. The only difference between Old Covenant Israel and New Covenant Israel is that New Covenant Israel has wandered for 40 Jubilees (40 x 50 = 2,000 years) instead of a mere 40 years. All of these sins are descriptions of the fallen, carnal, fleshy Adamic nature. And just as Jacob laboured under bondage for 21 years by being sold to Laban by Yahweh, so the whole of mankind has laboured under bondage to the earth ever since Yahweh sold them to the earth for Adam's sin. We have been in bondage now for nearly 6,000 years of history and are approaching the first of Creation's great Rest Years, when the first great Release will be declared according to the Torah at Exodus 21:2.
Get Your Ear Bored to the Door
Once released we are given the opportunity to return to our Master Yahweh as the whole human or Adamic race by getting our ears bored to His door:
"If you buy a Hebrew servant, he shall serve six years; and in the seventh he shall go out free and pay nothing. If he comes in by himself, he shall go out by himself; if he comes in married, then his wife shall go out with him. If his master has given him a wife, and she has borne him sons or daughters, the wife and her children shall be her master's, and he shall go out by himself. But if the servant plainly says, 'I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free,' then his master shall bring him to the judges. He shall also bring him to the door, or to the doorpost, and his master shall pierce his ear with an awl; and he shall serve him forever" (Ex.21:1-6, NKJV).
Yahweh Has Not Changed
Yes, here is one of those Torah passages which makes Western man squirm as though this were some 'primitive' law from the 'brutal past'. If you're still thinking that way, then part of your soul is still lost and in bondage to sin. If any part of you still has doubts about any part of the Scriptures like this one, then you are in trouble! If any part of you thinks that the Old Testament belongs to a 'brutal Elohim' and the New to a 'loving Elohim' then you are blaspheming because the Elohim of the Old and New are one and the same. Repent! Who do you think the "Door" is on which the servant's ear is bored? Yah'shua said: "I am the Door" (Jn.10:9).
"I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture" (John 10:9, NKJV).
Open the Spiritual Ears of the Spiritually Lazy
If you refuse to have your ear spiritually bored to the Door, you cannot be saved and you are still living in the sinful pride of your own fleshy nature. Why this bloody practice of ear-boring? Because unless your spiritual ears are opened you will never hear the Master! Only those who hear Yah'shua's Voice and are obedient to His call may come and remain in Yahweh's House, which is Bethel - the House of Él.
This, brethren and sisters, is the call to the Cosmic Sukkot, the Great Feast of Tabernacles which is exclusively reserved for those who obey all the commandments, who are true and faithful to the end, who are the children of the first resurrection, who are sealed into the 144,000, who are the allegorical Bride of Messiah! Do you still believe that you will become a part of the Mystical Bride simply by confessing that Jesus is your Lord and Saviour? No! And a thousand times no! The lazy man's gospel has nothing to do with the mind, heart or will of Yahweh. Get it out of your system because if you don't you will forever remain the least in the Kingdom of Heaven (Mt.5:19), the servant instead of the friend (Jn.15:14-15). And don't conceal your pride behind any false piety about being 'the least' because I am not talking about humility. I am talking about those who qualify to be Yah'shua's allegorical wife, who have shown themselves worthy by walking through the cleansing process step by step through the seven festivals.
Staying Faithful
You see, the wife of Yah'shua doesn't keep running off and returning - she stays faithful. She remains at Bethel, in Yahweh's House, forever. If you keep running off and sinning then you have not even approached Sukkot but are somewhere down the line of feast types and still committing one or more of the 21 sins. The Bride of Messiah must leave the house of her parents - the flesh - and move permanently into the House of Yah. She cannot have one foot in the world and one in the Kingdom of Yahweh:
"For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from Elohim, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed with our habitation which is from heaven, if indeed, having been clothed, we shall not be found naked. For we who are in this tent groan, being burdened, not because we want to be unclothed, but further clothed, that mortality may be swallowed up by life" (2 Cor.5:1-4, NKJV).
We cannot possibly join the Bride of Messiah until we have finally died to our yearning to be 'home' at the place where we began. Egypt has to be forever left behind or she will ever make claims on us. Our bridges must be burned as surely as the waters closed up after Israel's crossing.
