New Video: 12 Benefits: Knowing Who the Two Houses of Israel Are

The biblical prophetic writings speak of the house of Israel/Joseph/Samaria/Ephraim and the house of Judah/the Jews. The Bible teaches that these are two different groups of people and they will exist on the earth in the end times. Knowing who these players are in biblical prophecy will help us to understand what will happen prophetically in the end times as this video shows.

 

Warning Against an Apostate Nation

I will continue to sound an alarm like a watchman on the wall concerning the judgments I see coming upon the people of Elohim because of their spiritual apostasy.

Because I read the Bible and not only see history repeating itself, but see end time Bible prophecy about to be fulfilled, does this make me an alarmist? Perhaps. And what’s wrong with sounding the alarm? Alarms exist for a reason: to warn and to protect people from impending danger! The biblical prophets were alarmists. This puts the modern day watchmen in good company. The problem is that people seldom listen to the watchman on the wall. Life is nice and comfortable in the city. Most people don’t want to be believe it could be any other way. Complacency is perhaps our worst enemy!

This is a tough message to give, and it’s even tougher to know how to respond to it. What do we do? I can do no better than to quote Yeshua who after having given his disciples some dire warnings about things that would come to pass, he admonished them to watch and pray (Luke 21:36). To this I would add: repent of sin (Torahlessness) and stop living a sloppy, lukewarm, lax, carnally-oriented spiritual life. Seek to love and obey Yeshua with all your heart like never before. Only the fear and love of Elohim will get you through the hard times that are about to come!

Natan

And now for today’s lesson:

Jeremiah 2:4–28 and 3:4, In this scripture passage, Jeremiah, the weeping prophet (lamenting for the apostate condition of the nation of Israel), speaking on behalf of YHVH, pleads with Israel to return to YHVH, the Elohim (God) of Israel, who had graciously blessed that nation. Under YHVH’s watchful care, Israel had prospered, yet eventually, like the first century believers in Laodicea (Rev 3:14–22), material prosperity had led to their forsaking YHVH for secularism.

Jeremiah addresses all levels of Israelite society: kings, princes, priests, prophets, pastors and the people. No one escaped his stinging rebuke. In our day, kings and princes would correspond to our political leaders, while prophets, priests and pastors to our spiritual leaders. The people would be everyone else.

In verse 13, Jeremiah states that Israel was guilty of two sins: they had forsaken YHVH, the Fountain of Living Waters, and had exchanged his divine and life-giving truth for the stagnant waters of man-made cisterns, which in Hebraic poetic symbolism is a metaphor for false, humanistic religious and philosophical systems of men. In verse 27, Jeremiah accuses Israel of turning its back on YHVH and exchanging worship of the Creator for worship of the creation and material objects (idols). This is reminiscent of what the Apostle Paul declares in his Epistle to the Romans (chapter one) of a society that rejects the divinely revealed truth of YHVH as found in the Scriptures, and then begins worshipping that which the Creator created including the earth, animals and their own bodies (resulting in hedonism and sexual perversion). In verse 21, Jeremiah declares that Israel had become like a degenerate plant and a strange or foreign grape vine, which can be related to the wild olive tree Paul speaks of in Romans 11. (See also Jer 11:16.)

With all this in mind, can we identify any spiritual parallels between ancient Israel and modern America? If Jeremiah were alive today what might he say to America?

A Wake Up Call — The Battle For the Soul of America

For several generations now, a righteous remnant of end-time warriors has been fighting an uphill battle against immorality, abortion, rebellion against the biblical laws of YHVH, humanism, Marxism/socialism, Eastern “spirituality”/New Age and the global takeover by the corporate-governmental fascist elite called the New World Order. The latest addition to this list is the Antichrist religion of Islam and anti-Semitism. Both are raising their demonic heads at home and abroad in the traditional Judeo-Christian nations of Europe. Islam began knocking on the spiritual door of America a few decades ago, and now because of the large numbers of Moslems in this country, Islam has become a threat worth noting. The goal of Islam is definite, for the Koran states it clearly: to take over the world and to dispossess both Christians and Jews of their lands, property and lives, if they fail to convert to Islam.

