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Forward by the Author

By and large, those who have chosen the “broad road that leadeth to
destruction” cling to the view that the bible is the work of ignorant primitives, and
is “full of contradictions”. These reason that since God is all knowing, and
incapable of error, if the Bible has contradictions, then it does not reflect the
nature of God, and must have been composed and written solely by men who
are prone to error.

By contrast, we who have entered in at the straight gate and are on the
narrow way that leads to life, have a different view. We look to the ancients, who
knew firsthand the works of the living God, for insights into the mysteries woven
into the fabric of time by the one who knows the end from the beginning.

This, then, will be the focus of this book, to wrest from the scriptures that
which God has concealed. Not only from the narratives of stories and
genealogies, or the acts of individuals, but to extrapolate that which only God
could have possibly done; to use all of human history as his parchment, and
people, nations and empires as his pen, to demonstrate that He is not only the
creator of the material universe, but the author of time.

In what ways does the creation around us attest to the foreknowledge of

God? Is there a pattern to the heavens above, or the earth upon which we
stand? Do the living creatures or the geologic features of the earth reflect the
nature of the Creator? Does prophecy mirror the handiwork of God’s sovereign
will, and will the unrighteous unwittingly fulfill the purposes of the one who knows
the innermost secrets of their being, the intent of their heart and the path they will
choose as this age crashes onto the shore of history?

Holding the Bible is like holding a program while watching a play. We can
know the actors and we can know which scene is being performed. Best of all,
we can know what’s coming next. The difference is; you and I don’t occupy a
seat in an auditorium, for all the world’s a stage, and all we, the players.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

The Beginning 1

The Heavens 4

The river 7

The patriarchs 13

The temple 35

Babylon 40

Abraham and Isaac Jacob and Esau 50

The tribes of Israel 57

The four horsemen 69

The trumpets 93

The thunders 102

The end 107

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I am here writing to believers and will not be addressing issues of disbelief. The purpose

of this writing is to lay a sound biblical framework for the faithful. Because this work is

not evangelical, those who find themselves scoffing at biblical concepts should seek

some other literary device to pass time.

Chapter 1 The Beginning

Gen 1:1 - In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. KJV

Do you see the forest or the trees?

It is often necessary to meditate on the Word of God. It is even more necessary

to read it repeatedly throughout our Christian walk, for this ‘walk’ has a
destination. His Word is the ‘lamp unto our feet’, without which we will stumble
and fall. Without a working knowledge of The Word of God, we have no basis for
faith.

Hos 4:6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast
rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me:
seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children. KJV

In this verse, the nation Israel is rebuked for their lack of knowledge. To this day,
faithful Jews are diligent to learn the law of God. As Christians, we must heed
their example of diligence and ‘study to show ourselves approved’.

Now, on to Genesis 1:1. For many years after receiving Jesus sacrifice for my
debt, my understanding of Genesis 1:1 was superficial. I saw the ‘trees’, but not
the forest. The “trees” understanding is that this verse is simply telling us the first
thing God did relative to the universe that surrounds us. Paraphrasing, I would
have said, “First off, two things were created, the heaven and the earth.”

Just as addition is proven by subtraction, and division is proven by multiplication,

this first verse in the bible can be ‘proven’ by turning it from a statement into a
question. When did God create the heaven and the earth? The answer: In the
beginning! Being incomplete with no object of the verb, it is necessary to
complete the thought by asking; “In the beginning of what?” The natural mind,
which we inherited from our patriarch Adam, will respond; “In the beginning of the
heaven and the earth, of course!” The critical mind will immediately recognize
the circularity of this conclusion because, you see, the correct answer is; “In the
beginning of time.”

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So if God created the heavens and the earth ‘in the beginning of time’, why
doesn’t it simply say “God created the heaven, the earth, and time.” The short
answer is that time is unlike the other two; time is irrelevant where there is no
matter. We call it the ‘time-space dimension’ don’t we? Outside the limitations of
a material universe, ‘time’ is inconsequential. The dimension of God is a
dimension where time is insignificant. Because it has properties just like gravity
or radio waves, time can be measured, tested and conclusions drawn about its
properties. Like gravity, time is limited to the third dimension. God, the creator of
the three-dimensional universe in which we live, is not affected by physical
properties like gravity or time.

Don’t be confused into thinking that God exists somewhere beyond the furthest
reaches of the universe. Because the properties of this three-dimensional
universe have no effect on God, the realm of God can easily coincide with that of
this time-space dimension. One of the characteristics correctly attributed to God
is that He is ‘omni-present’, that is, he exists in every place and at every time.

There is a bridge between the realm of God and the limitations of this three-
dimensional reality we’re imprisoned in, that bridge is the One who is both the
Son of God, and the son of man. Being God’s only begotten son, Jesus exists in
the dimension of God (what Paul called the third heaven). By being born to a
woman, He became our kinsman, and walked among us in this time-space
dimension. While among us, he demonstrated the nature and character of His
Father. He showed us the Father, and invited us to be ‘born from above’ into a
family in heaven over which He is the patriarch.

Though born into his family, we will still suffer the heritage we received from our
patriarch Adam, this being death in the body we received from him. Having been
born into the family of the Son of God, we gain the heritage of the one who
purchased what Adam lost. We benefit by becoming co-heirs with Him into that
heritage which he derives from His Father, the creator of all things. As Jesus
lives in the eternal realm of heaven, so do we. For the present time we still drag
around this carcass, which would dominate our senses if we allow it, but as we
walk with Christ, we begin to develop an awareness of the heavenly realm into
which we were born.

The more aware we are of the heavenly realm, the more effectively we can
conduct God’s business on earth. You do remember Jesus’ response to his
parents when they realized he was missing and they found him in the temple
conversing with the religious leaders there? He said “How is it that ye sought
me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business?” Jesus’ knew he
was not the son of Joseph the carpenter, he knew who His father was, and he
knew what His business upon earth was even at this early age.

Now let’s look at Genesis 1:1 again. This time, don’t allow the senses of the
flesh you inherited from Adam to dominate your thinking. This time, see Genesis

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1:1 from the perspective of who you are, one born into the family of the eternal
God, who created the universe, and whose wisdom designed all life, all the
planets, all the ‘forces’ we refer to as ‘laws’ such as gravity, friction,
thermodynamics, inertia etc.

Now do you see that four things are in view? The name of God has four letters,
YHVH, and in every act of God you will see four things in view. In Genesis 1:1
we see time, space, matter and energy. By the power (energy) of God, the
heaven (space) and the earth (matter) were created, and by this act, time began.

In the first verse of the bible, we have encountered the very signature of God.

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Chapter 2 The Heavens

Gen 1:14
14 And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the
day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and
years: KJV

We call them stars, those lights in the firmament of the heaven. They certainly
divide the day from the night, the stars are different in summer than in winter,
even the constellations that we see are in different positions in our day than they
were in the days of the ancients. So in these ways, the stars certainly
differentiate seasons, days and years, but how are the stars “signs”?

Glad you asked.

You have, no doubt, heard of the “Zodiac”. This word is not found in the Bible.
The Hebrew word Mazzaroth, (meaning chambers, divisions or sections), is. The
concept of the ‘houses’ of the Zodiac so permeates ancient writings, that it is a
forgone conclusion that it pre-dates them all.

There are many constellations; the “Mazzaroth” is only the southern 12. The
cluster of the Pleiades, the bands of Orion, and Ayish, “the Bear with her chain”
represent the chief constellations of the other three groupings.

Every culture with a tradition of the constellations assigns slightly different

imagery to them. It is, therefore, nearly impossible to effect a reconstruction of
the original view as intended by The Creator. There remains in the memory of
man, however, enough residual commonality from these various cultures to see
that they were at one time perfect in their witness of God’s plan for the ages, but
had been corrupted, probably from the Babel incident forward, and now are but a
shell of what they were intended to be.

The constellations, Scorpio, Ophiuchus and Serpens, show us a man strangling

a snake and standing on a scorpion; the head of the latter he crushes with one
foot, but its reverted sting wounds his other foot.

Hercules and Draco present the picture of a man kneeling on one knee, and
pressing down with his other foot the head of the great northern serpent or
dragon.

During the winter midnight the zodiacal constellation on the meridian was the
Virgin, figured as a woman holding an ear of corn in her hand, while beneath her
the immense length of Hydra was stretched out upon its belly in the attitude of a
snake when fleeing at full speed.

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Gen 3:15
15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed
and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. KJV

Also found in the record of the constellations is Aquarius, the man with a stream
of water, and Leo the lion. These were the original zodiacal constellations of the
two solstices. Taurus the bull was that of the spring equinox.

Jesus is represented by the ox (Taurus the bull), who, unlike other animals of
sacrifice, couldn’t be forced to the altar of sacrifice due to his strength, but had to
go willingly. He is also the word, seen in the imagery of scripture as the provider
of the water that cleanses us from our sin. He is seen as the Lion of the tribe of
Judah who will rule with a rod of iron.

The ancients associated seasons and the four points on the compass with
various constellations and groups.

The Pleiades stood for the East, since by their rising just before daybreak, they
heralded the morning of the year and the "delights" of springtime.

Orion stood for the West, since his appearing just after nightfall heralded the
evening of the year, and the bands of winter cold.

Mazzaroth, the twelve constellations of the zodiac, the "chambers of the south".

And Ayish, the "Bear with her train", guided in their unceasing course round the
pole, stood for the circumpolar constellations in the North.

I will share a personal belief with you. I don’t have the means to test this theory,
it may be wrong. My faith doesn’t depend on it being right, and neither should
yours:
I believe that, prior to the flood of Noah, there was an ice canopy which
surrounded the earth. I believe it was held in place as a result of the Misner
effect, that is, that water responds to a magnetic field, and that ice can be
suspended magnetically, and I believe it was, and that it shielded the earth from
hazards such as debris and radiation from without. Further, I believe that this ice
shield had an effect similar to a prism. I believe the light of the stars was
refracted into the various bands of color according to the brightness of each
individual star. Thus, the melding of the colors in the sky actually formed a
pictorial canopy from one end of the heaven to the other. As the earth revolved
around the sun, one could view in pictures the “signs” God placed in the heaven
for us to see, and they were clearly those scenes that God intended when he
created them. I believe these scenes depicted the plan of God for the ages.

Unfortunately, part of a comet destroyed this ice canopy as it crashed through it,
instantly freezing mammoths on the surface of the earth at temperatures possibly

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exceeding 300 degrees below zero. After the canopy collapsed, falling upon the
earth in the form of 40 days of rain, the stars now appear as nothing more than
bright dots in a dark sky, and any legends of the pictures that had adorned the
heavens, have been corrupted into the ungodly study we know today as
astrology.

That the stars predict the future is today a remnant of that knowledge from before
the flood when the constellations of stars were signs of things to come. They
signified that God created the heavens and the earth, that he knows the end from
the beginning, and, whether men believe it or not, God holds the future.

In a subsequent chapter we will look at the events that will transpire as this age
nears its end. In the book of Revelation, when Christ redeems the purchased
possession, we will see there a literary allusion that supports the view that this
canopy will be restored. The night sky will once again become a pictographic
mural, this time presenting what God has done. Like any good presentation, first
God showed us what he was going to do, and then he did it. Afterward he will
show us what he has done.

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Chapter 3 The River

Gen 2:10-15
10 And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was
parted, and became into four heads.

11 The name of the first is Pison: that is it which compasseth the whole land of
Havilah, where there is gold;

12 And the gold of that land is good: there is bdellium and the onyx stone.

13 And the name of the second river is Gihon: the same is it that compasseth the
whole land of Ethiopia.

14 And the name of the third river is Hiddekel: that is it which goeth toward the
east of Assyria. And the fourth river is Euphrates.
KJV

The entire book is about a river.

Not a river of water flowing over rock and mud, but the river of life that flows from
the only begotten Son of the living God.

The river flowed from Eden, the land in which was planted the garden of God.
Adam was created in the image of God, and God placed him in the Garden of
God eastward in Eden. Adam and Eve were blessed by God, who said to them,
“Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have
dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every
living thing that moveth upon the earth.”

God created the earth after the pattern of his throne. This pattern is repeated in
every act of God throughout the book. When Adam sinned, he violated the order
of the pattern established by God. Adam was created in the image of God. Just
as God is in the midst of the four living creatures in heaven, Adam was in the
midst of the four-sectioned earth. Just as God has dominion over the heavenly
host from his throne in heaven, Adam was placed in paradise to have dominion
over the earthly host. He was created in the image of God, but when he sinned,
he ceased being a “Faithful and True Witness”, and became (in type) one who is
outside the will of the One who established the foundations of all creation. He
was expelled from Eden to signify his new role in the overall scheme of things.

This may sound like a pun, but maintaining the purity of these models is the
means used by God to communicate to those who “have ears to hear”. Moses
also violated an important model at the waters of strife, and in doing so was re-
cast by God in a new role. Moses, in violating the purity of the model at Meribah,
like Adam, became a type of those without, not of those who would enter into the

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rest of the Promised Land. Moses, who (in faith) brought the children of Israel
out of Egypt, did not lead them into the Promised Land because he no longer fit
the model.

Jesus put forth a parable in Matt 22:2-14,

2 The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king, which made a marriage for
his son,
3 And sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden to the wedding: and
they would not come.
4 Again, he sent forth other servants, saying, Tell them which are bidden,
Behold, I have prepared my dinner: my oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all
things are ready: come unto the marriage.
5 But they made light of it, and went their ways, one to his farm, another to his
merchandise:
6 And the remnant took his servants, and entreated them spitefully, and slew
them.
7 But when the king heard thereof, he was wroth: and he sent forth his armies,
and destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city.
8 Then saith he to his servants, The wedding is ready, but they which were
bidden were not worthy.
9 Go ye therefore into the highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the
marriage.
10 So those servants went out into the highways, and gathered together all as
many as they found, both bad and good: and the wedding was furnished with
guests.
11 And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had
not on a wedding garment:
12 And he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a
wedding garment? And he was speechless.
13 Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him
away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of
teeth.
14 For many are called, but few are chosen. KJV

Jesus is hard on this man who rejected the righteousness of the saints, which is
what the wedding garment represents. Please notice this invited guest wasn’t
cast into hell, or the lake of fire, he was cast into outer darkness. He had been
invited, he accepted the invitation, and was admitted to the wedding. Nobody
arrives at the wedding supper of the Lamb unless they have received the
heavenly gift of salvation by God’s grace through faith. The issue is not,
however, the invitation or its acceptance. The issue is the garment. We know
our own righteousness is as filthy rags; only those who take to themselves the
clean white robe of righteousness are faithful to the model. Those who reject it
shall be cast out. To often we don’t ponder the Word of God to our own
detriment. Receiving the free gift of grace by faith is a necessary first step, but if
we don’t take heed to put on the righteousness of Jesus Christ we remain at risk.

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Not at risk of hell, or the lake of fire; that is for those who reject the free gift of
God. Outer darkness is for those who accept the invitation to receive the
heavenly gift, but choose the filthy garments of sin over the garment clean and
white, which is the righteousness of the saints.

If Adam had remained a “faithful and true witness”, his descendants would have
been a type, a parallel, of the river that went forth to water the four corners of the
earth. Contrariwise, after Adam’s transgression, God said to Adam “ . . .cursed
is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;
Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee . . .” (KJV) Adam was created
in the image of God, and in symbolism, is a type of God himself from whom the
water of life flows. The curse upon Adam after the fall is very appropriate
because Adam had ceased being a conduit of that water, and the ground was
thus cursed.

Remember that water is the issue. Adam, no longer a type of the river, was
thrust from the garden by God. He and all his descendants are outside the
heritage of God. The earth is no longer under the influence of one who is in the
similitude of God, rather, now it brings forth thorns and thistles. God granted
Adam dominion over the earth. Adam, no longer aligned with God, could no
longer wield dominion over the earth. The earth was designed to respond to
Adam. As long as Adam was in submission to God, he was the conduit (please
pardon the pun, but that is the symbolism intended by God) through whom the
power of God flowed like a river to maintain the earth. The forces of the earth
were in balance, life on earth in harmony, all things ate that which grew from the
ground, which was replenished by the river which flowed from Eden, the perfect
picture of the purposes of God which flowed through Adam.

The earth Adam lived upon was quite different than the earth today. A single
river is spoken of in the above verse. This river is not an accumulation of springs
and streams, which join together to flow to the ocean. This river had its
headwaters in the land of Eden, where it watered the garden, and it subsequently
went out from Eden and divided into four heads, where it watered the four areas
of the earth. Each area of land is named, and the names of the four resulting
rivers are named. This river’s four heads, and the resulting division of the face of
the earth is more than likely the origin of the four points on the compass, the
tradition of “four corners of the earth” as well as the “four winds”.

I find it fascinating that God designed the face of the earth according to the scene
before his throne in heaven as ‘tetragonos’ or four-portioned. This is, of course,
another signature of God upon the earth itself, testifying that he created it. It’s
like the imprint in sealing wax on a letter, it signifies who sent the letter. This is
God’s fingerprint, seal and signature.

You may wonder why this river doesn’t flow today, is there any evidence that it
ever flowed, and why is the earth not divided into four parts now?

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The force that caused the river to flow was the magnetic field of the earth. The
magnetohydrodynamic effect, which caused the river to flow, can no longer be
maintained by the earth’s magnetic field, which has decayed in intensity as any
permanent magnet does. The same magnetic field, which, by means of the
Misner effect, held the ice canopy in place, is no longer capable of sustaining
either of these phenomenon.

Consider the following prophecy:

Zech 14:3-4, 8-9 3 Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those
nations, as when he fought in the day of battle.
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. . .
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.

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

This prophecy identifies for us the precise location on the globe where the
headwaters of the River in Genesis 2 arose. The river shall once again flow
when the earth and its magnetic field are restored by the one who supplants
Adam. The one who paid the debt that Adam incurred will take up the position,
rights and privileges granted to Adam by God at the beginning of the creation of
God.

When the feet of the LORD stand on the Mount of Olives, the river that once
flowed out of Eden will once again flow out of Jerusalem. Why? Because the
“whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now”, but in that
day, the power of the creator of the universe will once again be manifest in the
earth when His only begotten Son takes possession of what he purchased at the
cross, and on the exact same spot! I believe this is the land where Adam and
Eve transgressed against the command of God, and the exact spot where
Abraham brought his only son to offer as a sacrifice.

Evidence that it once flowed? Compared to other minerals, lime is soft, and is
easily dissolved and carried by running water. It is deposited at the point where
a decrease in pressure and velocity allow it to settle out of solution. You know
this to be true in your shower, and around your drain. You also see this effect at
work on asphalt roadways; hydrated lime is added to the asphalt aggregate. In
time repeated exposure to temperature extremes causes cracks to form. These
cracks expose the lime to rainfall, which causes it to leach out of composition

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causing roughness and potholes so the road will need to be replaced (your tax
dollars at work). Jerusalem rests on a limestone formation many thousands of
feet thick. They have tried to drill for oil in Israel, but all they find is limestone.
They quarry limestone today in Israel to use as their building material. The
stones that comprise the city of Jerusalem are limestone. Elsewhere on earth
there are limestone deposits, but not like in Jerusalem.

I believe this river referred to in Genesis left this extensive limestone deposit. It
may have flowed for as many as 1,600 years until the magnetic field of the earth
declined sufficiently in intensity causing it to cease. However long it flowed, it left
a significant limestone deposit, which constitutes the foundation of Jerusalem
and much of the surrounding area.

Why is the earth no longer “four-portioned”? The flood, which destroyed all life in
whose nostrils, was the breath of life has re-distributed much of the landmass.
The accompanying cataclysms such as upheavals and volcanic activity
contributed to the process. I am of the opinion that the only place on earth that
remains in its original location is the area of Jerusalem. Jerusalem is atop this
limestone deposit, which resulted from the river that flowed from Eden.
Everything else shifted. Go look at a globe, It appears as though the continent
surrounding Israel flowed from east to west pushed by the flood waters as they
were driven by the gravitational influences of the moon and the harmonic tidal
waves which resulted. But Israel remained stationary. The movement of the
continents on the north and south sides of the limestone burm where Israel is
located today formed the Mediterranean trench. Granted this is an
oversimplification of the forces that resulted in this phenomenon, our intent is not
a scientific treatise, but an overview of the handiwork of the creator.

The whole book is about a river. The earth grows old like a garment, its forces
wane, its inhabitants groan in anticipation of the day to come when it is restored
by the one who paid the debt that Adam owed, and from whom flows the river of
life.

The Hydrologic Cycle

I believe the bible when it describes the hydrologic cycle as it functioned prior to
the flood:
Gen 2:5 And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of
the field before it grew: for the LORD God had not caused it to rain upon the
earth, and there was not a man to till the ground. . . .
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And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was
parted, and became into four heads. KJV

From these passages, the reader is left to infer that there was no rain following
the creation. The river watered the garden, then from there it divided into four
heads and flowed to the four major land masses of the day.

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 Let’s explore the mystery of the different way the Lord has worked in the history
of Israel versus the way He has worked with the church.

First consider a parallel between the pre-flood hydrologic cycle with how God has
worked in the history of the Chosen People:

The hydrologic cycle prior to the How God worked in Israel

flood
 The river flowed out of Eden.
 The river branched into four heads.
 These rivers flowed across the four-
portioned earth.
 Israel left the Promised Land and
descended into Egypt.
 The 12 tribes marched under four
‘standards’ after leaving Egypt.
 The nation was scattered into the four
corners of the earth.

 The water became purified as it  Jews have remained a distinct people,

permeated the bedrock of the earth. but have been “purified” by going
“through the earth”.
 The water was gathered back to the  The Chosen People have now been re-
headwaters of the river in Eden. gathered into the land of promise.

Now let’s consider today’s hydrologic cycle as a parallel to how God works within
the gentile “Church”.

How God has worked in the Church

The hydrologic cycle since the flood
 Mineral oxides, salts, biologic waste
and impurities are cleansed from
the land as pure water falling from
the heavens washes them away.
 Streams gather into rivers and flow
to the sea.
 Moisture evaporates from sea and
land and is carried by the wind as
clouds.
 The clouds hold the moisture until
the conditions are right to descend
as rain back to the earth again.
 Our sins are cleansed by the washing of
the “water of the Word”, which issues
forth from the one who sits at the right
hand of God in the heavenlies.
 We forsake not the “gathering of
ourselves together” as we “hear his voice
and follow Him”.
 When our journey through this life ends,
we are not left in the abyss but are
resurrected in newness of life.
 We remain with Christ in heaven until
conditions are right to return to the earth
as we descend with Christ in the clouds.

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The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his
handywork. 2 Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth
knowledge. 3 There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard.

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Chapter 4 The Patriarchs of the Ages
In chapter 1 we looked at the first verse in the Bible and the beginning of time,
space, matter and energy. In chapter 2, the stars of the heavens are examined
in an effort to speculate as to the signs God may have put there. In chapter 3 we
looked at the early earth, the four rivers and the four regions separated by these
four rivers.

These acts of God each have a four-fold quality. The time appointed to this
creation also bears this signature of God. God, who sees the end from the
beginning, has appointed the times according to his own good pleasure.

Acts 17: 26
26 And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of
the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds
of their habitation; KJV

In this chapter, we will examine four patriarchs. These four patriarchs serve to
demarcate the four eons of time appointed to this creation.
 Each patriarch is brought forth by a direct intervention of God.
 Each arises from something that is incapable of bringing forth life of itself.
 Each in some way (real or symbolic) faces death and lives to tell about it.
 From each descends a distinctive people who bear the distinguishing
characteristic of their patriarch.

God doesn’t approach anything in a random or capricious fashion. The material

universe reflects a high degree of order. As is consistent with his methodology,
the eons intended by the creator of this universe who “hath determined the times
before appointed” also bear His signature.

Let’s examine the order of the time appointed to this creation:

Rev 4:2,6,7: 2. And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set
in heaven, and one sat on the throne. 6 And before the throne there was a sea of
glass like unto crystal: and in the midst of the throne, and round about the
throne, were four beasts full of eyes before and behind. 7 And the first beast was
like a lion, and the second beast like a calf, and the third beast had a face as a
man, and the fourth beast was like a flying eagle. KJV

Because the appointment of these ‘times’ is an act of God, we should expect to

find the same pattern as the scene before the throne of God. In other words,
God’s signature should appear in the form of four “eons” or “ages” beginning with
the creation of the universe, and culminating at its destruction. Furthermore,
these four ages will reflect the nature of those living creatures before the throne
of God. In a previous chapter, the statement was made that the entire book is

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about a river. In this chapter we will see the fulfillment of what the river in
Genesis 2 signified.

Adam, the First Patriarch

First, let’s consider Adam. What about his origin? Did God snap his fingers and
cause Adam to appear? Not exactly, Adam was formed from the dust of the
ground. Nothing God does is without significance. Why did God choose to
create Adam from the dust of the ground?
 It speaks of God’s intervention; the dust of the ground could have never
brought forth a man apart from His intercession.
 It speaks of God’s purpose for Adam; he was to have dominion over the
earth itself, and all the creatures which dwell upon it.
 It speaks of his destiny; his name means “red earth”. God’s warning to
Adam was that “ . . .in the day that thou eatest [the forbidden fruit] thou
shalt surely die.” Those who descend from Adam inherit the curse that
they shall return to dust in death.

Each of these patriarchs has an appointment with death and escapes death in
such a way as to remind us of the one who overcomes death, and considers
death the final enemy to be destroyed. In the case of Adam, God clearly warned
him that in the day he eats of the forbidden fruit he would surely die. God is the
author of life. Disobedience to the author of life results in death, as God warned
Adam.

Eve broke the “chain of command” by her act of disobedience to Adam and
alienated herself from fellowship with God. She then presented the fruit to Adam
and he also ate, and in doing so, broke the chain of life by disobedience. By
virtue of his severance from the source of divine power, Adam was incapacitated
in his ability to execute the directives of God with respect to his dominion of the
earth.

After the fall he could not exercise dominion over the animals and he could not
subdue the earth. Jesus did, if you recall; Jesus calmed the storm and rode an
unbroken foal. Why? Because as the son of man he entered into the dominion
granted to Adam by God. As the sinless Son of God, he wasn’t born into the sin
of Adam; he is free of the curse upon Adam. He had never sinned, thus the
chain of command and the chain of life is intact. Jesus, while on earth, also
inhabited the dimension of heaven because he is in fellowship with God, His
father.

Those of us who by choice are born into the family of the Son of God are free
from the curse because we are born into a family that never suffered a break in
the chain of life or in the chain of command with God. We also enter into a new

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inheritance. This inheritance includes both what God bestowed upon Adam, as
well as the inheritance of the Son of the Living God, creator of everything.

