new things … before they spring forth I tell you of them.

This is the Almighty’s trump card, so to speak.

Not only are “seers,” “psychics,” and “necromancers” incapable of foretelling the future with certain accuracy, but so are graven images, which are incapable of thought or speech of any kind.

There is no “mystery” here. God is the Father of all men, even in the most elemental sense of being their Originator.

As to human understanding, the fact must have seemed inexplicable to them, as it does to us!

Their concept of this quality may have been the same as our view today of something as mysterious as “magic.”

 His nature and capabilities are unfathomable – in no way appreciable by mortal men.

By merely speaking, He brings it to pass: God said, Let there be light, and there was light (Genesis 1:3).

Being the Alpha and the Omega – the First and the Last, we believe He is universally present in all the ages of man at the same time. I Am is the ultimate claim to that infinite quality (Deuteronomy 5:6, et al).

So we may possibly fathom or conceive the method which he employs to foretell the future as this: He reveals the things which He sees – and also those events which, in His sovereignty, He actively brings about in the affairs of men.

But all these are uniquely sufficient to exhibit his sovereignty. It is an ability and a quality entirely unknown to any others; it defines only one of the Father’s superior abilities – but it is sufficient to prove His identity and credentials.

Simply stating this quality, He says, before they spring forth I tell you of them.

This ability to foretell future events is a major theme of the Prophet Isaiah’s writings.

The Revelator brings that ability forward as being the ultimate test of His sovereignty in several portions of the prophet’s writings. We have seen it in 41:21-29. We shall see it again in 44:7; in 45:11 and 21; in 46:10-11; and 48:3-5.

The quality is entirely unique to the Almighty and His Son.

It shall become a quality of the redeemed Saints in the kingdom age.

The Kingdom’s immortal Sovereign (His appointed future ruler over one city, or ten) of the Gentiles in godless Buenos Aires, for example, will not be required to return to Jerusalem – or even to communicate with the King in Mount Zion – in order to solve any problem with which he or she is confronted! And the future course of all such challenges shall be truly realized.

Thus we perceive that the giving and fulfilling of Bible prophecy is an unfailing engine of FAITH in His people of all ages. It is the reason we have chosen personally to place all our concentrated, dedicated energy into its understanding and amplification in this end time.

By fulfilled prophecy that is duly recognized AS fulfilled, we are immeasurably strengthened and encouraged – not only that our “keys” fit the locks, but that our entry into the future course of things is thereby amply, assuredly, and generously provided His people.

These concepts build as one structure upon the milk of the word – the basic, salvational doctrines which He has given us – and provide for us a visible, palpable, sensible structure of infinite future lives of happiness and security from death and disease.

Those benefits, of course, are to be provided by this Man of their future, My Servant.

And now the prophet lays the foundation for the great blessing of Isaiah 43:1, et seq.

Rejoicing and praise is the order of the day; His name is to be exalted by every mouth and tongue.

Isaiah 42: 10 - Sing unto the LORD a new song, and his praise from the end of the earth, ye that go down to the sea, and all that is therein; the isles, and the inhabitants thereof.

Note carefully the universal quality of His commandments; it is not only Israel who is called upon to rejoice in His salvation!

Isa 42: 11 - Let the wilderness and the cities thereof lift up their voice, the villages that Kedar doth inhabit: let the inhabitants of the rock sing, let them shout from the top of the mountains. 12 Let them give glory unto the LORD, and declare his praise in the islands ... in the far-flung wilderness of the earth.

Isa 42:13  The LORD shall go forth as a mighty man, he shall stir up jealousy like a man of war: he shall cry, yea, roar; he shall prevail against his enemies.

Isa 42:14  I have long time holden my peace; I have been still, and refrained myself: now will I cry like a travailing woman; I will destroy and devour at once.

This restraint of the Almighty has always been astonishing to our thinking. How can He long endure the foolishness and stupidity of errant men? But now His restraint is at an end. His wrath is about to be unleashed upon His entire creation.

To cry like a woman in labor is intense and heart-felt anguish – and pervasive in its nature.

It is fair notice that His new Creation in Christ Jesus is about to be brought forth – superposed upon the insignificance of mankind, and its paltry, trifling, unconcerned response to His teachings of the ages.

Its effects shall be chilling and universal.

It shall bring to an halt the productivity and initiative of mankind for its own sake – the heaping of mammon for its own gratification – the wanton execution of its own will in its own affairs, disregarding, ignoring, and disrespecting the Father of all men, and taking all the glory to themselves.

Their institutions shall be nullified and broken. Their wills shall be made void – canceled … disregarded … forever abandoned in favor of His glory and exaltation.

Isa 42:15  I will make waste mountains and hills, and dry up all their herbs; and I will make the rivers islands, and I will dry up the pools.

The natural social fixtures of Adamic Man shall be abandoned in the New Order. Their laws abridged, their devotions permanently altered to conform to His Way, their national boundaries erased, their wills humbled in His service!

The use of the term “New Order” is appropriate particularly in this regard; men of today fear the New Order seemingly intended by the leaders of men, and institutions such as the United Nations Organization (UNO) – all of whom see such a change in the future of mankind.

But His Kingdom is the real “new order” in the earth! The next passage reveals the stark ignorance of ALL the earth that is spread out before Him – the rejection of His way by ALL men – a “way” which they have not known!

Isa 42:16  And I will bring the blind by a way that they knew not; I will lead them in paths that they have not known: I will make darkness light before them, and crooked things straight. These things will I do unto them, and not forsake them.

Isa 42:17  They shall be turned back, they shall be greatly ashamed, that trust in graven images, that say to the molten images, Ye are our gods.

The gross ignorance of the people is certified here to be almost universal.

Every man and woman is certified to be astray from His Way – grossly to require instruction in true godliness.

Their shame, when enlightened, shall be infinite – that they were so stupid and unconcerned as to follow graven image-worship, and the worship of Mammon instead of seeking the Father of us all.

Thus are all these rightly characterized as “deaf” and “blind.”

Isa 42:18  Hear, ye deaf; and look, ye blind, that ye may see.

Here is recognized universal negligence on their part, their failure to seek or to perceive God – to understand Him – to seek His name and not their own indulgence.

Such deafness and blindness are then banished from His kingdom – expelled into the darkness from which they came.

Bullinger, through structural analysis of the text, says this verse 18 is the beginning of God’s first controversy with Israel as noted by Isaiah.

He challenges them to “HEAR.”

This challenge and the narrative of its controversy ends at 44:2.

Isa 42:19  Who is blind, but my servant? or deaf, as my messenger that I sent? who is blind as he that is perfect, and blind as the LORD'S servant?

The phrases refer to spiritual qualities of sensate deprivation: … blind as he that is perfect … blind as the LORD’s servant Jacob, or Israel, who had erred so painfully.

Isa 42:20  Seeing many things, but thou observest not; opening the ears, but he heareth not.

 It is the most deliberate example of “having ears to hear, but hearing not,” and “eyes to see, but seeing not.”

His People had been specially and abundantly favored – His ways taught well and diligently to them by His faithful servants – but had resulted in their hearing in no sense, and obeying not His ways; and this had been His ONLY requirement!

The last stinging phrases of this prophecy call for His People to hear His voice of instruction, and to hearken to His long-standing advice for them; for them to hear His voice of salvation – His call to righteousness.

In so doing shall they exalt His Law and His Testimony – and shall cease their victim-hood and self-imposed (i.e., imposed by their own disobedience) persecution by their enemies; by it shall they gain His favor, and begin to live honorably before Him.

It is He who has given Jacob for a spoil, and Israel to the robbers of life and longevity.

It is they who have sinned against Him, and often set aside His will in their nation.

For this reason has He poured out upon His People the fury of His anger, and the strength of battle, setting fire round about them, who, being surely burned by these agents “laid it not to heart.”

Isa 42:21  The LORD is well pleased for his righteousness' sake; he will magnify the law, and make it honourable.

Isa 42:22  But this is a people robbed and spoiled; they are all of them snared in holes, and they are hid in prison houses: they are for a prey, and none delivereth; for a spoil, and none saith, Restore.

Isa 42:23  Who among you will give ear to this? who will hearken and hear for the time to come?

Isa 42:24  Who gave Jacob for a spoil, and Israel to the robbers? did not the LORD, he against whom we have sinned? for they would not walk in his ways, neither were they obedient unto his law.

Isa 42:25  Therefore he hath poured upon him the fury of his anger, and the strength of battle: and it hath set him on fire round about, yet he knew not; and it burned him, yet he laid it not to heart.

The times of all this trouble, and His reasons for placing it upon them, is here chronicled.

But He is about to inform His People of a remarkable, gratuitous benefit in His next revelation.

He is about to confer upon them the blessedness of redemption, for they are to be called after His name: He tells them unequivocally, that thou art Mine.

We perceive in this intention the year of My Redeemed (Isaiah 63: 4) – that singular time when there is vengeance (for them) in His heart.

Those weighty words introduce us to the Second Advent of the Master from the heavens – to the “day” in which His anger shall be specially and terminally exerted against their enemies – often their enticers to evil, and the causative agents of their transgression (though His People are not exonerated from giving in to their temptations).

Yet, for His name’s sake shall He deliver them and redeem them from their transgressions.

 The interminable fires of their purification shall have well-purged their dross; their iniquity shall be at an end; their redemption shall be sure, in that soon-coming day in which He shall return to save His people from their enemies, in the process, surely revealing Himself to them without any doubt whatever, and commanding their everlasting fealty and dependability by their honoring His exalted Name.   

<HEL MD/USA code 8M>  ~11,800 words. An eTPL Exhortation…

August: Conduct, Based Up0n Conviction (Faith)

An eTPL Editorial

 The profound division that has recently entered into the body of Christ is rapidly metastasizing … please give the following analogy your closest consideration:

As in the case of every carcinoma, the localized, affected area undergoes uncontrolled proliferation of itself in a malignant, unrestrained progression of rapid cell reduplication and often bizarre, unstructured growth.

The tumor inevitably consumes the vital nutrients that support the surrounding healthy tissues, rapidly assuming a death-spiral toward which there often is no known retardant.

Often, toxic products are exuded from the neoplasm – sometimes these are the entirely natural production of the affected gland – which exert fatal effects upon the doomed patient in rapid order, as when the adrenal cortex becomes cancerous (as in the neoplasm known as a pheochromocytoma)  and produces a consistently high level of norepinephrine – the powerful precursor of adrenalin – and raises the helpless patient’s blood pressure to rapidly lethal levels. These particular tumors are usually not malignant, but due to their unstoppable effects, must be diagnosed and removed.

But with malignant tumors, if surgery is not possible, the alternative of palliative (that is, analgesic) treatment may be prescribed for the patient until the patient expires.

By analogy, in this present case however, the patient will not expire; his longevity is assured by the Father of us all, the Master Physician.

 His palliative is the great privilege of sincere prayer for comfort and deliverance from the harmful malady which is affecting the body. That measure may not afford immediate or even satisfactory relief – but long-term benefits are assured by Him.

 This present cancer, although not yet operable, if it indeed persists, shall in our opinion be excised successfully by the Great Physician when He elevates our fragile human nature to that of immortality – at the moment when He makes up His jewels.

The dreadful sentence upon the unwanted tumor shall be … Then shall He (the King) answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to Me. Matthew 25:45. 

It is a statement to which there is no rejoinder – no justification, or validation – by any of the perpetrators. Their mortal sin has been their abject failure to render genuinely expressed and freely given love, support, and succor to their weaker and more dependent brethren.

The Apostle Paul addressed some of his own day who insisted on keeping now useless articles of the Law of Moses.

His desire for them (to be cut off) is beyond our own, personally felt and considered treatment of such; but his words are inspired … his allusion to drastic surgery is unmistakable:  I would they were even cut off which trouble you. 13 For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love (agape) serve (Gk., douleou, to be a slave to) one another. 14 For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 15 But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another. Galatians 5:12-15. 

The deeply emotional act of love (agape) in this instance is a collective devotion of the few to the many, and not the devotion of a few to each other on an exclusive basis, actively shunning and shutting out the bulk of their brethren – “troubling” them, in a word.

It is never a wise decision to consider oneself better than – and more worthy than – one’s brethren. The inspired words of Paul to the Philippians is … Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. Philippians 2:3, as later referenced.

The genuine shepherds, the leaders of the flock, band together for the collective good; they do not withdraw into a reclusive corner to nurture their own self-designated exclusivity.

As a result, the King’s reaction in the day of assize shall be diametrically opposite to His decision about those who faithfully exert themselves in deep affection for their brethren, becoming slaves for them in a figure – for those perhaps weaker vessels who require tender nurturing and succoring by gentle, wise shepherds.

 The delightful and welcome sentence upon those servants (slaves) shall be … And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these My brethren, ye have done it unto Me. Matthew  25:40 

In these words we immediately perceive the compelling wisdom of humble service of brethren to brethren instead of expressions of vainglory - exclusivity.

Paul, the apostle, wrote to the Philippians: Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory (in Greek, kenodoxia, or self-conceit); but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Philippians 2:3-5. 

The Apostle Paul on another occasion spoke about those who “glory in appearance, and not in heart,” in these words: For the love of Christ constraineth us (compels us, or puts us in a strait); because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead: And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again. 2Corinthians 5: 14, 15. 

The summarizing argument for patient, caring association of all brethren with all their dear brethren is well expressed by the Apostle John:

1John 3:14 We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death. 15 Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him. 16 Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.

<HEL 7P> ~1050 words. An eTPL Editorial July 26, 2016. 

"If you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go together.” Senator Cory Booker (D) of N. J.

July: Aspects of the Seventy Weeks

Prophecy of Daniel 9

Harold E. Lafferty 

The prophecy of Daniel known as The Seventy Weeks Prophecy is grossly misunderstood by the greatest majority of Bible readers, led by the “preachers” of Christendom who use it to their advantage in the propagation of their theories of the end-time events occurring at the time of the Second Coming of the LORD.

 In order to facilitate a closer study of the prophecy, we have set it forth below in limited tabular form, in order to highlight the main features of the prophecy.

 Dan 9:24  Seventy weeks

are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city,

·        to finish the transgression,

·        and to make an end of sins,

·        and to make reconciliation for iniquity,

·        and to bring in everlasting righteousness,

·        and to seal up the vision and prophecy,

·        and to anoint the most Holy.

Dan 9:25  Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince

shall be seven weeks,

and threescore and two weeks:

the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.

Dan 9:26  And after threescore and two weeks (and after the initial seven weeks already stated – i.e., after 69 weeks)

shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself:

and the people of the prince that shall come (this is Rome – not “the AntiChrist") shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.

Dan 9:27  And He shall confirm the covenant with many 

for one week:

and in the midst of the week He (The Christ – by His sacrifice) shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations (by the Romans, with the Jews’ enthusiastic approval) He (Jesus, for the subject-pronoun has not changed) shall make it (by dint of His sacrifice He annulled it, making it) desolate, even until the consummation (at the end-time), and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate (that is, upon the desolator – Rome and subsequent desolators, ending with Ottoman Turkey in 1917).

In order better to understand the prophecy we intend to examine it in great detail.

The Seventy Weeks

We see first that the prophecy concerns Seventy Weeks of time. We note from Leviticus 25, that a “week” is equivalent in prophetic terms to seven calendar years based on our solar year. We can discern that fact based on how events have played out in history in similar applications.

The only difficulty we can have with the basic period of seventy weeks of years (490 years in total, or 70 x 7), is determining the beginning point of the prophecy.

We note from verse 25, that the period was to begin at a point designated as ... from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem.

 Historically, there are three similar decrees which could have served as the starting point; only one of these can be valid.

In order to establish the correct decree, one only need carry the beginning dates of all three to an end-point, then determine which end-point is relevant to the prophecy. 

“Weeks” here is the Hebrew word Shebuah, which Strong confirms in his Hebrew Lexicon as meaning, literally “sevened” – just “sevened” – which, he says, means a seven of years, or seven years, or a “Sabbath” of years” as it is expressed in Leviticus 25: 8.

One of the three decrees should work out perfectly with the specifications of the prophecy, so it should be an easy task.

From historical record, we know that similar decrees were issued …

1.      By Cyrus the Persian in 533 BC;

2.    By Artaxerxes Longimanus to Ezra the Scribe in 455 BC;

3.    And by Artaxerxes Longimanus to Nehemiah in 442 BC.

The first of these dates, if lapsed 490 years (the total of the prophetic years indicated) would give a result of 43 BC as its termination: [533 BC minus 490 = 43 BC]. Nothing happened in this terminal year to fulfill the prophecy.

The Second of these dates, lapsed 455 BC to 1 BC leaves, from the next year which was 1AD, 34 years of fulfillment remaining in the AD years, or 34 AD. Let’s leave this entirely workable one for a moment and calculate the last date.

The third of the above dates, lapsed 442 years into the future to 1 BC leaves, from the next year which was 1AD (or a lapsed 443 years), 47 years remaining in the 490 decreed [490 minus 442 = 47 AD]. There is no visible indication that the Seventy Weeks could have ended on this date.

We therefore revert to consideration of the middle date, 455 BC, when Artaxerxes decreed the return of Nehemiah to rebuild the Sanctuary and the walls of the Holy City.

In our consideration of the terminal date for the prophecy of 34 AD, we determine that this year is slightly after the crucifixion, which we deem to have been in the year 30 AD.

If this is so, how do the tenets of the prophecy correlate with this date? 

Is it reasonable to conclude that this is the proper starting date of the prophecy?

It would seem precisely the correct date. If it is so, the six goals of the prophecy should have been met in some meaningful way by that date. This is extremely important, because the complete fulfillment of these requirements awaits the establishment of the kingdom of God.

Now we turn to the features of the prophecy to be fulfilled, the first of which is “to finish the transgression.”

First … To finish the transgression

If this is difficult to understand in the AV, we must look to the Hebrew word translated ‘finish.’ It is (Strong, H3607) ‘kala – a primitive root, to restrict, by act (hold back or hold in), (or) by word (i.e., prohibit).’ The RV uses “restrain” here, and omits the article, thus meaning “to restrain transgressions.” The text seems to refer to transgressions in general, i.e., sin. The first objective, then, is to restrain transgressions.

It is obvious that when Christ comes the second time He will forcibly suppress sin in all its aspects, ruling the nations with a rod of iron. He will give to Israel a ‘new heart’ at that time, and work a work of moral reform upon His people. That restraint will pass over into the general world population.

But how was this accomplished at Christ’s first coming? Messiah had first to come to His people – the primary ‘business’ of the Prophecy of the Seventy Weeks (P70W) – and to be ‘cut off.’ In so doing He made an end to the daily sacrifice and abolished the Old Covenant of Moses; He therefore ‘confirmed the promises made unto the fathers’ by the shedding of ‘the blood of the everlasting covenant.’ 

The preparation of the people (both Jews and Gentiles) who would assist Messiah in His great future work would be required to develop the ‘new heart’ and the ‘new spirit’ which pertains to this new covenant.

By this process of godly living which He established and codified, therefore, sin would quite effectively be ‘restrained,’ and the characters of His adherents would be developed after the requirement and pattern of the Lord. When He came the first time, similar to the work of John Immerser, that was his avowed mission – to make ready a people prepared for the Lord in the long term – Luke 1:17.

Christ’s spiritual cultivation of this great body of believers thus prefigures the work to be done upon His people, upon Jerusalem, and ultimately upon the people of the world at His Second Advent.

We are told that the Law was a ‘yoke of bondage’ to the people; as such it was impressed upon them as a restraint upon their desire to serve the flesh and their own purposes.  It was intended to make His chosen ones markedly different from other peoples. The second part of this goal was to make salvation available to the Gentiles as well as the Jews – a goal which was attained during this final, 70th week as we shall see.

The requirements of the provision, then, is seen fulfilled in limited aspect at His first coming, but perceived to be of greatest effect – of conclusive effect – upon His people at His return.

Second … to make an end of sins

As it stands, we know that this provision was not universally and literally fulfilled at His first coming. Men and women continued to sin in their daily lives; although sin was repressed by their attempts at obedience, sin was not ended. There is one exception to this general fact: the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ was certainly the primordial victory over sin and death – and over ‘sins,’ for He committed none.

However, it is notable that the word in Hebrew for ‘sins’ and ‘sin offerings’ is the same; note that in the 27th verse of Daniel 9, His making an ‘end of sin offerings’ is referenced in the ‘cutting off’ of Messiah in the clause, “in the midst of the week He shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease.” This means that He would in some manner bring to an halt the ‘sacrifice and the oblation,” which were literally the sin- offerings under Moses’ Law! 

In sacrificing Himself, Jesus Himself “was made sin for us” (II Corinthians 5: 21); “He died for our sins according to the scriptures.” He offered the one perfect sacrifice which was the ‘one offering’ which God required at that time.

In doing that, He effected the ‘end of sin offerings’ whether anyone recognized the fact or not. From that point in time – His death on the stake at Golgotha – the sin offerings of the Law were no longer valid or operative.

We are aware that, in the minds of the Jews of that day, Jesus’ sacrifice did not impinge upon the Law of Moses at all, and did not end their ritual use of sin offerings which they continued to offer until 70 AD when the Temple was destroyed. They did not accept His sacrificial death in the least, and shall never do so until they ‘look upon Him whom they have pierced’ (Zechariah 12:9).

At that time they shall be introduced to the ‘bonds of the New Covenant,’ and with that will come their immediate recognition of ‘the end of sin offerings.’ 

Having said that, Jesus’ sacrifice did put an effective end to the ‘sin-offerings’ of the Law although not recognized at the time by the Jews. In light of His sacrifice, no matter how many sin offerings they offered after that time, they were no longer functional as they had been under the Law.

Thus, the greater fulfillment belongs to that future day, and like the first provision, points to a greater fulfillment of this great prophecy in the coming kingdom age.

Third … to make reconciliation for iniquity

The Hebrew word for making reconciliation is kaphar, which means to cover; figuratively it means to expiate, condone, placate, or cancel. In the O. T. it is translated as make atonement, cleanse, forgive, pardon, purge away, and others.

