Bereansearching's Blog

Mt. Tabor, Israel…which overlooks the river Kishon and the valley of Megiddo/Jezreel.

Judges Chapters 4 & 5: The Battle of Armageddon (Judgment Day) Prefigured!

            Judges chapters 4&5 are unusual.  This is because God not only records an historical parable in chapter 4, but He provides the revelation of the deeper spiritual meaning of that “historical parable” in chapter 5.   We are therefore provided the uncommon opportunity to empirically prove, or test, this methodology of typological interpretation through a direct comparison of the preliminary understanding of, and conclusions drawn from, Judges chapter 4 with those that God Himself specifies in Judges chapter 5. 

Introduction

Concerning end-times prophecy, you can pick up almost any book today and you’ll find references to the battle of “Armageddon” (mentioned in Revelation 16:16).  In those books you’ll often find a description of some future earthly/physical battle that the authors believe will take place between various nations of the world and national Israel in the literal physical location of the plain of Megiddo in northern Israel.  Is there any validity to this interpretation?  Let’s take a look at what God has to say in Judges chapters 4&5, focusing in particular on the roles of Deborah and Barak in the destruction of the Canaanites and the implications that they hold for us today. 

Israel Under the Judgment of God

            Judges 4:1, begins with the ominous statement, “And the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the LORD, when Ehud was dead.“

This statement reminds us of what God said earlier in the book of Judges.  In Judges 2:11-23, “And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and served Baalim:  And they forsook the LORD God of their fathers, which brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods, of the gods of the people that [were] round about them, and bowed themselves unto them, and provoked the LORD to anger.  And they forsook the LORD, and served Baal and Ashtaroth.  And the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel, and he delivered them into the hands of spoilers that spoiled them, and he sold them into the hands of their enemies round about, so that they could not any longer stand before their enemies.  Whithersoever they went out, the hand of the LORD was against them for evil, as the LORD had said, and as the LORD had sworn unto them: and they were greatly distressed.  Nevertheless the LORD raised up judges, which delivered them out of the hand of those that spoiled them.  And yet they would not hearken unto their judges, but they went a whoring after other gods, and bowed themselves unto them: they turned quickly out of the way which their fathers walked in, obeying the commandments of the LORD; [but] they did not so.  And when the LORD raised them up judges, then the LORD was with the judge, and delivered them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge: for it repented the LORD because of their groanings by reason of them that oppressed them and vexed them.  And it came to pass, when the judge was dead, [that] they returned, and corrupted [themselves] more than their fathers, in following other gods to serve them, and to bow down unto them; they ceased not from their own doings, nor from their stubborn way.   And the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel; and he said, Because that this people hath transgressed my covenant which I commanded their fathers, and have not hearkened unto my voice;  I also will not henceforth drive out any from before them of the nations which Joshua left when he died:  That through them I may prove Israel, whether they will keep the way of the LORD to walk therein, as their fathers did keep [it], or not.  Therefore the LORD left those nations, without driving them out hastily; neither delivered he them into the hand of Joshua.“

What is particularly ominous about the first verse of Judges 4 is that it was Israel, the people of God, that did evil in the sight of the LORD.  As a result, in the very next verse we learn, “And the LORD sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, that reigned in Hazor; the captain of whose host [was] Sisera, which dwelt in Harosheth of the Gentiles.“

It should be noted from the preceding that God is sovereign, and fully in charge of the historical situation and the destiny of His people.  He turns them over to the oppressor as a judgment against them for their sin of apostasy (rebellion, a form of spiritual fornication).  We should therefore not be surprised to learn that the oppresser in this case is Jabin, which means intelligent, cunning, wisely, who is the king of Canaan, the country originally inhabited by Canaan, the grandson of Noah, who Noah cursed in Genesis 9:25 Furthermore, Jabin reigned in Hazor which happens to be a city (like Ai) that Joshua (Hebrew for Jesus, meaning “Saviour”) burned and where he slew a previous king also named Jabin (Joshua 11:1-15).  Although we are not given the meaning for the name “Sisera”, who was the captain of Jabin’s army, we do know that he is from Harosheth.  Harosheth, also spelled Charosheth, meaning to engage in mechanical work, carving, or cutting, is derived from the root word, charash, which is often translated negatively as “deviseth” as in Proverbs 6:14; and in Proverbs 6:16-19, where it is used in a context to describe the things that God “hates” and are an “abomination” to Him.  It appears already, therefore, that Jabin and Sisera can be none other than types or figures of Satan/antichrist, the abomination of desolation (Matthew 24:15), as he rules just before Judgment Day.

In Judges 4:3, we read how “the children of Israel cried unto the LORD: for he (Jabin) had nine hundred chariots of iron; and twenty years he mightily oppressed the children of Israel.“  The iron represents the judgment of bondage and its accompanying oppression for sin (see Psalm 107:10 &11, Revelation 2:27 and Revelation 19:15).  That is why God refers to the land of Egypt as the “iron furnace” in Deuteronomy 4:20, 1 Kings 8:51, and Jeremiah 11:4.  It also corresponds to what we find in Dan 7:19-27, where the fourth beast (representing the antichrist during the final tribulation?) had “iron teeth” (1 Peter 4:17, “judgment must begin at the house of God“), but his kingdom would be destroyed at the end of that period when the “Ancient of days (God Himself) came, and judgment was given to the saints of the most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom.“

Deborah, a Portrait of the Bride of Christ, Declaring Judgment

In the next verse we learn of the woman, Deborah (meaning “bee” in the original Hebrew,  דְּבוֹרָה (dᵊḇôrâ) ^H1682, which is from the root word דָּבַר (dāḇar) ^H1696 meaning to “speak” or “declare” and is intimately linked with the Hebrew word for “word“דָּבָר (dāḇār)^H1697).  It is an interesting fact that where bees gather you will also find honey, and honey is a type that God uses in relation to His Word/the Gospel of Jesus Christ (see Judges 14:8&9, and Psalm 119:103, and Revelation 10:9&10 and below under Abinoam).  However, “bees” דְּבוֹרָה (dᵊḇôrâ) ^H1682 are also used by God in the Bible to denote a means of judgment that God sends in response to rebellion (because they are given power to chase and sting, see for example Isaiah 7:18 and Deuteronomy 1:44).  It is also noteworthy that Jesus said in John 12:48, “He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.” That last day is Judgment Day!

