Before we study the Book of Micah we should consider the direction in which our country is headed. The Old Testament Prophtets are speaking to this in our day. Man refuses God's Government as established in His Word. We are heading for very difficult times ahead. Beyond this time of "Jacob's Trouble" God is going to establish His Millennial Kingdom. An understanding of God's Kingdom will go a long way to carrying you through the difficulties which lie ahead. Learn what this means:

"If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable." 1 Corinthians 15.19

Quoted right from Saul Alinsky's book: How to Create a Social State.

There are 8 levels of control that must be obtained before you are able to create a social state. The first is the most important.

1) Healthcare –
Control healthcare and you control the people

2) Poverty –
Increase the Poverty level as high as possible, poor people are easier to control and will not fight back if you are providing everything for them to live.

3) Debt –
Increase the debt to an unsustainable level. That way you are able to increase taxes, and this will produce more poverty.

4) Gun Control –
Remove the ability to defend themselves from the Government. That way you are able to create a police state.

5) Welfare –
Take control of every aspect of their lives (Food, Housing, and Income)

6) Education –
Take control of what people read and listen to – take control of what children learn in school.

7) Religion –
Remove the belief in the God from the Government and schools

8) Class Warfare –
Divide the people into the wealthy and the poor. This will cause more discontent and it will be easier to take (Tax) the wealthy with the support of the poor.

This is not the kingdom I look forward to--I see beyond this to a greater day! On to the Book of Micah!

DNA WARFARE AND THE NEPHILIM: THE SEARCH FOR IMMORTALITY

THE 2013 CHICAGO SUMMIT

The DNA of mankind is under attack like never before. “Made in the Image of God” may soon be a thing of the past as scientists race to improve upon God’s Creation in laboratories and universities across the world. Join Russ Dizdar and friends in Chicago for a one-of-a-kind Prophecy Conference.

Speakers: Dizdar, Marzulli, Hamp, Woodward, the Gilbert(s), Skiba, Dunn—they’ve come loaded with the latest info on transhumanism, the Nephilim, Facebook, the future superman, DNA enhancement, super-soldiers, cloning, hybrids, and ultimately, Satan’s plan for a man made in his own image, not God’s! Enjoy 14 messages from some of the world's brightest Christian and scientific minds, espousing the concepts and secret plans that once filled the pages of science fiction books. Everyone who attended this conference left feeling blessed beyond measure. Prepare to be amazed at just how far scientist's are pushing the DNA envelope in a quest for man's immortality. No God? No problem! Who needs God when we can live forever? Yes, the world is in for a big shock! The Days of Noah have arrived.

The following are some brief notes I took as I watched the DVD's of the conference. The striking impression on me was how the roots of all these things in modern times can be traced back to the 1850's. Mankind is on track towards the ultimate rebellion: "to become as gods." By the time the Antichrist rises these concepts will be in full operation in the world--the New World Order.

At the end of the notes is a link to order the DVD's if you want to learn more. I am not compensated in anyway if you order the DVD's. Nothing I do on this site is for money--ever!



Douglas Woodward: Eugenics and the Super Race

Before Hitler’s Mein Kampf (1924), America had:

1. Defined the need to purify the races--Nordics (Blond hair, blue eyes)

2. Created the phrase “Race and blood”, (1902) David Starr Jordan, President of Stanford

3. Created the gas chamber to eliminate the feeble-minded and decrepit (Paul Popenoe, 1918)

4. Established the IQ Test to discriminate racial characteristics

5. Catalogued over 1 million Americans of ‘bad blood lines’--and called for eliminating the lowest 10%

6. Founded Planned Parenthood (1921) to reduce offspring from undesirables (Margaret Sanger)

The War Against the Weak:

Contemporary with Nazi rassenhygiene (race hygiene), America:

1. Passed forced sterilization laws in 27 states (California, 3^rd state in 1909)

2. Sequestered undesirables and the feeble-minded in concentration camps.

3. Ruled in favor of forced sterilization (Buck vs. Bell, 1927): “Three generation of imbeciles is enough.”-- Oliver Wendell Homes, Jr. Supreme Court Justice.

4. Enforced the “one drop rule” in Virginia (Walter Plecker), (Mongrel Virginians) and created the phrase, “The Final Solution” (John Powell) in regards to “the Negro Race”


Historical Foundations for Eugenics:

A. Charles Darwin - Origin of Species 1859 - Natural Selection

B. Herbert Spencer - Principles of Biology 1864 - Survival of the fittest

C. Gregor Mendal - Plant Hybridization - 1866 - Genetics - Hybrids

D. Francis Galton - 1869 - Nature vs. Nurture


Eugenics: A Pseudo-Science:

1. Eugenics means “well born” or “well bred”

2. Funded by Rockefellers, Harrimans, and Carnegies - The Elites

3. Research at Harvard, Stanford, Cornell, Columbia

4. Feeble-minded/poverty inclined/bad apples beget bad apples

5. Testing wasn’t for the good of the tested.

After 1900, the Harrimans, the family that gave the Prescott Bush family its start, along with the Rockefellers, provided more than $11 million to create a eugenics research laboratory at Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y., as well a eugenics studies at Harvard, Columbia, and Cornell. The First International Congress of Eugenics was convened in London in 1912, with Winston Churchill as a director. Obviously, the concept of “bloodlines” was significant to these people.


The Elite Finance Eugenics:

1. The Rockefeller Foundation, the Carnegie Institution, Harriman’s Railroad Dollars

2. Cold Springs Harbor Laboratory on Long Island N.Y.

3. Charles Davenport and Harry Laughlin

4. “Hereditary defectives and worthless immigrants” - the Jukes family study

5. Alexander Graham Bell, Luther Burbank

6. Eugenical News: Current Record of Race Hygiene (1924 name change)

“Eugenic science was bought and paid for by the elite, for the elite to perpetrate a genetic war against everyone else”  -  Edwin Black


America Finances the Holocaust:

1. Kaiser Wilhelm Institutes (1920’s), financed primarily by the Rockefeller Foundation

2. IBM developed the tabulation machine for Nazi tracking of Gypsies, Jews, and decrepit

3. Nazi researchers traveled to Cold Springs Harbor

4. Tide turned when Clarence Campbell, attended the 1935 Eugenics Berlin conference

“It is unfortunate that the anti-Nazi propaganda…obscures understanding and the great importance of the German racial policy” Campbell from Eugenics News 1936

“The Germans are beating us at our own game.” Joseph DeJarnette, superintendent of Western State Hospital, VA.

“While we were pussy-footing around, the Germans were calling a spade a spade.” Leon Whitney, American Eugenics Society.

Dr. Otmar von Verschuer:

“The German Volksche struggle is primarily directed against the Jews, because alien Jewish penetration is a special threat to the German race.” - 1924 at Student Training Camp.

1. Chaired Human Heredity Department a Kaiser Wilhelm Inst. 1927

2. Praised by Harry Laughlin in Eugenical News

3. Charles M. Goethe asks to visit Institute in 1935

4. Verschuer and Franz, study of 75 twins. Paul Popenoe asserted, “It will help us identify natural born criminals”

5. “Twins have…been a favorite material…but it does take a dictatorship to study 10,000 pair of twins” - T. Ellinger

6. Verschuer selected an aggressive assistant to help in the study of twins.


Population Control:

1. Immigration: America besieged by Irish, Italians, and Russian Jews (1900-1920’s)

2. A threat to the Nordic race!

3. Social cause--a religion for the weathly

4. Segregation, sequestration, sterilization

5. America: Race distinction, England: Class distinction

6. Japanese internment wasn’t just for security

7. America and German intellectuals combine efforts

“National socialism is nothing but applied biology” Rudolf Hess, Hitler’s 2^nd in Command


Dr. Josef Mengele and Auschwitz:

1. Assigned to Auschwitz in 1943, was very ambitious

2. “Twins, Twins” 1500 studied, only 200 survived

3. Ghastly research on Jews, Gypsies, dwarfs, and the deformed--known as The Angel of Death

4. “Absorbed with becoming gods”

5. Mengele escapes to South America--was he ever in the USA?


Rational for Eugenics...“And the other thing, because no one has the guts to say it, if we could make better human beings by knowing how to add genes, why shouldn’t we? What’s wrong with it?…Evolution can be just (darn) cruel, and to say that we’ve got a perfect genome and there’s some sanctity to it? I’d just like to know where that idea comes from. It’s utter silliness.” James Watson, Nobel Laureate

“Biotechnology will be able to accomplish what the radical ideologies of the past, with their unbelievably crude techniques, were unable to accomplish: to bring about a new type of human being…within the next couple of generations…we will have definitively finished human his-tory because we will have abolished human beings as such. And then, a new post-human history will begin” Francis Fukuyama, professor at Georgetown U

Hitler’s Aim:

“Hitler’s aim was neither the founding of a race of superman, nor the conquest of the world; these were only the means towards the realization of the great work he dreamed of. His real aim was to perform an act of creation, a divine operation, the goal of a biological mutation which would result in an unprecedented exaltation of the human race and the ‘apparition of a new race of heroes and demigods and god-men” The Morning of the Magicians, Berger

The religious history of mankind: Masters vs. the slaves, the heroes (Rome, Greece) vs. the weaklings (Jews, Christians).