To review, we see that the proclivity for sin in the Jews of His day was not removed with the coming of Jesus. But we see in His work that He clearly introduced age-lasting righteousness to those who perceived His work and mission. At first a few Jews believed – then multitudes did; then the Gospel was introduced to the Gentiles, and thousands believed on Him. The Gospel is the means by which sin is expiated or cleansed or pardoned – and thus is the vehicle of age-lasting righteousness.  

The important factor here is that Jesus Christ came to His people, obeying His Father in every respect even though He was an earth-born man with all the propensities of the flesh dwelling within Him. Hebrews 2:17 informs us that Jesus was made exactly like us so He could “make reconciliation for the sins of the people.”  By offering this perfect life by His death on the stake, he indeed made reconciliation for sin – he expiated it within Himself, making perfect atonement by obedience and faith.

Thus the result was established in One Who was a prototype for all who would come after Him in faith. In the most literal way, He “gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity.” (Titus 2: 14) As believers in the gospel, we realize that this redemption of Christ reflected upon Himself as beneficiary as well as upon all men; it was entirely necessary that He put forth His own, now perfected life, as the required perfect and acceptable sacrifice.

The future effect of this component of the six objectives is defined in the national cleansing described in Ezekiel 36: 24, 25: “I will gather you out of all the countries, and will bring you into your own land. Then I will sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean (forgiven): from all your filthiness and from all your idols will I cleanse you.”

Fourth … to bring in everlasting righteousness

At His first appearance, Jesus brought into visible appreciability ‘the way of life’ and established it and amply illustrated it in His own life. He made it known widely at that time.

But Israel – His people and the Holy City – did not widely adopt His teachings. That achievement awaits future fulfillment, in the day of Israel’s salvation; it is only then that Zion’s “righteousness of Ages” shall “go forth as brightness.” (Isaiah 62: 1; 46: 13)

The future fulfillment is indicated in such passages as Jeremiah 23: 5, 6: “Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a king shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. In HIS days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely; and this is the name whereby He shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.” It is remarkable that the same prophet in chapter 33: 15, 16 pens these precise words the second time!

At the same time, His blessing is personal to each of his people: “Unto you first, God, having raised up His Son Jesus, sent Him to bless you (every one, individually), in turning away every one of you from his iniquities.” (Acts 3: 26)

When those events of Jeremiah 23 occur, the Lord’s name shall rest immutably upon Israel, and the People shall BE ‘righteous!’ Only when she thus possesses His righteousness can the nation’s righteousness ‘shine forth as brightness,’ for before that time Israel has none.

At that time, it is the righteousness of Israel’s Savior which goes forth from that place – the Lord our righteousness – which will fulfill Isaiah 1: 26: “I will restore thy judges as at the first, and thy counselors as at the beginning: afterward thou shalt be called, The City of Righteousness, the Faithful City.”

It is only then that the promise of Isaiah 60: 21 can be fulfilled: “Thy people also shall be all righteous: they shall inherit the land forever, the branch of My planting, the work of My hands, THAT I MAY BE GLORIFIED.”

Fifth … to seal the Vision and the Prophecy

In the A.V. the word ‘prophecy’ is marginally defined alternatively as ‘prophet:’ “to seal the vision and the prophet.” The Hebrew word translated ‘seal’ in this passage is used 24 times in the O.T., in 21 of which it is rendered “Seal, sealed, sealest, or sealeth.”

In I Kings 21: 8 and in Esther 8: 8 it refers to affixation of the Royal Seal to a document to confirm or establish its bona-fides, and also the authority of the person whose duty it was to issue the same (W. H. Carter, Times and Seasons, pp 49-50).

This same idea is found in Isaiah 44: 26 where God reveals Himself as the One who ‘confirmeth the word of His servant, and performeth the counsel of His messengers.’ In this case the divine ‘seal’ of the prophets’ words is the confirming performance by God Himself of the things spoken or written in His Name and by His inspiration. 

So performance by the Lord (His prophet) of His intention is here the Seal of Truth.

If we apply this significance to the words of our immediate passage, Daniel 9: 24, it should be realized that in a prophecy bridging hundreds of years of time before the designated ‘consummation’ of God’s purposes with Israel, such confirmation by performance – though continually manifested in all the stages of its development – can only find complete ‘sealing’ when ALL the foretold events have come to pass.

W. H. Carter adds, “So far as the Christ’s first appearing is concerned, the ‘vision’ was ‘sealed’ by all that happened ‘according to the scriptures’ (in I Corinthians 15:  1;  I Peter 1: 10,  11). There was thus a partial ‘sealing of the vision’ in the events of those first century days: but the day is still expected in which all the words of Daniel 9: 24 - 27, and indeed, the words of all the Lord’s prophets who have spoken of ‘the end’ shall find their complete ‘sealing’ in the establishment of the Kingdom of God in the Day of Zion’s Salvation and Glory.”

“To this point in our consideration, Daniel 9: 24 has referred more to the ‘sealing’ of the ‘prophecy’ rather than to the ‘prophet.’ But both are obviously involved: for that which puts the Seal of Truth upon their message must also ‘seal’ them as being true Prophets of God.

“The coming Kingdom of God will not only set the final Seal of Truth upon their message, but also upon themselves as the faithful servants of the Lord. Hence, the time of the Kingdom is also ‘the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that God shouldest give rewards unto His servants the prophets’ (Revelation 11: 18); and that they should now become sharers in the glory and incorruptibility of which they testified.”

We would suggest that in the sealing of the ‘prophecy’ there is inherent the sealing of the ‘prophet’ as well – for the Lord Jesus attained the full measure of His required work at that time and in doing so established credentials for Himself which assured that he was indeed ‘the prophet,’ whether he had yet fulfilled all His future duties or not. In having come this far, his future course was engraved in stone and could not fail! He was assuredly ‘the prophet’ upon Whom salvation depended and had, by His resurrection from the dead, been ‘sealed’ to that end.

One more point here: it appears that we should acknowledge in the term ‘vision and the prophecy’ that there is a close connection of this principle to Daniel 8: 16, where there is a vision which is interpreted for Daniel by Gabriel.

In the current consideration there is a prophecy but no ‘vision’ per se. In Daniel 9: 21, the prophet relates the vision of his 8th chapter to the one under consideration; the angel– Gabriel – is the same in both cases. Both events are substantial equivalents which indicate that both would be ‘sealed’ by ‘performance’ at the same time period in history. Both point immutably forward to ‘the consummation.’

Sixth … To anoint the Most Holy

Scholars – and specifically W. H. Carter – tell us that the Hebrew here does not indicate whether the “Most Holy” refers to Messiah, the People, the Holy City or the Temple. As Daniel’s prayer in 9: 16 - 19 indicates the Holy City is “the place of the Sanctuary,” it seems fitting that the prophecy given as God’s answer to him should nominate that Sanctuary.

Also, in the 8th of Daniel this prophecy is connected as to subject, and it is “the Sanctuary and the Host” which are “trodden under foot,” or desecrated.  Desecration is a state of things which ends with the “cleansing” of the Sanctuary. Jesus’ prophecy that “Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled" seems to be a direct reference to this 8th chapter. That specific prophecy predicts the “cleansing of the Sanctuary” or the Sanctuary Cycle of 2300 evening-mornings. By our best estimates the sanctuary was “cleansed” on June 7, 1967, when Israeli forces captured the City and soon after proclaimed it the eternal capital of the nation of Israel.

In the interim the Temple Mount has been desecrated by many enemies from the Romans to the present desecrators, the Muslims, whose Dome of the Rock stands precisely upon the Most Holy place of Solomon’s Temple. This history is in accord with the words of Daniel 9: 26, 27 – 

“… the people of the prince that shall come (that was Rome) shall destroy the City and the Sanctuary (70 AD) … and for the overspreading of abominations he (Rome) shall make it desolate, even unto the consummation.” Byzantine Rome was succeeded in the Holy Land by Islam in the 7th century, which consistently extended the abominations, as did later oppressors.

The prophet was thus informed that the “day of Glory” lay far, far ahead in time! Ezekiel predicted (43: 4 – 7) that the Shekinah of God should re-enter the Temple in the future age of His re-established Throne in Jerusalem: “Son of man, the place of My Throne, and the place of the soles of My feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel forever, and My holy name, shall the house of Israel no more defile.”

Jesus Christ in His role as Priest and King IS that Shekinah – that glory of God – that Light of the world!

And so the City shall be sanctified and consecrated to the glory of God forever. He has sworn that it shall be, when He “… shall perform the truth to Jacob and the mercy to Abraham, which He has sworn unto the fathers from the days of old.” It is only then that the City’s people shall truly be called “the holy People, the Redeemed of the Lord.”

So how may we understand the fulfillment of this last tenet of the prophecy? – “To anoint the Most Holy?” It appears that, like the other specific elements, it was not fully accomplished at Christ’s first coming, but the foundation for that action was firmly and immutably laid in place, never to be moved. Its future was thus concretely assured…

In accord with the earlier elements, the machinery of its completion was set in motion in His personal anointment – His own rectification with His Father as being typical of the great universal rectification which has been foretold. The Instrument of Anointment (Christ) was set firmly in place with the loving obedience and sacrifice of Himself, of Christ Jesus, our Lord.  

As Jesus has transcended the flesh (Hebrews 10: 20) and now dwells at the Father’s right hand, He dwells in the Most Holy place in heaven itself, having torn away the curtain (opened and removed its fleshly barrier) in his sacrifice. The certainty of the future sanctity of the Most Holy became sure upon His sacrificial death, certified by His resurrection on the third day.

So it appears to us that although none of the six tenets of the prophecy were completely fulfilled at Jesus’ first coming, that they were adequately addressed and fulfilled in full prospect. The absolute mechanism of their fulfillment was solidly and immutably established before all the world – before Jew and Gentile alike – before any and all who would concern themselves with these vital components of eternal salvation. The final fulfillment awaits the Second Advent of Christ, at which time He shall place in motion the complete and perfect fulfillment of these.

The Time-Line of the Prophecy

The prophecy was thus set in motion by the decree of Artaxerxes Longimanus, in 455 BC, the date of his decree to Ezra to go back to Jerusalem and rebuild Jerusalem. This time period is addressed in verse 25 …

Dan 9:25  Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince

shall be seven weeks,

and threescore and two weeks:

the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.

Note carefully here that from this date certain – 455 BC – unto Messiah the Prince shall be … a set of unusual markers within the prophecy of a specific time period.

That specific period of time is outlined in the next two phrases, curiously expressed as ‘seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks.’

Why this peculiar, dual expression of the time involved?

We believe it is because the exact time of Messiah’s appearance (i.e., His identity being made known with certainty) should be seven PLUS sixty two weeks from the date of the decree of Artaxerxes. When we do the calculation, we shall with great satisfaction see that it was an accurate forecast by the Almighty to the very day (probably). As far as we know, the exact date of Artaxerxes’ decree is not known within the year 455 BC.

We can be fairly certain as to the end of that period of time, however, by back-dating the ministry of Christ from His crucifixion on Passover, 30 AD, to His baptism three and one half years earlier. It is a generally accepted fact that Jesus’ active ministry lasted three and one half years.

 The earlier date – which was that of His baptism – should therefore, for consistency’s sake, have been on the Feast of Succot (Tabernacles), 26 AD.

Why This Fractional Definition?

But why is the prophecy expressed in fractional terms, as ‘seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks?’

We believe it a subtle clue that the entire prophecy was given in the context of the Jubilee Cycle, which Israel had been enjoined to observe since its inception in 1435 BC, as outlined in Leviticus 25.

The Law had specified that seven weeks of weeks (seven “sevened” – or 49 years should be known as a Jubilee, or a Jubilee Cycle. The next year, the fiftieth, should be not only the YEAR of Jubilee, but also the beginning year of the next cycle of 49 years.

Thus, the Jubilee should be observed the year after each cycle terminated.

Now, seven ‘sevened’ is 7 x 7, or 49 years, or one Jubilee Cycle.

But seventy ‘sevened’ is 490 years, or TEN Jubilee Cycles.

Is this significant?

We believe it is extremely so, for it indicates a termination of events consistent with the fulfillment of the prophecy, as we shall observe later in this article.

If we consider the lapse of the first seven weeks of years (49 years), the terminal date is not significant, prophetically. But that specificity highlights the prophecy’s close connection to the Jubilee Cycle.

Add the two periods together (seven and sixty two sevens) and one arrives at 483 years unto the Messiah the Prince, specified earlier in the verse.

This date, as already considered, is extremely important, for it terminated in 26 AD, the year of Jesus’ baptism by our reckoning, probably precisely on the date of the Feast of Tabernacles, which is consistent with His death three and one half years later, on Passover, in the year 30 AD.

This seems conclusively the time ‘unto Messiah the Prince,’ as it was publicly made known to the contemporary people of Judah through the ministry of John Immerser.

The date of Jesus’ baptism was the beginning of His public ministry to Israel of His day, therefore, occurred as the exact fulfillment of the 69th week of the prophecy. It is a prime example of the precision we have come to expect of the Almighty in His forecasts – His prescience – of the future which we know as Bible prophecy.

As such, it strengthens and confirms His truth to His servants of every future age which are privileged to observe the perfect fulfillment of the prophets’ words.

So the prophecy continues … the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. 26 And after threescore and two weeks (and after the initial seven weeks already stated – i.e., after 69 weeks) shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself:

Now we come to an extremely vital point of understanding of this prophecy.

In which week should He ‘confirm the covenant with many?’

The prophecy specifies that time as ‘after the 62 weeks – plus the previous seven weeks – ‘shall Messiah be cut off.’

There is NO ambiguity here, such as has been claimed by the present-day ‘prophecy gurus’ of the churches. They erroneously claim that the 69 weeks ended with the death of Messiah in contrast to the exact words of the prophecy, which specifies His ‘cutting off’ to be ‘after’ the 62 plus seven (69) weeks of the (second period of the) prophecy – or specifically in the midst of the 70th week of its term.

Instead, the modern day enthusiasts of ‘the (personal) Anti-Christ’ theories now prevalent among them, claim that the death of Christ, marked the END of the 69th week, automatically transferring the last week of years (7 years) of the prophecy forward beyond our current days – and designate this period ‘the great tribulation’ of their theology, discussion of which has been done in a separate article some years ago – an article proving conclusively that the theory is in complete error; that no such separation (or ‘gap’) has ever been a feature of any prophetic utterance in the Bible, and is inconsistent with the revelation given in this chapter, by Gabriel to Daniel.

For this specific reason, the churches of today’s “Christianity” are doomed to misconstrue the Second Coming of Christ as the coming of ‘the Anti-Christ’ of their own imagination. This will be the regretful outcome of their willing mis-construction of this prophecy’s details, and the imposition of their theories of a diabolical, supernatural, all-powerful Anti-Christian individual who shall come in the end-time to deceive Israel and the nations with great power and charisma – an exact description of the appearance of the REAL Christ when He comes to save His people (Isaiah 11: 11-16; Amos 9:14, 15; Zechariah 10-14).

As the prophet was informed, Messiah should be ‘cut off’ AFTER the 69th week – that is, during the 70th week – and indeed, in the MIDST of that last week.

No words could be more definitive or descriptive of the history that unfolded. As we have conjectured above, Jesus was slain precisely in the midst of that last week of the prophecy.

But if this is so, how may we account for the last three and one half years of that 70th week?

With great ease we address this vital question.

The entire prophecy should see its palpable fulfillment at the end of the 70th week – now determined to have been 34 AD, or three and one half years after His sacrifice at Golgotha.

We confidently claim that this is the case; please allow our explanation.

We have already stated that the six requirements of the prophecy were fulfilled by events which followed Jesus’ death by crucifixion by no more than 3 ½ years.

The Terminal Events of the 70th Week

We now consider those terminal events, which brought to a conclusion the final format of the Offer of Salvation which is graciously given His devout followers in His Word of Truth.

In supporting his assertion that Jesus’ baptism occurred on Sukkot, 26 AD, W. H. Carter, in his book, Times and Seasons, has this observation, on pages 248 to 249: “Our sixth reason (for the time of Jesus’ birth) is one of great importance, and rests on Daniel’s prophecy (9: 25) which specifies sixty-nine “weeks” (of years) “unto Messiah the Prince” (Messiah = Christ = Anointed); thus indicating His “anointing” at the close of that sixty-ninth “week” (See Matthew 3: 16, Acts 10: 38): and as these “weeks” are associated with the Sabbatical years which commence on the first of Tisri, the seventieth “week” would also open on that date. On that day Jesus “was anointed with the Holy Spirit and with power:” moreover, it was His birthday, for “He began to be about thirty years of age.” (Luke 2: 23). But it was also the anniversary of that first day when God said “Let there be light;” but “the Great Light” (Matthew 4: 16) which now “appeared” was to be a “light to lighten the Gentiles and the glory of God’s People Israel.”

We quote here from an earlier article on this subject in 2010, in which we state: “His next paragraph in the book is astonishing, for he continues … ‘Daniel’s prophecy also required that “Messiah” should be “cut off” “in the midst” of the seventieth “week;” and as He was also to be the antitypical  Passover Lamb, that “cutting off” took place on the fourteenth day of Abib three and a half years later. Only by being “anointed” at the beginning of Tisri could He, by dying in the month Abib, fulfill this prophecy, for Tishri and Abib are separated by six months.’[In this case, three years and six months; we have always been aware that Jesus’ ministry lasted three and one half years – Ed.]”

“I believe it is now fairly clear to you that we have the correct solution to the primary, on-the-surface meaning of the Prophecy of the Seventy Weeks of Daniel nine!

“If this baptism – or this revealing, or this anointing – of Jesus occurred at the end of the first 69 weeks, the seventieth week would now begin. It would be the most unusual seven years in all history, and would bring universal change (no – actually, fulfillment!) to many aspects of God’s relationship to mankind – and most importantly, would reveal the ultimate Savior among men.

“In the same time span the six specifications of the P70W would be fulfilled and immutably established in the most elemental sense!

 “Notice, first, that Gabriel had said that Messiah would be ‘cut off’ after the 69th week. In verse 27 Gabriel reveals that ‘He (i.e., Messiah) should “confirm the covenant with many for ONE WEEK.” He repeats the fact that ‘in the MIDST of the (70th!) week He shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease.’”

“Here Gabriel is not indicating that some “Antichrist” is going to appear to Israel of today and, after several years of leadership in that nation, then interrupt their worship services in the new Temple which they say the Antichrist shall build.  He is promising that Messiah shall cause the sacrifices and the oblations of the Law of Moses to cease! This He did by dying on the stake of Golgotha! In so dying, he “nailed” the Law to the tree of redemption (Colossians 2:14), fulfilling it for all time, and instituting the “law” of salvation through Grace.

“Even though His contemporaries, the Jews of Judea, did not perceive or accept this act as an end [the fulfillment] to the Law of Moses, He had already proclaimed to His disciples earlier in His ministry, “Think not that I am come to destroy the Law, or the prophets; I am NOT COME TO DESTROY, BUT TO FULFIL (IT).” (Matthew 5: 16)

“But what about the other half of the final “week?” Gabriel told Daniel in 9: 27 that “He shall confirm the covenant with many for one week.” But He was crucified at the precise middle of that week. But did He continue to “confirm the covenant with many for one week?” Did not the Lord Jesus tell His faithful eleven on the mountain in Galilee, “Lo, I am with you, even unto the end of the world” [Matthew 28: 16 - 20]?

“Yes, He did promise His continuing presence with them! In fulfillment of that promise, we ask, Did not His ministry then continue through the words he had spoken to them and through the gifts of the Holy Spirit from the Day of Pentecost and onward … through those same apostles? 

“If we examine the events of the next three and a half years after His sacrifice, what conditions do we find? Well, for one thing, persecution of the apostles and disciples becomes greater. But their personal teaching of Christ’s truth intensifies, for theirs is now the entire load to bear.

“But the Christ was the driving Force, the prime Mover, the effective Teacher. It was HIS teachings being passed on by the Holy Spirit to His brethren the Jews, through the apostles for much longer than the 42 months (3 ½ years) after His ascension to the Most Holy. It was in reality His ministry continuing through them.

But all the progress in store for the Plan would be completed in 3 ½ years!”

 In this dissertation we are concerned with the fulfillment of the P70W in the sense of the accomplishment of the six tenets of the prophecy. We must therefore consider closely the events which transpired through the end of the 70th week, where we shall discover the fully-revealed terminal point of the Plan of Salvation as then completed by the work of Christ and the Apostles.

 A prime consideration must be that, up until this time in history, no Gentile was offered salvation unless he first became a Jewish proselyte. Only then was he taught the gospel by the apostles and disciples of Jesus’ time. These outsiders must have legitimately converted to Judaism up to this time in order even to be offered the terms of salvation.

After the crucifixion the Jerusalem Ecclesia strengthened and solidified its position. Its members were involved actively in teaching the Gospel to their fellow Jews, traveling through many towns and villages to accomplish this vital work. Eternal salvation was now achievable, and that was their message; it was in contrast to the rewards of the Law of Moses, observance of which only conferred long life in the land – but not immortality in a future kingdom.

We now move forward to the terminal point of the 70th week – 36 AD. We read with great interest the account of Peter, in Acts 10, who is visiting Simon the Tanner at Joppa. It is nearing the time of the evening meal.

Peter goes up to the flat roof of Simon’s home for prayer, alone. While he is praying, he is shown a forceful vision of a great variety of animals, let down from the heavens by means of a great sheet. The sheet is filled with animals both clean and unclean by the standards of the Law. The vision is designed to teach Peter the now unfolding truth that the Gospel is now to be offered directly to the Gentiles – no longer only to proselyted Gentiles. Gentiles per se are now acceptable candidates for baptism into Christ, whereas prior to this date, they had been “unclean.”

Although the vision does not reveal it initially, the targeted Gentile will be a Roman Centurion who lives at Caesarea Maritima (Caesarea-by-the-sea) – one Cornelius, a centurion of the band called the Italian Band … a devout man, and one that feared God with all his house …” (Acts 10:1,2). The P70W’s provision for Jesus’ ‘confirmation of the covenant with many’ is nearing its terminal point. W. H. Carter’s chronology places the year as 4039 AM (or, 34 AD).