Note: It is interesting to note that although Psalm 145:5 reads, “I will speak of the glorious honour of thy majesty, and of thy wondrous works.” The Hebrew word that was translated as “works” should more accurately be translated “words” (דָּבָר (dāḇār) ^H1697).

It is often claimed by theologians (particularly in our day) that, in this historical account, it was Deborah who “saved the Israelites from Canaanite forces.”  In this study it will be shown that it was NOT Deborah, but rather Barak who was the key figure (as a type of Jesus Christ, Who is shoved aside by modern humanistically and worldly (not Godly) focused theologians who, consciously or not, are in complete rebellion against God’s line of authority).  They want to elevate the woman, Deborah (who actually represents the Church, the Body, the Bride of Jesus Christ) above the man, Barak (who represents Jesus Christ, the Head of the Church, and the Bridegroom in the Heavenly Marriage in the Book of Revelation), who was really the savior in this historical account.  To argue that Deborah was the “savior” is entirely contradictory to God’s clearly established and clearly enunciated plan of authority and headship…for we know, according to 1 Corinthians 11:3, that, “But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman [is] the man; and the head of Christ [is] God.” as well as what we read in Ephesians 5:23, “For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body.” and Colossians 1:18, “And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.”

And is it not interesting that, when God recounts the great persons of Faith in Hebrews 11, that in amongst the Judges Gideon and Sampson, it was NOT Deborah who was mentioned, but rather Barak? We find this in Hebrews 11:32-34, “And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of Gedeon, and [of] Barak, and [of] Samson, and [of] Jephthae; [of] David also, and Samuel, and [of] the prophets:  Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions,  Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens.”  This is because in each case the “man” named is actually a type of Jesus Christ that is entirely consistent with what we read in Luke 24:27 and John 5:39.

Deborah Was the Wife of “Lapidoth”

Deborah was a prophetess (one who declares the word of God) and a judge in Israel.  We also know that she was the wife of Lapidoth (לַפִּידוֹת (lapîḏôṯ)^H3941), which is a plural form of the Hebrew word, “lapid” (לַפִּיד (lapîḏ)^H3940 ), meaning “lamp” or “lightning“, see below under Barak).  We see the word lapid used 14 times in the Bible… lamp 7, firebrand 2, torch 2, brand 1, lightning 1, burning 1.  

The first time it appears in the Bible, it seems a bit ominous, as we read in Genesis 15:1-21 where God promised Abram (Abraham) a future land of inheritance, and instructed that Abram prepare a sacrifice of five animals (heifer, goat, ram, turtledove, and pigeon; of which the first three were divided (cut) into pieces), and afterward Abram fell into a deep sleep and had a horrible vision where God revealed that the descendants of Abram (Abraham) would be in servitude in Egypt for 400 years, spanning four generations (to wit, Levi, Kohath, Amram, and Aaron), but then would come out with great substance.  Then we next read in Genesis 15:17 “And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp (“lapid” לַפִּיד (lapîḏ)^H3940) that passed between those pieces.”  And then the LORD made a covenant with Abram (Abraham) regarding the Promised Land of Israel for an inheritance to his descendants.

In Isaiah 62:1, “For Zion’s sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest, until the righteousness thereof go forth as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp (לַפִּיד (lapîḏ)^H3940 ) that burneth.”  

Deborah must therefore very likely be a typological representation of the true believers during a time of great apostasy who actively, and faithfully, declare the whole counsel of God’s word that brings the message of both deliverance and judgment.  Such believers, together with all other believers throughout history, are described in the Bible as the Bride of Christ. We should also remember that Jesus is The “Lamp,” albeit from a different Hebrew word that is normally translated as “candle”, but translated in English as “lamp” here in 2 Samuel 22:29 “For thou [art] my lamp (נִיר (nîr) ^H5216), O LORD: and the LORD will lighten my darkness.” and Psalm 119:105, “Thy word is a lamp (נִיר (nîr) ^H5216) unto my feet, and a light (אוֹר (‘ôr)^H216),unto my path.” We can derive the correlation between Jesus and the lamp because Jesus is The Word made flesh, as we read in John 1:14, “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.”

Deborah’s Palm Tree

Note that Deborah “dwelt under the palm tree of Deborah“ (the “palm tree” may be another reference to Jesus, because as we read in Psalm 92:12, “The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree: he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon.”).  Such trees represent life and strength typifying the attributes of Jesus Christ.  Reinforcing this idea is the use of the word “dwelt.”  For the believer, Jesus is our dwelling place (i.e., Psalm 90:1, {A Prayer of Moses the man of God.} “LORD, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations.  Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou [art] God“).  We also know that the palm tree was located “between Ramah and Bethel in mount Ephraim“.  Ramah means “high place,” and Bethel means “house of God.”  Ephraim pertains to the tribe of Ephraim, descended from the younger son of Joseph who received the double portion, and who Jacob blessed with his right hand and said “in thee shall Israel bless.”

It is worth a moment to consider why “the children of Israel came up to her for judgment.“  A judge is someone who hears a matter and then pronounces a sentence against an accusation whether vindication or condemnation and punishment.  When the believers bring the gospel of salvation they are always bringing the two-fold message of deliverance from the bondage to sin and Satan through Jesus Christ or the alternative just punishment of sin which is an eternity in hell on Judgment Day.  How can anyone truly know about salvation through Jesus Christ unless they first understand from what they are being saved?  Every human being is by nature in desperate need of a Savior to protect him or her from the coming judgment and wrath of God, which is the just penalty for his or her sins.  Furthermore, we know that if “He that spared not his own son” (Romans 8:32) in that Jesus had to endure God’s wrath in Hell, will not God also do the same to those who do not become saved? 2 Corinthians 5:11, “Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men;“

Barak, a Portrait of Jesus Christ as the Ultimate Judge

             Next we read in Judges 4:6, “And she sent and called Barak the son of Abinoam out of Kedesh-naphtali, and said unto him, Hath not the LORD God of Israel commanded, [saying], Go and draw toward mount Tabor, and take with thee ten thousand men of the children of Naphtali and of the children of Zebulun?“

This is the first reference to Barak.  Barak (בָּרָק (bārāq)^H1300), interestingly enough, also means “lightning” (exactly as Lapidoth, the husband of Deborah!), but also “glittering sword.”  Might Barak therefore also be a type or allegorical prefigurement of Jesus Christ?  In Exodus 19:16, we read of when Moses was on Mount Sinai and God made His presence known to the people, “And it came to pass on the third day in the morning, that there were thunders and lightnings (בָּרָק (bārāq)^H1300), and a thick cloud upon the mount, and the voice of the trumpet exceeding loud; so that all the people that [was] in the camp trembled.” 