We find ourselves in this situation because we as a nation have failed to repent of the sins listed above and now the judgment of Islam and Continue reading

 

What Is Jacob’s Trouble in End Times Prophecy?

Genesis 32 is the story of Jacob’s return to Canaan after having been exiled from his homeland for 20 years. This is often referred to as Jacob’s Trouble (from Jer 30:7). His exile occurred after he obtained his divinely promised birthright through shrewd if not unscrupulous means from his brother Esau resulting in his having to flee Canaan for fear of his life due to Esau’s vengeance. Jacob found refuge in the region of Babylonia at his Uncle Laban’s home where he married Laban’s two daughters, Leah and Rachel. Genesis 32 recounts Jacob’s encounter with Esau who, along with his small army, physically stood in Jacob’s way from entering the land of his promised inheritance—later to be known as the land of Israel or Promised Land.

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The Jewish sages believe that this encounter between Jacob and Esau is prophetic in nature and will happen again in the end times, but this time on a much larger scale and this time involving the numerous descendants of Israel and Esau. The Israelites will be attempting to return to their ancestral homeland, while the descendants of Esau will be attempting to block their way. As we proceed in this study, we will see whether this prophecy is beginning to come to pass in our days.

Rolling the film backwards a little, Laban had chased Jacob out of the area of Babylon, and yet Jacob was being blocked from entering Canaan by Esau (or Edom meaning “red”). This is reminiscent of Pharaoh chasing the Israelites out of Egypt only to find themselves blocked by the Red Sea, which is a picture of Edom (meaning “red”). In both instances, YHVH’s people were forced to totally rely on him for deliverance from their enemies who were before and behind them.

Chapter 32 is a study in how we often deal with major trials and stressful situations in life. Jacob (a) was gripped by fear, (b) resorted to fleshly schemes to appease his brother’s wrath and “to save his own hide” and that of his family, and (c) at the same time he Continue reading

 

Who are the 144k and innumerable multitude?

The 144,000 Saints Versus the Great and Innumerable Multitude
There are two groups of believers mentioned Revelation chapters seven and 14. They are Yeshua’s 144,000 bride-priests and the carnal or lukewarm believers who get spiritually refined in great tribulation.

The 144,000 are spiritual virgins who follow the Lamb wherever he goes. They are redeemed believers and first fruits of Elohim (Rev 14:4).
The 144,000 are without deceit or fault (i.e., sin) before YHVH’s throne of judgment (Rev 14:5). How can it be said that someone is without fault without being Torah-obedient, since the Torah defines sin (1 John 3:4)? Indeed, those who are the saints that make up the 144,000 must be Torah-observant and be walking under the blood of Yeshua (Rev 12:17; 14:12).

The meaning of the names of the patriarchs of the 12 tribes have a hidden message pertaining to the bride of Yeshua, which is more proof that the 144,000 are the bride.

  • Judah means “Now I will praise YHVH.” (Gen 29:35)
  • Reuben means “Surely YHVH has looked upon my affliction.” (Gen 29:32)
  • Gad means “What good fortune.” (Gen 30:11)
  • Asher means “Happy am I.” (Gen 30:13)
  • Naphtali means With great wrestlings have I wrestled.” (Gen 30:8)
  • Manasseh means “For Elohim [said he], ‘has made me foreget all my toil.’” (Gen 41:51)
  • Simeon means “ Because YHVH has heard that I was hated.” (Gen 29:33)
  • Levi means “ Now this time will my husband be joined to me.” (Gen 29:34)
  • Issachar means “Elohim has given me my wages.” (Gen 30:18)
  • Zebulon means “Elohim has endowed me with a good gift, now my husband will dwell with me.” (Gen 30:20)
  • Joseph means “YHVH shall add to me.” (Gen 30:24)
  • Benjamin means “You shall have this son. (Gen 35:17–18)

Combined the names tell the following story:

Now will I praise YHVH. Surely YHVH has looked upon my affliction. What good fortune. Happy am I. With great wrestlings have I wrestled and I have prevailed. For Elohim has made me forget all my toil because YHVH has heard that I was hated. Now this time will my husband be joined unto me. Elohim has given me my wages. Elohim has endowed me with a good gift. Now my husband will dwell with me. YHVH shall add to me. You shall have this son.