The Two Courts of the Temple
Now earlier I mentioned that the Outer Court would be trampled by the gentiles for 42 months. The temple with the Inner Court is preserved. The Outer Court is breached and occupied by the enemy and is a part of the temple. Who can tell me what the Outer Court is about? Who or what is it for? It is only described in Ezekiel's Millennial Temple (e.g. Ezek.10:5; 40:17,20,31,34,37) though Herod's also contained this. It is the court for the people of Israel as opposed to the court for the priests.
The Call of the Priests
What does this mean? It means that if you have not spiritually entered Yahweh's priesthood - men and women alike (1 Pet.2:9) - and are properly set-apart and consecrated through faith and obedience - you will be overwhelmed during the Tribulation. You will be trampled underfoot by the gentiles, the uncircumcised of heart. What does this mean practially? It means that if you have not come up to Sukkot inwardly you cannot be protected during the 7 years of tribulation spoken of in the Book of Revelation.
Now I assume that is important to you. It should be, unless you are having a bout of martyrology-itis and think you are 'more holy' by allowing yourself to be killed off because of one or more of your 21 sins. I have said it before and I will say it again: it is easier to die for Messiah than to live for Him because dying requires less responsibility. Dying to the flesh takes considerably more effort than offering your physical body up in death.
No Blemished Bride of Messiah Exists
We need to both be real here and wake up. Yah'shua does not want a dirty, sinful bride. He gladly accepts dirty, sinful people who come to Him for redemption when they are repentant but if they refuse to wash their robes He cannot, and will not, receive them as His Bride. Now your pride may balk at this - there are far too many wicked Christians who think it's OK to be in a continual state of sinning while they forever call upon them the blood of Christ for a free cleansing but this is to cheapen the blood of Messiah and continually recrucifies Him. Are we all guilty? Yes! All of us! And shame on us! And we need to be reminded that this appeal to cheap grace will not last forever. Our repentance needs to be real, not shallow. Our attitude must stop being: 'It's OK to keep on sinning, He'll forgive us anyway'. Out with this Lutheran heresy! We can't keep wandering around in the wilderness forever - we are expected to come up to Sukkot fully cleansed (Lev.16:4,24)!
The Torah on Jacob's Heart
When Jacob returned to Bethel aged 99 He was released from his bondage in the 22nd year but he also did so to fulfil the prophetic Torah of Yahweh. His return indicated that Torah was now WRITTEN ON HIS HEART, that he truly wanted to serve Yahweh, not because he had to but because he wanted to. If anyone is still under the illusion that the whole Law is written on his heart the moment he has been born again, then he needs to divest himself of this Protestant nonsense. It isn't. Pesach is not Sukkot. The New Nature is indeed deposited within us at Pesach when we repent and apply the blood of the Lamb to the doorposts of our heart but it must yet be given place in the whole soul. That requires struggle and overcoming as demonstrated in the life of Jacob..
Are You in Full Agreement with Yahweh?
It took Jacob 21 years to come into full agreement with Yahweh - I have yet to meet a single soul who came into full agreement with Yahweh when he was born again. Wake up! How many people do you know who have been genuinely born again who love to walk in the Torah? How many of these born-again Christians balk at the commandments? How many of these born-again Christians want to allegorise way Yahweh's practical requirements for life and clean living? How many of these born-again Christians love the traditions of the world? And not only born-again Christians! Messianics are just as guilty! The New Nature in Jacob WAS NOT FULLY REVEALED IN HIM until He came to spontaneously love all of Yahweh's ways and that took 21 years of bondage to get the carnal man burned out of him.
Jacob's Freedom
You see, Jacob only learned what true freedom was by choosing and allowing his ear to be bored to the Door of his Master and becoming a lifelong servant. He finally surrendered his independence - for real. This is the meaning of the number 22 and Jacob's return to Bethel when he was 99 after 22 years' absence from the tent of his father in the land of Canaan. Only then did he enter into the Light! 22 mathematically follows 21 just as entering the light naturally follows seeing through our 21 year sentence for rebellion in the spiritual wilderness.
Frustrations
Have you been frustrated because you can't seem to 'find' Yahweh? Or are beset by recurrent sins which you just can't get past? Does talking to Yahweh sometimes seem like you are talking to a brass wall? Does He sometimes seem far away? This may be because you are working off your rebellious inclination in servitude. Pity the man or woman who walks away from this cleansing process and is swallowed up into the ground like Korah and his followers! So many quit because they are too prideful, because they think they are 'too good' for this cleansing or think Yahweh is mean. Such are not worthy of the House of Yah. They must endure another imprisonment in Egypt though sadly most become Egyptianised, prefer it to the Holy Land, and are never set free. They have chosen hell. Warn them! Teach them these truths. Encourage them, for as surely as 22 follows 21, so the Light of Liberty follows the Darkness of Servitude because of sin.