Alien DNA and Neo-Transhumanism:

1. Humankind is engineered by ET’s ? Probably not but ET's are most likely a grand deception

2. Our DNA refutes evolution as ONLY factor

3. Remote viewing proves life on Mars?

4. Anomalies of strata show intelligent life has been here before? This is not the first very high civilization.


Rob Skiba: Archon Invasion:

Prince in Eph 2.2 = Archon, leader commander w/authority. Mt Hermon was the mount of transfiguration and also the portal for the Giants. 33.33 degrees north 33.3 Paris

Genesis 6.4 Nephilim = bully, tyrant. 435 times in Bible nephal root word, 435 times blood mentioned. Numbers 13.33 - offspring of Nephilim

Trans-humanism in Genesis 3.4-5 is a doctrine of devils - Adam and Eve already had all three, they were deceived.

Trans-humanism is building gods. Gen 6.12, 4.10, 9.4-6 Matt 26.28, Heb 9.22, Rom 5.12 - there is a spiritual component to DNA. 2045 is the date the first trans-human is supposed to occur

Lev 19.19 - Rev 19.19 - Rev 17.8, reject Yeshua and blotted out of book. Who are these? DNA hybrids?

GMO’s Lev 19.23-26 takes 4 years (generations) to purify plants - compare with 3^rd, 4^th, generations of curses. What does it mean?

Lev 17.11 Life is in the blood. What about heart transplants and people having memories related to the donor? And living for two? Man is trying to remanufacture himself attempting to become gods.
Have you seen Fox's new show "Almost Human"? It is a harbinger of the future.

Host manipulation Rev 13.16-18, Rev 19.20, 9.5-6...longing for death, counterfeit immortality?

Synchronizing Ancient Texts to Genesis 6

1. Genesis 6.1-4 - Angels mating with humans syncs with: Enoch 6.1-7.2; Jubilees 5.1

2. Genesis 6.5-7 - Shows how God feels about the resulting violence syncs with: Enoch 7.3-6; Jubilees 5.2-4

3. Genesis 6.8-10 - Reveal how Noah and sons were genetically pure syncs with: Jasher 4.12-15; 5.13-17; Jubilees 5.5

4. Genesis 6.11-12 - Earth and all flesh become corrupted syncs with: Jasher 4.16-18; Jubilees 5.19

5. Genesis 6.13-17 - God increasingly angry, tells Noah to build ark syncs with: Jasher 4.19-21, 5.25-29; Jubi 5.21-22

6. Genesis 6.18 - First mention of the wives of Noah’s sons syncs with: Jasher 5.32-36 (Noah chose 3 wives 7 days prior to the flood!)

So God looked upon the earth, and indeed it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth. Gen 6.12

And their judges and rulers went to the daughters of men and took their wives by force from their husbands according to their choice, and the sons of men in those days took from the cattle of the earth, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the air, and taught the mixture of animals of one species with the other, in order therewith to provoke the Lord; and God saw the whole earth and it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted its ways upon earth, all men and all animals. Jasher 4.18

And after this they sinned against the beasts and birds, and all that moves and walks on the earth: and much blood was shed on the earth, and every imagination and desire of men imagined vanity and evil continually. Jubilees 7.24

Sinned against the animals: is a reference to genetic manipulation, which created the animal-human hybrids of mythology…which appears to have also made a way for the disembodied spirits of the Nephilim to have “host” bodies to once again inhabit, thus bringing about their return.

All Biblical Post-Flood Giants can be Traced Back to: Genesis 10.6-20 and the sons of Ham (tumult: he raged)

Cush = black: terror Naphruhim = openings

Mizoram = double straightness Pathrusim = moistened morsel

Phut = afflicted Casluhim = forgiven ones

Canaan = a trafficker Caphtorim = bowing to spy

Seba = drink thou Sidan = hunting

Havilah = anguish Heth = terror

Sabtah = compassed the chamber Jebusite = trodden down

Roomah = thunder Amorite = sayers

Sobechah = compassed the smiting Girgasite = stranger draws near

Sheba = him who is coming Hivite = showers of life

Dedan = their love Arkite = my gnawing

Nimrod = we shall rebel Sinite = thorn, clay, mire

Ludim = firebrand: travailing Arvadite = shall break loose

Anamim = affliction of water Zemarite = double woolen enclosure

Lehobim = flames: blades Hematite = wrath

All Biblical Post-Flood Giants Can be Traced Back To Genesis 10.6-20 in a name meaning paragraph:

He raged (a) black terror, double straight, afflicted trafficker.

Black terror drink thou anguish. Compass the chamber. Thunder compassed the smiting. He who is coming, their love: we shall rebel.

(A) double straight firebrand: travailing , affliction of water-blades opening the moistened morsel - forgiven ones bowing to spy.

(A) trafficker hunting terrors, trodden(ed) down sayers, (the) strangers draw near. Showers of life, gnawing (like) thorns (they) shall break loose, double woolen enclosure(s) of wrath.

If you don't understand all these notes don't be distressed. If you want to know more there is plently of info on the net. Check out these sites:

http://thetruthwins.com/archives/human-animal-hybrids-sick-and-twisted-chimeras-are-being-created-in-labs-all-over-the-planet

http://2045.com/


Link for the DVD's
http://pitnbookstore.estoreadvanced.biz/index.php?p=product&id=753&parent=63

Next: A Study on the Book of Micah

THE PATTERN OF FALLING AWAY AND RESTORATION OF ISRAEL

The nation falls into apostasy. They turn from the one true God YHVH and worship idols. They begin to sacrifice their children into the fire to these gods. They build pillars and worship the sun and the moon. They also turn to fertility gods whose rituals are sexual. They eat at pagan tables and drink blood. Drinking blood is supposed to transfer the power of that animal to the drinker. The overall morality of the nation descends into depravity and everyone does what is right in their own mind.

The government begins to fall apart ethically. Bribing public officials becomes standard practice in order to curry favor. Judges and magistrates are bought and sold. Even the priests are bribed off in place of sin offerings. Financial instability replaces fair trade. Inflation rages, weights and measures are false.

Sexual infidelity becomes the norm. Adultery is common practice. Prostitution is common in the city. The pagan temples allow sex as a religious ritual. The population has less and less regard for the laws of God.

Political alliances are formed with unethical nations. These alliances are made for protection against invasion or to conquer other nations. Foreign policy has no focus. The political leaders are only interested in furthering personal gain in these relationships.

The Lord sends prophets to warn the nation. These prophets plead with the nation to return to their God. They plead for the people to repent of their sinful ways and honor the Lord. The prophets take symbolic actions for the people to see and warn of coming invasion and destruction of cities. These warnings by various prophets occur over decades. The populace pays no attention. Their hearing becomes dull and their eyes are blind. The prophets continue to plead as the political and financial situation becomes worse.

The prophets are accused of being seditious. They are looked upon as traitors and despised, but they continue to warn the nation. During this process there are occasionally periods of revival where the nation turns from their ways to worship the Lord, but they are short periods followed by continued apostasy. The warnings of the prophets become louder, but to no avail.

The nation comes under invasion by foreigners. Sometimes several invasions are experienced before the nation is defeated and Jerusalem burned to the ground. The nation is totally devastated and burned. Refugees flee to surrounding areas and many are taken captive to a strange land. Those left behind are most likely killed, the rest flee or are taken into exile.

Once in the foreign land the survivors begin to realize what they have lost and begin to turn back to their God. The prophets explain to them what has happened and give the survivors hope for return to the homeland. The survivors long for the homeland and begin to turn back to their old ways and respect for their God. They are told by the prophets to become good citizens of the land, build homes, and prosper. They are told that at the appointed time they will be restored to their homeland.

At the appointed time, after mourning for their former apostasy, the people are allowed to return to their homeland and rebuild the waste places. They have finally learned that they have a great and just God, and never turn back to idolatry again. They once again live in their homeland and revere the Lord.

HOW THIS PATTERN IS RELAVENT TO INDIVIDUAL CHRISTIANS
We can easily visualize our personal walk with the Lord in the pattern above. We often start out as excited new born Christians with many great expectations. As time goes on we become complacent as the cares of the job, family, and financial issues begin to weigh upon us. At his point some become stronger Christians as they trust the Lord in these situations, others find things too difficult and lapse into the former lifestyle.

Those that experience a lapse are often reminded of their former walk with the Lord by friends, family, and people they come into contact with in their daily lives. Sometimes we repent and return to the Lord, other times we turn away and refuse to listen. Each one of us has their own personal experience.

Some of us have to fall pretty far before we realize how good we had it when we walked with the Lord. At this point if we return and ask forgiveness, the Lord is quick to forgive and reestablish our faith. It takes some time and effort on our part, but the return is sweet. The Lord is quick to forgive if we approach in the right spirit and truly repent.