This fortunate man of Caesarea sees an angel in a vision at about ‘the ninth hour’ (3 pm) – a few hours prior to Peter’s vision of the sheet let down from heaven containing the diverse animals; but the two visions are intimately connected.

An angel in the vision commands Cornelius to send some of his men to Joppa, to the home of Simon, a tanner, where they will find “Simon, whose surname is Peter.” (verse 5)

 Please keep in mind that Peter, as one of the chief apostles, is continuing in the name of Christ what the Father had ordained through Gabriel – confirming “the covenant with many for one week” after Christ’s baptism by John in the River Jordan in 29 AD. We must bear in mind that the statement “for one week” does not imply the END of that “confirmation” process, but does indicate a certain sense of culmination or completeness of all its aspects or goals.

The ensuing events, we believe, were illustrative of that culmination, and the terminal acts which would place the current offer of Salvation on its present footing, never to be advanced again until comes the Christ of the Second Advent, and the establishment of His kingdom.

Being a child of the Law of Moses, Peter at first recoils that the angel of his vision urges him to “rise Peter, kill and eat” of the unclean and clean animals. But in further revelation, Peter is brought to realize that the vision is a new development in the establishment of the Gospel proclamation directly to the Gentiles.

Cornelius’ messenger arrives and requests of Peter that he accompany him to Caesarea (about 40 km north of Joppa) in order to confirm The Covenant to Cornelius, who is primed and ready to receive it directly from Peter. Peter travels northward straightaway.

While Peter is discussing the possibility with Cornelius, the Holy Spirit is manifested in Cornelius and all his household by their speaking in foreign languages, proving to Peter and those with him that “the Gentiles had also received the word of God,” as we learn from Acts 11: 1.

One can imagine the inherent rejection of this principle by the elders of the Ecclesia at Jerusalem when Peter returns to inform them of this important incident. But after much debate, the elders at Jerusalem are constrained to admit that “God hath also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life” (Acts 11: 18).

The stark reality of the continuation of Christ’s ministry after His resurrection and ascension is confirmed in the words of the last two verses of Mark, who reords that, “So then, after the Lord had spoken unto them, He was received up into heaven, and sat upon the right hand of God. And they went forth, and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen.”

This overt involvement of the Master personally, through the operation of the Holy Spirit, is clearly seen in the episode of Peter and Cornelius, and that the centurion and his entire household were given the gifts of the Spirit prior to their being baptized into Christ as absolute proof of the new direction which had been determined by the Almighty – His intention to speak directly to the Gentiles His words of Salvation and Redemption.

The ‘mystery’ was now fully revealed. It would not progress from this now final form until about 2,000 years into the future, when comes the Consolation of Israel – the arrival back in the earth of the LORD from heaven, and His accession to the throne of David in Jerusalem.

The Conclusion of the Matter

We behold in this explanation of the Prophecy of the Seventy Weeks, a perfectly-outlined forecast of events as they should develop in future time – a time of great turmoil for the Believers following the unexpected “cutting off” of Messiah and the blessed events which followed that grave time – His resurrection, His brief sojourn among them and then His ascension into the heavens from the Mount of Olives, followed by His continuing ministry among them by means of His Holy Spirit.

This understanding completely and scripturally obliterates the false construction that the “churches” and their minions have almost universally placed upon the prophecy – all the “facts” of which are geared to promote their pernicious doctrine of a personal Antichrist and their  supposed but fictional “seven year tribulation” of that period. 

It also illustrates quite clearly that when He returns to the earth, the REAL Christ shall enact perfectly almost every aspect of their erroneous expectations of their darling of the end-time – “The Antichrist!” By their deliberate and wilful corruption of the truth of God’s word shall they be deceived terminally – but mostly by their wholesale acceptance of its corruption by the early Roman Church whose doctrines have pervaded almost every century since His first appearance.

What is the origin of this deception?

It stems from the new knowledge of God’s word which was gained by the movers and shakers of the Enlightenment, beginning essentially with the nailing of his 95 Theses to the door of Wittemberg Cathedral in Worms, Germany, by Martin Luther in 1517 – the action to which is generally attributed the spiritual revolution that is known as the Renaissance.

Because of Luther’s exposes of the Roman System, and the scholarship of translators such as Myles Coverdale, John Wycliffe, John Hus, Thomas Linacre, Johann Gutenberg, John Colet, and Erasmus, the Bible came into the comprehension of scholars who resisted to the death the corrupt doctrines and practices of the Roman Church.

The papacy became so alarmed by this disturbing development that it allowed the formation of the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits) by Francisco Ribera and Ignatius Loyola. The Jesuits’ main mission was to combat the teachings of these Renovators and preserve the doctrines of the Church. The selling of indulgencies helped their cause; the Inquisition absolutely improved the retention of “church members” for the Catholic Church. Ribera, principally, wrote a book in which he sought to “take the heat” off the Church’s nomination of the pope being “Antichrist,” as the Renovators had proven. Ribera’s conclusion was that the prophecies contained in The Revelation were ALL to be fulfilled in the FUTURE (called Futurism), and that they had nothing to do with the Church.

The Revelation, according to Ribera, indicated that Antichrist should arise as a single man who would stand up in the end time and make peace for a regathered Israel in their land; and, misinterpreting the Prophecy of the Seventy Weeks, promised that Antichrist would make a seven year covenant with Israel during that seventieth week of seven years – now transferred to the end time – and would rebuild their Temple, and assure peace and safety for Israel for a time.

But at the mid-point of the “seven year tribulation” “the Antichrist” would betray the Jews, install a statue of himself in the Temple, and insist that the Jews worship him and it. The Jews would refuse. After that troublous time, Jesus would return to the earth and save His people from “the Antichrist.”

The appeal of this entirely false interpretation gained such currency that nearly the entirety of the clergy swallowed it – especially after it was re-presented by another Catholic priest named LaCunza under the guise of having been written by a converted Jew.

These hirelings of Christendom are doomed to the deception which they have swallowed completely by their own lack of faithful scholarship in the Word – they shall have been fatally deceived into believing the returned LORD Jesus Christ to be in actuality, “The Antichrist.”

The consequence of this conviction is their rabid resistance to His sovereignty, and rejection of His decrees for that time.

It is an ironic payback for their willing corruption of God’s holy word. But we sincerely hope that many of those folk will quickly recognize the genuine nature and identity of the returned Christ’s work and innate power, and accept Him as the Real Savior, and turn their hearts to the LORD when He offers them His salvation.

<HEL MD/USA, 9O, edited 6P>  ~8000 words.  July: The Prophecy of the Seventy Weeks

June: Portraits of Antichrist

Harold E Lafferty

In this exposition, we approach one of the most controversial subjects in Scripture - Antichrist, or "the Antichrist." A comprehensive, scriptural analysis of this subject yields many extremely unique and unwholesome facets of his ungodly existence. 

The view of the Christian world has been warped and skewed by many improbable ideas, so drawing a portrait of their Antichrist as a much different one from that depicted in the Word of God.

In this essay, we strive to consider many fine details of Antichrist, and to focus on each of these in order to understand his nature, character and identity.

Just who ... or what ... is this Antichrist? There are unmistakable clues in God's word. Here are just a few of them...

 1. Antichrist declares that Jesus came not in the flesh of mankind.

John addresses these important features of the Adversary: 1John 4:1 “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try (test) the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. 2  Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: 3  And every spirit that confesseth NOT that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is NOT of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.”

This unmistakable TEST will automatically and unfailingly define antichrist for us.

Note carefully here that John's concern is "false prophets." We submit to you that the Pope of Rome is identical with the "false prophet" of Revelation 16:13: “And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. 14  For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.15  “Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame. 16  And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.”

Then note carefully that truth-teachers freely own that Jesus Christ came in the flesh, meaning in the flesh common to all mankind. When Adam fell, taking Eve with him, he was condemned to death. Only by some Divine scheme of redemption from death could he ever live forever. Subsequently, God clothed the pair with coats of skin, which means he offered a typical animal sacrifice of cleansing for Adam that he die not immediately for his transgression.

By being so condemned, Adam and all his posterity, without exception, stood subject to death at the end of their mortal lives. His posterity included Jesus Christ some 4,000 years later; Jesus was born of a woman, and born in "sin" although he had not committed sin and never did commit any sin. Yet, Jesus Christ died the death of the mortals just as all others.

But most Christians of this day will never admit that Jesus was born in "sin." It seems beyond their comprehension that they are, by such claims, actually saying that Jesus did NOT come in the flesh. And that He, like every other mortal, did not have to suffer death but merely gave His life gratuitously for the salvation of His followers. Yea, that being "God the Son," He could not really have died! John stated in I John 4:3, that this kind of false doctrine “is even now already in the world.”

So it is readily apparent that antichristian principles were beginning already to be expressed in John's day, just prior to 96AD.

Then he further reveals that the teachings of this false prophet and the others mentioned will lead all the kings of the earth to the battle of that great day of God Almighty, which he names in verse 16, as “Armageddon.”

It must be evident to every student of God's word, that if a "church" proclaims that Jesus Christ did NOT come in the flesh, then it is anti-Christ, or Antichrist. In attempting to circumvent this objection, the Roman "church" has handily concocted the fantasy called the immaculate conception of Mary, Jesus' mother, so that He could not have been stained with sin in any way.

From the moment of her conception of Jesus, they say the blessed virgin was "by a singular grace and privilege of almighty God and by virtue of the merits of JESUS Christ, Saviour of the human race, preserved immune from all stain of Original Sin." [Pius IX, Ineffabilis Deus (1854) DS2803.]

This argument leads to the claim that Jesus was NOT tempted in all things as were His brethren, that He overcame NO sin because He was never challenged BY sin (diabolos), and the conclusion stated by the inspired words of the writer to the Hebrews are false:  Hebrews 4:14  “Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession.15  For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.”

In addition to lying about Mary and her state of salvation, in declaring that Jesus came in some state other than that of the flesh of mankind the Catholic Church teaches that Jesus did NOT come in the flesh. This is a "Jesus" other than that of the Apostle in 1John 4:3 (as well as of 2John 1:7)! In God's Plan, such a redeemer cannot redeem men from the sin common to all mankind, for he is not himself subject to the same condemnation of sin.

Not only could Jesus do that ... He did do it!

The "world" does not understand that "sin is the father of sins;" it does not conceive of constitutional sin as precursor to transgressional sin - only to the first of which was the Savior of mankind subject, for he committed NO personal sins.

But the description of antichrist goes much further, revealing the complex facets of deceit which the church fulfils so perfectly.

 2. The church-state would be characterized as a woman sitting upon a beast.

In Revelation 17:3, John writes: “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.”

We well know that the Apocalypse is a book of signs (symbols) delivered to John by the Lord Jesus Christ from heaven (Revelation 1:1), and that it was "signified" to him by an angel. That is, it was delivered in an endless series of symbols. Throughout the Revelation, and the Bible in general, we see consistency of use of such symbols.

In this passage the WOMAN is a Church, or a body of particular believers. And in the Revelation, there are two prominent women - opposites of one another in every way. This woman of ill fame is thoroughly described in this chapter. She is the precise opposite of the Bride of Christ, whose character is given later in John's epistle - that "woman" being the Ecclesia of Christ, the Collective Wife of His great favour and blessing.

The Almighty tells Jeremiah (6:2) that, “I have likened the daughter of Zion to a comely and delicate woman.”

In similar manner, BEASTS in the Apocalypse represent a Nation, (or Nations in this case), or the King of a Nation.

We recall the well-known visions of Daniel 7 in which verse 17 reveals that These great beasts, which are four, are (meaning: represent) four kings, which shall arise out of the earth. We know these to have been Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome - kings being put by metonymy for their sovereign kingdoms or empires.

This practice is not unusual. Today the USA is symbolized by a bald eagle. China is likened to a dragon. Britain is a lion; Russia is a bear.

Verse 19 of Daniel 7 describes this fourth beast AS DIVERSE from all the others, with the fierce characteristics of iron teeth and brass nails, and the proclivity for total destruction - which devoured, brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with his feet. Verse 23 affirms this terrible character of the fourth beast, revealing again that it shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.

Its diversity would be singular. It head bore ten horns. Up from among these, a little horn sprang forth, and did away with three of the original horns. This new horn had eyes, and a mouth speaking "great things" as well as a stern countenance.  This beast is a miniature picture of the ultimate outgrowth of the fourth kingdom of men. We shall remark on the horns presently.

The Beast carries a burden - a drunken, salacious woman. The Beast-nation is controlled (ridden) by a church!  This is the woman of Revelation 17:3 described somewhat differently. And the beast of this chapter is the same beast as Daniel's fourth beast, described in more detail.

What a strange anomaly! A State/Nation ruled by a Church!  Our minds instantly flash to Southern Italy and Vatican City which lies within the confines of Rome - a small country led by a Church whose head is the Pope. Today we might think it almost insignificant. But it is now making plans to structure itself into a global power in the place of Pagan Rome and the Holy Roman Empire which succeeded it.

 3. The Beast received its power from pagan Rome. 

Before the church gained prominence, it existed under the oppressive power of pagan Rome. Revelation 13: 4 informs, “And they worshipped the dragon (pagan Rome) which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? Who is able to make war with him?”

Volumes of historical chronicles record this transition from pagan Rome to Church Rome. When Constantine ascended to the throne of pagan Rome, he brought into the shaky empire the "Christian" religion as THE STATE RELIGION. All Romans became Catholics, just as surely as they had all been pagans! They did not so elect, but became so by proclamation of Constantine.

So the Dragon in this prophecy is Pagan Rome, as explained above.

Revelation 12:9 also identifies the dragon as "satan and the devil." But what ARE these? Satan is Greek satanas, G4567, and is defined as accuser. Devil is Greek diabolos, G1228, defined as false accuser or slanderer. These are integral to the raw nature of mankind, and dwell within his person. Only the mythology of Babylon and Egypt can connect these two with a fire-dwelling monster with horns and a tail - the "devil" of popular mythology.

These words of John (actually of Jesus Himself) refer to human nature, which is itself basically evil and separated from God as was Adam after he transgressed. They are the expression of sin, yes, but sin as expressed in and by human activities - in human flesh - and because of faulty human character, or lust. Mankind cannot attribute himself "victim" to sin caused by an external being; it's HIS own personal faults and imperfections which bring sin, and not an external tempter beyond his control.

The principle of innate sin in man (defined as lust and pride) causes active sin (or sinning) in the manner described by James, who perfectly understood what is in man, and what causes him to sin. James 1:13 – “Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man:14  But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. 15  Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.”

Here then is the transparently progressive pathway of active sin. There is no mysterious Tempter here. The source of man's sinning is a man's own lust, which entices him to transgress. When lust is admitted, it brings forth sinful acts, which result in death. In retrospect, the sin that is inherent in men and women, writ indelibly upon their very beings, brings death upon them in the finality.

So pagan Rome morphed into Catholic Rome. In a narrow slot of time the Dragon became another Beast, with seven heads and ten horns - and with an infamous woman riding upon its back. The Beast is covered with names of blasphemy, which define its nature and identity, and its multiple personalities or divisions (states).

Remember, the Beast is a nation (or empire); the woman is a Church. Men asked, "Who is able to make war (resist) this Beast?" Just as pagan Rome was dominant among men, the Catholic Church became so powerful that not one ruler or subject could resist it. Its power was unlimited and unrestrained. Its evil was expressed in myriads of ways as even a brief study of church history will reveal.

Although at times repressed, one can easily see that the mores of Rome pagan are perfectly expressed in Rome Catholic - in its teaching and behaviour. They are identical in multiple ways: in clothing, in language (Latin), in architecture, in legal definition, in ideology, in manner of life, in political expertise and intrigue, in complex financial operations, in consummate subterfuge, in their far-reaching influence, in their overall framework of belief and practice, and in their physical location.

So the Beast was established in the place of the Dragon. And the place of its establishment is also well defined ...

 4.  The Beast would have seven heads. 

Revelation 17:3 “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.”

Exactly what are these seven heads? We will discuss the ten horns in another section. We do not have to express any personal opinion on this matter, for Jesus' next words explain what this means: in verse 9, He says: “And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are (represent) seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth.”

The word "mountains" here is Greek oros, G3735, and means a mountain or an hill.

This infamous church/state sits atop seven hills. Only Rome is indicated; in all the world its chief characteristic is that it contains seven hills. So exactly where does Vatican City reside? It sits in Rome ... the city of the seven hills.

We remember that the fourth beast should be diverse from all kingdoms. The church/state of Rome is an unique combination in all history. And to add to its identity, it sits squarely in the seven hilled city of Rome.

Rome has existed for thousands of years. It has not always been prominent in human history. But its Church phase was destined to rule the world for a certain, set period of time ...

 5. Antichrist was destined to rule the world for 1260 years. 

We cite three scriptural references to this feature of the entity.

a. Revelation 13: 5 – “And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months.”

b. Daniel 7:25  “And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.”

c. Revelation 12:6 – “And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days.”

Close examination will reveal these three time periods to be identical.

Forty two months is three and an half years. In another context, "time" is one year, "times" is two years, and "a dividing of time" is an half year, or three and an half years. In yet another expression, 1,260 days are again three and an half years. All are the same time period.

Without going into an extended discussion on the derivation of these terms, all of them add up  to the same period of time, which is 1,260 YEARS in prophetic time - the amount of time during which the Ecclesia of Christ was destined to hide in the wilderness from its unstoppable oppressors.

This principle is established upon the statement in Ezekiel 4:6, which declares, “I have appointed thee (Ezekiel) each day for a year.” Also, in Numbers 14: 34, the Israelites were sentenced to wander in the desert for forty YEARS - one year for each day that the unfaithful agents spent spying out the land.

During this specified period of time, 1,260 years, the Church of Rome would bear heavily upon its subjects, persecuting the followers of Christ in every place.

So, we inquire: Does history bear out this interpretation? We offer these thoughts...

When did the Roman church hierarchy become a woman riding upon a beast - a church ruling a nation? At that point she would gain the ability and power of control, and accede to her full, dreadful potential to persecute the saints.

Historical support for this beginning shows that the papacy began its authoritative reign in 538 AD under the decree of Justinian (political) and under the (military) protection of Belisarius. Thus the two main parameters of this unique church/state are satisfied beginning in that year.

Now, for the prophecy to have validity, the resultant Beast ridden by the Woman would receive a mortal wound. Add 1260 years to 538AD and the result is 1798 AD - the pre-determined date of the wounding. Encyclopedia Britannica (1941) records that "In 1798 General Berthier made his entrance into Rome, abolished the papal government, and established a secular one."

IN EXACTLY 42 PROPHETIC MONTHS (years) after its ominous beginning, the papacy went "into captivity" by the authority of Napoleon!  Its power was truncated. Its career was (temporarily) ended. It had oppressed the Believers for exactly forty two months in prophetic time. But now it lay dead in its tracks for the indeterminable future, no longer a credible threat to the true Believers of that day.

How glorious is the Omniscience of our Father! How perfect is his foresight! And how wonderful and facilitative is His "day for a year" principle in confirming our understanding of His will and Plan!

 6. The Beast to be mortally wounded after 1260 years.

Another reference informs the student that ... Revelation 13: 3 – “I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death ...” This has been alluded to above, but this reference re-confirms the facts.

"Wounding" is usually done by military action - and so it was. As the Beast had killed Believers, so he should be killed - mortally wounded (wounded to death). The pope was exiled from the Vatican and died in another place. The beast had been mortally wounded ... its power withered and faded for a time.

There is a powerful similarity here of the FALSE Prophet's career to that of the One Whom he emulates as Vicar of Christ. Consider this: Jesus is well known to have served in his ministry for three and an half years, or 1260 days, before dying (being mortally wounded). In the same manner, the principle antichrist had also served his purpose for three and an half PROPHETIC days, and then been mortally wounded.

But there is more improbable intrigue ahead; just as the Christ was resurrected so shall be Antichrist!

 7. The head (Antichrist) would be "healed" - or revived!

Revelation 13: 3 – “And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed; and all the world wondered after the beast.”

Time moved slowly forward as the papacy now controlled only its church. Its state had been abolished. The Pope was imprisoned inside the Vatican. His powers were extremely limited.

His political and civil power had been completely erased, seemingly for all time.

But at long last, another surprisingly improbable event came about - improbable especially considering one of the parties to it.

The secular Italian government of the day determined again to recognize the Vatican as an independent state within Italy! In 1929, Italian Foreign Minister Benito Mussolini signed the Lateran Concordat of 1929 on behalf of King Victor Emmanuel II, and Cardinal Gasparri signed it on behalf of Pope Pius XI. The newspapers of the day trumpeted the event as "an healed wound" in the precise words of the Apostle John!

And indeed, the world "wondered" at the Beast, refitted in its gear of mastery and authority, reinstated upon the City of Seven Hills astride the Tiber. The supreme leader of the church again became a religio-political figure of note, his wound healed, his future destiny once again established on its course of certainty according to the Biblical prophets.

 8. The Beast that was, is not, and yet is. 

Yet another incredible affirmation of Antichrist's agility and resiliency is attested in the words of Revelation 17:8 – “The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.”

Doubtless John himself could not have understood this revelation at the time it was given him. He fully realized that the Lord Jesus was informing him of the corruption of the Gospel of Christ in this revelation; but its permutations would have been a mystery to him. The language seems so impossible of fulfilment (of course he did not believe them so) it would have to play out in real time to be understood.

It has now done so!

Here is the historical outline:

The Beast that was ... The year 598 AD begins with the Decree of Justinian which established the bishop of Rome as head of the Roman State. The Harlot mounts the Beast and the two become one at that time. That arrangement continued until 1798 AD, when General Berthier, a Napoleonic commander, entered the Vatican and jailed the pope, abolishing his politico-religious power.

... and is not: From 1798 the papacy existed, but not as a political power by any means. It had been wounded unto death (for a time). The Lateran Treaty of 1929 healed the wound and restored the pope to his political office as head of the Vatican Free State.

... and yet is: From the year 1929, the Roman Catholic Church has again existed as a church and a state simultaneously - an unique arrangement in all history - the Harlot again mounted upon the bizarre Beast.

In this extremely improbable succession of events is clearly seen the outworking of this mysterious prophecy of so many parts. And is evidence of its clear negation of all the inane and foolish theories of the TV ministers who suppose an individual anti-Christ to arise in future, to reign for 3 1/2 years, then be mortally wounded, but be miraculously healed of his wounds to continue his reign of terror.