From Servanthood to Friendship
This is what Yah'shua meant when He said His disciples make the transition from being servants to friends. They endure the heat of the desert and the long cleansing from sin. Those who do not pass through this servitude do not receive their inheritance or become joint-heirs with Messiah (Rom.8:17). The first believers weren't members of some 21st century-like purpose-driven church or some evangelical crying: 'Pesach and nothing but Pesach!' ('Once Saved, Always Saved'). They were known as followers of the Way (Ac.9:2; 18:25; 19:9,23; 24:14,22) because they were travelling the same road as their father Jacob, just as we are. And nearly all believers have set up camp at the first Bethel and refuse to move on! Instead they moan how they have been robbed of their dowry and will not refuse to work hard to get it restored because of their sinning!
Divine Servitude is Not Bondage
Part of the problem is that modern believers view all forms of servitude as bondage. They make no distinction between the bondage of the wilderness to bondage in Messiah. They have this image of a worldly, Disney-like childish 'happy-go-lucky' Christianity which they think will admit them to a Sugar Daddy heaven where all they have to do is suck heavenly lollies, munch heavenly popcorn, get instant heavenly MacDonalds-like handouts whilst being waited on hand-and-foot by a hippie-type Jesus. There has never been a more immature bunch of spoiled religious brats in the history of Yahweh's people as today! That's why the West is collapsing. They're still in their nappies/diapers and love sitting in their own excrement screaming for their milkbottles and teats. And when folks like ourselves come along and tell them it is time to grow up, are they indignant, or what? They have yet to learn that deliverance is not freedom from Yahweh but freedom from sinning so that we can serve Him in perfect obedience and harmony with His character and His Plan for Creation.
Why The Outer Court will be Despoiled
Why do I say all of this? Firstly, because I want the best for you, just as Yahweh does. Secondly, because if you remain in the outer court of the temple, you and your loved ones will be trampled to death by the Torah- and Messiah-hating gentiles when it is overcome for the 42 months (3½ years) prophesied in Scripture. In other words, the freedom and safety that lazy believers have enjoyed in the Outer Court - those who refuse to go to the Inner Court of priestly service, maturation and responsibility - is about to be removed. The protection the lazy believer has taken for granted is about to be providentially removed to shock him into returning to the sheep by repenting or going over to the goats by apostatising (Mt.25:33). And this is not just one historical event soon to happen worldwide - it is a part of the spiritual journey for all. Sometimes Yahweh allows a part of His House ('the Outer Court') to be defiled in order to wake up lazy believers in the same way that He has allowed His nation, Israel, to be threatened and invaded to wake up a rebellious people. So when this happens to you personally, or to your family, or to your congregation, or to your country, view it rightly as a wake-up call and get into the Inner Court fast!
Jacob's Second Trouble
It is important that we understand the sequence of events in the life of Jacob and what the symbolism means along with the Torah rule in Exodus 21 (the chapter number is probably coincidental, I hasten to add, as this was added centuries later by scribes). We have now looked at Jacob's first trouble but there was also a second...
Joseph's Slavery
You'd have thought that 21 years of trouble would be quite enough but sadly there would be another 21 years of woe for the poor man. This 'second trouble' began when Joseph's jealous brothers sold him into slavery and faked his death. The death of Rachel was a hard enough blow after his liberation from the first 21 years of bondage but the death of Joseph (or so he supposed) must have been far, far worse than the first trouble to him. How long do you suppose Jacob was separated from his son Joseph? You've guessed, 21 years! What a cruel thing to do to their father who had already suffered so much but there you have another facet of fallen human nature. Why did Yahweh allow Jacob to go through this second 21 years of grief and mourning? As we shall see, without knowing it, he was enacting prophetic history for our benefit. Isn't that interesting? Sometimes we are required to suffer in order to fulfil a higher plan to serve others and give glory to Yahweh.
