Bereansearching Bible Studies

Introduction

Biblical names in the Bible are extremely important as they almost always signify an important spiritual truth that can be perceived, regarding either a person (including his or her lives) or a place, which in one way or another relates to God’s Magnificent Salvation Program and Glorifies God and The Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. There are simply too many examples to expound upon this point (Barak and Abinoam is one such illustration), this post will focus only on a few key people(s) of the Bible whose names were “changed”, along with the evident spiritual reasoning behind those name changes.

For more on the meaning of names in the Bible, this teacher highly recommends the book a dictionary of proper names in the Bible.

Changing a Name in the Bible

When God changed a person’s name, as has been recorded in the Bible, and then gave that person a new name, it established an entirely new identity that spiritually pointed to a conversion of that carnal person (or group of persons) becoming newly identified as a spiritual child of God.

#1. Abram to Abraham

God changed Abram’s name אַבְרָם (‘aḇrām)^H87, meaning “exalted father,” to “Abraham” אַבְרָהָם (‘aḇrāhām)^H85, meaning “father of a multitude” or “father of many nations” (Genesis 17:5). This name change took place when God gave Abraham the covenant of circumcision and the promise of the “seed” which pointed to the Savior, Jesus Christ, as we read in Genesis 22:18, “And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.”, which was later exposited in Galatians 3:16, “Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.”

#2. Sarai to Sarah

God also changed Abraham’s wife’s name from “Sarai,”שָׂרַי (śāray)^H8297 meaning “princess,” to “Sarah” שָׂרָה (śārâ)^H8283, meaning “mother of nations” (Genesis 17:15).

Abraham had a first-born son, Ishmael, through Sarah’s handmaiden, Hagar, and Ishmael did indeed become a progenitor of many nations, primarily in the Arab world of today. God also reaffirmed His promise to give Abraham a son through Sarah, and told him to name his son Isaac, meaning “laughter.” God’s promise to bless the nations through Abraham was to be fulfilled only through Isaac’s line, from whom Jesus descended via Mary (Luke 3:23-38).

#3. Jacob to Israel

Isaac was the father of the fraternal twins Jacob and Esau via Rebekah. The Bible tells us that the twins fought in the womb of Rebecca as we read in Genesis 25:22&23, “And the children struggled together within her; and she said, If [it be] so, why [am] I thus? And she went to enquire of the LORD. And the LORD said unto her, Two nations [are] in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and [the one] people shall be stronger than t[he other] people; and the elder shall serve the younger.” Although Esau was the first-born, and hence the elder, Jacob, the younger grabbed Esau by the heel during that birth. “his hand took hold on Esau’s heel;” being suggestive of what was to come. (Genesis 25:26)

Jacob’s birth name, Jacob יַעֲקֹב (yaʿăqōḇ)^H3290, means “supplanter”, “usurper”, “deceiver”; it was given to Jacob because, he grew up as a conniver and deceiver, and he eventually supplanted his brother’s position as heir to both the birthright and the first-born son’s blessing from their father, Isaac.

After Jacob’s struggle with the Lord at Peniel, the Lord gave Jacob a new name: “Israel” יִשְׂרָאֵל (yiśrā’ēl) ^H3478 , meaning “Prince with God” and God gave this reason: “Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed.” (Genesis 32:28).

Note: Israel can mean different things at different times. It can refer to the man who was Jacob, it can refer to the nation, it can refer to the church of God, or Israel can refer to Jesus Christ. Sometimes it can even different interpretations at the same time. Hosea 11:1 reads, “¶When Israel [was] a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt.” This verse can be referring to the nation of Israel in 1447 BC, or it can be referring to Jesus as a child when Joseph and Mary fled to Egypt until after the death of King Herod in 4 BC as we are told in Matthew 2:15.

Later, God appeared to Jacob/Israel again in Bethel, and reaffirmed the name change, and gave him the same covenant that Abraham had received (Genesis 35:9-12). Thus the “heel-catcher”, who struggled with his brother Esau in the womb of Rebekah, was converted to one who struggled with God, and while seeming initially to be otherwise, God ultimately prevails. And we should also realized that from an eternal perspective, the newly named “Israel” carried within him the very DNA that would ultimately be passed on to become Jesus (through Mary), and it is Jesus, Who is God, Who will ultimately “Prevail”.

Moreover, before Jacob met with God in Bethel, Jacob commanded that all idols be cast away and he purified himself and his household as we read in Genesis 35:2, “Then Jacob said unto his household, and to all that [were] with him, Put away the strange gods that [are] among you, and be clean, and change your garments:” There was a newness of covering as well.

After the name change, some passages in Genesis refer to Jacob as “Jacob” Genesis 33:1; 34:7; 35:15; 37:1) and others as “Israel” (Genesis 35:21; 37:3; 43:6; 46:1). Some have suggested that the name Jacob represents his old nature and Israel his new. That is, he is called “Jacob” when functioning in his carnal old nature, but he is called “Israel” when he is acting out of his new nature. There could be limited merit in this suggestion in some passages, and it would parallel the Christian’s experience as presented in Ephesians 4:22-24, “That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.”

1 Corinthians 15:50-54, “¶Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal [must] put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.”

There are several psalms that use both names side by side: “Jacob shall rejoice, [and] Israel shall be glad” (Psalm 53:6) and “For he established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel,” (Psalm 78:5). The names Jacob and Israel seem to be used synonymously, and both names can represent the nation as well as the individual, but is clear that Jacob underwent a major conversion consistent with the name change.

#4. Oshea to Joshua

In Numbers 13:1-3, we read, “¶And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Send thou men, that they may search the land of Canaan, which I give unto the children of Israel: of every tribe of their fathers shall ye send a man, every one a ruler among them. ¶And Moses by the commandment of the LORD sent them from the wilderness of Paran: all those men [were] heads of the children of Israel.” Then in Numbers 13:8, “Of the tribe of Ephraim, Oshea the son of Nun.”

Oshea is translated from the original Hebrew word הוֹשֵׁעַ (hôšēaʿ)^H1954, which means “Salvation” (note that it is also the same name as both Hoshea from Deuteronomy 32:44, and Hosea, the Old Testament prophet).

However, just a few verses later in Numbers 13:16, we read, “¶These are the names of the men which Moses sent to spy out the land. And Moses called Oshea the son of Nun Jehoshua.” So then Moses changed the name of Oshea to Jehoshua (or “Joshua” and “Yeshua”). Jehoshua is translated from the original Hebrew word יְהוֹשׁוּעַ (yᵊhôšûaʿ)^H3091, which means “Jehovah Is Salvation“.

The question arises, why did Moses change the name of Oshea (Salvation) to Jehoshua, the same as Joshua (Jehovah Is Salvation)? Well, it is no accident that the Name of “Jesus” is translated from the into English from the Greek Ἰησοῦς (iēsous)^G2424 which is the Greek version of Joshua (yᵊhôšûaʿ). Joshua was established by God to be a great “Type” of the Lord Jesus Christ, as Joshua would be the man chosen to lead the people of Israel into the Promised Land (picturing Heaven) through the flood of the river Jordan (picturing Hell). The point was that Oshea was given a new name that honored and glorified God, and would set the precedent for real Jesus (Jehovah Is Salvation) roughly 1400 years later.

#5. Jezeer to Abiezer

In Judges 6:11 we see this, “¶And there came an angel of the LORD, and sat under an oak which [was] in Ophrah, that [pertained] unto Joash the Abiezrite: and his son Gideon threshed wheat by the winepress, to hide [it] from the Midianites.“

The locality of Gideon’s family was Ophrah, עָפְרָה (ʿāp̄râ)^H6084 meaning “fawn“.

Gideon was clearly of the family of the “Abiezrites“, but we can deduce that that family was also previously known as the “Jeezerites“. We know this from Numbers 26:29-32, “Of the sons of Manasseh: of Machir, the family of the Machirites: and Machir begat Gilead: of Gilead comethe family of the Gileadites. These [are] the sons of Gilead: [of] Jeezer, the family of the Jeezerites: of Helek, the family of the Helekites:” And [of] Asriel, the family of the Asrielites: and [of] Shechem, the family of the Shechemites: And [of] Shemida, the family of the Shemidaites: and [of] Hepher, the family of the Hepherites.”

Significantly, Jeezer, אִיעֶזֶר (‘îʿezer)^H372 , means “No help.“

However, Joshua 17:2, tells us that the Jeezerites must be one in the same family as the Abiezerites because we read, “There was also [a lot] for the rest of the children of Manasseh by their families; for the children of Abiezer, and for the children of Helek, and for the children of Asriel, and for the children of Shechem, and for the children of Hepher, and for the children of Shemida: these were the male children of Manasseh the son of Joseph by their families.

Abiezer, אֲבִיעֶזֶר (‘ăḇîʿezer)^H44, means “My father is help“

Clearly something significant had happened to go from being called a family that had “No help” to “My father is help”. The only explanation that one can draw is that an unrecorded blessing/conversion occurred at some point between the family’s wilderness sojourn and its entrance into the land of Canaan. And this is also consistent with the idea that, for the elect of God, when they leave this earthly sojourn and enter into Heaven (“typified” by crossing the Jordan River into the Promised Land), they will all be given new names. They will forever be identified as the children of “the God Who helped them”.

This is why we read where Jesus states in Revelation 2:17 “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth [it].”

#6. Simon to Peter

In the New Testament, in Matthew 16:15-18, we read the following discourse between Jesus and Simon/Peter, “¶He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? ¶And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. ¶And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed [it] unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” The word “Peter” is Πέτρος (petros)^G4074, in the original Greek meaning “stone” or “smaller rock”, while the word “rock” is πέτρα (petra)^G4073  means more like a rock mass or foundation.

In John 1:42, “And he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus beheld him, he said, Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas (Πέτρος (petros))^G4074, which is by interpretation, A stone.”

Jesus had evidently changed Simon’s name, meaning “God has heard,” to “Cephas/Peter,” meaning “smaller rock” or “stone”, when Jesus first called him as a disciple and then reiterated it upon Peter’s confession of faith. It is also worth noting that “barjona” actually means son of Jonah. Peter and the prophet Jonah were both Galileans.

It was Peter who declared that Jesus was “the Messiah, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16-18). Jesus replied to him as “Simon son of Jonah,” saying that he was blessed because God had revealed Jesus’ identity as Messiah to him. Although Jesus then referred to him as “Peter” (a stone), we unequivocally know that it is Jesus Who is the Foundation Rock (the Chief Corner Stone) upon Whom the church would be built. Christ builds his church upon himself, His person and work…Jesus is the Petra.

We should also remember that all believers, of whom Peter was the forerunner, are considered to be “lively stones”, and that description of the believers was scribed by none other than “Peter” (the stone) himself in 1 Peter 2:5-8, “Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded. ¶Unto you therefore which believe [he is] precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner, And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, [even to them] which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed.“

And let us not forget what we find in Ephesians 2:19-22, “¶Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God; And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief [cornerstone]; In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.”

(For more on that new “spiritual house” and the “new Jerusalem”, please see: The Holy Temple of God.)

#7. Saul to Paul

Saul, who is referred to as “Saul, of Tarsus” in Acts 9:11, was likely named after King Saul, the first king of Israel following the period of the Judges. That conclusion is derived from the fact that Saul, like King Saul, are both from the tribe of Benjamin. We know that Paul is from the tribe of Benjamin because of what we read in Romans 11:1, where Paul writes, “¶I say then, Hath God cast away his people? God forbid. For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin.” Paul provided some additional details about himself in Acts 22:3, “I am verily a man [which am] a Jew, born in Tarsus, [a city] in Cilicia.”

“Saul” in the original Hebrew is שָׁאוּל (šā’ûl)^H7586 means “desired”. There is reason to believe Saul had been quite proud of his Jewish heritage, given the way he described his former self in Philippians 3:5, “Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee;” Such pride would help to underscore the basis of his zeal for persecuting Christians. And it should be remembered that Jesus specifically addressed him directly by the name “Saul” as Jesus’ persecutor, as God recorded three times in Acts 9:4, Acts 22:7, and Acts 26:14.

Unlike the changing of Simon’s name to Peter (Matthew 16:16-18), which Jesus did for Jesus’ glory and for our edification, there is no Biblical reference providing the precise basis for the changing of Saul’s name to Paul.

However, Acts 13:9 describes the Apostle thusly, “Then Saul, (who also is called Paul,).” From that verse on, Saul is always referred to in Scripture as “Paul.”

After that time, Paul identified himself as “the apostle of the Gentiles,” (Romans 11:13,) and chose to adopt the Roman (Gentile) name. “Paul”, is from the Greek Παῦλος (paulos)^G3972, which means “small or little”, possibly indicative of being diminutive in stature, but more likely a reference to Paul’s new found humility after his conversion, which was not reflected earlier by his more pride filled Jewish name and previous life. There is also some logic to consider that a Gentile name would make it easier for Paul to become “all things to all men” in his mission field in the Gentile world as we read in 1 Corinthians 9:22, “To the weak became I as weak, that I might gain the weak: I am made all things to all [men], that I might by all means save some.” In any case, it is clear that (following the dramatic conversion that took place in the the life of Saul in Damascus, and with his mission field being to the Gentiles), such a change to the new name, Paul, was certainly appropriate.

Conclusion: All things are Made New in Heaven, Including Being Given a New Name

The purpose for God’s changing a person’s, or people’s, name is to highlight a significant change, the conversion of the soul, that has, or will have, taken place from God’s perspective. That name change signifies a putting off of the “old (carnal) man” to a “new incarnate” (“born again”) spiritual man”. Moreover it has spiritual implications for all believers who are also the elect of God and form the Body of Christ that is His Church for whom Jesus died. They are raised from a spiritual death to newness of life everlasting.

2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore if any man [be] in Christ, [he is] a new creature:old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new“.

Remember what God tells us in Isaiah about the new name of God’s elect, the eternal Israel. In Isaiah 62:2-4, “And the Gentiles shall see thy righteousness, and all kings thy glory: and thou shalt be called by a new name, which the mouth of the LORD shall name. Thou shalt also be a crown of glory in the hand of the LORD, and a royal diadem in the hand of thy God. Thou shalt no more be termed Forsaken; neither shall thy land any more be termed Desolate: but thou shalt be called Hephzibah (“my delight is in her”), and thy land Beulah (“married”): for the LORD delighteth in thee, and thy land shall be married.” Then the last verse in Isaiah, Chapter 62, verse 12, says, “And they shall call them, The holy people, The redeemed of the LORD: and thou shalt be called, Sought out, A city not forsaken.“

Remember also that as the Good Shepherd, Jesus has the prerogative of naming His sheep, as we read in John 10:5, “But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth themout. And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice. And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him:for they know not the voice of strangers.”

Revelation 2:17, “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth [it].”

Revelation 3:5, “He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.

Revelation 3:12, “Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and [I will write upon him] my new name.

Revelation 3:21, “To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.“

Revelation 21:7, “He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.“

More “Newness” can be found in these verses:

1. Romans 6:4, “Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.”
2. Romans 7:6, “But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not [in] the oldness of the letter.”
3. Romans 12:2, “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what [is] that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”
4. Titus 3:5, “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;“
5. Revelation 21:5, “And he (Jesus Christ) that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.”

The New Heavens and the New Earth

Just as all believers will be converted and spiritually changed, and made new and given a new name, so will their habitation be made entirely new, as we read in the following three sets of verses:

1. Isaiah 65:17, “For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.“
2. Isa 66:22, “For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the LORD, so shall your seed and your name remain.”
3. 2 Peter 3:10-13, “¶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. [Seeing] then [that] all these things shall be dissolved, what manner [of persons] ought ye to be in [all] holy conversation and godliness, Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.”

The new name reveals God’s Divine Plan while assuring the believers that they are truly converted/changed and “born again” by God the Holy Spirit, such that God’s plan would be fulfilled in them for His Glory and to signify that His elect are indeed made new again and fit for living with Him in the new heavens and the new earth.

And please also remember that, even in this temporal life, if a person is born again (“quickened” or made alive in the spirit by God the Holy Spirit), then they will also “speak with new tongues” (preaching the Gospel of Salvation in Jesus Christ) as we read in Mark 16:17, “And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;”.