Some believers go through this process more than once while others have a strong faith right from the start. We all, however, experience this pattern in our personal lives in a major or minor way. Some don’t necessarily fall away or backslide, but there are areas in their lives the Lord wishes to deal with. It is up to us to allow Him to deal with those areas if we are to move forward in the faith. This can be an unpleasant period, but if we genuinely seek His way it transforms us into His image over a period of time. These are the times of testing we all go through. It is our job to recognize it for what it is and respond to the Lord and yield to the Holy Spirit’s wisdom.

THE PATTERN ON A NATIONAL BASIS IN MODERN TIMES
The pattern for nations today are similar. Once a godly nation, the populace grows more and more distant from the ways of God. Morality and ethics begin to collapse as people are more interested in self than in the ways of God. The ethical collapse leads to a breakdown in the financial service industry. Gain becomes more important than solid ethical investment. The industry becomes more like a casino than a place to protect the client’s interest.

In politics there is a decline in ethical practice. Personal gain takes president over what is good for the country at large. Big business begins to call the shots through lobbyists and large donations to individuals or party. Gridlock overcomes partisanship as nothing constructive gets done. Budgets soar out of control as an entitlement mentality grips the public. Politicians pander to the public and promise to give the populace benefits that are not affordable.

The public becomes obsessed with celebrity, sports, and entertainment. Real issues are avoided and the public slowly begins to lose their hard won freedom due to their apathy. Poor behavior is rewarded and those who work hard and follow the rules find themselves despised. What was formerly shocking behavior is now common place. Family values come under attack and alternate lifestyles are glorified. The entertainment industry becomes baser and baser each passing decade. The dumbing down of the nation begins in the schools and carries over into all areas of society.

Secular and religious prophets warn of disaster but few pay any attention. The churches, which once set a standard of morality, now condone what was formerly thought to be ungodly behavior. Endless wars, unchecked spending, and “in your face” behavior in both politics and civil relations become worse and worse. Slowly the nation descends into depravity and all order is lost as financial and political institutions crumble. The process takes decades to reach a climax, but when the climax comes it is destructively quick as society sinks into anarchy.

This is the Biblical pattern revealed in the books of the prophets. We have all walked this path.

　

　

HEART OF DAVID: TRUE REPENTANCE

2 Samuel 11...David sees Bathsheba bathing while up on the roof of the palace and has an affair with her. Afterwards he calls her husband, Uriah, back from the battlefield and tells him to visit with his wife Bathsheba. David is hoping Uriah the Hittite will lay with her and think the resulting child will be his.

Uriah refuses to go see his wife because he is loyal to his men and doesn’t want to take advantage of this because his men cannot have the same opportunity. David then gets Uriah drunk hoping he will go home and lay with his wife, but Uriah sleeps at the palace.

David, in frustration, then instructs his commander in the field, Joab, to send Uriah to the front in the heat of battle and withdraw from him so that he will be struck down. Joab does so and Uriah is killed in the battle.

After Uriah’s death his wife Bathsheba mourns for him. After the period of mourning David calls her to the palace and takes her as his wife.

David at this point in his life was taking things easy and not keeping focused on the things of the Lord. In a weak moment he sees Bathsheba bathing on her roof and calls for her. Bathsheba must have known David would be looking as she does not protest when he calls for her. Both of them should have known better. David’s crime is very serious and worthy of death.

2 Samuel 12...God sends Nathan the Prophet to David who tells David a parable about a man who has his only lamb stolen by a rich man who kills it and eats it. David is outraged that anyone would do such a thing and declares such a man should die.

Nathan informs David that he is that man. His treatment of Uriah was the same as the rich man in the parable treated the poor man--but much worse!

Nathan tells David he will not die but that a sword will divide his house and the kingdom will be split in two. David will pay for this sin against God and man. The child he and Bathsheba had then became sick unto death. While the child is sick David fasts and prays for 7 days until the child dies. He spent those seven days repenting before God for his sin and accepting God’s punishment. He did not get angry at God or curse God. He accepted the judgment.

As terrible as David’s sin was he threw himself at the mercy of God and did not become arrogant. David did not run from God and decide he was finished walking in God’s way. Instead David crawled towards God and repented from his terrible sins of adultery and murder. He was quick to repent! This was truly an extraordinary act of repentence when you think about it!

Most of us would turn away from God at this point with an arrogant and angry disposition. Then we would have punished Nathan the prophet for delivering the message. God loved David because David had a repentant heart and accepted his punishment. David understood he was saved by grace--not his own works. God showed his great mercy and righteousness. He must require David pay a price, but God kept his promises toward David. David understood he had a price to pay and blessed God for His mercy. "He took it like a man" to put it in the vernacular.

Psalm 51 is David’s beautiful song of repentance and acknowledgment of his sin. This is my favorite psalm. It expresses David’s repentant heart and great love of God. It is truly a psalm to pray and meditate on before the Lord. David’s throne has been blessed by God because David had a heart and spirit that accepted God‘s righteous judgment. This is the heart God wants to work in each of us.

 
 

Part Six - The Final Five Chapters - Summary

God Himself now will speak to Job in the final five chapters...“ Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding. Who determined its measurements? Surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it? To what were its foundations fastened? Or who laid its cornerstone, When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy? 38.4-7
God speaks to Job out of the whirlwind, similar to how He spoke to Elijah. God first establishes His greatness and sovereignty. We can only approach Him as friends when we understand this concept. He is the potter, we are the clay. If we love Him after we understand this, we have access to the throne.
We also see in verse 7 that the angels were present when God created the earth. The ‘morning stars' are the angels. Satan was present and was on the threshold of his rebellion at this time. He was the anointed cherub perfect in his ways! (Ezek 28.14-15) Here we are getting a glimpse of the incredible wickedness of Satan's rebellion. The creation turning against the creator! The spirit of this present age!


“Have you entered the treasury of snow, or have you seen the treasury of hail, which I have reserved for the time of trouble, for the day of battle and war?" 38.22-23

Hail and snow can create a lot of noise and chaos. In Revelation 8.7; 11.19; 16.21 we see great hail falling upon unrepentant men. Hail can fatally injure a man. In the final battle at the end of the age we are going to see God send hail upon the unrepentant. This will be a day of trumpets, great noise and chaos. Our faith will be tested. (God at times speaks through weather.) This will be the day the rebellion is crushed! Do you see this pattern in human history--in Satan's world!?

Chapter Thirty-Nine
God continues to establish His sovereignty and uses the example of a war horse as an example of His power...“Have you given the horse strength? Have you clothed his neck with thunder? Can you frighten him like a locust? His majestic snorting strikes terror. He paws in the valley, and rejoices in his strength; he gallops into the clash of arms. He mocks at fear, and is not frightened; nor does he turn back from the sword. The quiver rattles against him, the glittering spear and javelin. He devours the distance with fierceness and rage; nor does he come to a halt because the trumpet has sounded. At the blast of the trumpet he says, ‘Aha! ’He smells the battle from afar, the thunder of captains and shouting. 39.19-25

The great and terrible day of the Lord will be like this. The war horse (Yehovah!) is ready for battle. Elohim's people will be delivered by His salvation. The armies of the Lord are coming (Rev 19.11-21) If we understand what is coming we can have peace in chaos (1 Corinthians 15.19).  

Chapter Forty  “Shall the one who contends with the Almighty correct Him? He who rebukes God, let him answer it.” 40.2

Argue at your own risk. As we see below, Job didn’t--he heard. It takes awhile to learn this lesson!

Then Job answered the LORD and said: “ Behold, I am vile; what shall I answer You? I lay my hand over my mouth. Once I have spoken, but I will not answer; yes, twice, but I will proceed no further.” 40.3-5

Job is realizing that God has taken him into a much deeper understanding of His ways. The children of Israel knew God’s acts, but Moses knew His ways (Ps 103.7). God would have us all be like Moses! Job has come into an understanding only a remnant know. He has been chastised and God's character has been worked into him.

Chapter Forty-One - God continues to establish His sovereignty...“Can you draw out Leviathan with a hook, or snare his tongue with a line which you lower?" 40.1

This chapter uses the Leviathan as an example of God’s power. God can even defeat Leviathan--the Accuser. We too can be overcomers in Yeshua. God is in control of human events and history. We have been given the Military Handbook of Spiritual Warfare!

Chapter Forty-Two - God vindicates Job for his faithfulness with a lesson about blessing...Then Job answered the LORD and said: “I know that You can do everything, and that no purpose of Yours can be withheld from You." 42.1-2
You can almost hear the wonderment in Job’s voice. He has come into a deeper understanding, love, and respect for God. He has gone through an amazing transformation.

You asked ‘Who is this who hides counsel without knowledge? ’Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know. Listen, please, and let me speak; You said, ‘I will question you, and you shall answer Me.’ “I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees You. Therefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.” 42.3-6

Job is embarrassed at himself for questioning God. We all have to come to this place. We all should feel a sense of shame at how we responded to God in the past. Job’s eyes have been opened, and now he can hear clearly! All this had a purpose Job did not understand.