What is the seal of God (Rev 7:3)? A seal is a signature, stamp, sign, brand or identification mark signifying ownership. A seal in the forehead symbolizes that one has the mark is completely yielded and subservient to the one who placed the mark.

It seems that there are two groups within Christianity or redeemed Israel: Ephraim and Manasseh. Manasseh means “forgetful.” Could this prophetically represents those Christians who have forgotten their heritage, the Hebrew roots of their faith, namely the Torah? Ephraim means “doubly fruitful.” Could this be a prophetic reference to believers who have both the Torah commands of YHVH and who have the testimony or the faith of Yeshua (Rev 12:17; 14:12) — the two identifying marks of the end time saints or bride of Yeshua in Revelation?

There are other references in Revelation to the non-bride, carnal or lukewarm believers (see Rev 3:14–22). This could include the great multitude of Revelation 7:9–15 who came out of great tribulation who are before the throne of Yeshua, but are not necessarily kings and priests and are different than the 144,000. There may be those still coming out of Babylon the Great just prior to her destruction (Rev 18:4). Revelation 16:2 may hint at a group of people who refuse to take the mark of the beast and who are on earth during the bowl judgments. Revelation 14:4 mentions first fruits. If there are first fruits, there must be second fruits—others who will be part of a later spiritual harvest.

Who Are the Great and Innumerable Multitude (Rev 7:9–17)?

Who comprise this great and innumerable multitude? It’s unlikely that they’re the 144,000 bride, since they are a larger number than the 144,000 and since Yeshua has to “lead” (lit., to show the way, teach, guide) them to the fountains of living water (Rev 7:17), which is the Torah (see Ps 36:2 [iniquity or sin is lawlessness or Torahlessness, see 1 John 3:4], 6 [righteousness is Torah obedience, see Ps 119:172; judgments is a biblical synonym for Torah, since the Torah’s standards form the basis for the judgments of Elohim], 9 [fountain of life, light are biblical metaphors for the Torah], 12 [iniquity or sin is lawlessness or Torahlessness, see 1 John 3:4]). Who will help to teach this innumerable multitude (those who were lukewarm believers), but who became spiritually hot during the fiery trials of the great tribulation (see Rev 3:17–18)? It will likely be the 144,000 righteous priest-king brides of Yeshua who had known Yeshua all along, and who had been keeping his Torah-commands (Rev 12:17; 14:12).

Revelation 16:15 (cp. 3:14–22) speaks of two categories of believers: those who watch and keep their garments clean, and those walked in nakedness and shame (who presumably aren’t watching or keeping their garments clean). There are garments of righteousness that YHVH clothes us with at the time of our initial salvation (Isa 61:10), but the garments of good works or righteousness are a result of our good works of Torah-obedience and which will determine the saint’s level of rewards in YHVH’s kingdom (Rev 19:7–9 cp 3:17–18; 2 John 1:8).

 

My Problem With a Preterist View of Bible Prophecy

Preterism is the Christian eschatological (understanding of end time events) concept that all Bible prophecy has already been fulfilled including Yeshua’s Matthew 24 Olivet Discourse and those prophecies in the book of Revelation.
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I will say that it is my belief that preterism is an over simplistic concept that often fails to take into account several things:
a) The dual or even multiple fulfillments of certain biblical prophecies. Even the Jewish sages who’ve been studying the OT scriptures for millennia recognize the often cyclical nature of some prophecies in that many have multiple fulfillments. It seems that the preterist looks at prophecy in more a linear (timeline) Greco-Roman perspective rather from the Hebraic, more cyclical nature in which the Bible was written. This is to their detriment and causes them to have a skewed view of biblical prophecy.
b) That some prophecies have been indeed fulfilled, while  others are yet to be fulfilled, and yet still others have been fulfilled and will be fulfilled in a greater sense in the future.
c) They often fail to fully understand historical events. The preterist view of Olivet Discourse Matt 24 is a prime example. While it appears that some of the things Yeshua predicted in Matthew 24 have a AD 70 fulfillment, other events listed in this chapter clearly don’t unless you “cram it to fit and paint it to match” as preterists like to do. This they do by applying some things in a given prophecy in a literal sense, and then when a prophecy can’t be interpreted literally to fit historical events, they simply allegorize it away by making the prophecy symbolic. In my opinion, this is a dangerous approach and is playing fast and loose with the Bible. You can make the Bible say virtually anything you want it to say when you do this. This is a hermeneutical problem where they make the Bible say what they want it to say (eisegesis) instead of letting the Bible speak for itself (exegesis).
d) The  preterist usually fails to understand Israel in history, who the people of Israel are,