It should be noted that immediately following the giving forth of the Ten Commandments, we also read in Exodus 20:18, “And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings (לַפִּיד (lapîḏ)^H3940 ), and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw [it], they removed, and stood afar off.” 

It is as if God is saying that Barak and Lapidoth are essentially the same.  As proof that this is indeed the case, in Ezekiel 1:13, we read in the same verse where Ezekiel describes the “visions of God,” “As for the likeness of the living creatures, their appearance [was] like burning coals of fire, [and] like the appearance of lamps (לַפִּיד (lapîḏ)^H3940 ): it went up and down among the living creatures; and the fire was bright, and out of the fire went forth lightning (בָּרָק (bārāq)^H1300).”  This is repeated in Daniel 10:6, where we read how Daniel, just like Ezekiel, describes Jesus in a vision, “His body also [was] like the beryl, and his face as the appearance of lightning (בָּרָק (bārāq)^H1300), and his eyes as lamps (לַפִּיד (lapîḏ)^H3940 ) of fire, and his arms and his feet like in colour to polished brass, and the voice of his words like the voice of a multitude.”  And isn’t it interesting that we see the same two words together again in Nahum 2:4, where judgment is being pronounced against Nineveh, “The chariots shall rage in the streets, they shall justle one against another in the broad ways: they shall seem like torches (לַפִּיד (lapîḏ)^H3940 ), they shall run like the lightnings (בָּרָק (bārāq)^H1300).”  

As though the picture of Barak representing the Lord Jesus Christ is not clear enough, we find in Psalm 77:18 and Psalm 97:4 the following declarations of the LORD reigning and His works and judgments, “The voice of thy thunder [was] in the heaven: the lightnings (בָּרָק bārāq)^H1300) lightened the world: the earth trembled and shook.” and “His lightnings (בָּרָק bārāq)^H1300) enlightened the world: the earth saw, and trembled.” 

Lightning and Arrows Used Together to Bring Judgment

And for additional emphasis on the connection with Jesus, Being God’s Word, and His association with bringing judgment, there is Zechariah 9:14, “And the LORD shall be seen over them, and his arrow חֵץ (ḥēṣ) ^H2671 shall go forth as the lightning (בָּרָק bārāq)^H1300): and the Lord GOD shall blow the trumpet, and shall go with whirlwinds of the south.” Also please note the particular and unmistakable harmony of these three additional verses that also tie “lightning” with  “arrows” or weapons of warfare to bring destruction, hence judgment:

God uses “Lightning/Lightnings” to Describe Jesus and His Second and Final Coming in the New Testament

Abinoam, a Portrait of The Father in Heaven

             Barak is also the son of Abinoam.  If the typological/allegorical methodology of interpretation, that has so far been employed in this study, is Biblically valid (e.g, That it is entirely God ordained and true), then we should logically expect, given the evidence that Barak so clearly and unequivocally represents Jesus Christ, that Barak’s father, Abinoam, would provide at least some evidence that Abinoam is a typological representation of The Father in Heaven.  In other words, we have a sound basis, or “scientific” means, to both test, and hopefully prove, this methodology of allegorical interpretation and to see whether it is God ordained or not.  We start with the theory based on previous evidence found in God’s Word (1 Corinthians 2:13), and now, using deductive reasoning, we are enabled to make a prediction using that theory.  In this passage of scripture, regarding Abinoam, we can put the theory to the test.  If the prediction (i.e. that Abinoam should be a clear “type” of The Father in Heaven) is validated, then likewise the theory is also validated! 

In perfect confirmation, with the above prediction, we find that Abinoam means “father (abi) of beauty (noam)” or “father (abi) of pleasantness (noam).”  Both progenitive attributes, “beauty” and “pleasantness“, as translated from the original Hebrew texts, can be shown to be unequivocal references to Jesus Christ, therefore, the “father” of those attributes (“beauty” and “pleasantness”), which unequivocally point to Jesus Christ, must be a “Typological” representation of God the Father in Heaven! Can this be proven?  It most certainly can!

Noam (“Beauty”), the name of the first staff in Zechariah 11 represents the Lord Jesus Christ

In Psalm 27:4 we read, “One [thing] have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty (noam) of the LORD, and to inquire in his temple.”  And it is EXTREMELY significant to find that God tells us in Zechariah 11:10-13*, “And I took my staff, [even] Beauty (Noam), and cut it asunder, that I might break my covenant which I had made with all the people. And it was broken in that day: and so the poor of the flock that waited upon me knew that it [was] the word of the LORD.  And I said unto them, If ye think good, give [me] my price; and if not, forbear. So they weighed for my price thirty [pieces] of silver.  And the LORD said unto me, Cast it unto the potter: a goodly price that I was prised at of them. And I took the thirty [pieces] of silver, and cast them to the potter in the house of the LORD.” Note, specifically, that the believers knew that it was the word of the LORD!  The believers who wait upon God must “know” that it was Jesus who was cut asunder, and that the price paid by the chief priests was thirty pieces of silver, because Jesus is the Word made flesh as we read in John 1:14.

These prophetic verses also describe exactly what happened to Jesus Christ (we know that Jesus (The WORD of the LORD) was cut asunder and that Jesus was broken by God for all believers, and that so also was the first covenant of works under the Law broken, in order that the new covenant of grace could be instituted) and the thirty pieces of silver were the price given to Judas Iscariot to betray Jesus, and that Judas “cast down the pieces of silver in the temple” (“The house of the LORD“), and which were later used to buy “the potter’s field, to bury strangers in“!