And so it was, after the LORD had spoken these words to Job, that the LORD said to Eliphaz the Temanite, “My wrath is aroused against you and your two friends, for you have not spoken of Me what is right, as My servant Job has. Now therefore, take for yourselves seven bulls and seven rams, go to My servant Job, and offer up for yourselves a burnt offering; and My servant Job shall pray for you. For I will accept him, lest I deal with you according to your folly; because you have not spoken of Me what is right, as My servant Job has.” 42.7-8

The Lord requires a burnt offering from Job’s friends, to be sacrificed in Job’s presence. Job is vindicated for his faith in the presence of his friends. This is a type of the Lord vindicating us in the presence of our adversary. It is also a type of our brothers and sisters who have been rebellious in ths life coming to repentance in the millennial age. In the end we all saved by grace but there are differnt rewards for service. Job is also instructed to pray for his friends--to bless and not curse. The Lord's instruction manual shows us how and when to interceed. There will be a large learning curve in the Millennial Kingdom. The least of our brethern is rebellious Benjamin who fought a civil war against his brothers (Judges 20 and 21, Matt 25.40) but was restored and forgiven by his brothers afterward. This is an interesting study, type, and shadow of millennial things.

And the LORD restored Job’s losses when he prayed for his friends. Indeed the LORD gave Job twice as much as he had before. 42.10

Job is restored with a double portion--just like Elijah gave to Elisha. We are doubly blessed when we yeild to the Lord’s wisdom. Job never lost faith in the Lord. He was stedfast. He prayed for his friends and the Lord blessed and forgave them.

SUMMARY
This is merely a basic breakdown and quide to Job as a Handbook for Spiritual Warfare. Much more can be gleaned from this book to guide us in our warfare. Each person can prayerfully study Job and find many other truths. The book describes the ways of Elohim and how we should respond. The book also opens understanding to other truths as seen in the Benjamin story.

I hope this brief study will help you study the book in a more meaningful way. Go through each chapter and verse to discern what God is saying about how He works, who He is, and what is saying to you personally.

NEXT: HEART OF DAVID - TRUE REPENTANCE

                                                                      

 

Part Five - Chapters Four and Five
 

"Surely you have instructed many, and you have strengthened weak hands. Your words have upheld him who was stumbling, and you have strengthened the feeble knees; but now it comes upon you, and you are weary; it touches you, and you are troubled. Is not your reverence your confidence? And the integrity of your ways your hope?" 4.3-6
God wants us to persevere in trouble. If we revere and trust Him in the integrity of His word we have hope. The sooner we allow the working of God’s character in us--the sooner the trial will pass.

"Even as I have seen, those who plow iniquity and sow trouble reap the same. By the blast of God they perish, and by the breath of His anger they are consumed." 4.8-9

We all reap what we sow. This is a spiritual law. The wicked perish, but the believer should grow in wisdom, character, and the fruit of the spirit. Embrace God’s dealings and grow in wisdom and stature. Do not resist God! The more we understand God's ways the more humbling the experience.

“Now a word was secretly brought to me, and my ear received a whisper of it. In disquieting thoughts from the visions of the night, when deep sleep falls on men, fear came upon me, and trembling, which made all my bones shake.” 4.12

God will speak to us in dreams to correct us or warn us to go a different way. God speaks to us in our dreams and this is a gift that can be developed if we seek the Lord for understanding. Do you have such a desire? Ask the Lord to help you develop it.

Chapter Five...“Call out now; is there anyone who will answer you? And to which of the holy ones will you turn?” 5.1

There is only one person we pray to: The Lord. We don’t pray to anyone or anything else. We know who the captain of our salvation is. Get in your closet and get to work!

Yet man is born to trouble, as the sparks fly upward. “But as for me, I would seek God, and to God I would commit my cause.” 5.7

The handbook makes it clear: we will have troubles, and to Yeshua we are to look for help.

“Behold, happy is the man whom God corrects; therefore do not despise the chastening of the Almighty. For He bruises, but He binds up; he wounds, but His hands make whole.” 5.17-18

No child likes to be chastised--nor do adults. The Lord lovingly chastises us and we are told to be happy. He cares that much. He is working His character into us. Yield to God and He will lift you up. Chastisement is not a bad thing! Job is made an extreme example for our benefit!

He shall deliver you in six troubles, yes, in seven no evil shall touch you. In famine He shall redeem you from death, and in war from the power of the sword. You shall be hidden from the scourge of the tongue, and you shall not be afraid of destruction when it comes. You shall laugh at destruction and famine, and you shall not be afraid of the beasts of the earth…You shall know that your tent is in peace; you shall visit your dwelling and find nothing amiss. 5.19-24

What an incredible promise! God will deliver and preserve us in troublous times. When the world is in chaos we will have peace in our tents. This is shelter in the shadow of His wings. We are the tent  the Lord dwells in. If we have permitted God to chastise and work His character into our hearts we will have that peace that passes understanding when all around us is shaking. If we have refused to allow the Lord access we will be shaken! Our handbook is clear about this. Yield to God and He will lift you up. He is our salvation. One other interesting point: He will preserve you in six troubles, in seven no evil shall touch you. Did you catch the millennial hint. Six days the Lord worked and on the seventh day He rested. We too will rest in the seventh millennial day!


Tomorrow: Part Six - The Final Five Chapters and Summary

 
 

Part Four - Chapters Two and Three
 

Satan comes a second time before God. Again, God asks if Satan has seen His righteous servant Job and noticed Job’s integrity during his affliction. Satan replies, “Skin for skin! Yes, all that a man has he will give for his life. But stretch out Your hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will surely curse You to Your face!”
The LORD said to Satan, “Behold, he is in your hand, but spare his life.” 2.4-6

Job is afflicted physically. His wife tells him to curse God and die. Job asks his wife, “You speak as one of the foolish women speaks (five virgins?). Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity?” In all this Job did not sin with his lips. Then Job’s three friends come to comfort him, but sit in troubled silence for seven days and nights before speaking. 2.9-13

Job refuses to curse God. He knows that “man is born unto trouble, as the sparks fly upward” (5.7) and will remain faithful. Every day that Jesus walked on this earth during His ministry someone wanted to kill Him. Jesus faithfully carried out the will of the father in spite of this. The Lord laid down his life for the brethren. Jesus knew what trouble was and He dealt with it on a daily basis. Our troubles hardly compare.

It is natural for us to want to escape our troubles and problems. We all desire to have a “comfortable” life with as few problems as possible. The good news is that we don’t have to go looking for problems--they will find us! God is telling us through Job that we need to trust Him when troubles arise in our lives. We need to trust God to work into us that which is needful--His character. That is what trouble is designed for. Once we understand this and begin to turn to the Lord and allow Him to work in our lives through this--our lives are transformed into His image.

It is not pleasant, but it is purposeful. This is the message of chapter two. Remain steadfast, always abounding in the Lord. We share in the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings. The Apostle Paul understood this concept and embraced all that the Lord had for him to experience. He knew he was being prepared for a greater glory. Men will taunt us and tell us we are fools to believe (2.9-10) but we will soldier on. The Millennial Kingdom is our reward!

Chapter Three...After this Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth. And Job spoke, and said: “May the day perish on which I was born, and the night in which it was said, ‘A male child is conceived.’ May that day be darkness; may God above not seek it, nor the light shine upon it.” 3.3-4

Job is really saying, “Why me?” He is an extreme example. He didn’t curse God but he cursed the day he was born. He did not understand why this was happening to him. This is usually the same way we react when unpleasant things happen to us. It takes awhile for us to begin to understand that God is using these things to work His character into us. Job is in the process of working through this. In verse 3.25 he says, “For the thing I greatly feared has come upon me, and what I dreaded has happened to me.”

Here God is telling us we need to learn to break the family and self inflicted curses that are often allowed to afflict us. Many things which have happened to us or been drilled into us by family or friends can become curses that hinder us from moving forward. God wants us to renounce and repent of these things. Then we can embrace the promises of God and move forward in our lives. When I was teaching my wife to drive a four speed manual shift car she kept saying, “I can’t do this, I’ll never learn.” When she renounced and repented from this attitude, she soon learned how to drive. We need to break the curses in our lives through proper use of God’s word. This will set us free from many “afflictions” in our walk.

Tomorrow: Part Five - Chapters Four and Five

 

Part Three - Job Chapter One



Job is a wealthy man who has seven sons and three daughters and large flocks of animals. He is a righteous man who fears God. One day, when the sons of God (angels) come to present themselves before the Lord, Satan came also. The Lord asks Satan from where he has come. Satan replies, “From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.” 1.7

God asks Satan if he has seen Job, that there is none like him in all the earth, a perfect and upright man. Satan tells God that the only reason Job is upright is because God has put a fence of protection around him. Take that fence away and let Job experience affliction and he will curse you to your face. God grants Satan the power, or permission, to do whatever he wants to Job’s wealth and family, but not to hurt Job physically in any way. 1.12

Satan, the one who steals, kills, and destroys then destroys all Job’s wealth and kills his ten children. Afterwards Job tears his clothes, shaves his head, and falls on the ground to worship God saying, “ Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return there. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; Blessed be the name of the LORD.” 1.21

We see Satan as the “Accuser” who is constantly accusing us before God. Satan, broadcasting through the air, always broadcasting his thoughts into our minds. The SBN (Satanic Broadcasting Network! Our protection is to intimately know what the word of God says and to hide it in our hearts. We broadcast right back at him with the words of God. We fire God's promises to us right back at him. The YDN or Yehovah Defense Network!

