End Time Israel
In its context, this is an end-time passage about Israel:
Isaiah 30:1-3 “Woe to the rebellious children,” says the Lord , “Who take counsel, but not of Me, And who devise plans, but not of My Spirit, That they may add sin to sin; Who walk to go down to Egypt, And have not asked My advice, To strengthen themselves in the strength of Pharaoh, And to trust in the shadow of Egypt! Therefore the strength of Pharaoh Shall be your shame, And trust in the shadow of Egypt Shall be your humiliation.
Here, the imagery is plain, harkening back to the days of Jerusalem's destruction in the time of Jeremiah and Isaiah...when God kept telling Israel to trust Him and turn themselves over to Him...instead, they ran to Egypt...trusting in the king they could see, even the leader of the land of their former slavery, rather than in the perplexing plans of their invisible God. This is what God promised them even as they prepared to go:
Jeremiah 42:22 Now therefore, know certainly that you shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence in the place where you desire to go to dwell.”
This was a down payment on what is promised to happen in the generation that sees Jesus return. Israel is promised to put their trust in a man that actually hates them...the picture of the last Egypt, for Egypt was the first of eight empires...eight superpowers to dominate the earth and oppress Israel:
Revelation 17:9-11 “Here is the mind which has wisdom: The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits. There are also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, and the other has not yet come. And when he comes, he must continue a short time. The beast that was, and is not, is himself also the eighth, and is of the seven, and is going to perdition.
We know from the books of Daniel and Revelation that these superpowers are Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Persia, Greece, Rome (the one that "is" when John is given the vision), and the Islamic Caliphate (culminating in the Ottoman Empire). The last superpower would align with the revived Islamic Caliphate. This is the antichrist empire, the last superpower in a series that started with Egypt. Israel will put her trust in this last "Egypt", rather than trust in God.
Daniel was told that Israel would make a seven-year agreement with the antichrist that she thinks will bring her peace. The antichrist will promise to protect Israel for 7-years if she will make a risky peace agreement with her neighbors. God told Isaiah this agreement...or covenant...is actually a "covenant with death," because the antichrist is going to break the agreement 3.5 years into it, and use that very agreement to takeover and brutally oppress Israel:
Daniel 9:27 Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week; But in the middle of the week He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate, Even until the consummation, which is determined, Is poured out on the desolate.”
Isaiah 28:14-19 Therefore hear the word of the Lord , you scornful men, Who rule this people who are in Jerusalem, Because you have said, “We have made a covenant with death, And with Sheol we are in agreement. When the overflowing scourge passes through, It will not come to us, For we have made lies our refuge, And under falsehood we have hidden ourselves.” Therefore thus says the Lord God : “Behold, I lay in Zion a stone for a foundation, A tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation; Whoever believes will not act hastily. Also I will make justice the measuring line, And righteousness the plummet; The hail will sweep away the refuge of lies, And the waters will overflow the hiding place. Your covenant with death will be annulled, And your agreement with Sheol will not stand; When the overflowing scourge passes through, Then you will be trampled down by it. As often as it goes out it will take you; For morning by morning it will pass over, And by day and by night; It will be a terror just to understand the report.”
This "covenant with death," when it is broken, leads to the greatest time of tribulation the earth will ever see. Jesus said that when the antichrist breaks the treaty, all of Judah should flee...not even turning back to get clothes from their houses:
Matthew 24:15-21 “Therefore when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place” (whoever reads, let him understand), “then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house. And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes. But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath. For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be.
This last generation will be the most confusing time for those in Israel, and those willing to watch for what is happening. This is because the whole world wants peace, but Jesus says peace based on man's plan is actually a covenant with death! Only Jesus can bring true peace...and the world is supposed to be contending for invisible Jesus to bring it ("Whoever believes will not act hastily")...just like Israel was supposed to trust in God's perplexing plan back in Jeremiah's day!