A Second Firstborn Dispute
What triggered this fateful occurrence was actually related to the very issue that had started the first of Jacob's troubles - the birthright. When Joseph was 17 he had the prophetic dreams which upset both his parents and brothers so much, yet they were from Yahweh and true. If the life of Jacob represented a higher order of revelation than anything that had gone before him, then Joseph would represent an even higher, messianic foreshadowing. Jacob did not understand Joseph's dreams and did not have the anointing to discern them, even after his overcoming, though he knew Joseph was the anointed one to replace fallen Reuben. It took another 21 years to get that!
The Coat of Many Colours
What provoked the elder brothers' rage against Joseph? His father Jacob's appointment of Joseph as the firstborn heir replacing Reuben, the cruel butcher of Shechem and adulterer (Gen.35:22; 1 Chr.5:1) by giving him the coat of many colours. The brothers assumed, in typical carnal fashion, that age meant seniority, and so felt bypassed and cheated. The next two senior boys after Reuben, Simeon and Levi, had also been disqualified because of their cruelty too (Gen.34:30; 49:5-6). These elder three brothers, instead of demonstrating a broken heart and contrite spirit (Ps.34:18) for their wickedness quarrelled with their father and vented their murderous anger on Joseph. When Joseph told them how they would one day bow down and serve him, this was the straw that broke the camel's back of their carnal patience and so they sold him, the innocent one, into bondage.
Reuben as de facto Firstborn Head Again
With Joseph out of the way, Reuben became the de facto firstborn even though he was totally disqualified by his unspiritual disposition. Reuben had attempted to re-seize the now transferred birthright from Joseph in a similar way to that when Jacob had seized it from Esau. And again, Joseph was 'dead' just as Eliphaz, Esau's son, had threatened to kill Jacob. History was repeating itself again - an evil family disposition and curse was occurring once more - but with some interesting twists.
England and France
This rivaly between Reuben and Joseph has played itself out over the centuries, and most spectacularly between England (Joseph-Ephraim) and France (Reuben). To the chagrin of the French, who have lost practically every war they fought against England, the results have mostly always gone in England's favour. Only in the 20th century have they learned finally to cooperate. Yet the rivalry is never very far beneath the surface and we have seen it, for instance, in early French opposition by the Gaulists to Great Britain joining the 'private club' called the European Union (then known as the European Economic Community). And we see it in the battle between the ascendancy of English over French languages abroad, especially in the former French colonies. There is yet unresolved jealousy and rivalry between these two firstborn brothers with the one refusing to accept his dispossession.
Fathers and Redemption
The story of Joseph in Egypt you all know. The Book of Jasher says he was 18 when he arrived in Egypt as a slave to Pottiphar (Jash.44:14) and was sent to prison for 12 years for the false charge of rape. He was not released until he was 30 (Gen.41:46). But even after his release and political ascent to be the second most powerful man in Egypt, another nine years passed before his father Jacob got to know that his 'dead' son was in fact alive. Seven of these nine years were during the years of plenty and two during the famine. The famine thus began when Joseph was 37. Two years later, aged 39, he revealed his identity to his brothers. It was exactly 21 years after he had been sold into slavery in Egypt. Why, when he had the power and means to inform his father that he was still alive, and could have unburdened the old man's broken heart, did he remain silent? It was because a greater good had to be accomplished: the redemption of Jacob's wicked sons. And that is why we fathers (and also mothers, though of course Rachel was not alive at this time) must bear heavy burdens and suffer because we are called to fulfil a redemptive rôle in our families. Our children can sometimes be the cause of great grief.
A Happy Ending
It all worked out well, didn't it? Was there not a happy ending? The selfish immaturity and evil was burned out of Joseph's brothers through a carefully crafted series of events to test their spiritual mettle when they chose to sacrifice their own self-interest for the sake of Joseph's full-brother (Benjamin) and their broken-hearted father. The brothers became Messiah-like, in the same way as the rightful heir, Joseph was, however much younger he was in age. And a broken-hearted father went to his grave a very happy man. I am quite sure that neither the brothers nor the sons would have chosen Yahweh's ordained path of hardship in the days before their deliverance because the flesh is blind to such things. Only the redeemed man is thankful after the event when he can see the divine glory and love in it all. Yahweh forces no man but he gives him gentle and not-so-gentle nudges along the way in accordance with His right based on our choice to enter covenant. If you have agreed to let Yah'shua into your heart and give your life to Him, then you must be prepared for Him to determine the best route for you and for those whose lives you will impact, because they're all tied together.