Another aspect of this restoration is a symbolic one. Adam was the conduit
through whom the sustaining power of God flowed to the world. Just as the river
in Genesis 2 went forth into the “four corners” of the physical earth, the power of
God flowed through Adam to sustain the earth in its intended balance. Jesus
paid the price Adam owed, now we who accept Him as Lord are sent out via the
Great Commission and are a fulfillment of the River of Life bringing life where
previously only thorns grew.

When Adam transgressed the command of God, the resulting curse reflects the
very nature of the transgression. Adam, who was created from the dust of the
ground, had removed himself from the ‘circuit’ through which the replenishing
stream of God’s sustaining power flowed, so God cursed the ground as a
symbolic gesture to signify that Adam, without the river of life from God, can bring
forth only ‘thorns and thistles’. Later we shall see that at His return at the end of
the age, our risen Lord restores both the literal river, as well as the flow of God’s
blessing to the inhabitants of the earth, which currently groan, and travail
awaiting his return.

The defining characteristic of Adam is his disobedience and the penalty of death.
This heritage of death is reflected in the descendants of Adam. The fate of the
family of Adam is epitomized in the worldwide flood in which all in whose nostrils
was the breath of life perished. It is not without significance that Adam wasn’t a
living soul until God breathed into his nostrils the breath of life. Adam rejected
the righteousness of God by his disobedience. Adam rejected the very one who
quickened his mortal body by breathing life into him, and the poignant judgment
of God upon the descendants of Adam was a flood which took that living soul
from them by denying them that very breath of life.

The singularity of the family of Adam was evident even after the flood. It’s
important to muse on Noah and his family as they stepped out of the ark onto a
decimated earth. Rather than scatter, the descendants of Noah stayed together
and engaged in a singular effort, to build “a tower whose top may reach unto
heaven “. Wouldn’t you think they would have engaged in an effort to restore
the infrastructure of the pre-flood earth, or re-establish an agricultural or
technological base? The text doesn’t speak of these obvious endeavors;
instead, it cuts to the chase and points directly to the focus of their every effort.
Obviously they had re-established their food supply but had tailored the re-
establishment of their infrastructure and technology to accomplish the singular
goal of building this tower to the heavens. But why did they build it and why did
they remain a singular people? For an answer to this question, one must first
address the reason why the LORD intervened to thwart their effort to build the
tower and city.

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What was it that they were attempting to accomplish that prompted God to
intervene? Was building a tower a sin? Was building a tall tower a sin? Today
men build tall towers and God doesn’t intervene, what was it in the days of
Nimrod that prompted God’s intervention?

God tells us in the statement he provided when he judged their efforts:

Gen 11:6 And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one
language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from
them, which they have imagined to do.
7 Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not
understand one another's speech. KJV

Just like the first man who deviated from the path intended for him by God, and
as Cain who disobeyed the command of God with respect to the sacrifice he
offered, these descendants of Adam had united behind an effort not in accord
with God’s purpose, plan and order.

This singularity of mankind in an endeavor apart from the purposes of God

reflects the distinguishing characteristic of Adam who sought to exceed the
scope of his dominion. Mankind brands itself at this juncture with the sin of
Adam, and receives a fitting judgment. Any endeavor outside the established
order of the creator is confusion. Their judgment is perfect; their language is
confused to show that they all have chosen to deviate from God’s order.

This “tower to reach unto the heavens” is conceptually opposite from God’s
order. God created Adam as the vessel through whom God would pour forth the
water of life to all of Adam’s Dominion. This “tower to reach unto the heavens” is
man striving to reach upward in direct contrast to the order God established.

In the final age, God will restore a pure language, he will restore His order, and
the earth will once again be refreshed with the pure water of God flowing through
the patriarch of that final age.

Zeph 3:9 For then will I turn to the people a pure language, that they may all call
upon the name of the LORD, to serve him with one consent. KJV

Adam is the first of four patriarchs. Earlier the notion was advanced that each of
the four patriarchs has the character of one of the four living creatures before the
throne of God in heaven. Adam represents the man.

Isaac, The Second Patriarch

Following the Babel incident and without intervening text, we are introduced to
Abraham the father of Isaac.

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  God told Abraham that Sarah (90 years old) would bring forth a son.
Sarah found this so amusing, she laughed, and the child was named
“laughter”. She only considered the natural; she lived to see the
supernatural.
 Sarah was not only barren, but she was well past her childbearing years.
 In contrast to the pronouncements to Adam following his sin, numerous
promises were made to Abraham, Isaac and later to Jacob regarding the
promises to them and their progeny.
 Isaac was almost sacrificed by his father, Abraham.

To fully appreciate the patriarch Isaac, we must delve into the most poignant
passage concerning him. Comments are interspersed in the following bible
passage to help illuminate to the reader the subtleties of the narrative.

Gen 22:1-19
22:1 And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and
said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am.
2 And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and
get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one
of the mountains which I will tell thee of. KJV

Did God say “thine only son”? What about Ishmael? The symbolism here is
overwhelming, God is not making a mistake, he’s making a point. Many years
later on the same hill, another father offers his only begotten son. Let’s return to
the text.

3 And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two
of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt
offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him.
4 Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off.

From the moment the commandment came to sacrifice his son, Isaac was dead
in his father’s mind. It is then a three-day journey to the hill where Abraham
intended to obey God in the actual sacrifice of his son. In symbolism we have
the three days and three nights the messiah would remain in the grave until the
resurrection.

5 And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and
the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you,

Notice the cast of characters, there’s Abraham, his son Isaac, two “young men”
and the ass. Abraham and Isaac leave the young men and the ass to go up the
hill.

Another thing to take note of here is that it was Abraham, who is called the
“friend of God” who would perform the sacrifice. Does this bring to mind the

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passage in Zech 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. KJV

6 And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his
son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them
together.
7 And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said,
Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the
lamb for a burnt offering?
8 And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt
offering: so they went both of them together.

That’s no grammatical blunder; Abraham said that the lamb that God would
provide would be Himself! Note also that Isaac carried the wood up the hill, just
as Jesus carried the wood up the same hill, probably on the very same path
many years later.

9 And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an
altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on
the altar upon the wood.

You’ve got to appreciate that Abraham was an old man, and that Isaac was in his
physical prime somewhere between 25 and 40 years old. In other words, Isaac
went willingly to what would have been his death of sacrifice just as Jesus went
willingly to His cross.

10 And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son.
11 And the angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven, and said,
Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I.
12 And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto
him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son,
thine only son from me.
13 And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram
caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and
offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son.
14 And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovah-jireh: as it is said to this
day, in the mount of the LORD it shall be seen.

What shall be seen? That Another father on the same mount will offer his only
begotten son. Further, that to the same mount will he return, but we’re getting
ahead of ourselves.

15 And the angel of the LORD called unto Abraham out of heaven the second
time,

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16 And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast
done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son:
17 That . . .

By his obedience, Abraham casts himself in the role of another father who will
offer His only begotten son who will also possess the gate of his enemies. By
this act, Abraham enters into the promise parallel to the destiny of the one who
becomes the fulfillment of what Abraham acted out in faith.

. . . in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the
stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed
shall possess the gate of his enemies;
18 And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou
hast obeyed my voice.
19 So Abraham returned unto his young men, and they rose up and went
together to Beer-sheba; and Abraham dwelt at Beer-sheba. KJV

Please note the wording of verse 19 taking careful inventory of exactly who is
involved. Abraham returned to the young men, but where is Isaac? From the
time of his symbolic death and resurrection, Isaac is not again in view until he is
joined with his bride in Chapter 24. Does this remind you of anyone?

As mentioned earlier, the four living creatures before the throne of God parallel
these four patriarchs we’re discussing. In the case of Isaac the calf or ox is in
view. Why the ox? There are many reasons. It’s the only “clean” or kosher of
the four creatures. Isaac is the patriarch of the “chosen people” whose defining
characteristic is that of obedience, true to their patriarch Isaac who was faithful
unto death, the Jewish people have suffered and died under the hand of
countless enemies rather than assimilate into the culture of the lands into which
they were scattered. They have remained a distinct people who obey the way of
life laid down by Moses in the Torah.

When you consider the various animals Moses commanded to be used in

sacrifice, the ox distinguishes itself as the only one who must be obedient unto
death. Any other animal of sacrifice was small enough to be manageable; a
dove can be caged, a lamb put on a leash and forced to the altar. The ox, by
virtue of his size, could not be forced to the altar; he went willingly.

From time to time we read of occasions where the descendants of Isaac erred in
the way Adam erred. While Moses was 40 days in Mount Sinai in Arabia, Aaron
fashioned a golden calf. They would have been commended for identifying with
the calf, which would have been an act of faith. Their error was the symbolism of
the gold and that they fell down before it in worship. This was addressed shortly
thereafter in the 10 commandments. Gold speaks of wealth and pre-imminence.
As Adam’s defining characteristic was his attempt to exceed his dominion, so the
golden calf was in symbolism a picture beyond what God purposed for the

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descendants of Isaac. Just as at Babel, the “golden ox” is confusion, an ambition
outside the order established by God.

Just as the descendants of Adam bore the distinguishing characteristic of their

patriarch at Babel as manifested by Nimrod and the effort to exceed the dominion
granted to them by God, so the descendants of Isaac bore the distinguishing
mark of their patriarch Isaac as manifested in the fulfillment of the ox as a beast
which is faithful unto death in Jesus who went willingly to the cross.

The River
As discussed in an earlier chapter, the river in Genesis 2 divided into four heads
and flowed into four directions bringing with it the minerals from within the earth
to both water and provide nutrients to the plants and animals upon the face of the
ground. Adam was placed in the Garden of Eden as a model (in the image) of
God himself who is in the midst of the four living creatures before his throne. The
power of God flows forth to sustain not only the material universe in its intended
balance, but also the host of heaven. I’m not speaking here of the sky or ‘outer
space’, but those beings that exist in the dimension of God, of whom we know
very little, and that only by allusion, not by any extensive biblical treatment of
these beings.

The four patriarchs in view in this chapter are a model of the throne of God, each
having the character of one of the living creatures before His throne. Just as the
river that flowed from Eden, and just as the power of God that flows forth from his
throne in heaven, the fulfillment of the river exists in this model as well.

He came in the midst of the four ages; by his death the Holy Spirit was shed
abroad in the hearts of men. At the great commission the twelve were sent forth
into all the earth; ”And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach
the gospel to every creature.
16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not
shall be damned. KJV

He also preached to the souls in the lower parts of the earth, Eph 4:8-10
8 Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive,
and gave gifts unto men.
9(Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower
parts of the earth?
10 He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens,
that he might fill all things.) KJV

1 Peter 3:18-22 For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust,
that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by
the Spirit:

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19 By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison;
20 Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God
waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is,
eight souls were saved by water.
21 The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the
putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward
God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ:
22 Who is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God; angels and
authorities and powers being made subject unto him. KJV

Although he came in the midst of time, his salvation extended both to those yet to
be born, as well as to those who had already died. The Holy Spirit brings the
water of life capable of bringing forth good fruit where previously only thorns and
thistles existed. In leading captivity captive, he became LORD of all, both the
living and the dead. In paying the price of death, he satisfied the debt required to
restore (the root meaning of the word salvation) the creation of God. But only
those who believe in Him will have this River of Life. God’s Word never returns
void, it will always either bring forth fruit unto repentance, or unto judgment.

We shall see in a subsequent chapter that he alone is worthy to loose the seals,
which mark the end of God’s longsuffering toward the House of Adam and
unleash The Great tribulation upon the earth.

2 Tim 4:1-4 I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who
shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom;
2 Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort
with all longsuffering and doctrine.
3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their
own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;
4 And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto
fables. KJV

In our day we see the fulfillment of verse 3 and 4 above as the fable of ‘ evolution’
satisfies the itching ears of those who wish to cast off the restraints of
righteousness and walk in their own way, the way of death. As saith the Psalmist
in 2:1-4 Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing?
2 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together,
against the LORD, and against his anointed, saying,
3 Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us. 4 He that
sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision. KJV

A more in-depth handling of God’s judgment upon these who, in type, are the
ones remaining of the House of Adam in subsequent chapters.

Just as God is in the midst of the four living creatures, Adam was placed in the
midst of four categories of living beings. Just as God’s dominion flows forth from

27
his throne in heaven, the river flowed forth from Eden to water the earth. Such
was Adam’s dominion that it flowed forth from his place in the Garden as long as
he fit the model, or as long as he, in faith, continued in the image of God. By this
faith he remained in his office of firstborn of all creation. Not that he was born
first, but that of all the earthly host, he was the ‘kosmokrátoran’ or ‘ruler of the
world’. Until, of course, the day when he fell from this position, and another
usurped his dominion and became “ruler of the darkness of this world” (same
Greek word).

Jesus, The third Patriarch

In review:
 Each patriarch is brought forth by a direct intervention of God.
 Each arises from something that is incapable of bringing forth life of itself.
 From each descends a distinctive people who bear a distinguishing
characteristic of their patriarch.
 Each confronts death and lives to tell about it.

Clearly Jesus’ birth resulted from a direct intervention of God. God brought forth
Jesus from the womb of a virgin. It is axiomatic that virgins don’t conceive apart
from the introduction of sperm from a male. If someone tells you differently, their
grasp on reality is questionable.

The following passage demonstrates Jesus’ birth nicely:

Luke 1:26-38
26 And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of
Galilee, named Nazareth,

27 To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of

David; and the virgin's name was Mary.

28 And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured,
the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.

29 And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind
what manner of salutation this should be.

30 And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with
God.

31 And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt
call his name JESUS.

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32 He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord
God shall give unto him the throne of his father David:

33 And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there
shall be no end.

34 Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?

35 And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon
thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that
holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.

36 And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old
age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren.

37 For with God nothing shall be impossible.

38 And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to
thy word. And the angel departed from her. KJV

This is in direct fulfillment of the passage in Isaiah 7:14

14 Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall
conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. KJV

The name Immanuel means ‘God with us’. Did the Virgin Mary call her son
Immanuel? The writer of Luke sees the naming of Jesus as the fulfillment of this
passage:

Matt 1:20-23
20 But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared
unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto
thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.

21 And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he
shall save his people from their sins.

22 Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord
by the prophet, saying,

23 Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall
call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us. KJV

In order to connect the dots, it is helpful to recall the incident in which Jesus was
confronted with a man sick of the palsy. Jesus didn’t simply heal the man,
Instead, Jesus used the occasion to make a more salient point:

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Mark 2:5-7
5 When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be
forgiven thee.

6 But there were certain of the scribes sitting there, and reasoning in their hearts,

7 Why doth this man thus speak blasphemies? who can forgive sins but God
only? KJV

Only God can forgive sins. The angel told Mary Jesus shall save the people from
their sins. Jesus is the Greek transliteration of Joshua, which means YHVH is
our salvation. Thus Jesus is Immanuel, God with us.

In forgiving sins, Jesus isn’t acting in any capacity other than that of God himself.
This brings to mind the words of Abraham to his son Isaac: “And Abraham said,
My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering”.

In the preceding chapter it was concluded that Jesus is the fulfillment of the ox,
which typified those descended from Isaac. Now we will see that Jesus is not
only the fulfillment of Isaac, but he is also the patriarch of a new generation.
Normally when we think of a patriarch, we think of a man who bears children by
his wife, and thus has earthly descendants. Jesus, however, told Pilate very
clearly “My kingdom is not of this world”. Jesus is the son of the living God. It
follows, therefore, that his descendants would not be of earthly seed after the
similitude of Adam, but after the similitude of God. It is by being “Born from
above” that we are born into the family of the patriarch of the family in heaven.

When a Christian is “born from above”, or “born again” [same thing] the Spirit of
God comes alongside him as Paul tells us in Eph 1:13c-14 ye were sealed with
that holy Spirit of promise, 14 Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the
redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory. KJV

So the defining characteristic of Jesus is that he is the only begotten Son of God,
and being born of God, he was, and is, both flesh and spirit. His descendants,
therefore, bear the mark of their patriarch in that they are, being flesh, also born
of the spirit. In the imagery of the four living creatures before the throne of God,
this patriarch and those descended from Him are identified with the eagle, which
makes his home in the heights, and inhabits the heavens. The eagle is an
unclean bird. Gentile believers are restored to fellowship through God’s Grace,
not by the works of the law or the repetitious sacrifice of animals.

Without the Temple in Jerusalem, or the chosen people of God administering the
nations in faithful obedience to the Lord of All Creation, there is no standard, no
witness, no earthly structure established upon earth through whom God
administers justice to the nations. Thus the standard is the love of God as
demonstrated in the sacrifice of his only begotten son. While we were yet

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sinners, Christ died for us. We must therefore love others who are yet in their sin
after the example of our Lord. We are not better than our Lord. They killed the
Son of the Highest, and if we be living examples of his love, they will kill us too.
Then we shall be free to fly to our Lord in heaven to return with Him at his coming
and be revealed at the ‘manifestation of the sons of God’.

Christians, therefore, are in the genealogy of Jesus Christ the Son of God.
Understanding this resolves many difficulties in the Bible, not the least of these is
Matt 24:34 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these
things be fulfilled. KJV

Much ado about nothing has been made about what constitutes a “generation”.
If nothing else, the purpose of this book should once and for all put this to rest.
This is the same word for generation as used throughout the new testament.
The bible consistently refers to “The generations of “ somebody. You have just
read about the “generations of Adam” and the “generations of Isaac”. This refers
to the “generations of Jesus”. Please don’t confuse this with the heretical
teaching that Jesus had flesh and blood children. The “generation of Jesus”
referred to here speaks about the descendants of Jesus who are “born from
above” into the family of Jesus Christ the Son of God whose names are written in
the Book of Life in heaven. To paraphrase would be to say, “The third age won’t
pass until all these things be fulfilled”. This age will, however, pass, when the
things spoken of by Jesus in this passage are fulfilled.

A study of models is appropriate here. Moses was a man led by God to do many
things that would overwhelm most of us. He was told to stand before Pharaoh
and make demands concerning the Hebrew slave population. God’s hand was
heavy on Egypt, and Pharaoh eventually capitulated. After much wealth from
Egypt was given to them, Moses led them into the wilderness, but only to the
border of the Promised Land. You’d think God would overlook an oversight on
the part of Moses, but not when it came to distorting a model.

At Horeb, which was later to be called Meribah, when God told Moses to smite
the rock, he was setting up a picture of Jesus being smitten at his crucifixion.
Moses did well at this juncture; he obeyed God and smote the rock. Water
poured forth from the rock, enough water to quench the thirst of all the people.
The water symbolizes the Holy Spirit, which poured forth following Jesus’
crucifixion at Pentecost and still pours forth today.

The second time the children of Israel came to this same place, God told Moses
to speak to the rock. Moses disobeyed the model God was setting up. You see,
at Jesus’ second coming, those who seek to smite him a second time find
themselves outside God’s promised rest. When Moses smote the rock instead of
speaking to the rock, he became a model of those who do not enter God’s
promised rest. Thus he was excluded from entering the Promised Land.

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Does this mean that Moses is damned to hell? No, but for the sake of the model
with which God was attempting to communicate to us, all the parameters had to
be true to form.

Not many Christians would argue the fact that God knows the end from the
beginning. Therefore, before telling Moses to speak to the rock, God knew
Moses would disobey and smite the rock.

What was God trying to communicate to us by setting up this model? Primarily,

that it is not God’s will that any should perish. He told Moses what he wanted
him to do to achieve the result God desired for him. Secondarily, that those who
reject Christ at his second coming will not enter the promised rest.

This is evidence of God’s love that he didn’t phrase his instructions in the
negative, but in the positive. If God had said, “All who strike the rock shall perish,
but those who speak to the rock can enter into the Promised Land”; God would
be saying that there are people foreordained to be in both categories. In
commanding Moses only to speak to the rock, he is revealing his love toward us
in that there doesn’t need to be disobedience; all can enter the Kingdom Age by
receiving Christ, none need be excluded.

It is important to note that the conquering of the Promised Land was not under
Moses. It was necessary for the Chosen People to accept the transition from
Moses to Joshua to enter the Promised Land. As the end of this age
approaches, it will be necessary for the Chosen People of God to enter into the
fulfillment of this model.

This Moses, of the tribe of Levi, the giver of the Law which is established upon
the necessity of a pure and unblemished sacrifice is reflected most perfectly in
the ox; faithful unto death. The fulfillment of the unblemished animal sacrifice is
found in the sacrifice of the holy and sinless Son of God.

Though in the Land today, the descendants of Jacob can never enter the
promises given to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob until they accept the transition from
the one who established the symbolic sacrifice, Moses, to the one who is the
Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.

There is a larger picture in view here. Jesus not only ” gave himself a ransom for
all” (1 Tim 2:6 KJV) after the similitude of the patriarch Isaac, but he was
resurrected from the dead. The nation of Israel was also put to death in 70 AD,
and will be resurrected. Let us not forget that the one who was faithful unto
death was raised in power and great glory. He became the fulfillment of the
fourth and final living creature before the throne of God. The Lion of the Tribe of
Judah who shall reign both in heaven and upon earth.

Emmanuel, The fourth and final patriarch

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The first begotten from the dead.

Many bristle at this conclusion. The response is always “Oh, you mean Jesus?”.

Unfortunately, this response is meant to simplify, not fathom the depth of the
identity of the patriarch of the Kingdom age.

While Jesus was upon the earth we are told he was like a sheep who before her
shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. At his trial before Pilate he said
nothing; faithful unto death.

The Jesus who returns, however is not the picture of the ox, faithful unto death.
Rather, he is the picture of the Lion who will slay those who oppose him.

5 And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of
Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven
seals thereof. Rev 5:5 KJV

Now read what happens after the four sevens of The Revelation Of Jesus Christ:

11 And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon
him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make
war.

12 His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he
had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself.

13 And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called
The Word of God.

14 And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses,
clothed in fine linen, white and clean.

15 And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the
nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress
of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.

16 And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS,
AND LORD OF LORDS. Rev 19:11-16 KJV

What enemies will Jesus be taking vengeance upon? Jesus gave a parable
which neatly defines these:

A certain man planted a vineyard, and let it forth to husbandmen, and went into a
far country for a long time.

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10 And at the season he sent a servant to the husbandmen, that they should
give him of the fruit of the vineyard: but the husbandmen beat him, and sent him
away empty.
11 And again he sent another servant: and they beat him also, and entreated
him shamefully, and sent him away empty.
12 And again he sent a third: and they wounded him also, and cast him out.
13 Then said the lord of the vineyard, What shall I do? I will send my beloved
son: it may be they will reverence him when they see him.
14 But when the husbandmen saw him, they reasoned among themselves,
saying, This is the heir: come, let us kill him, that the inheritance may be ours.
15 So they cast him out of the vineyard, and killed him. What therefore shall the
lord of the vineyard do unto them?
16 He shall come and destroy these husbandmen, and shall give the vineyard to
others. And when they heard it, they said, God forbid.
17 And he beheld them, and said, What is this then that is written, The stone
which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner?

Who Crucified Jesus? The short answer is “God did”, but this requires some
amount of explanation. God knows the end from the beginning, but that doesn’t
alleviate a perpetrator of his responsibility. God most likely knew Adam would
sin. Is Adam still responsible for his actions? Yes. God probably knew Satan
would rebel against him, does that make Satan innocent? No, he and those who
follow him in his rebellion, men included, will be cast into the lake of fire.

Did the Jews crucify Jesus? Just for speculation’s sake, let’s say the Jewish
leadership of Jesus’ day accepted him. What would they have done? They
would have consulted the law and the prophets and realized that it was
necessary for the Messiah to be stricken. It is prophesied of him that he would
be “cut off”.

Isa 53:8 8 He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare
his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the
transgression of my people was he stricken. KJV

So what would they have done? Let’s embark on a flight of speculation for a
moment. With Annas the High Priest leading the way, they would have
accompanied Jesus to Pontius Pilate, and said something like: “Sir, this is Jesus
who the God of our fathers through the prophets told us would come. He is of
the house and lineage of David, but as the Son of God, he solely escapes the
curse on the house of Jeconiah, he is, therefore both our messiah and our King.
We respectfully request that you acquiesce Rome’s authority over the area
currently known as the province of Judea and acknowledge Him as King at this
time.” Would Pontius Pilate have simply handed Jesus his scepter and crown
and caught the next train out of town? Not likely. Jesus would still have been
crucified, and with the same accusation written upon the cross. Just as with
Moses at Meribah, God knew in advance exactly what would occur.

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Do we live in a free will framework? Yes, we certainly do. Does that mean God
doesn’t know what decisions we’re going to make? No, he knows the end from
the beginning. Did God know the Jewish leadership would reject the messiah?
Yes. Did he love the Chosen People less? No. The problem is, they fit the
model of Joseph’s 10 brethren who for envy cast their brother into a pit and sold
him to descendants of the bondwoman. They abandoned the land of promise to
serve in hard bondage in Egypt. Likewise did these:

John 19:13-15 When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he brought Jesus forth,
and sat down in the judgment seat in a place that is called the Pavement, but in
the Hebrew, Gabbatha.
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 priest answered, “We have no
king but Caesar.” KJV

Having made Caesar their king by this pronouncement, the chief priest (who
represents God to the people and the people to God) handed over to Caesar
authority over all in his hand.

If this were the pronouncement of anyone other than the High Priest, the
outcome would have been different. Only the High Priest actually had the
authority to acquiesce to Rome. By delivering Jesus to be crucified, Pilate
sealed the pact.

These who betrayed Jesus to be crucified were then driven out of the land by
those they so authorized. For two thousand years they have wandered in the
nations where they have found no rest.

Well, their time of wandering is over and once again the children of those who
were victimized by the decision of the High Priest those many years ago find
themselves at the border of the “Promised Land”. This Priest according to the
order of Levi smote the rock. It is now necessary for their descendants to choose
another Priest, one who is also a King according to the house of Judah, one
whose Hebrew name is Joshua who alone can lead the nation into the promises
to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

Though in the land, Israel shares the land with usurpers not of the seed of
promise. This time, however, they must not rebel against the one found guilty of
being “The King of the Jews” by the Roman governor of Judea. They must not
seek to “smite the rock”. It is this rock from whom rivers of living water will flow.

Just as Jacob purchased the birthright from his elder brother Edom, Jesus
purchased the birthright of his elder brother Adam. The price required of Jacob

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was something red which would save his brother who was “at the point to die”.
The price required of Jesus was something red, which would save the previously
born “son of God” (Adam), who arrived “at the point to die”. (Adam was a son of
God. Luke 3:38 38 Which was the son of Enos, which was the son of Seth,
which was the son of Adam, which was the son of God. KJV, Jesus, however is
the only begotten Son of God.)

Jacob obtained the birthright and bought the position of firstborn over the one
whose claim to pre-eminence over him was based upon being born first.
Jesus obtained the birthright and bought the position of firstborn over all the
earth, for this was the dominion granted to Adam by God.