An intelligent, earnest investigation of historically verifiable events reveals the true outworking of this prophecy, and draws a clear mark between the fantasies of most observers and the pure, holy truth of God's eternal word, which is always open to sincerely seeking individuals whose goal is to glorify the Almighty, and not to aggrandize themselves, or attract thousands to expensive "prophecy conferences," or to sell millions of fanciful books.

 9. Antichrist shall subdue three kings (nations) of the original ten of fallen Rome.

Daniel 7:24 - "And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings."

Here Daniel clearly sets forth that the ten horns represent ten KINGS or dominions. We know from history that when Pagan Rome fell in 476 AD it fragmented into ten separate kingdoms. Seven of the ten kingdoms accepted the idea of a universal Catholic faith which would exercise both religious and political control over the people of fallen Rome. But three of these did not accept that premise of the Church. As a result they were destroyed.

The first to fall was the Heruli, in 493 AD. This was a mercenary north German people.

Second was the domain of the Vandals, in 534 AD. They were an east German tribe.

Third to fall were the Ostrogoths, in 538 AD. At this time they were an Italian kingdom.

These were the three kingdoms which Daniel had prophesied would fall. Note carefully that it was in the year 538AD that the Roman Catholic Church initiated its official position and reign as the last phase of this fourth Beast of Daniel's prophecy! The Catholic Emperor Justinian overthrew these three "horns" because they supported Arianism as opposed to the orthodox Catholic faith. Pope Vigilius took his place in the papal chair in this very year under the MILITARY protection of Belisarius.

The perfect outworking of this powerful church was clearly the "little horn" speaking great things - the power that would strive to rise to become a global power in pursuit of its own ends.

The ten divisions into which Pagan Rome divided are generally accepted as ...

The Alamannis which is now called Germany

The Visigoths which is now called Spain

The Franks which is now called France

The Sueves which is now called Portugal

The Burgundians which is now called Switzerland

The Anglo Saxons which is now called England

The Lombards which is now called Italy

The Ostrogoths

The Vandal

The Herulis

 10. Antichrist's name adds to 666.

One of the most striking "marks" of antichrist is the number of his name: 666. Revelation 13: 16-18 states: “And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: 17  And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. 18 Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.”

The pope has many official titles in several languages. Many of these languages attribute numerical values to several of their various letters. Notable are Latin (the language of the church), Greek, and Hebrew. Their values for each given letter are of course not the same, but all are certainly known from ancient time. It is astonishing how many papal titles there are and how perfectly they fulfil this prophecy of John!

The most established name of the pope is Vicariuis Filii Dei - Vicar of the Son of God. Note the perfection of this calculation from the values of these letters: as noted, some of the letters have no assigned numerical value (-).

V   5

I 1

C  100

A   -

R  -

I 1

R  -

I 1

V (U) 5

S   -

F   -

I     1

L  50

I      1

I      1

D 500

E   -

I       1  

 TOTAL 666

  Another is DVX CLERI (Captain of the Clergy); its numerical value is also 666.

D   500

V             5

X           10

C   100

L          50

E   -

R  -

I               1 / TOTAL  666

In Greek, the phrase "Latin Speaking Man" is Lateinos. Its value in Greek is ...

L     30

A   1

T   300

E   5

I   10

N    50

O    70

S   200 

 TOTAL  666

 Further study reveals that in the Greek language, The Latin Kingdom (He Latine Basileia) also adds to 666, as do Italian Church (Italika Ekklesia), and Apostates.  In the Hebrew, Roman Kingdom (Romiith),  Roman Man (Romiti). There are others. One of the most damning may be that the Latin name of Pope John Paul II (Ioanes Pavlvs Secvndo) also adds to precisely 666 - the first papal name to be so noted.

 11 Antichrist's men shall not have a desire for women.

Especially in our time is this feature prominent! Daniel 11:37 “Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers, nor the desire of women, nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all.”

This reference clearly indicates the homosexual character of the men of Antichrist. Thousands of Catholic priests have been indicted in widespread abuse of young boys in their charge - altar boys, choir boys, and others. It is striking how pervasive this practice is now known to be. It extends to all levels of the Catholic clergy - from Cardinals all the way down to the lowly parish priests. The author personally is acquainted with a man who was a Catholic Church choir leader who was summarily excommunicated for blowing the whistle on one of his parish priests who was abusing young boys. That priest was merely transferred to another location in his same role as a "preacher of the gospel" to his new parishioners.

The church will show you "proof" that their screening of young men who intend to become priests is designed to reject those with homosexual tendencies, but the practical result belies the validity of such claims.

The above topics are but a small sample of the real truth concerning Antichrist and his collective character through the centuries. This venerable, often hallowed institution has put to death an estimated 500 million men and women in time past who have rejected its teachings in the notorious Inquisition. That office was recently re-instituted by a pope and its principles were defended by him. The Church of Rome intends in future to continue its age-old practice of enforcing its rules and laws on everyone who dissents.

But its intention shall not prevail. Instead, when it reaches the point of making war with the Lamb of God (Revelation 17: 14), the Lamb shall overcome them, for He is Lord of lords, and King of kings, and they that are with Him are called, and chosen, and faithful.

    <HEL MD/USA: December, 2012>

May: Emphasis Misplaced! Not Ours, but “Theirs”

An e TPL Editorial

Harold E. Lafferty

W

e continue to be astonished and disconcerted as to the dearth of basic, scriptural analytical application, the scarcity of real Bible scholarship with relation to the specific field of “Bible prophecy,” and the serious lack by many observers, of any organized, meaningful, and coherent comprehension of the patent “drift” (landslide, a “continental drift!”) of present day affairs having to do with Israel and its Arab neighbors (and the enemies already within its gates, such as the PLO, Hamas, and others).

Many of the prophecy students who otherwise well understand the basic principles of salvation, are today largely wasting their time and that of their readers discussing the endless moves of Russia in the present historical context – leading readers to believe that “the next big thing” will be an invasion of Israel by the Russian Confederation headed by Gog of the Land of Magog.

A monthly Journal that I just received uses (frankly, wastes) eight of its precious pages discussing the endless, concentrated, mind-numbing minutiae of Vladimir Putin’s involvement in Syria, in Turkey,  and in Crimea/Ukraine, and the supposedly crafty, tactical/strategic thinking behind those moves.

These articles add almost nothing to one’s understanding of the current events of the prophetic scene in the Middle East.

But furthermore, they give no space or consideration to these critical events that are happening under our noses – events which are rapidly bringing the world to the greatest Event of all time – the Second Coming of our Lord from heaven, and the utter demolition of the enemies of Israel which are threatening her from every side, and have been doing so for 68 years!

These endless, nearly frenzied quotations of the worldly pundits of the day (newsmagazines, mostly, but also other print and electronic media), no matter how scholarly they appear, no matter the academic qualification of their writers, no matter the immediate importance they seem to have, are simplistic ramblings about nothing that is really important TO US in this time in history.

Yes, they may bear upon events of the near to intermediate future, but shall Believers actually witness them in our present dispensation?

They may seem to illustrate the progression of Russia toward her final posture as Gog of the land of Magog, although most of the ones we have read actually illustrate little relevance to those final goals of that Gogian Confederacy – the direct and straightforward invasion of Israel of the future to “spoil the despoilers.”

Such writers/compilers of our “house” organs are completely ignoring the events depicted in the prophets, which dedicated students of Bible prophecy recognize necessarily precede the Gogian invasion – events which are explained in detail, and with great relevance, and in great and dramatic imperative, by Obadiah, by Isaiah 11, by Psalm 83, by Ezekiel 35, by Amos 7 and Zechariah 10-14, and by the Prophet Joel and several others, including the mysterious Balaam of Numbers 22.

We refer to the conflict of the nations round about Israel with the people of Israel, and to their intense and growing determination to attack and devour Israel’s people, and to take their land – toward which numerous feckless attempts have been made by these same enemies during the 68 years of Israel’s modern history.  

Just when are these paramount fulfillments going to “grab” the attention of our own most influential commentators, lecturers, and journalists??

To us, the recent history of prophetic fulfillments has been extraordinary – notable, and vital to our notice.

Many foundational upheavals have contributed to the status quo of today:

The War of Israeli Independence was waged from May 1948 until a fragile truce was reached in August, 1949. The Arabs by that date had lost hundreds of square miles of land (2500 square miles, by some estimates) over and above the lands awarded them by the Partition Plan issued by the United Nations Organization.  It had been a stupid move on their parts.

The Six Day War of 1967 ended in Israeli acquisition of huge additional swaths of land that they had not previously controlled, including the entire Sinai Peninsula, the Gaza Strip, the Golan Heights, Judea and Samaria, and the Old City of Jerusalem.  The Arab haters of God’s people had lost everything again.

It had been another stupid move on their parts.

The Yom Kippur War of 1973, after beginning awkwardly for Israel, ended with Israel consolidating all their previous holdings after initially believing itself about to be extinguished.

These were merely the beginnings of the ongoing, advancing War of the Valley of Jehoshaphat, which we are currently witnessing.

It had been yet another stupid move by Israel’s detractors!

In our opinion, this great, protracted, and specific conflict has been raging for nearly 70 years, officially (much longer, actually), and will conclude with the Psalm 83 conflict, which integrates fully with all the other accounts mentioned above, serving as a veritable summary of end time events into which all the others integrate perfectly.

But the Gogian players are not included!

Only this action will be sufficient to set the stage for the Gogian conflict – events with which believers today actually need not muchly concern themselves.

The details of the Gogian conflict, in our understanding, are found only (?) in Ezekiel 38 and 39 – a relatively simplistic, limited, and succinct statement of an (intended, but unsuccessful) assault upon Christ’s Kingdom that is initiated AFTER the Master has returned and has destroyed/ousted the squatters and interlopers of the Proximal Arab groups and states, including the PLO, Hamas, Hezbollah and the other nation-states between the two Rivers of the Promised Land (the Land promised to Abram and his Seed).

It is a conflict which will be waged against the nascent Kingdom of God, after Christ and the Saints have arrived in Israel, have been victorious, and Christ the King has begun establishing and organizing His Millennial Kingdom – in our intensively studied opinion.

Only by Christ’s Second Coming will Israel “dwell safely” as in Ezekiel 38: 8, 11,14 – an absolutely necessary prerequisite for the Gogian invasion.

After nearly 70 years of utter failure to achieve a peace settlement, or even to approach a workable and accepted “two state solution,” it is inconceivable that, at this late date, such could still be accomplished.

As of the present time, the parties are not even negotiating in any way.

At least seven scriptural references show clearly that Christ comes and destroys the Arabs of the states round about Israel prior to the Gogian conflict.

They also prove that at their fulfillment, “Israel shall know the LORD,” a factor this is essential for the State’s continuance, for at that time He becomes their King!

These references are: Psalm 83; Obadiah 1: 19, 20; Ezekiel 28: 22-26; Ezekiel 34: 1-9 and 23-30; Ezekiel 35: 11; Isaiah 63: 1-6; Joel 3: 16, 17.

It is also proven by information that is notably and obviously absent from the Ezekiel account. None of Israel’s nearby Islamic enemies of today is included in the list of Gog’s confederacy … none!

It is a rather strange fact to contemplate, because if they were still in existence at that time, surely some of them might be mentioned as aggressors along with Gog; yet they are not.

Their slate shall have been erased!

The time for awakening to the facts and to the essence of contemporaneous prophetic affairs is well past.

We believe the very hour of the sounding of the Great Shofar of the Resurrection that is noted in 1Corinthians 15:52  is nigh upon us. The apostle warns that it will occur … In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet (the Shofar) shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed ... that the hour of that Great Interruption of The World is now being struck. We have arrived at that crucial hour in the world’s history.

Listen, please, to the clear chimes that are announcing the salvation of The Household of Faith, of Israel His People, and of the world, as His grace is yet again extended to them!

In light of this imminent and colossal Advent, we need to stop our breathless, exhaustive speculations on the current, paltry machinations of Vlad Putin and his crowd; their time of infamy is actually some indeterminable distance in the future, in our opinion of the words of the Almighty as set down by His faithful prophets.

Yes, Russian preparations are being made for their advance into the future of their planners, but we seriously doubt that any inkling has yet come to their war planners relating to any invasion of Israel of today – or of linking arms with the likes of Persia (Iran), Libya, Kuwsh, Gomer, Togarmah, Magog and others in an attempt to take a spoil and a prey from tiny Israel.

It is a body of information of which we – an insignificant group of observers mainly in the West – are thankfully aware, being facts of the future which even the principals of that conflict do not yet know!

Only when Israel grows GREAT, and under the leadership of its Messiah, thoroughly overturns the adversaries which she now faces, and takes all their lands and properties, their minerals (oil, potash, uranium, etc.), their chattels, their great stacks of cash on hand, their vast investment portfolios, and their current accounts (accounts receivable and on deposit) – only THEN shall the “hooks” be set in the jaws of the Great Bear and its newly adopted Cubs, causing them to … think an evil thought!

But today, who cares about those details? They are actually (mostly) irrelevant – except as to their future historical context as fulfillment of Bible prophecy.

Let us try to place the Gogian affair in its proper time and place – the intermediate future, and beyond the incredibly paramount events of today and next week …

By the time this military action by Gog begins to form in earnest, and then takes place (in our opinion), the Elect of God – His accepted Sons and Daughters – shall be well beyond any dreaded outcomes of the Judgment Seat of Christ, and if acceptable to Him, shall have already been invested with immortality.

Furthermore, the Occupiers of Israel’s Land at that time are destined to be not only the more than six millions of Jews who live there now, but also the innumerable Host of the Elect of God, alongside the Christ of the Second Advent Who is at that time Occupant of the Throne of David in Mount Zion!

Yes, it’s rather an ironic account that Ezekiel has penned: the mighty, pompous Gogian Coalition assembles with great fanfare against the naïve, newly arrived king of Israel (Where did he come from??), and His lately disarmed Israeli State, taking the rulership over Israel as King, no less – thus abolishing the Republic of Israel, and “relegating” it to a monarchy – while at the same time, clearly manifesting the actions and demeanor of “the Antichrist,” as the “Churches”  are labeling Him.

Israel’s sudden, overwhelming, super-national strength (and fierce aggression) is a dilemma of the first order for Gog and his companions in arms.

But it’s high time, think they, that a Force was marshaled to rid the earth of this pesky People of Israel, and at the same time, to profit from that action immensely.

And the nicest (easiest) part is that this “police action” shall doubtless have the advantage also of being thought advisable by the “world” at large, including the United Nations Organization, whose permission, we posit, immediately shall be given!

Gog follows the “hook” that is set in his jaws by the Almighty One of Israel, and sets about to finish the intended deed, gathering all the wealthy and willing assistants that he can find.

The prophetic account in Ezekiel lists a group of nations (Islamic, of course!) which then shall altogether be in a huge snit as to how Israel and its King have decimated a large part of the world of “Allah,” embarrassing and humiliating his memory before the entire world!

A further irony is that Gog, so completely enamored by his desire for “a spoil and a prey,” (an extremely apt description of Israel of that future day, but not of the present), ignores all the warning flags that should warn against his drive to the South.

Going for the whole Magilla, Ros and its cohort slam their forces into high gear,  and rush rapidly southward along Runway 180 (directly southward) at speed, intent on their great objective of conquest, destruction, acquisition, and humiliation of Israel.

But they shall not have done their due diligence.

A brief search of the Hebrew Scriptures should have shown to Gog, the actual name of his people in the prophecy of Ezekiel – the Rus, of that prophecy – along with a rather short and condemnatory summary of its utterly failed, manifest destiny.  

We quote from a correspondent from Texas who has done that “due diligence” for the Gog-meister: he writes …

“Regarding the identity of this ‘chief’ Gogian leader of the horde of nations that come against God's people Israel, it is helpful to take notice of Ezekiel 38: 2 in the Septuagint (a Greek version of the Hebrew Scriptures). Instead of the translation of ‘chief,’ [as in the phrase ‘chief prince’ – Ed.] which is translated from the Hebrew term ‘Rhos,’ the Septuagint translates ‘Rhos’ as ‘rws’ (Ros), the name the Greeks of Byzantium at first gave to the Russians who came down the Dnieper River to trade in the Byzantine markets.”  (Tanner, Wayne, in private correspondence)

There it is in a neatly-bound bundle: the literal name of “Russia” as being the moving and driving force of the Gogian host – in plain Greek!

Interesting facts, these, aren’t they?

But their import lies well into the future from today. We Believers need not be concerned about it.

While we bide our time for the belatedness of Gog, we watch carefully and avidly the fascinating details of the present era – leading as it surely shall, to the Second Advent of the LORD Jesus Christ, Whose Father is about to send Him forth to bring about the Conclusion of All Things, and the great, momentous opening days of the Millennial Kingdom of Christ upon the earth!

     <HEL MD/USA 5P>  ~2400 words.   An e TPL Editorial by Harold E. Lafferty.

April: Psalms Written Under the Assyrian Siege

 An eTPL Analysis by Harold E. Lafferty

 Psalm 44

Cry For a Deliverer

God Our Help

 The entirety of this consideration is with Psalms 44, 46, 47, 48.

Keeping the entire four psalms’ overall objective in view, this chapter begins logically with Hezekiah’s remembrance of great deeds done by the Almighty for Israel in past history – a chronicling of the renown of His mercy to them. It effectively sets the stage for his appreciation of the deliverance from Assyria which Judah shall now see from YHVH.

It is a preamble to Psalms 46, 47 and 48, the nature of which will be discussed as we begin to consider these. It is believed that all four were written just prior to and during, the siege of Jerusalem by Sennacherib’s great army – an initiative which failed when his army was utterly destroyed there by miraculous means.

Sennacherib hastened back to Nineveh, humbled and defeated, and was soon slain by family members as he worshiped in an Assyrian temple.

The psalm was doubtlessly written in commemoration of Hezekiah’s special circumstances, but because of the content of verses 1-8, it was delivered to the sons of Korah for Temple service during Passover – the major spring festival.

 Psalm 44:1  To the chief Musician for the sons of Korah, Maschil. We have heard with our ears, O God, our fathers have told us, what work thou didst in their days, in the times of old.

Maschil indicates instruction; this is therefore a didactic poem.

These words evoke memories of the events of the Exodus from Egypt, including their later entry into Canaan under Joshua.

That entire series of events is rightly and thankfully attributed to the God of Israel, YHVH.

Psa 44:2  How thou didst drive out the heathen with thy hand, and plantedst them (planted Israel in their Land); how thou didst afflict the people (the Canaanites), and cast them out.

Psa 44:3 For they (Israel) got not the land in possession by their own sword, neither did their own arm save them: but thy right hand, and thine arm, and the light of thy countenance, because thou hadst a favour (approval) unto them.

 Even in light of their great failures to believe Him on several occasions in the wilderness journey, God still found Israel worthy of His love and mighty deliverance.

This realization brings forth the reiteration of His greatness and majesty … and an earnest prayer for the continuance of these toward His people. 

Psa 44:4  Thou art my King, O God: command deliverances for Jacob.

It is interesting that the word for “deliverances” here is Yeshua – that is, deliverance and salvation! It is the name of the Ultimate Deliverer, Jesus (Yeshua, or Saviour) Christ (in Greek, Christos, or Anointed).

The psalmist’s next words soberly acknowledge that Israel’s abilities come only from one source – from YHVH Himself … “through Thee … through Thy name ..” will they be victorious.

Psa 44:5  Through thee will we push down our enemies: through thy name will we tread them under that rise up against us.

The psalmist now contrasts mere human power with the immutable power of the LORD. The bows and swords of Israel mean little unless they are undergirded by the power and Spirit of God. Instead of their carnal weapons of warfare, it is certifiably only God Who has saved them.

Psa 44:6  For I will not trust in my bow, neither shall my sword save me.

Psa 44:7  But thou hast saved us from our enemies, and hast put them to shame that hated us.

This overt realization results in their giving Him all the praise for deliverance, evoking praise and glory to His holy name.

Psa 44:8  In God we boast all the day long, and praise thy name for ever. Selah.

The brief intermission designated by the stage direction, Selah, affords time for the audience an interval for concentration upon the stated truths and their implications for their People.

In addition, the pause gives time for reflection upon the glory that is past with the savage nature of the forces that now faced the people. It is this realization which has called forth the psalm; as such it marks an important turning point in the song.

Our Trouble

But now the psalmist recalls his people’s late history – their shameless departure from hearing Him and obeying His precepts. The reasons are recalled for His temporary abandonment of their armies and commanders.

Psa 44:9  But thou hast cast off, and put us to shame; and goest not forth with our armies.

Psa 44:10  Thou makest us to turn back from the enemy: and they which hate us spoil for themselves.

Their enemies have plundered Judah at their own pleasure; Sennacherib’s armies have easily overrun the outlying villages and towns of Judah, taken their people captive as slaves, and exerted heathenish control over God’s people.

And now, he threatens the City of God itself. The Assyrian now comes to Jerusalem!

Their recent defeats are ultimately due to unbelief, and the rampant nature of their iniquity. These actions have dire consequences – slaughter and scattering – their near-term fate, lest they turn back to the Almighty.

Psa 44:11  Thou hast given us like sheep appointed for meat (to be sacrificed and  eaten); and hast scattered us among the heathen (foreshadowing their dispersion to Babylon in the near term).

It will be recalled that at this particular time, Israel (the Ten Tribes) had already been removed from their land, and scattered into the vast realms of Assyria to the north.

Psa 44:12  Thou sellest thy people for nought, and dost not increase thy wealth by their price.

As a matter of practice, the Assyrians captured and enslaved all the people that they were able to take captive in this current affair.

Particularly after the destruction of Jerusalem in 70AD, there were so many Jewish slaves on the auction block that their prices became drastically depressed. At that moment in time, slaves could be bought for a pittance because of the excessive abundance of their availability, fulfilling this terrible prospect of His people being “sold for naught.”

Psa 44:13  Thou makest us a reproach to our neighbours, a scorn and a derision to them that are round about us.