Going It Alone
But please, brethren and sisters, watch out for the false piety of the flesh. One sister recently wrote to me to explain why she could no longer walk with us. Paraphrasing, she said:
"I am sorry I cannot be with you any longer or anyone else. We are in such critical times and there are so many wolves in sheep's clothing. I don't want to be involved with error. I will only be taught by Yah'shua, not man. Everyone has their own opinion and idea of what and when and why and if and so on. I love my fellow brothers and sisters and when the time comes we will all be joined together. We must be careful of what is to come and open our ears to Yahweh's voice."
Of course most of what she said is absolutely true. There are wolves in sheep's clothing everywhere teaching damnable heresies and we do need to be taught by Yah'shua and hear Yahweh's voice. But at the same time Yahweh knows that we need teachers and shepherds and always makes sure that the Body has enough for all true seekers after truth. And just because 99 are leading others astray doesn't mean that all the 100 are. There's always a remnant of the faithful, as Elijah discovered when he got dispondent. As I have taught over the years, there is no such thing as a solo Christian or a lone believer. Lone sheep are vulnerable. I have hope for this sister but I fear she may have unintentionally exposed herself in a way she will later regret. However, individuals do sometimes need the wilderness to quicken the hungry spirit and create a greater dependence on Yahweh. Our prayers and blessings go with her.
The Egyptian Bondage
Yahweh is, as we have seen, a master mathematician. No detail is spared. We have seen how Jacob went through 21 years of servitude for his sins. Can anyone tell me the length of Israel's servitude in Egypt before Yahweh raised Moses up? It was 210 years! We know that Israel entered Egypt in the year 2238 and left under Moses in 2448. Their time in Egypt was characterised by what? Hard labour and bondage! Egypt was Laban, and Israel was Jacob in more ways than one.
The First National 210-Year Time of Trouble
Now we must observe some other important details - and remember that Yahweh is the Master of detail - I mention this to the lazy folks who don't think they need to probe into Scripture - to encourage you to develop a passion for the Word. Before Jacob returned to Bethel (the 'House of God') he remained in Succoth (Sukkot) for 1½ years. An immaterial detail? Absolutely not! It is of great prophetic significance. In precisely the same same way as Israel, the nation, came out of Egyptian bondage in the spring of 2448 and spent 1½ years preparing for the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot) so Jacob tarried 1½ years in the settlement called Succoth (Sukkot) before being allowed to revisit Bethel (Gen.33:17). Israel was supposed to enter the Promised Land under Joshua ('Yah'shua') at the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot) in the autumn/fall, two weeks into the beginning of the year 2450. And whilst the pattern was definitely there, it was broken by their refusal to enter the land at that time. Neverthless, their opportunity came on schedule according to the pattern of Jacob when Yahweh told him to return to Bethel.
No Predestination
It should be increasingly obvious to you by now that Calvin's doctrine of absolute predestination is false. Yahweh does not work the way the Calvinists think. He works by the cycles of His ordained moedim or appointments and it is up to us whether we meet them or not. We have genuine choice and Yahweh is not about to rob us of that responsibility to grow. Satan wishes to cheat us by lying, telling us that we can just sit back and Yahweh will take care of everything. Yes, Yahweh will take care of everything provided we're on the Way of the Master, facing the right direction, and MOVING! The Way is both the Living Messiah in our Hearts as well as the Torah-map. Trusting in Yah'shua and doing absolutely nothing is just about as useful as not trusting Yah'shua at all because trusting also involves doing.
The Second National 210-Year Time of Trouble
Are you getting the picture, brethren and sisters? If you rebel, then a set period of bondage follows. It's in Yahweh's Torah and you cannot circumscribe it. To the horror of some, I dare say, you will see that this is equally true under the New Covenant as the Old. Little wonder many believers lose heart because they have lapped up the lies told them by the antinomians.
Solomon and Rehoboam
Israel was in bondage for 21 x 10 or 210 years in Egypt and another 210 following the apostacy and death of King Solomon in 931 BC. Israel was to go through another 210-year period of trouble, her Second National Time of Trouble. How did this happen? Solomon overtaxed the people to pay for his public works projects, instituted corvée or forced labour (in other words, enslaved his own subjects) and turned away from Yahweh for the false gods of his pagan wives. When he died the people were relieved and turned to his son and successor, Rehoboam, and asked for deliverance from his father's intolerable burdens. The young, impudent, headstrong and foolish boy-king not only turned a deaf ear but increased their burdens, provoking a rebellion of the 10 northern tribes who set up their own monarchy with capital in Samaria. This nation lasted for how long? You've guessed it, even if you didn't know it: 210 years until it fell in 721 BC.