The children of Israel must choose whom they will follow. The second time
Moses arrived at the rock at Horeb, God commanded Moses to speak to the
rock. In the imagery of this model that God established, Jesus is the rock. The
first time he came it was God’s command that he be smitten. The children of
Israel are now at Horeb the second time. They are back in the land of promise
where they are given a new command. God now would have them speak to the
rock. All those who will follow Moses in his rebellion will not have their place in
the promised rest. It is not God’s desire that any rebel, it is God’s express will
that they speak to the rock, that they now make their decision to follow Joshua
into the promised rest for the nation. Joshua is the Hebrew name of Jesus, the
name “Jesus” is the Greek transliteration of the Hebrew name “Joshua”. It
means “God is our salvation”. Ironically, Jesus is the name in whom the gentiles
trust, but it is He who was sacrificed for the sins of the world. He is the fulfillment
of Isaac, who, like the ox, was faithful unto death. And he is the fulfillment of
Joshua who led the children of Israel into the Promised Land.

Jews have followed Moses since they were led out of Egypt. To enter the
promised land now they must not follow Moses in his example of disobedience,
but they must follow Joshua who is the only one who can lead the people of God
into their promised rest.

Read what happens when the Jews decide to follow Jesus and he returns to
earth:

Zech 14:1-9
14:1 Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the
midst of thee.
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.
3 Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he
fought in the day of battle.

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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.
5 And ye shall flee 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.
6 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the light shall not be clear, nor dark:
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.
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.
9 And the LORD shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one
LORD, and his name one. KJV

The ground was cursed when Adam stepped outside the role God intended for
him. This curse was to demonstrate that the dominion of Adam would become a
barren desert as a result of his transgression. When Emmanuel sets His foot on
the Mount of Olives, the river of Genesis 2 is restored! The curse is here
reversed because the order of God has been restored. He who paid that which
was red, took to himself the birthright sold by the one who was at the point to die.
Could anyone else have paid the price? Nobody descended from Adam; they
are all heirs of Adam’s heritage of death. There is only one worthy, the Son of
God, born of a virgin, our near kinsman redeemer. The one who fulfilled the
prophecy acted out by Abraham and Isaac in faith, born of God, faithful unto
death, as it was said, “God will provide himself a lamb . . .”

Num 14:22-23
22 Because all those men which have seen my glory, and my miracles, which I
did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have tempted me now these ten times,
and have not hearkened to my voice;
23 Surely they shall not see the land which I sware unto their fathers, neither
shall any of them that provoked me see it: KJV

The only way the Jews in Israel today can enter into the promises to Abraham,
Isaac and Jacob is to, in faith, acknowledge the Son of God as their King. The
duly appointed Roman governor of Judea has already acknowledged him King of
the Jews. In irony Pilate declared him king and put him to death. He was
coroneted by Roman soldiers who mockingly plated a crown of thorns upon his
head, put a scepter in his hand and clothed him with a royal purple robe and
bowed the knee saying “Hail, King of the Jews”. They had no idea he would rise
from the dead to take to himself the title and position they bestowed upon him.

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The only thing lacking are the subjects of the Kingdom. A King with no people is
a King in exile. A people without a King are either in captivity or scattered among
the nations. The Jews in Israel at this juncture in time cannot worship on the
temple mount; they are besieged by enemies on every border, even in the heart
of their capitol. Though they have enjoyed victory over the enemies of God,
evidence that they are the chosen people brought back from their wandering, it is
God’s intention to lead them into the promises given to Abraham, Isaac and
Jacob. They lack only one single crucial factor; their King.

Judas took blood money and delivered the King of the Jews to the Romans. The
Jewish high priest recognized Caesar as king. Rome then crucified the Son of
God, and years later sacked Jerusalem and burned both it and the Temple. The
Jews were scattered among the nations while the land renamed ‘Palestina’ lay
desolate and very nearly uninhabited.

Jesus was resurrected from the dead. The nation Israel has wandered in the
wilderness of their Diaspora almost 2000 years. They have been re-gathered as
a nation, but will not enter into the promised rest until they take to themselves
their resurrected King.

Isa 65:21-66:1
21 And they shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards,
and eat the fruit of them.
22 They shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat:
for as the days of a tree are the days of my people, and mine elect shall long
enjoy the work of their hands.
23 They shall not labour in vain, nor bring forth for trouble; for they are the seed
of the blessed of the LORD, and their offspring with them.
24 And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they
are yet speaking, I will hear.
25 The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the
bullock: and dust shall be the serpent's meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in
all my holy mountain, saith the LORD. KJV

In that day he shall be called Immanuel, God with us.

Isa 7:14 Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall
conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. KJV

The fourth and final eon of time appointed to this creation will be the resurrected
kingdom ruled by the resurrected King restoring God’s order to a resurrected
earth. The saying will be fulfilled “Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle
shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled”

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God will restore the earth, He will reverse the curse, He will replenish the earth
and establish His order once again and the only difference will be who will enter
into that ‘kosmos’ with Him.

Isa 11:1-12:1 And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a
Branch shall grow out of his roots:
2 And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and
understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the
fear of the LORD;
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.
6 The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the
kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall
lead them.
7 And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together:
and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
8 And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child
shall put his hand on the cockatrice' den.
9 They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be
full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.
10 And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign
of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious.
11 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again
the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from
Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and
from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea.
12 And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the
outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four
corners of the earth.
13 The envy also of Ephraim shall depart, and the adversaries of Judah shall be
cut off: Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not vex Ephraim.
14 But they shall fly upon the shoulders of the Philistines toward the west; they
shall spoil them of the east together: they shall lay their hand upon Edom and
Moab; and the children of Ammon shall obey them.
15 And the LORD shall utterly destroy the tongue of the Egyptian sea; and with
his mighty wind shall he shake his hand over the river, and shall smite it in the
seven streams, and make men go over dryshod.
16 And there shall be an highway for the remnant of his people, which shall be
left, from Assyria; like as it was to Israel in the day that he came up out of the
land of Egypt. KJV

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The final living creature before the throne of God is the Lion.

And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of
Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed.

It is no mistake that the captivity in Egypt would be unto the fourth generation.

Gen 15:16 But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the
iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full. KJV

There were the generations of Adam, the generations of Isaac, the generations
of Jesus, and now, in this ‘fourth generation’, we see Israel ‘has come hither’.
Back in the land of promise from the Diaspora where they will once again come
to the rock. Those who follow Moses in his disobedience will share his fate,
those who “speak to the rock”, that is, follow Joshua (Jesus) will dispossess the
usurpers and usher in the fourth age, the ‘generations of the first begotten from
the dead’. The Diaspora of Israel since their rejection of the messiah has now
ended and the fourth and final generation is about to begin, the generation of
Emmanuel.

If only every Jew could understand that Jesus is the messiah they seek, he is the
beginning and the end, the “arche” and the “teleos” (The highest patriarch and
the one who fulfills all things), the root and the offspring of David, and the bright
and morning star. It is not his will that any should perish, but that all might lay
hold on life in the coming age. None need perish; the invitation is open to all.

The Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let
him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.

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Chapter 5 The Temple

Before God’s throne are four living creatures: a man, an ox, an eagle and a lion.
He created the earth after the pattern of his throne in heaven. God placed the
stars in the heavens as signs, and they also follow this same pattern. God made
four general categories of living things; the beast of the earth, the fish of the sea,
the fowl of the air, and creeping things that creep upon the earth. In Matthew
13:3, Jesus indicated that there are four types of people. It shouldn’t surprise us
that when God gave to King David the pattern of the temple by the spirit that it
would be according to this same pattern to signify His authorship.

1 Chron 28:11 Then David gave to Solomon his son the pattern of the porch, and
of the houses thereof, and of the treasuries thereof, and of the upper chambers
thereof, and of the inner parlours thereof, and of the place of the mercy seat,
12 And the pattern of all that he had by the spirit, of the courts of the house of
the LORD, and of all the chambers round about, of the treasuries of the house of
God, and of the treasuries of the dedicated things: KJV

A diagram of the layout of the Temple premises would serve as a roadmap of

the works of God from the creation to the Kingdom Age.

The Court of the Gentiles

The outer court, the Court of the Gentiles, has no defining fixtures other than the
gate entering into it. The Court of Women was part of this court. Anybody and
everybody could access the Court of the Gentiles. Strangers and pilgrims could
enter into this area regardless of pedigree or accomplishments. This court
speaks of the time before the flood, when the descendants of Seth lived
alongside the descendants of Cain. Also at that time there were the nephalim;
the offspring of the sons of God who sired children by the daughters of men. I
believe there are no structures in this court of the temple because following
Adam’s act of rebellion, man was left to run his course without the intervention of
God, and it ended in a hovel. The living creature before the throne that best
typifies this era of human history is the man.

The Court of the Jews

The inner court, the Court of the Jews, is restricted solely to Jews meeting
certain requirements. Just inside the gate to this court is a large bronze laver,
often referred to as the ‘sea’. Both bronze (or brass) and the concept of the sea
symbolize judgment. This sea represents the Red Sea, which was salvation to
those who had applied the blood upon their doorposts and lintel, but death to
those who would perpetuate the bondage of God’s chosen people. This moulton
sea was supported by four groups of three oxen, 12 in all. Also in this court is

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the brass altar, once again, the brass speaks of judgment, but it is also an altar.
Only “clean” animals were offered in sacrifice, because their spilled blood
represents the blood of the sinless Son of God himself whose sacrifice would
take away the sins of the world. One must remember that this court represents
the period in which God raised up the chosen people as a testimony to the
nations. These descendants of Isaac even in our own time display the character
and nature of their patriarch Isaac who was faithful unto death. What animal of
sacrifice cannot be forced to the altar because of its great size and strength?
The ox. Thus this court of the temple precinct represents the second beast
before the throne of God.

Worthy of note is that the throne of God, after which the temple is patterned, has
at its center God himself. The picture being that the power of God issues forth
from His throne to all areas of his dominion. The four-sectioned earth featured a
river that flowed to the four corners of the earth, this, of course is a model of this
same throne of God. This temple also has a central feature; it is the brass altar.
This altar represents the sacrifice of Christ, the efficacy of which flows to
‘whosoever will’ of any family, in any epoch.

If the brassy sea represents the Red Sea, and the brass altar Christ’s sacrifice
for sin, the steps leading away from the altar up to the temple structure represent
Christ’s resurrection and ascension into heaven. At the top of the steps is a
porch with two pillars, one on either side. On the right side is a pillar named
Jachin, and on the left side is a pillar named Boaz. Jachin means, “He will
establish”, and Boaz means; “In it is strength”. Commentators dispute the height
of this porch because the measurement given in the scriptures is
disproportionately high considering the dimensions of the temple. Because the
steps typify Christ’s ascension following his sacrifice, the porch would typify his
destination, heaven. It could be, therefore, that the measurements are correct
and that the disproportionately high porch symbolizes that He will establish in the
strength of His Kingdom in heaven all that ascend these steps by resurrection
after the pattern of his example of faithfulness. After all, as prophesied by Daniel
(2:44), the kingdom, which would be established by God, would never be
destroyed and would not be left to other people, and will stand forever.

44 And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom,
which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other
people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall
stand for ever. KJV

The Holy Place

The next chamber at the top of the steps inside the temple structure is the Holy
Place. Inside this area is the table of showbread with 12 loaves of bread, the 7-

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branched candlestick and the golden altar. There is no direct reference as to
whether the showbread was leavened or unleavened. That being the case, I
asked a Rabbi, he told me it was leavened. Since unleavened bread was
specified when it was required for use, I have no reason to believe otherwise.

Leavened bread represents not the 12 tribes of the nation Israel, but the church
as founded by the 12 disciples. Leaven always represents sin when it is seen in
symbolism; sin is the transgression of the law. If there is anything typical of
Christians, it is our preference for spiritual devotion over rote obedience to the
Law of Moses.

The 7-branched candlestick is seen clearly in symbolism as representing Christ

being the vine, and the seven churches as laid out in the second and third
chapters of Revelation as the branches.

Upon the Golden Altar was offered incense, not sacrifice. Incense, by
undergoing the process of fire, gives off a sweet-smelling savor. This represents
those Christians who have been persecuted and killed for their faith in Jesus
Christ. Though hated by the world, they are precious in the sight of God. It is
noteworthy that the Golden Altar is the final piece of furniture in this area of the
Temple. By the end of the age, all Christians will have ascended to God in
heaven as represented by the ascending smoke from the golden altar.

There is a veil separating the Holy place from the final chamber of the temple. In
honor of those faithful unto death as typified by the burning incense, the veil of
the temple was rent in two from top to bottom when Christ died upon the cross.
The veil represents the event referred to as the “Revealing of Jesus Christ” (Luke
17:30, 1 Peter 4:13, Rev 6:12-17). That it is torn from top to bottom symbolizes
the fact that heaven will no longer be hidden from men’s eyes from that time
forward. This is the “Parousia”. Those remaining on the earth of the house of
Adam at that time will see the effects of both the trumpets and vials of
Revelation. It is the same veil that is over the eyes of the Jews today. When
they choose to look to their King, they will see the salvation of the LORD. Those
remaining of the House of Adam, however, have another destiny which awaits,
as outlined in 2 Thess 1:7-9 And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the
Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels,
8 In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not
the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ:
9 Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the
Lord, and from the glory of his power;
10 When he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them
that believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in that day. KJV

On that day great men and small, rich and poor, free and bond will call to the
rocks and beg to be hidden from the wrath of Him who sits on the throne in
heaven. This is all described in the sixth seal in Revelation 6:12.

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The third beast before the throne of God, the eagle, best represents this area of
the temple. The eagle is associated with its ability to ascend into the heavens.
The eagle is a noble, but unclean animal.

The Holy of Holies

The final chamber of the temple building is the Holy of Holies. In this chamber is
the Ark of the Covenant. Upon the ark is the mercy seat. Images of two
cherubim adorn the cover of the ark, and all is overlaid with gold. Gold speaks of
incorruption as it does not corrode, rust or tarnish. These two cherubim remind
us of the entrance to Eden which two cherubim guarded, but these stand
covering the golden mercy seat from which Emmanuel will reign. There are four
cherubim before the throne of God in heaven. I wonder if it is the images of two
of these that adorn the mercy seat? Is it possible that the two cherubim that
have the appearance of the ox and the eagle, representing the descendants of
Isaac and the spiritual descendants of Jesus the only begotten Son of God are in
view here? These would be the elders in view in Rev 4:10 The four and twenty
elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth for
ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne KJV. The one who will sit
upon this throne is indeed the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, but it must be
remembered that by His death he purchased to himself the office of Adam.
Jesus referred to himself as both the Son of God as well as the son of man, so in
the symbolism of the model, all four of the cherubim are represented. Those
excluded from representation in the four images of the Cherubim are those who
bear the curse of exclusion from the Kingdom Age because they did not lay hold
upon God’s grace by their faith, instead they remain in the house of the first
Adam whose descendants can lay claim to nothing but the heritage of death.

The seat of his throne is established upon the Law of God, which is carved in
stone inside the ark upon which it rests. The two tablets of stone are the only
remaining items inside the Ark of the Covenant. Everything in this chamber is
overlaid with gold. Jesus taught the disciples to pray “thy will be done”. In the
final age appointed to this creation His will will be done on earth as it is in
heaven, this is signified by the incorruptible gold on every surface. The living
creature before the throne that is represented here? The lion, of course, the lion
of the tribe of Judah who will prevail over his enemies.

Rev 11:15 And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in
heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our
Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever. KJV

The Temple, a Shadow of Things to Come

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John 2:18-19 Then answered the Jews and said unto him, What sign shewest
thou unto us, seeing that thou doest these things?

19 Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I
will raise it up. KJV

As we see above, the temple was the earthly representation of realities both past
and future to the time of its construction as well as a reflection of the heavenly.

 By His sacrifice, Christ fulfilled the figure of what the brass altar represented
in symbolism.
 By obediently applying the blood of Christ, the way is made safe through the
sea represented by the bronze laver.
 By his resurrection he fulfills the stairway to the Temple porch and enters into
heaven.
 As he dictated to John the Beloved in the Book of Revelation, he is the vine
and we, the church, are the branches as seen in the symbolism of the

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 7-branched candlestick.
 The mercy seat atop the Ark of the Covenant flanked on either side by
cherubs representing the Nation Israel and the true Church. Our resurrected
LORD who alone is worthy to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and
strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing. Heb 1:6-8 And again, when
he bringeth in the firstbegotten into the world, he saith, Thy throne, O God, is
for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom.
KJV

As Jacob crossed his hands, blessing the younger above his elder brother, and
as Jacob himself was blessed by Isaac, (Gen 27:29a Let people serve thee, and
nations bow down to thee: be lord over thy brethren, and let thy mother's sons
bow down to thee. KJV), I believe the church represents the “younger brother”
represented by the cherub whose image is the eagle at the right hand of Christ
and the Nation Israel, represented by the ox, at his left.

Jesus represents the other two cherubs as well. He paid the price of something
red to purchase the birthright of Adam, thus he is ‘the second Adam’, the ‘son of
man’ and at his return to claim the purchased possession he will sit upon the
throne of David as the Lion of the tribe of Judah.

The temple stood as mute testimony to what Christ fulfilled in three days. Christ
is the fulfillment of God’s plan for the ages. By His Word were all things created,
by His faithfulness are we redeemed, by His resurrection we have the assurance
that we shall overcome death, and by His power will we be restored to an
inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in
heaven for you.

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Chapter 6 Babylon
Babylon at the end of the first age

Gen 11:1-9
11:1 And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech.

2 And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in
the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there.

3 And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them
throughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for morter.

4 And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach
unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the
face of the whole earth.

5 And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of
men builded.

6 And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one
language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from
them, which they have imagined to do.

7 Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not
understand one another's speech.

8 So the LORD scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth:
and they left off to build the city.

9 Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the LORD did there confound
the language of all the earth: and from thence did the LORD scatter them abroad
upon the face of all the earth. KJV

This is the first civilization following the Great Flood. The judgment of God
involved confounding the language and scattering the people throughout the
earth. After this judgment, the place was called Babel.

Whether accurate or not given the location of the plain of Shinar relative to the
geographical resting place of Noah’s Ark, it is very significant that “they
journeyed from the east”. The LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden.
The garden was east, but those who built this city traveled away from the east.
In symbolic terms, they were departing from that which God ordained for man.
This may be key in understanding why God intervened to thwart their purposes.
But what were the purposes that God found to be objectionable?

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Another piece of speculation involves the “tower, whose top may reach unto
heaven”. Too often our perspective is tainted by the technological
accomplishments of our own time. In our arrogance, we have a tendency to view
preceding cultures as more primitive than our own. This may not be the case.
This “tower”, (aka “elevator” or “umbilical” as we would refer it in our cultural and
technological orientation) reaching literally to the edge of our atmosphere could
be used to support a docking station and would be a very convenient way of
approaching the exploration of space.

If these people were as technologically advanced as I suspect they were; it

makes sense that they might seek to flee what they considered to be an unstable
and devastated planet. It is possible that prior to the collision with the comet
which set in motion the series of events that precipitated the great flood, a shield
of ice suspended by the Misner effect surrounded the earth. This shield would
have protected the earth from the solar wind; harmful radiation produced by the
sun. It would also have been an insurmountable obstacle to any thought of
space exploration or travel. With the ice canopy collapsed and the cessation of
the hydrological cycle of Genesis 2, the surface of the earth denuded of foliage
and all forms of animal life showing progressively shorter life spans in each
succeeding generation, the government of Nimrod may have implemented this
plan in an attempt to rescue unified mankind from what they thought would be
the eventual inability of the earth to support biologic life. The concept of a
“Space Elevator” is not far-fetched: THE GUARDIAN, a London based
Newspaper, published the following article on Sunday, Sep 14, 2003, Page 6:

Stairway to heaven a reality as space elevator talks begin

Science fiction writer Arthur C Clarke, who once said a space elevator
would only be built "about 50 years after everyone stops laughing", was due
to address a conference of 70 scientists and engineers opening in Santa
Fe, New Mexico yesterday by satellite link from his home in Sri Lanka.

The American space agency NASA is no longer laughing. It is putting

several million US dollars into the project under its advanced concepts
program.

The Institute for Scientific Research, Inc. published the following at their web site
at http://www.isr.us/research_es_se.asp:

“The Space Elevator, tethered to a platform in geosynchronous orbit, has

been evaluated from a scientific and engineering perspective and
determined to be feasible with existing and anticipated near-term
technology. With the continued development of high-strength materials
made from carbon nanotubes formed into composite threads, a space
elevator could enhance the long-term sustainability of the NASA Space
Exploration Vision. A space elevator system would provide a safe and

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 inexpensive means of delivering a large mass of payload to earth orbit and
to the Moon and Mars, and enable many new types of commercial ventures
in space.”

If this view is correct, then these people had turned their backs on God’s
directives to Adam and the parameters of Adam’s domain. God gave Adam (and
his descendants) dominion over this earth, and over the life on this earth. If
these descendants of Noah and Adam had in mind to extend the dominion of
man beyond the limits pronounced by God, then it would easily explain God’s
intervention and judgment in confounding their language and scattering them
upon the earth. This act of God succeeded in disintegrating the central authority
located in Babel who sought to usurp God’s authority by organizing all of
mankind in an ambition beyond what God originally ordained.

The very name “Babel” became synonymous with rebellion against God whether
or not their intent was to evacuate themselves from a devastated earth in search
of a more suitable environment.

This judgment of Babel marks the end of the first age.

Each age ends with a judgment upon a ”Babel” of one form or another.
We encounter Babylon again in the culmination of the second age (Babel and
Babylon are the same Hebrew word), Mystery Babylon in the third age, and the
fulfillment of the Babel/Babylon model at the end of the fourth and final age.

Babylon At The End Of The Second Age

Let’s shift our focus to the Babylon of the second age now. This Babylon is
introduced in II Kings 17 and eventually conquers Jerusalem. Babylon had
grown in prestige, influence and power and had expanded its domain into an
empire, which encompassed the furthest reaches of civilization at the time.
Judah had fallen to Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, and much of the
population taken captive to Babylon. Let’s read about the vision of King
Nebuchadnezzar, and his interaction with a Hebrew captive named Daniel:
Dan 2
2:1 And in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar Nebuchadnezzar
dreamed dreams, wherewith his spirit was troubled, and his sleep brake from
him.
2 Then the king commanded to call the magicians, and the astrologers, and the
sorcerers, and the Chaldeans, for to shew the king his dreams. So they came
and stood before the king.
3 And the king said unto them, I have dreamed a dream, and my spirit was
troubled to know the dream.
4 Then spake the Chaldeans to the king in Syriack, O king, live for ever: tell thy
servants the dream, and we will shew the interpretation.

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5 The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, The thing is gone from me: if ye
will not make known unto me the dream, with the interpretation thereof, ye shall
be cut in pieces, and your houses shall be made a dunghill.
6 But if ye shew the dream, and the interpretation thereof, ye shall receive of me
gifts and rewards and great honour: therefore shew me the dream, and the
interpretation thereof.
7 They answered again and said, Let the king tell his servants the dream, and
we will shew the interpretation of it.
8 The king answered and said, I know of certainty that ye would gain the time,
because ye see the thing is gone from me.
9 But if ye will not make known unto me the dream, there is but one decree for
you: for ye have prepared lying and corrupt words to speak before me, till the
time be changed: therefore tell me the dream, and I shall know that ye can shew
me the interpretation thereof.
10 The Chaldeans answered before the king, and said, There is not a man upon
the earth that can shew the king's matter: therefore there is no king, lord, nor
ruler, that asked such things at any magician, or astrologer, or Chaldean.
11 And it is a rare thing that the king requireth, and there is none other that can
shew it before the king, except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.
12 For this cause the king was angry and very furious, and commanded to
destroy all the wise men of Babylon.
13 And the decree went forth that the wise men should be slain; and they sought
Daniel and his fellows to be slain.
14 Then Daniel answered with counsel and wisdom to Arioch the captain of the
king's guard, which was gone forth to slay the wise men of Babylon:
15 He answered and said to Arioch the king's captain, Why is the decree so
hasty from the king? Then Arioch made the thing known to Daniel.
16 Then Daniel went in, and desired of the king that he would give him time, and
that he would shew the king the interpretation.
17 Then Daniel went to his house, and made the thing known to Hananiah,
Mishael, and Azariah, his companions:
18 That they would desire mercies of the God of heaven concerning this secret;
that Daniel and his fellows should not perish with the rest of the wise men of
Babylon.
19 Then was the secret revealed unto Daniel in a night vision. Then Daniel
blessed the God of heaven.
20 Daniel answered and said, Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever: for
wisdom and might are his:
21 And he changeth the times and the seasons: he removeth kings, and setteth
up kings: he giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that know
understanding:
22 He revealeth the deep and secret things: he knoweth what is in the darkness,
and the light dwelleth with him.
23 I thank thee, and praise thee, O thou God of my fathers, who hast given me
wisdom and might, and hast made known unto me now what we desired of thee:
for thou hast now made known unto us the king's matter.

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24 Therefore Daniel went in unto Arioch, whom the king had ordained to destroy
the wise men of Babylon: he went and said thus unto him; Destroy not the wise
men of Babylon: bring me in before the king, and I will shew unto the king the
interpretation.
25 Then Arioch brought in Daniel before the king in haste and said thus unto
him, I have found a man of the captives of Judah, that will make known unto the
king the interpretation.
26 The king answered and said to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, Art
thou able to make known unto me the dream which I have seen, and the
interpretation thereof?
27 Daniel answered in the presence of the king, and said, The secret which the
king hath demanded cannot the wise men, the astrologers, the magicians, the
soothsayers, shew unto the king;
28 But there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets, and maketh known to the
king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days. Thy dream, and the
visions of thy head upon thy bed, are these;
29 As for thee, O king, thy thoughts came into thy mind upon thy bed, what
should come to pass hereafter: and he that revealeth secrets maketh known to
thee what shall come to pass.
30 But as for me, this secret is not revealed to me for any wisdom that I have
more than any living, but for their sakes that shall make known the interpretation
to the king, and that thou mightest know the thoughts of thy heart.
31 Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great image. This great image, whose
brightness was excellent, stood before thee; and the form thereof was terrible.
32 This image's head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly
and his thighs of brass,
33 His legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay.
34 Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the
image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces.
35 Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to
pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshingfloors; and
the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that
smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.
36 This is the dream; and we will tell the interpretation thereof before the king.
37 Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given thee a
kingdom, power, and strength, and glory.
38 And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the
fowls of the heaven hath he given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over
them all. Thou art this head of gold.
39 And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, and another third
kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth.
40 And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in
pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break
in pieces and bruise.