How was their “reproach” expressed? An excellent example is that of the Rabshakeh found in II Kings 18: 27-35, q.v., in which he cursed and vilified God’s people purposely in their hearing, and endlessly poured forth threats of violence and denigration upon them.

The profound statements of Ezekiel 36: 19-23 (q.v.) are a summary account of their unfaithfulness, and emphasize the pejorative view of Israel by their neighbors round about. Though themselves ungodly, even they perceive the faithlessness of God’s people – and marvel at it.

But why should the Father even take notice of how the nations round about feel toward His people? It seems obvious that any reproach of His people is a reproach of the LORD Himself; He does not take kindly to such repugnance.

Psa 44:14  Thou makest us a byword among the heathen, a shaking of the head (meaning, a derisive toss of their heads) among the people.

The “heathen” are all the Gentile nations; but the ones with which the Father is mostly concerned at this time are those round about His people, including the people of Moab, Ammon, and Edom (Mt. Seir).

Informative instruction is seen as to the derogatory nature of their words against Israel; they compare Judah to all the heathen.

It is a comparison which is odious in the nostrils of the Father. Therefore there shall be consequences for those peoples – consequences which shall stretch interminable forward to the end time, where we find many such equivalent excoriations of these enemies (cf. Obadiah, for example), decidedly end time prophecies whose culmination those peoples are eminently facing at this very moment in time (2016).

Eze 25:8  Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because that Moab and Seir do say, Behold, the house of Judah is like unto all the heathen;

Eze 25:9  Therefore, behold, I will open the side of Moab from the cities, from his cities which are on his frontiers, the glory of the country, Bethjeshimoth, Baalmeon, and Kiriathaim,

Eze 25:10  Unto the men of the east with the Ammonites, and will give them in possession, that the Ammonites may not be remembered among the nations.

Eze 25:11  And I will execute judgments upon Moab; and they (we believe “they” here means the two houses of Israel now made one, per Ezekiel 37) shall know that I am the LORD. These judgments recorded here do not even address the judgments that are due to the inhabitants of “Edom” of Obadiah!

The sober narrative of Psalm 79:4 tells the reader precisely the condition into which His people have descended: We are become a reproach to our neighbours, a scorn and derision to them that are round about us.

The plaintive words of verse 8 reflect Israel’s abject repentance (at least that of a few), their turning aside from their iniquity: O remember not against us former iniquities: let thy tender mercies speedily prevent (appear before) us: for we are brought very low. Psalm 79:8.

Refrain

Our Trouble

In his next stanza, the psalmist defends the righteous among Judah (Israel), avowing their deep remembrance of His square dealing with them in time past.

A few, if only a few, remember. His defensive plea is heart-wrenching, desperate, and nearly forlorn as he re-avows Judah’s allegiance to YHVH.

Psa 44:17  All this is come upon us; yet have we not forgotten thee, neither have we dealt falsely in thy covenant.

Psa 44:18  Our heart is not turned back, neither have our steps declined from thy way;

Psa 44:19  Though thou hast sore broken us in the place of dragons (i.e., a desert place), and covered us with the shadow of death (threat of desolation).

Psa 44:20  If we have forgotten the name of our God, or stretched out our hands to a strange god;

Psa 44:21  Shall not God search this out? for he knoweth the secrets of the heart.

Psa 44:22  Yea, for thy sake are we killed all the day long; we are counted as sheep for the slaughter.

These words are quoted by Paul in Romans. The apostle’s words leading up to this quotation recall the sanctity of those who bear Christ’s name, and who are the called according to His purpose. Their profile is one of hazard and constant danger …

Rom 8:36 - As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. 37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.

One might mistakenly feel that the psalmist’s defense is an affront to the Almighty, for surely He is aware whether these claims have a basis in truth.

Yet the psalmist states them with the greatest emphasis and clarity.

Are they a confession of their overall failure to attain these ideals of faith – yet an avowal to return to His way and strive to honor His way?

Or are they verifiably the “way” of a few of the men and women of Judah which are quite apart from the mainstream populous?

As such, they would be a statement of idealism for all the others, and instructive words to return the people to their God.

YHVH Our Help

Psa 44:23  Awake, why sleepest thou, O Lord? arise, cast us not off for ever.

These plaintive words betray a feeling that the LORD is sleeping – is unconcerned with their plight. They feel utterly “cast off” in His sight. He evokes the Father’s remembrance of the faithfulness of which His people are capable – a faithfulness which they have amply demonstrated in past time. Their predicament is desperate – as if their dear Father is ignoring their present dangerous circumstances.

Psa 44:24  Wherefore hidest thou thy face, and forgettest our affliction and our oppression?

Psa 44:25  For our soul is bowed down to the dust: our belly cleaveth unto the earth.

The heaviness of their oppression weighs upon all, its burden bending their frail bodies into a contorted mass, their “bellies touching the earth.” Their inmost feelings are of dread and oncoming disaster for their nation. They plead desperately for His intercession – His assistance. In so pleading, they invoke “His mercies’ sake” or His name’s sake – essentially for the sake of His own Personal Self and the solemn promises He has made to their fathers.

In the end, it is this faithful adherence to His promises which redeems and saves them, for they, like their Gentile brethren, have NO righteousness of their own. Their ONLY righteousness is that attributed to them by that dear Savior, Yeshua Messiah – the Savior Anointed – Who shall come and save His people not for their sakes, but for His holy name’s sake (cf. Ezekiel 36:32).

The psalmist’s final plea flows from a deep conviction that His assistance is assured and certainly is ultimately coming to them. Their redemption is certain, for He cannot and will not betray His unilateral promise to “bless thee,” as He promised Abram.

Psa 44:26  Arise for our help, and redeem us for thy mercies' sake.

N. B. The following Psalm 45 in the text, intervening between 44 and the Trilogy, concerns Hezekiah’s marriage, and will not be analyzed in this present consideration.   <HEL 3P>

Psalm 46

The Help of the Deliverer

Psalms 46, 47 and 48 form a trilogy of Hezekiah most probably, written when the City was under siege by Sennacherib the Assyrian. They were written to be sung by the sons of Korah, the priest, and celebrate not a successful campaign but a victorious defense. There are numerous interior proofs of this character if one closely examines the text in light of the Hebrew words and references employed, as we shall see.

Psalm 46:1  To the chief Musician for the sons of Korah, A Song upon Alamoth. God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

The psalm is designated to be sung by girls, for that is the meaning of Alamoth.

The psalm should therefore be sung in the soprano voice. In such a case it was intended either for young male singers whose voices had not yet deepened, or alternatively, for older men who should sing it in falsetto, thus mimicking younger voices.

In such a case, the singers would adapt the mien of defenseless children, innocently and completely reliant upon the mercy and protection of their Father in the coming crisis, and place themselves wholly in a state of complete dependence upon His mercy; they could in that faithful determination, state with great confidence, “God IS our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.”

The admission that “God is our refuge” will be repeated twice again in this psalm. The psalmist therefore wished deeply to engrain this principle in his hearer’s minds and hearts.

Psa 46:2  Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea;

Even the most drastic upheavals would not shake their faith. The words are surely apt descriptors of the imminent threat of the overthrow of Israel that, in every mind, they were about to experience. But their unqualified intent was to hold their allegiance up to the Almighty.

They would not fear …

Psa 46:3  Though the waters thereof roar (or rage) and be troubled (indicating the noisy, militant threats of the surrounding Assyrian attackers), though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. Selah.

The stage direction, Selah, indicates a pause in the music. It infers a pregnant cessation of the singing, allowing introspection of what has been stated in song.

This is especially relevant when, at a later pause, the hearers can make an intelligent and conscious comparison between the first “verse” and the second – for they shall be closely related in a substantial and profitable way.

The singers now continue …

Psa 46:4  There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the most High.

The “river” of this verse is Hebrew nahar, which is a living, strongly flowing stream of life-giving water. It is in contrast to Hebrew nahal, a summer wadi, inconstant, not dependable, intermittent.

Notice how closely this nahar is associated with the gladness of the people, and with the holy place of the tabernacles of the most High. This is a direct reference to the Temple of God which was being threatened by Assyria in those hours.

The waters of this river are constant and ever fresh – exactly similar to the silent, deeply placed, hidden stream of life-giving waters which mysteriously gushed into the hidden Spring Gihon just south of the Eastern (Golden) Gate of the city, and had lately been diverted through a rock-hewn tunnel by Hezekiah’s workmen, through a deep, underground shaft within the city walls, and now reliably supplied the Pool of Siloam.

In this instructive, symbolic language, this watercourse was being subtly stressed as the only internal source of water for the entirety of Jerusalem’s people; on it they relied wholly, just as they should have relied upon the word and salvation of YHVH in their present danger.

These profoundly deep waters of Shiloah (cf., also Isaiah 8:6) are in contrast to the raging “sea” of verse 2, symbolic here of the tumultuous Assyrian assault without. These hidden waters are reliable, protected by a safe covert, running deep and cold, evoking the secret purpose of the Almighty – contrasting it with the boasting and sneering (and the ‘raging’ of verse 6) of the Rabshakeh and his Assyrian rabble. Cf., II Kings 18.

The faithful assertions of the singers continue as they convey words of strength, and encourage the faith of the people of Jerusalem. They echo the promise of the Almighty, reaffirming that the City shall not be “moved” by Assyria – that its salvation is absolutely assured.

Psa 46:5  God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved: God shall help her, and that right early.

There is an extremely enlightening use of words in this phrase “right early.” The Hebrew words are panah boqer, and literally mean “appearing in the morning” making the sentence read: “God shall help her (Zion) by what is appearing in the morning.”

Just what was the markedly stupendous event of that morning – the solid evidence of His HELP?

Was it not the absolute silence that greeted their ears when they surveyed from Jerusalem’s ramparts the valleys lying round about, expecting the awakening Assyrians to be arming toward the coming conquest?

Their eyes could detect no movements, no watchfires, no activity of aggression or threat whatever, but only the stillness of multitudes of dead soldiers, their bodies already cooling to the chill of dawn, inviting the putrefaction that awaits every such enemy of the LORD and of YHVH’s people.

Psa 46:6  The heathen raged, the kingdoms were moved: he uttered his voice, the earth melted.

Psa 46:7  The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.

The singers pause the second time at the verbal instruction, Selah.

This instruction is one of sober reflection upon the great contrast between the threat they faced and the solution that God has wrought for them.

It invites thankfulness and humility.

It demands clear-headed review – and recognition of His great mercy, even in light of their obvious unworthiness.

It calls to mind the Father’s markedly non-human trait of mercy, which is so ingrained in the mind and heart of the Father.

Their next words memorialize the great work of deliverance that God now wrought for Hezekiah and his people – His deliverance of them from the vicious and efficient Assyrian army of 185,000 troops, who that same night were harvested by the death angel of YHVH, saving the city from conquest at this specific time. II Kings 19:35.

Psa 46:8  Come, behold the works of the LORD, what desolations he hath made in the earth.

Psa 46:9  He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth; he breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear in sunder; he burneth the chariot in the fire.

Such was the immediate effect of the Almighty’s great deliverance from Sennacherib. Assyria’s power to conquer the people and the City of God had been thwarted by the immediate sentence of death spread over all her hosts.

The equipment of war, the chariots and the horses, the siege machines and all the provisions of the enemy now were transferred to the people of God and of Hezekiah. The considerable wealth of the multitudes of the dead soldiers would likewise be gathered together, and the bodies burned in the now raging infernos of Gehenna – a fit resting place for the mighty host that only hours before, had been the pride of Assyria.

A secure feeling of deliverance sweeps over His people, and the singers send forth an heartfelt exhortation to God’s people …

Psa 46:10  Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.

Their refrain of thankfulness now peals forth from the singers’ infantile voices of trust, and renewed faith in their Deliverer … repeating the praise of verse 7, their voices affirm that …

Psa 46:11  The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah. 

The third Selah allows the hearers a moment to savour the great deliverance which God has brought for them and for their king, Hezekiah. Their heartfelt thankfulness would fill their breasts and minds with exultation and joy. Their reprieve from Assyrian dominance which had lately removed their northern brethren from their place and country was now assured. Their City and its precincts were saved, for now all the villages which had been conquered around Jerusalem and in Judah were again free of Assyrian oppression – their forces having no more control over them, their allegiance to the Almighty assured into the indefinite future.

Indeed, the prophets had already foretold that it should be Babylon which should take them into captivity given their non-repentance and their renewed subservience to Him. 

This pause also connects, by inference at this point, the words of this psalm with the others following – words which after they are sung, are likewise to be contemplated.

Finally, note the repetitive theme of this chapter:

Vs. 1 - God is our refuge and strength.

Vs. 7 - The God of Jacob is our refuge.

Vs. 11 - The God of Jacob is our refuge.              <HEL 3P>

Psalm 47

Praise to the Deliverer

Psalm 47:1  To the chief Musician, A Psalm for the sons of Korah. O clap your hands, all ye people; shout unto God with the voice of triumph.

This psalm, like the previous one, being part of a trilogy, would presumably be sung in soprano – or in the falsetto voices of mature singers. This is a mechanism to illustrate and reassert the subservient position of the people to their great King as that of a defenseless child upon its father.

Hand-clapping is the universal response of approval and agreement with something that has been said or done. Shouts of approval are likewise universally recognized. They are admonished to render both forms of acclaim.

Hezekiah’s reference to God being their “great king” in the next verse is put into opposition to Sennacherib of Assyria, who considered himself the greatest of kings in the earth (Isaiah 36:4). Instead, it is attested here that “the LORD most high,”YHVH Elyon, is instead the great King over not only Israel and Assyria, but of the universe.

Psa 47:2  For the LORD most high is terrible (meaning not awful, but One to be reverenced); he is a great King (YHVH Elyon) over all the earth.

Psa 47:3  He shall subdue the people under us, and the nations under our feet.

Again and again, YHVH’s excellence and surety of purpose are repeated for His people’s benefit of reassurance. Their position above all the peoples is guaranteed by Him in the finality; but the pathway to that goal shall be long and treacherous, as we now know from historical outworking.

Psa 47:4  He shall choose our inheritance (estate, or patrimony) for us, the excellency (majesty) of Jacob whom he loved. Selah.

Selah here again indicates a brief pause for contemplation – to let these sober instructions be internalized by the people, thus reinforcing them for the trials that lay ahead. It reaffirms their reasons for having deep faith in Him, as the singers restate these in dramatic terms  …

Psa 47:5  God is gone up with a shout, the LORD with the sound of a trumpet.

 The words “gone up,” are alah in Hebrew, meaning to be exalted. It is the same word translated “exalted” in verse 9: “He is greatly exalted.”

This is the theme of this entire chapter, having been stated twice.

The word shout is Hebrew teruah, meaning clamor, acclamation of joy, or a battle cry. It is the victorious praise to God uttered by all the people.

This quality is joyfully announced by the thunderous, incisive, clear voice of the Shophar, arresting their full attention, inducing in them reverence and fear for Him.

Psa 47:6  Sing praises to God, sing praises: sing praises unto our King, sing praises.

This fourfold repetition of the command to “sing praises” unto the King is a figure of speech known as Epanadiplosis, denoting a verse beginning and ending with the same word or phrase. But the double statement of a double statement, “sing praises,” indicates a double emphasis on the advisability of this action by the people. To sing praises to Him will deepen and reinforce their intensely emotional urge of praise for their LORD.

Amply sufficient reason for this profoundly emotional devotion is simply stated: only HE is King of the world and the universe!

Psa 47:7  For God is the King of all the earth: sing ye praises with understanding.

Psa 47:8  God reigneth over the heathen: God sitteth upon the throne of his holiness.  

The heathen (nations) haven’t an inkling that they are ruled over by an universal LORD; they believe themselves to be autonomous, and that their self-will is allowed them in their pride and arrogance of state. Instead, “God sitteth upon the throne” reigning over them, invisibly, immutably, eternally.

The “throne of His holiness” here, is to be compared to “the mountain of His holiness” of 48:1. Both these phrases are utilized only in these two verses, although those general meanings are often evoked in His word.

Psa 47:9  The princes of the people (of Israel) are gathered together, even the people of the God of Abraham: for the shields of the earth belong unto God: he is greatly exalted.

The terminal result shall be that the princes of Israel are assembled unto His throne – all those upon whom He has been pleased to place His holy name.

Their allegiance to Him is unquestionable and unchallengeable; His strength and nature is IN them, dwelling with them in Spirit everlasting. For this reason – their invincibility – the shields of the earth belong to God, and in the finality, only these mechanisms of defense may remain in operation.

This profound figure of speech means by the figure metonymy, that God furnishes the princes’ sole means of defense – the greater function of a shield.

Not only so – He is master of the “shields” of any aggressors against His people as well, and can cause them to be pierced or fall to the ground, exposing their bearers to great harm.

Finally, note carefully the ending phrase of this verse: He is greatly exalted.

As already noted, this is the theme of this chapter, being stated in duplicate (cf. verse 5 and comments thereon).         <HEL 3P>

Psalm 48

Further Praise to the Deliverer

Psa 48:1  A Song and Psalm for the sons of Korah. Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised in the city of our God (Zion), in the mountain of his holiness.

As already stated, this unique phrase “the mountain of His holiness” occurs only here in all the scriptures; it nominates His eternal Sanctuary for the holy ones of Israel. It is unassailable and therefore impregnable – unable ever to be overthrown or conquered. It is the physical location of the Throne of David restored in the end time to Messiah, the greater Son of David, and David My Servant of Ezekiel 37.

It is Mount Zion first, last and eternally.

In its paramount state of the future, it is the JOY of the entire earth.

It is altogether lovely to behold – a splendid, bright City upon an hill.

Psa 48:2  Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, is mount Zion, on the sides of the north, the city of the great King.

Although many untoward enemies and conditions have in the past arisen upon God’s people from the north, ultimately, as Job records, Fair weather cometh out of the north: with God is terrible majesty.  Job 37:22.

In Hezekiah’s day, the throne of David was located in the City of David known as Mount Zion. But immediately to the north lay the supervisory authority of the king within the structure dominating Mount Moriah – the magnificent Temple of Solomon with its Most Holy Place containing the Ark of the Covenant and the Mercy Seat with its indwelling Shekinah (glory). This was the true oracle of the Almighty, where His ultimate will was made available to the High Priest of each era.

Whereas today there are perhaps 200 capitol cities in the world, in that future day only one is destined to rise above all these; for it is the seat and throne of the LORD of Hosts, the lately returned Messiah of Israel, the LORD, Jesus Christ.

Only He shall soar above all to become King of kings, and Lord of lords in all the earth.

Psa 48:3  God is known in her palaces for a refuge.

Forsooth, here is the ONLY refuge for the people of God. Here dwells the Christ (Savior) of mankind; from here emanates His power and overshadowing will.

In Hezekiah’s day that authority had been challenged by the “great king” Sennacherib of Assyria; but much to his ultimate hurt, that heathen force was turned aside and shattered by the Power of the Mercy Seat.

And ultimately, so it shall be for all the assembled kings of the earth, who behold its splendor and beauty … and haste away.

Psa 48:4  For, lo, the kings were assembled, they passed by together.

Psa 48:5  They saw it, and so they marvelled; they were troubled, and hasted away.

The terrible power of the Almighty is known only there. Enemies who are perceptive fear greatly, and opt to flee away in terror. Sennacherib’s vassals quit the fight by being liquidated by Him; they experienced no interval for humility and fear as death overtook them all.

The psalmist’s next words seem suddenly to evoke the critical dangers of the end time, forecasting the time that (in which) she which travaileth hath brought forth: Micah 5:3. It portends the wildly tremulous days of the birth pangs of modern Israel – as of “a woman in (the) travail” of giving birth.

Psa 48:6  Fear took hold upon them there, and pain, as of a woman in travail.

However, the Father was in complete control. Contrary to the deeply held desires of the merchants of the earth (the merchants of Tarshish), His will overcame theirs.

Israel WAS formed again as precursor to the Kingdom of God in the earth, despite all the adversity of some of the operative world powers being levied against God’s people.

The result for Great Britain, for example, was that their commercial advantage was summarily erased; their failed nation became inept and nearly inconsequential in world affairs; their empire crumbled and disappeared; their economy sank to the lowest of lows; even their statesmanship suffered greatly as a result of their betrayal of the Jewish people.

That result is stated summarily in the psalm’s next line …

Psa 48:7  Thou breakest the ships of Tarshish (cf., I Kings 10:22) with an east wind.

There was never a doubt in the hearts of the faithful. Brethren practically wept finally to behold the re-establishment of Zion in its rightful place. They saw in this fulfillment of many prophecies, full proof that God will establish it for ever.

For so they had “heard” of the prophets of the LORD; at this time they were privileged actually to behold it! The improbable (in man’s estimation) result of God’s providence showed clearly the concrete promise of its eternal foundation and prosperity.

Psa 48:8  As we have heard, so have we seen in the city of the LORD of hosts, in the city of our God: God will establish it for ever. Selah

Selah again invites thoughtful introspection.

The refreshing pause brings opportunity in their fervent thoughts to recall the faithfulness, the utter reliability, of their God – His benevolent, redemptive intentions of loving Fatherhood for His people, who should “return to Him” in a physical sense, first, as the case has developed, but reflecting His intention later to turn to them with spiritual redemption in their Land. Jeremiah 30:10 and 33:7 are clear statements of this intention on His part.

Psa 48:9  We have thought of thy lovingkindness, O God, in the midst of thy temple.

Some critics clearly repudiate the emotion of fervent love in godly devotion, but here that trait is seen as paramount in the mind and heart of the Father Who dwells in Zion’s holy Temple.

Psa 48:10  According to thy name, O God, so is thy praise unto the ends of the earth: thy right hand is full of righteousness.

Psa 48:11  Let mount Zion rejoice, let the daughters (the newly freed cities of Judah from Assyria’s oppression) of Judah be glad, because of thy judgments (primarily, here, judgments on the Assyrian host).

The resultant calm of deep thanksgiving brings joy of relief from the gloomy oppression that loomed over the city. It results in far greater appreciation of God’s holy City than they had lately expressed. We regularly express it even now in the context of one of our most joyful anthems: these glorious words are ...

Psa 48:12  Walk about Zion, and go round about her: tell the towers thereof.