Note to the Reader: There is general agreement by most theologians and Biblical scholars that the passage in Zechariah, chapter 11, regarding the broken staff named “Beauty” (Noam) and its price, the thirty pieces of silver used to buy the potter’s field, prophetically points to Jesus Christ, but this is only because there is an explicit reference/description of it in both Matthew 27:3-10 and Acts 1:15-19.  In the Matthew account, Judas is seemingly filled with remorse for betraying Jesus, and he tries to return the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests (Matthew 27:3). When the chief priests and elders refuse to accept the money, Judas casts the thirty pieces of silver to the temple floor and leaves and hangs himself (Matthew 27:4&5). Not wanting to put “blood money” into the treasury, the priests use the silver pieces to buy a potter’s field (Matthew 27:6&7). “Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy* the prophet, saying, And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of him that was valued, whom they of the children of Israel did value; And gave them for the potter’s field, as the Lord appointed me.” (Matthew 27:9). 

It should also be noted that Exodus 21:32 lists “thirty shekels of silver” as the price the must be paid by an owner of any ox that gores another’s manservant or maidservant (hence it is the established value by God for a servant’s life), and we all should know that Jesus’s earthly life was one of servitude and that Jesus is also known as the “Suffering Servant”.

But what about “pleasantness“?  In Proverbs 3:17, God, through King Solomon, is describing wisdom and understanding (again clear references to Jesus Christ) where we read, “Her ways [are] ways of pleasantness (noam), and all her paths [are] peace.”  [Note: Don’t let the feminine gender reference confuse you, because in the very next two verses, we see wisdom equated to “the tree of Life” and “that by wisdom the LORD founded the earth.”  We know, therefore, that “wisdom” has to be referring to Jesus Christ because of what we read in John 14:6, and Revelation 2:7 and Revelation 22:2, and John 1:1-4.]  We can see, therefore, another excellent example of the perfection of God’s craftsmanship of both the actual history, and the recording of it in the Bible, to convey spiritual truth which can be found out if sought for like hidden treasure (see Proverbs 3:13-15).  If “beauty” and “pleasantness” (noam) represents Jesus Christ, then Abinoam unequivocally represents The Father in Heaven.  Because Abinoam is the father of Barak, Barak is again seen (from a new perspective, beyond the meaning of Barak in the Hebrew and God’s use of Barak in Biblical scripture) to represent Jesus Christ, the Son of God The Father.

Perhaps most importantly, the prediction was correct and therefore, likewise, the methodology is also proven to be valid. We have thus all been clearly shown a proven means of interpretation of the Bible from the Bible!  (and it was all simply done by only comparing spiritual things with spiritual things…by comparing scripture with scripture)

* In the Matthew 27:3-10 account of the 30 pieces of silver being cast down in the temple, which were used by the chief priests to buy the potter’s field (“the field of blood“), please note that in verse 9 it references the prophet Jeremy (Jeremiah) versus Zechariah, which can lead to some confusion.  If we look at Jeremiah 32:6-15, we can indeed see a number of similarities, as it references “redemption“, that it was “a field” purchased for 17 shekels of “silver” and reference to an “earthen vessel” (a pot made by a potter), and “Then I knew that this [was] the word of the LORD.” Note how this compares to Zechariah 11:11, “the poor of the flock that waited upon me knew that it [was] the word of the LORD.” It is not clear why Jeremiah states “17” “shekels of silver” versus “30″ “pieces of silver” as is found in both Matthew 27 and Zechariah 11 (Interestingly, Exodus 21:32 lists “thirty shekels of silver” as the penalty to an owner of any ox that gores another’s manservant or maidservant). Then Jeremiah 32:12 concludes that the evidence of the purchase would be written in “the book of the purchase, before all the Jews that sat in the court of the prison.” The purpose of these passages was to provide a testimony that although the Jews (Judah and Benjamin) would go into Babylonian captivity, God would free the captives after 70 years, (Jeremiah 29:10) and return them to Jerusalem and the surrounding areas, which allegorically pointed to Jesus freeing the believers from captivity in prison (in bondage within the gates of hell) to the New Jerusalem (heaven).  So the Gospel theme nonetheless remains consistent. 

What about the second staff, “Bands”?

We should also note that in reading one verse further in Zechariah 11:14, we find God telling us, “Then I cut asunder mine other staff, [even] Bands (חֵבֶל (ḥēḇel) ^H2256), that I might break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.” The Hebrew word translated as “Bands” (חֵבֶל (ḥēḇel) ^H2256) is used in the Bible indicate a “bond” with reference to “a cord/rope (as twisted), especially a measuring line; by implication, a district or inheritance (as measured)” or “sorrows” like a woman in travail.  The use of the name “Bands” for the second of the two staves would seem to be telling us that God is providing a second witness to His ending of dissolution of His marital relationship with national Israel, because Jesus is of the tribe of Judah, and when the first staff, “Beauty” (Noam, hence Jesus, “the word of the LORD”), was cut asunder, so too was the marital covenant relationship with national Israel. Remember the the moment that Jesus died, the veil of the Temple leading to the Holy of Holies was rent from top to bottom (Matthew 27:51, Mark 15:38, Luke 23:45 ) which indicated that God’s temporal marriage to national Israel (the Old Testament church) had ended, along with all animal sacrifices, and which marked the beginning of the new eternal marital covenant (the New Testament church) with the Gentiles with a remnant of national Israel.

Moreover, it should also be noted how the word “bands” is used in Psalm 2:1-3, where we read, “¶Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed, [saying], Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us.” The majority of mankind (the “heathen”) have no interest in a marital relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ as they are opposed to Him and His Church.

One More Thing: Honey, like Noam, is another reference to the Word of God, Jesus Christ (and the Gospel of Jesus Christ)

It was earlier mentioned with regard to Deborah (meaning “bee” in the original Hebrew,  דְּבוֹרָה (dᵊḇôrâ) ^H1682, which is from the root word דָּבַר(dāḇar) ^H1696 meaning to “speak” or “declare” and is intimately linked with the Hebrew word for “word“דָּבָר (dāḇār)^H1697).  It is an interesting fact that where bees gather you will also find “honey” ^H1706 or “honeycomb”^H5317, that comes from bees, are both often used typologically for the Word of God/the Gospel of Jesus Christ (see Judges 14:8&9, and Psalm 119:103, and Revelation 10:9&10). And this is entirely consistent with the fact that Deborah was a “prophetess”, or someone who faithfully proclaims the Word of God.  However, “bees” דְּבוֹרָה (dᵊḇôrâ) ^H1682 are also used by God in the Bible to denote a means of judgment that God sends in response to rebellion (because they are given power to chase and sting, see for example Isaiah 7:18 and Deuteronomy 1:44).  It is also noteworthy that Jesus said in John 12:48, “He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.” That last day is Judgment Day!