The fact that Satan had to appear before God and get “permission” to afflict Job establishes the fact that God is in control of everything that happens in this world and in our lives. Even though we may not understand what is happening, we can say with confidence, “All things work together for good to those who love the Lord.” We know that the Lord teaches or chastises us through this warfare.

At first we may rebel against this truth, but our God is sovereign, He is the potter, we are the clay. The fact is we are in a war. Satan rebelled against God, was thrown down to this earth, and has a limited time to do what he does. God’s eternal plan for man, the earth, and the universe are being carried out. God wants us to understand that we are in a war and in a war there are casualties. Satan hates God and God’s creation--that is man, the earth, and the universe. He is doing all he can to destroy us--but God has a plan of defense.

For six thousand years man has rebelled against God. Only a repentant remnant has truly walked with the Lord throughout history. God is going to reveal Himself and His glory to all mankind at the appointed time, at the end of this age. Man will finally yield to God, but only after seven years of great tribulation and wrath. In the end the nations will yield to Jesus Christ and His millennial rule. Those who have--and will yet--endure to the end, will rule and reign with the Lord in the millennium. We will teach the nations about God Himself. This is why we go through difficulties in this life--we are being prepared for our future job in the millennial kingdom.

Chapter one of Job establishes all of this. God is in control and moving history toward a final glorious end--but unrepentant men must first unequivocally understand who the Lord is. At the second coming the nations will finally know who Jesus Christ really is. God is going to test all hearts, and there will be no question who God is, and who his people are. Every man is going to have to choose. The word of God will “divide” all hearts. Afterwards, the millennial kingdom will be the establishment of God’s New World Order.

Next: Part Four - Chapter Two

Part Two

A HANDBOOK FOR SPIRITUAL WARFARE

 

The entire book of Job is a battle of words. Satan accusing Job, his friend’s accusing him, Job battling back with his arguments. It is all words and argument. We do spiritual battle with the word of God. If we know the word we can stand fast against Satan by trusting what God has said and wielding our “swords” in battle. We are in a constant battle of “words”--God’s word verses the words of the Accuser.

The enemy is a broadcaster. He works through the air broadcasting his lies. He attacks us in our minds with his thoughts, he tempts us, he accuses us and twists the word. We battle back by understanding what the word says and standing on the promises of God. We understand God’s word and we counter attack through the truths therein. Knowledge of the Word is our defense.

Job is an exhausting book to read and understand. The arguments fly back and forth, it is difficult to understand what each person is saying, it gets confusing--but through it all Job stands on the rock of God’s truth. Warfare has the same chaotic confusion. In the end Job is rewarded with God’s blessing on his life and Job’s life is resurrected and restored. God wants us to fight like Job and endure until the end. Eye has not seen nor ear heard those things which God has prepared for those who love him!

TRUTHS IN THE HANDBOOK...The book of Job is full of truth. It reveals a lot about God’s character, ways, power, and sovereignty. If we focus on these areas we can begin to understand God’s ways and how He works through history, and in current events. God has been preparing a people to rule and reign in the millennial kingdom for centuries. Every generation has lived their lives being prepared for this future work. We don’t just live this life, die, go to heaven and retire. We are being prepared to teach the nations in the millennial kingdom. Later the work will expand to the entire universe.

In Job we see God chastising man through the weather, we see justice for the poor and judgment on the wicked. God shows us His character in this book. We see His sovereignty and protection. Man’s sinful state is exposed in the book.
We also see the creation of the world and are told the angels were present at that time. God shows us how the enemy works and explains “darkness” to us. We are told to expect tribulation and troubles, but that we can overcome if we endure to the end and trust in God. Finally, we are told there is a resurrection from the dead and a greater life to come.

The next portion of our study will break down some chapters and the main focus of the chapter. We will learn about the war going on around us and how to fight back in the name of the Lord. This will help us to understand what is happening to us and how we are being prepared for a future with the Lord as sons of God. Later, you can go through each chapter of Job looking for key passages of instruction that teach our hands to war. There are many truths in Job and we can learn how to do battle with the enemy in the name of the Lord by examining this handbook of spiritual warfare.

 

He teaches my hands to make war, so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze. Psalm 18.34

 

 

Tomorrow: Part Three - Chapter One of the Book of Job



 

 

Part One

UNDERSTANDING THE BOOK OF JOB

 

For the next few days I'd like to share a study of the Book of Job that will give you a fresh way of looking at this book. We always look at Job as a book about suffering, but the Lord showed me it is also a hand book for understanding and participating in spiritual warfare. In this study I will review the first chapters and the last chapters of this book to get you started. The rest will be up to you. Each chapter of Job reveals insights on spiritual warfare. This book is our "military handbook" and it is our job to sift through the book verse by verse for the insights and understanding. This study will get you started in that direction.

 

THE THREE MAIN POINTS OF JOB
1. Human suffering is not always deserved. In some cases we do bring it upon ourselves by neglecting our health, engaging in risky behavior, or by sin and/or immorality. The real problem of suffering comes when it is apparently undeserved or unrelated to anything which we have or have not done. This is the point that Job argued on his behalf--that his suffering was undeserved--his friends argued that is was somehow Job’s fault through sin.
2. If all suffering is deserved it will persuade those who hold that view to falsify either the character of the person who is suffering or the character of God. Job’s friends argue that he is the deserving sinner, while Job argues that the Lord has acted unfairly towards him and is indifferent to his (and human) suffering. Job, however wronged he feels by God, refused to condemn or curse God for what is happening to him.

3. The third point has been the most difficult for scholars and everyone who reads the book to digest--and this is what gives the book its seemingly inconclusive conclusion: That there is no way for humans to understand the meaning of suffering. The scholars say that is God’s argument in this book--that suffering is beyond human comprehension. Could there possibly be something else that God is saying to His people through this puzzling book?

THE SETTING...Job is set during the Patriarchal period of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. They were nomadic herders of large flocks of cattle, sheep, and goats. Sacrifices to God were offered in a family setting without an elaborate priesthood or temples. God and man had a very personal relationship.

The location is Uz also known as Edom, Kedem, or the east in ancient writings. We also refer to portions of this area as the land of Canaan. This was the period when God revealed Himself, first to Abraham, and then to his son Isaac and later to Jacob. These would become the Patriarchs of the Hebrew nation. Abraham believed God and it was accounted unto him as righteousness. Through all his human weaknesses and mistakes he grew in obedience and trust toward God. Later his sons Isaac and Jacob also grew to know, trust, and believe God. The book of Genesis ends with the Hebrew nation firmly established and God’s plan in full operative state.

That Job would have lived in this era speaks to God revealing Himself to man through the unfolding plan for the children of Israel and all of mankind. Job is one of the earliest books of the Bible and God has much to say to His family through this book. It is a valuable “manual of operation” for us and gives us a great deal of important information and instructions.

SATAN’S ATTACK...Job’s trials began when Satan, the Accuser, came before God and accused him. (1.6-12) The Lord asked Satan where he had been and Satan relied that he had been “roaming the earth.” Satan had been cast down from heaven and the earth is his sphere of control. He is the spirit of the power of the air. God asked if he had noticed His servant Job, an upright and blameless man who feared God and shunned evil.

The Accuser relied that Job was faithful only because of the protective fence that God had built around him to protect him. Take that fence away, Satan argued, and Job will turn away and blaspheme God. The Lord gave permission for Satan to do whatever he wanted to Job’s family and possessions, but not to hurt Job himself. The lesson here is that God “permitted” the Accuser to afflict Job. This shows, that ultimately, God is in control of everything that happens in this world and to us.

Later, after destroying Job’s family and possessions the Accuser would be allowed to afflict Job with bodily harm and sickness. Job would lament his predicament, but he never blasphemed or cursed God.

JOB’S STEADFASTNESS...Job refuses to blame God throughout the book (27.2-6) for his troubles, even though his wife tells him to curse God and die (2.9). He also insists, throughout the book, that in the end justice prevails (27.7-23) in whatever God does. The wicked will ultimately come to a bad end and God will execute His plans (4.8, 8.13, 11.20, 15.17-35, 18.5-21, 20.5-29).

Job’s friends originally come to console him. When Job laments and wishes he had not been born, praying that he might die, his friends become irritated with him and suggest that Job has brought this suffering upon himself. They contend that Job has committed some kind of sin which justifies this “punishment”.

Job is complaining, “Why Me?”, but his virtue lies in the fact that he refused to blame or curse God for what is happening to him. He wishes he were dead, but acknowledges that God is God and there must be a reason why this is happening to him--but that he has not sinned to deserve this. Man cannot argue with God’s sovereignty.