Psa 48:13  Mark ye well her bulwarks, consider her palaces; that ye may tell it to the generation following.

Psa 48:14  For this God is our God for ever and ever: he will be our guide even unto death.

The phrase “for ever and ever” is from the Hebrew olam ad, indicating an age with a terminal point extended to one without a terminal point – in other words, it really means eternally. That is the ultimate realization which the Father desired of His people. In beholding all His miraculous deliverance, they seem finally to have grasped the concept, and to have attached their minds and faith tightly to it.

Their convictions now have reached a maturity that will benefit both them and their offspring as the nations goes forward. Its reforms shall not hold place for very long; soon its people will be attacked and overcome and deported in great numbers by king Nebuchadnezzar of  Babylon, who soon thereafter led his army from the north parts to surround and destroy the holy City of God, and take its people captive to Babylon.

But for the time being, trust and confidence in their Father had been restored to Hezekiah and his people.

It remained to the next generation again to forsake Him, and to repudiate His holiness, much to their hurt.        

<HEL 3P>   An eTPL Analysis by Harold E. Lafferty.

March: The Third Chapter of Habakkuk

Extended Commentary by Harold Lafferty

A reader has repudiated our recent interpretation of the third chapter of Habakkuk as not being related to the end time. But that was precisely our view of it.

We thought we had made that fact obvious. So we have made another attempt to place it in its proper context – that is, as it relates to the Assyrian conflict with Israel of the last days – a conflict which allies “Assyria” of today with the other nations “round about” the State of Israel.

It cannot now be rightly claimed that the action described is against the Gogian host; it does not correlate in any sense with the description of Gog’s destruction in Ezekiel 38 and 39 – the substantive account of the entire career of Gog in its intended attack upon the nascent Kingdom of Christ.

The places specifically named in this account are many miles south of the point of Gog’s furthest advance in his evil plan of taking a spoil and a prey from Israel.

His great company of dead troops is destined to furnish an immensely sumptuous feast for “the fatlings of Bashan” (Ezekiel 39: 18-20).  Bashan is northern Jordan of today; we believe that to be the limit of Gog’s penetration of Christ’s Land of that day. Another correlate to this belief  is that Hamon-gog, the vast burial ground of the entire Gogian host is “east of the sea;” Young posits this as east of the Sea of Galilee in the precise region under discussion!

This wonderfully complex and beautifully phrased text of Habakkuk 3, is clearly a picture of the advance of the One Man, by which John Thomas reasonably,  and we believe accurately, indicated the collective Entity of Christ and His immortalized Saints, as they move northward toward the Land of Israel immediately after the events of the Judgment Seat of Christ.

But it is primarily and essentially a reprise of earlier parallel events in which the prototypical deliverance of the children of Israel from their enemies after their Exodus from Egypt was accomplished, their Land liberated, and their settlement within it assured by His majesty and authority.

As such, it is revealed as an antitype of latter day events of the same nature.

In that historical day they failed because of unbelief.

The outlook for their future deliverance shall be markedly the opposite.

The appearance among them of the Christ of the Second Advent shall assure their victory and ultimate salvation at His hand and word!

Habakkuk  3:1  A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet upon Shigionoth.

Shigionoth is from the Hebrew word Sha’ag, and means a feverish, enthusiastic delivery of praise to God for His astounding works with human voices. It is described by Strong as “a dithyramb, or rambling poem.”

It is not an instrument of music, but the human voice itself, uttered in enthusiastic, fervent, heartfelt praise.

 Hab 3:2  O LORD, I have heard thy speech, and was afraid: O LORD, revive thy work in the midst of the years, in the midst of the years make known; in wrath remember mercy.

The prophet admits his admiration of the immense power and authority of the Almighty, marvelous in its manifestation. 

It is a plea for Him to take up the task of saving His people – finally to move the plan forward and accomplish it! We believe its language admits of both interpretation of Isaiah’s day as well as future time. As such it is a prophecy with an immediate application but with a distinct “echo.”

The beginning phrase makes the dual application entirely clear; the phrase, “in the midst of the years” logically appears to be indicative of a time somewhat after the beginning of the final (second) return of Israel to their Land.

Habakkuk is asking that the One Man “revive Thy work” in that day, after the extremely long period of seeming dormancy of the Plan – its not being moved forward as sensible to observers.

Hab 3:3  God came from Teman, and the Holy One from mount Paran. Selah. His glory covered the heavens, and the earth was full of his praise.

These phrases foreshadow the advance of Christ and the Saints as they move northward from the place of Judgment, from these regions of the Sinai and Negev inhabited by these ancient people.  Teman and Paran pinpoint the action as being in the southland of modern Israel. It reprises a portion of the Exodus journey of the early Israelites, a nation newly formed in the captivity of Egypt, now feeling it early responsibilities to adhere to its Creator. As such it was a covenanted Race, the only People then aligned with their Almighty God – a positon entirely similar to the Redeemed Saints with their Moses.

This particular reference was one reason John Thomas posited that the place of Judgment would probably be Mount Sinai in Arabia; that the mighty host is pictured at this point in time moving northward from that venue.

 Hab 3:4  And his brightness was as the light; he had horns coming out of his hand: and there was the hiding of his power.

The description may be rightly applied primarily to the character of the LORD as He brought out His people from Egypt.

But this is also an highly figurative and poetic view of the immense strength and glory of the One Man as He moves with superb dexterity and great rapidity toward the north, treading down His enemies who lie in His path.

His actions upon the hostile populations of the territories  through which He will be traveling shall be manifestations of His overwhelming might and majesty – of His irresistible might against them and their armies. It is a picture of physical combat on their parts as ineffective as it can be against the breath of His lips.

Isaiah describes Him and His actions of that day in:

Isaiah 11:3 - And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the LORD: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears: 4 But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked. 5 And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins.

Hab 3:5  Before him went the pestilence, and burning coals went forth at his feet.

The words of Moses in Exodus describes his meaning of “the pestilence,” and are directly from the mouth of the LORD: Exodus 23:27 - I will send my fear before thee, and will destroy all the people to whom thou shalt come, and I will make all thine enemies turn their backs unto thee. 28 And I will send hornets before thee, which shall drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite, from before thee. Thus “the pestilence” is one of moral victory over evil men, not of curative medicine over a disease.

This is in addition an awesome description of the power of His advance, the ruinous result of His wrath as expressed upon His end time enemies, and those of Israel, His people. They are slated to be exactly similar to that earlier history in the end time.

This interpretation is reinforced by the use of the phrase, “burning coals,” which in the colorful Hebrew language can apply to a burning fever – the evidence of the flaming inflammation of evil throughout the enemy forces.

 Hab 3:6  He stood, and measured the earth: he beheld, and drove asunder the nations; and the everlasting mountains were scattered, the perpetual hills did bow: his ways are everlasting.

To “stand and measure the earth” means, in our contemporary language, to “take its measure;” this means to size it up for conquest and utter defeat. The nations’ effective resistance to His might is impossible. He owns the victorious advantage over them without any question.

Their posture against Him is as the apparent barriers of “everlasting mountains … (and) perpetual hills” in their pompous view; but He simply “beheld, and drove asunder the nations.”

This historical account shall be exactly reproduced in the near future days of His Second Advent – expressed upon the same enemies of these specified locations.

 Hab 3:7  I saw the tents of Cushan in affliction: and the curtains of the land of Midian did tremble.

Cushan is typical of Moab (central Jordan of today); Midian indicates the Midianites (of northern Saudi Arabia) – both are Arabic enemies of Israel in the end time. Both occupy portions of His Land, and are thus considered by Him as intruders.

They represent here some of the original heathen inhabitants of the Land that was given Israel, but in the end time, ALL the intruders upon Israel’s inheritance, which He shall then be in process of reclaiming and purifying on their behalf.

He acts decisively and terminally to remove them from His kingdom territory.

 Hab 3:8  Was the LORD displeased against the rivers? was thine anger against the rivers? was thy wrath against the sea, that thou didst ride upon thine horses and thy chariots of salvation?

In this instance we may consider the references to “the rivers” and “the sea” to be representative of political entities and peoples (as in the previous verse).  

Through these He “rides” with His excellent merkava (Chariot), which indicates the People themselves, in whom His name had been invested; the figure is similar to that of the great Cherubim of Isaiah 1 and 10, representing the redeemed Saints. They are the vessel of his wrath and authority.

In their company He is as effective as a battle chariot against foot soldiers (no  contest whatever!), and rolls through them in devastating waves of conquest.

It may be significant that today, Israel’s main battle tank is designated Merkava, or Chariot! It is one of the most advanced armored fighting vehicles ever developed, and is now equipped with the Trophy System – an inertial missile weapon which can protect the Merkava against six simultaneous threats from such harm as rocket propelled grenades, artillery shells, anti-tank munitions, and aircraft dropped bombs! Our only misgiving in mentioning this correlate is that we are not really certain about the extent of Israel’s early participation in the terminal conflict of Christ with His enemies.

Hab 3:9  Thy bow was made quite naked, according to the oaths of the tribes, even thy word. Selah. Thou didst cleave the earth with rivers.

His “bow” represents His weapon of offense as being used against His enemies – “even Thy word.” His untrained “army” of that day was the former slaves whose only expertise to date were making bricks under great duress. That weapon (his “bow”) is withdrawn from its scabbard (thus, “naked”) and being wielded furiously.

It is the same word which breathed the blessings upon Abram and the patriarch of Israel, including David specifically, and their “Seed” who is Christ as in Galatians 3: 1 – 16, the last verse of which defines  Abraham’s “seed” as being the Christ.

It is all-powerful, self-sufficient, and autonomous to accomplish His ultimate purpose, which is to clear His land of its intruders of long standing, thus cleansing it and sanctifying it to His purposes alone.

The “nakedness” of his bow is a pointed description of its being drawn and in active use – no longer in its scabbard – but drawn and being used against His enemies – but it is not a physical  sword; it is instead, “…  Thy word.”

 This phrase is explanatory of the nature of His “bow” – it is the word of His Mouth, His commandments upon and against His enemies of that day. If he could “speak” the vast universe into existence, He can certainly destroy His enemies by that same agency!

His cleavage of the earth with rivers is an highly poetic reference to the abundant waters that He provided from the rock of Moses for the millions of travelers passing that way.

Hab 3:10  The mountains saw thee, and they trembled: the overflowing of the water passed by: the deep uttered his voice, and lifted up his hands on high.

As the reference in verse 8 to rivers and seas, the “mountains” here are representative of human resistance: it is common today to speak of “mountains of resistance” to such and such; it is the same figure of speech.  Exodus 19: 18, 19 gives a vivid description of the visible effects of His coming down upon Mount Sinai to meet Moses as mediator for His people.

His assault upon the enemies of Israel in that day is likened here to an overflowing stream – an unstoppable flood, which destroys everything in its path. In this sense, the “deep” (water) utters its voice – expresses His intentions upon those populations – by which He wreaks upon them His power, expressing His “upper hand” upon them (lifts up His hands on high).

Lifting his hands on high also suggest the action of Moses in Exodus 17, in Israel’s war with Amalek, when the Lord fought for Israel as long as Moses held up the rod which he had been given.  

In that case, the assistance of Aaron and Hur was required as Moses’ arms lost their strength; no such loss of strength shall be to the Redeemer and His Host as they raise their arms on high against His enemies of that day.

The waters overflowing are allusions both to the parted waters of the Red Sea, and later of the Jordan River, admitting miraculous escape in the first instance, and entry to their divine inheritance in the second, across barriers which otherwise should have prevented their passage.

But “waters overflowing” also nominates the vast hordes of peoples who now inhabit Israel’s land of the end time, and offer infinite human resistance to their sparse habitation of it from the first. These overflowing waters are destined to being shoved aside by the voice of the LORD, giving way to their unhindered occupation to the entire extent of the Promised Land.

The language of Shigionoth is sublimely poetic and symbolic; its feverish descriptions carry forward the spirit of His moments of delirious conquest which are rolling over His enemies of the day.

Hab 3:11  The sun and moon stood still in their habitation: at the light of thine arrows they went, and at the shining of thy glittering spear.

The moments of these victories are here likened to that of Joshua over the Amorites, in the Valley of Ajalon, when the sun and the moon were suspended in their forward motion in order to allow Joshua’s victory to be completed.  

The era of Messiah’s notable, swift victories over His enemies may seem to be one in which time is suspended, or markedly slowed as in lapse-time photography.

 Such is the experience that we mere humans often have in the near instantaneous episode of a drastic accident, or an hurtful event, in which time seems to slow to a crawl and we can remember every detail of its progress.

The terrible glitter of the arrow’s bright metal tip and the spear’s polished, and piercing iron point is evoked in the “shining” here named – the sunlight glinting off these reflective surfaces.

This highly poetic use of these terms places them indelibly within the bounds of human comprehension and appreciation.

 Hab 3:12  Thou didst march through the land in indignation, thou didst thresh the heathen in anger.

In that day, His anger was expressed against the “heathen” (the nations round about and within His Land, as Joel 3:12 – a depiction of this same conflict) is especially terrible.  Their decisive victories inevitable followed their obedience to Him as they conquered the Land; their only failures resulted from their ceasing to strive at His side.

Judges5:4, 5, an example not only of past history at that time, but also of His future intent.  The heathen are here the nations of Canaan, His specific target, as they shall be again.

 The reference to “threshing” is a direct reference to that which results when the sickle is applied – namely grain for threshing – as in Joel 3: 13. In order to produce bread, grain must be “threshed,” or separated from the inedible husks which enclose it in the field.

The era of this fulfillment is defined as in Joel 3:1, as that time “when I shall bring again the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem.” It is therefore TODAY, the sixty eighth year of Israel’s Commonwealth (2016), and the days leading rapidly into the final moments of the end time, in our opinion.

Hab 3:13  Thou wentest forth for the salvation of thy people, even for salvation with thine anointed; thou woundedst the head out of the house of the wicked, by discovering the foundation unto the neck. Selah.

No description of Jesus’ actions of the Second Advent could be expressed more accurately than that, “Thou wentest forth for the salvation of Thy people … with thine Anointed.” It is a capsulated depiction of the awful assault which They shall mount against the enemies of Israel; it is said many times to be for Israel’s salvation. Tanakh reads in v. 13: You have come forth to deliver your people, to deliver your Anointed.

The Hebrew word for Anointed here is indeed Mashyiach (Strong H4899), or Messiah! At that earlier time He was delivering an anointed People by His personal hand; in the future day He shall be delivering His anointed (appointed, sanctified) Israel by the hand of His Anointed One and all the Redeemed Saints with Him.

The connotation of this phrase is two-fold:

1.       Of their physical deliverance from an overwhelming mob of enemies numbering in the millions, and

2.      Of their spiritual deliverance from their blindness of the ages as to the true identity of Messiah, in both His initial and secondary manifestations.

At the end of this terminal episode of their deliverance of both senses lies their complete and vivid enlightenment as to His power and His identity, both of which are agents of their deliverance into the kingdom age.

As we noted in an earlier body of comments, Strike through with his staves = to pierce (the enemy) with his own weapons! Notice that the combat here seems mostly external to Israel, and includes the factor of “every man’s sword against his brother” among the attacking forces. A force coming into a country is not described in this way. Israel is going forth conquering external forces resisting them; they strongly fight against the enemy’s coming out as a whirlwind “to scatter me.”

 Hab 3:14  Thou didst strike through with his staves the head of his villages: they came out as a whirlwind to scatter me: their rejoicing was as to devour the poor secretly.

The vigorous resistance of the enemy against Him is to no avail. Their teeming opposition to His Arm is fruitless and vapid. They long rejoiced in time past against Israel; to “devour the poor” (by which we believe he means Israel, the People) was the enemy’s burning desire (his “rejoicing”), but was ill-directed against the God Who is completely unknown to them and to their “Allah.” Gods of granite and basalt can express no such feeling or conviction; no such knowledge.

It is extremely relevant that the prophet indicates a “striking through with his staves,” which we believe means the enemy’s “staves,” or weapons. A force coming into a country is not described in this way. Israel is conquering external forces resisting them; they strongly resist the enemy’s coming out as a whirlwind to scatter me.  

Notice that the combat described here seems to be mostly external to Israel, the phraseology admits of the principle of “every man’s sword against his brother,” among the enemy being confronted – a concept fully in accord with the panic that has in the past overcome Israel’s enemies, causing their demise without Israel having to lift a finger , as in the case of 2 Chronicles 20, where the forces of Jehoshaphat arrived on the battle scene after the fact, discovering that Ammon and Moab had killed all the Edomite attackers, and then had killed each other in a subsequent falling out!

 Hab 3:15  Thou didst walk through the sea with thine horses, through the heap of great waters.

This may refer to their passing through the literal waters of the Red Sea and the Jordan River in their pathway to deliverance  from Egypt and conquest of the Land.

But it is additionally a poetic description of His great victory over the “sea” of humanity which opposes His will and the existence of His people in the Land. His targeted population of today’s Islamic peoples easily numbers more than 50 millions, a conservative estimate. They are heavily armed and deeply determined against God’s people. This “sea” roars even now in its turbulence and unease.

Hab 3:16  When I heard, my belly trembled; my lips quivered at the voice: rottenness entered into my bones, and I trembled in myself, that I might rest in the day of trouble: when he cometh up unto the people, he will invade them with his troops.

The prophet is overwhelmed by the vision – this vivid picture of awe and fear at God’s great strength and victory over the peoples of the earlier time.

In addition, the prophetic vision of this violent end time approach in a northerly direction by the One Man, strikes the prophet with deep emotion as He makes a “day of trouble” for them. Habakkuk sees here the astonishing, literal advance of His Troops, his geduwd (His “army, band of men, soldiers, troops”) when He comes forth from His invisible venue of Judgment, to punish the heathen and to vindicate His people. They shall never have seen such enormous power, and perhaps recognize it as supernatural, the immense force which He exerts in league with His Saints, along with natural Israel joining in the fray along with His unchallenged authority!

 Hab 3:17  Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls:

Habakkuk recalls Judah’s present plight (that of his own day) – lying in the path of the behemoth which was coming – the forces of Chaldea/Babylon – which they could not hope effectively to combat.

 Yet the end result shall be joyous; victory shall be achieved in the wake of the great overthrow that was then bearing down upon his people. But neither Habakkuk nor the people have an inkling of the almost interminable period of time that they must wait for His blessing! He anticipates this great deliverance in verses 18 and 19, for the end result is of happy subjection of natural Israel to its God.

 He now speaks in joyful prospect of that future day …

Hab 3:18  Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation.

The psalmist sums up the entire episode in the terse words of Psalm 30:5 - For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.

The “morning” is  Zion’s Glad Morning of the Kingdom of God on the earth! His words are an echo of chapter 2:14 – The Lord God is my strength! – fulfilling the prophet’s charter to proclaim hope and salvation to his people in the end.

 And now the dithyramb reaches its final exaltation of the Almighty and His great power of deliverance, acknowledging Him as the Source of strength and endurance.

The prophet recognizes that his and Judah’s strength has only one Source – the Lord God, or YHVH Adonai in the Hebrew.

Only He can cause the prophet and all of like mind to possess hinds’ feet – the sure feet of the elegant female deer – which are notable for agility and strength, balance and grace.

The picture drawn here by the Hebrew language is that of an elegant, graceful doe perched upon a small and precarious outcrop 0f a steep mountain slope, a prospect which offers no easy egress – an “high place” of great majesty and preeminence – from which the graceful occupant surveys all creation. For such is it “to walk upon mine high places,” and to survey one’s abundant blessings! These “high places” are those of Mount Zion, the abode of the faithful Prophet, Jesus, and the future Temple of the Millennium; not those of Bethel and Dan.

In speaking of mine high places, he evokes the High Places of the Almighty, which are those of the Christ of the Second Advent.

Hab 3:19  The LORD God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds' feet, and he will make me to walk upon mine high places. To the chief singer on my stringed instruments.

The final picture here fulfills perfectly that oft-repeated prophecy of the time when God’s Son shall have returned and caused all nations to submit to His will.

The kingdom is established in Zion;

His throne is there;

The Saints are assigned to duties throughout the earth;

The Apostles sit on thrones over the Twelve Tribes;

Only scattered resistance remains throughout the far reaches of the earth.

The reestablished earthly Kingdom of God continues  for 1,000 years.

Then comes the end, when “… the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.”   Habakkuk 2:14, Micah 4:2; Isaiah 11:9; Numbers 14:2

These final words of the coda of this lovely, highly graphic composition informs the reader that this Shigionoth was indeed to be accompanied by instruments and singers, fervently and vigorously extolling the Father of us all, and seeking to lift up His name most holy before all the earth.     <HEL 2P> ~4350 words.  An eTPL Exposition, February 2016.

February: Habakkuk Study Notes: The Approach of Chaldea

Compiled by Harold E. Lafferty

Time: c. 606 – 598 BC: The time of the impending Babylonian Captivity of Judah.

The literary form of Habakkuk’s revelation is that of a colloquy, or dialogue, from the LORD throughout the first two chapters.

The third chapter is a dramatically breathed prayer as to the final settlement of God’s will among both Israel’s enemies and Israel’s people.

Although Habakkuk’s  words surely extend to times beyond those immediately ahead for Judah, his text must first and foremost relate to the people of his own day, and indicate something of their near-term prospects.  

In the study of prophecy, this factor – a degree of meaning to the prophet’s immediate audience – is considered essential to determine. Extended meanings of the prophetic word will then be determined if the prophecy is indeed a long-term prophecy.

John Thomas posited that much of this book related in some mysterious way to the future Gogian host. We respectfully disagree with this conclusion, and hopefully shall demonstrate our reasons why we feel this way. We cannot perceive in it, the almost conspiratorial reference to the latter day power of Gog, as it clearly is addressed first and primarily to the highly aggressive “Chaldeans,” as expressed in chapter 1:6.

This is not to say that the prophecy does not have a latter day application – for it surely does.

 We believe a verse-by-verse discussion to be our best approach generally to the prophets, and specifically so in this case.

First the prophet sets forth the view of the Almighty toward Chaldea – the highly (but briefly) dominant successor to Assyria before her – and is relatively limited to this power.