This will be a VERY unpopular message, that the Bride is SUPPOSED to declare to the world. It will be much easier to celebrate "peace" rather than tell the truth: that the 7-year security arrangement for peace is actually a "covenant with death." The whole world will be celebrating success, but those who know Jesus are supposed to see through it, and DECLARE it for love...that none would be lost! This false peace is actually a necessary ingredient for the return of Jesus:
I Thessalonians 5:1-6 But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you. For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. For when they say, “Peace and safety!” then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape. But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief. You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober.
Here Paul warns us that most of the world will have no idea that this peace arrangement is bad! But those who are loyal to Jesus are supposed to know...it shouldn't be hidden from us, if we will study Jesus' plan, and know what He is about to do, we can do what the Bride...the spouse of Jesus...is supposed to do: warn the whole world about what is happening and tell them how this is Jesus' plan...to be a faithful witness like Jesus!
Revelation 1:5 and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood,
Daniel 12:1-3 “At that time Michael shall stand up, The great prince who stands watch over the sons of your people; And there shall be a time of trouble, Such as never was since there was a nation, Even to that time. And at that time your people shall be delivered, Every one who is found written in the book. And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, Some to everlasting life, Some to shame and everlasting contempt. Those who are wise shall shine Like the brightness of the firmament, And those who turn many to righteousness Like the stars forever and ever.
Right now the VAST majority of those who name the name of Jesus have no idea this is potentially playing out right before their very eyes. They have no idea that we are called to know the details of Jesus' plan, that there is MUCH for the Bride to be doing right now, and that our choices...as those who live in the generation seeing all of the signs Jesus promised...carry MUCH weight. Jesus wondered out loud how many He would find faithful...crying out to Him day and night...when He returned:
Luke 18:7-8 And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them? I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?”
The Book of Revelation is the only Book with a PROMISED blessing for those who would read it AND teach it. Revelation is very straight-forward and knowable with a little effort and intentional study...how many will actually take Jesus' words at face value and find out what the world is supposed to be doing right now?!
Revelation 1:3 Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near.
If you watch the news and study your Bible, you can actually see these things coming together in the most dramatic way right now...but the world will NEVER warn you...it is too busy sleeping:
Matthew 24:37-39 But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.
Isaiah 30:1-3 “Woe to the rebellious children,” says the Lord , “Who take counsel, but not of Me, And who devise plans, but not of My Spirit, That they may add sin to sin; Who walk to go down to Egypt, And have not asked My advice, To strengthen themselves in the strength of Pharaoh, And to trust in the shadow of Egypt! Therefore the strength of Pharaoh Shall be your shame, And trust in the shadow of Egypt Shall be your humiliation.
Here, the imagery is plain, harkening back to the days of Jerusalem's destruction in the time of Jeremiah and Isaiah...when God kept telling Israel to trust Him and turn themselves over to Him...instead, they ran to Egypt...trusting in the king they could see, even the leader of the land of their former slavery, rather than in the perplexing plans of their invisible God. This is what God promised them even as they prepared to go:
Jeremiah 42:22 Now therefore, know certainly that you shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence in the place where you desire to go to dwell.”
This was a down payment on what is promised to happen in the generation that sees Jesus return. Israel is promised to put their trust in a man that actually hates them...the picture of the last Egypt, for Egypt was the first of eight empires...eight superpowers to dominate the earth and oppress Israel:
Revelation 17:9-11 “Here is the mind which has wisdom: The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits. There are also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, and the other has not yet come. And when he comes, he must continue a short time. The beast that was, and is not, is himself also the eighth, and is of the seven, and is going to perdition.
We know from the books of Daniel and Revelation that these superpowers are Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Persia, Greece, Rome (the one that "is" when John is given the vision), and the Islamic Caliphate (culminating in the Ottoman Empire). The last superpower would align with the revived Islamic Caliphate. This is the antichrist empire, the last superpower in a series that started with Egypt. Israel will put her trust in this last "Egypt", rather than trust in God.