Introduction

In the New Testament, in the Book of Hebrews, Chapter 11, tells of many great exploits and examples of faith by various persons, both male and female, going through the Old Testament. However, in Hebrews 11:32, we read where a man named Gideon (Gedeon) is specifically named just before a few other great men of faith,  “¶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:”  

But who is Gideon?, and what does the Bible tell us about him and the times in which he lived and the relevance for us today? And where can we find Jesus interwoven in the Biblical text concerning Gideon?

Gideon was the fifth judge in Israel and acclaimed by many as the greatest of Israel. The name, “Gideon”, in the original Hebrew גִּדְעוֹן (giḏʿôn) ^H1439, means “hewer” or “one who cuts down”, “one who cuts off“, “cuts asunder” or “feller” (in terms of a warrior). Gideon is taken from the root Hebrew word, גָּדַע (gāḏaʿ) ^H1438 , which primarily means to “cut off” or “destroy.” Some related verses can be found in:

1. Deuteronomy 7:5, “But thus shall ye deal with them; ye shall destroy their altars, and break down their images, and cut down (גָּדַע (gāḏaʿ)) ^H1438 their groves, and burn their graven images with fire.”
2. 1 Samuel 2:31, “Behold, the days come, that I will cut off (גָּדַע (gāḏaʿ)) ^H1438, thine arm, and the arm of thy father’s house, that there shall not be an old man in thine house.“
3. Psalm 75:1, “All the horns of the wicked also will I cut off; (גָּדַע (gāḏaʿ)) ^H1438, [but] the horns of the righteous shall be exalted.“
4. Lam 2:3, “He hath cut off (גָּדַע (gāḏaʿ)) ^H1438 in [his] fierce anger all the horn of Israel: he hath drawn back his right hand from before the enemy, and he burned against Jacob like a flaming fire, [which] devoureth round about.“
5. Ezekiel 6:6, “In all your dwelling places the cities shall be laid waste, and the high places shall be desolate; that your altars may be laid waste and made desolate, and your idols may be broken and cease, and your images may be cut down,(גָּדַע (gāḏaʿ)) ^H1438, and your works may be abolished.“

In Judges 6:25, we read, “¶And it came to pass the same night, that the LORD said unto him, Take thy father’s young bullock, even the second bullock of seven years old, and throw down the altar of Baal that thy father hath, and cut down the grove that [is] by it:” The Hebrew word used here for cut down is כָּרַת (kāraṯ) ^H3772, which also means “to cut (off, down, or asunder)“and is therefore telling us, from the contextual use, that it is essentially the same. Also, “throw down” is from the original Hebrew word, הָרַס (hāras)^H2040 which does mean to “throw down“, “tear down“, and “destroy“.

Gideon’s name is apt for several reasons, as we will see below that Gideon cut down both the altars, and the tree groves, that were associated with Baal worship during his lifetime. He was also a warrior who fought valiantly with the sword against the Midianites.

Gideon was also from the tribe of Manasseh, the half-tribe who are descendants from the first born son of Joseph in Egypt.

Note: Although it may not be entirely clear why Gideon is from the tribe of Manasseh, it should nonetheless mentioned that, although Manasseh was the firstborn of Joseph, his younger brother, Ephraim, received the primary patriarchal blessing from Israel, their grandfather. Joseph tried to correct his father, Israel, such that Israel would bless Manasseh with his right hand, but as we read in Genesis 48:19&20, ¶And his father refused, and said, I know [it], my son, I know it: he also shall become a people, and he also shall be great: but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his seed shall become a multitude of nations.¶And he blessed them that day, saying, In thee shall Israel bless, saying, God make thee as Ephraim and as Manasseh: and he set Ephraim before Manasseh.“

One Biblically valid explanation is that, just as in the case of Jacob taking the place of his elder brother Esau (who should have the firstborn birthright), Ephraim supplanted his elder brother Manasseh. This would therefore have to be viewed as a reiteration of the fact that God establishes the blessing of Salvation by Grace through God’s election program and not by the works of the Law. This is made clear in Romans 9:11-13, “(For the [children] being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth; ) It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger. As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.“

It is also interesting to note that Gideon’s name appears 40 times in the Bible (if one also includes the New Testament verse above), which by apparent coincidence 40 is also the number of years that Gideon was a judge in Israel. 

God Warned of What Would Be Coming in the Time of Judges

Judges chapter 2 tells us that After Joshua died then in Judges 2:11-15, “¶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 longerstand before their enemies. Whithersoever they went out, the hand of the LORDwas against them for evil, as the LORD had said, and as the LORD had sworn unto them: and they were greatly distressed.” The people of Israel disobeyed God’s explicit commands that are found in both Exodus 34:10-15 and Deuteronomy 7:1-5, particularly Deuteronomy 7:5, “But thus shall ye deal with them; ye shall destroy their altars, and break down their images, and cut down their groves, and burn their graven images with fire.“.

Moreover, God reiterated this commandment, which could not be more clear, in Deuteronomy 12:1-3, “¶These [are] the statutes and judgments, which ye shall observe to do in the land, which the LORD God of thy fathers giveth thee to possess it, all the days that ye live upon the earth. Ye shall utterly destroy all the places, wherein the nations which ye shall possess served their gods, upon the high mountains, and upon the hills, and under every green tree: And ye shall overthrow their altars, and break their pillars, and burn their groves with fire; and ye shall hew down the graven images of their gods, and destroy the names of them out of that place.“

God Established Judges in the Land of Israel as Typifying Jesus, Who Is Both The “Savior” and The “Judge”

Nonetheless, we learn the following, beginning in Judges 2:16, “¶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.“

Judges Chapter 6 Provides the Backstory Regarding Gideon

After 40 years of peace and prosperity brought about by the victory over the Canaanites by Barak and Deborah in Judges 4&5, the Israelites once again turned away from God, and they began worshipping other gods, notably Baal. As punishment, the Midianites, Amalekites, and other foreigners “from the east” vexed Israel for seven years.

The Oppression by the Midianites

Judges 6:1-6, we read, “¶And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD: and the LORD delivered them into the hand of Midian seven years. And the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel: [and] because of the Midianites the children of Israel made them the dens which [are] in the mountains, and caves,and strong holds. And [so] it was, when Israel had sown, that the Midianites came up, and the Amalekites, and the children of the east, even they came up against them; And they encamped against them, and destroyed the increase of the earth, till thou come unto Gaza, and left no sustenance for Israel, neither sheep, nor ox, nor ass. For they came up with their cattle and their tents, and they came as grasshoppers for multitude; [for] both they and their camels were without number: and they entered into the land to destroy it. And Israel was greatly impoverished because of the Midianites; and the children of Israel cried unto the LORD.”

Now the Midianites are direct descendants of Abraham, via Abraham’s second wife after Sarah died named Keturah (meaning “incense/perfume”)(Gen 25:1&2). One of her six sons was named “Midian” מִדְיָן (miḏyān)^H4080 whose name means “strife“

The Amalekites were descended from Esau’s grandson, Amalek, Genesis 36:12, “And Timna was concubine to Eliphaz Esau’s son; and she bare to Eliphaz Amalek: these [were] the sons of Adah Esau’s wife” Amalek עֲמָלֵק (ʿămālēq ^H6002 simply means “dweller in a valley”

Both of these factions along with unnamed foreigners from the east were used by God to punish Israel for its spiritual adultery.

God Responds to the Cry of Israel With an Admonition to Fear Him

Judges 6:7-10 tells us of God (via an unnamed prophet) admonishes Israel to repent and to not fear the gods of the locals, but rather the True God that saved Israel from Egypt.

Gideon Is Visited by God (via “an angel of the LORD”)

Judges 6:11 “¶And there came an angel of the LORD, and sat under an oak which [was] in Ophrah, that [pertained] unto Joash the Abiezrite: and his son Gideon threshed wheat by the winepress, to hide [it] from the Midianites.”

The locality of Gideon’s family was Ophrah, עָפְרָה (ʿāp̄râ)^H6084 meaning “fawn“.

Gideon was of the family of the Abiezrites, who are also known as the Jeezerites. We know this from Numbers 26:29-32, “Of the sons of Manasseh: of Machir, the family of the Machirites: and Machir begat Gilead: of Gilead comethe family of the Gileadites. These [are] the sons of Gilead: [of] Jeezer, the family of the Jeezerites: of Helek, the family of the Helekites:” And [of] Asriel, the family of the Asrielites: and [of] Shechem, the family of the Shechemites: And [of] Shemida, the family of the Shemidaites: and [of] Hepher, the family of the Hepherites.”

Jeezer, אִיעֶזֶר (‘îʿezer)^H372 , means “no help.“

However, Joshua 17:2, tells us that the Jeezerites must also be known as the Abiezerites, “There was also [a lot] for the rest of the children of Manasseh by their families; for the children of Abiezer, and for the children of Helek, and for the children of Asriel, and for the children of Shechem, and for the children of Hepher, and for the children of Shemida: these were the male children of Manasseh the son of Joseph by their families.“

Abiezer, אֲבִיעֶזֶר (‘ăḇîʿezer)^H44, means “my father is help“

Joash יוֹאָשׁ (yô’āš)^H3101, means “Given by the Lord”

Gideon earned the title Jerubbaal (or Jerub-Baal) after he destroyed his family’s altar of Baal. “Therefore on that day he called him Jerubbaal, saying, Let Baal plead against him, because he hath thrown down his altar.” (Judges 6:32).

Clearly something significant had happened to go from being called a family that had “No help” to “My father is help”. The only explanation that one can draw is that an unrecorded blessing/conversion occurred at some point between the family’s wilderness sojourn and its entrance into the land of Canaan. And this is also consistent with the idea that, for the elect of God, upon leaving this earthly sojourn and entering into Heaven (“typified” by crossing the Jordan River into the Promised Land), they will all be given a “new name“. They will forever be identified as the children of the God Who helped them.

This is why we read where Jesus states in Revelation 2:17 “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth [it].”

Refinement: A Proving or Testing

In Judges 7:1-8, we find how Gideon is told by Jehovah God to go to war with the Midianites such that He could deliver them into Gideon’s hand. However, the number of the people with Gideon, specifically 32,000, was too many to give the glory of victory to God. The reasoning by God for drastically winnowing down the number of soldiers was because God did not want the Israelites to think it was by their hand that they got the victory. This is clear in Judges 7:2, “¶And the LORD said unto Gideon, The people that [are] with thee [are] too many for me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel vaunt themselves against me, saying, Mine own hand hath saved me.”

Therefore, God instructed Gideon to separate out what eventually became only 300 men who would ultimately go into battle with Gideon against the Midianites. In Judges 7:4, we read, “¶And the LORD said unto Gideon, The people [are] yet [too] many; bring them down unto the water, and I will try them for thee there: and it shall be, [that] of whom I say unto thee, This shall go with thee, the same shall go with thee; and of whomsoever I say unto thee, This shall not go with thee, the same shall not go.”

Note the word “try” in Judges 7:4. This word in the original Hebrew is צָרַף (ṣārap̄)^H6884, which can also be translated as “purge” or “refine” as one would refine and purify a a precious metal, particularly “gold“. The word is even translated five out 33 times as “goldsmith“. When one purifies or refines gold (or other precious metals) from its ore, there is far more dross than pure gold.

In Psalm 66:10, we see how this word is used (twice in the same verse), “For thou, O God, hast proved (בָּחַן (bāḥan))^H974 us: thou hast tried (צָרַף (ṣārap̄))^H6884 us, as silver is tried (צָרַף (ṣārap̄))^H6884.

In Daniel 12:10, “Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried (צָרַף (ṣārap̄)) ^H6884; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand.”

Then in Zechariah 13:9, we read something interesting (where the word is again used twice in the same verse), “And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine (צָרַף (ṣārap̄)) ^H6884 them as silver is refined (צָרַף (ṣārap̄)) ^H6884 ,and will try (בָּחַן (bāḥan))^H974 them as gold is tried (בָּחַן (bāḥan))^H974: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It [is] my people: and they shall say, The LORD [is] my God.” The Hebrew word בָּחַן (bāḥan)^H974 also means to prove, test, examine as God examines our hearts. Proverbs 17:3, “The fining pot [is] for silver, and the furnace for gold: but the LORD trieth (בָּחַן (bāḥan)) ^H974 the hearts.”

One Third Versus Two Thirds

Among the examples of that can be found, include the three who were crucified on Golgotha hill in 33AD. The one thief on the cross went to Heaven, while Jesus and the other thief went to Hell.

Another is the case we read about in 2 Kings 1:9-15, where king Ahaziah three times sent contingents of soldiers, each consisting of 51 men (a captain with 50 soldiers), to fetch the prophet Elijah, but only one of the three contingents was not destroyed by fire from Heaven. In 2 Kings 1:13&14, we read, “¶And he sent again a captain of the third fifty with his fifty. And the third captain of fifty went up, and came and fell on his knees before Elijah, and besought him, and said unto him, O man of God, I pray thee, let my life, and the life of these fifty thy servants, be precious in thy sight. Behold, there came fire down from heaven, and burnt up the two captains of the former fifties with their fifties: therefore let my life now be precious in thy sight.“

Another example is in Zechariah 13:8, “And it shall come to pass, [that] in all the land, saith the LORD, two parts therein shall be cut off [and] die; but the third shall be left therein.”

Finally, in 2 Samuel 8:1&2, “¶And after this it came to pass, that David smote the Philistines, and subdued them: and David took Methegammah out of the hand of the Philistines.¶ And he smote Moab, and measured them with a line, casting them down to the ground; even with two lines measured he to put to death, and with one full line to keep alive. And [so] the Moabites became David’s servants, [and] brought gifts.“

In Judges 7:8-22 we read of the battle in the Midianite and Amalekite camp where Gideon (after secretly hearing an enemy’s dream and its interpretation heralding Gideon’s victory) divided the 300 men into three companies of one hundred (Gideon took one hundred men with him, which is another one-third reference) and each man held a pitcher with a lamp (לַפִּיד (lapîḏ))^H3940 inside in one hand, and held a trumpet in the other hand to blow when Gideon gave them the signal, whereupon they would break the pitchers to reveal the lamp/inside. In verse 20, we read “And the three companies blew the trumpets, and brake the pitchers, and held the lamps in their left hands, and the trumpets in their right hands to blow [withal]: and they cried, The sword of the LORD, and of Gideon.” Note that it was Gideon who first blew a trumpet. Jesus will determine when the final trump is blown and lead the charge from Heaven on Judgment Day.

Clearly God is showing us through these verses that there is an intimate association between the refining and testing of His people, typified by the culling down to 300 and then down to the one-third part (the 100 that accompanied Gideon, the “Christ Figure” in this “Historical Parable”, spiritually represent all believers).

Judgment Day Prefigured!

Although It will not be elaborated upon in great depth in this study, the battle defeating the Midianites (and the Amalekites and “all the children of the east”) is another picture of Judgment Day, where the enemies of God are miraculously destroyed, Gideon represents Jesus Christ, and the men with Gideon who participate in the attack represent the believers. This is also reminiscent of Judges 4&5.

In this “Historical Parable” of Gideon, we are provided with another “hidden gem” that God has concealed within the Bible. Looking again at Judges7:20, we read “And the three companies blew the trumpets, and brake the pitchers, and held the lamps in their left hands, and the trumpets in their right hands to blow [withal]: and they cried, The sword of the LORD, and of Gideon.”

1. The “Trumpets” warn of the Judgment to come
2. The “Pitchers” are the bodies and hearts of the believers that hide the Light of Christ
3. The “Lamps” represent the Light of the Gospel of Jesus Christ
4. The “Sword of the LORD” is the Word of God

1. When The Last Trumpet Sounds, It Will Herald Judgment Day

The Trumpet is from the original Hebrew word שׁוֹפָר (šôp̄ār)^H7782, and is the same word that we read about in Exodus 19:16, Exodus 19:19, Exodus 20:18, and Joshua 6:4-20 at the battle of Jericho (another prefigurement of Judgment Day).