This is not to say that even in these first two chapters, there are not possible overtones relating to aggressors against Israel in later times, a reference surely indicated by chapter 2: 2-4, relating to the warnings of the LORD to be written on a tablet for the benefit of future generations.

These factors will be considered in more detail as we come to them in the ensuing discussion.

We now embark upon a detailed discussion of the writings of the Prophet Habakkuk.

 Literally nothing is known of Habakkuk except what is written here. He was prophet to Judah, and gave the Two Tribes fair warning as to the terrible destruction which was bearing down upon them.

Habakkuk One

Habakkuk 1:1  The burden which Habakkuk the prophet did see.

Like the phraseology of Nahum 1:1, this “burden” is to be considered an oracle (actually it takes the form of a vision) of the Almighty as relates to the subject nation – which in this case is Chaldea (cf., chapter 1:6).

As such it is a certain picture of the future fortune of God’s people as it intimately relates to this enemy.

 Hab 1:2  O LORD, how long shall I cry, and thou wilt not hear! even cry out unto thee of violence, and thou wilt not save!

The prophet’s “cry” is a plea for assistance in great distress, as in Psalm 22: 24; as Bullinger (The Companion Bible footnote) declares, it is a cry issued not from a personal need of the prophet, but on behalf of the group which is contemporarily and then generally affected.

 Hab 1:3  Why dost thou shew me iniquity, and cause me to behold grievance (oppression, or injustice)? for spoiling and violence are before me: and there are (those) that raise up strife and contention.

The prophet’s evocation of “iniquity” uses the Hebrew word aven (Strong H-205), which conveys the meaning of “to pant, usually in vain; trouble … vanity … wickedness … evil.” It has reference to the nature and consequences of evil-doing (Bullinger) – a gloss which aids the reader to understand more fully the nature of the exasperation and distress of the prophet.

 Hab 1:4  Therefore the law is slacked (relaxed, or not enforced), and judgment doth never go forth: for the wicked doth compass about the righteous; therefore wrong judgment proceedeth.

The wicked being the majority party, their opinions and judgments are placed in effect, often to the hurt of the righteous among them, and always contrary to their Law of Moses.

 Hab 1:5  Behold ye among the heathen, and regard, and wonder marvellously: for I will work a work in your days, which ye will not believe, though it be told you.

As to immediate circumstances, the prophet is given a vision of deliverance from the immediate iniquity that shall be so stupendous as nearly to be beyond belief.

This verse is referenced, and roughly quoted, in Acts 13:41 by Paul and his companions in regard to the Man of verse 38, Whose work of redemption is “a work which ye shall in no wise believe, though a man declare it unto you.”

This statement is not literally meant, of course, but compared to human propensity is so challenging and beneficial as nearly to be considered impossible.

That set of ACTIONS has to do with the arousal of the Chaldeans – the great adversary of the nation of the next verse – an immediate response to the prolonged iniquity of Judah as exhibited in the relaxed laws and loose morals of the People.

Its infamous invasion and conquest is chronicled in the prophets of Israel; its effect is truly inconceivable as to its future effects – its devastation upon Judah.

 Hab 1:6  For, lo, I raise up the Chaldeans, that bitter and hasty nation, which shall march through the breadth of the land, to possess the dwelling places that are not theirs.

The ensuing verses describe the invasion force and its fierce characteristics – its unstoppable advance against His people of Judah. Note the frightening description of Chaldea’s forces.

Hab 1:7  They are terrible and dreadful: their judgment and their dignity (actually, their elevated indignity) shall proceed of themselves.

Hab 1:8  Their horses also are swifter than the leopards, and are more fierce than the evening wolves: and their horsemen shall spread themselves, and their horsemen shall come from far; they shall fly as the eagle that hasteth to eat (or hasteth to his prey).

Hab 1:9  They shall come all for violence (the sense is their coming is for destruction, and not merely to humiliate or for mere conquest): their faces shall sup up as the east wind, and they shall gather the captivity as the sand.

The east wind in the Levant goes by numerous names; in Israel it is qadiym, or currently khamsin, a hot, desiccated wind which brings vast amounts of ultra-fine, sandy airborne deposits from the eastern wastelands of Saudi Arabia. Its effect is to dull all colors, to blot out distant vision, to suffocate and stifle each victim both of man and beast. As such it is oppressive and stifling to all initiative, and derogatory to the society in general in the same way as it physically destroys all greenery – grass and trees.

It is therefore indicative of the great desolation of Judah that is so imminent.

Hab 1:10  And they shall scoff at the kings, and the princes shall be a scorn unto them: they shall deride every strong hold; for they shall heap dust (or heap up dirt siege-mounds), and take it (i.e., capture every stronghold).

Hab 1:11  Then shall his mind (his spirit, or ruach) change, and he shall pass over, and offend, imputing this his power unto his god (his false object of worship).

Now the subject changes abruptly to “God.” It is a series of reflections upon the Almighty and His majesty.

The Subject Changes to the LORD God

Hab 1:12  Art thou not from everlasting, O LORD my God, mine Holy One? we shall not die. O LORD, thou hast ordained them for judgment; and, O mighty God, thou hast established them for correction.

This information, given by the grace of the Almighty, states clearly the coming process of the purification of Judah. The everlasting God has proclaimed that Judah shall not “die,” or be attenuated (cut off); but the ordination of Chaldea as punisher of Judah is established for their correction.

Hab 1:13  Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity: wherefore lookest thou upon them that deal treacherously, and holdest thy tongue when the wicked (Hebrew, rasha, meaning morally wrong, ungodly, and wicked man) devoureth the man that is more righteous than he?

The mere usage of the word rasha here raises the antennae of the commentators, reminding them of the N.T. references to “the wicked one,” as for example in I John 2: 13, 14  as well as I John 5:18, q.v.

The prevalent view of many commentators therefore is that this verse “looks ahead” to “the antichrist” of their theology. Thus their view misses the sober assessments which come from consideration of the immediate, vicious attack and conquest by Chaldea upon His people, whose main purpose is, as in verse 12, established for the “correction” of Judah.  It has nothing whatever to do with an end time antichrist!

In our opinion, only as a secondary consideration could this verse have any relevance to the generalized future manifestation of Antichrist, and in a much different conception than that of contemporary prophecy pundits of radio and TV lands.

The Almighty’s plan accomplished its purpose, for after the restoration of the people to Judah, they avoided idolatry quite successfully, changing their offensive posture to that of unbelief, exhibited in the ultimate expression of that quality in their summary refusal to accept that Jesus Christ, being born among them at the appointed time, and in the appointed place and manner,  and having fulfilled scores of O.T. prophecies, was indeed Messiah of Israel.

The  previous verse had ended in the extended question, wherefore lookest thou upon them that deal treacherously, and holdest thy tongue when the wicked  devoureth the man that is more righteous than he?

Hab 1:14  And makest men as the fishes of the sea, as the creeping things, that have no ruler over them?

Hab 1:15  They take up all of them with the angle (the fish hook), they catch them in their net, and gather them in their drag (their fishing dragnet): therefore they rejoice and are glad.

Seeing the success of their industry, they attribute some special supernatural quality to the nets and hooks of the fishermen (the people who ply these occupations), and even come to regard them as idolatrous objects of affection.

Hab 1:16  Therefore they sacrifice unto their net, and burn incense unto their drag; because by them (by the success of their efforts to catch fishes) their portion is fat (fertile, or rich), and their meat (provision of food) plenteous.

Hab 1:17  Shall they therefore empty their net, and not spare continually to slay the nations?

The meaning of this verse seems a bit obscure, but probably is reasoning that when Chaldea sees the result of its “fishing” expeditions (i.e., its conquest of the nations round about itself), and “empties” the net (meaning, sees the success and riches of its conquests), that such success drives it further to conquer and pillage (and slay) the nations.

All these verses show the relentlessly ruthless character of the oppressor which is bearing down upon God’s idolatrous people of Judah. 

Habakkuk Two

The Command for Habakkuk to Write

The Prophet now sets forth his own commission – to reveal the will of the Almighty in these coming events, and extends his view far into future time, as the reader will perceive in the following text.

Habakkuk comes to realize that he has been appointed a Watchman as posted upon a tower, from which he can view the coming armies of correction.

He shall patiently await, observing carefully “what He will say unto me …”

Hab 2:1  I will stand upon my watch, and set me upon the tower, and will watch to see what He will say unto me, and what I shall answer when I am reproved.

Hab 2:2  And the LORD answered me, and said, Write the vision (here the ellipsis needs to be supplied, Write that [which I am about to show thee]), and make it plain upon tables, that he may run (or, flee) that readeth it.

The verb to flee may have two connotations:

1) to run as a messenger to others, to warn them, or

2) to flee from the coming dangers.

Here we see clearly defined the operational protocol which the Father has established for his prophets in general; they are to listen to Him, to observe their general conditions, and to write or speak His words of instruction for deliverance and salvation of His people from the coming evils. It is a simple case of cause (His warning) and effect (their godly response to His instructions).

His continuing comments illustrate clearly the functional workings of Bible prophecy – that God’s message of what is to come is not only accurate, but certain, but that patience and fortitude are also necessary in order to allow the plan to consummate.

He stresses that “at the end” (in the end-time) it shall speak, or be understood.

His most urgent admonitions is that the readers who understand the written vision be patient, and “wait for it” to come to  pass – for “it will surely come, and will not (in reality) tarry (delay).”

Hab 2:3  For the vision is yet for an appointed time (a fixed time, fixed by YHVH for fulfillment) , but at the end (the terminal point of its fulfillment) it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.

The quality of extreme patience is therefore urged upon His people.

We see that requirement in effect today as well; how many years have we believed the Second Coming to be at the door?

 Among His People, some doubters shall always lift their will above His will, believing themselves to know better than the Almighty; but these are “not upright in Him.”

Hab 2:4  Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live (not only for that day, but also in the resurrection) by his faith.

In contrast, only those who are “just,” who adhere to His convention, shall live by faith.

Thus it has always been: the just shall live by his faith.

Our conception of this principle has long time been that of the writer who penned the concrete truth of Hebrews 11:1 - Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen – one of our earliest memory verses.

The principle of unshakable faith was operating quite well in the time of Habakkuk, as well as in Ur of Chaldea earlier, and as it had in Eden yet earlier.

 Hab 2:5  Yea also, because he transgresseth by wine, he is a proud man, neither keepeth at home (that is, within his own home territories; we say today that he doesn’t mind his own business), who enlargeth his desire as hell, and is as death, and cannot be satisfied, but gathereth unto him all nations, and heapeth unto him all people:  … overtones of the voracious appetite of Chaldea for conquest and plunder, including capturing slaves for domestic service.

Our  understanding is that each prophet’s utterances are intended first to admonish or instruct the prophet’s immediate audience – to “mean something” to his contemporaries, and cause some reaction within their general body.

But often their words have meanings which will come into play far into the future as well.

In the context of Habakkuk’s times, these words point unmistakably to the voracious, proud conquerors of Chaldea. Their appetite for conquest was insatiable; their rampant desire for power and glory unchecked by any restraints of godliness or piety; for they knew not God.

The “proud man” of the coming hours would turn out to be Nebuchadnezzar, the head of gold of the Image of his own dream, as explained by Daniel, the prophet of YHVH in the Babylonian court.

John Thomas, in Eureka, Vol. 1, p. 49, expressed the view that this entity – this “proud man” is a direct reference to Gog of the land of Magog of Ezekiel 37 and 38; the Assyrian of Isaiah 11:11; 27:13; and Micah 5:5;, and the King of the North of Daniel 11.

We have written and spoken extensively upon these three confused entities over many past years, and have shown conclusively, we believe, that these three powers are entirely separate and distinct from each other when considered in both prophetic and historic perspective;

that each arises for a different purpose;

each comes at a different time;

each performs a unique function upon God’s People;

each brings about unique reactions from God’s People;

each meets a different end;

and each exerts its own unique effect upon Israel and its people.

They can in no way be rightly considered equivalent powers.

To regard them as such reduces the overall, rational, comprehensive assessment of their roles in Bible prophecy to a muddled morass of incomprehensibility and inconsistency.

In our time, following the certain demise of the last King of the North (the Ottoman Empire of 1917) we cannot fathom any correct assessment of future prophetic prospects without that concept in mind.

 The prophet continues:

Hab 2:6  Shall not all these take up a parable against him (still meaning Chaldea/Babylon), and a taunting proverb against him, and say, Woe to him that increaseth that which is not his! how long? and to him that ladeth himself with thick clay (meaning  “pledges, as pawned goods” or booty)!

The “woe” here is directed at those of Chaldea who confiscate property which does not belong to them – one of the iniquities of His people of the time, but a much great fault in Chaldea.

Note that there are four more “woes” ahead – in verses 9, 12, 15 and 19, q.v.

He continues his observations upon these unrighteous ones:

Hab 2:7  Shall they not rise up suddenly that shall bite thee (meaning to exact usury – take booty), and awake that shall vex thee, and thou (Judah) shalt be for booties (spoil, even slaves) unto them?

Hab 2:8  Because thou (Chaldea) hast spoiled many nations, all the remnant of the people shall spoil thee; because of  (their shedding of) men's blood, and for the violence of the land, of the city, and of all that dwell therein. [Cf. verse 17, also.]

Hab 2:9  Woe to him that coveteth an evil covetousness (extorts a gain) to his house, that he may set his nest on high, that he may be delivered from the power of evil!

This second “woe” builds upon the earlier one in verse six, emphasizing extortion from victims, and their pillaging and plundering.

 Hab 2:10  Thou hast consulted (devised) shame to thy house by cutting off many people, and hast sinned against thy soul.

Hab 2:11  For the stone shall cry out of the wall, and the beam out of the timber shall answer it.

Their sin is so great, even inanimate objects seem to accuse Chaldea of transgression.

 Hab 2:12  Woe to him that buildeth a town with blood, and stablisheth a city by iniquity!

This third “woe” condemns those who shed blood by any means or observe iniquitous practices in “building” a town – symbolic of any personal edifice or monument dedicated to self. It is prohibition of greed, one of Judah’s main faults, just as in the case with usury, above, is much more prevalent in Chaldea.

Hab 2:13  Behold, is it not of the LORD of hosts that the people shall labour in the very fire, and the people shall weary themselves for very vanity?

Hab 2:14  For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.

This wonderful, summarizing prophecy regarding diligence of God’s people is here recorded for the fifth time in God’s word – a number not equaled by any other prophetic utterance in our knowledge. See Numbers 14:21; Psalm 72:19; Isaiah 6:3 and 11: 9.

It speaks to the end of the prophetic processes of every age, the consummation of the Father’s purpose for and among mankind, to establish and glorify His Name among men of good will, and by that principle to perfect the imperfect first creation –converting it into the New Creation of the Son, the Creator of Revelation 3:14, q.v.

 Hab 2:15  Woe unto him that giveth his neighbour drink, that puttest thy bottle to him, and makest him drunken also, that thou mayest look on their nakedness!

This fourth “woe” condemns subterfuge or dishonesty of any kind against one’s neighbor – or mischief which might lead to personal gain or advantage by any man in denigration of his neighbor for any reason; adultery seems to be emphasized.

This practice is even more prevalent in Chaldea than in Judah.

In this series of woes, both seem closely allied as to His common condemnation.

 The next verse is best read as written, then explained in detailed comments …

Hab 2:16  Thou art filled with shame for glory: drink thou also, and let thy foreskin be uncovered (i.e., let thou be as one uncircumcised, or uncovenanted – as an alien from the Commonwealth of Israel) : the cup (Hebrew, koce, a lot or portion)  of the LORD'S right hand (the hand of His greatest strength) shall be turned unto (upon) thee, and shameful spewing (meaning, great disgrace) shall be on thy glory. In our view,the word “glory” is here used in irony – for they had NO glory!

 Still speaking primarily of Chaldea, his condemnation continues:

Hab 2:17  For the violence of Lebanon (symbolizing the violence done to Lebanon by Chaldea in felling its glorious trees) shall cover thee, and the spoil of beasts, which made them afraid, because of men's blood, and for the violence of the land, of the city, and of all that dwell therein. This verse almost duplicates the accusations against Chaldea in verse 8.

Hab 2:18  What profiteth the graven image that the maker thereof hath graven it; the molten image, and a teacher of lies, that the maker of his work trusteth therein, to make dumb idols?

Hab 2:19  Woe unto him that saith to the wood, Awake; to the dumb stone, Arise, it shall teach! Behold, it is laid over with gold and silver, and there is no breath at all in the midst of it.

This fifth “woe” addresses the corrupt practice of idolatry specifically – a practice which seems universally to have been prevalent in Judah prior to the Babylonian captivity, as it was also in Ephraim (the Ten Tribes) prior to their conquest by Assyria some hundred years earlier in their history. It was pervasive in Chaldea, even moreso.

Hab 2:20  But the LORD is in his holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before him.

This abrupt comment upon the sovereignty of the Almighty and His innate HOLINESS is the prophet’s summary statement of conditions as they actually are, in contrast to how they seem. 

At this point in his prophecy, Habakkuk shifts his emphasis to the substance of the last verse, which we state so often in our hymn of the same name. He breaks out into an almost frenetic cry of heartfelt, emotional praise of the Almighty.

Habakkuk Three

Hab 3:1  A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet upon Shigionoth.

Cf. Psalm 7: 1, Superscription: Shiggaion is a loud cry in danger or joy (Bullinger) thus is an attitude, or posture of the speaker. It is from sha’ag; this is always rendered ‘roar,’ in the AV.  It is not an instrument, but an attitude of the speaker. The Amplified Bible says this can be translated as:  ‘A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet set to wild, enthusiastic and triumphal music.’ It is uttered with great enthusiasm. The prophet is fervently praying to God, ‘Lord, renew your deeds in our day!’

It is not a time for complacency but for vigorous action.

So the prophet sees the Lord coming forth in glory surrounded by brightness like the light of the sun radiating out from Him.

He is fervently praying that there be not a dull and oppressive time ahead, but a time of introspection and repentance:  he is essentially crying, What is our God going to do with us?

It is a plea for God to deliver Israel as in time past – which the prophet then rehearses in a long series of verses.

Because he recognized the depravity of his brethren, Habakkuk is extremely concerned, an attitude which his next prayer well illustrates.

It is not surprising that shigionoth also can mean ‘protection.’ He has made use of a rich word which covers what ‘enthusiasm’ and ‘excitement’ can mean for us today. As a prophet he was imbued with God’s Spirit; this is indication of near intoxication in the Holy Spirit, which will be protection for him and for us in all times.

One commentator notes that ‘Enthusiasm is a weapon against the settler spirit,’ by which he means  against passivity. He further comments that ‘people with enthusiasm are spontaneous, unpredictable, surprising, and full of ideas. They come under the Spirit’s motivation; they receive inspiration from the Lord; they break out in praise; they expect signs and wonders; they take advantage of every opportunity; they never give up the battle, for they know that God has won the decisive battle and that everything shall be put under His feet.’

In short, they are spiritual Optimists!

That is the burning desire that Habakkuk is expressing in this prayer.

Thus he is a credible intercessor for Judah, which was already coming under the domination of Chaldea/Babylon.

The remainder of the chapter then, is a rehearsal of the mighty deeds Yahweh has done on Israel’s behalf from the first – and fervent request that these shall be repeated, not only in his time, but in extended future time as well. He is asking for a reduplication of God‘s mercy upon his people, and expresses his faith that such will be the case (vv. 16-19).

 Hab. 3: 2:  “O Lord, I have heard thy speech (hearing, or instructions) and was afraid (in awe; cf. Ex. 14:31, where Israel’s awe is recorded): O Lord, revive Thy work in the midst of the years, in the midst of the years make known; in wrath remember mercy.

The prophet profoundly respects and fears the pronouncements of the Father. He recognizes the mercy of the LORD which results upon Israel and its people. He remembers past occasions on which this mercy has been poured upon them:

 Hab 3: 3-16: These verses now recapitulate the initial deliverance of Israel from Egypt and His care of them during the Exodus and the conquest of Canaan.

They recall His mighty deeds of deliverance of His people, and in a sense voice his conviction (faith) that there is no doubt as to God’s intention to deliver His people in the same way in future time.

That deliverance becomes a prototype of what the prophet prays for, both now and in future time (cf. v. 18 – I WILL rejoice…).

These movements of His people and their conquest are slated to occur again in the end-time, with Israel’s final deliverance and the personal return of Jesus Christ to them as King and Conqueror. 

Everything that He has done He shall do again!

There is always upward progress in salvation, as recorded in II Corinthians 3:18, "And we...are being transformed into his likeness with ever increasing glory."

 Now we consider the detailed text beginning with verse 3:

Hab 3:3  God came from Teman, and the Holy One from mount Paran. Selah. His glory covered the heavens, and the earth was full of his praise.

Teman…Paran – includes the whole region south of Judah (the Negev), including the Sinai = the route of the Exodus. Notice the highly figurative use of language by Habakkuk as he records the beautiful original deliverance of His people.  Think of that historical record as we read these verses.

His glory = the glorious effects of His coming forth (Isa. 6:3).

 Hab 3:4  And his brightness was as the light; he had horns coming out of his hand: and there was the hiding of his power.

Brightness = clear shining – a powerful expression of His will. 

Horns = His power, hidden in His hands.  

 Hab 3:5  Before him went the pestilence, and burning coals went forth at his feet.

Pestilence = Exod. 23:27; Psa. 68: 1, 2. 

Burning coals = lightning! Psalm 18:8; 78:48; Exod. 9:23.  

    Hab 3:6  He stood, and measured the earth: he beheld, and drove asunder the nations; and the everlasting mountains were scattered, the perpetual hills did bow: his ways are everlasting.

Measured the earth = caused the earth to tremble. 

Drove the nations asunder = caused consternation among the nations in His path, and drove out the Canaanites; these are the perpetual (ancient) hills which bowed to His people.     

 Hab 3:7  I saw the tents of Cushan in affliction: and the curtains of the land of Midian did tremble.

Tents of Cushan … curtains (tent-hangings) of the land of Midian = His enemies displaced, both at first, and during later years of the kingdom.

 Hab 3:8  Was the LORD displeased against the rivers? was thine anger against the rivers? was thy wrath against the sea, that thou didst ride upon thine horses and thy chariots of salvation?