At the conclusion of the book Job is vindicated. His friends are chastised by God for blaming Job and they are instructed to present a sacrificial offering to the Lord for themselves in Job’s presence. Job is told to pray for them not to be held guilty for not speaking the truth about God and Job. God then blesses Job by restoring everything to him in a double portion. Job lives to be 140 and dies in peace.

JOB A TYPE OF JESUS...Job, of course, is a type of Jesus. What did Jesus ever do to deserve to suffer? He only healed the sick, raised the dead, and spoke God’s truth. Every day of His earthly ministry people were conspiring to kill Jesus for doing good--but God prepared a table before Him in the presence of His enemies.

Satan attacked the Lord in the wilderness trying to get the Lord to worship him and blaspheme God. Afterwards the Lord attacked Satan’s kingdom by healing and raising the dead. The Lord never gave in but remained focused on His mission of doing the Father’s will. The Lord was under attack constantly by the religious order of the day. He was accused daily for being a devil, but He destroyed the works of the devil through His obedience and devotion to the Father. The Lord paid the ultimate price by losing all and dying on the cross for our sins.

Job is a type of Jesus and this and a shadow of we are supposed to approach the problems we will encounter in our journey to the millennial kingdom (the joy set before us). Understanding Job as our handbook for spiritual warfare will help us get through the difficult days ahead. The instructions in Job will help us to go on the offensive against the enemy. We will battle by standing fast on Yeshua the Rock, and the Torah, the word of God.

STANDING ON THE ROCK...The Lord is our rock and the message in Job is to stand fast no matter what is happening to us, or around us. Job understood one thing; when all else was shaking around him--God is sovereign, and even if we don’t understand what is happening to us, and around us, He is in control. In war when the bullets begin to fly chaos surrounds us.

Job lamented his situation and sufferings--but he remained stead fast and true to God throughout the ordeal. God wants us to be steadfast and immoveable, always abounding in the Lord. Paul understood this concept and embraced God’s plan for him everyday. He understood that everything that happened to him was changing him from glory to glory into the image of the Lord.

Life was an opportunity to grow in relationship and experience with the Lord in preparation for life after the resurrection from the dead. We are being prepared and trained for the millennial kingdom to become kings and priests--to teach the nations. We grow in the Lord by recognizing this and spending time seeking the Lord for answers, direction, and grace to endure, knowing we are being prepared for a future in the millennial kingdom. This will get us through the coming difficulties of this life. We need to have and understand this millennial vision! This life is not all there is.

Tomorrow: Part two - Job as a Handbook for Spiritual Warfare

The Issachar Anointing

"And of the sons of Issachar, men who understood the times, with knowledge of what Israel should do, their chiefs were two hundred; and all their kinsmen were at their command."
1 Chronicles 12:32

Throughout the history of ancient Israel, the tribe of Issachar is portrayed as a family that was destined to prosper both physically and spiritually. The ancient Rabbis taught that the sons of Issachar were not only "mighty men of valor" (1 Chron. 7:1-5), but they were also called to serve the other tribes in the areas of finance and the ministry of God's Torah.

Financial Servanthood...Issachar's allotment of the Promised Land primarily consisted of the valley of Jezreel. This was the richest farm land in all Israel, which also had access to the Mediterranean Sea. Consequently, the sons of Issachar "drew out the abundance of the sea and the hidden treasures of the sand" (Deut. 33:18-19). This area is also known as Armageddon.

In their abundance, God called them to provided food to the whole of Israel as an "indentured servant" to their brethren among the other tribes (Gen. 19:14-15). The sons of Issachar would be similar to those living in the "bread basket" of America who provide food to the U.S. and the world.

Spiritual Servanthood...Issachar's spiritual prosperity was also evident among Israel. They were one of six tribes to stand on Mount Gerizim as part of the sacred blessing ceremony (Deut. 27:12). According to the Targum, they "excelled in the words of the law, and were endued with wisdom, and were obedient to their command." Their knowledge of God's word caused them to become the primary cultivators of Israel's spiritual treasures, and their counsel and interpretations of Scripture were received as authoritative.

Understanding the Times...According to the Targum, the sons of Issachar were also biblical astronomers who kept track of the times and the seasons (calendar):

"and the sons of Issachar, who had understanding to know the times, and were skilled in fixing the beginnings of years, the commencement of months, and the intercalation of months and years; skillful in the changes of the moon, and in fixing the lunar solemnities to their proper times; skillful also in the doctrine of the solar periods; astronomers in signs and stars, that they might show Israel what to do." (Adam Clarke's Commentary, Biblesoft Electronic Database).

Their knowledge of Torah and their understanding of the times made them keepers of the biblical calendar. Consequently, they were the ones who made known the appointed times and seasons of when Israel should observe the feasts of the Lord (Lev. 23). Since the Lord's Feasts reveal God's plan and timing of His redemption in Messiah, I believe it is clear that the sons of Issachar had an anointing which gave them a unique insight into God's timing of things past, present and future.
For example, during Israel's first civil war, when God was transferring the kingdom of Israel from Saul's rulership over to David, eleven of the twelve tribes were divided amongst themselves as to whom they would serve. Only the sons of Issachar, were united to the point that "all their kinsman" joined to fight with David (1 Chron. 12:23-32).

The sons of Issachar were able to totally commit themselves to David, because they understood that it was the time for God to fulfill His prophetic word given by Samuel 17 years earlier (1 Sam. 15:28). The Lord granted them an anointing to understand the prophetic timing for when He would tear the kingdom of Israel away from rebellious Saul and give it over to his servant David (1 Sam. 15:22-28).

With this anointing to understanding the times, they instinctively knew what to do, and they moved with God to establish David's kingdom. In a sense, they were forerunners of a renewed kingdom that was built on obedience to God instead of rebellion and sin. This brought them honor and prosperity according to earlier prophecies given by both Jacob and Moses (Gen. 49:14-15; Deut. 33:18-19).

The End-Time Sons of Issachar...As we approach the end of the age and the difficult times associated with it, the Hebraic Roots church must become more and more like the sons of Issachar in its ability to understand the times and know what to do. We must learn how to draw on God's prophetic word to guide us through the chaos of the last days in preparation for His return (2 Pet. 1:19).

This suggests the need for a regular and on going Torah-based study of end-time Bible prophecy. The responsible study of Bible prophecy, under a balanced prophetic mantle, produces mature believers who are able to discern the times and respond to them in a Biblical fashion. Therefore, we pray and believe that the Issachar anointing would be released upon the body of Messiah worldwide that His people might understand the times and know what to do. Amen!


An edited word from Norm Franz, http://www.ascensionministries.net/ a Hebraic roots ministry.


 

THE BOOK OF JOEL

 

Joel asks his readers to imagine a terrifying plague of locusts and its horrifying impact on society and the natural environment. Then the locusts become a mighty army sent by the Lord against Judah. At the point where human society and culture in Judah are at the brink of destruction, we are asked to identify with a prophetic voice that calls on them to return to the Lord, to fast and lament. Then the book moves to Judah’s salvation and to a series of passages dealing with the ideal future, in which the fate or judgment of the nations figures prominently.

This book shows end time concerns. It conveys images and reassurances of “once and for all” actions of the Lord on behalf of Judah and Jerusalem, and against those who have persecuted them. It teaches that the “Day of the Lord” is coming--the day when the Lord will manifest Himself in the destruction of His enemies and the exaltation of His friends. This day is accompanied by extraordinary phenomena in nature. The attitude of a person’s heart and life before the Lord will determine their reaction to this day.

Joel is quoted by Peter on the day of Pentecost, and it’s promise of the “day of the Lord” is partially fulfilled by the coming of the Holy Spirit. This illustrates the “duality” or “multiple” fulfillment of prophecy. It is a warning of Judgment and a sign of ultimate deliverance to all believers--both Jewish and Gentile in the coming age. When reading the prophets we should always try to understand them in their historical (that time), personal (our lives), and prophetic (future) context.

The author of the Prophecy 1.1The word of the Lord that came to Joel the son Pethuel. Joel means “Jehovah is God.” The book of Joel and his prophetic word is not set in any particular period. Most scholars think around 400-350 BC.

I. The locust plague as the harbinger of the Day of the Lord 1.2-2.17The divine judgment against Judah and their response.

A. The threefold calamity: locusts, drought, and conflagrations 1.2-20

1. The invasion of the locusts 1.2-121.2-3 The prophet tells the old men and all the inhabitants of the land to listen. What they are about to hear has never been heard or seen in the land. They are instructed to tell all generations. This call emphasizes the link between generations, and the everlasting truth and relevance of what they are going to be told.

1.4-7 A plague of locusts coming upon the land is described as an invading army. This army is vast beyond counting with teeth like a lion and fangs like a lion. The vines and fig trees have been stripped bare.

These verses are describing the end time battle for Jerusalem and the many nations that will come against Israel and the Jewish people (Revelation 9.3-11). The four locusts may refer to the four nations that will rule over Judah--Babylonia, Persia, Greece, and finally through the present age, Rome. Rome represents the “Babylonian” system.