When the “Last Trump” sounds, it will be Judgment Day for the world as we are told in 1 Corinthians 15:52, “In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.” The seventh trumpet is the last trumpet that we read about being sounded by the seventh angel in Revelation 11:15, “¶And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become [the kingdoms] of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.“

2. The Pitchers Also Typify the Believers

2 Corinthians 4:3-7, tells us plainly, “But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to [give] the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.”  

Remember also Psalm 119:11, “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.“

The “pitchers” are “earthen vessels”, which represent the believers who have the Light of Jesus Christ shining brightly in their hearts, that is otherwise hidden from the world of the unsaved..

John 3:19-21, “And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.”

Isaiah 8:20, “To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, [it is] because [there is] no light in them.

This is all in accordance with God’s plan. That Light will be kept hidden from the world of unbelievers until Judgement Day, when the Judgment that befalls them comes as a “thief in the night”. This is exactly what we are told in 2 Peter 3:10, “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.“

3. The Lamp Is The Light of The Gospel of Jesus Christ

The lamp (לַפִּיד (lapîḏ))^H3940, which means “lamp“, “torch“, and “lightning” points to the Light of Christ that will be made fully manifest on Judgment Day. For more on the meaning of “lapid”, please see the section that expounds on the meaning of Lapidoth, the husband of the Prophetess, Deborah, in the study of Judges 4&5.

Which leads us to remember John 9:5, where Jesus announces, “As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world” after which he immediately healed a blind man, “born blind”.  Then we read later in John 9:39,”And Jesus said, For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind.”

4. The “Sword of the LORD” Is the Word of God

The “sword” is also important because it is another spiritual reference to the Word of God as we find 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.” and remember that Jesus is pictured as having a two-edged sword coming out of His mouth in Revelation 1:16, “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.“

And regarding the “Sword of the LORD”, We should also remember these verses:

Isaiah 34:5&6 “For my sword shall be bathed in heaven: behold, it shall come down upon Idumea, and upon the people of my curse, to judgment. The sword of the LORD is filled with blood, it is made fat with fatness, and with the blood of lambs and goats, with the fat of the kidneys of rams: for the LORD hath a sacrifice in Bozrah, and a great slaughter in the land of Idumea.“

Ezekiel 21:28 “And thou, son of man, prophesy and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD concerning the Ammonites, and concerning their reproach; even say thou, The sword, the sword [is] drawn: for the slaughter [it is] furbished, to consume because of the glittering (בָּרָק (bārāq)^H1300):”

Psalm 7:11-13 we read, “God judgeth the righteous, and God is angry [with the wicked] every day. If he turn not, he will whet his sword; he hath bent his bow, and made it ready. He hath also prepared for him the instruments of death; he ordaineth his arrows against the persecutors.” It is very difficult to begin to understand the might of God’s wrath against the wicked, against God’s enemies on Judgment Day.  But that Sword of Truth is Jesus, and He told us that His Word is what will bring judgment on Judgment Day as we read 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.”

The believers are also viewed as conquerors as we find in Romans 8:37, “¶Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.” And the reader should be aware that, on Judgment Day, Jesus will be coming with the believers to that Final Judgment as was reported earlier.

The Death of The Four Kings of Midian

The finality of the Judgment is also manifest in the last verse of Judges Chapter 7, Verse 25, “And they took two princes of the Midianites, Oreb and Zeeb; and they slew Oreb upon the rock Oreb, and Zeeb they slew at the winepress of Zeeb, and pursued Midian, and brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon on the other side Jordan.“

The First Two Kings

The first two Midianite kings, who Gideon slew, were named Oreb (עֹרֵב(ʿōrēḇ)^H6159) means “Raven” (an unclean “fowl of the air”) which represents the forces of the devil as Jesus expounded upon in the “Parable of the Sower“, and Zeeb (זְאֵב(zᵊ’ēḇ)^H2062) means “Wolf”, [which the Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ, protects His flock from, remembering also in Matthew 7:15  “¶Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.”].  So in both cases these kings represent the wicked one’s servants who look like “kings”, but are really purveyors of a false gospel seeking to kill and devour the righteous.

It should be clear that the death of king Zeeb at the “winepress” (יֶקֶב (yeqeḇ))^H3342 is not accidental or incidental, because it brings to mind other references that point to Judgment Day. The “winepress”, which in the original Hebrew can also be גַּת (gaṯ)^H1660, refers to God’s wrath that must be brought to bear in judgment for sin.  Jesus, as the believers’ atoning sacrifice, first had to endure that wrath and suffer the shame of God’s reproach for their sins.  But for those who remain dead in trespasses and sins, they will be tread down in the winepress of God’s wrath by Jesus as their Judge.

Key verses to recall regarding the meaning of the “winepress”:

Isaiah 63:1-6, “Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah? this that is glorious in his apparel, travelling in the greatness of his strength? I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save. Wherefore [art thou] red in thine apparel, and thy garments like him that treadeth in the winefat (winepress, גַּת (gaṯ) ^H1660 ? I (Jesus) have trodden the winepress alone; and of the people [there was] none with me: for I will tread them in mine anger, and trample them in my fury; and their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments, and I will stain all my raiment. For the day of vengeance [is] in mine heart, and the year of my redeemed is come. And I looked, and [there was] none to help; and I wondered that [there was] none to uphold: therefore mine own arm brought salvation unto me; and my fury, it upheld me. And I will tread down the people in mine anger, and make them drunk in my fury, and I will bring down their strength to the earth.“ Jesus endured the wrath of God in the Winepress of Shame in the first Judgment Day (in 33AD for the believers), and Jesus will bring Judgment on His enemies in the great winepress of the wrath of God on the second and final Judgment Day.

Joel 3:13, we read, “Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe: come, get you down; for the press ^H1660 is full, the fats overflow; for their wickedness [is] great.” 

Revelation 14:19, “And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast [it] into the great winepress of the wrath of God.  And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand [and] six hundred furlongs.” 

Revelation 19:13, we see this picture of Jesus, “And he [was] clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.“

For more on this please see the study of Jonah (Jonah was from a village called “Winepress of Shame”).

The Second Two Kings

But there were two other kings who Gideon pursued as we read about Chapter 8. It is particularly noteworthy that these Midianite kings, Zebah (זֶבַח (zeḇaḥ) ^H2078) which means “sacrifice“, and Zalmunna (צַלְמֻנָּע (ṣalmunnāʿ) ^H6759) which means “deprived of protection“,  had earlier killed the brothers of Gideon, evidently at mount Tabor, and were themselves, subsequent to their capture, also killed by Gideon.

In Judges 8:18, when Gideon asked the two remaining Midianite kings the following question, and they gave their reply (just before Gideon had them killed), “Then said he unto Zebah and Zalmunna, What manner of men [were they] whom ye slew at Tabor? And they answered, As thou [art], [so were] they; each one resembled the children of a king.” The children of a king refers to the believers who are the children of God and they are like Jesus.  For more about the meaning of “children of a king”, please see: mephibosheth-and-a-covenant-of-grace/  Gideon replied to the two kings in Judges 8:19, “¶And he said, They [were] my brethren, [even] the sons of my mother: [as] the LORD liveth, if ye had saved them alive, I would not slay you.“

“As Thou Art, So Were They“

These two Midianite kings made it clear that those whom they slew at mount Tabor appeared like Gideon. Does this not bring to mind what we read in Hebrews 2:9-13, “But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man. ¶For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom [are] all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings. For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified [are] all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren, Saying, I will declare thy name unto my brethren, in the midst of the church will I sing praise unto thee. And again, I will put my trust in him. And again, Behold I and the children which God hath given me.” (Note: Hebrews 2:12 is specifically referencing Psalm 22:22, which reads, “I will declare thy name unto my brethren: in the midst of the congregation will I praise thee.“)

And when we look a little further down in Hebrews to Hebrews 2:16-18, we are reminded of how closely Jesus identifies with mankind to save a people for Himself, “For verily he took not on [him the nature of] angels; but he took on [him] the seed of Abraham. Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto [his] brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things [pertaining] to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted.“

And is it not also true that the Bible says that the believers are to become likened to Jesus? Look at what 1 John 3:2 says, “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.”

Mother and Brethren?

Given that Gideon is an unequivocal “Type” of the Lord Jesus Christ, it is worth remembering what Jesus said regarding His “mother” and His “brethren”. In Matthew 12:48&49, we read “But he answered and said unto him that told him, Who is my mother? and who are my brethren?  And he stretched forth his hand toward his disciples, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren! And again in Mark 3:33&34, “¶And he answered them, saying, Who is my mother, or my brethren?And he (Jesus) looked round about on them which sat about him, and said,Behold my mother and my brethren!“

Therefore, those who are counted among Jesus’ disciples, the believers, are Jesus’ brethren. Where do we see accounts of Jesus’ brethren (disciples) being killed? The first recorded one is Stephen, in Acts 7:59. And who killed Stephen? The apostate church leaders! And what were Stephen’s last words? In Act 7:55, we read, “But he(Stephen), being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, andsaw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God. And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.” His death occured in the presence of Heaven. And remember what Tabor spiritually represents? Yes, Heaven (with Judgement in view)! God saw it, received Stephen, and God, as Jesus the Judge, will remember it, come Judgment Day! This was the case for all the prophets that were also killed in the Old Testament and continuing right through to the end of Great Tribulation in the run up to Judgment Day. 

Some additional verses that address how the apostate church (represented by the Jews) killed Jesus’ disciples:

1 Thessalonians 2:15, “Who both killed the Lord Jesus, and their own prophets, and have persecuted us; and they please not God, and are contrary to all men: Forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they might be saved, to fill up their sins alway: for the wrath is come upon them to the uttermost.” 

And consider the last days when the witnesses (representing the true believers) are killed by the apostate church ruled by the Abomination of Desolation in Revelation 11:7-12, “¶And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them. And their dead bodies [shall lie] in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified. And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves. And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice overthem, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth. ¶And after three days and an half the Spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them. And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them.“

Note how well this conforms with John 16:2, “They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service.” The apostate church will drive out (and effectively “kill”) the true believers. But we must remember that Psalm 116:15 makes clear how God feels about the death of Jesus’ brethren, “Precious in the sight of the LORD [is] the death of his saints.“

Further Corroboration

Note also that in Psalm 83:9-12, where we read of the death brought to the enemies of God in the book of Judges, “Do unto them as [unto] the Midianites; as [to] Sisera, as [to] Jabin, at the brook of Kison (Kishon) [Which] perished at Endor (Endor, the same that was the home of a witch 1 Samuel 28:7, is located in the valley of Megiddo at the foot of Mont Tabor): they became [as] dung for the earth. Make their nobles like Oreb, and like Zeeb: yea, all their princes as Zebah, and as Zalmunna: Who said, Let us take to ourselves the houses of God in possession.”  

Therefore, in Psalm 83:9-12, God is clearly equating Gideon with Barak (and hence the Lord Jesus Christ), because they both defeated and killed those named individuals, all six who were clearly identified as “enemies” of God (who sought to claim the “houses of God” as their own) as stated in Psalm 83:2, ” For, lo, thine enemies make a tumult: and they that hate thee have lifted up the head.”  Moreover, we can again see more clearly how both and Gideon and Barak are spiritual representations of Jesus, Who, on Judgment Day, will defeat the devil and his accomplices, the false teachers who have sought to subdue the Church of God (take “the houses of God in possession”) through apostasy.  We see in Psalm 83:3, “They have taken crafty counsel against thy people, and consulted against thy hidden ones.” 

Conclusion

We have learned from this study that we have been provided another amazing “Historical Parable” pointing us to the Person and Work of the Lord Jesus Christ. We have been shown that Gideon is a clear “Type” of the Lord Jesus Christ, and how Gideon was chosen by God to both save his people from their oppressors and utterly destroy God’s enemies, typified first by the cutting down of the Baal related idols and groves, and then to utterly defeat the Midianites (and the Amalekites and “all the children of the east”) in a battle typifying Judgment Day with 300 men out of 32,000 who were refined and purified for the purpose through testing by God. God also provides another spiritual one third/two thirds separation example, as well pointing to the fact that only those who are with Jesus will be saved. Also pointed out is that Gideon judged for 40 years, which also represents a time of testing.

What Are “Historical Parables”?

Historical parables are accounts of factual historical events that are found in the Bible, which were also precisely crafted and recorded/inscribed by God in the Bible, via God The Holy Spirit, in allegorical manners that convey important Spiritual Truth. And that Spiritual Truth is that Eternal Salvation is only a gift of grace by God, paid for in full for the sins of God’s Elect by Jesus’ eternal Sacrifice and obtainable through the hearing of, and responding repentant faith in, the Gospel of Jesus Christ; which is the true purpose and lasting substance of the Bible.

In Psalm 78:1&2, God calls upon all believers to, “Give ear, O my people, [to] my law: incline your ears to the words of my mouth.  I will open my mouth in a parable: I will utter dark sayings* of old:” and yet immediately thereafter, only a straightforward Biblical historical account is provided!  

Why is that?…It is because the historical account itself is a parable (or “riddle” or “allegory”), and it is therefore also an “Historical Parable“…It points to the Person and Work of the Lord Jesus Christ throughout time and space! And it was most certainly not written to be “plainly” understood.

In Proverbs 1:5&6, we read, “A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels: To understand a proverb, and the interpretation; the words of the wise, and their dark sayings.”  And in Psalm 49:3&4 we read, “My mouth shall speak of wisdom; and  the meditation of my heart [shall be] of understanding. I will incline mine ear to a parable: I will open my dark saying upon the harp.”

The majority of the Bible (both the Old and New Testaments) contains these “historical parables”, which, in one way or another, all point to the Person and Work of the Lord Jesus Christ. Moreover, that Truth is not always readily apparent, and can even be deliberately hidden/concealed by God to an unbeliever. It will also be hidden even to a professing “Christian”, if that person reads the Bible in a careless manner and/or if such persons are basing their understanding on the wisdom of men rather than the Wisdom of God. IF that is the case, it also suggests that such persons are actually NOT indwelt by God the Holy Spirit to guide them into all truth, and hence they are still unsaved. Only a true believer will have been Gifted by God the “ears to hear and the eyes to see“.

Historical Parables are Like Hid Treasures

In Proverbs 25:2 (KJV) we find this extraordinary verse, “[It is] the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honour of kings [is] to search out a matter.” If we look carefully at the text as it reads in the original Hebrew using an Interlinear Bible or Online cross-reference like this one in Bible Hub, from which we find that the verse can also read like this…”[It is] the glory of God to conceal a “word” (because it is from the Hebrew דָּבָר (dāḇār)^H1697, a masculine noun): but the honour of kings[is] to search out a “word” (because the word that was translated into English as “matter” is also the same word found in the original Hebrew to be דָּבָר (dāḇār) ^H1697, which is translated more than eight hundred times in the Old Testament as “word.”)*.  It appears, therefore, that God is telling us that He is glorified by the concealing of The Word (Jesus Christ) in the Bible, and the believers are “honored” by being made able to search out The Word (Who is Jesus Christ) when reading the Bible. For more on this please see: Hid Treasures

Some Examples of “Historical Parables”

There are many “historical parables” in the Bible, found in both the Old and New Testaments, which can be easily missed through only casual reading. This is because the majority of them are veiled in “allegory”. Some of them are more intrinsically obvious than others. Here are four fairly obvious examples, and they essentially are just three small “historical” vignettes, but which profound spiritual meanings, which all point to the Person and Work of the Lord Jesus Christ:

1. Abraham when he was about to sacrifice Isaac, his only son from Sarah, said in Genesis 22:8, “… My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering:…” The specific phraseology tells us that God would “provide Himself” (in the Form of Jesus) as the Lamb as the Only Acceptable Sacrifice for sin.
2. Joseph (who was raised from a pit and prison and servitude up to the right hand of Pharaoh) provided bread to his unworthy brethren who had thrown him in a pit and sold him into slavery in Egypt in Genesis 50:20 “But as for you, ye thought evil against me; [but] God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as [it is] this day, to save much people alive.” Those sad events served to create an historical parable for the purpose of pointing to Jesus’ Atoning Sacrifice in Hell, and Jesus’s Resurrection to the Right Hand of God the Father, to provide Salvation for His erstwhile enemies.
3. 1 Sa 17:31-58, (David and Goliath) provides another amazing allegory. In the literal historical account of the little shepherd boy, David, from Bethlehem in Judah, slaying the Philistines’ military giant, Goliath of Gath, on behalf of the people of God, to bring about their earthly, temporal salvation. (The first death blow to Goliath was by a stone, and the second with a sword that cut off Goliath’s head). This is clearly yet another “Historical Parable”, in that we are given a picture of how the Humble Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ, also born in Bethlehem in Judah (and Descendent of David through Nathan), slays the devil at the cross with the first death blow (figuratively also by stoning, because Jesus is the lain Chief Cornerstone) and then in finality on Judgment Day, when Jesus comes with a sword on the clouds of Glory from Heaven to send the devil (and all of the enemies of God) into the lake of fire, while also providing the people of God, in Jesus, their eternal, spiritual salvation to be with Him in Heaven forevermore.
4. The Bible student should particularly note of what we read in Isaiah 14:4, where God instructs Isaiah, “That thou shalt take up this proverb against the king of Babylon (Nebuchadnezzar), and say, How hath the oppressor ceased! the golden city ceased!” and then in Isaiah 14:12-15, where the king of Babylon is likened by God to the devil, because of what we read, “How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! [how] art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.” The devil in his pride sought to be like God, yet we know from Proverbs 16:18 that, “Pride [goeth] before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.”