We also know that the promised land (typifying Heaven) is frequently described in the Bible as a place flowing with “milk and honey”^H1706.  And it should be noted here that when Paul’s was shipwrecked, that the “certain island” that Paul prophesied about in Acts 27:26 was named Melita (now known as Malta) in Acts 28:1.  Melita means “Honey” and it was also used in this event to portray “Heaven”… to where all 276 souls on the ship were saved, even though the ship (representing the corporate church just before judgment day) was destroyed.  Some swam,”And the rest, some on boards, and some on [broken pieces] of the ship. And so it came to pass, that they escaped all safe to land.”  

Getting back to the meaning of honey, please also note for example, in Psalm 119:103, we read, “How sweet are thy words unto my taste! [yea, sweeter] than honey ^H1706 to my mouth!”  In Proverbs 24:13 &14, we can see a clear link between honey and “knowledge of wisdom”, which is associated with The Word (Which Is Jesus), “My son, eat thou honey^H1706, because [it is] good; and the honeycomb^H5317, [which is] sweet to thy taste: So [shall] the knowledge of wisdom be unto thy soul: when thou hast found [it], then there shall be a reward, and thy expectation shall not be cut off.”  

And in Ezekiel 3:3&4, when God told Ezekiel to eat the roll (words were on the roll/scroll) we read, “And he said unto me, Son of man, cause thy belly to eat, and fill thy bowels with this roll that I give thee. Then did I eat [it]; and it was in my mouth as honey ^H1706 for sweetness. And he said unto me, Son of man, go, get thee unto the house of Israel, and speak with my words unto them.” Clearly God is equating honey with His Word.

Also in Psalm 19:7-11, we read, “The law of the LORD [is] perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD [is] sure, making wise the simple.The statutes of the LORD [are] right, rejoicing the heart:the commandment of the LORD [is] pure, enlightening the eyes.The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the LORD [are] true [and] righteous altogether. More to be desired [are they] than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey ^H1706 and the honeycomb^H5317. Moreover by them is thy servant warned: [and] in keeping of them [there is] great reward.”  

Please also note that when Jonathan ate the honey that his eyes were enlightened!  See1 Samuel 14:25-29, with the last verse saying, “Then said Jonathan, My father hath troubled the land: see, I pray you, how mine eyes have been enlightened, because I tasted a little of this honey ^H1706“

So then, it is therefore no coincidence that we find in Proverbs 16:24, “Pleasant (Noam) words [are as] an honeycomb^H5317, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones.”  Given that we have been shown that Noam is representative of Jesus, then we can see that this verse is really telling us that “Jesus’s words are like honeycomb and sweet to the soul and health to the bones.”  Jesus’s words (and He is The Word) give us eternal life and they are very sweet and indeed very healthy for us!

Finally, with regard to honey, as it is described in the Bible, we are also apparently given some warnings that we should take in the Word carefully, such as meditating on it, and not rushing through it as we also read in Proverbs 25:16, “Hast thou found honey^H1706? eat so much as is sufficient for thee, lest thou be filled therewith, and vomit it.”  We simply cannot absorb the Bible as if we were reading any other book. And in Proverbs 25:27, we find this additional warning, “[It is] not good to eat much honey^H1706: so [for men] to search their own glory [is not] glory.”  While this last point is not entirely clear to this teacher, it may be that we are also being admonished by God that while studying God’s Word to seek enlightenment, we must be careful to discern our personal motivations.  Is it to glorify God? (which is all that it should be) or is it somehow a vehicle by which we are contributing to our own vanity because we have been enabled to see things that might otherwise be hidden from others? (Remember Jonathan and how his “eyes have been enlightened” when he “tasted a little of the honey^H1706 “, 1Sa 14:29 .) If we have been enlightened by God through the reading and hearing of God’s Word, not only should we be willing to humbly share that honey with others, but we must never presume for one moment any pridefulness as a result of any such enlightenment. Proverbs 20:12, “The hearing ear, and the seeing eye, the LORD hath made even both of them.” Whatever spiritual discernment that we might have, it is solely a gift from God, and therefore, God, Alone, gets ALL of the Glory!

The Believers are From Every Nation, Typified by “Galilee of the Gentiles”

But what does it mean to be from Kedesh-naphtali?   Kedesh (meaning ceremonially clean) was established as a city of refuge (together with the city of Shechem in mount Ephraim, see Joshua 20:7).  Furthermore, in Joshua 21:32 we read that Kedesh is in the area of land given to the tribe of Naphtali known as Galilee.

But what about Barak taking ten thousand men of the children of Naphtali and Zebulun toward mount Tabor?  From Matthew 4:12-15 (and Isaiah 9:1), we learn that the land of both Naphtali and Zebulun (Naphtalim and Zabulon in Greek) is identified as being within the region of Galilee, “Now when Jesus had heard that John was cast into prison, he (Jesus) departed into Galilee;  And leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the sea coast, in the borders of Zabulon and Nephthalim:  That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias (Isaiah 9:1) the prophet, saying, The land of Zabulon, and the land of Nephthalim, [by] the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles (nations);” (But PLEASE also be sure to read the rest of Isaiah 9:2-6, footnoted below, as it succinctly lays out salvation is for the believers from every nation through Jesus Christ).**

But what does it mean to be from Zebulun? Is it not also most interesting that the town of Nazareth, where Jesus grew up, in not only in the Galilee region, but it is also specifically in the land of Zebulun, just as was the home of Jonah (almost next-door in Gath-Hepher), but now, not surprisingly, we see that this same area was also the home of Barak!                                                                                         Please see: https://bereansearching.com/tag/jonah/  and the map below:

Map Source: https://i2.wp.com/ladderofjacob.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/galilee-01.jpg

When we look closer at the verses in Judges 4, we get the distinct impression that God is declaring that a multitude (typified by the number ten thousand) of believers is drawn from all the nations of the world,  both Gentile (non-Israeli) nations as well as the remnant saved by grace from the nation of Israel (primarily during the New Testament era and hence relating to the New Testament Church) and that they would go with Jesus to whatever mount Tabor represents. 