1.8-12 The prophet laments like a young newlywed who has lost her husband. The offerings at the temple have ceased and the priests mourn. The country is wasted and the farmers are dismayed. Vine, fig tree, pomegranate, and apple trees have withered because of the desolation. Rev 9.15-21

The time of prosperity has ended because the swarm of locusts, armies of the nations, have desolated the land. The vine and three trees represent the nations of the earth--all are affected.

2. A call to repentance 1.13-141.13 The priests are told to lament and spend the night in sackcloth. There is no temple service, because there is most likely no temple.

1.14 The nation is called to a solemn assembly, to fast and cry out to the Lord--all the inhabitants are called to participate. This is a solemn day and it is time to repent. We all fall short and need to humble ourselves before the Lord. When we stumble there is one place we can always go (Matt 11.28). At the end of the age the nation will be crying out to the Lord for salvation (Zechariah 12.9-13).

3. The terrors of the Day of the Lord 1.15-201.15-20 Alas! The day of the Lord is near. Food is not available, there is no joy or gladness. The barns and granaries are empty and in ruins. A fire has consumed the land--even the water is gone! Rev 8.10-11

This is a scene of an extraordinary day of judgment for the wicked and unrepentant. God is not showing pity to anyone, not even the animals in the field. This burning fire has all the earmarks of nuclear war. Day of the Lord: Isaiah 13.6, Ezekiel 30.2-3, Zephaniah 1.14-15. Those who repent are not destined to wrath (1 Thess 5.9). God’s anger/chastisement is designed to get men to repent and receive His mercy.

B. The scourge as the forerunner of the judgment day 2.1-17Military imagery is used in this section, the army is a personification of the locusts (Proverbs 6.6-7). This section also stresses the need to turn back to the Lord before the arrival of the Day of the Lord, otherwise we will become victims of God’s power. God desires that men repent and turn back to Him.

1. A vivid picture of the coming judgment 2.1-112.1-2 Blow the trumpet! Sound the alarm! Let all the earth tremble for the day of the Lord has come. This is a day of darkness, gloominess, and thick clouds of darkness. These armies are a vast horde…there has never been anything like this before or after.

This is a picture of Revelation 18 and 19. The final days will be like nothing that has ever happened before (Matt 24.29-31). The nation of Israel will be on the ropes--but the Lord will come and save them when they cry out to Him.

2.3 This horde burns everything that is before and behind them. Everything is wiped out.

2.4-5 This army is like a herd of wild horses, intense noise, confusion, and destruction.

2.6 Everyone trembles in fear before them.

2.7-10 This army is all warriors, scaling walls, in formation, well disciplined. They totally ransack the city like brazen thieves. The earth trembles before them, the sun and moon are darkened. This is a great war.

2.11 The Lord roars ahead of His army of many thousands, uncountable thousands. The judgment of God on the wicked is seen here (Rev 19.11-16) This army represents the second coming of Yeshua at the end of the age (Rev 19).

2. An exhortation to repentance 2.12-172.12-14 Even with all this calamity on the horizon the Lord says, “Turn back to Me with all your hearts, and with fasting, weeping, and lamenting. Rend your hearts, rather than your clothes.” The Lord is gracious, compassionate, slow to anger, and abounding in kindness. If we return, He may relent and leave a blessing behind.

God only desires that we turn from our sinful ways and humbly come to Him. From an eternal stand point God is slow to anger. Throughout history mankind has treated each other violently and uncaringly. In this sense, you could ask how God puts up with us? Man brings judgment on himself--God demands justice and fairness--we covet, steal, and kill on a personal and national level. God reaches out in love--that is why He came in the person of Jesus Christ. Man refuses to repent. God leaves us to our own devices and we treat each other with cruelty--this is the nature of war. When we are about to destroy ourselves--He will appear. His appearance will bring wrath on the wicked and salvation to the repentant.

2.15-17 The warning trumpet is sounded (Rev 1.10). A fast is proclaimed, an assembly called! The congregation is to gather and purify themselves. The bridegroom comes out of his chamber, the bride from her canopy. The priests weep and ask God to spare His people--otherwise the nations will taunt, “Where is your God?”

God is searching our hearts to see if we are willing to contend for our nation, our world. Do we care? Are we seeking Him? Even the bride and bridegroom are disrupting their plans to plead with the Lord. On an individual level there is not a lot we can do, but we can contend in prayer. We can seek God’s direction for our lives. We can turn toward God and He will hear us. On the world stage calamity is inevitable, but God wants His people to contend for individual souls. There is a need to turn back to the Lord on a communal level before the day of the Lord arrives. God is looking for men and women who care enough to contend for the nations.

II. The averting of judgment and bestowal of blessings 2.18-3.21

A. The blessings in the immediate future 2.18-272.18-24 In these verses the Lord is aroused by the response of His people. He is going to restore them and “drive the northerner away” from them. The stench of their enemies demise will be intense. Then the Lord will restore the land and it will bloom again. The people will rejoice and be glad as the rain returns and the land prospers.

In the Hebrew the “one from the north” is interpreted as “yetzer ha-ra” which means “the evil inclination” which is constantly hidden in the heart of man. This verse is then understood as stating that in the future, God will drive this inclination away from humanity into a land barren and desolate. This brings to mind the Apostle Paul speaking of the spiritual body in 1 Corinthians 15.35-58. The word rain in Hebrew can be interpreted as “teachers.” Proper teaching will help our souls prosper.

The day is coming when there will be no more inclination towards sin--we shall all be changed on that day of resurrection. We will experience that which we now hope for. This will be the day all God’s enemies will be put under his feet. Until that day, the Lord exhorts us to contend in prayer, living, and shining His light in the world. Are we willing to spend time in prayer? Are we willing to yield to His wisdom lay down our lives? If we are, we will experience personal revival.

In the darkest hour of mankind the Lord will have an army of people who are contending in spiritual warfare and righteous living. We are not going to be “raptured” out to watch and observe--we will be contending! That is the message here. We are being prepared for the new world that is to come. This is our training ground for future rule with the Lord in the Millennial Kingdom. Now we are to contend.

2.25-27 The Lord says he is going to restore the years the locust have eaten, the people will have plenty to eat (good teachers and shepherds), and they will praise God again. They will know that He is in the midst of Jerusalem and be ashamed no more (Rev 21).

Once we turn back to the Lord our lives once again have meaning and purpose. The word once again comes alive and has deep meaning for us. We can hear and see again. Have you ever been ashamed of something you’ve done in the past? When we return to the Lord we are often ashamed of past things we have done--but He forgives us and restores us in love. He is quick to show mercy--but if men refuse to repent--the day of wrath in inevitable.

B. The outpouring of the divine Spirit 2.28-322.28-32 After that (repentance and restoration) the Lord says He will pour out His Spirit on all flesh. Sons and daughters will prophesy, old men shall dream dreams, and young men see visions. All this is done before the great and terrible day of the Lord. There will be portents in the sky--blood, fire and pillars of smoke. The sun will become dark and the moon like blood. Those who call on the name of the Lord will escape (eternal damnation). There will be a remnant on Mt. Zion and in Jerusalem. Anyone who invokes the name of the Lord will be delivered (for eternity).

Based upon our above actions, there is a glorious future for the faithful. All who turn to the Lord are included. God will always provide light in a dark world--because God would that all men are saved. That is why we go through “much tribulation to enter the Kingdom of God.” (Acts 14.22, John 16.33, 2 Thess 1.4). God has never raptured his people out--they have gone through and provided light to those in darkness. That is what Jesus did--He went through until the end. Why should we be any different? The rapture comes when the Lord returns with His heavenly army at the end of the age (Rev 19.11-16), at the final trumpet sound! 2 Thess 4.16-18

The other thing we see God doing throughout history is pouring out His spirit in a great way prior to calamities. Many revivals preceded dark times and events. He knows what is coming and is merciful wanting to save as many as possible. Those who refuse God’s graciousness, however, are doomed. Rev 9.20-21, 16.9-11

C. Judgment upon the nations 3.1-17This portion pictures the enemy gathering massive forces against Jerusalem but finally being destroyed. (See Ezekiel 39 and 39 for similar ideas.)

1. The avenging of wrongs committed against the Judah 3.1-3
3.1-3 In those days, after God brings Judah and Jerusalem back from captivity, the nations will be gathered in the valley of Jehoshaphat. There God is going to finally contend with the nations over His people because they have divided the land and cast lots (attempted to destroy) His people.

This is the great day of the Lord. The nations will be gathered against Israel and the Lord is going to return (Rev 19.11-21). This issue of the land, the people, and the covenant will be decided with finality.

2. Judgment upon Tyre and Sidon 3.4-83.4-8 Tyre, Sidon, and Philistia are condemned for oppressing and coming against Judah. They are accused of destroying and taking Judah captive. Now the Lord is going to reverse the outcome and Judah’s enemies will become her captives. See Isaiah 14.2 These are great end time verses for Israel’s ultimate salvation. Have we taken our enemies captive?