God specifically states that this pronouncement against the earthly king of Babylon (a real historical figure) is a “proverb“, which in the original Hebrew is מָשָׁל (māšāl)^H4912 which has been translated variously as proverb (19x), parable (18x), byword (1x), like (1x). So then, Isaiah 14 is teaching us that God was using them as allegorical lessons, “Historical Proverbs/Parables“, to show us what God Will Do to the devil (a spiritual figure), leading up to and ending on Judgment Day. This is the comfort and consolation to the saints of God. There is mercy to God’s chosen people, and also judgment and justice brought upon God’s (and the believers’) enemies on Judgment Day.

There are many much more lengthy and involved “historical parables” that can be found in entire chapters, like Judges Chapter 4&5, or even whole books in the Bible like Ruth, Esther, Jonah. It is even fair to say that even the entire Bible is just one whole comprehensive and cohesive “historical parable” because from God’s vantage point, being outside of time and space, the entire Bible is an Historical Account pointing spiritually to the Person and Work of the Lord Jesus Christ, Who was foreordained to save the people of God for His Glory and Honor and Majesty for Eternity.

Some of the historical parables in the Old Testament have the benefit of New Testament exposition. The Brass (Brazen) Serpent is one such example. And Galatians 4:21-31 not only points us back to Sarah and Haggar, but specifically states that those two women were used of God to serve as an “allegory”, “Which Things Are an Allegory“. Nonetheless, the majority of historical parables require diligent, prayerful, searching through comparison of scripture with scripture in order to be more fully understood, in accordance with 1 Corinthians 2:12-16, “Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. ¶Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know [them], because they are spiritually discerned. But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man. For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.“

We must also be mindful of the fact that spiritual discernment is necessary to understand a parable. The anointing of God The Holy Spirit is required to have Jesus clearly revealed to us as is clearly stated in 1 John 2:27, “But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.“ The anointing is of the Holy Spirit Who God the Father sent to the believers to lead them into all truth, and that Truth Is Jesus. John 16:13, “Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth*, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, [that]shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.” Note the consistency with John 14:26, “But the Comforter, [which is] the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.” and 1 John 2:20, “¶But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things.” (“unction” means “anointing”)

What About the Parables of Jesus? And Why Did Jesus Only Speak in Parables?

It should also be noted that the parables spoken by Jesus are not quite the same as “historical” parables, and this is because Jesus’ parables cannot be related to a specific factual “historical account” as is recorded in the Bible, but rather were “earthly stories” intended to be illustrative to teach “Heavenly/spiritual” lessons. See for example The Good Samaritan, the Talents, the Sower. Nonetheless, all parables, whether truly historical or not, ultimately lead to the same exact understanding and conclusion. They all lead us to the Person and Work of the Lord Jesus Christ and the role of His saints in honoring and serving Him.

We know from Proverbs 1:5 that, “A wise [man] will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels: To understand a proverb, and the interpretation; the words of the wise, and their dark sayings. The fear of the LORD [is] the beginning of knowledge: [but] fools despise wisdom and instruction.”

And Jesus deliberately spoke in parables, so that those who only had carnal ears and eyes, would hear and not understand and see and not perceive. In Mark 4:11+12 we read, “And he (Jesus Christ speaking to His disciples) said unto them, Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without (none of the elect), all [these] things are done in parables:  That seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest at any time they should be converted, and [their] sins should be forgiven them.” 

Moreover, in John 3:12, “If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you [of] heavenly things?“

The Bible student must understand that, in all cases, a “True” understanding of Biblical “parables”, whether historical or illustrative, is entirely dependent on God Alone, through His Holy Spirit.

And be forewarned, just because someone is familiar with the scriptures, does not mean they understand what the scriptures are really saying. When someone tells you that when reading the scriptures… “If the plain sense makes sense, then do not seek any other sense”, then they might just be like the ones described in Proverbs 26:7, “The legs of the lame are not equal: so [is] a parable in the mouth of fools.” and Proverbs 26:9, “[As] a thorn goeth up into the hand of a drunkard, so [is] a parable in the mouth of fools.”

May the reader be blessed with hearing ears and seeing eyes.

For more on Biblical understanding, please see the The Key of Knowledge for Unlocking the Mystery of the Bible.

*The Spirit of Truth

John 14:16&17, “And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; [Even] the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.

John 15:26, “But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, [even] the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:

1 John 4:6, “We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.”

1 John 5:6, “This is he that came by water and blood, [even] Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth.“

1 Corinthians 10:6, “¶ Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted.“

1 Corinthians 10:11, “Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.”

Romans 15:4, “For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.”

1 Corinthians 13:12, “For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.” When Jesus returns on the Clouds of Glory, parables in the Bible will no longer be needed to show us Jesus because He will be present in Person!

Introduction

This post is an excerpt from a longer Exposition of 2 Kings 4:38-41. While there is some debate as to whether the 41 times in 39 verses in the Old Testament, which specifically mention “Gilgal”, are all addressing the same location or not; God’s use of the place name “Gilgal” nonetheless consistently carries great spiritual significance.

Gilgal

“Gilgal” (גִּלְגָּל (gilgāl))^H1537 (meaning “a wheel, rolling”) is the name that God Himself gave to that specific place where we learn of the following:

1. Joshua 4:19 tells us that It is the first encampment of the people of Israel after crossing, and “coming up out” of, the River Jordan into the Promised Land (pointing to the Salvation of the saints of God coming through untouched by the Flood (representing Hell) and up into Heaven, because the Ark of the Covenant, representing the Body of Jesus Christ, was there the whole time).
2. It occurred on the tenth day of the first month! The children of Israel came up out of the River Jordan on the very day that the Passover Lamb was to be selected for the Passover according to Exodus 12:1-3, (and the same day that Jesus triumphantly entered into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday about 1500 years later). See also Ezra 10:16.
3. It is, in Joshua 4:20, where Joshua erected a monument of twelve stones (representing the twelve tribes of Israel) as a memorial to Israel’s deliverance and salvation (which points to the Eternal Israel’s Salvation).
4. It is, in Joshua 5:8 where all of the male children of Israel who made it through the wilderness were circumcised (which points to the Eternal Israel’s Salvation by the shedding of blood, Jesus Christ’s blood).
5. It is where, immediately after that great circumcision took place, in Joshua 5:9, that God announced that He had “rolled away the reproach of Egypt from off” national Israel (which points to the eternal salvation of the eternal Israel in Christ Jesus Who Is Symbolized in that covenant involving the shedding of blood and the cutting/rolling away of the reproach symbolized by mankind’s bondage to the devil in Hell (Typified by Egypt under pharaoh).
6. It is, in Joshua 5:10. where national Israel waited three days to heal and then the next day observed the first Passover Feast on the 14th Day of the first month in the Promised Land (again pointing to the Sacrifice of the Lamb of God, the Lord Jesus Christ).
7. It is, Joshua 5:12 where the manna ceased, marking the end of the wilderness sojourn period (pointing to the fact that in Heaven we only need Jesus, the Bread of Life, of Whom the manna was just an earthly “Type”, but not the substance).
8. It is from the Camp in Gilgal that the nation of Israel under the leadership of Joshua destroyed Jericho. (which is an “Historical Parable” because Jericho is a “Type” for the world that will be destroyed on Judgment Day by Jesus (“Typified” by His Namesake, Joshua) coming from Heaven accompanied by Jesus’s saints (the Eternal Israel, “Typified” by the irreproachable National Israel). And Israel compassed Jericho 13 times spanning 7 days). Only Rahab the harlot and her family were saved because her window had the scarlet thread. Rahab and her family “Typified” those who are the believers, who will still alive on earth on Judgment Day, who are covered by the shed Blood of Jesus Christ, and His Blood is “Typified” by the scarlet thread.
9. It is, in 1 Samuel 7:16, listed as one of three cities visited by the prophet Samuel as a circuit Judge (Bethel, Gilgal, and Mizpeh). Bethel (בֵּית־אֵל (bêṯ-‘ēl))^H1008  means “house of God” and Mizpeh (מִצְפָּה (miṣpâ))^H4709 means “watchtower”.
10. It is, in 1 Samuel 11:14&15, where the Benjamite, Saul, was made the first king of Israel by the prophet Samuel. 
11. It is, in 1 Samuel 13:7-13, that King Saul had been instructed to stay and wait for Samuel before offering sacrifices to the Lord there. Rather than obey, Saul took the matter in his own hands and sacrificed to the Lord at Gilgal. When Samuel arrived, he announced judgment on Saul for his disobedience, stating that Saul’s kingdom and position would not continue and would be given over to another (David of the tribe of Judah ). “the LORD hath sought him a man after his own heart, and the LORD hath commanded him [to be] captain over his people,“.
12. It is, in 1 Samuel 15:33, where the Prophet Samuel slew to pieces with a sword, Agag, the king of the Amalekites.

Gilgal Is Intimately Linked With the Salvation of God’s People by the Atoning Sacrifice of The Lord Jesus Christ! 

The very first place in the Bible where we find the name Gilgal is in Joshua 4:19, where we read,

“¶ And the people came up out of Jordan on the tenth day of the first month, and encamped in Gilgal, in the east border of Jericho. And those twelve stones, which they took out of Jordan, did Joshua pitch in Gilgal. And he spake unto the children of Israel, saying, When your children shall ask their fathers in time to come,saying, What [mean] these stones? Then ye shall let your children know, saying, Israel came over this Jordan on dry land. For the LORD your God dried up the waters of Jordan from before you, until ye were passed over, as the LORD your God did to the Red sea, which he dried up from before us, until we were gone over. That all the people of the earth might know the hand of the LORD, that it [is] mighty: that ye might fear the LORD your God for ever.“

More information is provided by God later in Joshua 5:8-12, where God specifically declares that Gilgal is where God “rolled away the reproach of Egypt from off” national Israel. We read : ¶And it came to pass, when they had done circumcising all the people, that they abode in their places in the camp, till they were whole. And the LORD said unto Joshua, This day have I rolled away the reproach of Egypt from off you. Wherefore the name of the place is called Gilgal unto this day. ¶And the children of Israel encamped in Gilgal, and kept the passover on the fourteenth day of the month at even in the plains of Jericho. And they did eat off the old corn of the land on the morrow after the passover, unleavened cakes, and parched [corn] in the selfsame day. And the manna ceased on the morrow after they had eaten of the old corn of the land; neither had the children of Israel manna any more; but they did eat of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year.“

Gilgal, which literally means “wheel”, or “wheel that rolls”, and as noted above, Gilgal is spiritually identified by God with the rolling away of the “reproach of Egypt” from off of His people. And of course, the phrase, “the reproach of Egypt“, is a typological/allegorical representation of fallen mankind’s spiritual enslavement to sin and Satan. Egypt (the land of Israel’s captivity for 400 years) is notably identified in the Bible as the “iron furnace” in Deuteronomy 4:20, 1Kings 8:51, and Jeremiah 11:4 and is therefore a typological/allegorical spiritual reference for Hell.

“Rolled Away“

Do not the words “rolled away” also bring to mind something else that the Bible tells us was also rolled away? Yes, it was the stone that sealed the tomb where Jesus’ Body lay, as we read in both Mark 16:4, “And when they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away: for it was very great.” and Luke 24:2 “And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre.” 

Yes, the reproach of Egypt (Hell) was eternally removed from off the Eternal Israel, as was exemplified by the rolling away of the stone that sealed the tomb of Jesus’, showing that Jesus had been resurrected and that Jesus was the “first begotten of the dead.” 

Revelation 1:5, “And from Jesus Christ, [who is] the faithful witness, [and] the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,” and 

1 Peter 1:3, “¶Blessed [be] the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,“

The Spiritual Symbolism of Gilgal

Gilgal thus symbolizes the Atoning Sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ, by which God provides salvation for His people, and thus spiritually represents the place where God removes the reproach for their sin together with the death penalty in Hell that the payment for that sin requires. 

The Circumcision in Gilgal

And just as national Israel received the physical circumcision at Gilgal, so to does it symbolize the spiritual “circumcision of the hearts” by God for (Deuteronomy 10:16) of all His children of the eternal Israel. The shedding of blood and the cutting off of the foreskins pointed to the fact that a transition had taken place and those who were circumcised had come under the Abrahamic covenant by the shedding of blood related to the “seed” and ultimately Blood of Christ, because Jesus had to be cut-off and was the Seed of Abraham and David. Jesus is also typified by the Passover lamb sacrifice, which also was partaken of in Gilgal. But what are the other spiritual implications of circumcision? The physical circumcision of the flesh avails nothing, because God talks of the spiritual circumcision of the heart. 

In Deuteronomy 30:6, we read, “And the LORD thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live.” God provides the exposition of this in describing how the saints are made complete in Christ, “Colossians 2:11-13, “¶ In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ: Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with [him] through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead. And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses;” So the “rolling away of the reproach of Egypt” is intimately linked to circumcision at Gilgal.

This is also why Joshua, during much of his campaign to conquer the promised land, set up his camp in Gilgal. It was from Gilgal that Joshua was used by God to save Israel from its enemies, and from which Joshua “ascended” (compare with Ephesians 4:7-16) as we find in the following verses: 

Joshua 9:6, “And they went to Joshua unto the camp at Gilgal, and said unto him, and to the men of Israel, We be come from a far country: now therefore make ye a league with us“.

Joshua 10:6 &7, “¶”And the men of Gibeon sent unto Joshua to the camp to Gilgal, saying, Slack not thy hand from thy servants; come up to us quickly, and save us, and help us: for all the kings of the Amorites that dwell in the mountains are gathered together against us. ¶ So Joshua ascended from Gilgal, he, and all the people of war with him, and all the mighty men of valour.” 

Joshua 10:9, “Joshua therefore came unto them suddenly, [and] went up from Gilgal all night.”

Joshua 10:15, “¶And Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, unto the camp to Gilgal.“

Joshua 10:43, “And Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, unto the camp to Gilgal.”

Joshua 14:6. “Then the children of Judah came unto Joshua in Gilgal:and Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenezite said unto him, Thou knowest the thing that the LORD said unto Moses the man of God concerning me and thee in Kadeshbarnea.”

Joshua, of course, is a clear “Type” of the Lord Jesus Christ, The Savior. 

Please note that Jesus (Ἰησοῦς (iēsous))^G2424 is Greek for the Hebrew, Joshua (יְהוֹשׁוּעַ (yᵊhôšûaʿ)) ^H3091, which means “Jehovah is Salvation” (or “Savior”) and therefore effectively is the same as Elisha, which means “God Is Salvation”.

Conclusion

In this study we have seen yet another case where God has masterfully crafted history, and the recording of it, and in this case particularly the use of geography, to prefigure the return of the Lord Jesus Christ on Judgment Day.  Judgment Day will be the last event in history when the Lord Jesus Christ will come back in the clouds of Glory from Heaven (as “Typified” by Gilgal where Joshua first camped with his people after crossing up out of the River Jordan) to destroy all wickedness, and send all of the unsaved to an eternity in Hell, and put an end to this entire creation (Typified by Jericho), which is under the curse of sin and death.  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.“

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. Judgment Day is for any individual only a heart beat away, but for the world it is coming very soon, given all of the signs of the times that we are currently all living in.