This interpretation is corroborated by Revelation  5:9-13, where, respecting the Lamb (Jesus Christ, “Lion of the Tribe of Judah, the Root of David”  Who “prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof” Revelation 5:5-6, and Who we know Is “the Lamb of God” (John 1:29), we read the following:

“And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth. And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands; Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing.” And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever.” 

It is important to note the very close similarity of the above to that which can be found in the Old Testament, in Daniel 7:9-14, where we see another account of Judgment Day illustrated by very similar language, “I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire. A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: thousands thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened. I beheld then because of the voice of the great words which the horn spake: I beheld even till the beast was slain, and his body destroyed, and given to the burning flame. As concerning the rest of the beasts, they had their dominion taken away: yet their lives were prolonged for a season and time. I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.” The Ancient of Days would have to be God The Father, while the Son of man is clearly Jesus Christ.

And even back during the wilderness sojourn, we are told that when the Ark of the Covenant rested, then Moses said in Numbers 10:36, “And when it rested, he said, Return, O LORD, unto the many thousands of Israel.”  The words translated for many thousands in the original Hebrew text read, רָבַב (H7231) אֶלֶף (H504) which can be read as “myriad thousand”, “millions of thousand”, or “ten thousand thousand.” So again, the eternal Israel is being typified by God by these numbers in the Bible.

The “out every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation” and “all people, nations, and languages” refers to all those saved by grace from both national Israel together with the Gentile nations and “the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands” shows us that the number of believers, the eternal Israel, saved by Jesus out of all nations, is a great multitude consistent with “all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues“, and was therefore indeed “a great multitude, which no man could number.”  

It should also be noted that we read of a seemingly smaller number “an hundred and forty and four thousand.” in Revelation 7:4 and in Revelation 14:1-3, it is clear that the number 144,000 is a spiritual number representing all who are saved by the Lord Jesus Christ (the number is composed of 12 (representing the twelve tribes of ancient Israel) time 12 (representing the 12 Apostles of the New Testament era) times 1000 which emphasizes “completeness”.   “And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father’s name written in their foreheads. And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder: and I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps: And they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth.“

So we see then that the “ten thousand(s)” is a spiritual number used by God for typifying the great multitude of all of those who are saved by Jesus Christ, Who Is their Redeemer, just as the number 144,000 also represents all those who are redeemed.

That multitude of believers is found in Heaven, praising God for their salvation, as we read on in Revelation 7:9-10 where they, “stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb.”

Remember also what we read in Matthew 12:14-18, after Jesus healed the man with the withered hand, “Then the Pharisees went out, and held a council against him, how they might destroy him. But when Jesus knew it, he withdrew himself from thence: and great multitudes followed him, and he healed them all; And charged them that they should not make him known: That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, Behold my servant, whom I have chosen; my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased: I will put my spirit upon him, and he shall shew judgment to the Gentiles.“

Mount Tabor, a Portrait of Heaven with Judgment in View?

         As a mountain, we know that there is at least the possibility that mount Tabor could represent Heaven for we read in Psalm 121:1 {A Song of degrees.} “I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills (from “har” in Hebrew which can also be translated “mountains”), from whence cometh my help.” and Psalm 123:1 {A Song of degrees.} “Unto thee lift I up mine eyes, O thou that dwellest in the heavens.”  See also Psalm 24:3 “Who shall ascend into the hill (har) of the LORD? or who shall stand in his holy place” and  Psalms 48:1 “Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised in the city of our God, in the mountain (har) of his holiness.“

It is not entirely clear what the actual derivation of “Tabor” is…there seem to be a number of somewhat conflicting explantions.  One is that it is from the root word “taher” (Strong’s #2891) meaning to be pronounced clean or purged and purified.   Without doubt, Heaven is entirely “Pure” and those who ascend to Heaven have to have been made spiritually clean by Jesus’s sacrifice. (It is also interesting to note here that Mt. Tabor is a leading candidate to be the site of  Jesus’s Transfiguration (The Mount of Transfiguration)…and while we can’t confirm or deny that assertion from the Bible; based on what we can learn in the course of this study,  it would not be surprising).

In Judges 4:7, we read how God, speaking through Deborah, would bring Sisera to the river Kishon* (from the Hebrew qowsh or yaqosh, meaning “to set a trap or snare, like that of a fowler”) that is located at the foot of Mt. Tabor in the middle of the plain of Megiddo (from which Armageddon is derived) for Barak to meet in battle. Armageddon is specifically mentioned as the location representing the end of the world as we read in Revelation 16:16-18, “And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon. And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done. And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great.” 

Remember, that in Luke 21:34&35, Jesus spoke of Judgment Day in the context of a snare, “And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and [so] that day come upon you unawares. For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth.” Moreover, regardless of the derivation of Mt. Tabor, we do know that God clearly has established severe Judgment at the foot of mount Tabor in association with the river Kishon (“to snare”), and the Megiddo (e.g., Armageddon) valley that it flows through, because it is also a fact that after Elijah confounded the 450 prophets of Baal in 1 Kings 18:20-40 on top of mount Carmel (near the Mediterranean Sea), that we read in verse 40, “And Elijah said unto them, Take the prophets of Baal; let not one of them escape. And they took them: and Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon, and slew them there.“

And is it not very interesting that both mount Tabor and mount Carmel are both mentioned in the same verse in Jeremiah 46:18, “[As] I live, saith the King, whose name [is] the LORD of hosts, Surely as Tabor [is] among the mountains, and as Carmel by the sea, [so] shall he come.” It would seem that God is saying that He Is surely coming again in Judgment (on Judgment Day) as surely as He did bring Judgment to the valley of Megiddo (Armageddon) from both mount Tabor and mount Carmel in the past.