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41 And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters' clay, and part of
iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the
iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay.
42 And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom
shall be partly strong, and partly broken.
43 And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle
themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even
as iron is not mixed with clay.
44 And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom,
which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other
people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall
stand for ever.
45 Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without
hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the
gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass
hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure.
46 Then the king Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face, and worshipped Daniel,
and commanded that they should offer an oblation and sweet odours unto him.
47 The king answered unto Daniel, and said, Of a truth it is, that your God is a
God of gods, and a Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, seeing thou couldest
reveal this secret. KJV

Just as God revealed in Daniel’s interpretation, Babylon was conquered by the

Medes and the Persians, who later fell to Alexander the Great of Greece, who
was then succeeded by the Roman Empire.

The four empires occupied Babylon until the beginning of the third age, which
was initiated by the patriarch born of a virgin in Bethlehem.

What is symbolized by the term “Babylon” is epitomized by the word’s first

mention where the Lord confounded the language and scattered them upon the
face of the earth. Just as the first Babylon sought to unify man in an effort
beyond what God ordained them to, so did the second Babylon. The Romans
(The fourth empire to ascend to the Babylonian legacy) found Jesus guilty of
being the King of the Jews. For this charge they then crucified him.

The Jewish High Priest, complicit in the efforts of the Jews to have Jesus
crucified, acquiesced the authority over the Land of Israel to this manifestation of
Babylon when he retorted to Pontius Pilate in unequivocal terms “We have no
King but Caesar”. The High Priest offered what he did have authority over, to
achieve that which neither he nor Rome had authority to do, to crucify the very
Son of God.

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John the Baptist understood the times and the seasons. Speaking of Jesus he
said: “He must increase, but I must decrease.” Had Rome acted in faith, they
would have taken that same position, but the fact that they executed the King of
the Jews is indicative that they would make themselves the ruler of the land that
God gave to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and over the people God had chosen to
be ruled by the Messiah. In exceeding the parameters of God’s ordained order,
they became the “Babel” of the second age. As irony would have it, Rome did
decrease, much to their chagrin.

The Babylon At The End Of The Third Age

The Babel of the third age is much more interesting. Just as the Roman empire
sought to usurp to itself rulership over the domain and over the people
descended from the second patriarch, Isaac, there is a “Mystery Babylon” which
would usurp rulership over the people “born from above” into the family of the
Son of God, the patriarch of the third age. Rather than appear as though I’m
ranting, the following scripture is clear enough:

Rev 17:1-9
17:1 And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and
talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment
of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters:

2 With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the
inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.

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.

4 And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold
and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of
abominations and filthiness of her fornication:

5 And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE
GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.

6 And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood
of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration.

7 And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel? I will tell thee the
mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven
heads and ten horns.

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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.

9 And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven
mountains, on which the woman sitteth. KJV

The big tip is “the seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth.” Rome is
known as “The city on seven hills”.

Just as the Roman Empire sought to usurp sovereignty over both the
descendants of Isaac and the land given them by God, so this “Mystery Babylon”
seeks to usurp headship over those who have been born from above and are
members of the family of the Son of God. The Romish church since its inception
has sought to subjugate the people of God to Rome’s headship over it, and
pervert the truth of the Word of God into papal dogma, doctrinal heresy and
empty religious rites. It claims to be God’s representative on earth in the tradition
of the Apostle Peter, in reality though; the blood of the saints through the
centuries of this age marks a path to the doorstep of this manifestation of
Babylon.

Rev 18:24-19:1
24 And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were
slain upon the earth. KJV

As with the previous two Babylons, this also seeks a destiny apart from that
intended by God, and it too shall fall:

Rev 17:16-18:8
16 And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the
whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn
her with fire.
17 For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree, and give their
kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled.
18 And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the
kings of the earth.

Revelation 18 And after these things I saw another angel come down from
heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory.
2 And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is
fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit,
and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.
3 For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the
kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the
earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies.

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4 And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people,
that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.
5 For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her
iniquities.
6 Reward her even as she rewarded you, and double unto her double according
to her works: in the cup which she hath filled fill to her double.
7 How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment
and sorrow give her: for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow,
and shall see no sorrow.
8 Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and
famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong is the Lord God who
judgeth her. KJV

For further insight on this topic, I recommend a book entitled A Woman Rides
The Beast by Dave Hunt.

The Babylon At The End Of The Fourth Age

Rev 20:1-3
20:1 And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the
bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.

2 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan,
and bound him a thousand years,

3 And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him,
that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be
fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season. KJV

Rev 20:7-8
7 And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his
prison,

8 And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the
earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is
as the sand of the sea. KJV

Following the Kingdom Age Millennium reign of Christ, Satan is released from his
prison. I find it interesting that the earth following the reign of Christ is once
again four quartered. Gog and Magog are ancient nations associated with
northern regions. Satan expressed his ambition in Isaiah 14 to “sit upon the
mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north”. Jerusalem is described in
like terminology: “Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, is mount Zion,
on the sides of the north, the city of the great King.”

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The four points of the compass have symbolic value; here we see that
destruction upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem comes from the north. This
allusion to Gog and Magog may be no deeper than that it brings to mind the
modus operandi of Satan’s ambition regarding the north and his intent to
dominate the work of God’s hand.

So here at the end of the Kingdom Age, the earth has been restored in every
respect, Christ the Lord of all has brought perfect rest to the planet, harmony to
all living beings, peace and prosperity to man. Satan, who cannot create but can
only usurp, leverages his takeover bid by deception. True to form, Gog and
Magog are his vehicle, but this is the final age, and in keeping with the model, all
those who follow Satan in his effort to hijack what God has ordained, do so to
their own destruction. Though not called Babylon, it fits the parameters of the
model in every respect.

Rev 20:9-10
9 And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the
saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven,
and devoured them.

10 And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone,
where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night
for ever and ever. KJV

Babel means confusion. It is the very name of the judgment of God upon those
whose works were patterned upon the sin of Adam. This Adam was told “in the
day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” Here in Rev 20 Satan and his
followers are cast into the lake of fire.

We know that “He [The Messiah] must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his
feet” and that “The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.” Following the
demise of this final manifestation of Babylon, no other topic is broached, and
there is no intervening text before the New Heavens and the New Earth come
down out of heaven, and there is no more sea, because the sea speaks of
judgment and death. Death is defeated for all time, Christ, the giver of life reigns
supreme throughout the ages to come.

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Chapter 7 Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Esau
The entire book is about a river.

In a previous chapter we examined the stars God placed in the heavens. We

looked at their organization and considered the names of constellations and the
legends handed down from antiquity which may still contain glimpses of the signs
God intended for them to convey. We looked at the four-portioned early earth
and the rivers that divided it. In this chapter we will begin to gain a greater
insight into the “language of God” by looking closely at Abraham, the friend of
God.

The sixty-six books of The Bible can be categorized by the nature or subject
matter of each. There are historical books, prophetic books, instructional books,
books which are personal or open letters and one which may have been
purposed as a legal defense in a Roman court (Luke). Sixty-six books written by
over 40 authors over four thousand years with various intents and purposes but
all share in common the goal of God; to communicate to man His plan of
redemption.

Redemption, sanctification and salvation are words that are too often muddied
with respect to the way they are understood. Because these words aren’t
commonly used today, they have a taste of “religiosity” and a flavor “scholarship”
about them. It’s like the title of “Deacon”. Often a church will ascribe the title of
“Deacon” to a man, and automatically the man is deemed to have prestige above
his peers. Actually, in the way the word is used in the New Testament, a
“deacon” was an errand boy who was sent to pick up lunch or deliver a message.
I wonder how prestigious the deacons in churches today would feel if we
changed their title to “gofer” to reflect its modern day equivalent. I’d venture a
guess it would deflate a few egos. Presumption is another form of the sin of
pride. God rejoices far more in the humility of the man who would rather be a
“gofer” for the Kingdom of Heaven than aspire to be revered by men because he
holds the title of “Deacon”.

The words redemption, sanctification and salvation are like that. For all their high
sounding religiosity, they’re back-yard-fort concepts which men have made into
citadel fortresses. Without getting into complex biblical studies on the words,
redemption is the equivalent of paying off your loan at a pawnshop and getting
your collateral back. Salvation means to make it how it was before. Examples
of salvation would be to “heal” a sickness or wound, or to restore a car.
Indemnity is a word used in finance meaning to “make whole again”, this is
closest to the meaning of salvation. Sanctification is getting a righteous nature
or righteous character from God.

Now that we’ve made the assertion that the whole book concerns the redemption
of man, and we have defined our terms, we can embark on our exploration of

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God’s intervention in the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob to see what He
would have us learn.

Abraham
We looked at the differentiation between the family of Adam and the family of
Isaac in a previous chapter in this book. At this point, it is sufficient to say that
the scattering of the people at Babel is a demarcation in time; a juncture that
differentiates what has past from what is to come. No intermediate topic is
broached, and no text intervenes between the scattering of the descendants of
Adam, and the genealogy that introduces the story of Abraham.

Gen 17:1-5 And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD
appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me,
and be thou perfect.

2 And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee
exceedingly.

3 And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying,
4 As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of
many nations.

5 Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be
Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee. KJV

Abraham is called the friend of God, he is told here to “walk before me” and be
perfect. The word perfect here means without blemish, complete, full, sound,
without spot, undefiled, upright, whole. Isaac was conceived after this covenant,
and is, therefore, the “child of promise”. Later Abraham takes his only son to the
top of a mountain to offer him as a sacrifice. Abraham in the imagery represents
God himself (the command to Abraham to be perfect makes more sense now
doesn’t it) who many years later offered his only begotten son on the same
mountain. Abraham here acted in faith. Remember, faith is the substance of
things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Abraham’s action in offering
Isaac was the substance of something hoped for, and the evidence of something
not yet seen.

The Son of Promise

Obviously Isaac wasn’t Abraham’s only son, Ishmael was born before the
covenant, before Abraham’s name was changed. Ishmael was born to Abram,
not to Abraham. In the imagery of the story Ishmael represents Adam, the son
expelled from the land of promise by the father, whose progeny has no part in the

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inheritance of the covenant son. Isaac represents the only begotten Son of God
who was obedient unto death.

Gal 4:30 Nevertheless what saith the scripture? Cast out the bondwoman and
her son: for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the
freewoman. KJV

Before reading further, please open your bible and read Genesis 22 and 24. You
may skip chapter 23 as it is an unrelated topic.

God instructed Abraham, (who in symbolism represents God the Father), to take
his “only son” to a mountain that God would show him. It was a three-day
journey to the mount. In faith, Abraham intended to obey God, he had, therefore
reconciled himself to the death of Isaac. We are told:

Heb 11:17-19
17 By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had
received the promises offered up his only begotten son,
18 Of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called:
19 Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from
whence also he received him in a figure. KJV

Gal 3:6
6 Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for
righteousness. KJV

Paul, in Galatians, contends that Abraham anticipated the resurrection of his son
Isaac in order for God’s Word to be fulfilled that “in Isaac shall thy seed be
called”. God told Abraham that his seed would be as the sand of the sea, and as
the stars of the sky for multitude. How could this be if his son remained dead
after he offered him as a sacrifice?

The ram that was actually offered was a substitute. The Lamb of God which
“taketh away the sins of the world” is not Adam, but a substitute, a stand in, a
pinch hitter. God explained in detail to Abraham that “God would provide himself
an offering”. Jesus, the son of a virgin, the only begotten Son of God was our
kinsman in that he was the son of man, while in him dwelt the fullness of the
Godhead bodily.

After being faithful unto death, Isaac became the patriarch of the Chosen People.

God arranged all of this to demonstrate His plan of redemption. God

orchestrated this entire scenario well in advance of the day that He offered his
only begotten son, from whom would be born from above as the stars of the
heaven for multitude those who would lay hold upon his free gift of salvation,
redeemed by the blood of the Lamb of God, sanctified unto God as sons.

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After being faithful unto death, by his resurrection Jesus became the patriarch of
those born from above.

John 1:12
12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of
God, even to them that believe on his name: KJV

Salvation = Restored, made like it was before, indemnified. The ground was
cursed as a result of Adam’s disobedience. Adam was a type of the river. Jesus
paid the price required to satisfy Adam’s debt (indemnity). Adam represented in
symbolism the river which flows from midst of the garden of God. Jesus,
therefore, is the river from whom flows the river of life to all who will, in faith, lay
hold upon the gift of grace by faith to be redeemed.

As the tree of life in the midst of the garden, Jesus came in the midst of the ages
to restore the promise of life to a fallen world.

The Bride
Another interesting aspect of the above story is that Isaac is last seen atop the
mount where he was to be sacrificed. He is conspicuously absent from the story
until his father arranges for the un-named servant to go to his kinsmen to gather
a bride for his son Isaac. Isaac appears in the text again when the servant brings
his bride to him where he dwelt with his father.

The symbolism of this story is very clear. Abraham, once again representing
God the father, sends the un-named servant representing the Holy Spirit, to his
kinsmen who in the symbolism represent the human race, to gather a bride, (the
word “church” actually means those who are “called out”) to be brought to the
son in the place where he went following his act of obedience unto death.

Hairy and the Heel Catcher

Gen 25:21-34 And Isaac intreated the LORD for his wife, because she was
barren: and the LORD was intreated of him, and Rebekah his wife conceived.
22 And the children struggled together within her; and she said, If it be so, why
am I thus? And she went to inquire of the LORD.
23 And the LORD said unto her, Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner
of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be
stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger.
24 And when her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, there were twins in
her womb.
25 And the first came out red, all over like an hairy garment; and they called his
name Esau.

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26 And after that came his brother out, and his hand took hold on Esau's heel;
and his name was called Jacob: and Isaac was threescore years old when she
bare them.
27 And the boys grew: and Esau was a cunning hunter, a man of the field; and
Jacob was a plain man, dwelling in tents.
28 And Isaac loved Esau, because he did eat of his venison: but Rebekah loved
Jacob.
29 And Jacob sod pottage: and Esau came from the field, and he was faint:
30 And Esau said to Jacob, Feed me, I pray thee, with that same red pottage; for
I am faint: therefore was his name called Edom.
31 And Jacob said, Sell me this day thy birthright.
32 And Esau said, Behold, I am at the point to die: and what profit shall this
birthright do to me?
33 And Jacob said, Swear to me this day; and he sware unto him: and he sold
his birthright unto Jacob.
34 Then Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentiles; and he did eat and
drink, and rose up, and went his way: thus Esau despised his birthright. KJV

So, Hairy (Esau) is the firstborn, but the prophecy to Rebekah was that the elder
would serve the younger. Esau was known as Edom following this event. Edom
means “Red”. It is not very different from “Adam” which means “Red earth”.

When the writer of the book of Luke wrote the genealogy of Jesus, he referred to
Adam as the Son of God. We know that Jesus is the only begotten Son of God.
For the purpose of understanding what God would have us glean from the story,
we must observe that Adam was born before Jesus was. Please don’t get
distracted by this, Jesus created all things, he was with the Father before the
world was, but to understand the significance of this narrative, simply keep in
mind that Adam was chronologically born first. As in the story of Hairy and the
Heel Catcher, Adam arrived “at the point to die”, here in this story, Esau casts
himself in this role by his statement “I am at the point to die”. Jacob (in faith) paid
the price of something red to purchase to himself the birthright of the elder
brother. In doing so, he bought all the rights and privileges of “primogeniture”, or
the rule of the firstborn. All rights, claims, authorities and dominion, which were
Esau’s by birth, were here passed on to Jacob, the younger son, who, in effect,
becomes the ruler over his elder brother who is now bereft of this rank.

As stated earlier, Adam arrived at the point to die when he ate of the fruit in
disobedience to the command of God. Jesus paid something red that kept Adam
from death, and purchased to himself the position, rank and privilege of Adam.
Jesus, by his death on the cross, by virtue of his acquisition of Adam’s position,
is now ruler over all the descendants of Adam. He is Lord of all. Because this is
his office, all people descended from Adam are obliged to submit to his Lordship.
He purchased to himself Adam’s dominion over the earth and all the living
creatures upon it.

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As Adam’s descendant (our kinsman) he exercised the power of God flowing
through him when he calmed the storm. Jesus, who was without sin, was able to
be God’s channel of blessing to this earth, just as Adam was prior to the fall.
Jesus could, by his word, restore to health the sick and even overcome the last
enemy, death. As the son of man he had the authority to exercise the office of
Adam because as the Son of God he had the power to overcome the sin nature
inherited from Adam. Thus he could “be about the business of his Father” while
on earth, but until he purchased to himself the position of “firstborn of all creation”
with his blood, he was not Lord of All the Earth, that dominion was granted to
Adam, and by extension, Adam’s progeny, the human race. God never
rescinded the dominion he granted Adam because of Adam’s sin. Adam became
unable to wield the power necessary to exercise the dominion in its entirety, and
it has been usurped in whole or in part by Lucifer, but it is Adam’s nonetheless.
Ironic that having purchased to himself the authority to be King of Kings and Lord
of Lords, Jesus did not take to himself a kingdom on earth because the people
chosen to administer His Kingdom on earth rejected him.

Pontius Pilate found Jesus guilty of being the King of the Jews, but the Jewish
leadership rejected him. The duly appointed Roman Governor of Judea certified
Jesus’ guilt of the charge that he was the King of the Jews by crucifying him. By
rejecting Jesus, the Jewish leadership became a type of those who listened to
the evil report of the 10 spies who caused the chosen people to wander in the
wilderness 40 years. The Romans, who put Jesus to death, also put the nation
Israel to death 40 years later. This Nation, which was put to death nearly 2000
years ago, has now been resurrected from the dead. Just as the children of
Israel returned to the rock after their wandering, Israel will soon return to their
point of decision. God commanded Moses to speak to the rock, but Moses
disobeyed. Like it was to Moses, the call to the leadership of Israel will be to
“speak to the rock”, that is, to turn to Jesus, and if they do, unlike Moses, they will
enter into the promised rest of God. Those who decide to follow Joshua (Jesus’
Hebrew name) will enter in to the Kingdom Age. A resurrected people led by
their resurrected King, more on this later.

When he returns as their King, he will subdue their enemies, dispatching them
from his domain. These enemies will have their place in the heart of the earth
until the time appointed to this creation ends (Matt 24). With the end of the earth,
the souls of those who would not have this man rule over them will stand before
God Almighty in judgment. Because they chose to be outside the authority of the
Lord of the whole earth, their names will not be found in the Book of Life.

Since we’re on the subject of the language of God, a brief excursion into the
Book of Life is in order here. It must be remembered that the word “Bible” simply
means “Book”. The Bible we have today is a compilation of genealogies, stories
of the faithful, previews of coming events and a record of the works of God
throughout the ages. No genealogy in the bible pre-dates the first man, Adam,
and no genealogy surpasses Jesus. All the genealogies in the Bible pertain to

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those born after the similitude of the flesh, those descended of Adam. Jesus is a
descendant of Adam, as such, he is our kinsman redeemer. He is the son of
man, but he is also the only begotten Son of God Almighty.

The Book of Life is a compilation of genealogies and stories of the faithful as

well, but it begins with Jesus Christ The Righteous, the Son of God who
triumphed over the world, the flesh and the Devil, the First Begotten from the
Dead. These genealogies do not represent a lineage according to the flesh, but
those born from above into the family of Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of
God. Unless a man (woman or child) is born into the family of Jesus Christ, his
name does not appear in the Book of Life.

What an awesome privilege we have, to write our own story of faithfulness by the
life we live into the Lamb’s Book of Life!

The judgment at the great white throne will not determine whether good deeds
outweigh bad, it will determine only if the name appears. There is no court of
appeal because there is no new information that can be discovered and no
mistakes made in God’s courtroom. Nothing is hidden from God. There is no
commuting of the sentence, there is no time off for good behavior and there is no
reprieve from the governor. There can be no bribes, no good-ole-boy influence
network and no friends on the inside to smooth the way. The name is there, or
it’s not, and the sentence is final.

Jacob
The conniving, exploitive deceiver, yet he symbolizes Jesus Christ in his
interaction with his brother Esau. Was it Jacob’s intent to act out in faith
something not seen? No, his actions were something less than ethical and not at
all equitable. He took advantage of a situation to advance his own interests at
the expense of his brother. I sometimes wonder why his brother didn’t simply
beat him up and take as much chili as he wanted. Was he really that weak when
he exclaimed, “I am at the point to die”?

Jacob did eventually become a decent sort, God changed his name to Israel and
he did become a man of integrity, but at the time God spoke to him he was
dealing with sons who were very much like himself, only worse!

With this background under out belts, we are now ready to look at the sons of
Jacob and how they reveal to us the order of God.

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Chapter 8 The Tribes of Israel

Driven From Eden

Gen 25:11 And it came to pass after the death of Abraham, that God blessed his
son Isaac; and Isaac dwelt by the well Lahai-roi. KJV

The name of this well means “The well of the living one who seeth me”. The
story of the twelve tribes begins in this place where Isaac lived with his father.
The name of this place is significant, because it reminds us of the place where
the first patriarch lived in fellowship with his Father. Before the fall, Adam was in
the presence of God, and the river then flowed forth from the land where Adam
dwelt.

Prior to the fall of Adam, Adam lived in a place from which water flowed forth to
replenish the earth; the river flowed from eastward in Eden, and Adam was in
fellowship with God his father. After the fall, Adam was dispatched from the
garden symbolizing that he had become desolate and no longer represented the
river. The curse upon the ground was to demonstrate what happens when the
power of God no longer flows through God’s chosen vessel, it brings forth thorns.
The descendants of Adam bring forth thorns to this day.

Just as an aside, after Cain slew his brother, one aspect of God’s curse upon
Cain is that “When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee”.
The occupations of the descendants of Cain are listed and none of them were
involved in agriculture.

As discussed earlier, Isaac had two sons, and not unlike Adam’s two sons, there
was contention between them. The story of Adam’s sons speaks of the day
when jealousy provoked the elder to slay the younger. The story of Isaac’s sons
furthers the picture in that the younger son provides that which is red to fulfill the
need of the elder son who arrived at the point to die.

The narrative dismisses Edom (Esau) with a few verses and a genealogy and
returns to follow the story of the son who purchased the birthright to rule over his
brethren. One day very soon, the descendants of Adam will be divided as the
goats are divided from the sheep, and the “goats” are dismissed from among the
living by the Lord of All the Earth.

Jacob had twelve sons. I don’t think it is without significance that these sons
were born to four women. Jacob’s wives were Leah and Rachel; the other two
women were their handmaidens Zilpah and Bilhah.

Genesis 37 is our introduction to the twelve sons of Jacob. This narrative

focuses on the exploits of Joseph and the jealousy of his 10 half-brothers. There

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are (I have heard it said) over 100 ways that Joseph is like Jesus Christ. He was
hated of his brethren, cast in a pit (reminiscent of Jesus being in the heart of the
earth), he was sold for pieces of silver, falsely accused, sentenced, condemned,
but rose to become ruler of all.

Following the rejection of Joseph by his brethren, there arose a famine in the
land. This brings the mind back to the ground being cursed following Adam’s
unfaithfulness. Just as Adam was expelled from the Garden, so this famine in
the land following the mistreatment of Joseph by his brethren led to the relocation
of the children of promise from the Promised Land into a land where they would
indeed be enslaved for four hundred years, or what in those days was four
generations.

The Move to Egypt

In Egypt they took up residence in Goshen.

Gen 47:6 The land of Egypt is before thee; in the best of the land make thy father
and brethren to dwell; in the land of Goshen let them dwell: KJV

Though they lived in the best of the land of Egypt, they soon found the
disadvantages of being outside the land of promise.

When Adam was dispatched from Eden, he found that a cursed ground made
him a slave. It was now necessary to force the ground to bring forth by the sweat
of his brow.

Gen 3:19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the
ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou
return. KJV

In Egypt they realized the prophecy God gave to Abram:

Gen 15:13-16 13 And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall
be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall
afflict them four hundred years;

14 And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall
they come out with great substance.

15 And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old
age.

16 But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of
the Amorites is not yet full. KJV

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Bondage Ends
Man was created to have dominion. Man was also created to be in subjection to
God. When Adam sought to exceed his dominion in the hope of becoming like
God, he became a slave.

Rom 6:16 Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his
servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience
unto righteousness. KJV

The descendants of the son of promise are now outside the land of promise and
in subjection to an unrighteous ruler. This was hard bondage. The descendants
of Adam found themselves in the same set of circumstances. They are outside
the garden and are bereft of the ability to fulfill the command to have dominion.
God’s order was subverted in favor of substitutes, which can never bring rest.

The exploits of the Exodus from Egypt speak of God’s plan of redemption for the
descendants of Adam, and the return to Eden. As established earlier, the Book
of Life does not contain the names of every descendant of Adam. Only those
descended from Jesus Christ, those born from above. The Hebrews were
somewhat compulsive about recording the names of their family trees. In the
Bible they kept very good records of who’s who and where they fit in. The names
of who went in to Egypt are recorded, and the names of the families that came
out of Egypt are recorded. The tribes remain separate and distinct, they do not
blur as often occurs when records are not kept.

Naturally the Pharaoh was fiscally motivated to retain his slave population.
Working people are a financial asset, and people who work for low wages, or no
wages are, sad to say, an even greater asset. God’s purposes for Egypt’s
involvement in His plan for His people had come to an end, so it was just a
matter of method, and the children of promise would return to the Promised
Land.

Just as with everything that God does, the process He chooses is not necessarily
the most expeditious means to accomplish the task. Obviously, God could have
snapped his fingers and said “You were!” and Pharaoh would have been
yesterday’s bad news.

A few observations help us in our interpretation of the events leading up to the

Exodus from Egypt.
 Only those families who ate of the lamb which was slain and drank the
Passover cup qualified themselves to take part in the Exodus.
 Those same families took of the lamb’s blood and anointed the doorpost
and lintel of their home.

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  They left Egypt with great wealth.

If being driven from the land of promise because of a draught after the death of
Abraham represents Adam being driven out of Eden following God’s curse upon
the ground, then the period of time spent in Egypt represents the entire period of
time the descendants of Adam had been languishing under the heavy hand of
the prince of this world, Satan, until the Lamb of God shed his blood upon a
cross of wood.

It would benefit the reader greatly to have a well-rounded understanding of a little

understood verse. Many believe they have a command of this verse, but don’t.

John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that
whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. KJV

Please note that this verse says God loved the world. The word loved is in the
aorist, that is, it is past tense. The aorist always infers past-tense action, but also
action confined to a well-defined period of time.