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

Introduction

Concerning end-times prophecy, you can pick up almost any book on the subject today and you’ll find many 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?  We need to take a closer 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.  

And as we proceed in this post, looking only at one geographical location of the Bible, Mount Tabor, please bear in mind that the Judges 4 account is entirely prophetic! Although the events in the account actually occurred in history, and are accurately recorded in the Bible, the account nonetheless foretells what will occur in the short period just prior to the end of the world and Judgment Day when Jesus returns from Heaven on the clouds of Glory and destroys this world and all who hate God and His Word.

Barak, serving as a “Type” of the Lord Jesus Christ, came down from Mount Tabor with Deborah and 10,000 men (who are together “Types” of the Eternal Church of God, the “Saints”) with Barak to destroy all the Canaanites (“Types” of the enemies of God, the unsaved of the world ) at the River Kishon in the Valley of Megiddo (Jezreel) (Which altogether develop a “Type” of Judgment Day).

This post is an excerpt of a larger exposition on Judges 4&5. It shows how perfectly God uses allegories to convey spiritual truths that can be understood if God graciously gifts us the eyes to see (and if we make the effort to look, by prayerfully reading the Bible, as God lovingly instructs us).

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” (תָּבוֹר (tāḇôr)) ^H8396, a prominent dome-shaped mountain (whose meaning in Hebrew is simply “Mount”) could represent “Heaven“. This is because of what we read in Psalm 121:1&2 {A Song of degrees.} “I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills (from הַר (har)) ^H2022 in Hebrew, which can also be translated “mountains” or “mount”), from whence cometh my help.My help [cometh] from the LORD, which made heaven and earth. And shortly afterward, we read in Psalm 123:1, “¶[[A Song of degrees.]] Unto thee lift I up mine eyes, O thou that dwellest in the heavens.“

Moreover, we read in Psalm 3:4 “I cried unto the LORD with my voice,and he heard me out of his holy hill (הַר (har)) ^H2022. Selah.”

Psalm 15:1, “[[A Psalm of David.]] LORD, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in thy holy hill?“

 Psalm 2:6, “Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion.“

We can also see this relationship expounded to us in Psalm 68:15&16,  “The hill (הַר(har)) ^H2022of God [is as] the hill (הַר (har)) ^H2022of Bashan; an high hill (הַר (har)) ^H2022 [as] the hill (הַר (har)) ^H2022of Bashan. Why leap ye, ye high hills (הַר (har)) ^H2022? [this is] the hill (הַר (har)) ^H2022[which] God desireth to dwell in;yea, the LORD will dwell [in it] for ever.” 

Psalm 87:1 “¶[[A Psalm [or] Song for the sons of Korah.]] His foundation [is] in the holy mountains (הַר (har)) ^H2022.”

Our Only Help is From God, and God Is Upon His Holy Hill, Which Can Only Be Pointing Us to Heaven.

Then in Psalm 123:1 {A Song of degrees.}, we read,  “Unto thee lift I up mine eyes, O thou that dwellest in the heavens.”  We also know from Psalm 11:4“The LORD [is] in his holy temple, the LORD’S throne [is] in heaven: his eyes behold, his eyelids try, the children of men.” However, we also find God’s use of allegory, with hills and mountains being representative of Heaven, such as we find in  Psalm 24:3 “Who shall ascend into the hill (הַר(har) ^H2022) of the LORD? or who shall stand in his holy place” and Psalm 48:1 “Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised in the city of our God, in the mountain (הַר (har) ^H2022) of his holiness.“

Psalm 43:3, “O send out thy light and thy truth: let them lead me; let them bring me unto thy holy hill, and to thy tabernacles.”

Psalm 87:1 “e¶[[A Psalm [or] Song for the sons of Korah.]] His foundation [is] in the holy mountains (הַר (har) ^H2022).“

Psalm 99:9, “Exalt the LORD our God, and worship at his holy hill; for the LORD our God [is] holy.“

Psalm 125:2, “As the mountains (הַר (har) ^H2022 [are] round about Jerusalem, so the LORD [is] round about his people from henceforth even forever.“

And we should also consider that while both Isaiah 2:2–4  and Micah 4:1–5  were temporally referring to the earthly Jerusalem, they both were actually, spiritually, pointing to the eternal Heavenly Jerusalem. “…the mountain of the LORD’S house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it (be lighted by it).”

We are assured that this is the case because of what we read in Revelation 21:2 “And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.“

It is not entirely clear what is the true derivation of the meaning of the word “Tabor” (תָּבוֹר (tāḇôr)) ^H8396. There do seem to be a number of somewhat conflicting explanations.  One explanation is that it is derived from the root word that means to be “broken in pieces” (תְּבַר (tᵊḇar)) ^H8406 , or something akin to broken rocks as can be found in a rock quarry.  In that case, perhaps it could be an indirect reference to a place where believers are found before God, given that believers are referred to as “lively stones” (1 Peter 2:5) who are also “broken” in terms of the heart (Psalm 34:18,“The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.”) as well as the spirit (Psalm 51:17 “The sacrifices of God [are] a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.“).  Another explanation is that it is related to the root word “taher” (טָהֵר (ṭāhēr))^H2891 , meaning to be “pronounced clean” or “purged” and “purified”.   Without doubt, Heaven is entirely “Pure” and all believers who ascend to Heaven are made spiritually “clean” and “purged of sin” and “purified” through sanctification by the Holy Spirit as a result of Jesus Christ’s Atoning Sacrifice.

It is also interesting to note here that mount Tabor is generally considered to be the leading candidate for the site of  Jesus’s Transfiguration (The “Mount of Transfiguration“)…and while we can’t confirm or deny that assertion from the Bible; we can say that based on what we can learn in the course of this study, it would not be surprising if it was. For the record, Mt. Hermon is also considered to be a prime candidate for the location of Jesus’s Transfiguration.

More Evidence that Mt. Tabor Represents Heaven

It is also noteworthy that we do find mount Tabor in association with “the heavens” as we read in Psalm 89:11&12, “The heavens [are] thine, the earth also [is] thine: [as for] the world and the fulness thereof, thou hast founded them. The north and the south thou hast created them: Tabor and Hermonshall rejoice in thy name.”  The “heavens” and “earth” are mentioned together, and then immediately following so too we find a counterpoint, with “the north and the south” being representative of this created earth, and the high mountains, specifically mount Tabor and mount Hermon, representing “the heavens” that “rejoice“. Psalm 89:11&12 therefore provides a clear correlation in the Bible between mount Tabor with heaven!

And is this not also consistent with what we read in Matthew 5:12, where Jesus said, “Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great [is] your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.” and Luke 6:23, “Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy: for, behold, your reward [is] great in heaven: for in the like manner did their fathers unto the prophets.”  Finally in Revelation 18:20, “Rejoice over her, [thou] heaven, and [ye] holy apostles and prophets; for God hath avenged you on her.“

Note: From a topological perspective, mount Tabor is only 575 m (1,886 ft) above sea level, while mount Hermon, the highest point in Israel (which even now includes a ski resort, as it is generally snow capped in winter) is 2,236 m (7,336 ft) in elevation. However, mount Tabor, while only a quarter as high as mount Hermon, is uniquely prominent in that it is a singular peak rising abruptly as unique mound from the surrounding Megiddo plain as shown in the photo at the top of this post.

Mount Tabor is also mentioned in a somewhat different way in Judges 8:18 in that when Gideon asked the two remaining Midianite kings the following question and their reply (just before Gideon had them killed), “Then said he unto Zebah and Zalmunna, What manner of men [were they] whom ye slew at Tabor? And they answered, As thou [art], [so were] they; each one resembled the children of a king.” The children of a king refers to the believers who are the children of God.  For more about the meaning of “children of a king”, please see: mephibosheth-and-a-covenant-of-grace/ 

Note also that these Midianite kings, Zebah (זֶבַח (zeḇaḥ) ^H2078) which means “sacrifice“, and Zalmunna (צַלְמֻנָּע (ṣalmunnāʿ) ^H6759) which means “deprived of protection“,  had earlier killed the brothers of Gideon, evidently at the foot of mount Tabor, and were themselves then killed by Gideon. Note also that in Psalm 83:9-12, where we read of the death brought to the enemies of God, “Do unto them as [unto] the Midianites; as [to] Sisera, as [to] Jabin, at the brook of Kison (Kishon) [Which] perished at Endor (Endor, the same that was the home of a witch 1 Samuel 28:7, is located in the valley of Megiddo): they became [as] dung for the earth. Make their nobles like Oreb, and like Zeeb: yea, all their princes as Zebah, and as Zalmunna: Who said, Let us take to ourselves the houses of God in possession.”  

The other two Midianite kings, who Gideon also slew, were named Oreb (עֹרֵב(ʿōrēḇ)^H6159) means “Raven” (an unclean “fowl of the air”), and Zeeb (זְאֵב(zᵊ’ēḇ)^H2062) means “Wolf”, [which the Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ, protects His flock from, remembering also in Matthew 7:15  “¶Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.”]. 

Therefore, in Psalm 83:9-12, God is clearly equating Barak and Gideon, because they both defeated and killed those named individuals who were clearly identified as “enemies” of God as stated in Psalm 83:2.  Moreover, we can see more clearly how Barak and Gideon are spiritual representations of Jesus, Who, on Judgment Day, will defeat the devil and his accomplices, the false teachers who have sought to subdue the Church of God (take “the houses of God in possession”) through apostasy. “They have taken crafty counsel against thy people, and consulted against thy hidden ones.” Psalm 83:3.

It should also be noted that the plain of Megiddo and its environs have been recorded as the location of two great tragedies that befell National Israel:

1) the death of Saul and his sons on Mt. Gilboa, which is where the River Kishon begins in the south east corner of the valley of Megiddo  (1 Samuel 31:8) and

2) the death of King Josiah who was killed by the Pharaohnechoh, king of Egypt in the valley of Megiddo (2 Kings 23:29-30 and 2 Chronicles 35:22).

Conclusion

In this study we have seen yet another case where God has masterfully crafted history, and the recording of it, and in this case particularly the use of geography, to prefigure the return of the Lord Jesus Christ on Judgment Day.  Judgment Day will be the last event in history when the Lord Jesus Christ will come back in the clouds of Glory from Heaven (as “Typified” by Mount Tabor) 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.“

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. Judgment Day is for any individual only a heart beat away, but for the world it is coming very soon, given all of the signs of the times that we are currently all living in.

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

Introduction

Concerning end-times prophecy, you can pick up almost any book on the subject today and you’ll find many 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?  We need to take a closer 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.  

And as we proceed in this post, looking only at one geographical location of the Bible, the River Kishon, please bear in mind that the Judges 4 account is entirely prophetic! Although the events in the account actually occurred in history, and are accurately recorded in the Bible, the account nonetheless foretells what will occur in the short period just prior to the end of the world and Judgment Day when Jesus returns from Heaven on the clouds of Glory and destroys this world and all who hate God and His Word.

Barak, serving as a “Type” of the Lord Jesus Christ, came down from Mount Tabor with Deborah and 10,000 men (who are together “Types” of the Eternal Church of God, the “Saints”) with Barak to destroy all the Canaanites (“Types” of the enemies of God, the unsaved of the world ) at the River Kishon in the Valley of Megiddo (Jezreel) (Which altogether develop a “Type” of Judgment Day).

This post is an another excerpt of a larger exposition on Judges 4&5. It shows how perfectly God uses allegories to convey spiritual truths that can be understood if God graciously gifts us the eyes to see (and if we make the effort to look, by prayerfully reading the Bible, as God lovingly instructs us to so read).

The River Kishon is at the Foot of Mount Tabor (to which Judgment Comes from Heaven Like a “Snare” Upon All Mankind)

In Judges 4:7, we read how God, speaking through Deborah, would bring Sisera to the river Kishon* קִישׁוֹן (qîšôn)^H7028 (meaning “winding” or “twisted/bent“, like a fishhook?) from the Hebrew root word “qowsh”(קוֹשׁ (qôš)) ^H6983, which is the diminutive of “yaqosh” (יָקֹשׁ (yāqōš))^H3369, meaning “entangled” or “to set a trap or snare” like that of a fowler) that is located at the foot of mount Tabor in the middle of the plain of Megiddo (from which Armageddon is derived) for Barak to meet in battle.

Nonetheless, God promises security from Judgment Day to the believer who trusts in the LORD Jesus Christ, as we read in Psalm 91:1-3, “¶He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, [He is] my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust. Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare (פַּח (paḥ))^H6341 of the fowler (קוֹשׁ (qôš)^H6983, [and] from the noisome pestilence.“

Also a fishhook is, without doubt, also a “snare” as we read in Amos 4:2, “The Lord GOD hath sworn by his holiness, that, lo, the days shall come upon you, that he will take you away with hooks, and your posterity with fishhooks.“

The Allegorical Location of the Battle of Armageddon (Judgment Day) Is SET AS A “SNARE“

God makes it clear in Judges 5:19 that the battle in Judges chapter 4 is to be linked both geographically with the valley of Megiddo, and therefore there is no question of its relationship spiritually to the the location representing the end of the world that is known as the Battle of Armageddon, “The kings came [and] fought, then fought the kings of Canaan in Taanach by the waters of Megiddo; they took no gain of money.”

Note how this ties in with Revelation 16:16-18, which tells us, “¶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.” 

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  these verses are referring back to 2 Kings 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))

And we know from Judges 5:21 that the Valley of Megiddo is through which the river Kishon flows (1 Kings 18:40), “The river of Kishon swept them away, that ancient river, the river Kishon. O my soul, thou hast trodden down strength.”

On the one hand, we know from Joshua 23:13, that to God would use other nations as “snares” and “traps” to punish the disobedient of His people, “Know for a certainty that the LORD your God will no more drive out [any of] these nations from before you; but they shall be snares (פַּח (paḥ))^H6341and traps (מוֹקֵשׁ (môqēš)) ^H4170 unto you, and scourges in your sides, and thorns in your eyes, until ye perish from off this good land which the LORD your God hath given you.“

Psalm 35:8, “Let destruction come upon him at unawares; and let his net (רֶשֶׁת (rešeṯ)) ^H7568 that he hath hid catch himself: into that very destruction let him fall.“

We also note that in Psalm 69:22&23 we read, “Let their table become a snare (פַּח (paḥ))^H6341 before them: and [that which should have been] for [their] welfare, [let it become] a trap  (מוֹקֵשׁ (môqēš)) ^H4170. Let their eyes be darkened, that they see not; and make their loins continually to shake.”  These verses are referenced in Romans 11:9&10, ¶And David saith, Let their table be made a snare, and a trap, and a stumbling block, and a recompence unto them: Let their eyes be darkened, that they may not see, and bow down their back alway”.

Backstory to Judges Chapters 4 and 5

These two chapters make it clear that God had raised up the Canaanites to punish Israel for its apostasy. In Judges 2:1-3, we read, “¶And an angel of the LORD came up from Gilgal to Bochim, and said, I made you to go up out of Egypt, and have brought you unto the land which I sware unto your fathers; and I said, I will never break my covenant with you. And ye shall make no league with the inhabitants of this land; ye shall throw down their altars: but ye have not obeyed my voice: why have ye done this? Wherefore I also said, I will not drive them out from before you; but they shall be [as thorns] in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare (מוֹקֵשׁ (môqēš)) ^H4170 unto you.”