*Note: The destruction of Sisera and Jabin at the river Kishon is corroborated in Psalm 83:9, “Do unto them as [unto] the Midianites; as to Sisera, as to Jabin, at the brook of Kison:“

Deborah “Arose”

By Judges 4:9 we find that Deborah “arose” and went with Barak to Kedesh (the city of refuge).  In Judges 4:10, we read how Barak “called” Zebulun and Naphtali (the believers from out of the Gentile nations) and he “went up with ten thousand men at his feet: and Deborah went with him.“  These references of going up with Barak prophetically make it clear that all believers are partakers of the first resurrection of the dead “in Christ” which took place on Easter Sunday, 33 A.D.  This is why we read in verse eight, “And Barak said unto her, If thou wilt go with me, then I will go: but if thou wilt not go with me, [then] I will not go.”  While anyone can speculate that in the earthly historical account that Barak was fearful, the Bible does not support that anywhere explicitly.  This is because the spiritual implication (that Jesus’s resurrection and ascension to Heaven includes that of His Church…without whom He would not go) would otherwise be lost.  This idea is also entirely consistent with what we find in Ephesians 1:20, “Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set [him] at his own right hand in the heavenly [places],” and in Ephesians 2:6, “And hath raised [us] up together, and made [us] sit together in heavenly [places] in Christ Jesus:“

Map source: https://sonlightcamp.org/2017/01/15/first-light/

Judges 4:14-16, Judgment Day (The Ultimate Armageddon) is Coming!

Skipping ahead to verse 14, we read, “And Deborah said unto Barak, Up; for this [is] the day in which the LORD hath delivered Sisera into thine hand: is not the LORD gone out before thee?  So Barak went down from mount Tabor, and ten thousand men after him.”  Does this sound familiar?  It should, because in Jude 14&15 we are given a prophesy of the second coming of Jesus on Judgment Day with “ten thousands of his saints.”  There we read, “And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints,: To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard [speeches] which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.”

Please note the similarity in the language we find concerning the last words of Moses before his death in Deuteronomy 33:2&3, “And he said, The LORD came from Sinai, and rose up from Seir unto them; he shined forth from mount Paran, and he came with ten thousands of saints: from his right hand [went] a fiery law for them.  Yea, he loved the people; all his saints [are] in thy hand: and they sat down at thy feet; [every one] shall receive of thy words.” Remembering also that just previously in Judges 4:10, we read how Barak “called” Zebulun and Naphtali (the believers from out of the Gentile nations) and he “went up with ten thousand men at his feet: and Deborah went with him.”  Barak is a clear and unequivocal “Type” of the LORD Jesus Christ!

Remember also what we find in the clearly Messianic verses of Zechariah 14:4&5, where the verses end by declaring that on Judgment Day, Jesus will come with all of His saints with Him, “and the LORD my God shall come, [and] all the saints with thee.”

Other verses to ponder regarding God’s use of “ten thousand” as it pertains to the saints in Heaven and the Judgment to come:

Daniel 7:9 &10, “I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne [was like] the fiery flame, [and] his wheels as burning fire. A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened.”

Revelation 5:11&12 “And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands; Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing.”

In Judges 4:15&16, we see the total defeat of Sisera and all his host: “And the LORD discomfited Sisera, and all [his] chariots, and all [his] host, with the edge of the sword before Barak; so that Sisera lighted down off [his] chariot, and fled away on his feet.  But Barak pursued after the chariots, and after the host, unto Harosheth of the Gentiles: and all the host of Sisera fell upon the edge of the sword; [and] there was not a man left.” Note how well this harmonizes with what we read in Psalm 106:10&11, regarding God’s salvation of national Israel leading them through the Red Sea, and the subsequent destruction of Egyptians led by Pharaoh that sought to kill them in the Red Sea. “And he saved them from the hand of him that hated [them], and redeemed them from the hand of the enemy. And the waters covered their enemies: there was not one of them left.”  When Judgment Day comes, Jesus with all of His Saints will forever destroy ALL of Jesus’s (and their) enemies, the devil and his host, and consign them to Hell, and there will be none of them left.

The Believers Will Take Part in Bringing Judgment on Judgment Day 

It should also be noted here that the 10,000 men who come down from Mt. Tabor after Barak represent all of the “saints”, the “believers”, the “saved” who will come down from Heaven with Jesus on Judgment Day (we know this from Jude 1:14, “…Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints.“).  It is the eternal Church, the body of believers of which Jesus is the eternal Head.  It is clear that the physical destruction of the host of Sisera was by the “sword”, and, in the historical account,  it could not have been done by Barak alone, it would have had to have also been done by those who came with Barak.  If we turn to Psalm 149:5-9, we read that, “Let the saints be joyful in glory: let them sing aloud upon their beds.[Let] the high [praises] of God be in their mouth, and a twoedged sword in their hand; To execute vengeance upon the heathen, [and] punishments upon the people; To bind their kings with chains, and their nobles with fetters of iron;To execute upon them the judgment written: this honour have all his saints. Praise ye the LORD.”  And what is the “twoedged sword”? It is the Word of God! The Bible tells us so here in Hebrews 4:12, “For the word of God [is] quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and [is] a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” Also in Revelation 1:16 where we read about the twoedged sword coming out of the mouth of Jesus (“the Son of man“), “And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance [was] as the sun shineth in his strength.”  Everyone who is unsaved will be judged on the basis of God’s Word, Who is Jesus, and it is the saved believers who are the attendant messengers and witnesses of that Word.  Finally, we know from John 12:48 where Jesus said, “He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.” The Word of God (Jesus is both The Word and the Bringer of the Word) is the Sword by which God will both Judge and Destroy all of the unbelievers on Judgment Day.

But why is the Word of God specifically called a “twoedged” sword?  It is because the Word of God brings both life and death, both salvation or condemnation, “comfort” and “vengeance” (see: https://bereansearching.com/2022/07/20/a-christian-perspective-on-the-book-of-nahum-comfort-and-consolation/) .  We read in 2 Corinthians 2:14-17, “Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place. For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish:To the one we are the savour of death unto death; and to the other the savour of life unto life. And who [is] sufficient for these things? For we are not as many, which corrupt the word of God:but as of sincerity, but as of God, in the sight of God speak we in Christ.“

 Judges Chapter 5 is God’s Commentary on Judges Chapter 4

             Although there is one last aspect of final judgment in this historical account, which seems to point to the woman, Jael, (the wife of a descendent of the Father-in-Law of Moses), who is directly involved in the slaying of Sisera with a hammer and nail, as being a type of the eternal church bringing about the death of the devil’s captain through the bringing of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the “Word” (Jeremiah 52:7, “[Is] not my word like as a fire? saith the LORD; and like a hammer [that] breaketh the rock in pieces?”)…let us move ahead to Chapter 5 to test the validity of this exposition and interpretation of Judges chapter 4.  In Judges chapter 5, we read of the song of Deborah and Barak.  In that song, giving praise to God for “the avenging of Israel,” we find that there four very significant verses:

Four Very significant Verses In Judges, Chapter 5

#1… in Judges 5:12, we read, “Awake, awake, Deborah: awake, awake, utter a song: arise, Barak, and lead thy captivity captive, thou son of Abinoam.“    We need to take a close look a the underlined phrases in this verse.