As Christians we are commanded not to love the world: 1 John 2:15 Love not
the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the
love of the Father is not in him. KJV

The word kosmos (Cosmos) is translated “world” for lack of a better English word.
We get our word cosmetology from this word. It’s meaning is closer akin to the
concept of an orderly arrangement of something. Cosmetology is the study of
hairstyles and make-up, which involves putting one’s appearance in order. When
used in the New Testament, it frequently refers to the order of the chain of
command, or the power structure extant since the fall. We’ve already
established that by his disobedience, Adam broke fellowship with God. By this
selfsame action, Adam also acted in obedience to the one who indwelt the
serpent. Adam, unable to fulfill his God-given capacity with respect to his
dominion, became subject to Satan who usurped authority over Adam and the
things God had put into Adam’s hand. The kosmosat that point changed from
Adam being in fellowship with God, to Adam being subject to Satan.

The kosmos that God loved was the one He created for Adam. After the fall, God
no longer loved the kosmos for obvious reasons. That’s why the word loved in
John 3:16 is in the past tense. It refers back to the time that God loved the
kosmos, before Adam’s sin. As a matter of fact, God so loved the kosmos which
he established, that he gave his only begotten son in order that all those who are
faithful to Him shall not perish, but have life in the [Kingdom] Age. We will be
restored to all that Adam lost and more. Jesus is God’s son. He will be our Lord
throughout the ages to come, and his heritage, which he inherited from his father,
extends far beyond this earth, and includes all things. It says he must reign until
all things are put under his feet.

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Egypt represents the part of the earth outside Eden. As Adam was driven from
Eden, Jacob was driven from the land of promise. As Pharaoh usurped authority
over the heritage of God to enslave them, so Satan has enslaved the house of
Adam. It wasn’t until the lamb’s blood was shed that the servitude of the nation
was over. In the case of the descendants of Adam, it was the Son of God whose
blood was shed, which paid the price that bought redemption.

Just as those faithful souls in faith applied the blood to deliver them from
bondage in Egypt, so those who are faithful to apply the blood of the Lamb of
God, God’s only begotten son, are set free, and will have their place in the
Kingdom Age, the fulfillment of the Promised Land.

Numbers 2
2:1 And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,
2 Every man of the children of Israel shall pitch by his own standard, with the
ensign of their father's house: far off about the tabernacle of the congregation
shall they pitch.
3 And on the east side toward the rising of the sun shall they of the standard of
the camp of Judah pitch throughout their armies: and Nahshon the son of
Amminadab shall be captain of the children of Judah.
4 And his host, and those that were numbered of them, were threescore and
fourteen thousand and six hundred.
5 And those that do pitch next unto him shall be the tribe of Issachar: and
Nethaneel the son of Zuar shall be captain of the children of Issachar.
6 And his host, and those that were numbered thereof, were fifty and four
thousand and four hundred.
7 Then the tribe of Zebulun: and Eliab the son of Helon shall be captain of the
children of Zebulun.
8 And his host, and those that were numbered thereof, were fifty and seven
thousand and four hundred.
9 All that were numbered in the camp of Judah were an hundred thousand and
fourscore thousand and six thousand and four hundred, throughout their armies.
These shall first set forth.
10 On the south side shall be the standard of the camp of Reuben according to
their armies: and the captain of the children of Reuben shall be Elizur the son of
Shedeur.
11 And his host, and those that were numbered thereof, were forty and six
thousand and five hundred.
12 And those which pitch by him shall be the tribe of Simeon: and the captain of
the children of Simeon shall be Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai.
13 And his host, and those that were numbered of them, were fifty and nine
thousand and three hundred.

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14 Then the tribe of Gad: and the captain of the sons of Gad shall be Eliasaph
the son of Reuel.
15 And his host, and those that were numbered of them, were forty and five
thousand and six hundred and fifty.
16 All that were numbered in the camp of Reuben were an hundred thousand
and fifty and one thousand and four hundred and fifty, throughout their armies.
And they shall set forth in the second rank.
17 Then the tabernacle of the congregation shall set forward with the camp of
the Levites in the midst of the camp: as they encamp, so shall they set forward,
every man in his place by their standards.
18 On the west side shall be the standard of the camp of Ephraim according to
their armies: and the captain of the sons of Ephraim shall be Elishama the son of
Ammihud.
19 And his host, and those that were numbered of them, were forty thousand
and five hundred.
20 And by him shall be the tribe of Manasseh: and the captain of the children of
Manasseh shall be Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur.
21 And his host, and those that were numbered of them, were thirty and two
thousand and two hundred.
22 Then the tribe of Benjamin: and the captain of the sons of Benjamin shall be
Abidan the son of Gideoni.
23 And his host, and those that were numbered of them, were thirty and five
thousand and four hundred.
24 All that were numbered of the camp of Ephraim were an hundred thousand
and eight thousand and an hundred, throughout their armies. And they shall go
forward in the third rank.
25 The standard of the camp of Dan shall be on the north side by their armies:
and the captain of the children of Dan shall be Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai.
26 And his host, and those that were numbered of them, were threescore and
two thousand and seven hundred.
27 And those that encamp by him shall be the tribe of Asher: and the captain of
the children of Asher shall be Pagiel the son of Ocran.
28 And his host, and those that were numbered of them, were forty and one
thousand and five hundred.
29 Then the tribe of Naphtali: and the captain of the children of Naphtali shall be
Ahira the son of Enan.
30 And his host, and those that were numbered of them, were fifty and three
thousand and four hundred.
31 All they that were numbered in the camp of Dan were an hundred thousand
and fifty and seven thousand and six hundred. They shall go hindmost with their
standards.
32 These are those which were numbered of the children of Israel by the house
of their fathers: all those that were numbered of the camps throughout their hosts
were six hundred thousand and three thousand and five hundred and fifty.
33 But the Levites were not numbered among the children of Israel; as the LORD
commanded Moses.

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34 And the children of Israel did according to all that the LORD commanded
Moses: so they pitched by their standards, and so they set forward, every one
after their families, according to the house of their fathers. KJV

The following footnote speaks for itself:

The Standards of the Tribes: "Neither the Mosaic law nor the Old Testament generally
gives us any intimation as to the form or character of the standard (deghel). According to
rabbinical tradition, the standard of Judah bore the figure of a lion, that of Reuben the
likeness of a man, or of a man's head, that of Ephraim the figure of an ox, and that of Dan
the figure of an eagle; so that the four living creatures united in the cherubic forms
described by Ezekiel were represented upon these four standards" (Keil and Delitzsch,
Commentary on the Pentateuch, III, 17). A variant of this tradition gives as the standard
of Reuben, "unstable as water" (Gen 49:4 the King James Version), a Man and a River,
and of Dan, "Dan shall be a serpent in the way" (Gen 49:17), an Eagle and a Serpent.
These four forms are also found in the constellations in the four quarters of the heavens.
Aquarius, the man with a stream of water, and Leo were the original zodiacal
constellations of the two solstices, Taurus was that of the spring equinox, and Aquila and
Serpens were close to the autumnal equinox, the latter being actually upon the colure.
(from International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia, Electronic Database Copyright
(c)1996 by Biblesoft)

As the chosen people followed Moses out of Egypt and during their wandering in
the desert they divided into four camps, each containing three tribes. Each of the
four divisions followed a banner or ‘standard’. As gleaned from the footnote
above, the depiction on each banner is consistent with Ezekiel’s vision of the
scene before the throne of God, and with the corresponding constellations that
God placed in the heavens for signs.

All the people had eaten of the Passover lamb. They had all drank the Passover
cup. All had put blood on their doorpost and lintel, yet now they are divided into
four camps. Why?

The standard of Ruben represents those descended from the first man, Adam.
The standard of Ephraim represents those descended from Isaac, the child of
promise who was faithful unto the death of sacrifice, the image of an ox.
The standard of Dan represents those descended from Jesus, the only begotten
Son of the living God, the image of an eagle (we’ll get to the serpent on the
standard in a moment). And the final standard, the lion of the tribe of Judah,
representing those descending from Emmanuel, the first begotten from the dead,
the patriarch of the fourth and final age yet to come.

The answer to the question why were they divided into four camps? To show to
us that all who would find redemption in any age can only do so by the blood of
the lamb. “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name
under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.”

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10:1 Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our
fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea;
2 And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea;
3 And did all eat the same spiritual meat;
4 And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock
that followed them: and that Rock was Christ. 1 Cor 10:1-4 KJV

For God so loved the power structure he ordained, that he gave his only begotten
son, that whosoever, in any age at any time under any circumstances, is faithful
in Him, shall not perish, but have age-abiding life.

The Blessing
If you have read this book from the beginning and feel that you comprehend the
concepts herein conveyed, you’re now ready to take a look at what is possibly
the most cryptic prophecy concerning the patriarchs of the nation Israel. The
Tribes after whom the ‘standards’ were patterned are Reuben, Ephraim, Dan and
Judah.

Just so there is no confusion; there are twelve tribes, but fourteen tribal names.
Whenever the tribes are listed for any reason there are always twelve, two
names are always missing. In the following passage, the name ‘Joseph’ is given
as representing Ephraim and Manasseh since they were his sons and were
granted equal portions in the inheritance with his 11 brethren.

Gen 49:1-28
49:1 And Jacob called unto his sons, and said, Gather yourselves together, that I
may tell you that which shall befall you in the last days.
2 Gather yourselves together, and hear, ye sons of Jacob; and hearken unto
Israel your father.
3 Reuben, thou art my firstborn, my might, and the beginning of my strength, the
excellency of dignity, and the excellency of power:
4 Unstable as water, thou shalt not excel; because thou wentest up to thy
father's bed; then defiledst thou it: he went up to my couch.
5 Simeon and Levi are brethren; instruments of cruelty are in their habitations.
6 O my soul, come not thou into their secret; unto their assembly, mine honour,
be not thou united: for in their anger they slew a man, and in their selfwill they
digged down a wall.
7 Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce; and their wrath, for it was cruel: I will
divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel.
8 Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise: thy hand shall be in the
neck of thine enemies; thy father's children shall bow down before thee.
9 Judah is a lion's whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped
down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up?

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10 The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his
feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.
11 Binding his foal unto the vine, and his ass's colt unto the choice vine; he
washed his garments in wine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes:
12 His eyes shall be red with wine, and his teeth white with milk.
13 Zebulun shall dwell at the haven of the sea; and he shall be for an haven of
ships; and his border shall be unto Zidon.
14 Issachar is a strong ass couching down between two burdens:
15 And he saw that rest was good, and the land that it was pleasant; and bowed
his shoulder to bear, and became a servant unto tribute.
16 Dan shall judge his people, as one of the tribes of Israel.
17 Dan shall be a serpent by the way, an adder in the path, that biteth the horse
heels, so that his rider shall fall backward.
18 I have waited for thy salvation, O LORD.
19 Gad, a troop shall overcome him: but he shall overcome at the last.
20 Out of Asher his bread shall be fat, and he shall yield royal dainties.
21 Naphtali is a hind let loose: he giveth goodly words.
22 Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well; whose branches run
over the wall:
23 The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him:
24 But his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong
by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob; (from thence is the shepherd, the
stone of Israel:)
25 Even by the God of thy father, who shall help thee; and by the Almighty, who
shall bless thee with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lieth
under, blessings of the breasts, and of the womb:
26 The blessings of thy father have prevailed above the blessings of my
progenitors unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills: they shall be on the
head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him that was separate from his
brethren.
27 Benjamin shall ravin as a wolf: in the morning he shall devour the prey, and at
night he shall divide the spoil.
28 All these are the twelve tribes of Israel: and this is it that their father spake
unto them, and blessed them; every one according to his blessing he blessed
them. KJV

Now we will consider the four principle tribes after whom the ‘standards’ are
patterned:

Reuben
Ruben carried the standard depicting a man and a river. As discussed in the
chapter on the patriarchs, this imagery represents Adam. With Adam’s heritage
in mind consider Jacob’s blessing upon this first son:
Reuben, thou art my firstborn, my might, and the beginning of my strength, the
excellency of dignity, and the excellency of power: Unstable as water, thou shalt

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not excel; because thou wentest up to thy father's bed; then defiledst thou it: he
went up to my couch.

Just like Adam is Reuben; though born first, he became bereft of the position of
the firstborn due to a sin usurping that which was reserved exclusively to his
father.

The two tribes accompanying Reuben are Simeon and Gad. Simeon is noted for
his cruelty and a curse put upon him, this is in keeping with the parallel to Adam,
but the prophecy to Gad is not as dire as hope is held in the prophetic words of
Jacob. Though overcome, Gad overcame at the last. The implications of this
prophecy involving Gad are too far-reaching and would be speculative at best, so
I will leave it as an exercise for the reader to draw his or her own conclusions.

Ephraim
The patriarch representing Ephraim in these prophecies concerning the last days
is Joseph. Upon the standard of Ephraim is the ox, the only ‘kosher’ animal of
the four. Ephraim, therefore, stands in representation of the Israeli people. Keep
in the forefront of your mind both the ox as well as the course the descendants of
Jacob have tread since they have been a people, particularly in these ‘last days’:
[bracketed words are inserted]

22 Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well; whose branches run
over the wall: [does the ‘well’ remind you of Lahai-roi where Abraham dwelt?
This well represented the river in Eden where Adam dwelt, where Jerusalem now
stands.]
23 The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him: [anti-
semitism]
24 But his bow abode in strength, [‘strength’ is the principal characteristic of an
ox] and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God
of Jacob; (from thence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel:) [Jesus, our shepherd
is Jewish He is also our ‘rock’]
25 Even by the God of thy father, who shall help thee; and by the Almighty, who
shall bless thee with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lieth
under, blessings of the breasts, and of the womb:
26 The blessings of thy father have prevailed above the blessings of my
progenitors unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills: they shall be on the
head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him that was separate from his
brethren. [remained a distinct ‘separate’ people in spite of two thousand years of
diaspora]

Dan

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Dan (the eagle/serpent) is omitted from this chapter because the reader will
better appreciate the imagery of this prophecy in the next chapter. I will there
take up the prophecy of Jacob concerning his son Dan.

Judah
Judah is the royal line of Israel. Ruben the firstborn forfeited the office of the
firstborn for his sin involving his father’s concubine, Simeon and Levi because of
their cruelty. It is the fourth son of Jacob upon whom the privilege of the scepter
rests.

As you read the following prophecy, think of Jesus, the Lion of the Tribe of
Judah, at his return to establish the Kingdom of God upon the earth.

8 Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise: thy hand shall be in the
neck of thine enemies; thy father's children shall bow down before thee.
9 Judah is a lion's whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped
down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up?
10 The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet,
until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.
11 Binding his foal unto the vine, and his ass's colt unto the choice vine; he
washed his garments in wine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes:
12 His eyes shall be red with wine, and his teeth white with milk.

Brings to mind another passage having to do with the harvesting of grapes:

Rev 14:19-20 And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the
vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God.
20 And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the
winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six
hundred furlongs. KJV

As well as another passage involving red-stained clothing:

Rev 19:13 And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is
called The Word of God. KJV

Verse 12 may seem a bit cryptic until you consider the prophecy in Joel
regarding the establishment of The Kingdom:

Joel 3:17-21 So shall ye know that I am the LORD your God dwelling in Zion, my
holy mountain: then shall Jerusalem be holy, and there shall no strangers pass
through her any more.

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18 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the mountains shall drop down new
wine, and the hills shall flow with milk, and all the rivers of Judah shall flow with
waters, and a fountain shall come forth of the house of the LORD, and shall
water the valley of Shittim.

19 Egypt shall be a desolation, and Edom shall be a desolate wilderness, for the
violence against the children of Judah, because they have shed innocent blood in
their land.

20 But Judah shall dwell for ever, and Jerusalem from generation to generation.

21 For I will cleanse their blood that I have not cleansed: for the LORD dwelleth
in Zion.

The tribes of Israel enacted in microcosm the ages appointed to this creation.
Soon those who dwell upon the earth will see the end of this age crash upon the
shore of history as the four horsemen attempt to subjugate their hearts and
minds to one who seeks to be like the Most High.

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Chapter 9 The Four Horsemen
The Four Sevens
Seven Seals, Seven Trumpets, Seven Thunders and Seven Vials.

What do these four sevens represent? Three groups are clearly delineated; the
Seven Thunders are cloaked in mystery.

I think it is clear that these four sevens are associated with the four families
descended from the four patriarchs (see the chapter “The Four Patriarchs”).
 The seals represent the legacy of the bondage of the descendants of Adam.
 The Trumpets pronounce judgment upon those who oppose or oppress God’s
Chosen People, the descendants of Isaac.
 The Thunders pronounce judgment upon those who oppose the elect of the
King of the Kingdom of Heaven.
 The Vials pronounce judgment upon men who remain steadfast in their
rebellion against Emmanuel after the time appointed for him to take
possession of that which he purchased at the cross.

The Seals
Rev 6:1-8
6:1 And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were
the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see.
2 And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a
crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.
3 And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say,
Come and see.
4 And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him
that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one
another: and there was given unto him a great sword.
5 And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and
see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of
balances in his hand.
6 And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for
a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil
and the wine.
7 And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast
say, Come and see.
8 And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was
Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the
fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and
with the beasts of the earth. KJV

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Daniel’s Interpretation of the King’s Dream

The book of Revelation is like the book of Daniel in that it provides an insight into
the end of an age. The difference between them is that Daniel was told to “shut
up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end . . . for the words
are closed up and sealed till the time of the end.” There is no such proviso in the
book of Revelation.

Daniel interpreted King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream which involved a statue

comprised of four different metals; the image's head was of fine gold, his breast
and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass, His legs of iron, his feet
part of iron and part of clay. Daniel told the king:

Dan 2:36-45
37 Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given thee a
kingdom, power, and strength, and glory.

38 And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the
fowls of the heaven hath he given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over
them all. Thou art this head of gold.

39 And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, and another third
kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth.

40 And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in
pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break
in pieces and bruise.

41 And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters' clay, and part of
iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the
iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay.

42 And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom
shall be partly strong, and partly broken.

43 And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle
themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even
as iron is not mixed with clay.

44 And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom,
which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other
people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall
stand for ever.

45 Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without
hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the

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gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass
hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure. KJV

Daniel revealed to the King the four empires, which in turn would predominate
upon the earth until the messiah came and set up a Kingdom that shall never be
destroyed or left to other people. When Pilate asked Jesus; “Art thou the King of
the Jews?” Jesus answered; “ . . . My kingdom is not of this world . . .”

Jesus’ kingdom, therefore, is the kingdom of heaven, of which he spoke much.

The citizens of the kingdom are those who are born from above into the family of
Jesus Christ the Son of God. He is the patriarch of a new “generation”, a
generation of people not of earthly seed, but of heavenly seed. This is the
generation that “shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.” Daniel clarifies
what will transpire until Messiah sets up his Kingdom which shall never pass
away, but he doesn’t clarify what will be the character and nature of the age
following the arrival of the messiah. Luckily there is the Revelation of Jesus
Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must
shortly come to pass. Jesus told John to “Write the things which thou hast seen,
and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter”.

The Seven-fold Church Age

Prophecy is clearer after it has become history. Just as we can look back at the
fulfillment of Daniel’s interpretation of the king’s dream, we can now look back on
the age initiated by the patriarch born of a virgin, the Son of God. The seven
letters to the seven churches dictated by Jesus Christ clearly outline seven
segments of this age through which the people of God have come. Ephesus the
early church, Smyrna, the persecuted church, Pergamos the state church
“married” to idolatry by Constantine, Thyatira the catholic church, Sardis the
protestant church, Philadelphia the revivalist Puritan church, and Laodicea, the
spiritually impoverished church (though wealthy in mammon). While these letters
were directed to real people in real churches who had real problems to work
through, they also represent the periods of church history. And though each had
a period of predominance as they passed across the world’s stage, to some
extent or another, there are manifestations of all these church “types” still extant
today.

After all, the book is entitled the “Revelation” and its expressed purpose is to
reveal “things which must shortly come to pass.”

The Seals

The first four seals describe in some detail the culmination of the sin of the
descendants of Adam who seek to usurp to themselves what God has reserved
to himself alone. These, like their patriarch Adam, desire to be gods. They have
no reservation about usurping to themselves that which is not granted as part of

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their domain, or that which is granted to others: specifically, the heritage of Isaac
and the heritage of Jesus. Their defining characteristic is their disregard for the
Word of God, their disobedience to the command of God, that they put no value
in the righteousness of God and their lack of reverence for the soon-to-return
Son of God.

As we will see in this chapter, the Four Horsemen represent the descendants of
Adam as accessory to Satan’s attempt to usurp to himself that which pertains
solely to Jesus Christ.

Satan establishes his counterfeit of God’s throne in the form of the colors
attributed to these horsemen, and seeks to rule using four ideologies based on
“The Lie”. Thus he seeks to be like the Most High and fulfill the 5 “I wills” of
Isaiah 14:13-17 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will
exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the
congregation, in the sides of the north:
14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.
15 Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.
16 They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying,
Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms;
17 That made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof; that
opened not the house of his prisoners? KJV

We will also see that, just as God is in the midst of the four living creatures in
heaven, it is the ambition of the enemy of our souls to usurp a throne over those
of the house of Adam who remain upon the earth at the end of this age.

The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse

After the seven letters to seven churches, John continues with what will follow
the seven periods reflected in the seven letters to seven churches:

Rev 4:4-5:1
4: 4 And round about the throne were four and twenty seats: and upon the seats
I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment; and they had on
their heads crowns of gold.

5 And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices: and
there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven
Spirits of God.

6 And before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal: and in the
midst of the throne, and round about the throne, were four beasts full of eyes
before and behind.

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7 And the first beast was like a lion, and the second beast like a calf, and the
third beast had a face as a man, and the fourth beast was like a flying eagle.

8 And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him; and they were full
of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God
Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come.

9 And when those beasts give glory and honour and thanks to him that sat on
the throne, who liveth for ever and ever,

10 The four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and
worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the
throne, saying,

11 Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast
created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created. KJV

John sees a vision of the throne of God and the living creatures that are before it.
Ezekiel also saw the throne of God and also saw the four living creatures. John
sees the 24 elders who cast their crowns before the one who sits upon the
throne. These are the 12 sons of Jacob and the 12 Disciples of Christ.

The Apocalypse was written after Jesus freed the righteous captives in
Abraham’s bosom from Sheol, thus they are seen together with the disciples
before the throne in heaven. It is appropriate that these be represented before
the throne. Just as the 12 patriarchs of the tribes of Israel represent their
respective descendants, so the 12 disciples of Christ, who were sent out at the
great commission to beget those who would be ‘born from above’ unto the
Kingdom of Heaven in this third age represent their progeny in no less a fashion.

Why weren’t the righteous descendants of Isaac, or the righteous descendants of

Adam in heaven prior to this point? Because Adam (and his descendants) had
dominion over this earth, and to this earth were they tethered until the fulfillment
of one born of something which of itself cannot bring forth life, the firstborn from
the dead, the Son of God. Only when Jesus’ death paid the price Adam incurred
could he assume to himself the dominion of Adam, the primogeniture of Adam
and the birthright of Adam to free those who name Him as their Lord from the
heritage of Adam, which is earthly, into the heritage he inherited from his Father,
a heavenly heritage, an everlasting heritage of which Daniel spoke: “And in the
days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never
be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break
in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.”

Has the gentile church supplanted Israel? No indeed, we see them here
represented before the throne of the Almighty in the same standing as the

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Apostles. One might further inquire: “Why, then, were the descendants of Isaac
evicted from the land?”

As alluded to in a previous chapter, there is only one way to heaven. What did
Jesus say to Nicodemas? “Except a man be born from above, he cannot see the
kingdom of God”. Just as God commanded Moses to “Speak to the rock”, so
Jesus invites the rulers of the Jews through their representative Nicodemas to be
born from above into the Kingdom of Heaven, which shall stand forever. The
record is not silent regarding the response of the rulers of the Jews; they held an
illegal trial at night and delivered Jesus to Pilate to be crucified. Pilate found
Jesus guilty of being the King of the Jews, posted this accusation upon the cross,
and delivered him to be crucified.

By not heeding the invitation of the Messiah, these Jewish leaders, led by the
High Priest (who proclaimed “We have no king but Caesar” (John 19:15 KJV)),
had placed themselves in the role of Adam who was also evicted from the place
created by God for him.

Christians were never promised the land of Canaan. When the Jewish
leadership rejected their long-awaited King and bound themselves by the High
Priest’s recognition of Caesar’s authority over the land of promise, they were
evicted from the land by the Romans to wander the earth as they did in the
wilderness until they followed Joshua into the land of promise. Like those who
wandered uncircumcised in the wilderness, these have now come to the border
of the Promised Land. And like their forefathers, they will enter the Promised
Land when their Joshua (Jesus, the fulfillment of Joshua) leads them there.

In the time of Joshua, the children of those who came out of Egypt weren’t
circumcised until Joshua was magnified in the sight of all Israel: 14 On that day
the LORD magnified Joshua in the sight of all Israel; and they feared him, as
they feared Moses, all the days of his life. Josh 4:14 KJV
3 And Joshua made him sharp knives, and circumcised the children of Israel at
the hill of the foreskins.
4 And this is the cause why Joshua did circumcise: All the people that came out
of Egypt, that were males, even all the men of war, died in the wilderness by the
way, after they came out of Egypt. Josh 5:3-4 KJV

At the time of this writing, the children of Israel are in the land, but they have not
yet “magnified Joshua”. Jesus is the Greek transliteration of the name “Joshua”.
The name means “God is our salvation”. When they do, they will become
circumcised in their hearts and minds to the Lord who led them into the Land of
Promise so long ago. This will be the sealing of the 144,000.

You will notice the tribe of Dan is not sealed. As you will recall from a previous
chapter, the standard of the tribe of Dan bore the image of an eagle and a
serpent. These two symbols, in different ways, represent the gentile church.

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This omission is a very subtle way for God to infer that the gentile church is
absent from the earth at the time the 144,000 are sealed. More on Dan later.

Pilate, being an authorized representative of the Roman Empire, bestowed upon

Jesus the title “The King of the Jews” and confirmed the declaration for all time
by executing Jesus for this charge. Ironically, Rome was the usurper of what
God had given to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The Jews should have given
Jesus the recognition of being of the house and lineage of David. Being adopted
into the house of Joseph, Jesus is the only descendant of the house (not the
seed) of Jeconiah qualified to prosper sitting upon the throne of David.

What Pilate didn’t realize was that he was dealing with the Son of God. The
earth is the Lord’s footstool; all Pilate did was bruise the Lord’s “foot”. The
physical body of Jesus that walked the earth is no more than that part of Him that
we can behold with the eyes of our flesh. As the Son of God, he is like his father
in that he is spirit and truth. That part was quite out of Pilate’s reach. This event,
however, opened the floodgate to the fulfillment of the prophecy that outlines the
reciprocal outcome; that the seed of the woman would crush the serpent’s head.
The days are now numbered for the kosmos (kosmos-[order of authority]) of
Satan, which he usurped following the fall of Adam and over which he has been
the de facto head.