Note also that the wicked do try to “snare” the righteous, but, nonetheless, they will be caught in the net of their own devices as we read in,

Psalm 35:8, “Let destruction come upon him at unawares; and let his net (רֶשֶׁת (rešeṯ)) ^H7568 that he hath hid catch himself: into that very destruction let him fall.“

Psalm 64:5, “They encourage themselves [in] an evil matter: they commune of laying snares (מוֹקֵשׁ (môqēš)) ^H4170 privily; they say, Who shall see them?“

Psalm 140:5, “The proud have hid a snare (פַּח (paḥ))^H6341 for me, and cords (or bands, (חֵבֶל (ḥēḇel) ^H2256); they have spread a net (רֶשֶׁת (rešeṯ)) ^H7568 by the wayside; they have set gins (מוֹקֵשׁ (môqēš)) ^H4170 for me. Selah.“

Psalm 141:9 &10, Keep me from the snares (פַּח (paḥ))^H6341 [which] they have laid (יָקֹשׁ (yāqōš))^H3369 for me, and the gins (מוֹקֵשׁ (môqēš)) ^H4170 of the workers of iniquity. Let the wicked fall into their own nets (מִכְמָר (miḵmār))^H4364, whilst that I withal escape.“

Psalm 142:3, “When my spirit was overwhelmed within me, then thou knewest my path. In the way wherein I walked have they privily laid a snare (פַּח (paḥ))^H6341 for me.“

Proverbs 14:27, “The fear of the LORD [is] a fountain of life, to depart from the snares (מוֹקֵשׁ (môqēš))^H4170  of death.“

Psalm 124:7, “Our soul is escaped as a bird out of the snare (פַּח (paḥ))^H6341 of the fowlers (יָקֹשׁ (yāqōš))^H3369: the snare (פַּח (paḥ))^H6341 is broken, and we are escaped.”

Job 19:6, “Know now that God hath overthrown me, and hath compassed me with his net (מָצוּד (māṣûḏ)) ^H4686.”

Psalm 66:11, “Thou broughtest us into the net (מָצוּד (māṣûḏ)); ^H4686 thou laidst affliction upon our loins.“

Ezekiel 12:13, “My net רֶשֶׁת (rešeṯ))^H7568 also will I spread upon him, and he shall be taken in my snare:מָצוּד (māṣûḏ) ^H4686 and I will bring him to Babylon to the land of the Chaldeans; yet shall he not see it, though he shall die there.“

Ezekiel 17:20, “And I will spread my net (רֶשֶׁת (rešeṯ))^H7568 upon him, and he shall be taken in my snare (מָצוּד (māṣûḏ)), ^H4686 and I will bring him to Babylon, and will plead with him there for his trespass that he hath trespassed against me.“

Ecclesiastes 9:12, “For man also knoweth not his time: as the fishes that are taken in an evil net (מָצוֹד (māṣôḏ))^H4685, and as the birds that are caught in the snare (פַּח (paḥ))^H6341; so [are] the sons of men snared (יָקֹשׁ (yāqōš))^H3369 in an evil time, when it falleth suddenly upon them.“

That “evil time” is Judgment Day, and that “snare” the Hebrew “qowsh”(קוֹשׁ (qôš)) ^H6983, which is the diminutive of “yaqosh” (יָקֹשׁ (yāqōš))^H3369, meaning “entangled” or “to set a trap or snare“, is the word from which Kishon (the river) is derived, and clearly tells us it is allegorically pointing to the ultimate “snare” for mankind that awaits everyone who is unsaved on Judgment Day!

Isaiah 8:15, “And many among them shall stumble, and fall, and be broken, and be snared (יָקֹשׁ (yāqōš)) ^H3369, and be taken.“

Isaiah 24:18, “And it shall come to pass, [that] he who fleeth from the noise of the fear shall fall into the pit; and he that cometh up out of the midst of the pit shall be taken in the snare (פַּח (paḥ))^H6341: for the windows from on high are open, and the foundations of the earth do shake.”

 Isaiah 28:13, “But the word of the LORD was unto them precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, [and] there a little; that they might go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared (יָקֹשׁ (yāqōš)) ^H3369, and taken.“

Jeremiah 50:24, “I have laid a snare (יָקֹשׁ (yāqōš)) ^H3369 for thee, and thou art also taken, O Babylon, and thou wast not aware: thou art found, and also caught, because thou hast striven against the LORD.” Remember that “Babylon” represents “the world” when Judgment Day comes (Revelation 14:8, Revelation 16:19, Revelation 17:5, Revelation 18:2, Revelation 18:10, Revelation 18:21).

Lamentations 3:47, “Fear and a snare (פַּחַת (paḥaṯ))^H6354 is come upon us, desolation and destruction.”

Finally, Proverbs Chapter 7 is a parable that addresses the dangers of being enticed by, and falling prey to, a false gospel, typified by the harlot, the strange woman/adulteress, that snares the unwary, simple ones who are “void of understanding”. Proverbs 7:23 tells us the end of such as a result, “Till a dart strike through his liver; as a bird hasteth to the snare (פַּח (paḥ))^H6341, and knoweth not that it [is] for his life.” And then the stern warning by God to everyone in the last verse of the chapter, Proverbs 7:27, “Her house [is] the way to hell, going down to the chambers of death.“

Jesus Warned of The Snare to Come!

Remember, that Jesus spoke of Judgment Day in the context of a “snare” in Luke 21:34&35, “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 (παγίς (pagis))^G3803 shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth.”

And look at how Jesus statement harmonizes with what God gives to us in Psalm 9:15-17, “The heathen are sunk down in the pit [that] they made: in the net (רֶשֶׁת (rešeṯ))^H7568 which they hid is their own foot taken. The LORD is known [by] the judgment [which] he executeth: the wicked is snared (נָקַשׁ (nāqaš)) ^H5367 in the work of his own hands. Higgaion. Selah. The wicked shall be turned into hell, [and] all the nations that forget God.” And again, please also note the consistency with Psalm 35:8, “Let destruction come upon him at unawares; and let his net (רֶשֶׁת (rešeṯ)) ^H7568 that he hath hid catch himself: into that very destruction let him fall.“

And the harmony with Psalm 11:6, “Upon the wicked he shall rain snares (פַּח (paḥ))^H6341, fire and brimstone, and an horrible tempest: [this shall be] the portion of their cup.“

Please note also that God tells us clearly in Isaiah 28:13 that those, who refuse to hear the Word of God, will be condemned as though they would be caught in a snare. “But the word of the LORD was unto them precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, [and] there a little; that they might go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared (יָקֹשׁ (yāqōš))^H3369, and taken.” (Again this is the very root word from which Kishon (the river) is derived.)

Moreover, regardless of the derivation of mount Tabor, which the evidence provided above (and in more detail in a separate post) makes a strong case for mount Tabor to represent Heaven, there is no doubt 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. This is 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.“

We should also take particular note 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 (Kishon):” Also in 1 Samuel 12:9, when Samuel was chastising the people of Israel by recounting God’s mighty works and God’s punishments for apostasy, “And when they forgat the LORD their God, he sold them into the hand of Sisera, captain of the host of Hazor, and into the hand of the Philistines, and into the hand of the king of Moab, and they fought against them.“

Conclusion

In this study we have seen yet another case where God has masterfully crafted history, and the recording of it, and in this case particularly the use of geography, to prefigure the return of the Lord Jesus Christ on Judgment Day.  Judgment Day will be the last event in history when the Lord Jesus Christ will come back in the clouds of Glory from Heaven (as “Typified” by Mount Tabor) 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. Judgment Day will come upon all mankind as an unexpected “snare” (or net) to which we have nonetheless all been forewarned!

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.“

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. Judgment Day is for any individual only a heart beat away, but for the world it is coming very soon, given all of the signs of the times that we are currently all living in.

Introduction

This post is simply a selected list of “Words of Wisdom” verses from the Bible, which, while they may not all be very well known, nonetheless have great importance, and particular salience, for all of us in this world in our day. Note also the close correlation between Psalm 37 and Psalm 73, which provides additional applicable insights. May these verses be a blessing to all who ponder them.

The Situation Today: The World is Only Getting Worse

When Jesus’ disciples privately asked Jesus in Matthew 24:3–14 (and also in Mark 13:3–13; Luke 21:7–19 ), “Tell us, when shall these things be? and what [shall be] the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?“, among the things mentioned were wars and rumors of wars, earthquakes and other natural disasters (pretty much what has always been the case). However, Jesus also made clear that those were simply precursors to what would follow. Jesus went on to say that among of the key signs of the nearing of the end of the world would be a period of great tribulation and affliction, that “false Christs” (including the Abomination of Desolation) would arise to deceive people, and that there would be great persecution of the church and the Gospel of Jesus Christ (Who Is The Only Way to Eternal Salvation and Eternal Life). When we look around the world today, we see a lot of things, consistent with those spoken of Jesus, coming to pass. Moreover, Jesus said, in Mark 13:20, “And except that the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh should be saved: but for the elect’s sake, whom he hath chosen, he hath shortened the days.“

Today, there is most certainly a lot of blatant wickedness and evil unlike that ever seen in the world before (comparable to that just before the Noachian Flood and in the days of Sodom and Gomorrah) that are negatively affecting all aspects of life on earth. Here are some things the Bible says that we should consider:

Psalm 12:8, “The wicked walk on every side, when the vilest men are exalted.”

Ecclesiastes 8:11-13, “Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil. Though a sinner do evil an hundred times, and his [days] be prolonged, yet surely I know that it shall be well with them that fear God, which fear before him: But it shall not be well with the wicked, neither shall he prolong [his] days, [which are] as a shadow; because he feareth not before God.”

Isaiah 32:5-7, “The vile person shall be no more called liberal, nor the churl said [to be] bountiful. For the vile person will speak villany, and his heart will work iniquity, to practise hypocrisy, and to utter error against the LORD, to make empty the soul of the hungry, and he will cause the drink of the thirsty to fail. The instruments also of the churl [are] evil: he deviseth wicked devices to destroy the poor with lying words, even when the needy speaketh right.”

Ecclesiastes 9:3, “This [is] an evil among all [things] that are done under the sun, that [there is] one event unto all: yea, also the heart of the sons of men is full of evil, and madness is in their heart while they live, and after that [they go] to the dead.“

Proverbs 11:11 “By the blessing of the upright the city is exalted: but it is overthrown by the mouth of the wicked.“

Proverbs 14:12, “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof [are] the ways of death.“

Proverbs 14:34, “Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people.”

Proverbs 18:5, “[It is] not good to accept the person of the wicked, to overthrow the righteous in judgment.“

Proverbs 24:24, “He that saith unto the wicked, Thou [art] righteous; him shall the people curse, nations shall abhor him:“

Job 20:5, “That the triumphing of the wicked [is] short, and the joy of the hypocrite [but] for a moment?“

Proverbs 28:4, “They that forsake the law praise the wicked: but such as keep the law contend with them.“

Proverbs 28:5, “Evil men understand not judgment: but they that seek the LORD understand all [things].“

Proverbs 28:10, “Whoso causeth the righteous to go astray in an evil way, he shall fall himself into his own pit: but the upright shall have good [things] in possession.“

Proverbs 28:15, “As a roaring lion, and a ranging bear; so [is] a wicked ruler over the poor people.“

Proverbs 28:16, “The prince that wanteth (lacks) understanding is also a great oppressor: [but] he that hateth covetousness shall prolong [his] days.

Proverbs 28:18, “Whoso walketh uprightly shall be saved: but [he that is] perverse [in his] ways shall fall at once.

Proverbs 28:20, “A faithful man shall abound with blessings: but he that maketh haste to be rich shall not be innocent.“

Proverbs 28:28, “When the wicked rise, men hide themselves: but when they perish, the righteous increase.“

Proverbs 29:2, “When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice:but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn.“

Proverbs 29:4, “The king by judgment establisheth the land: but he that receiveth gifts (bribes) overthroweth it.“

Proverbs 29:12, “If a ruler hearken to lies, all his servants [are] wicked.“

Proverbs 29:27, “An unjust man [is] an abomination to the just: and [he that is] upright in the way [is] abomination to the wicked.“

Isaiah 48:22, “[There is] no peace, saith the LORD, unto the wicked.”

Jeremiah 17:9, “The heart [is] deceitful above all [things], and desperately wicked: who can know it?”

Daniel 4:17, “This matter [is] by the decree of the watchers, and the demand by the word of the holy ones: to the intent that the living may know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will, and setteth up over it the basest of men.“

1 Timothy 6:10, “For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

2 Timothy 3:12, “Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.“

James 1:9, “¶Let the brother of low degree rejoice in that he is exalted: But the rich, in that he is made low: because as the flower of the grass he shall pass away. For the sun is no sooner risen with a burning heat, but it withereth the grass, and the flower thereof falleth, and the grace of the fashion of it perisheth: so also shall the rich man fade away in his ways.“

Clear warnings regarding Abominations

A number of other verses describe exactly what is happening today in blatant and open fashion, as opposed to times past when such things were only done in darkness and secret.

Exodus 23:1, “¶Thou shalt not raise a false report: put not thine hand with the wicked to be an unrighteous witness. Thou shalt not follow a multitude to [do] evil; neither shalt thou speak in a cause to decline after many to wrest [judgment]:” Do not tell lies against another, but tell the truth so as to not indict an innocent man. Do not join mobs, and do not add your voice to those who are against the laws and justice that are meant to protect society. Additional commentary can be found here.

Proverbs 17:15, “He that justifieth the wicked, and he that condemneth the just, even they both [are] abomination to the LORD.”

Isaiah 3:9, “The shew of their countenance doth witness against them; and they declare their sin as Sodom, they hide [it] not. Woe unto their soul! for they have rewarded evil unto themselves.“

Isaiah 3:12 “[As for] my people, children are their oppressors, and women rule over them. O my people, they which lead thee cause [thee] to err, and destroy the way of thy paths“.

Habakkuk 1:2-4, “O LORD, how long shall I cry, and thou wilt not hear! [even] cry out unto thee of violence, and thou wilt not save! Why dost thou shew me iniquity, and cause [me] to behold grievance? for spoiling and violence [are] before me: and there are [that] raise up strife and contention. Therefore the law is slacked, and judgment doth never go forth: for the wicked doth compass about the righteous; therefore wrong judgment proceedeth.“

Romans 1:24-27 “¶Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves. Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen. ¶For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet (just).“

Leviticus 18:22, “Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it [is] abomination.“

Matthew 19:4, “¶And he (Jesus) answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made [them] at the beginning made them male and female,“

Leviticus 20:13, “If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood [shall be] upon them.“

Deuteronomy 22:5, “The woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man, neither shall a man put on a woman’s garment: for all that do so [are] abomination unto the LORD thy God.”

Leviticus 19:28 “Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you: I [am] the LORD.”

Isaiah 5:20, “Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!“

Isaiah 5:21, “Woe unto [them that are] wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!“

Micah 2:1, “¶Woe to them that devise iniquity, and work evil upon their beds! when the morning is light, they practise it, because it is in the power of their hand.”

Deuteronomy 19:18, “And the judges shall make diligent inquisition: and, behold, [if] the witness [be] a false witness, [and] hath testified falsely against his brother; Then shall ye do unto him, as he had thought to have done unto his brother: so shalt thou put the evil away from among you. And those which remain shall hear, and fear, and shall henceforth commit no more any such evil among you.“

1 Timothy 1:8-10, “¶But we know that the law [is] good, if a man use it lawfully; Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, For whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for men stealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine;“

1 Co 3:19&20, “For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness.And again, The Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain.”

1 Corinthians 6:9&10, “Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers,nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.“

2 Thessalonians 2:11, “And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.”

Reaping What You Sow

Job 4:8, “Even as I have seen, they that plow iniquity, and sow wickedness, reap the same.“

Proverbs 22:8 “He that soweth iniquity shall reap vanity: and the rod of his anger shall fail.“

Galatians 6:7, “¶Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.“

Hosea 8:7, “For they have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind: it hath no stalk: the bud shall yield no meal: if so be it yield, the strangers shall swallow it up.

2 Samuel 3:39, “…the LORD shall reward the doer of evil according to his wickedness.“

God’s Instruction and God’s Remedy

Psalm 37 and Psalm 73 are Biblical Bookends that tell the believers not to worry or fret. This is because God has it ALL under control, and the wicked will soon perish forever.(If at all possible, please read All of the verses found in those chapters…below are merely a sample)

Psalm 37 Security of Those Who Trust in the LORD, and Insecurity of the Wicked.

