Bible Study Seattle

The account of Gideon spans three chapters of Judges (6-8).  That means something.  Gideon saved Israel by routing Midian.  And he did it with only 300 men in the middle of the night.  Is this prophetic?  Perhaps some routing occurs around midnight of Jesus’ thousand year reign?  That would be a victory starting about 250 years into the Millennium.  250 years is similar to the 2500 Jubilee pattern found in the Chronology.  250 years from 1878 is 2138.  Time will tell.

What was the nature of the Tree of the knowledge of good and evil in Genesis 2?  Was it similar to the tree of life?  Was it even more attractive?  Or was it ordinary?  Was the curse merely disobeying God and nothing about the tree per se?  That is the conclusion of the famous commentator Matthew Henry (1662-1714).  But notice that the Tree of Life would sustain life indefinitely.  There was something physically special about the fruit of the tree of life.  It was the real fountain of youth.  There must have been something special physically about the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.  Did it have a mechanism to spark the aging process?  What if Adam and Eve never ate from either the tree of life or the tree of the knowledge of good and evil?  Would they still die?  Presumably they had to eat of the tree of life.  Even Jesus, born of perfect seed, would have died without perfect food.  These are questions that will be answered in the future.

Who will judge us in the judgment?

“On the testimony of two or three witnesses a person is to be put to death, but no one is to be put to death on the testimony of only one witness.  The hands of the witnesses must be the first in putting that person to death, and then the hands of all the people. You must purge the evil from among you.”  Deuteronomy 17:6-7

Judgment will fall to the witnesses, the ones who know.  This principle will apply in lesser matters as well:

“Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still together on the way, or your adversary may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison.”  Matthew 5:25

This is showing the order of judgment.  Another version of this:

“If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over.  But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’  If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church; and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector.”  Matthew 18:15-17

“Now learn the parable from the fig tree: when its branch has already become tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near.”  Matthew 24:32

Jesus’ discourse on end times gives several hints, one of which is summer.  To get a sense of when ‘summer’ is, we first look at Moses’ Psalm 90:

“For a thousand years in Your sight
Are like yesterday when it passes by,
Or as a watch in the night.
You have swept them away like a flood, they fall asleep;
In the morning they are like grass which sprouts anew.
In the morning it flourishes and sprouts anew;
Toward evening it fades and withers away.”  Psalm 90:4-6

There are several items of note here.  First is that a day is as a thousand years.  The Hebrew day starts at sundown.  Therefore, the first half of the day is evening or darkness.  The second half is morning or daylight.  Midnight is the darkest, and noon is the brightest.  If we were to compare a thousand years or a day to a year, when would the seasons fall?  Undoubtedly, summer would surround the noontime sun.  Winter would fall around midnight.  Roughly speaking, winter would be 9pm to 3am.  Summer would be 9am to 3pm.  Spring and fall being in between.  In a thousand years, winter would fall between the 125th and the 375th years, and summer would fall from the 625th to the 875th year.  This leads us to question using Israeli statehood as the final generation, since we are in the 142nd year since 1874.  Assuming Jesus returns on the Day of Atonement, which is slightly past half way through the year, this is roughly the 528th year out of 1,000.  Then ‘summer’ will be near relatively speaking.  Some ‘leaves’ will have come early in the springtime (375th to 528th years).  These will be the ancient Israelites such as Elijah, Moses, and David.  David’s battle prowess will come in handy.  When they see the Son of Man standing on the Mount of Olives to assist them, they will become fearless and unstoppable.  All their enemies’ hearts will melt.

“For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city will be captured, the houses plundered, the women ravished and half of the city exiled, but the rest of the people will not be cut off from the city.  Then the Lord will go forth and fight against those nations, as when He fights on a day of battle.  In that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which is in front of Jerusalem on the east; and the Mount of Olives will be split in its middle from east to west by a very large valley, so that half of the mountain will move toward the north and the other half toward the south.  You will flee by the valley of My mountains, for the valley of the mountains will reach to Azel; yes, you will flee just as you fled before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the Lord, my God, will come, and all the holy ones with Him!  In that day there will be no light; the luminaries will dwindle.  For it will be a unique day which is known to the Lord, neither day nor night, but it will come about that at evening time there will be light.”  Zechariah 14:2-7

This is the day of Atonement!  God will fight for Israel as he did at the Red Sea.  Will he arrive at midnight?  “Then the kingdom of heaven will be comparable to ten virgins, who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.  Five of them were foolish, and five were prudent.  For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, but the prudent took oil in flasks along with their lamps.  Now while the bridegroom was delaying, they all got drowsy and began to sleep.  But at midnight there was a shout, ‘Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’”  Matthew 25:1-6

“Now learn the parable from the fig tree: when its branch has already become tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near; so, you too, when you see all these things, recognize that He is near, right at the door.  Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place.  Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.”  Matthew 24:32

