A Tale of Two Men
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Just after YHWH gave Aaron instructions for how to care for the menorah and showbread in the Tabernacle, we have this strange account: Now the son of an Israelite woman, being [also] the son of an Egyptian man, went out [from Egypt] among the sons of Israel, and a man of Israel and the son of the Israelite woman struggled with each other in the camp... (Leviticus 24:10)This unnamed man had left Egypt along with the Israelites, but he still carried "Egypt" within himself. He ended up reviling YHWH's name, and was sentenced to be stoned to death. The Israelite woman who is called the "mother" of some of Yahweh's people but goes after other lovers shows up again in Isaiah 50:1 and Hosea 2:2. Because of her sin and her children's, they have to be "put away" from Yahweh for a while. Though it was Assyria who took the Northern Kingdom captive, in Yahweh's eyes, they were nonetheless returning to "Egypt"! (Hosea 8:13) So "Egypt" is the world system that enslaves us wherever we are. In Nebuchadnezzar's dream (Daniel 2:31ff) we see another image of this "man" who is "stoned to death". Babylon (the Greek name for "Babel") is the head. The "mystery Babylon" that shows up over and over in Scripture is indeed a continuation of this theme that began with Nimrod's Tower of Babel, when most of the human race decided to unite against Heaven and "make a name for themselves". (Gen. 11:4) In contrast, Abraham is called out from that Babylonian culture and promised that YHWH would make a name for him. Nebuchadnezzar's image continues through the Persian, Greek, and Roman Empires. Finally Rome blends into the "feet of clay"--the weakness that allows the stone "cut without hands" to topple it. That stone is Israel, which was not made by mankind but by Yahweh--a counter-history that will ultimately reclaim what Adam lost. Wherever there's a counterfeit there must be a "real thing". Since the fall of Adam, Yahweh has been in the business of restoring the true "image of Elohim" in a "second Man" (1 Cor. 15:47), the "Last Adam" (15:45). In Isaiah 66:7-8, we see this poetically and mysteriously prophesied: 7. Before she travailed, she brought forth; before her pain came, she was delivered of a man child.So this "child" is also a nation whose "mother" is Zion. The Messiah Yahshua is born in a "daughter of Zion" (Micah 4:8). He is the Head of that restored image. In Hebrew, "head" is related to "first", because the head is the part of the body born first. With Yahshua's resurrection on the feast of First Fruits, Yahweh made a down-payment guaranteeing that the rest of the "new Adam" would indeed be born. The "body" of this new man must "hold fast to the head" (Col. 2:19) in order to finish rebuilding the lost image of Elohim. Paul calls the Galatians "my little children, of whom I labor in childbirth again until Messiah is formed in you..." (4:19) Another allegory was lived out by Rachel, the ancestress of the Northern Kingdom: "Now they pulled up from Beyth-El, and while there was still a considerable stretch of land to go before they came to Efrath, Rachel went into labor, and had great difficulty in the delivery of her baby. And ...when her labor became most difficult, the midwife told her, "Don't be afraid, because this child is also a son for you!" (Gen. 35:16-17)Efrath means "fruitfulness". So the labor begins while Israel's fruitfulness is still a long way off. The Messiah was the man-child brought forth long ago. But the birthpangs are yet to come. The apostles were already working to reunite the northern and southern kingdoms. But Constantine seduced the church into resuscitating the pagan empire by granting Gentile believers a legitimacy of their own, and the Kingdom was divided once again. To hide its true agenda, paganism adopted a veneer of Christian terminology, and forged an alliance that parallels the iron mixed with clay in the statue's toes. Baal's (a.k.a. Mithras' or Saturn's) birthday was now called "Christ's". Ishtar's festival was linked with Yahshua's resurrection just because they sometimes coincide. The Torah forbids such mixtures: There is to be no cross-breeding of animals. Animal and plant fibers are not to be mixed in the same garment. A field is not to be sown with two kinds of seed (Lev. 19:19). The Northern Kingdom is depicted as "scattered" by YHWH (Hos. 1:4-11); it did mix with the nations (Hos. 8:8). But in Hebrew, "scattered" can also mean "sown". In Yahshua's parable (Matt. 13:28), an enemy comes along after the field is seeded. He adds darnel, a plant that can't be distinguished from wheat until both come to maturity. This is a picture of the hybrid church-part Hebraic/Israelite and part-pagan. As the time draws near for the two houses of Israel to reunite into "one new man" (Ephesians 2:15), the counterfeit is keeping pace. The Gospel has been co-opted by Babylon. Little by little the proclamation that there is amnesty for the Northern Kingdom, and that others may join Israel if they so desire, has been watered down to "God loves everyone, whether they obey Him or not." The Holy Roman Empire was one of the many attempts to rebuild Babel. Many who no longer know Scripture well enough to see any reason for the continued rift are now heeding Rome's invitation to take