Continue reading

 

Time to Awaken from Spiritual Slumber—Messiah Is Coming!

This year, the biblical festival of Yom Teruah (the Day of Shofar Blowing or Shouting or “Rosh Hashanah”) will likely be on Sunday, Sept. 8 according to the ancient biblical Hebrew calendar. This festival is a prophetically pictures the  beginning of the events that will surround the second coming of our Lord, Yeshua the Messiah. It is time to get ready, for no man knows the day or the hour of the King’s coming! 

“Arise thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Messiah shall give thee light.” (Eph 5:14, also 8–16)

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Yom Teruah or the Day of Shouting or the Shofar Blasts (commonly called “Rosh Hashanah”) occurs at the end of the summer months and marked the beginning of the fall harvest and biblical festival season for the ancient Hebrews. Prophetically, the summer months between the spring Feast of Weeks (Heb. Shavuot or Pentecost) and the fall feast of Yom Teruah is a spiritual picture of what is often called the “Church Age,” which is the period of time from the Feast of Pentecost in Acts 2 until the return of Yeshua the Messiah at the end of the age and lasting for approximately 2000 years. For many, especially those living in hotter climes, summer is a time of leisure, vacation, weariness and fatigue due to the excessive heat. Likewise, many Bible believers have fallen asleep spiritually growing weary while waiting for the return of the Messiah. Yeshua discusses this issue in the Parable of the Ten Virgins (Matt 25) who are all found snoozing awaiting the coming of the Bridegroom (Yeshua).

This all changes on the first day of the seventh month of the biblical Hebrew calendar when off in the distance the sound of a shout (or shofar blast?) suddenly pierces the atmosphere and awakens the virgins from their summer doldrums. Not only does the sound signal the beginning of the seventh month when the new crescent moon is sighted, but it announces the return of the Bridegroom (Yeshua) coming for his bride (the virgin saints). As in the Parable of the Ten Virgins, the cry went forth that the bridegroom was coming and all awoke from their slumber to prepare for his arrival. In these end days, that cry is going forth even now for all to hear, to awake and to prepare for the arrival of Yeshua the Messiah.

In the biblical calendar, the visible sighting of the crescent new moon always marks the beginning of the month and is announced by the shofar blast (Ps 81:3). Likewise, on the first day of the seventh month of the biblical calendar, the arrival of the new moon (Heb. rosh chodesh) when the shofar sound marks the beginning of Yom Teruah. This is the first day of the fall (festival) harvest season and is the time when the call goes out for the Continue reading

 

Are You Ready for Yom Kippur?

What is the spiritual significance of the biblical holiday of Yom Kippur? How does it relate to the life of the redeemed believer? What is its significance with regards to end-times Bible prophecy as it relates to the second coming of Yeshua? How do you celebrate Yom Kippur? To help to prepare you to celebrate this important appointed time (moed), read Natan’s article on the subject at http://www.hoshanarabbah.org/pdfs/yom_kippur.pdf

On the biblical calendar Yeshua and his disciples used, Yom Kippur occurs this year on Thursday, Sept. 27. The rabbinic Jews will celebrate Yom Kippur on Wednesday, Sept. 26 (in accordance with the Hillel 2 calendar from ca. 360 AD; for more information on this subject, go to http://www.hoshanarabbah.org/pdfs/new_moons.pdf).