By paying the price of death, which he didn’t owe, the sinless Son of God
purchased to himself the birthright of Adam, who owed this debt that he couldn’t
pay. Adam is the patriarch of all mankind. Because Adam is the patriarch of all
mankind, he was the ruling elder, thus he was Lord of all his descendants. Jesus
purchased this birthright; therefore, he is Lord of all men everywhere, even the
wicked. All those who accept him as their Lord enter into the heritage of the Son
of God, and are delivered from the finality of the only heritage Adam had to pass
on to his descendants, the heritage of death. All those who don’t receive Him as
Lord will remain with the earth until the last day. Just as the earth and this
creation will perish with fervent heat, so will these have their part in the lake that
burns with fire.

Rev 5:1-5
5:1 And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne a book written within
and on the backside, sealed with seven seals.

2 And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open
the book, and to loose the seals thereof?”

3 And no man in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth, was able to open
the book, neither to look thereon.

4 And I wept much, because no man was found worthy to open and to read the
book, neither to look thereon.

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5 And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of
Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven
seals thereof. KJV

Only the King of this ‘Kingdom, which shall never be destroyed’ is qualified to
open the book sealed with seven seals. Why? you may ask. In Gen 15 God
made a covenant with Abraham. God told Abraham that his seed “shall be a
stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict
them four hundred years . . . But in the fourth generation they shall come
hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.”

Those whom the death angel ‘passed over’ because they applied the blood, left
Egypt, wandered in the wilderness for 40 years and returned to the land and
witnessed the power of God slay their enemies as he went before them to
dispossess the usurpers and establish them in the land.

Those descended from “the last Adam” throughout these “three generations”
(since the fall of the first Adam) have been in servitude as were the Israelites in
Egypt. But soon the third generation will eclipse, and in the “fourth generation”,
we who have applied the blood, will witness the power and great glory of the Son
of God coming in the clouds of heaven to slay our enemies as he goes before us
dispossessing the usurpers to establish His Kingdom. The “iniquity of the
Amorites” is fulfilled in the seals, but when the final seal is broken, the fourth
generation will begin and the kingdoms of this world become the kingdoms of our
Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.

The first four seals unleash four ideological movements, which, each in turn,
become a predominating influence upon the earth.

These movements all have as their underlying foundation an ideology based on

“The Lie”. The Lie is leveraged in four different ways to deceive those who reject
the love of Christ. Each rises with tremendous momentum and becomes a
powerful sphere of influence upon the earth. We will see later that the imagery of
these four spheres of influence are represented by the walls of Jericho at the
time of Joshua (who enacted this period of Revelation in microcosm), more on
this later.

Accompanying each horseman in the text is cryptic verbiage which “put flesh” on
the nature of each of these ideological movements. The fifth seal reveals those
who were faithful unto their death through the time of these four seals, the sixth
seal involves terrestrial and celestial cataclysms, and the seventh seal unleashes
the judgment of God upon the “katoikeo epi tees gees”, or “those who dwell upon
the earth”.

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The word “katoikeo” literally speaks of those “descended of the house”. The very
phrase identifying these on whom the judgments of God are poured out is
associated with the earth. Though the name of Adam literally means ‘red earth”
and for some that answers the question “Which house?” we can enjoy a brief
excursion into the subject to draw a distinction between the four families who are
the subject of God’s Word to man:

”Prov 14:11 says “The house of the wicked shall be overthrown: but the
tabernacle of the upright shall flourish.” Not the “house” of the upright, but the
“tabernacle” is occupied by the upright. Psalm 76:2 further elucidates this
contrast; (2) “In Salem also is his tabernacle, and his dwelling place in Zion.”
KJV. These two passages were written during the age appointed to the children
of Isaac, the perspective, therefore, is limited to the two families extant at that
time; the house of the wicked, and the tabernacle of the upright. The tabernacle
was a temporary structure carried by the children of Israel following their exodus
from Egypt until the permanent temple structure was built. Those of the house of
Adam are, by their own choice, allied with Satan in rebellion against the most
high. By contrast, the nation Israel met with God at the tabernacle, the
identification with the tabernacle specifically pertains to Israel.

The church, by contrast identifies with the temple. In John 2:19-21 “Jesus
answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise
it up. Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and
wilt thou rear it up in three days? But he spake of the temple of his body.” KJV
Paul tells us in 1 Cor 3:16 “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that
the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?” KJV Clearly, those in Christ are identified with
the temple. Considering the contents of the Holy Place of the temple; the seven
branched candlestick, the leavened bread, the golden alter etc. this isn’t
surprising.

The final of the four families is defined in the symbolism of Rev. 1:6 John writing
to the seven churches says: “And hath made us kings and priests unto God and
his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.” KJV This is
further reinforced in Rev 20:6 “Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first
resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests
of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.” KJV These are
associated not only with the Kingdom, but are also associated with the
priesthood. Consider those of Rev 6:9 “And when he had opened the fifth seal, I
saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for
the testimony which they held:” KJV The duty of the priest is to offer sacrifices
upon the alter, Aaron, the first High Priest, sprinkled the blood of the sacrifice
onto the mercy seat, which symbolized the throne of Christ and the time of the
Kingdom age. This rich symbolism infers that the way to the mercy seat is via
the alter. The mercy seat symbolizes the throne upon which Christ will rule and
reign in the Kingdom Age, those who are the priests and kings unto God are
those who take up their cross and follow Christ in his example of sacrifice.

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Satan’s Counterfeit

Satan stated his ambition in Isa 14:12-17

12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou
cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!

13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my
throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation,
in the sides of the north:

14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.

15 Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.

16 They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying,
Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms;

17 That made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof; that
opened not the house of his prisoners? KJV

Satan seeks to be ‘like the most high’; the four colors used to describe these four
ideological movements are framed in colors similar to the colors surrounding the
throne of God. Before we consider the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, we
must first go back a couple of paragraphs and look at the throne of the most high.

Rev 4:2-3
2 And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven,
and one sat on the throne.

3 And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there
was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald. KJV

The jasper (though having as many as 14 varieties) was in antiquity a colorless

stone, the sardine is red, a rainbow is multi-colored and an emerald is green.

The third color in verse 3 is a rainbow. A prism will break light into its respective
colors; all the colors of the rainbow are contained in a beam of light. The rainbow,
therefore, symbolizes that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. By
contrast, in Satan’s counterfeit throne, the color of the third horse is black.
Because Satan is not light, but darkness, the color of the third horse in the
imagery of John’s vision is not multi-colored like pure light when it is refracted,
rather it is black, this black represents the antithesis of God; the root of all evil.

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As are the colors surrounding God’s throne, at the end of this third age Satan
leverages his own counterfeit dominion. These four ideologies are his attempt to
usurp to himself the dominion God gave to Adam. In the imagery revealed to
John we see four horses of four colors, each a counterfeit of the glory of the one
who sits on the throne in heaven.

Bear in mind Satan cannot create; he can only usurp what has already been
created. It is God who appointed the bounds of habitation to men. Any violation
of those bounds is the equivalent of the sin of Adam; that of striving beyond what
God has appointed.

26 And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of
the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of
their habitation; Acts 17:26 KJV

The First Horseman of the Apocalypse

Rev 6:1-4
6:1 And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were
the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see.

2 And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a
crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.

The horse and the rider represent two separate things. In the relationship of
horse and rider, the horse is the vehicle. In this case, it is a vehicle used by the
rider to arrive at an intended destination. The horse represents an ideology
based on The Lie and the rider represents those who use the ideology as their
vehicle to achieve an end. The remaining text of the verse reveals in some way
the nature of the period under discussion.

The white horse represents the ideology of white supremacy as later justified by
the theory of evolution promoted by Charles Lyel as well as Erasmus and
Charles Darwin and others. This became the rational for European imperialism
and colonization, but most specifically the British Empire.

“A crown was given to him”; even today, a reference to “the Crown” is accepted
as meaning the Crown of England. The bow in the hand of the rider is obviously
a weapon of war, and this entity went forth militarily “conquering and to conquer”.
Many thousands suffered and died under the quest of the British and the other
white nations of Europe to dominate through colonization the “less evolved”
peoples of the earth. Darwinian ethnocentrism is the lie that later provided the
rationale for those who went forth conquering to establish the British Empire.
Certainly financial gain was the immediate motivation; the love of money is the
root of all evil, but with them the British brought their “science” to the ‘heathen

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horde’. The lie that rocks simply “sprang” to life “millions of years ago”, that there
is no God, and that men are accountable to no one, has infected all the world as
a result of this period of European expansionism.

In their arrogance, the British re-apportioned many nations without respect to

ethnic influences. I believe these newly drawn borders were an attempt to make
these nations vulnerable and more easily manipulated. This classic “divide and
conquer” tactic is straight from Satan’s handbook.

The rider of the White Horse went forth conquering and to conquer, and by the
time the smoke settled, England had conquered peoples all over the earth, to the
extent they could boast that the sun never set on the British Empire. They were
stifled in their efforts of worldwide hegemony by a Christian General named
George Washington who later became the president of a nation represented by
the eagle. The passage of time and the expense of two world wars has
compromised both the momentum and the will of the British people making it
virtually impossible for them to expand their political domain further, although the
intellectual dominion of this rider continues unabated to the present day.

It is the purest irony indeed that the notion of white supremacy, which is the basis
for British colonization of “inferior” peoples, is precisely the guiding principle of
the NAZI movement, which came dangerously close to strangling the life from
England. It is axiomatic that one’s sins will be his undoing.

The Second Horseman of the Apocalypse

3 And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say,
Come and see.

4 And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him
that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one
another: and there was given unto him a great sword. KJV

Remember again, that each horse is an ideology based on ‘the lie’. Here the
ideology is socialism, or (red) communism, and though the underlying premise
it’s based upon is again atheistic Darwinism, its guiding philosophy is domination
through the elimination of ‘injustice’ which arises from capitalistic influences.

In each country where a communist revolution takes place, millions are

murdered. The targets for murder are generally the educated, the wealthy and
the religious.

Remember, the horse is an ideology, but the rider is the group using the ideology
to achieve a destination. The rider is not necessarily a believer in the ideology,
and in the case of communism, the ruling elite simply used the ideology to take
power and expand their base of influence. The educated are not easily deceived

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by propaganda; therefore they are targeted for elimination. The wealthy have the
ability to compete for influence with their wealth, so they also find themselves the
target of murder. The religious are committed to a cause other than the cause of
communism; so, being counter-productive to the interests of the state they too
are slated for death. All this under the guise of eliminating the “counter-
revolutionaries” from among the proletariat. If it weren’t so tragic, it would be
comic.

The tragedy, of course, is that these, who reject the love of Christ and his
invitation to be born from above into an eternal heritage, perpetrate widespread
destruction and death. All those who reject the truth of God and embrace the lie,
worship and serve the creature more than the Creator and will ultimately be
relegated to the dustbin of history in the day when the meek inherit the earth.

The Throne of Satan

In counterfeit parallel to the pattern of God’s throne in heaven, Satan’s throne

arises in the chronological midst of these four ideological movements. Hitler’s
fascism eerily reflects the most poignant characteristics of all of the four
ideologies. Its cornerstone was white supremacy (more specifically Aryan), it
was socialist, it exerted state-control over the economy, and though not Islamic in
name, it is well documented that Hitler was an occultist and virulently anti-
Semitic. Keep in mind that the allah of Islam is al-illah, the moon god of the
ancient Sabeans, the god of the night, the god of darkness. Even today Islam is
represented by the symbol of the crescent moon. Fascinating indeed is that the
swastika, the symbol of the NAZI movement is an equal-length cross bent at
each of its four ends.

Neville Chamberlain of England and Joseph Stalin of the Soviet Union both had
non-aggression pacts with Hitler, but Hitler violated them both. Hitler sought
world domination, beginning with white Europe and Britain, and then the U.S.S.R.
in operation Barbarosa. If he hadn’t been stopped he would have set his sights
on the U.S. and his muslim allies as well.

As an aside, there are those who insist on a strict dichotomy between

communism and fascism, citing that communism is “left wing” and fascism is
“right wing”. This is a fallacy of political intellectualism. Thomas Jefferson is
credited with “coining” the political spectrum. Jefferson evaluated governments
based on a scale of liberty vs. totalitarianism. On the right end of the spectrum
would be total lack of government, total liberty. [I don’t use the term “anarchy” to
define the absence of government because only that society whose members’
behavior is governed by an inner conviction of morality can enjoy true liberty.]
On the left end of the spectrum would be totalitarianism, extreme government
intrusion in the lives of the citizenry. By Jefferson’s measure, both communism
and fascism would be extreme left-wing forms of governance. Today’s left-

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leaning academics would have us accept fascism as being “right-wing”, but
nothing is further from the truth. Fascism and socialism are simply different
forms of left-wing totalitarianism. The truth they avoid is the obvious fact that the
government of a free people has no choice but to move leftward as the populace
becomes less and less moral, requiring more and more laws to restrain the
lawless behavior of those with no regard for the rights of others. “Separation of
Church and State” is the clarion call of the left “You can’t legislate morality” is
their credo as our republic slowly sinks into the mire of totalitarianism.

Some debate that Adolf Hitler died in the Berlin bunker. If he didn’t he has died
since; it’s unlikely that he would live an unusually long life, but I don’t think we’ve
seen the last of this throne of Satan among men. It was the influence of the
righteous that brought the ambitions of the Third Reich to an end, but once the
church is removed from the earth 2 Thess 2:6-12 will come to pass:
6 And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time.

7 For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let,
until he be taken out of the way.

8 And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the
spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:

9 Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs
and lying wonders,

10 And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because

they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.

11 And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should
believe [the] lie:

12 That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in
unrighteousness. 2 Thess 2:6-12 KJV

Though Hitler could not bring this movement to pass through military might while
the true Church remained upon the earth, another will rise to prominence upon
the world stage when the faithful are taken at the last trump. Hitler at least
pretended to be Christian, and deceived many, even gaining the backing of the
Catholic church, but the one who is to come will be openly anti-Christ, and will
deceive many. More on this later in a subsequent chapter.

The Third Horseman of the Apocalypse

Rev 6:5-7

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5 And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and
see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of
balances in his hand.

6 And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for
a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil
and the wine. KJV

Western materialism can be traced back to the industrialization of Europe, more

specifically England, but the ideology in view here is the attempt of financial
cartels operating behind the scenes to dominate the economies of the world.
These manipulate financial markets in an attempt to consolidate economic
control. The color “black” can be taken as the ‘secret’ nature of these
organizations, as the epitome of evil (the love of money), as a pun referring to the
‘black’ side of the financial ledger, or as the petroleum industry, which is really
the bedrock of our western economy.

You’ll notice in the text that follows, there’s an admonition not to undermine the
oil and the wine. Tell me, what’s the Greek word for gasoline? What word would
John the Beloved have used in an attempt to convey such a concept? Is this a
reference to gasoline, or perhaps an allusion to the prohibition of alcoholic
beverages, which was the mechanism used to establish the numerous alphabet
soup police agencies we have today, many of which operate in such secrecy that
one agency claims in jest that it’s acronym stands for “No Such Agency”.
Whether the color black represents secrecy, the “black” side of the financial
ledger or oil is a peripheral issue, the fact is that the western economy is
manipulated at both the market as well as the money supply side, making the
prediction of this prophecy particularly poignant.

The word “balances” is a very interesting Koine Greek word as it has a dual
meaning. Everywhere else in the New Testament it is translated “yoke”. If you
take the time to follow the word back through the Septuagint (The Old Testament
translated into Greek), you will find that it represents a number of different
Hebrew words, the two principle words mean “yoke” as previously stated and the
other is a “measure” or “balance”. Evidently, at the time of the writing of the New
Testament, the same Greek word meant both “yoke” but could also be translated
”balance”, probably referring to the beam on a pivot which comprises both a yoke
as well as a balance. Disregard the words “a pair of” as the word is singular.
Because commodities and financial transactions are in view, the translators of all
versions of the Bible opted for the latter, which may indeed be valid. I can
understand why some lean more toward the meaning of “yoke”, which carries
with it the implication that those who manipulate and control our economy are
driving us like a farmer drives his oxen to plow his field. Myself, because the
God I worship knows the end from the beginning and intercedes in the affairs of
men to suit his own purposes, I think He is responsible for the equivocal nature of
this word just so it could mean both for this single verse!

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Interesting by omission is that this ideology doesn’t require military conquest to
gain conscripts. The other three ideologies require organized military campaigns
to achieve their goals; this one flourishes in the absence of such efforts. In
contrast with the other three horsemen, death is not involved; rather, the love of
money is the motivating factor. Under the third horse the population of the earth
has increased. Obviously more people means more consumers, more workers,
more people to put under the yoke of this economic taskmaster.

We in America so cherish our “democracy” in spite of the fact that it was founded
as a republic and structured as a confederacy, both of which have become
financially subservient to the Federal Reserve Board which is not Federal in any
way, has no reserves, and is certainly not governed by any elected
representative.

So what is the deception that drives this third ideology? To quote a modernism;
“He who dies with the most toys wins”. This is why no coercion is necessary, the
lust for material gain is the Pied Piper who expands this economic empire of
theirs, but as an ideology it is as empty and just as fruitless as it’s predecessors
and will meet an end as fitting. It is also no less disobedient to the requisites laid
down in God’s Word:
1 Tim 6:10 For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some
coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through
with many sorrows.
11 But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness,
godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness. KJV

The Fourth Horseman of the Apocalypse

Rev 6:7-8
7 And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast
say, Come and see.

8 And I looked, and behold a pale green horse: and his name that sat on him
was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the
fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and
with the beasts of the earth. KJV

Of primary importance is the color of this horse. It is the color of chlorophyll, not
faded as if treated with chlorine. It is doubtful if chlorine was known of or used
2000 years ago. The word “chloros”, translated “pale” only in this passage,
occurs three other times in the New Testament and is always translated “green”
or by inference [green] “grass”. It is used in the Septuagint numerous times, and
is always either translated “green” or is used to infer a green plant. It is never
used to convey the idea of “pale”. Tyndale correctly translated the color of the
“green horse”, but the King James “translators” busy plagiarizing Tyndale’s

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Ploughboy Edition by making the language more erudite, changed his translation
from green to pale. No other translator bothered to correctly translate this word
back to green. A couple paraphrases changed the English word from “pale” into
“ashen”, and one reads “pale green” which is still incorrect. None fully corrected
the faulty translation.

Why is the color of the horse so important? What if the color of the red horse
was translated “dapplegrey”, would it be associated with Red Communism? No!
For over 1200 years, the color green has been associated with Islam, for
centuries it has been the color of their banner carried into battle.

For Muslims, the green standard of Mohammed has become the very emblem of
the religion. Mohammed himself declared, "The sight of green is agreeable to the
eyes as the sight of a beautiful woman"

It is related that Mohammed wore a green brocade robe into battle.

Mohammed’s green turban is in a museum today. (Or was; I vaguely remember
reading a story that it has recently been stolen).

[Annemarie Schimmal writes in her "Deciphering the Signs of God" (Cambridge,

1994, p. 16) Green is also the colour of the Prophet, and his descendants would
wear a green turban.]

For centuries Islam has been known as “The Green Menace”. In contrast with
Christianity, muslims are commanded to kill those who do not submit to their
allah. As we have seen for years, the adherents of Islam undertake terrorist
endeavors that kill without respect for race, gender, status or age. The text,
therefore says that his name that sat on this green horse is Death, and Hell
followed with him.

With respect to the name of this final horseman, the Bible gives us an interesting
insight;1 Cor 15:26 The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. KJV I find it
particularly poignant that this is the name ascribed to the rider of the fourth horse
of the Apocalypse, so in effect, it is the final of the four enemies which will be
destroyed at the return of the risen Lord at the second coming. This, of course,
is a shadow of things to come, and typifies the end of the final age, the end of the
world, when the final fulfillment of this verse takes place and death itself is
destroyed.

It is interesting to scrutinize the cryptic phrase that follows: “And power was
given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with
hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.”

Islam now claims roughly 25% of the population of the earth as its adherents, so
the prophecy is fulfilled that they are given ‘power over the fourth part of the
earth’. The following assertion in the narrative “to kill with sword, and with

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hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth” begins with an infinitive,
so it is unclear whether they will actually put to death 25% of the earth’s
population, or that they have power over 25% of the earth’s inhabitants, and this
practice of killing is the modus operandi of those adherents. It would be tragic
indeed if 25% of the earth’s population were decimated by the activity of this final
rider. It would, however, certainly be an appropriate judgment of the preceding
horseman whose power derives from an abundance of population producing and
consuming goods and services.

Also fascinating at this juncture in history is the means of killing utilized by this
entity identified as; “sword”, “hunger”, “death”, and “the beasts of the earth”.
These deserve further scrutiny:

Sword: Both representative of conventional warfare, and particularly prominent

in the Koran as the instrument used to kill the “infidel”.

Hunger: I don’t think this can be misunderstood. It is certainly being fulfilled in

Islamic countries; the rich are very rich, but the poor are among the poorest the
world has ever seen. Starvation is not uncommon in Muslim countries. It is also
indeed a means utilized to kill non-muslims over whom they have the ability to
afflict economic hardship.

Death: Prior to recent history, the meaning of this idiom was a topic for
speculation; after all, how do you kill someone with death? With the advent of
the hamas-cide bomber, not only are we certain about its meaning, but are also
certain that (as of this writing) we are chronologically in the midst of the fulfillment
of this fourth seal. Additionally, I wouldn’t limit the fulfillment only to those
deceived into strapping a bomb onto their bodies and walking onto a bus, but
also to those who would hijack an airplane and steer it into the World Trade
Towers.

The beasts of the earth: In years gone by I often read this as meaning the
voracious beasts of the earth; lions and tigers and bears. One particularly errant
bible ‘translation’ inserts “wild beasts” in complete disregard for the original
language. In view of the issues and technology of our day, however, I think it is
safe to embrace the opposite end of the size spectrum with respect to “the
beasts of the earth”. Whether it was his intention or not, the apostle John
penning these words in faithful response to his spiritual vision may be conveying
the idea that it is to be the microscopic “beasts of the earth” that will be used by
the final horseman of the apocalypse? It appears to be somewhat likely in light
of the current controversy surrounding biologic weapons, their economic cost of
production, the ease with which they are manufactured, and their exponential
dispersion due to their contagious nature.

“and Hell followed with him”

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The “Allah” of Islam is the antithesis of the Almighty. He does not command his
adherents to love, rather, he commands them to hate. He does not command
them to “turn the other cheek”, rather he commands them to be at war with non-
muslims until the day of judgment. He does not command them to “be at peace
with all men”, rather he commands to “set ambush”. He doesn’t command them
to “Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness”, rather he
commands “not to take the Jew or the Christian as your friend”.

Just as surely as the night follows the day, hell follows Death, the identity of the
leader of those destined for destruction.

To embrace Islam is to follow a leader named Death to a destination called hell.

Promise Kept

In the last chapter I skipped the prophecy of Israel upon his son Dan. I did so
because the symbolism of the utterance involves a horse and rider and I felt the
reader would gain an advantage by a review of The Four Horsemen of the
Apocalypse first. With the preceding under our belts, let’s now examine the
prophecy upon Dan:

Gen 49:16-18 Dan shall judge his people, as one of the tribes of Israel.

17 Dan shall be a serpent by the way, an adder in the path, that biteth the horse
heels, so that his rider shall fall backward.

18 I have waited for thy salvation, O LORD. KJV

As we established in the previous chapter, four of Israel’s sons represent in

symbolism the four ‘generations’ appointed to this creation. The standard of
Ruben bore the image of a man and a river; representing the descendants of
Adam. The standard of Ephraim bore the image of an ox, representing the
descendants of Isaac. The standard of Dan bore the image of an eagle and a
serpent, which as we shall see here represent those born from above into the
family of Jesus, the son of God. The standard of Judah bore the image of a lion,
representing the resurrected Lord and the resurrected Kingdom of Israel.

Verse 16 of Gen. 49 above depicts Christians (represented by the tribe of Dan)

as capable of judgment.

Paul in writing to the Corinthians advanced the following concept:

1 Cor 6:1-4 Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to law before
the unjust, and not before the saints?

2 Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be
judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters?

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3 Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to
this life?

4 If then ye have judgments of things pertaining to this life, set them to judge who
are least esteemed in the church. KJV

With respect to being ‘as one of the tribes of Israel’ Paul tells us that Christians
are grafted from a wild olive tree into the ‘good olive tree’. This is a reversal from
what is practiced in agriculture. Wild trees being already acclimated to harsh
environmental conditions thrive more readily than a tree bred for superior fruit.
The good tree is thus grafted onto the wild rootstock and will have greater
disease resistance and be more likely to thrive. The opposite is in view in this
Romans 11 scenario, but it is nonetheless the allegory Paul resorted to.
Christians, being different from Jews in that we were of the house of Adam, are
now grafted in upon being born from above. Our heritage is heavenly, but our
earthly frame of reference is to be Jewish from the standpoint of adopting the
Jewish framework for understanding the works of God.

These are presented as parallels demonstrating the applicability of the prophecy

over Dan with the Church. Now on to the substance of Israel’s prophecy over his
son Dan:

17 Dan shall be a serpent by the way, an adder in the path, that biteth the horse
heels, so that his rider shall fall backward.

The standard of Dan bore the image of both a serpent and an eagle. The eagle
speaks of the church, distinctive for having access to the heavens while still
having its home upon earth.

The serpent in view here is seen as biting the horse heals so that his rider falls
backward.

These prophecies, it must be remembered, pertain to ‘the last days’ (Gen 49:1).
The four horsemen of the apocalypse, on the other hand, predate the last days.

What is the event that triggered the beginning of the “last days”? Israel being re-
gathered as a nation, specifically, the nation being born in 1948 signaled the last
days of this age. Let’s look at Gen 49 and the prophecy pertaining to Dan in light
of the 60 years since Israel became a nation.

20 years after Israel became a nation, the ideology of white supremacy suffered
a setback in a nation represented by an eagle when Lyndon Banes Johnson
signed the civil rights acts, the final one being signed in 1968. Is 20 years a
coincidence? Let’s look a a little more history:

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Another American President, Ronald Reagan by name, that stood firm against
the second horse of the Apocalypse, the red horse, calling it an “Evil Empire” and
exposing it, oversaw its breakup and its “falling back”. That was in 1988, another
coincidence no doubt.

The black horse ideology of counterfeit money and central banking collapsed
under its own weight in 2008. Let’s see, that was another 20 years down the
road from the previous ‘falling back’. The epicenter of the economic collapse
was centered in the United States, a Christian nation represented by an eagle.
Do you still imagine it’s all coincidence? I don’t; not by a long shot!