The USA and Great Britain
And although this is not something I want to get into today, this is also paralelled by the separation of the United States (West Manasseh) from Great Britian (Ephraim) in 1781. History will eventually show that 210 years later, in 1991, something important happened in the USA to mark its permanent decline. 1991 was also the year the Soviet Union broke up. But more of these things another time. Then the United States had a civil war which ended in 1865 - please add 210 years to that and you will get the year 2075. I'd like you for now just to make a mental note of that date for future reference.
The Northern and Southern Kingdoms
The year 931 BC marked the division of Israel into two Kingdoms: the northern Kingdom of Israel ('Ephraim') and the southern Kingdom of Judah. Most Christians and Messianics are unaware that in much of prophecy 'Israel' refers only to the Northern Kingdom and not to the 12 Tribes and as a result there is much confusion in understanding biblical revelation on the end times. Even the Two-House Messianics are confused because as a rule they believe Ephraim (Israel) to be Christians who accept Christ and Judah to be Torah-obedient Jews who accept Messiah. However, whether you are of Ephraim or Judah has nothing to do with your background as a 'Christian' or a 'Jew' - the tribe you belong to, by descent or adoption, has everything to do with your nature and calling. For sure, many Messianic Jews are of Judah and many Christians are of Ephraim but it would also be true to say that there are many Judahites among Christians and many Ephraimites among the Jews.
Murder Proposed
The division of Joseph (Ephraim/Israel) from Judah was a repeat action of the separation of Joseph from the rest of his family. This drama has repeated itself throughout the centuries. What was Judah's rôle in all of this? We saw how Solomon the Judahite oppressed all the tribes and how his Judahite son Rehoboam wished to oppress the northern tribes led by Joseph even more, and all for financial gain.
As we look back at the story of Joseph as a youth we discover that the brothers initially wanted to kill him:
"Now when they (the brothers) saw him Joseph) afar off, even before he came near them, they conspired against him to kill him. Then they said to one another, 'Look, this dreamer is coming! Come therefore, let us now kill him and cast him into some pit; and we shall say, 'Some wild beast has devoured him.' We shall see what will become of his dreams!'" (Gen.37:18-20, NKJV).
Only Reuben stood up against these murderous brothers, Judah amongst them:
"But Reuben heard it, and he delivered him out of their hands, and said, 'Let us not kill him.' And Reuben said to them, 'Shed no blood, but cast him into this pit which is in the wilderness, and do not lay a hand on him' -- that he might deliver him out of their hands, and bring him back to his father" (Gen.37:21-22, NKJV).
All the other brothers, including Judah, wanted to murder him. Remember that Joseph is a messianic figure here and that just as his brother Judah had wanted to murder him along with his other brothers, so it was that the Judahites wanted to murder their Messiah, Yah'shua, and in fact did so.
Human Flesh for Sale
Stopped by the firstborn son, Reuben, from murdering their little brother, Judah, not content to just let the boy go, and ever the businessman, proposed instead to sell him as a slave, convincing all his brothers, including Reuben, to do so:
"So Judah said to his brothers, 'What profit is there if we kill our brother and conceal his blood? Come and let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him, for he is our brother and our flesh.' And his brothers listened. Then Midianite traders passed by; so the brothers pulled Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver. And they took Joseph to Egypt" (Gen.37:25-28, NKJV).
Judah and Judas
Centuries later Yah'shua the Messiah would be sold by Judas, whose name was Judah in Hebrew, for 30 pieces of silver. We see the same sinful traits repeated through the generations, with Rehoboam the Judahite king wanted to raise taxes further, which provoked the division which has lasted until this day.