#1A: “Awake, awake”

The repetition of the words Awake, awake (two times) is worthy of note.  It reminds us of what we find three times in Isaiah:

The Valley of Megiddo is Through Which the River Kishon Flows (1 Kings 18:40)

#2… is Judges 5:19, because God makes it clear that the battle is to be linked with the valley of Megiddo, and therefore no question of its relationship to the Armageddon we read about in Revelation 16:16, “The kings came [and] fought, then fought the kings of Canaan in Taanach by the waters of Megiddo; they took no gain of money.”  

Another link between Armageddon and Judgment Day, when Jesus returns as Judge (but also with salvation for the believers), can be found in Zechariah 12:10&12 “And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for [his] only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for [his] firstborn. In that day shall there be a great mourning in Jerusalem, as the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon.” And  this refers back to 2Kings 23:29, when King Josiah was slain by Pharaoh Nechoh in the valley of Megiddo and there was a great mourning for King Josiah in Jerusalem. (Hadadrimmon is a town in the valley of Megiddo named after two false gods of Syria (Haddad and Rimmon))

#3… in Judges 5:20, God shows that this whole event has been a perfectly crafted historical parable typifying Armageddon at Judgment Day, because He says, “They fought from heaven; the stars in their courses fought against Sisera.“  Clearly, this description has nothing to do with the earthly, historical and physical battle we read about in Chapter 4.  Rather God is telling us that Chapter 4 contained typological representations.  Chapter 4 portrayed Jesus Christ (typified by Barak in this historical account) coming down from Heaven (typified by mount Tabor in this historical account) with His multitudes of saints (typified by the stars, please see Genesis 22:17, Isaiah 14:13, Dan 12:1-3) on Judgment Day (typified by the battle in the valley of Megiddo, a.k.a. Armageddon) to slay Satan and all of his host, the fallen angels and the unsaved of the world (typified by the kings of Canaan and all their host).

Genesis 22:17, “That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;“

From Isaiah 14:12-15, we clearly see that Satan, the chief prince of all the angels that became devils, in his great pride sought to “be like the most High,” but was subsequently consigned to Hell. 

Note that Satan wanted to exalt his throne above the “stars” of God; In the Bible the stars represent the believers as we read next in Daniel 12:3, “And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.“

#4…in Judges 5:21, God tells us that, “The river of Kishon swept them away, that ancient river, the river Kishon. O my soul, thou hast trodden down strength.“  This appears to be further evidence of the finality of the death that is in view, i.e. when God casts Satan and all his dominion into the lake of fire (from Revelation Chapter 20) for all eternity!  And it is also consistent with the last verse, Judges 5:31, “So let all thine enemies perish, O LORD: but [let] them that love him [be] as the sun when he goeth forth in his might. And the land had rest forty years.”

Conclusion

             In this study we have seen yet another case where God has masterfully crafted history, and the recording of it, to prefigure the return of the Lord Jesus Christ on Judgment Day.  From it we have learned that the battle of Armageddon is not some future earthly battle involving earthly political nations, i.e. Russia, etc., attacking the political state we now know as national Israel in the valley of Megiddo.  That scenario has nothing to do with the Armageddon of the Bible, because Armageddon is actually Judgment Day itself!  Judgment Day will be the last event in history when the Lord Jesus Christ will come back in the clouds of Glory to destroy all wickedness, and send all of the unsaved to an eternity in Hell, and put an end to this entire creation, which is under the curse of sin.  It will mark the end of time and the beginning of eternity wherein righteousness will dwell in new heavens and a new earth forever.  In 2 Peter 3:10 we read, “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.” But thankfully in 2 Peter 3:13 we read, “Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.“

It should also be noted how prevalent judgment is in the word picture painted by God in Judges 4 & 5.  It is safe to say that the whole account is dripping with judgment.  First we found that Deborah, who typified the believers, is described as a judge who declared judgment during a time of judgment from God on National Israel.  Then we found that Barak represents Jesus as the ultimate Judge at a battle that perfectly typifies the ultimate judgment that definitely will come on the Last Day, Judgment Day.  We even saw how the geographic setting appears to be pointing to that judgment.  It is therefore entirely appropriate that God has painted this so very vivid picture of judgment in the book entitled “Judges.”

In 2 Corinthians 5:11, we are admonished, “Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are made manifest unto God; and I trust also are made manifest in your consciences.”  Given that God has recorded such a clear and unequivocal prophetic warning of the final judgment that is so assuredly coming; it is incumbent on everyone to search his or her own conscience (and heart) and ask himself or herself the big question: Am I ready to meet God?  It is my sincere prayer that whosoever reads this review will undergo that self-examination and be able to answer in the affirmative.  If not, it is still possible to cry out to God for mercy, for it is still the day of salvation.  (Please also remember that Barak was just a pre-figuring “shadow” of Jesus Christ, not the “substance.”  Only through the Person and Work of Jesus Christ is there any hope of salvation. Acts 4:12, “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.“)

**Isaiah 9:2-6, “The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined. Thou hast multiplied the nation, and not increased the joy: they joy before thee according to the joy in harvest, and as men rejoice when they divide the spoil. For thou hast broken the yoke of his burden, and the staff of his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, as in the day of Midian. For every battle of the warrior is with confused noise, and garments rolled in blood; but this shall be with burning and fuel of fire. For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.“

Today’s Application: Are You Ready?

         Jesus is the only Way of escape from the just penalty for our sins. All other ways that man can devise will lead only to Hell come Judgment Day. You are either with God or against God.  Have you made peace with God through Jesus Christ?  Please pray to God for mercy through Jesus Christ and He will show you mercy.

This entry was posted on September 19, 2009 at 3:53 am and is filed under Bible Studies. You can subscribe via RSS 2.0 feed to this post's comments.

Tags: Armageddon, Baal, Barak, Bible, Deborah, God, Israel, israelite, Jabin, Jesus, Joshua, Judges, Judgment Day, Sisera