When do you think the fourth horse, the green horse, will ‘fall back’? Not 20
years. What I see is a “four score and ten” scenario. I think the final horse will
be bitten in the heels in 2018. That’s my opinion, take it or leave it. I’m not a
prophet, so my opinion isn’t any better or worse than yours.

Though these ‘fall backward’, they not only still exist, but are considerable
spheres of influence in their own right and still have a part to play before the end
of the age.

God’s perspective is from above, but from my current vantage point in time, I
don’t yet see the fulfillment of the agent/agents which will cause the final horse to
“fall backwards”, but I am confident they will.

George H. W. Bush helped advance the influence of Islam by weakening the

Baathist regime of Saddam Hussein, Bush Jr. has finished the job and collapsed
the regime (a longtime thorn in the side of Islamic expansion). Bill Clinton also
helped further the cause of Islam by defeating Slobodon Milosovic, a man who
attempted to purge his country of the green menace. After ousting the Serbs
from the capitol of their ancestral homeland, Mr. Clinton installed one of the most
radical and violent of Islamic factions as the official government in that region.
Through his “war on terror”, George W. Bush’s actions seem to have further
radicalized Islam. Now Barrack Hussein Obama has aided and abetted radical
Islam in their take over of Egypt, Libya and possibly Syria.

Too often mistakes of government are seen as “bungling” and the resulting
repercussions as “blowback”. Christ said “He that is not with me is against me;
and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad.” Matt 12:30 KJV Any
president, therefore, that isn’t aligned with Jesus Christ, is by definition “against”
Christ. The resulting calamities, then, are according to the will of the ruler of the
darkness of this world whose intention is to advance these four ideologies with
the purpose of enslaving the descendants of Adam as this age nears its end.

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Conclusion

These four spheres of influence will define the end of the third age appointed to
this earth just as the four empires that conquered Babylon culminated the second
age.

Unlike those four empires which each dominated the land promised by God to
the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, these four ideologies compete
with the truth of the living God for the hearts and minds of men in order to
dominate that which should be rendered solely unto God.

Each of these four horses of the apocalypse represents an ideology whose

rider’s ambition and goal is to subjugate all the peoples of the world. Each
parallels one of gemstones depicted in God’s throne, and each opposes and
counterfeits the works of God in each respective age appointed to this earth.
White supremacy as an ideology derived from the theory of evolution is
embraced by many as a replacement for the truth that God created the earth and
that all men descend from the first man, Adam.

Socialism supplants God’s righteous Law handed down at Mount Sinai.

The lure of financial attainment represents the antithesis of Jesus’ admonition to

seek first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; the love of money being
the root of all evil.

And the final horseman; death, the embodiment of all that is unholy and vile, the
veneration of a false god and a false prophet instead of the King of kings and
Lord of lords whose name is called The Word of God. Rev 9:13 KJV

In today’s world all four of these spheres of influence not only exist, but hold
sway over vast areas of geography and multitudes of people. Though they
appear to be at odds with one another at some levels, the prime mover of their
disobedience to the Lord of all the earth is our adversary Lucifer. Though they
may seem like enemies one to another, ultimately they will achieve synthesis and
unite as one in a one-world government of evil shortly before the true King of
Kings intervenes to thwart the ambitions of the enemy of our souls.

The strategy of our adversary in the first age was to usurp that which was
granted to Adam as his dominion, in the second age his tactic was to usurp to
himself that which God had promised to the chosen people; dominion over the
Promised Land. In this third age, his strategy is to usurp to himself dominion
over the hearts and minds of men, to establish rulership over all the earth, an
ambition parallel to the promise to Daniel (2:44) that “the God of heaven [shall]
set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be
left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms,
and it shall stand for ever. Satan’s counterfeit attempts to usurp the worship due

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only to God: Rev 13:15 says “15 And he had power to give life unto the image of
the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as
many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.” KJV.

God thwarted the ambitions of the descendants of Adam under Nimrod when He
confused the language at Babel, he precipitated the demise of the Babylonian
succession last ruled by Rome and he will bring to naught the Fortress of the
usurper who seeks to deceive and enslave the inhabitants of the earth. Their
folly will be short lived as the Psalmist writes:
Psalms 2
1 Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing?
2 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together,
against the LORD, and against his anointed, saying,
3 Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us.
4 He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision.
5 Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore
displeasure.
6 Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion.
7 I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this
day have I begotten thee.
8 Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the
uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.
9 Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a
potter's vessel.
10 Be wise now therefore, O ye kings: be instructed, ye judges of the earth.
11 Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling.
12 Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is
kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him. KJV

The Fifth Seal

Rev 6:9-11
9 And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them
that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held:

10 And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true,
dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?

11 And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto
them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also
and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled. KJV

Please notice this is a scene in heaven, not upon the earth. These slain for the
Word of God and for the testimony which they held is self-defined. These are the
faithful who were persecuted to death. Any attempt to limit this group to only
Christians, or only Christians and Jews would do injustice to the text. The group

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clearly includes all those slain for the Word of God and the testimony which they
held from righteous Abel to the faithful man of God in the Darfur who perished at
the hands of muslims this very hour.

The time frame must also be considered. Chronologically, this follows the
establishment of the four spheres of influence outlined by the first four seals.
These are praying for the Lord to avenge their blood on them that dwell upon the
earth. They are told to wait until the remainder of their fellowservants and
brethren join them in like fashion.

Why is it necessary to wait? Because God is longsuffering, not willing that any
should perish. For the same reason Moses was told to speak to the rock, God
desired fruit unto obedience, not judgment. God didn’t warn about disobedience,
he told Moses what he needed to do to arrive at what God desired for him.
These under the alter want vengeance, but God wants to give the children of
men every last opportunity to repent of their deeds that they might be saved.

The Sixth Seal

Rev 6:12-17 And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was
a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the
moon became as blood;
13 And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her
untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind.
14 And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every
mountain and island were moved out of their places.
15 And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief
captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid
themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains;
16 And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of
him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb:
17 For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand? KJV

We will see as we examine the trumpets in the following chapter that there are
parallels between the trumpets in Revelation and the trumpets used in the battle
of Jericho. Particularly intriguing is the last trump.

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Chapter 10 The Trumpets
In a previous section I mentioned in passing that the four spheres of influence
represented as the four horsemen epitomize in imagery the walls of Jericho at
the time of Joshua.

Joshua sent two spies into the city, but there is no record that they gathered any
useful information from which to formulate a military invasion strategy. A woman
named Rahab helped these two spies while they were in Jericho, and before they
left to return to Joshua: (vs. 9) . . .”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.

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.

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”. Josh 2:9-12 KJV

So these spies returned to Joshua, and their report to Joshua is as follows:

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.
Josh 2:24 KJV

This sounds uncannily familiar to the verbiage of the sixth seal in Rev 6 under
scrutiny here: 15 And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich
men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and
every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains;

16 And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of
him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb:

17 For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand? Rev
6:15-17 KJV

What was it that made the inhabitants of the earth remaining from the house of
Adam fearful? Could it be the events just prior: 12 And I beheld when he had
opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun
became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood;

13 And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her
untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind.

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14 And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every
mountain and island were moved out of their places. Rev 6:12-14 KJV

The next event in the book of Joshua is that Israel passed over Jordan on dry
ground as the Priests stood in the middle of the river (also on dry ground).

If the time spent in Egypt represents the bondage endured by corporate Adam
since the fall, and the exodus from Egypt represents the emancipation of those
who apply the blood, then the wandering in the wilderness represents the earthly
habitation of the redeemed, and the crossing of the Jordan represents the
moment, the “twinkling of an eye”, the first resurrection. Then the circumcision
on the other bank of the river is where the last vestiges of impurity are cut away.
I find it fascinating that upon entering the Promised Land a battle looms ahead.

The Chosen People, the children of Israel endured all these things in the flesh for
our learning and admonition. Still ahead of the people of God today is the
fulfillment of Gilgal, having already wandered 2000 years in the wilderness after
rejecting their King. Now they’re on the other side of the Jordan, having returned
to the land by faith. Following the sixth seal, and just as in the days of Joshua;
14 On that day the LORD magnified Joshua in the sight of all Israel; and they
feared him, as they feared Moses, all the days of his life. Josh 4:14 KJV. The
LORD will magnify the one who fulfilled that which Joshua represented only in
symbolism. The LORD will magnify the only begotten Son of the Living God, the
Lion of the Tribe of Judah, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. And on that day
no principality, power or dominion will be able to stand against them. He will lead
them in the power of his might.

There are two groups of people under discussion here. The first is the Jews who
will administer the Kingdom Age upon the earth from the land God promised to
Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. 144,000 Jews are sealed during the time of the sixth
seal, and will be preserved through the judgments to follow. The second group is
Christian believers who will rule and reign with our resurrected Lord who sits
upon his throne at the right hand of God in heaven. These will be taken out of
the earth “at the last trump”. Keep in mind that which was enacted those many
years ago by the nation Israel was for our learning. For an expansion of the
implications of this symbolism for the Church, stay tuned, the next chapter deals
with the battles that loom ahead for us as we cross our Jordan and enter heaven.

Just as Canaanite usurpers had established themselves as rulers of the land

which God gave to the descendants of Isaac and had built an impenetrable
fortress, so the four ideologies of the four horsemen have established a fortress
now at the end of this age to ensnare all who live upon the earth.

The parallel to Jericho is the four “walls” based on the lie, but used to create a
fortress from which none can escape:

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 Though not scientific, Darwinism has become the litmus test for all “science”,
discrediting all who do not accept its premise of godlessness.
 Though not just, communism (socialism/liberalism) will subvert any nation
who cherishes freedom and from within create polarized factions, through
which they ruthlessly eliminate their opposition and make the 10 planks of the
Communist manifesto their litmus test for political correctness.
 Though not equitable, a one-world economy will, through economic sanctions,
bankrupt any nation or individual who seeks financial independence.
 Though not the worship of the true and living God, Islam puts to death those
who don’t bow to their false prophet and allah whose real identity is Satan.

“Scientific” hegemony, Political hegemony, economic hegemony and religious

hegemony all based on ‘The Lie’, and Satan in the midst of this counterfeit of
God’s throne in heaven.

In the time of Joshua, the inhabitants of Jericho were really shaken when they
heard that the children of Israel passed over the Jordan. 5:1 And it came to
pass, when all the kings of the Amorites, which were on the side of Jordan
westward, and all the kings of the Canaanites, which were by the sea, heard that
the LORD had dried up the waters of Jordan from before the children of Israel,
until we were passed over, that their heart melted, neither was there spirit in
them any more, because of the children of Israel. Josh 5:1 KJV.

The modern day equivalent is twofold and involves both the nation Israel as well
as the church. I will explain:

At the time of this writing these four ideologies of evil are still competing for
dominance against one another because Christians are still in the world and can
still influence world events through prayer and faithfulness. Thus, Christians are
recognized as the enemy of any effort of these four influences to unify into a
single functioning entity. As Christians are increasingly marginalized these four
ideologies will rise in reverse proportion to become the fortress that will enslave
the descendants of Adam who remain upon the earth.

2 Thess 2:3-12: 3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not
come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed,
the son of perdition;
4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is
worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that
he is God.
5 Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?
6 And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time.
7 For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let,
until he be taken out of the way.
8 And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the
spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:

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9 Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs
and lying wonders,
10 And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because
they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
11 And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should
believe a the lie:
12 That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in
unrighteousness. 2 Thess 2:3-12 KJV

I changed the indefinite article in verse 11 because in the original language it is

the definite article and should not read “a lie”, but should read “the lie”.

“The Lie”, of course, is that “ye shall be as gods” Gen 3:5 KJV. . Evolution is the
rationale that enables men to believe they are the master of their own destiny
and the captain of their own fate. The tragedy is that in casting off the knowledge
of God and seeking to become gods they perpetrate their own enslavement.
Christ clearly taught to “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to
God the things that are God's.” Mark 12:17 KJV. Tax money (with Caesar’s
image upon it) can be rendered again to Caesar, but that which was created in
the image of God should be rendered only to God. Each of the four horsemen
seeks to receive to themselves that which is reserved solely to God; the
subjugation of the hearts and minds of men.

The one sole threat to the fortress of Jericho was the children of Israel who
followed the Lord their God. The threat to the fortress established upon “ the lie”
by the ruler of this world today is the people of God.

Following the departure of Christians from the earth, Jews will once again find
themselves in the valley of decision as in Deut 11:29 where a blessing was
pronounced upon mount Gerizim, and the curse upon mount Ebal.

2000 years ago, the nation Israel chose Mt. Ebal when the chief priest
representing the nation and the people before God answered Pilate by saying;
“We have no king but Caesar”. This priest thus granted to Caesar the authority
to evict them from the land, which was renamed Palestina.

In the day when Christians have departed from the earth, these will once again
find themselves in the valley of decision and must at that time decide if they will
follow the Lion of the tribe of Judah, and enter in to the fulfillment of the promise
in Deut 11:25 There shall no man be able to stand before you: The alternative is
to renounce the traditions of their fathers and join the fate of those remaining of
the house of Adam. As we established earlier, the second eon appointed to this
creation is associated with the living creature identified as the ‘ox’. Jews in the
land today will not have this option once the final “seven” as prophesied by the
prophet Daniel has transpired. There is only a single week of years appointed to
Israel as represented by the ox, when this ends, they must choose between the

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heritage of the Lion of the Tribe of Judah who is destined to rule and reign, or the
man of Edom slated for destruction. If you’re unfamiliar with the reference to
Edom, review for yourself who bears that name and why, and brush up on the
book of Obadiah. Esau represents Adam in parallel and is thus renamed Edom,
which is idiomatically almost the same name.

The Canaanites had usurped that which was given to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob,
and Jericho was their fortress. In our day, the “katoikeo epi tees gees” (we had
established earlier that these are the remnant of the house of Adam) have
usurped that which was purchased by Jesus Christ (the dominion of the earth
and its inhabitants), and the walls of their fortress are these four spheres of
influence through which they will seek to dominate all men which dwell upon the
face of the earth.

The children of Israel are currently in the land of promise. I hope the reader
takes note that all four spheres of influence referred to earlier as the “walls of
Jericho” agree in one accord that the “palestinians” should have their own “state”.
Currently, virtually all the nations of the earth have given their consent to handing
over some or all of the land promised to Abraham Isaac and Jacob to a recently
formed group of people who identify themselves as “palestinians” to have their
own state.

Previously, the descendants of Isaac were (in symbolism) the sacrificial ox which
was faithful unto death. Their suffering in this life was the fulfillment of that
picture. Those of Israel in that day yet to come who receive their king, will be (in
symbolism) those who followed Joshua into the land to vanquish the fortress of
Jericho and establish the Kingdom. This kingdom yet to come is represented by
the Lion. Jews who receive the messiah will no longer fulfill the symbolism of the
sacrificial ox, but of the Lion of the tribe of Judah.

The battle upon the earth mirrors the battle in heaven. As the Jews upon the
earth fulfill the model of Joshua, there is warfare in heaven as the dragon is cast
out. This heavenly scene is a fulfillment of the very same model, more on this in
the following chapter.

The Battle Strategy

The battle strategy given by God to Joshua was to march around the walled city
of Jericho once each day for six days. On the seventh day, they were to march
around the city seven times in a particular formation; seven priests blew seven
trumpets (the shofar, or rams-horn trumpet, the same trumpet used to initiate the
jubilee after seven Sabbaths of years or 49 years) and the people shouted. The
walls of Jericho then fell down and the city fell to the people who’s God is the
LORD.

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In Revelation there are also 7 trumpets, and the four walls of that city will fall as
easily, for they are not built upon a sound foundation as they are established
upon the sand of falsehood.

24 Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will
liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:
25 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that

house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.

26 And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall
be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:
27 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat
upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it. Matt 7:24-27 KJV

Let’s look at the parallel to the 7 trumpets of Revelation in Josh 6: it came to

pass at the seventh time, when the priests blew with the trumpets, Joshua said
unto the people, Shout; for the LORD hath given you the city. KJV

Now let’s look at Revelation 11:15: And the seventh angel sounded; and there
were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the
kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.
KJV

In both instances, following the seventh trumpet, there was a great shout of
voices. In both instances there was a pronouncement of property changing
hands. In both instances, there was an event involving judgment and reward; in
Joshua, the house of Rahab: Josh 6:24 And they burnt the city with fire, and all
that was therein: only the silver, and the gold, and the vessels of brass and of
iron, they put into the treasury of the house of the LORD.
25 And Joshua saved Rahab the harlot alive, and her father's household, and all
that she had; and she dwelleth in Israel even unto this day; because she hid the
messengers, which Joshua sent to spy out Jericho. KJV

And in Revelation 11:18 And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and
the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give
reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy
name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth.
KJV

In a preceding chapter in this book, we examined the Temple and its environs as
it parallels all of human history. In the Holy place of the temple there was a veil
separating the Holy place from the Holy of Holies. Symbolically, this veil
separates the ‘church age’ from the ‘kingdom age’.

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Rev 11:19 And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in
his temple the ark of his testament: and there were lightnings, and voices, and
thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail. KJV

Revelation 11:19 provides us with a mileage marker; it gives us a point of

reference with respect to when this demarcation in history takes place. This
marker tells us that though we are in the ‘time of the gentiles’, the ‘kingdom age’
is just ahead as it is represented by the Holy of Holies in the temple where the
Ark of the Covenant resides.

In chapter 2 we examined the stars of the heavens and the signs that God placed
there to show what he would do. It must be remembered that the apostle John
did not give the chapter and verse divisions to us. Therefore the passage
following the text under examination follows closely, the chapter division is
meaningless. Immediately following the opening of the temple in heaven is a
wonder in heaven. In chapter two I speculated that God placed the stars in the
heavens to form a pictorial canopy. In that chapter, I expressed the belief that
the ice canopy which made these images possible collapsed as evidenced by the
40 days of rain which resulted in the flood of Noah.

Since being hit by that comet the earth has wobbled on its axis these 4400 years,
and since that time is gradually stabilizing. The magnetic field of the earth has
been declining since the fall of Adam, and couldn’t support the formation of an
ice canopy under current conditions. At the end of this age when the kingdoms
of this world become the kingdoms of our Lord, the earth will be restored and a
regenerated magnetic field will once again be capable of re-forming the ice-
canopy. The wonder John sees in heaven at this point could be the images that
will be seen in the night sky after the kingdom age begins as God gives to us in a
pictorial legacy what he has done throughout the preceding two ages.

The Trumpets

At the time of Joshua, it was the sounding of seven trumpets that brought down
the walls of Jericho.

Clearly, these trumpets in Revelation represent what will culminate in the toppling
of the stronghold of Satan and his subjugation of the house of Adam.

Following the Jericho campaign, there were other battles, but Jericho was the
stronghold of the Canaanites. Though this was but the first battle when they
entered the land, it signified the eventual and ultimate victory by the Israelites.

The seven trumpets of Revelation clearly parallel the trumpets of the Jericho
campaign. Thus the trumpets of Revelation pertain to the house of Isaac. God

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judges those nations that oppose and exalt themselves against His Chosen
People Israel.

Matt 25:31-46 When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy
angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:

32 And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one
from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:

33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.

34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my
Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:

35 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me
drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:

36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and
ye came unto me.

37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an
hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?

38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?

39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?

40 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.

41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye
cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:

42 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave
me no drink:

43 I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick,
and in prison, and ye visited me not.

44 Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an
hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not
minister unto thee?

45 Then shall he 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.

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46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into
life eternal. KJV

At the time of this writing in the year 2004 (5763 Hebrew calendar), the nations of
the earth are deciding if they are for the Nation Israel, or if they are for their
enemies.

It is my guess that precisely 1/3 of the nations of the earth will oppose the
interests of the chosen people of God, and will become the victims of the trumpet
judgments.

The Pattern

The pattern of the throne of God once again shines brightly through the pages of
His Word. As God is in the midst of the four living creatures in heaven, God
himself is in some way in the midst of each of these models he established.

These four sevens aren’t random. The first is patterned after the man, Adam, the
second, under examination here, reflects the image of the ox, already
established as fulfilled by the Nation Israel.

Chronologically God himself became flesh between the eon appointed to the
progeny of Isaac and the eon appointed to those born from above into the family
of the Son of God. So also will God appear in the midst of these four sevens.

After the Trumpets we see the Lord in the midst of these four manifestations of
this divine pattern in the form of the Church being called out of the earth at the
last trump. This parallels the model of the Temple. If you recall, following the
court of the gentiles (representing the man, Adam) was the court of the Jews
(representing the ox, Isaac). Following the court of the Jews was the staircase
rising to the porch of the temple which represents the ascension of Christ rising
to heaven where he now sits at the right hand of God. So in the midst of these
four sevens in Revelation we have the ascension of the church at the last trump.

In the second World War, when Japanese soldiers were faced with hopeless
odds, they would engage in a “Bonzai” charge. The hope was to strike fear in the
heart of their enemy so that they might inflict as much destruction as they could
knowing that they themselves would soon die.

Just as Pharaoh drowned as he pursued the children of Isaac through the midst
of the sea, once the church is liberated from the bondage of this world, Satan is
destined to parallel this grim practice. Knowing he is defeated, he makes his
bonzai charge with those whose loyalty, and fate, is sealed.

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Those who have chosen the broad road finally arrive at their destination in the
final seven as destruction rises to meet them. The end of this age then draws
nigh as does their appointment with death and the judgment which follows.

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Chapter 11 The Seven Thunders
Rev 10:1-6 And I saw another mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed
with a cloud: and a rainbow was upon his head, and his face was as it were the
sun, and his feet as pillars of fire:
2 And he had in his hand a little book open: and he set his right foot upon the
sea, and his left foot on the earth,
3 And cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roareth: and when he had cried,
seven thunders uttered their voices.
4 And when the seven thunders had uttered their voices, I was about to write:
and I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Seal up those things which the
seven thunders uttered, and write them not.
5 And the angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up his
hand to heaven,
6 And sware by him that liveth for ever and ever, who created heaven, and the
things that therein are, and the earth, and the things that therein are, and the
sea, and the things which are therein, that there should be time no longer: KJV

So if John sealed up what the seven thunders uttered, who am I to speculate as

to what they said? Sorry to disappoint you, but I will not so speculate, but there
are some very strong indicators which make it possible to hypothesize with some
certainty the nature and outcome of their utterance.

Let’s begin with the fact that the seven thunders are out of sequence. If the
seven trumpets are contained in the seventh seal, and the seven vials are
contained in the seventh trumpet, why are the seven thunders contained in the
sixth trumpet?

Stay with me here; we know that the final “seven” appointed to the Nation Israel,
as prophesied by Daniel, doesn’t occur until the church is absent from the earth.
The church is the “parenthetical” period separating the 69 “sevens” from the final
“seven”. In spite of the fact that the children of Israel are in the land today, I
don’t believe the clock has begun ticking on the final “seven” appointed to the
nation because the church is still in the world, and will be until “the last trump”.

In Matt 11:12-13, Jesus gives us an insight into the ministry of John the Baptist:
12 And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven
suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force.
13 For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. KJV

Two things we learn from this passage. We’ll get to the first thing in a moment;
let’s consider the second thing first. The second thing is that the prophets and
the law prophesied until John. To put it more clearly, John the Baptist’s ministry
is a demarcation in time, it is a mileage marker which separates the end of what
Christians today would call the “Old Testament” period from the “New Testament”
period which (as defined by Christ here in this passage) begins with John the

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Baptist. This would be the beginning of the parenthetical “church age” which
separates the 69 “sevens” from the 70 th “seven” which will have its fulfillment
following the departure of the church from the earth. After all, the Koinè Greek
word for “church” is the word eklaysia, which literally means “called out”. Thus by
occurring in the sixth trumpet we ascertain that the thunders pertain to the
church, which is absent after the seventh (last) trumpet sounds.

1 Cor 15:52-57 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the
trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be
changed.
53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.

54 So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall
have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written,
Death is swallowed up in victory.
55 O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?
56 The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.
57 But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus
Christ. KJV

The First thing we learn from the Matt 11 passage is that those baptized by John
were so intense in their faithfulness that it was creating turmoil in the kingdom of
heaven!

In an effort to further clarify the above assertion; let’s consider another passage
of scripture:
Luke 10:1 After these things the Lord appointed other seventy also, and sent
them two and two before his face into every city and place, whither he himself
would come. KJV
Luke 10:17-18 17 And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the
devils are subject unto us through thy name.
18 And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven. KJV

In this passage Jesus expressed his approval in superlative terms. In other

words, the ultimate accomplishment of faithfulness for Christians is the eviction of
Satan from heaven.

Consider for a moment the admonition in Eph 6:10-12 Finally, my brethren, be

strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.

11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the
wiles of the devil.

12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against
powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual
wickedness in high places. KJV

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The church, which is the family of Jesus Christ, is a heavenly family, born of
heavenly seed, born from above into the family of the only begotten Son of the
living God. Our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against principalities,
powers, against the kosmokratoras, translated here ‘the rulers of the darkness of
this world’, and against spiritual wickedness in high places.
KJV (the word epouraniois, is translated “high places” which is a compound
word, the latter part being the typical word for heaven). A better translation might
be ‘the uppermost heaven’ (as opposed to the atmosphere, or ‘outer space’). As
you recall, in 2 Cor 12:2 Paul spoke of the ‘third heaven’.

The pronouncements of the seven thunders wreak judgment upon the rebellion in
heaven parallel to the seven trumpets that thresh the chaff from among the
wheat upon the earth.

They must have had the desired effect, because a few verses later in Rev 12:9
Satan and the one third of the heavenly host who followed him in his rebellion are
cast out of heaven (This is a reference, of course, to Rev 12:3,4 The red
dragon’s tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven).

Just as the trumpets result in destruction upon one third of the elements upon the
earth, the seven thunders pronounce the judgments of God as they pertain to the
final defeat of Satan’s rebellion in, and subsequent eviction from, heaven.

So why did God tell John not to write what the seven thunders uttered? To
demonstrate a point let’s first consider why God put two cherubs at the entrance
to the tree of life? (Gen 3:24 So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east
of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way,
to keep the way of the tree of life KJV). We know from 2 Kings 19:35 that a
single angel is sufficiently powerful to guard the tree of life from any descendants
of Adam which might try to mount an assault: 35 And it came to pass that night,
that the angel of the LORD went out, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians an
hundred fourscore and five thousand: and when they arose early in the morning,
behold, they were all dead corpses. KJV

Since a Cherub is far more powerful than an angel, and one angel was able to
slay 185,000 Assyrians in one night, why were two Cherubs put on guard duty to
defend the way to the tree of life? The answer is that they weren’t worried about
any of the descendants of Adam; their concern was that another cherub, Lucifer,
might attempt to avail himself of God’s promise with respect to the benefits to be
derived from the fruit of the tree of life.