Psalm 37:1 “[[A Psalm of David.]] “Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity.“

Psalm 37:7, “Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass.“

Psalms 37:8-10, “Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil. For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the LORD, they shall inherit the earth. For yet a little while, and the wicked [shall] not [be]: yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it [shall] not [be].“

Psalm 37:38-40, “But the transgressors shall be destroyed together: the end of the wicked shall be cut off. But the salvation of the righteous [is] of the LORD: [he is] their strength in the time of trouble. And the LORD shall help them, and deliver them: he shall deliver them from the wicked, and save them, because they trust in him.”

Psalm 73 The End of the Wicked Contrasted with That of the Righteous.

Psalm 73:3, “For I was envious at the foolish, [when] I saw the prosperity of the wicked.“

Psalm 73:6-10, “Therefore pride compasseth them about as a chain; violence covereth them as a garment. Their eyes stand out with fatness: they have more than heart could wish. They are corrupt, and speak wickedly [concerning] oppression: they speak loftily. They set their mouth against the heavens, and their tongue walketh through the earth.”

Psalm 73:12, “Behold, these [are] the ungodly, who prosper in the world; they increase [in] riches.”

Psalm 73:16-19, “When I thought to know this, it [was] too painful for me; Until I went into the sanctuary of God; [then] understood I their end.“

Psalm 73:18, “Surely thou didst set them in slippery places: thou castedst them down into destruction. How are they [brought] into desolation, as in a moment! they are utterly consumed with terrors.”

Psalm 73:22-28, “So foolish was I, and ignorant: I was as a beast before thee. Nevertheless I [am] continually with thee: thou hast holden [me] by my right hand. Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me [to] glory. Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth [that] I desire beside thee. My flesh and my heart faileth: [but] God [is] the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever. For, lo, they that are far from thee shall perish: thou hast destroyed all them that go a whoring from thee. But [it is] good for me to draw near to God: I have put my trust in the Lord GOD, that I may declare all thy works.“

Other Similar & Pertinent Verses Regarding the State of the Godless

Job 27:8, “For what [is] the hope of the hypocrite, though he hath gained, when God taketh away his soul? and is not this exactly what Jesus said in Matthew 16:26, “For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” and Luke 12:20&21, “But God said unto him, [Thou] fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? ¶So [is] he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”

We also read further in Job, Chapter 27, some other statements by God against the wicked rich hypocrites of which this is just a sample: Job 27:13&14, “This [is] the portion of a wicked man with God, and the heritage of oppressors, [which] they shall receive of the Almighty. If his children be multiplied, [it is] for the sword: and his offspring shall not be satisfied with bread.” and Job 27:19&20, “The rich man shall lie down, but he shall not be gathered: he openeth his eyes, and he [is] not. Terrors take hold on him as waters, a tempest stealeth him away in the night.”

Job 31:3, “[Is] not destruction to the wicked? and a strange [punishment] to the workers of iniquity?“

Psalm 7:11, “God judgeth the righteous, and God is angry [with the wicked] every day.”

Psalm 32:10, “Many sorrows [shall be] to the wicked: but he that trusteth in the LORD, mercy shall compass him about.“

Psalm 49:16&17, “Be not thou afraid when one is made rich, when the glory of his house is increased; For when he dieth he shall carry nothing away: his glory shall not descend after him.“

Note how this verse is corroborated in James 1:9, “¶Let the brother of low degree rejoice in that he is exalted: But the rich, in that he is made low: because as the flower of the grass he shall pass away. For the sun is no sooner risen with a burning heat, but it withereth the grass, and the flower thereof falleth, and the grace of the fashion of it perisheth: so also shall the rich man fade away in his ways.“

Proverbs 1:19, “So [are] the ways of every one that is greedy of gain; [which] taketh away the life of the owners thereof.“

Proverbs 23:17, “Let not thine heart envy sinners: but [be thou] in the fear of the LORD all the day long.“

Proverbs 24:1&2, “¶Be not thou envious against evil men, neither desire to be with them. For their heart studieth destruction, and their lips talk of mischief.”

Proverbs 24:19&20, “Fret not thyself because of evil men, neither be thou envious at the wicked; For there shall be no reward to the evil [man]; the candle of the wicked shall be put out.“

Ecclesiastes 5:8, “¶If thou seest the oppression of the poor, and violent perverting of judgment and justice in a province, marvel not at the matter: for [he that is] higher than the highest regardeth; and [there be] higher than they.” We must always remember what God tells us in Romans 12:19, “Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but [rather] give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance [is] mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.“

A Day of Reckoning Coming

Isaiah 2:11&12, “The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day. For the day of the LORD of hosts [shall] be upon every [one that is] proud and lofty, and upon every [one that is] lifted up; and he shall be brought low:“

Isaiah 13:11“And I will punish the world for [their] evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy (גָּאוֹן (gā’ôn) ^H1347) of the proud (זֵד (zēḏ)s ^H2086) to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible.”

1 Corinthians 15:33, “¶Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners.“

Ecclesiastes 12:13&14, “¶Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this [is] the whole [duty] of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether [it be] good, or whether [it be] evil.”

In Jeremiah 5:25, we read “Your iniquities have turned away these [things], and your sins have withholden good [things] from you. For among my people are found wicked [men]: they lay wait, as he that setteth snares; they set a trap, they catch men. As a cage is full of birds, so [are] their houses full of deceit: therefore they are become great, and waxen rich. They are waxen fat, they shine: yea, they overpass the deeds of the wicked: they judge not the cause, the cause of the fatherless, yet they prosper; and the right of the needy do they not judge. Shall I not visit for these [things]? saith the LORD: shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?“

Ecclesiastes 7:20, tells us plainly “For [there is] not a just man upon earth, that doeth good,and sinneth not.” and the same in Romans 3:10-18, “¶ As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. Their throat [is] an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps [is] under their lips: Whose mouth [is] full of cursing and bitterness:Their feet [are] swift to shed blood: Destruction and misery [are] in their ways: And the way of peace have they not known: There is no fear of God before their eyes.“ 

This is and always has been the state of natural man apart from the Saving Grace and Mercy of God through the Sacrifice of the LORD Jesus Christ.

Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin [is] death; but the gift of God [is] eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.“

Conclusion

God, through His Word, the Bible, tells us that:

1. God is completely Sovereign, and oversees everything that is going on in all of this creation. God has created all things for Himself, and continues to ordain and maintain them for His Glory, both good and evil (Isaiah 45:7; Proverbs 16:4; Romans 9:21-23). 
2. The Believers are not to fret or worry about all the evil, and the wicked evil doers, as the judgment and punishment of the wicked is sure. God makes clear that Judgment Day is definitely coming, and that Jesus will Judge everyone in the world according their works. Revelation 1:13-18, describes Jesus in allegorical language to describe some of Jesus’ attributes as the Judge, “And in the midst of the seven candlesticks [one] like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle. His head and [his] hairs [were] white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes [were] as a flame of fire; And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters. 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. And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last: I [am] he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.” Sadly, the vast majority of the world will be sent to Hell. Jesus makes this clear in Matthew 7:13&14, “¶Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide [Is] the gate, and broad [Is] the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait [is] the gate, and narrow [Is] the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.“
3. When Jesus comes back on Judgment Day, the universe as we know it will be destroyed, but Jesus will create new heavens and a new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness. 2 Peter 3:10-13, ¶ 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. [Seeing] then [that] all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in [all] holy conversation and godliness, Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.
4. Luke 10:27, “And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.“
5. Ecclesiastes 12:13, “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this [is] the whole [duty] of man.“

POSTSCRIPT

Jesus warns us on what to expect in the days just prior to Judgment Day when Jesus sends the majority of mankind to Hell.

Matthew 24:36, “¶But of that day and hour knoweth no [man], no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.“

Luke 17:26, “And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all.“

Luke 17:28-30, “Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed [them] all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.“

Mark 13:19 “For [in] those days shall be affliction, such as was not from the beginning of the creation which God created unto this time, neither shall be.“

Matthew 24:32-35, “¶Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer [is] nigh: So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, [even] at the doors. Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.

Mark 13:23, “But take ye heed: behold, I have foretold you all things“.

Introduction

This post is an extension to the exposition of Judges 4&5. There it was explained how Deborah (meaning “bee” in the original Hebrew,  דְּבוֹרָה (dᵊḇôrâ) ^H1682, which is from the root word דָּבַר (dāḇar) ^H1696 meaning to “speak” or “declare”, 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” (דְּבַשׁ (dᵊḇaš))^H1706 or “honeycomb” (נֹפֶת (nōp̄eṯ))^H5317, that comes from bees. And the those two words, as so translated from the original Hebrew, are both often used typologically to represent the Word of God/the Gospel of Jesus Christ (see Judges 14:8&9, and Psalm 119:103, and Revelation 10:9&10). 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!

And it should also be noted that honey is never to be burned as an offering to God as we read in Leviticus 2:11, “¶No meat offering, which ye shall bring unto the LORD,shall be made with leaven: for ye shall burn no leaven, nor any honey^H1706, in any offering of the LORD made by fire.“ The Words of God will never pass away.

Honey as Found in the Bible

To underscore how the word that is translated as “honey” in the Bible consistently points us to the “Word of God”, please note for example, in Psalm 119:103, where 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 2:6-10 when God told Ezekiel to eat the roll (words were on the roll/scroll) we read,

“¶ And thou, son of man, be not afraid of them, neither be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns [be] with thee, and thou dost dwell among scorpions: be not afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their looks, though they [be] a rebellious house. And thou shalt speak my words unto them, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear: for they [are] most rebellious. But thou, son of man, hear what I say unto thee; Be not thou rebellious like that rebellious house: open thy mouth, and eat that I give thee. ¶And when I looked, behold, an hand was sent unto me; and, lo, a roll of a book [was] therein; And he spread it before me; and it [was] written within and without: and [there was] written therein lamentations, and mourning, and woe.“

And then immediately following in Ezekiel 3:1-4, “¶Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, eat that thou findest; eat this roll, and go speak unto the house of Israel. So I opened my mouth, and he caused me to eat that roll. 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.”

God is clearly and unequivocally equating “honey” with His Word! But please also note how that while the book (the Bible) was sweet in the mouth of the prophet Ezekiel (who represents all believers who have God’s Word faithfully in their mouths), that same Word is nonetheless full of “lamentations, and mourning, and woe” to the unsaved and rebellious of the world.

Please also note the similarity/close correlation with what we read in Revelation 10:9&10, “And I went unto the angel, and said unto him, Give me the little book. And he said unto me, Take it, and eat it up; and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey. And I took the little book out of the angel’s hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter.”

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.“

And in Psalm 81:16, “He should have fed them also with the finest of the wheat: and with honey ^H1706 out of the rock should I have satisfied thee.” What this is saying spiritually is that God would have fed them with Jesus, Who Is the Word of God, as typified by the wheat (bread of life) and the “honey out of the rock” (and the “rock” that was smitten was representative of Jesus, Who was smitten for the believers’ sins and the “honey” is again representative of God’s Word that brings and sustains eternal life coming from Him).

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 (נֹעַם (nōʿam)) ^H5278 words (אֵמֶר (‘ēmer)) ^H561 [are as] an honeycomb (נֹפֶת (nōp̄eṯ))^H5317, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones.”  This is particularly salient when we consider that the word in the original Hebrew, “Noam”, is another Biblical reference to Jesus (The staff “Beauty” is נֹעַם (nōʿam) ^H5278 in Zechariah 11:10, and its price was 30 pieces of silver, etc.).

Given that it can be 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 they are 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! Note also the similarity with this verse in Proverbs 15:26, “The thoughts of the wicked [are] an abomination to the LORD: but [the words] of the pure [are] pleasant (נֹעַם (nōʿam)) ^H5278 words (אֵמֶר (‘ēmer)) ^H561.” While the word translated as “word” is (אֵמֶר (‘ēmer)) ^H561 and not דָּבָר (dāḇār)^H1697 there is still an implicit relationship between them, and hence also in a more nuanced way between God’s Word and the honeycomb.

To reinforce this point, God provides two very contrasting instances of the use of the identical word, “honeycomb” (נֹפֶת (nōp̄eṯ))^H5317:

1. The first instance is Proverbs 5:3, “For the lips of a strange woman drop [as] an honeycomb (נֹפֶת (nōp̄eṯ))^H5317, and her mouth [is] smoother than oil: But her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a twoedged sword. Her feet go down to death; her steps take hold on hell.“
2. The second, and quite contrasting instance, is in Song of Solomon 4:11, “Thy lips, O [my] spouse, drop as the honeycomb (נֹפֶת (nōp̄eṯ))^H5317: honey (דְּבַשׁ (dᵊḇaš))^H1706 and milk [are] under thy tongue; and the smell of thy garments [is] like the smell of Lebanon.“

What God appears to be telling us, from a Spiritual perspective, is that:

1. In the first instance, the “honeycomb” in view is that of a false gospel being portrayed as the True Gospel of Jesus Christ. That “honeycomb” is actually spiritual poison, and it is found coming from the lips of those, in adulterous churches, who preach a false gospel that will only lead the hearers straight to Hell.
2. But, in the second instance, in the Song of Solomon, we see a beautiful portrait of the Love between Jesus and His Bride, the Eternal Church. There we see a portrait of Jesus praising His Bride, with Jesus saying that she has the True Gospel of Salvation, which is being typified by that life giving honeycomb on her lips (along with honey under her tongue) that can lead the hearers to Heaven. How beautiful is that?!

And we should also remember the the last thing that Jesus ate after His Resurrection and just before He Ascended into Heaven was “honeycomb“. Note the specific verses and the context as they are given to us in Luke 24:41-45, “And while they yet believed not for joy, and wondered, he said unto them, Have ye here any meat? And they gave him a piece of a broiled fish, and of an honeycomb. And he took [it], and did eat before them. ¶And he said unto them, These [are] the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and [in] the prophets, and [in] the psalms, concerning me. Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures,“

The Land Flowing with “Milk and Honey” is another Allegory for Heaven

We also know that the “Promised Land (typifying Heaven) is frequently described in the Bible as a land that is flowing (or floweth) with “milk (חָלָב (ḥālāḇ)) ^H2461 and honey (דְּבַשׁ (dᵊḇaš))^H1706“(see for example Exodus 3:8). The phrase “milk and honey” is actually found 20 times in the Old Testament.  Is it not interesting that both milk and honey are related to this Creation of God, and, hence are not reliant in any way on the work of man? They are also dependent on green grass and flowers to be produced, but they result in a means of sustenance for man. Only those who are the chosen of God can enter into that land of rest (from work), a land that is flowing with milk and honey, hence that land of milk and honey is an earthly picture of the Spiritual Heaven wherein mankind can have eternal rest and sustenance for that which it cannot labor.

Heaven and Melita (Honey)

And it should also be noted here that when Paul’s was shipwrecked, that the “certain island” that Paul prophesied about in Acts 27:26 was named Melita (currently known as the island of Malta) in Acts 28:1. Melita (Μελίτη (melitē)^G3194 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.”  

Finally, with regard to “honey”, as it is employed 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 verse 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 “, 1 Samuel 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!

POSTSCRIPT

One final note regarding “honeycomb^“H5317, which we have been shown so clearly represents the Word of God. Proverbs 27:7 tells us the following, “The full soul loatheth an honeycomb; ^H5317 but to the hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet.“ It would be fair to say that this proverb is telling us that those who are full with the things of this world are not hungering and thirsting for the Word of God, and moreover, they will despise the Word and Jesus Who The Word represents. They are satisfied with this sin cursed earth. This world is all that they desire. They do not see a need for Jesus, because they have it all in the here and now. However, Jesus tells us Matthew 5:6, “Blessed [are] they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.” The hungry soul is aware of its need for Jesus, and even the bitter judgments found in the Word of God are sweet to that soul.

Introduction

The rainbow is a magnificent spectacle in the sky that is described scientifically as an “optical phenomenon that can occur under certain meteorological conditions. It is caused by refraction, internal reflection and dispersion of light in water droplets resulting in a continuous spectrum of light appearing in the sky“. What is not said is that it is God Who created the conditions, the water molecules, and the sun to cast the sunlight, which make possible the presence and viewing of any rainbow.