Daniel was told that Israel would make a seven-year agreement with the antichrist that she thinks will bring her peace. The antichrist will promise to protect Israel for 7-years if she will make a risky peace agreement with her neighbors. God told Isaiah this agreement...or covenant...is actually a "covenant with death," because the antichrist is going to break the agreement 3.5 years into it, and use that very agreement to takeover and brutally oppress Israel:
Daniel 9:27 Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week; But in the middle of the week He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate, Even until the consummation, which is determined, Is poured out on the desolate.”
Isaiah 28:14-19 Therefore hear the word of the Lord , you scornful men, Who rule this people who are in Jerusalem, Because you have said, “We have made a covenant with death, And with Sheol we are in agreement. When the overflowing scourge passes through, It will not come to us, For we have made lies our refuge, And under falsehood we have hidden ourselves.” Therefore thus says the Lord God : “Behold, I lay in Zion a stone for a foundation, A tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation; Whoever believes will not act hastily. Also I will make justice the measuring line, And righteousness the plummet; The hail will sweep away the refuge of lies, And the waters will overflow the hiding place. Your covenant with death will be annulled, And your agreement with Sheol will not stand; When the overflowing scourge passes through, Then you will be trampled down by it. As often as it goes out it will take you; For morning by morning it will pass over, And by day and by night; It will be a terror just to understand the report.”
This "covenant with death," when it is broken, leads to the greatest time of tribulation the earth will ever see. Jesus said that when the antichrist breaks the treaty, all of Judah should flee...not even turning back to get clothes from their houses:
Matthew 24:15-21 “Therefore when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place” (whoever reads, let him understand), “then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house. And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes. But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath. For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be.
This last generation will be the most confusing time for those in Israel, and those willing to watch for what is happening. This is because the whole world wants peace, but Jesus says peace based on man's plan is actually a covenant with death! Only Jesus can bring true peace...and the world is supposed to be contending for invisible Jesus to bring it ("Whoever believes will not act hastily")...just like Israel was supposed to trust in God's perplexing plan back in Jeremiah's day!
This will be a VERY unpopular message, that the Bride is SUPPOSED to declare to the world. It will be much easier to celebrate "peace" rather than tell the truth: that the 7-year security arrangement for peace is actually a "covenant with death." The whole world will be celebrating success, but those who know Jesus are supposed to see through it, and DECLARE it for love...that none would be lost! This false peace is actually a necessary ingredient for the return of Jesus:
I Thessalonians 5:1-6 But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you. For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. For when they say, “Peace and safety!” then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape. But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief. You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober.
Here Paul warns us that most of the world will have no idea that this peace arrangement is bad! But those who are loyal to Jesus are supposed to know...it shouldn't be hidden from us, if we will study Jesus' plan, and know what He is about to do, we can do what the Bride...the spouse of Jesus...is supposed to do: warn the whole world about what is happening and tell them how this is Jesus' plan...to be a faithful witness like Jesus!
Revelation 1:5 and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood,
Daniel 12:1-3 “At that time Michael shall stand up, The great prince who stands watch over the sons of your people; And there shall be a time of trouble, Such as never was since there was a nation, Even to that time. And at that time your people shall be delivered, Every one who is found written in the book. And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, Some to everlasting life, Some to shame and everlasting contempt. Those who are wise shall shine Like the brightness of the firmament, And those who turn many to righteousness Like the stars forever and ever.
Right now the VAST majority of those who name the name of Jesus have no idea this is potentially playing out right before their very eyes. They have no idea that we are called to know the details of Jesus' plan, that there is MUCH for the Bride to be doing right now, and that our choices...as those who live in the generation seeing all of the signs Jesus promised...carry MUCH weight. Jesus wondered out loud how many He would find faithful...crying out to Him day and night...when He returned:
Luke 18:7-8 And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them? I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?”
The Book of Revelation is the only Book with a PROMISED blessing for those who would read it AND teach it. Revelation is very straight-forward and knowable with a little effort and intentional study...how many will actually take Jesus' words at face value and find out what the world is supposed to be doing right now?!
Revelation 1:3 Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near.
If you watch the news and study your Bible, you can actually see these things coming together in the most dramatic way right now...but the world will NEVER warn you...it is too busy sleeping:
Matthew 24:37-39 But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.
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