Which brings us back to why God instructed John not to write what the seven
thunders uttered. God’s not worried about what men might do with the
information; men are limited in their ability to proactively formulate any strategy
against the one who sits upon the throne in heaven. We know what happens
when they do, God has a good belly-laugh: Ps 2:2-4 The kings of the earth set

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themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against
his anointed, saying,
3 Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us.
4 He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision.
KJV

I also don’t think God is worried in the slightest about any strategy Satan may be
able to formulate given the information John is withholding. I do think, however
that God knows what Satan’s strategy will be without this information. Satan will
conduct himself in such a way as to earn the judgment the thunders uttered, thus
it cannot be revealed to him beforetime because he cannot be saved. It must
first be earned before he can become privy to it. Otherwise, Satan could accuse
God of being unjust, having formulated beforehand his judgment without
sufficient evidence, the deed being yet future.

God reveals clearly to men what will befall them if they remain in defiance of his
law, his people and his kingdom. Men have the opportunity to repent and lay
hold upon the provision of redemption made by the spilled blood of God’s only
begotten son, our kinsman redeemer. Satan, however, believes he can defy the
will of the Pantokrator (The Almighty), but John, having been transported in time
to the Day of the Lord heard, but did not record, the judgment upon Satan and
those who have cast their lot with him in their attempt to usurp what God
reserves to himself alone.

Let’s take up the thought of Isaiah 14 verse 17 that [Satan] opened not the house
of his prisoners. Sounds a lot like Egypt, doesn’t it?

Pharaoh also held a people captive. God raised up Moses, nurtured and
educated at Pharaoh’s expense, to break the proverbial back of the usurper of
the people of God.

Moses came before Pharaoh seven times demanding that he let the people go.
There were 10 plagues, but if you read the narrative carefully, you’ll find that
there were only seven pronouncements.

As stated earlier, the net result of the utterance of the 7 thunders is the
successful eviction of Satan from his position in heaven for cause. Satan’s
behavior parallel to Pharaoh these past two millennia earns him a judgment in
kind. The Red Sea, which miraculously opened to those faithful to apply the
blood on the doorposts and lintel, became death to those who would perpetuate
the enslavement of the children of promise in Egypt. Satan has oppressed the
spiritual children of the most high (those born from above) and has opposed,
oppressed and ensnared those destined to a heavenly heritage, and will receive
to himself a judgment equivalent to Pharaoh and his army, who were expelled
from having a presence upon the earth, and drowned in the sea. This is a good
time to remember that the mighty angel making these pronouncements had his

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left foot upon the earth and his right foot upon the sea. The sea typifies
judgment. Here Satan’s new venue is pronounced, he will be deprived of his
presence in heaven, being cast unto the earth, which is destined at the end of the
final age to be cast into the Lake of Fire.

I believe it is for this reason that after John ate the little book that the angel
handed to him, it was sweet in his mouth, but bitter in his belly. Purging Satan’s
rebellion from heaven is indeed a sweet victory, but as Satan is cast to the earth,
the time of Jacob’s trouble will begin, and that is indeed a bitter reality for the
people who are the apple of God’s eye.

Zech 2:4-3:2 4 . . . speak to this young man, saying, Jerusalem shall be

inhabited as towns without walls for the multitude of men and cattle therein:
5 For I, saith the LORD, will be unto her a wall of fire round about, and will be the
glory in the midst of her.
6 Ho, ho, come forth, and flee from the land of the north, saith the LORD: for I
have spread you abroad as the four winds of the heaven, saith the LORD.
7 Deliver thyself, O Zion, that dwellest with the daughter of Babylon.
8 For thus saith the LORD of hosts; After the glory hath he sent me unto the
nations which spoiled you: for he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his eye.
9 For, behold, I will shake mine hand upon them, and they shall be a spoil to
their servants: and ye shall know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me.
10 Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion: for, lo, I come, and I will dwell in the
midst of thee, saith the LORD.
11 And many nations shall be joined to the LORD in that day, and shall be my
people: and I will dwell in the midst of thee, and thou shalt know that the LORD
of hosts hath sent me unto thee.
12 And the LORD shall inherit Judah his portion in the holy land, and shall
choose Jerusalem again.
13 Be silent, O all flesh, before the LORD: for he is raised up out of his holy
habitation.
3:1 And he shewed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the
LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him.
2 And the LORD said unto Satan, The LORD rebuke thee, O Satan; even the
LORD that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee: is not this a brand plucked out of
the fire? KJV

The seven seals reveal circumstances resulting from the unfaithfulness of the
house of Adam. The seven trumpets result in judgments against those who
would oppose Christ’s brethren; God’s chosen people Israel. The seven
thunders result in judgments against Satan and his host who bring their battle
against those born from above, the “called out”, whose heritage is heaven. Now
finally we will see the Lord himself at his return deal with the usurpers of His
dominion, which he purchased from Adam by paying the price of death.

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Chapter 12 The End
Rev 19:11-16 And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that
sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge
and make war.
12 His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he
had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself.
13 And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called
The Word of God.
14 And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses,
clothed in fine linen, white and clean.
15 And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the
nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress
of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.
16 And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS,
AND LORD OF LORDS. KJV

Though this aspect of John’s vision doesn’t appear until after the seven vials
have been poured out upon those who dwell upon the earth, it is my opinion and
belief that those judged by the vials are those who would “not have this man to
reign over us”. You will note that at his appearing upon the white horse in this
verse, his vesture bears the blood of his enemies upon it, the battle being over.

In a parable Jesus warned in Luke 19:27 But those mine enemies, which would
not that I should reign over them, bring hither, and slay them before me. KJV

It is at the beginning, rather than at the end of the Kingdom age that the enemies
of the Lord are slain from off the earth.

The King of Kings then reigns with a rod of iron over those who dwell upon the
earth. Christians rule and reign with him in heaven (Rev 20:4 & 6) having joined
him there at the last trump. The Jews administer the Kingdom upon the earth as
promised to the descendants of Isaac and Jacob (Isa 2:2-5; 4:2; 55:5; 66:13; Jer
31:31-34; 32:37-42; 33:14; Ezek 36:22-31; 37:11). The ruled, therefore, are still
of the house of Adam, and are adversarial by nature to the one ruling over them.

Thus these chaffing under the rule of righteousness show their true colors by
following the rebellion of Satan at the end of the 1000-year Kingdom age:

Rev 20:7-15 And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed
out of his prison,

8 And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the
earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is
as the sand of the sea.

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9 And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the
saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven,
and devoured them.

10 And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone,
where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night
for ever and ever.

11 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the
earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.

12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were
opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead
were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to
their works.

13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered
up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to
their works.

14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.

15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake
of fire. KJV.

This rebellion ends in the destruction of the present heavens and earth, which
make way for the New Heavens and New Earth in which dwelleth righteousness.
The tragic end for those tethered to the earth until its final demise is that they
gain to themselves the heritage of Satan; eternity in the Lake of Fire. This was
not intended for men, as it is not God’s will that any should perish. These are the
descendants of Adam who sought to be like God, who rejected his law, who
refused his provision of redemption, the free gift of grace. These are they who
rejected the righteousness of Christ, who would not have this man to rule over
them.

Jude 1:14 Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying,
Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, to execute judgment
upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly
deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which
ungodly sinners have spoken against him; to whom is reserved the blackness of
darkness for ever. KJV

The Ages Yet to Come

But unto those who “were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift,
and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, and have tasted the good word of

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God, and the powers of the age to come”, a different destiny awaits. These, who
were born into the family of the Son of God, now enjoy the heritage of their new
family.

1 Peter 1:4-5 To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not
away, reserved in heaven for you,

5 Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be
revealed in the last time. KJV

Man was created to exist in a 3 dimensional environment. God exists outside the
limitations of this time-space-matter dimension, which, by the way, he created.
God gave man an awareness of the spiritual dimension in order for Adam to
remain in fellowship with Him. Thus man was equipped not only to interface with
the 3 dimensional earth around him through the five bodily senses, but the living
soul of man, which was breathed into him at creation, has the capacity to
perceive and comprehend the dimension of heaven.

Unregenerate man has this capability as well, but without the Spirit of God
dwelling within him, there is no tuning fork, no point of reference, no way to
calibrate this awareness of the dimension of heaven.

God knew that the fall of Adam resulted in this deficiency, that’s why He has
never left the world without a witness, a sure word from Himself. He sent
prophets and priests; he groomed leaders and anointed men of faith to fulfill in
the flesh that which mirrors the heavenly. Gradually the works of God throughout
the ages were coalesced into a collection of books we call the Bible.

In spite of revisionist history, bad science and fallacious geologic constructs the
Bible has endured. This book, however, though able to calibrate man’s spiritual
awareness, can only point the way. We must not forget that it is the “sword of
the Spirit, which is the Word of God.” The Bible is only the mirror that reflects His
image, it is not God. God can only be understood in proper perspective when the
Spirit of God gives us understanding. Jesus himself said “Search the scriptures;
for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me,
and ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.”

The leader of the rebellion in heaven, Lucifer by name, is also a spiritual being.
He and his following seek to subvert and usurp the works of God.

The record is not silent regarding the warfare of the kosmokratoraj (ruler of this
present order). We are told he has a consistent methodology; (gr. meqodeiaj),
and we are given seven armaments of warfare, which, when applied, will be
consistently victorious: Eph 6:14-18 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about
with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;

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15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;

16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all
the fiery darts of the wicked.

17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the
word of God:

18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching
thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints; KJV

Just in case you counted, the seventh accouterment of warfare is the ‘field radio’
of prayer and supplication in the Spirit. No matter how well intentioned, without
communication with headquarters the battle is not strategically arrayed.

Many have no intention of aligning themselves with the creator of life. It is the
greatest irony that those who would not have Christ rule over them end up being
enslaved by the enemy of our souls. In rejecting Christ, a man must reject truth
and all that attests to the truth. The only other voice which provides an
opposition to the truth is the voice of he who was “a murderer from the
beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he
speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.”

To reject the truth of God is to eventually embrace The Lie. The result of
intentionally rejecting the truth is to languish in a conceptual framework founded
upon an incorrect basis. The more dogmatic an individual becomes in an errant
world-view, the more compartmentalized he must become in his thinking as he is
forced to accept unsound theories to explain the physical universe and
unscientific rationalizations to explain the enumerable forms of life. Attempting to
reconcile these fallacious frameworks at their many intersections will eventually
enslave the thinking individual to reject any aspect of the truth which threatens
the Godless foundation upon which all of this is built.

To align with God is to embrace The Truth. This is why “the truth shall make you
free”; accurate history can be accepted without compromise, true science can be
embraced without exception and the wisdom of God’s Word can be accepted,
believed and obeyed knowing man is accountable to his creator.

There is no middle ground and there are no fence sitters. There are those who
submit themselves to the rulership of Jesus the righteous, and are set free, and
those who seek to be free from the rule of God’s law whose end is bondage to
believe the lie.

It is, therefore a question of the will, not the intellect, which reconciles a man to
God. But even the most righteous man is still a man, and men were created to
have a body and exist in a 3 dimensional creation. The Bible tells us:

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Eph 2:1-7
2:1 And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;

2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according
to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of
disobedience:

3 Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our
flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the
children of wrath, even as others.

4 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,

5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by
grace ye are saved;)

6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in
Christ Jesus:

7 That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in
his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. KJV

Outside the 3 dimensional universe, time is irrelevant, it is an inconsequential

property that poses no limitation to non-corporeal beings. Man, however, was
created to exist in a time-space-matter dimension. There are “ages to come”,
and a “new heavens and a new earth”. There is a New Jerusalem (City of
Peace) and the tabernacle of God will be with men.

God himself said “Behold, I make all things new”; an entirely new environment to
compliment those who would have this man to rule over them.

How many “ages” will be appointed to the new heavens and the new earth? The
Bible doesn’t say. But we know that “Of the increase of his government and
peace there shall be no end.”

I find it interesting that the New Jerusalem is four quartered just like the earthly
Jerusalem, which is a model of things to come:

Rev 21:16 And the city lieth foursquare, and the length is as large as the
breadth: and he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs. The
length and the breadth and the height of it are equal. KJV

The word foursquare is the Greek word tetragwnoj.,. (tetrogonos) Tetra means
“four”, and “gonia””” literally means “knee”, but fell into common usage to depict
an angle or corner. Thus the city is “four-quartered”.

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The gates (3 on each side) have the names of the Tribes of Israel written upon
them, (most likely in the order given in Ezek 48:31) and the names of the
apostles are written upon the 12 foundations. Here once again are the 24 elders
in view in their specific offices. By now you can probably extrapolate for yourself
the symbolism involved. The apostles didn’t ‘lay’ the foundation; they are the
foundation. The prophecy of Solomon is fulfilled:

Prov 10:25 As the whirlwind passeth, so is the wicked no more: but the righteous
is an everlasting foundation. KJV

Who is it that laid this foundation?

1 Cor 3:11 For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus
Christ. KJV

Surly were the Apostles the foundation of all those born from above. But the
pattern of God will always have a river at its center. The prophecy of Isaiah is
herein fulfilled:

Isa 28:16-18 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a
foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he
that believeth shall not make haste.
17 Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the
hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding
place.
18 And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with
hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye
shall be trodden down by it. KJV

Is not Christ the chief cornerstone of the foundation? Don’t take my word for it;
Paul the Apostle had some thoughts on the matter:

Eph 2:20-22 And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets,
Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;
21 In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in
the Lord:
22 In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the
Spirit. KJV

The Tribes of Israel are the gates of New Jerusalem. The writer of Revelation
isn’t the first to understand this. Ezekiel the prophet saw this very same thing:

Ezek 48:31-35 And the gates of the city shall be after the names of the tribes of
Israel: three gates northward; one gate of Reuben, one gate of Judah, one gate
of Levi.

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32 And at the east side four thousand and five hundred: and three gates; and
one gate of Joseph, one gate of Benjamin, one gate of Dan.
33 And at the south side four thousand and five hundred measures: and three
gates; one gate of Simeon, one gate of Issachar, one gate of Zebulun.
34 At the west side four thousand and five hundred, with their three gates; one
gate of Gad, one gate of Asher, one gate of Naphtali.
35 It was round about eighteen thousand measures: and the name of the city
from that day shall be, The LORD is there. KJV

Let’s take a quick look at Psalm 24 to learn a little about gates:

Psalm 24:1 The earth is the LORD's, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they
that dwell therein.
2 For he hath founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the floods.
3 Who shall ascend into the hill of the LORD? or who shall stand in his holy
place?
4 He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto
vanity, nor sworn deceitfully.
5 He shall receive the blessing from the LORD, and righteousness from the God
of his salvation.
6 This is the generation of them that seek him, that seek thy face, O Jacob.
Selah.
7 Lift up your head, O ye gates; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors; and the
King of glory shall come in.
8 Who is this King of glory? The LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in
battle.
9 Lift up your heads, O ye gates; even lift them up, ye everlasting doors; and the
King of glory shall come in.
10 Who is this King of glory? The LORD of hosts, he is the King of glory. Selah.
KJV

Once again we have the King of Glory at the center of the four, but only when
these gates lift up their heads will the King of glory come in. The King of glory
who shall come in will then be the light:

Rev 21:23 And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in
it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof. KJV

But why are the tribes of Israel the gates? Isn’t the most important concern that
one be “born from above? Isn’t the central issue that we are built upon the
foundation of the Apostles?

Quite simply, no. In our arrogance we frequently forget God’s order. We gentiles
are the wild olive branch, Israel is the cultivated tree into which we are grafted.
The chosen people are the gates through which we must enter into the City of
New Jerusalem. How exactly is that done? Let’s review Genesis 12:3:

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Gen 12:3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee:
and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. KJV

Perhaps a review of Matt 25 will help our understanding become more focused:

Matt 25:31-46 When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy
angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:
32 And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one
from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:
33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.
34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my
Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
35 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me
drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and
ye came unto me.
37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an
hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?
38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?
39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
40 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.
41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye
cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:
42 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave
me no drink:
43 I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick,
and in prison, and ye visited me not.
44 Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an
hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not
minister unto thee?
45 Then shall he 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.
46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into
life eternal. KJV

Who, then, are Christ’s brethren? Jesus is Jewish, his mother is of the biological
lineage of King David, a descendant of the tribe of Judah. Joseph the husband
of Mary who descended from the royal house of King David adopted him.
Judah’s brethren were the other eleven tribes of Israel. Jesus’ brethren,
therefore, are all those descended from the 12 tribes of Israel. Thus the way into
the New Jerusalem is through the gates, which are the 12 tribes of Israel.

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Conclusion

The freedom we have in Christ is not bondage to rules and regulations; else we
would be guilty of double-speak. By being ‘born from above’ and daily choosing
the nature of Christ over the nature of disobedience inherited from Adam, we are
little by little restored to the nature originally intended for us by God. As Adam
was created ‘in the image of God’, we are being transformed by our daily choices
to what God meant us to be, righteous as He is righteous and in fellowship with
Him. True freedom, therefore, is being precisely what God created us to be. By
choosing the path of obedience to righteousness, we are being restored, made
whole. Only then can we genuinely be at peace and find the rest promised by
our Lord:

Matt 11:28-29 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will
give you rest.

29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart:
and ye shall find rest unto your souls. KJV

How can taking a ‘yoke upon you’ result in rest? Isn’t a yoke a device designed
to guide an ox as he works?

Earlier we reviewed the word “salvation” and defined it as being restored or made
whole. By choosing the nature of righteousness over the nature of sin, we are
“working out our own salvation” (Phil 2:12). This process takes effort and self-
denial, but ultimately yields rest.

It is unfortunate that in our current religious climate salvation is thought of like a

policy of fire insurance. We view it more as something safely hidden away in a
vault somewhere, reserved against the day of our death when it will be taken out,
dusted off, and cashed in. Consider Christ’s perspective:

Luke 19:12-27 He said therefore, A certain nobleman went into a far country to
receive for himself a kingdom, and to return.
13 And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto
them, Occupy till I come.
14 But his citizens hated him, and sent a message after him, saying, We will not
have this man to reign over us.
15 And it came to pass, that when he was returned, having received the
kingdom, then he commanded these servants to be called unto him, to whom he
had given the money, that he might know how much every man had gained by
trading.
16 Then came the first, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained ten pounds.
17 And he said unto him, Well, thou good servant: because thou hast been
faithful in a very little, have thou authority over ten cities.
18 And the second came, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained five pounds.

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19 And he said likewise to him, Be thou also over five cities.
20 And another came, saying, Lord, behold, here is thy pound, which I have kept
laid up in a napkin:
21 For I feared thee, because thou art an austere man: thou takest up that thou
layedst not down, and reapest that thou didst not sow.
22 And he saith unto him, Out of thine own mouth will I judge thee, thou wicked
servant. Thou knewest that I was an austere man, taking up that I laid not down,
and reaping that I did not sow:
23 Wherefore then gavest not thou my money into the bank, that at my coming I
might have required mine own with usury?
24 And he said unto them that stood by, Take from him the pound, and give it to
him that hath ten pounds.
25(And they said unto him, Lord, he hath ten pounds.)
26 For I say unto you, That unto every one which hath shall be given; and from
him that hath not, even that he hath shall be taken away from him.
27 But those mine enemies, which would not that I should reign over them, bring
hither, and slay them before me. KJV

Throughout our sojourn in this life, we should be in a constant struggle to

leverage that which God has invested in us. God has invested his Holy Spirit in
us to go before us and prepare the way, to lead us, guide us, be a light to our
path, convict us of sin, intercede for us before God, and to restore us when we
fall. You will notice in the parable that the unfaithful servant was not brought
before him and slain as his enemies who would not have Him reign over them,
but from him was taken that which was invested in him.

In His Matt 22:1-13 parable, our Lord actually departed from the symbolism of the
parable so we wouldn’t misunderstand the consequence of the man who
accepted the invitation to the wedding feast, but rejected the clean white
garment, which is the righteousness of the saints.

13 Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him
away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of
teeth. KJV

When we accept God’s gift of grace by faith, we must be careful to allow the work
of God’s Holy Spirit to cleanse us from sin and to clothe us in the righteousness
of Jesus Christ.

We are safe from the lake of fire, but are at risk of outer darkness if we bury the
gift of God and live a life no different than those destined for destruction whose
end is to be burned.

God is the author of time, space, matter and energy. These all do show forth his
wisdom and reveal to us his very nature. He is a God of righteousness and
purity, of wisdom and truth. He is the author of life, whose enemy is death.

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Currently, the views presented in this book are not the status quo. It must be
remembered that when Jesus arrived on the scene, He was rejected because his
teachings didn’t fit the pre-conceptual messianic model the Jews anticipated.

Will Christians be left in a dry riverbed as the Jews were? That depends. We
are called to be Bereans; Acts 17:11 These were more noble than those in
Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and
searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so. KJV

What did Christ say concerning the end of this age as it pertains to ‘Christians’
who fall prey to false prophets and false Christs?
Matt 24:23-31
23 Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not.
24 For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great
signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very
elect.
25 Behold, I have told you before.
26 Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth:
behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not.
27 For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west;
so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
28 For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together.
29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and
the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the
powers of the heavens shall be shaken:
30 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all
the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the
clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
31 And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall
gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the
other. KJV

The word ‘carcase’ is the Greek word ptwma. Throughout the Septuagint and
New Testament, it consistently refers to the dead body of one who was slain in a
contest to the death. In this parable, therefore, it refers to ‘Christians’ who don’t
read their Bible, who don’t go to the scriptures to confirm what they hear from the
pulpit (or the television) and who are led away by false prophets and false
Christs. The word ‘eagles’ in this passage is the same word for vulture, and
should be translated vulture due to the context. The vultures are those false
prophets and false Christs who prey upon these weak and feeble Christians,
malnourished in the bread of life. Don’t confuse this with the “parallel “ passage
in Luke, they are not parallel contexts, the passage in Luke is an entirely different
narrative with a different context, it just happens that Jesus used a similar, but
slightly modified expression in each.

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Who then will be saved from the judgments to come?

Jesus said it best to Nicodemas. “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be
born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” “Except a man be born of water
and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” “That which is born
of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” “Ye must be
born again. The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound
thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one
that is born of the Spirit.”

Why born of water and the spirit? Throughout the Torah, water is clearly defined
as a cleansing agent. They washed cookware, body parts, sacrifices, utensils;
about anything that could be washed was washed in water. That which couldn’t
be made clean with water was to be burned (hopefully you see the parallel). To
be born of water and of the Spirit speaks of taking to ourselves the righteousness
of Christ. It speaks of being cleansed of the unclean and being born into a new
nature, a new heart and a renewed mind. We are commanded to “die to
ourselves”, to take up the cross and follow Jesus. Christ washes us with the
water of the Word, which cleanses us from sin. We are new creatures in Christ.

Those who define the term “Christianity” as the performance of sacraments,

attendance in church, taking communion, wearing special garments, community
service, missionary work or donations to good causes or church organizations,
could still be at risk:

Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy
name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many
wonderful works?
23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that
work iniquity. Matt 7:22-23 KJV

If having more good deeds than bad deeds does not differentiate me from evil
people, who then can be saved? Jesus went to great lengths to reaffirm
repeatedly what is required for salvation. Consider the parable of the ten virgins:

Matt 25:1-13 1 Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins,
which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom.
2 And five of them were wise, and five were foolish.
3 They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them:
4 But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.
5 While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.
6 And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye
out to meet him.
7 Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps.
8 And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone
out.

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9 But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and
you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves.
10 And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready
went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut.
11 Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us.
12 But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.
13 Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of
man cometh. KJV

In this parable, the lamp represents the physical body and the oil represents
spirit. Those born after the similitude of Adam have the spirit of man; we all have
this “oil in our lamp”. When this oil runs out we will all ‘sleep’ in death. It’s when
the bridegroom comes that we will need the quickening spirit. We can’t obtain
this essential commodity after this life is over, we must make provision to obtain it
beforehand.

1 Cor 15:45 And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the
last Adam was made a quickening spirit. KJV

Only by being born from above into the family of the Patriarch in heaven; Jesus
the Son of God and Lord of all, can we escape the judgment to come.

Jesus said to Nicodemas in John 3:6: That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and
that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. KJV

If you have been born from above, you are my brother. It doesn’t matter what
language you speak, what culture you’re from, how much money you have in the
bank or what color your skin is, you and I have decided to follow Jesus and will
escape the destiny of those who remain in the house of Adam.

1 Thess 1:10 And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the
dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come. KJV

If you have not been born from above, you risk death and hell. There is only one
way to escape the coming judgment upon the earth, and an eternal destiny in the
Lake of Fire:

Unlike some who errantly believe that a time will come when God will close the
door on this promise, I believe that this promise will be good until the end of all
the ages appointed to this creation. How can Christ’s payment for the debt of
Adam NOT apply after it was paid? Seems silly doesn’t it.

It’s like being handed a blank check signed by the creator of the universe. It’s
made payable to Whosoever Will. All you need to endorse this check and put it
in your account is to agree with God that Rom 3:11-12 accurately describes you
when it says 11 There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh

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after God. 12 They are all gone out of the way, they are together become
unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one . . . and that you want to
be born into his righteous family in heaven. If you pray out of a pure heart and
God sees that you truly want to turn from your sin and walk in his righteousness
he will send his Holy Spirit to be alongside you all the rest of your days to protect
you from temptation greater than you can bear. He will guide and strengthen you
as he goes before you to give you opportunities to lay up treasure in heaven.

Don’t enter eternity as a debtor where your only option is to pay for your own
sins. The price required to pay for your sins is death. Adam was created to exist
in a three dimensional environment. The spirit of man is the breath of life
breathed into him by God, who is spirit. The physical body is the interface with
the creation that surrounds us. To reject the heritage of Christ is to forfeit any
opportunity to a different heritage and remain solely in the lineage of Adam,
destined to death and tethered to the earth to the end of these ages. Without the
body, there is only darkness, silence and the absence of any manner of
sensation; alone, comfortless. It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this
the judgment: The destiny appointed to those who fail to avail themselves of
God’s grace by faith is the same as the earth, to be cast into the Lake of Fire.

The alternative is to enter heaven as a member of the ruling class by being born
from above into the family of the only begotten Son of the living God. To receive
a new body, to dwell upon a new earth under new heavens and to live throughout
the ages yet to come wherein dwelleth righteousness. No more suffering, no
more pain, no more tears, no more death. What will those ‘new ages’ be? What
will the new earth look like? We will look upon God himself when He makes his
tabernacle with men. Disneyland advertises they have the ‘happiest place on
earth, but it pales by comparison with that which awaits the child of God.

It still amazes me that anybody rejects His offer.

Jesus summarized it best: Ye must be born again.

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