3. World judgment 3.9-173.9-13 The Lord tells the nations to prepare for battle. They are told to beat their plowshares into swords and their pruning hooks into spears (a reversal of Is 2.4 and Micah 4.3). God is challenging the nations to come to the valley of Jehoshaphat where He will judge them for their wickedness. The Lord is swinging the sickle to reap the nations. God’s word is going to divide and try men’s hearts.
See Rev 14.14-20.

3.14-17 Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision. The day of the Lord is at hand and the Lord will roar from Zion against all Judah’s enemies. The Lord will be a shelter to His people and Jerusalem will be holy unto the Lord. See Rev 19.9-21

D. The blessings following the judgment 3.18-213.18-21 The mountains shall drip with wine, the hills with milk, and rivers of water shall flow from the House of the Lord. There will finally be peace on earth and the Lord shall dwell in Zion. See Rev 22.1-7
The Millennial Kingdom will be a time of teaching the nations about the goodness of Jehovah our God.

Sources: The Jewish Study Bible and The Open Bible

　

 

MILLENNIAL KINGDOM

 

 

Below are some verses to meditate on concerning the coming kingdom. We don't die and hang out in heaven. We are resurrected into new bodies and a new life in the Millennial Kingdom. All that we become in our lives now will determine what we be doing in the MK. There is very little talk about the Kingdom. It's should be discussed. I'll make a short comment at the end.

 



The Nations Worship the King...It shall be one day which is known to the Lord—Neither day nor night. But at evening time it shall happen that it will be light. And in that day it shall be that living waters shall flow from Jerusalem, half of them toward the eastern sea and half of them toward the western sea; In both summer and winter it shall occur. And the Lord shall be King over all the earth. In that day it shall be—“The Lord is one,” And His name one. Zech 14.7-9

Then speak to him, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, saying: “Behold, the Man whose name is the BRANCH! From His place He shall branch out, And He shall build the temple of the Lord; Yes, He shall build the temple of the Lord. He shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule on His throne; so He shall be a priest on His throne, and the counsel of peace shall be between them both.” Zechariah 6.12-13

Now it shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established on the top of the mountains, And shall be exalted above the hills; And peoples shall flow to it. Many nations shall come and say:
“Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, To the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, And we shall walk in His paths.” For out of Zion the law shall go forth, And the word of the Lord from Jerusalem...Micah 4.1-2

And it will come to pass in that day that the mountains shall drip with new wine, The hills shall flow with milk, and all the brooks of Judah shall be flooded with water; A fountain shall flow from the house of the Lord And water the Valley of Acacias. “Egypt shall be a desolation, And Edom a desolate wilderness, Because of violence against the people of Judah, for they have shed innocent blood in their land. But Judah shall abide forever, and Jerusalem from generation to generation. For I will acquit them of the guilt of bloodshed, whom I had not acquitted; for the Lord dwells in Zion.” Joel 3.18-21

“But when the people of the land come before the Lord on the appointed feast days, whoever enters by way of the north gate to worship shall go out by way of the south gate; and whoever enters by way of the south gate shall go out by way of the north gate. He shall not return by way of the gate through which he came, but shall go out through the opposite gate. The prince shall then be in their midst. When they go in, he shall go in; and when they go out, he shall go out.” Ezek 46.9-10

The Gentiles shall know that the house of Israel went into captivity for their iniquity; because they were unfaithful to Me, therefore I hid My face from them. I gave them into the hand of their enemies, and they all fell by the sword. According to their uncleanness and according to their transgressions I have dealt with them, and hidden My face from them. Therefore thus says the Lord God: ‘Now I will bring back the captives of Jacob, and have mercy on the whole house of Israel; and I will be jealous for My holy name— after they have borne their shame, and all their unfaithfulness in which they were unfaithful to Me, when they dwelt safely in their own land and no one made them afraid. When I have brought them back from the peoples and gathered them out of their enemies’ lands, and I am hallowed in them in the sight of many nations, then they shall know that I am the Lord their God, who sent them into captivity among the nations, but also brought them back to their land, and left none of them captive any longer. And I will not hide My face from them anymore; for I shall have poured out My Spirit on the house of Israel,’ says the Lord God.” Ezek 39.23-29

I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them. Then you shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; you shall be My people, and I will be your God. Ezek 36.26-28

“For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; And the former shall not be remembered or come to mind. But be glad and rejoice forever in what I create; For behold, I create Jerusalem as a rejoicing, And her people a joy. I will rejoice in Jerusalem, And joy in My people; The voice of weeping shall no longer be heard in her, Nor the voice of crying. “No more shall an infant from there live but a few days, Nor an old man who has not fulfilled his days; For the child shall die one hundred years old, But the sinner being one hundred years old shall be accursed. They shall build houses and inhabit them; They shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit. They shall not build and another inhabit;
They shall not plant and another eat; For as the days of a tree, so shall be the days of My people, And My elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands. They shall not labor in vain, Nor bring forth children for trouble; For they shall be the descendants of the blessed of the Lord, And their offspring with them. “It shall come to pass That before they call, I will answer; And while they are still speaking, I will hear. The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, The lion shall eat straw like the ox, And dust shall be the serpent’s food. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain,”
Says the Lord... Isaiah 65.17-25

“O you afflicted one, Tossed with tempest, and not comforted, Behold, I will lay your stones with colorful gems,
And lay your foundations with sapphires. I will make your pinnacles of rubies, Your gates of crystal, And all your walls of precious stones. All your children shall be taught by the Lord, And great shall be the peace of your children.
In righteousness you shall be established; You shall be far from oppression, for you shall not fear; And from terror, for it shall not come near you. Indeed they shall surely assemble, but not because of Me. Whoever assembles against you shall fall for your sake. “Behold, I have created the blacksmith Who blows the coals in the fire, Who brings forth an instrument for his work; And I have created the spoiler to destroy. No weapon formed against you shall prosper,
And every tongue which rises against you in judgment You shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, And their righteousness is from Me,” Says the Lord... Isaiah 54.11-17

“Do not remember the former things, Nor consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing, Now it shall spring forth; Shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness And rivers in the desert. The beast of the field will honor Me, The jackals and the ostriches, Because I give waters in the wilderness And rivers in the desert, To give drink to My people, My chosen. This people I have formed for Myself; They shall declare My praise... Isaiah 43.18-21

“The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, The leopard shall lie down with the young goat, The calf and the young lion and the fatling together; And a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall graze; Their young ones shall lie down together; And the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing child shall play by the cobra’s hole, And the weaned child shall put his hand in the viper’s den. 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. “And in that day there shall be a Root of Jesse, Who shall stand as a banner to the people; For the Gentiles shall seek Him, And His resting place shall be glorious.” Isaiah 11.6-10

CELEBRATING THE FEASTS...Then He said to them, “With fervent desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; for I say to you, I will no longer eat of it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, “Take this and divide it among yourselves; for I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” Luke 22.15-19

Look upon Zion, the city of our appointed feasts... Your eyes will see Jerusalem, a quiet home, A tabernacle that will not be taken down; Not one of its stakes will ever be removed, Nor will any of its cords be broken. But there the majestic Lord will be for us A place of broad rivers and streams, In which no galley with oars will sail, Nor majestic ships pass by (For the Lord is our Judge, The Lord is our Lawgiver, The Lord is our King; He will save us)...Isaiah 33.20-21

And it shall come to pass that everyone who is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Tabernacles. And it shall be that whichever of the families of the earth do not come up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, on them there will be no rain. Zech 14.16-17

GOD’S GOVERNMENT For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end, upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, to order it and establish it with judgment and justice from that time forward, even forever…. Isaiah 9.6-7

And he who overcomes, and keeps My works until the end, to him I will give power over the nations--‘He shall rule them with a rod of iron; they shall be dashed to pieces like the potter’s vessels’—as I also have received from My Father... Revelation 2.26-27

She bore a male Child who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron. And her Child was caught up to God and His throne. Rev 12.5

Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. Rev 19.15

Ask of Me, and I will give You the nations for Your inheritance, and the ends of the earth for Your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron; you shall dash them to pieces like a potter’s vessel.” Psalm 9.8-9

In mercy the throne will be established; and One will sit on it in truth, in the tabernacle of David, judging and seeking justice and hastening righteousness.” Isaiah 16.5

When the Lord returns and rules during the millennial kingdom He is going to rule with a rod of iron. He is, in reality, going to “lay down the law” for all the nations. There will be no misunderstanding of what He desires of us. All will be taught clearly. There will be no deviation from the Biblical pattern like we have in our current age.

We will all be celebrating the feasts of the Lord during the millennium. The feast of Passover, Unleavened Bread, First Fruits, Pentecost, Trumpets, Day of Atonement, and Tabernacles will all be observed. There will be no Lent, Easter, or Christmas. These are all feasts of men. We will celebrate the Lord’s feasts. Those who rule and reign with Him will be teaching the nations the meaning of these feasts as they relate to what God has done for us through the sacrificial death of Jesus on the cross. Isaiah 33.20-21; Luke 22.15-19; Zech 14.16-17

Those who have overcome will teach the nations about the Lord and His ways in the MK.