Thou didst ride upon Thine horses = a figure of His ‘riding’ horses of power and glory.

And Thy chariots of salvation = Strong #4818, merkabah, derived from #4817 merkab, a seat in a chariot, a saddle, and a covering (relating it to atonement).

In this language, He was depicting His conveying a special people to a special destiny as they came out of Egypt (symbolized later as the nations in our time) and were moving into the land of their inheritance – their eternal inheritance in the end-time.  In that Land was “salvation,” or safety from those round about who would harm them at every turn.

 Hab 3:9  Thy bow was made quite naked, according to the oaths of the tribes, even thy word. Selah. Thou didst cleave the earth with rivers.     

Thy bow = God’s weapons were in use (naked, or unwrapped) and not stored away; they were being used to deliver Israel and establish the people in their land (according to the oaths of the tribes, even Thy word = a parenthetical phrase for them to think upon (note Selah follows, and instructs them to connect this earlier part of the text with what is to come).

The oaths of the tribes are specifically the promises God swore to the fathers of the tribes when they were in the loins of the patriarchs.

 With rivers = Psalm 105:41, an account of His furnishing abundance of water for His people in the wilderness. 

   Hab 3:10  The mountains saw thee, and they trembled: the overflowing of the water passed by: the deep uttered his voice, and lifted up his hands on high.

The mountains saw Thee…trembled = Sinai, specifically as Exod. 19:18. 

Overflowing of the water passed by … = the Jordan River, as the people passed into the Land with the Ark: Josh. 3:15, 16. 

The deep uttered his voice = ref. to Exodus 14:21, 22, in which the waters of the sea parted in front of His people. 

And lifted his hands on high = as Exod. 14:22, in which the walls of the sea on the right and on the left were as the hands of the sea lifted up in awe, in amazement and in subjection to His will!

All these beautiful poetic references are part of the near delirium of Habakkuk’s recall of great manifestations of God’s power. All are to be repeated; he prays that they will be repeated now for the deliverance of his people, but is certain they will be in the future end time (vv. 18, 19).    

 Hab 3:11  The sun and moon stood still in their habitation: at the light of thine arrows they went, and at the shining of thy glittering spear.

The sun and the moon stood still = refers to Joshua 10: 12, 13, in which the sun and the moon stood still in the Valley of Ajalon to allow Joshua to finish the battle with the Amorites. 

At the light = like lightning, his arrows  glittered in the sunlight,

Thine arrows flew ... at the shining = the lightning was Thy glittering spear (Bullinger). God’s victories are swift and decisive, as indicated in all the above cases!  

 Hab 3:12  Thou didst march through the land in indignation, thou didst thresh the heathen in anger.

Thou didst march = the Almighty’s decisive victories given to Israel over all the enemies  which they strove to conquer in the Land. Their only failures came when they ceased to strive! 

Thresh the heathen = Judges 5:4, 5, an example not only of past history at that time, but also of His future intent.  The heathen are here the nations of Canaan, His specific target, as they shall be again.   

 Hab 3:13  Thou wentest forth for the salvation of thy people, even for salvation with thine anointed; thou woundedst the head out of the house of the wicked, by discovering the foundation unto the neck. Selah.

Thou wentest forth = God’s close leadership in all this deliverance, which is defined in these words. 

Salvation … in this case was settling them in their own land, away from their Egyptian overlords. Tanakh reads in v. 13: “You have come forth to deliver your people, to deliver your Anointed.”

Anointed = here, is Israel, His people: Strong #4899, mashyiach = Messiah! At that time He was delivering his anointed PEOPLE by His own hand; in future time he will be delivering His anointed people by his Anointed Savior, otherwise known as Jesus Christ. 

Hab 3:14  Thou didst strike through with his staves the head of his villages: they came out as a whirlwind to scatter me: their rejoicing was as to devour the poor secretly.

Strike through with his staves = pierce with his own weapons! Notice that the combat here seems mostly external to Israel, and includes the factor of “every man’s sword against his brother” among the attacking forces. A force coming into a country is not described in this way. Israel is conquering external forces entering in upon them; they strongly resist the enemy’s coming out as a whirlwind to scatter me.

 Hab 3:15  Thou didst walk through the sea with thine horses, through the heap of great waters.      

The verse is a reference to their passing through the Red Sea and the Jordan River with unstoppable force (horses – or the strength of the Almighty).   

 Hab 3:16  When I heard, my belly trembled; my lips quivered at the voice: rottenness entered into my bones, and I trembled in myself, that I might rest in the day of trouble: when he cometh up unto the people, he will invade them with his troops.

When I heard … I trembled in myself. Come to a respectful, full stop – a period. This is a picture of awe and fear at God’s victory!

That I might rest = exclamation: O that I find rest, or be at rest!  Or … that I might be worthy?  When he (the Anointed of the future) cometh up = the figure changes to the end time (to the future tense), when the forces of Christ come against Israel’s enemies! 

He will invade them with His troops = a very important element. ‘Troops’ in Hebrew is Strong #1416, geduwd = “army, band of men, soldiers, troops.” Christ will invade the outlying enemies and overcome them with His supernatural power, with His Saints (also supernatural!), and with natural Israel regathered and then well armed, and with His unchallenged authority.

Ultimate victory, unlike in the past, is prophesied for the future military actions.

 Hab 3:17  Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls:

Although the fig tree…vines…olives… fields … The prophet is now again considering the reality of his own time: the threatening Chaldeans and their successors, Babylon, who shall at that time overtake and destroy his country and people in this time of faithlessness and hardship. But he expresses great joy in this adversity in verses…18 and 19. For these shall bring times of correction – and of happy subjection of national Israel to its God.

 Hab 3:18  Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation.

Yet will I rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation! It is an echo of chapter 2: 14!  The Lord God is my strength! = the incessant duty of the watchman is to proclaim hope and salvation to his people in the end. 

  Hab 3:19  The LORD God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds' feet, and he will make me to walk upon mine high places. To the chief singer on my stringed instruments.

Like hinds feet… = the nimble victory which God shall give to the faithful.  

Mine high places = the high places of God, which are those of the faithful prophet and the future Temple of the Millennium; not those of Bethel and Dan.

The final picture here fulfills perfectly that oft-repeated prophecy of the time when God’s Son shall have returned and caused all nations to submit to His will. The kingdom is established in Zion; His throne is there; the Saints are assigned to duties throughout the earth; the Apostles sit on thrones over the Twelve Tribes; only scattered resistance remains throughout the far reaches of the earth.

 Then comes the end, when “… the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.”   Habakkuk 2:14, Micah 4:2; Isaiah 11:9; Numbers 14:2

<HELafferty, 11G, rev. 3O, 2P>  ~6400 words. End of study notes on Habakkuk 3 – Cf. Ref. 193 in Bible Study Notes.

  January: Joshua 2:18 - Rahab and The Scarlet Thread

Harold E. Lafferty

We believe the woman named Rahab (Hebrew, Rhaab, a Canaanite) has unjustly been given a pejorative label over the years, perhaps due to an early bias in translation (?).

 Hebrews  11:31 refers to her as “the harlot Rahab,” as does her first appearance in scripture, Joshua 2:1.

Jos 2:1  And Joshua the son of Nun sent out of Shittim two men to spy secretly, saying, Go view the land, even Jericho. And they went, and came into an harlot's house, named Rahab, and lodged (Hebrew, Shakab, to lie down, or to rest) there.

ESword, The Electronic Sword of the LORD, contains this footnote on Joshua 2:1:

harlot's house: Though the word zonah generally denotes a prostitute, yet many very learned men are of opinion that it should be here rendered an innkeeper or hostess, from zoon, to furnish or provide food. In this sense it was understood by the Targumist, who renders it, ittetha pundekeetha, "a woman, a tavern-keeper," and so St. Chrysostome, in his second sermon on Repentance, calls her πανδοκευτρια. The Greek πορνη, by which the LXX render it, and which is adopted by the Apostles, is derived from περναω, to sell, and is also supposed to denote a tavern keeper. Among the ancients, women generally kept houses of entertainment (including lodging). Herodotus says, "Among the Egyptians, the women carry on all commercial concerns, and keep taverns, while the men continue at home and weave." The same custom prevailed among the Greeks.

As noted above, the Spies came to her house to “lodge,” which means to seek a secure and comfortable place to rest and to sleep. Although it couldalso mean to seek out a prostitute, its chief use is to seek lodging or shelter.

Therefore we suggest that this faithful woman, whose genetic constitution contributed to her descendant, the Lord Jesus Christ (Matthew 1:5), was not a prostitute as some have supposed, but an innkeeper, the proprietress of an hospice for travelers – an inn.

She is mentioned as exemplary of faithful service to the LORD in …

James 2:25  Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way?

Remember that the Authorized Version is a translation of Jerome’s Latin Vulgate text, and word selection was solely in Jerome’s hands.

In this instance the word Jerome chose - translated “harlot” – is Greek Porne, which often does indicate an harlot, but also means “idolater,” a word which describes Rahab, the Caananitish woman, who surely worshipped the false gods of her people, but whose good sense brought her to BELIEVE in the power of Israel’s Almighty God – El Shaddai – as exercised through His people Israel, to whom she had learned that He had given her land of Canaan.

In our minds, this reasoning fits Rahab’s general circumstance much more satisfactorily. The Spies would surely have sought out an inn as their refuge, rather than the home of a prostitute. At an inn they would have been among many visitors, and relatively invisible to the authorities of Jericho, their identity hidden just as that of all other travelers.

But informers were active then as well as now; these informers went to the authorities of Jericho and tipped them that spies had come from the Israelite camp.

They were about to be found out and arrested!

The Spies had evidently spoken at length with Rahab, and she had told them of the rumors she had heard, and the great fear of the people of Jericho.

So faithful Rahab utilized even more inventive means, hiding them under drying flax upon her roof.

This activity of preparing the material for weaving (flax) also does not fit the profession of prostitution, for such women usually can purchase everything they need and do not have to fabricate their own cloth.

The Hebrew for flax is Pishteh (comminuting, or breaking), thus bringing the material of which “thread” (or rope) consists, into the picture.

The term “comminuting” is a description of breaking into multiple pieces; most people have heard the medical term “comminuted fracture,” which is a bone fracture in which the bone is broken into three or more pieces.

Here, it refers to the “breaking” process in the manufacture of flax fibers into thread. The hard outer cover of the flax plant is separated, after drying (which was the process being conducted by Rahab  on her roof) by “breaking” or comminuting the outer cover to recover the inner flax strands, which then must be further processed.

Now, flax is the source of linen. “Fine linen” is representative of the righteousness of the saints, as in Revelation 19:8, and is the clothing of the Bride of Christ. Thus, Christ Himself is considered to be the source of that linen garment, for it is He Who redeems that Bride.

This characteristic (His taking upon Himself the sin of the world) may directly refer to the “stripes” with which the Redeemer was afflicted, or BEATEN, in His achievement of bearing the sins of many. Hebrews 9: 28: So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.

This simple sentence informs that Jesus possessed the “sin nature” at His first appearance, and thus was challenged by all the temptations of every man, successfully overcoming all of them in His perfect life.

 The Spies symbolized every man – in danger of extermination by the enemy (sin).

The cord of their salvation was woven of flax and dyed red. Of necessity, it was not “thread” as we know it, but a heavy version of cord-stock capable of supporting the weight of at least one man. Therefore it was a durable support for them rather than a slender “thread” as we conceive that material, similar to the great strength of Jesus Christ which sustains His people in their trials.

Why are we informed that the cord was scarlet colored??

We realize that red or scarlet usually signifies sin or a sin-nature. As such, it relates closely to the above-referenced “flesh” of Jesus as utilized by the Almighty in the redemptive process – the escape hatch – for all men in another context.

The prophet cites the Almighty’s intentions for Israel in a similar condition: Isaiah 1:18  Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD:though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.

Could then this material (flax) dyed scarlet have a deeper connotation?

 Might it indicate something about the process of redemption, or salvation, typified by the successful escape of the Spies from the Jericho police?

The Redeemer of mankind, Jesus Christ, was of like nature as all the remainder of mankind – an inheritor of sinful flesh, that is, constitutional sin.

He committed no sins, but was marked by the sinful nature of mankind, and successfully offered His life as Redeemer from that state of being as well as the acquired sins of every Believer who submits to baptism into His name.

In this sense, we believe, we can draw the relationship of salvation of the entire race of mankind being dependent upon one of their own number – one who, although conceived in sin, as his ancient forefather David admitted in Psalm 51:5 - Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me, Jesus overcame those inherent tendencies to commit sin, and lived a perfect life. As Jesus was a direct descendant of David through His mother’s line of descent, he inherited the same nature as David – a nature which had to be redeemed

Rahab’s “cover story” of verses 3 and 4 as offered to the Authorities of Jericho, is more logical if she be deemed a provider of sustenance and shelter, as the Spies should have found it necessary to seek shelter, and to purchase food to sustain them – and possibly provisions for their return to the camp of Joshua on the east side of Jordan.

Rahab’s “house” is translated from Bayith, in verse 3, and simply means generally a place of refuge – including an inn. There is no indication that it was an house of ill repute.

We must also realize that the Israelite Spies probably had no reason to suspect that their intrusion into the community of Jericho had been detected. Their assumption probably was their visit would be accepted as just that – the casual visit of any wayfarer – that they would be accepted as innocent transients traveling the popular road through Palestine of the day, and seeking shelter at an inn.

Jos 2:2  And it was told the king of Jericho, saying, Behold, there came men in hither to night of the children of Israel to search out the country.

Jos 2:3  And the king of Jericho sent unto Rahab, saying, Bring forth the men that are come to thee, which are entered into thine house: for they be come to search out all the country.

Where is the logical place for the authorities to seek for visitors passing through a city?

It is at the inn.

But Rahab had already foreseen the danger facing the Spies, and had taken preventive measures …

Jos 2:4  And the woman took (had taken) the two men, and hid them, and said thus, There came men unto me, but I wist not (knew not) whence they were:

Jos 2:5  And it came to pass about the time of shutting of the gate, when it was dark, that the men went out: whither the men went I wot not: pursue after them quickly; for ye shall overtake them.

At this point, Rahab is faced with the necessity to create a “cover story” for the men who she admitted had come to her inn.

 Her reply was, “Yes, they came here, but they left after they had had a meal, continuing their journey.”

Jos 2:6  But she had brought them up to the roof of the house, and hid them with the stalks of flax, which she had laid in order upon the roof.

The action of hiding the Spies under their covering of the drying flax worked perfectly. It was a mean of their being hidden from deadly physical exposure – which would have meant execution had they been found, entirely parallel with the eternal death which every one of mankind  shall suffer without the covering, or redemption, of the Sin-sacrifice which God provided in Jesus’ crucifixion..

Jos 2:7  And the men pursued after them the way to Jordan unto the fords: and as soon as they which pursued after them were gone out, they shut the gate.

Jos 2:8  And before they were laid down, she came up unto them upon the roof;

It may be important to note that the Spies were yet awake and alert, still diligently on guard (for Rahab came to them “before they were laid down”).

This tells the reader that they took nothing for granted. They faithfully pursued their assigned task especially in the face of great danger. They were of one mind to accomplish their work of espionage, and to escape to inform Joshua of conditions in Jericho.

The following testimony of Rahab (doubtless as related to them earlier) must have been amazing to them – to find a “believer” in this seat of iniquity.

Rahab’s simple but assured faith came through plainly.

Jos 2:9  And she said unto the men, I know that the LORD hath given you the land, and that your terror is fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land faint because of you.

Jos 2:10  For we have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red sea for you, when ye came out of Egypt; and what ye did unto the two kings of the Amorites, that were on the other side Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom ye utterly destroyed.

Jos 2:11  And as soon as we had heard these things, our hearts did melt, neither did there remain any more courage in any man, because of you: for the LORD your God, he is God in heaven above, and in earth beneath.

Had Rahab been personally convinced that the God of Israel was the God of the earth and of all peoples? It appears so!

We must believe that these faithful and sincere confessions of Rahab convinced the Spies of her nascent faith, which had developed from the many rumors of the immense power of the God of Israel, of whom all had heard! In the light of YHVH’s enormous power, her gods paled into insignificance, for she had never seen such miracles from them.

All the other citizens of Jericho may likewise have been convinced of the reality which Rahab confessed, but she acted on her convictions when it became expedient.

So she entered into a “covenant” with the Spies – the emissaries of the LORD.

Jos 2:12  Now therefore, I pray you, swear unto me by the LORD, since I have shewed you kindness, that ye will also shew kindness unto my father's house, and give me a true token (a token of the covenant she was making):

What token did the spies give Rahab?

Was it not the very scarlet colored linen rope by which they were being saved?

 Later we discover that Rahab was told to display this means of redemption in her window; by it only could she be saved from the coming destruction wrought by God’s people.

Jos 2:13  And that ye will save alive my father, and my mother, and my brethren, and my sisters, and all that they have, and deliver our lives from death.

Jos 2:14  And the men answered her, Our life for yours, if ye utter not this our business. And it shall be, when the LORD hath given us the land, that we will deal kindly and truly with thee.

Jos 2:15  Then she let them down by a cord through the window: for her house was upon the town wall, and she dwelt upon the wall.

Excavators of Jericho have confirmed that the city was enclosed with a “casemate wall,” that is, a wall enclosing the dwellings of some of the citizens. Rahab’s house was part of the protective outer wall. It offered full protection to both Rahab and all her family when all had been gathered there, and enclosed.

It became, therefore, the “household of faith” to all its inhabitants during this time of great danger.

And all were protected by the display of the scarlet rope in Rahab’s window. That was their “lifeline,” and may be one of the origins of that connotation of the phrase.

Jos 2:16  And she said unto them, Get you to the mountain, lest the pursuers meet you; and hide yourselves there three days, until the pursuers be returned: and afterward may ye go your way.

Jos 2:17  And the men said unto her, We will be blameless of this thine oath (this Covenant) which thou hast made us swear.

Jos 2:18  Behold, when we come into the land, thou shalt bind this line of scarlet thread in the window which thou didst let us down by: and thou shalt bring thy father, and thy mother, and thy brethren, and all thy father's household, home unto thee.

In this verse, “scarlet thread” in Hebrew is shaniy chut, meaning a scarlet line or cord, indicating merely its utilitarian value to Rahab and her guests. [Cf., verse 21, where a different word is used.]

Note carefully that the Spies were lowered through a window of Rahab’s house, allowing them to escape the certain death sentence had they not escaped.

Can this “window” be typical of Christ’s description of Himself as “the door (the Way) to the sheep (fold),” in John 10:7, q.v.?

Jos 2:19  And it shall be, that whosoever shall go out of the doors of thy house into the street, his blood shall be upon his head, and we will be guiltless: and whosoever shall be with thee in the house, his blood shall be on our head, if any hand be upon him.

Note here that the restriction placed upon Rahab’s family was identical to that of the Hebrew slaves in Egypt on the first Passover – the night in which the death angel claimed the lives of all the firstborn of Egypt, both of cattle and people. The Hebrews were instructed to remain within in the shelter of their blood-marked houses, entirely parallel to the scarlet cord “marking’ the house of Rahab, the mark which would also protect them from the angel of the LORD.

Jos 2:20  And if thou utter this our business, then we will be quit of thine oath which thou hast made us to swear.

Jos 2:21  And she said, According unto your words, so be it. And she sent them away, and they departed: and she bound the scarlet line in the window.

Here “scarlet thread” is shaniy tiqvah, meaning “literally, a cord; figuratively expectancy, expectation … and hope!” Rahab bound to her window, doubtless a window facing outward, the scarlet rope of expectancy and hope, secretly marking her dwelling for the attacking Israelites to see.

Now the “scarlet cord” becomes more than a vital means of escape for the spies, additionally denoting the Innkeeper's expectancy of being saved from the coming death and devastation to be wrought by the Hebrew attackers.

In the coming melee, all the remaining people of Jericho were slain except Rahab the innkeeper, and her household, because of the FAITH exhibited by her diligent service to the Spies, based upon her belief and acceptance of their message of salvation.

So we must realize that the life-saving scarlet rope which saved the Spies’ lives also saved the lives of faithful Rahab and all her household.

Hence it is a subtle indication of the faith that is required of those who would be saved from death. Rahab’s salvation (and that of her household) was directly attributable to her display of faith in the protection of the scarlet cord – their only “lifeline” to being preserved alive.

In a real sense, all the people of Jericho were doomed to physical death during the coming days, except faithful Rahab and her HOUSEHOLD. They were preserved by the scarlet tiqvah, or expectation of the deliverance promised by the Spies!

Faithful to the type, the Hebrew attackers fulfilled their end of the bargain, and saved Rahab and all her household in their destruction of the city.

Directly east of Jericho there rises an high mountain with a lofty, flat ridgeline; it is thought to be the” ‘mount of temptation’” of the Lord. This mountain is doubtless where the Spies took shelter, in the wadis and caves of the region, for there are numerous limestone solution caves there (as in Qumran, where the Dead Sea Scrolls were recently (c. 1948) discovered, a few miles to the south).

Jos 2:22  And they went, and came unto the mountain, and abode there three days, until the pursuers were returned: and the pursuers sought them throughout all the way, but found them not.

We might suggest that the “mountain” to which the Spies fled is symbolic of “the mountain of the Lord’s house” in which all His servants seek shelter and protection from the hazards of life. Cf., Isaiah 2:2 and Micah 4:2, both of which describe the ultimate venue of salvation.

Jos 2:23  So the two men returned, and descended from the mountain, and passed over (passed over the Jordan River, eastward, to the Israelitish camp), and came to Joshua the son of Nun, and told him all things that befell them:

Jos 2:24  And they said unto Joshua, Truly the LORD hath delivered into our hands all the land; for even all the inhabitants of the country do faint because of us.

Conclusion: It seems much more reasonable for Believers to view Rahab in a gentler light than depicted by the unbelieving translators of God’s word. This conclusion recognizes that she could as easily have been redeemed from a profession of harlotry, but to consider her in a different, gentler way is preferable.       <HELafferty - 9N> ~3400 words. An Exhortation first given at Arlington, VA  Jan 4, 2015. Published in The Advocate, January, 2016 in a modified format.