The 210 Year-Long Kingdom of Northern Israel
Dr. Steven J. Jones has proved conclusively that the Divided Kingdom lasted precisely 210 years until the Expulsions. 5
"The Assyrian Eponym calendar atronomically dates the death of Ahab at 853 BC because this occurred 90 years prior to the famous solar eclipse of 763 BC. We also know that Solomon died in the year 931 BC, 78 years prior to Ahab's death. The Assyrian calendar also tells us that they made war on Samaria in 724 BC and the Bible tells us that the siege lasted for 3 years. Thus Samaria fell in 721 BC. This was 210 years after the death of Solomon in 931 BC and the foolish decision of Rehoboam that split the nation". 6
Conclusion
If there is one thing these events should alert us to it is the seriousness of generational sin. Unless generational sins are broken, they are repeated again and again (Ex.34:7; Num.14:18). When Joseph has presided in righteousness, there has been peace, justice and order in the world. We have seen this in the empires of Great Britain and Commonwealth (Ephraim), the United States pf America (West Manasseh) and Germany (East Manasseh). When Joseph has apostacised, great evil has followed - Britain, the USA and Germany have all been the instruments of much evil, immorality and exploitation. There has been a constant rebellion against the firstborn rights established by Yahweh - Anglo-French rivalries, the break between Ephraim and West Manasseh in the American War of Independence, the break between Ephraim and East Manasseh in the First and Second World Wars after centuries of alliances. Today there is a separation of the seed of Joseph into two seeds - the Messianic Seed of Righteousness and the seed of darkness represented by the nations of Britain, the USA and Germany. And, as we are going to see, there is a separation of the seed of Judah into two seeds - the Messianic Seed of Righteousness (some Messianic Jews and others) and the seed of darkness (represented by unrepentant Judahites in Jewry and elsewhere).
Yah'shua said that our worst enemies would be in our own families and this is true of the Houses of Joseph and of Judah too. The world is largely run by very evil men from both biological houses (the Illuminists of Britain, the USA, Germany and Republic of Israel, allied to the French of Reuben with the other tribal nations 'following the pack' as they did when Joseph was sold - Holland, Denmark, Ireland, Norway, Sweden, Iceland, and others) and the remnant of Yahweh's people is led largely by righteous men from these same nations.
Next week we will be looking at the prophetic significance of the division of Israel and Judah and we shall come to understand just what the modern Israeli Republic is for it's coming forth was prophesied by Yah'shua Himself as the fig tree which brought more leaves but no fruits (Mt.21, 24). In the meantime may the Elohim or Abraham, Isaac and Jacob bless you and keep you, is my prayer, in Yah'shua's Name, Amen.
Click here for Part 3
Acknowledgements
[1] Stephen E. Jones, Secrets of Time (God's Kingdom Ministries, P.O.Box 3929, Batesville, AR 72503: 1996
Endnotes
1
See Jacob's Trouble - Part 1: The Exceeding Sinfulness of Sin
2
Orthodox Jews claim that the Messiah is all the Jewish people, not a single person.
3
1. Ex.14:10-12 afraid at Yam Suf (Red Sea); 2. Ex.15:23-24 murmuring at Marah; 3. Ex.16:1-3 murmuring in the wilderness; 4. Ex.16:19-21 leaving manna till morning; 5. Ex.16:27-28; 6. Ex.17:1-4 murmuring at Rephidim; 7. Ex.32:1-10 worshipping golden calf; 8. Lev.10:1-2 offering strange fire; 9. Lev.24:10-14 blasphemy; 10. Num.11:1-3 complaining at Taberah; 11. Num.11-4-35 lusting to eat flesh; 12. Num.12:1-15 opposing Moses' polygamous marriage to a black woman; 13. Num.14:1-11 refusing to enter Canaan; 14. Num.14:40-45 attempting to enter Canaan without Yahweh's blessing; 15. Num.15:32-36 gathering sticks on sabbath; 16. Num.16:1-35 Korah's rebellion; 17. Num.16:41-50 murmuring; 18. Num.20:1-6 gathering against Moses; 19. Num.20:7-12 Moses smiting rock twice; 20:Num.21:4-9 complaining about manna; 21. 25:1-9 whoredom with Moabites.
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1. Lovers of their own selves; 2. Covetous; 3. Boasters; 4. Proud; 5. Blasphemers; 6. Disobedient to parents; 7. Unthankful; 8. Unholy; 9. Without natural affection; 10. Trucebreakers; 11. False accusers; 12. Incontinent; 13. Fierce; 14. Despisers of those that are good; 15. Traitors; 16. Heady; 17. Highminded; 18. Lovers of pleasures... 19. More than lovers of Yahweh; 20. Having a form of godliness, but 21. Denying the power thereof
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Stephen E. Jones, Secrets of Time (God's Kingdom Ministries, P.O.Box 3929, Batesville, AR 72503: 1996, Chapter 2, pp.15-29
6
Stephen E. Jones, op.cit., p.156
Author: Lev-Tsiyon