Jeremiah 24 shows that the fig tree represents Israel.  It is assumed that the fig tree putting forth leaves is modern Israel gaining statehood.  But if putting forth leaves represents the resurrection of old Israelites?  All manner of interpretation has gone into this generation being 40 years from 1948 or 80 years from 1948 or even 120 years from 1948.  But one thing everyone seems to miss is this:

“Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord.  He will restore the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers, so that I will not come and smite the land with a curse.”  Malachi 4:5

Where is Elijah?  Some will say, “And if you are willing to accept it, John himself is Elijah who was to come.”  Matthew 11:14

Therefore, Elijah has already come.  Really?  Was John’s name Elijah?  Jesus is here speaking metaphorically.  Yes, John was a type of Elijah to come, but he was not the Elijah.  Scripture needs to be fulfilled literally here.  Who is going to fight on the side of Messiah when he comes?  The Israelites!!  It says, “In that day the Lord will defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and the one who is feeble among them in that day will be like David, and the house of David will be like God, like the angel of the Lord before them.”  Zechariah 12:8

So we also need David and his house back on earth before the Messiah can swoop down.

Recently I came across a prophetic interpretation of the days of Noah as expounded by Jesus:

“For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah.  For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and they did not understand until the flood came and took them all away; so will the coming of the Son of Man be.”  Matthew 24:37-39

The interpretation started the days at the flood itself.  It counted the first 150 days as the years from the flood to the invisible presence of the Lord, 4345 years.  Then it takes the days, one for a year, up to a possible fulfillment around 2092AD.  This reminds me of people who divide Daniel’s 70 weeks prophecy between the 69th and 70th weeks, but inserting 2000 or more years!

Scripture guides us:  “Now Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of water came upon the earth.”  Genesis 7:6

Why not 547?  Why 600?  Because the days of Noah are to come 6,000 years from the fall of Adam.  Another heavy clue:

“For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah.”  Matthew 24:37

In what way did the Son of Man (Jesus) come between the flood and 1874AD?  He didn’t.  This prophecy is about the second coming, not before.  The reason we have such interpretations is because people want to force prophecy into preconceived notions.  Many the notion that the second coming and Kingdom of God must be soon.  It’s not.  This site maintains the view that the dramatic second coming, where Christ descends to stand on the Mount of Olives will occur near the year 2400AD, give or take.  No man knows the day or hour, but we can know the season:

“Now learn the parable from the fig tree: when its branch has already become tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near; so, you too, when you see all these things, recognize that He is near, right at the door.”  Matthew 24:32-33

Only one psalm is attributed to Moses:
“Lord, You have been our dwelling place in all generations.
Before the mountains were born
Or You gave birth to the earth and the world,
Even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God.

Apparently there is a movement to create a merger of Christianity and Islam called Chrislam.  Rick Warren is the founder of the idea(?) and a conference was held at the Vatican under the auspices of Pope Francis in late 2014.  Rick Warren is a member of the Council of Foreign Relations, a globalist group working toward world government.  Perhaps world government needs world religion?  http://theolivebranchreport.com/pope-francis-and-rick-warren-to-unite-for-global-chrislam-conference/

“Because I am confident of this, that he who has begun the good works in you will accomplish them until the day of our Master Y’shua the Mashiyach.”  Philippians 1:6 AENT

“And this I pray for, that your love may still increase and abound in knowledge and in all spiritual understanding; so that you may discern the things that are suitable, and may be pure and without offense in the day of the Mashiyach.”  Philippians 1:9-10 AENT

Paul is saying that their faith and works must grow in and through the day of the Messiah.  That’s past most people’s death.  He is including faith and works when we are resurrected in the Millennial reign.  This hints that our faith won’t be complete and tested until that time.  That Day will be very special.  It will be the seventh Day, a Sabbath, the seventh 1,000 year ‘day’ since Adam & Eve fell in the garden.

Paul speaking to Gentile believers:  “And you are built upon the foundations of the Shlichim and the prophets; and Y’shua the Mashiyach has become the head of the corner of the edifice.  And in him all the edifice is framed together and grows into a Set Apart temple in Master YHWH.  While you also are built in him for a habitation of Elohim through the Spirit.”  Ephesians 2:20-22

Continuing: “To me, among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of the Mashiyach.  And should show to all men what is the architecture of the mystery which for ages was hid up in Elohim might become known to the principalities and powers that are in heaven.”  Ephesians 2:8-10

“And that you may be able to explore, with all the Set Apart believers, what is the height and depth and length and breadth,”  Ephesians 2:18

“Until we all become one and the same, in faith and in the knowledge of the Son of Elohim, and one complete man according to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Mashiyach.”  Ephesians 3:13

“And from him (it is) the whole body is framed together and strongly melded by all the connecting points, according to the gift that is delivered by measure to each member for the growth of the body; that his structure may be perfected in love.”  Ephesians 3:16

All these verses are from the Aramaic English New Testament.  It is striking the architectural language.  Could Paul have had in mind the Temple or the Great Pyramid?  Peter also uses this imagery.  The cross section of the internal compartments of the Great Pyramid looks like a man.