advantage of her amnesty and rejoin the "mother church". Of the counterfeit Messiah who will come to the forefront as the counterfeit's figurehead, Daniel says, "By peace he will destroy many". And indeed, everywhere we hear cries for "peace", "unity", and "universal brotherhood". This "fourth kingdom" (Daniel 2:40) correlates with the fourth beast (Dan. 7:7), who shows up again in Revelation 13 requiring everyone on earth to be branded as part of his system, apart from which no one can buy or sell. But "this calls for the endurance of the holy ones..." (Rev. 13:10; 14:12) Israel is not to be counted among the nations (Num. 23:9)--i.e., not part of this coalition. There is no reason to compromise with Mammon except to ensure our security. But Yahweh can provide manna as easily as He did before. "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from Yahweh's mouth." Its true colors show up when Yahweh starts to apply pressure. It turns on the part of the "church" that prostitutes itself with it. (Rev. 17:16) Then it will so hem in the true Man that it appears that it has all been in vain: "The children have been brought to birth, but there is no strength to bring forth." (Isaiah 37:3) This is the stage in a woman's labor where she feels like it is impossible to go on. But Yahweh says, "Shall I bring to the birth and not bring forth?" (Isa. 66:9) We are called to walk by faith, though everything visible seems to say that the restoration of Israel, the "new Adam", is just a pipe dream. Revelation 12:1 depicts a woman clothed with the sun and a crown of 12 stars. Genesis 37:9-10 identifies the 12 stars as Jacob's 12 sons. So this woman is reunited Israel when she is reunited. After her birthpangs, the dragon tries to destroy her child. Verse 17 says her seed are those who "keep the commandments of Elohim and have the testimony of Yahshua the Messiah." So what is brought forth at the birthpangs is Messiah's Body, though he, the firstfruits, was born earlier. "A woman in birthpangs has sorrow, because her hour is come: but as soon as she is delivered of the child, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a man is born into the world." (Jn. 16:21)It is at this time when Israel is back in the wilderness that the throne will be established. (Isaiah 16:4-5) Both Houses of Israel together will have one shepherd, [the son of] David. (Ezek. 34:23; 37:24) The new man will be complete. But the birth pangs signal a transition for Babylon also: "They shall be afraid: pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them; they shall be in pain as a woman who is giving birth." But there is really no birth for Babylon. (Isa. 13:8) The "image of the Beast" that all mankind is coerced into worshipping is no "man" after all. It is only a projection of haSatan's wishful thinking. One Hebrew word for "idol" means "a mere image"--something with no relation to reality; it only seems real, taking a grain of truth that Yahweh has created, and sponging off it like a parasite. "To deceive the many", Satan's counterfeit "man" will probably even say he is "Jesus Christ". This "different Jesus"--the hybrid version "created" by mixing Biblical truth with pagan tradition--is also only a distortion of the true Yahshua, but will finally be embodied in a personality diametrically opposed to Him. Ephraim and Menashe were the sons of Joseph (son of Jacob) and an Egyptian woman. Since their father was an Israelite, they could still inherit as Israelites; the same does not hold true if it goes the other way, as with the man in Leviticus 24. There are some of each in the church--some who have been exiled there, sown by Yahweh, as well as infiltrators, planted there by the enemy. "Overlooking the times of ignorance", Yahweh has allowed much of value to be accomplished by His people while they had not yet made a complete break with paganism; He let the wheat and darnel grow together so the good crop was not damaged. But as we approach the end of the Age, the time to draw lines is here. One "man" will soon be all evil, the other all good. (Rev. 22:11) Anyone associated with Babylon at that point will be judged along with her. Our motives might be impeccable, but we will be found to be building the wrong house--the one built on sand. Daniel recognized when the time of his exile was due to be up. While others were comfortable in the luxury of Babylon, he took practical steps to in fact bring the exile to an end. Now our exile (that of the Northern Kingdom) is nearly over. It is time to "come out of her, My people" (Rev. 18:4) before the whole world that is under the power of the evil one (1 Jn. 5:19) goes down with the Beast. The church has served as a lifeboat in the interim, but it is time to get back to "land"--to being who we were truly meant to be. After twenty centuries, it is time for Jacob to stop building up the household of "Laban", who proves to only want to get rich at our expense, and put our energy into our own people--Israel. Yahweh has no covenant with the church as such, and certainly not with Babylon/ Egypt/Rome. The New Covenant is only with the House of Judah and the House of Israel. If you are not aligned with one of these, what promise do you have of sharing in it? It's time to put away the "hybrid man", and live as the pure Nation we were meant to be. |