The Rainbow, from a Biblical standpoint, has great spiritual significance, which is only meant to Glorify God. In fact, Ezekiel 1:28 tells us that the rainbow is representative of “the glory of the LORD“,
“As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain (the rainbow), so was the appearance of the brightness round about. This [was] the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. And when I saw [it], I fell upon my face, and I heard a voice of one that spake.“

However, in our day, the rainbow has now been co-opted as a symbol representing those who are entirely opposed to God and His Word (the Bible) and seek only to glorify themselves (and their sins) through identification with the rainbow. It is not hyperbole to say that the differences in these two viewpoints have arisen to Biblical Proportions.

So let us first review how the Rainbow is described to us in the Bible.

The Biblical Meaning of the Rainbow

The very first mention of a “rainbow” in all of western literature can be found in the Bible, in the Book of Genesis (the first book of the Bible). There we find, following the Great Flood of Noah’s day, that God declares in Genesis 9:8-17,

“¶ And God spake unto Noah, and to his sons with him, saying, And I, behold, I establish my covenant with you, and with your seed after you; And with every living creature that [is] with you, of the fowl, of the cattle, and of every beast of the earth with you; from all that go out of the ark, to every beast of the earth. And I will establish my covenant with you; neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood; neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth. ¶ And God said, This [is] the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that [is] with you, for perpetual generations: I do set my bow (קֶשֶׁת (qešeṯ))^H7198 (the rainbow) in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth. And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow (קֶשֶׁת (qešeṯ))^H7198shall be seen in the cloud: And I will remember my covenant, which [is] between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh. And the bow (קֶשֶׁת (qešeṯ))^H7198shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it,that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that [is] upon the earth. And God said unto Noah, This [is] the token of the covenant, which I have established between me and all flesh that [is] upon the earth.” (The word for “bow” is the same as the bow, with arrows, used historically in warfare.)

However, before moving on, we also need to look into why God sent the Great Flood in the first place. In Genesis 6:5, we read, “¶And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and [that] every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them. But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.” Notice that destruction came because of the wickedness and continuous evil of mankind, which holds particular import for us in our day, as we will see below.

The second place in the Bible that a “rainbow” is mentioned is in Ezekiel 1:28 (as was noted above in the Introduction), “As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain (the rainbow), so was the appearance of the brightness round about. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. And when I saw [it], I fell upon my face, and I heard a voice of one that spake.” In this case, the prophet Ezekiel was describing what he saw as “visions of God” that equated a rainbow with the glory of the LORD God.

The last two places in the Bible, which specifically mention a “rainbow”, are found in the Book of Revelation (the last book of the Bible) in Revelation 4:3, which describes Jesus, the Creator and The LORD God Almighty, sitting on the Throne in Heaven, “And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and [there was] a rainbow (ἶρις (iris))^G2463 round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald.” and then Revelation 10:1, “And I saw another mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud: and a rainbow (ἶρις (iris))^G2463 [was] upon his head, and his face [was] as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire:“

If we compare and integrate all of the four places in the Bible that refer to the Rainbow, then we can see that the Rainbow was established by God as a token of remembrance of a Covenant that God established between Himself and all mankind, and every living creature, following the devastating world-wide flood of Noah’s day. That Covenant stated that God would never again destroy the world by a flood of water. Then we next see in both of the prophetical visions, witnessed by both the prophet Ezekiel and John the Revelator, that the rainbow refers to the glory surrounding the Throne of God and upon the Head of God, indicating to us that the rainbow also represents the Glory of God, the LORD God Almighty, Who we know Is also The LORD Jesus Christ. We can also see His coming to the earth, first to bring the Gospel of Salvation in the little book (the Bible)in which the Word is manifested Revelation 10:8-11, and next to Judge the whole earth on Judgment Day, when there is time no longer Revelation 10:6, just as Jesus was judged for His Elect in 33 AD who are received up into Heaven.

The Rainbow Appears Only AFTER Judgment Is Finished!

But we should also take note of the fact that the rainbow was only first seen AFTER the flood of Noah’s Day, which was AFTER the Judgment of God on the world in Noah’s Day. And the following three times all prophetically refer to Jesus in Heaven when He is seated on His Throne in His Glory surrounded by His Saints, also seated with golden crowns, which can only be AFTER the Judgment of God on Jesus Christ for the sins of God’s elect in 33 AD. Jesus is seated meaning His Work is Finished. This means that The Final Judgment for the elect of God, the believers, the saints, The Bride of Christ, is also in the past!

And that is evidence of the fulfillment of the “New Covenant” established by Jesus’ Sacrifice on the cross that we read about in Hebrews 12:22-24, “¶But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than [that of] Abel.”

How is this different from the meaning of the rainbow that is being accepted in our world today?

The Rainbow, and Its Meaning, Has Been Usurped

In today’s culture, predominantly today’s “western” culture, the rainbow is now publicly portrayed as a symbol adopted by those who identify with each other together under the heading of “Pride”.

What does the Bible say about “Pride”?

Suffice it to say, “Pride” is Biblically emblematic of the stumbling block of the Original Sin of Adam, which resulted in all mankind having been condemned to eternal death in Hell by God.  

The very first verse in the Bible that specifically addresses the word “pride” is found in the context of God’s Righteous Judgment for disobedience to God and His commandments, as we find in the following verses:

Leviticus 26:14-19, “But if ye will not hearken unto me, and will not do all these commandments; And if ye shall despise my statutes, or if your soul abhor my judgments, so that ye will not do all my commandments, [but] that ye break my covenant: I also will do this unto you; I will even appoint over you terror, consumption, and the burning ague, that shall consume the eyes, and cause sorrow of heart: and ye shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it. And I will set my face against you, and ye shall be slain before your enemies: they that hate you shall reign over you; and ye shall flee when none pursueth you. And if ye will not yet for all this hearken unto me, then I will punish you seven times more for your sins. And I will break the pride (גָּאוֹן (gā’ôn) ^H1347) of your power; and I will make your heaven as iron, and your earth as brass:” Note that the words “iron” and “brass” are Biblical references to Hell, and that the number “seven” in the Bible points to the “Perfection” of whatever is in view.

There are many verses in the Bible that specifically denounce pride, and the proud and arrogant. Here is but a small sample of some key verses that address pride.

In Proverbs 16:18, “Pride (גָּאוֹן (gā’ôn) ^H1347) [goeth] before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.”

Proverbs 21:4, “An high look, and a proud heart, [and] the plowing of the wicked, [is] sin.”

Proverbs 21:10, “The soul of the wicked desireth evil: his neighbour findeth no favour in his eyes.“

Psalm 119:21, “Thou hast rebuked the proud (זֵד (zēḏ) ^H2086) [that are] cursed, which do err from thy commandments.” The word translated from the original Hebrew as proud here is זֵד (zēḏ) ^H2086, meaning “arrogant”, “proud”, “insolent”, and “presumptuous”.

Isaiah 13:11“And I will punish the world for [their] evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy (גָּאוֹן (gā’ôn) ^H1347) of the proud (זֵד (zēḏ)s ^H2086) to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible.”

In the New Testament, we read in James 4:6, “But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.”

The Culture of Pride Has Become Ascendent Today

And is it not interesting how we are living in a time that both glorifies evil and abominable acts and lifestyles, while also promoting demonic icons in our culture (generally identified as “pop culture”). Marriage between a man and women is no longer sacrosanct. Full-term babies can be killed with impunity in the name of “health care”. Children are being subjected to grave perversions in our public schools. The Bible is abhorred in our society today, while the books of other religions are not only tolerated, but are being actively promoted. I will not go on to enumerate all the specific sins here, but rather simply point the reader to some Bible verses to ponder, which are generally not well known in our day.

Romans 1:18–32, “¶ For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed [it] unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: Because that, when they knew God, they glorified [him] not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things. ¶ Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen. ¶ For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet. ¶ And even as they did not like to retain God in [ their] knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, Without understanding, covenant breakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.“

1 Corinthians 6:9–10, “Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.“

Psalm 12:8, “The wicked walk on every side, when the vilest men are exalted.”

Ecclesiastes 8:11, “Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.”

Deuteronomy 22:5, “¶The woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man, neither shall a man put on a woman’s garment: for all that do so are abomination unto the LORD thy God.“

Leviticus 19:28, “Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you: I [am] the LORD.“

Proverbs 14:34 “Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people.”

Proverbs 11:11 “By the blessing of the upright the city is exalted: but it is overthrown by the mouth of the wicked.“

When Jesus is not being honored as The King today, then destruction will come soon. In Judges 21:25, we read what happened to Israel when they had no king, and it is happening in our world today, “In those days [there was] no king in Israel: every man did [that which was] right in his own eyes.“

And we could all benefit by heeding the words of the Apostle Paul to Timothy in 1 Timothy 6:20, “O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding profane [and] vain babblings, and oppositions of science falsely so called:“

Finally, In Isaiah, chapter 14, we read where God denounced and condemned the devil to Hell for his “pride”, although the original Hebrew word גָּאוֹן (gā’ôn) ^H1347 is translated in the King James Version of the English Bible as “pomp” in Isaiah 14:11-15, “Thy pomp (גָּאוֹן (gā’ôn) ^H1347) is brought down to the grave, [and] the noise of thy viols: the worm is spread under thee, and the worms cover thee. How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! [how] art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be likethe most High. Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.” And as a side note, is it not interesting that, in 2023, in a nation that founded its laws on Judeo-Christian principles, a televised music awards program showcased someone portraying the devil singing a song called “Unholy”, while a major sports team celebrated a sacrilegious group that that openly mocks Jesus’s Atonement?

God Will Judge, exactly as we are told in Ecclesiastes 12:13, “¶Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this [is] the whole [duty] of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether [it be] good, or whether [it be] evil.”

So Why is Sin Abounding So Much Now in Our Day?

God makes it very clear in the Bible that He Is Sovereign over all of His Creation. God tells us that while the devil was bound at the cross upon the death of Jesus Christ in 33AD, that God would let the devil loose from his prison for “a little season”, as a judgment against the world for not reverencing God and His Word (the Bible and Its Embodiment, Jesus Christ) as a prelude to the ultimate Judgment Day and the end of the world in Revelation 20:3 and Revelation 20:7-9.

This current era certainly seems to qualify as the period the Bible refers to as the “Great Tribulation”. Jesus also said that if those days were not cut short, then no one would be saved, but for the elect’s sake, the days will be shortened. We see this in Matthew 24:22, “And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened.” and Mark 13:20, “And except that the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh should be saved: but for the elect’s sake, whom he hath chosen, he hath shortened the days.“

The bottom line is that we are now living in a heathen nation, and a heathen world, which has turned its back on The Creator God, and, therefore, iniquity is abounding. As a result, God is now pouring out His vials of Wrath upon the world, and one of the ways includes letting the devil “loose” from the prison where the devil had been bound from 33 AD until now. Churches have become largely apostate, because the devil has been allowed to take over the pulpit in many formerly Christian churches (as the “Abomination of Desolation“). Seeing that this is the case, we must conclude that we are all now in that “little season”.

And do not forget what Jesus said about the prelude (the beginning of sorrows) leading up to Judgment Day in Matthew 24:6-13, “And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all [these things] must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. ¶Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake. And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.” We have all seen enough of the above already.

Someone might say that this is all just the talk of a fool. OK, but please remember how, back in the Old Testament, God punished the ten northern tribes of Israel for their apostasy and for worshipping other gods, then later Judah and Jerusalem for doing the same thing. To learn more about how God used “Types” of the devil in the course of those horrendous events, please see this study on the Book of Nahum. But for all of us now, as the New Testament era comes to a close and Judgment Day approaches, the same kind of horrendous events have already begun to occur upon the whole world in the “spiritual” realm (and we are now seeing the effects in our physical/temporal world). God is not just letting loose a “Type” of the devil, but the devil himself has apparently now been loosed.

Think about it.

If any of this bothers you, then please cry out to God for mercy in the Name of Jesus Christ while you still have breath in your body.

Postscript: The Irony and Spiritual Implications of a Six-Color Rainbow Versus a Seven-Color Rainbow

Before proceeding further, it must be stated clearly that there is no Biblical basis for saying that the rainbow consists of any number of colors; either five, six, seven, or a million or more. The Bible is completely moot on that point. So where did the idea of seven colors come from?

Interestingly enough, for centuries, “western” culture had previously, generally accepted the view that the rainbow consists of seven distinct colors (although, from a purely empirical scientific view, the rainbow is in reality an indivisible and infinite spectrum of colors).

It has been claimed that Sir Isaac Newton, in England, back in the 1600s, derived the number as the result of experiments with a glass prism to refract sunlight. It should be noted that Sir Isaac Newton was not only a great scientist, physicist and mathematician, but Newton was also a professed Christian and devoted Bible student. It has been reported that Newton originally only saw five distinctly identifiable colors with his glass prism experiment, but later claimed that there were actually seven. According to some claimants, this was due, at least in part, to Newton’s awareness of the Biblical implications of the number “seven”.

And what are the Biblical implications of the number seven?

The number seven is consistently used in the Bible by God to point to the “Perfection” of whatever is in view, and most frequently having to do with time. There are the seven days in the week, the six days of creation culminating in the creation of mankind, followed by the seventh day of rest, known today as the Sabbath. Genesis 2:2&3, “And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.” Then there are the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars that we read about in Revelation 3:1 “And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead.” There are many other examples where the number of seven can be seen in Bible that underpin this interpretation. See Seven for additional references.

But what about the number six?

The Number Six

The number six is consistently used in the Bible in relation to mankind. God created man on the sixth day of creation. In Revelation 13:18, this is made very clear, “¶ Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number [is] Six hundred threescore [and] six.” The “666”, or the number six repeated three times. The number six will always fall short of the number seven, that represents God and His Perfection, Romans 3:23 tells us, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;” Man is not God, just as “6” is not “7“.

It should also be noted that the number six also refers to “work”, which is the foundational evil of every false gospel, in that each contains and exalts the free will and works of men, rather than the Grace of God. So six, refers to man and, more specifically, man’s work, which is always and entirely evil and opposed to God. 

For more verses to help underscore this point, please see Six.

By adopting a six-colored rainbow flag, those professing “Pride” are either consciously, or subconsciously, boasting themselves to be like God, while remaining far short of God’s Perfection. It cannot be more accurately explained than what we find in Romans 1:21-23, “Because that, when they knew God, they glorified [him] not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man,…”

And by the way, it was no accident that the great Judgmental Noachian Flood came when Noah was exactly six hundred years old. Genesis 7:6

And speaking of the Flood in Noahs day, that Judgment on the world in that day was meant by God to be a prefigurement of the last and Final Judgment Day. There are many other prefigurements that portend Judgment Day at the end of the world, such as the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, the destruction of Pharaoh’s army in the Red Sea, the death of the Canaanites in Judges 4&5, the death of enemies of the Jews in Esther, etc. But Jesus specifically pointed to just two of them. Noah’s Flood and Sodom and Gomorrah.

Jesus said in Matthew 24:37-39, “But as the days of Noe (Noah) were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.” and in Luke 17:26-30, “And as it was in the days of Noe (Noah), so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all. Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded. But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed [them] all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.” 2 Peter 2:5 provides a bit of additional commentary, “And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly;”

The bottom line conclusion is that this current ungodly world is ripe for the Final Judgment Day of God. Jesus also said in Luke 21:28, “And when these things begin to come to pass, then lookup, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.” This is a time when everyone needs to ask themself, am I ready to meet God?

Note to the Reader:

Noah נֹחַ (nōaḥ) ^H5146, whose means “Rest” or “Consolation“, also relates in a way to Nahum (נַחוּם (naḥûm) ^H5151 as we read in Genesis 5:29, “And he called his name Noah, saying, This [same] shall comfort נָחַם (nāḥam)  ^H5162 us concerning our work and toil of our hands, because of the ground which the LORD hath cursed.” This word for “comfort” נָחַם (nāḥam)  ^H5162 , which is used here to pertain to Noah, is the root word from which Nahum (נַחוּם (naḥûm) ^H5151 is derived. For more on the Book of Nahum, please see The Book of Nahum. For some more spiritual insights concerning Noah’s Ark please see: Noah’s Ark Versus Moses’ Ark