Battlefield

      This week's Sabbath reading portion is titled B'midbar, which means "in the wilderness". B'midbar is also the Torah title of the fourth book of the Bible, which we call "Numbers". The title comes from the first verse of the Book of Numbers: "Now the LORD spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the tabernacle of meeting, on the first day of the second month, in the second year after they had come out of the land of Egypt..." 

     The LORD instructed Moses to take (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) a census of the children of Israel to include every male from twenty years old and above, "all who are able to go to war (saba/seba - warfare, battle, war, appointed time, soldiers, company, go out to war, a mass of persons organized for warfare, army/go forth as soldiers to war, as a soldier against an enemy, wage war, fight, serve, mustered, assemble, wait upon) in Israel. You and Aaron shall number them by their armies (saba/seba - same as above)." (Num. 1:3). There can be no doubt, based upon the meaning of the Hebrew word for war or army, that the LORD is mustering His people for warfare.  The LORD had been referring to the Israelites as His armies since the Book of Exodus, before and after He delivered them out of their slavery in Egypt. (see Ex. 7:4-5, 12:17, 12:41-42, 12:51).

     According to verse 1, it has been two years since the Israelites had come out of their Egyptian slavery. This implies a certain maturity of experience in their walk with the LORD. They have seen powerful miracles, and they have suffered losses of life because of rebellions, disobedience and idolatry.  The LORD considers them able to walk as His armies. The battles that they face will not only be physical warfare, but, more importantly, spiritual warfare. Their primary weapon will be their traceable covenant identity in the LORD as they recite their lineages all the way back to their ancestors with whom the LORD made covenant promises. (see Num. 1:18-20). As the Israelite men over twenty years old were counted, the largest group came from the tribe of Judah (yehuda/yada - "praised"/praise, give thanks, confess, to revere or worship with extended hands, shoot arrows, cast down, throw down) at 74,600 men of that age. (v. 26-27). Looking at the meaning in Hebrew of the word "Judah", we can see praise, thanksgiving and earnest worship of God become weapons in warfare. The tribe of Judah will bring forth the Messiah/Christ Jesus many generations later and it is Jesus who defeated the spiritual enemies of man which included sickness, sin, death, hell and the grave, and He did so in an act of glorifying His heavenly Father (see Jn. 12:27-28, Phil. 2:8-11). It will serve us well to remember this great weapon of our spiritual warfare if we learn nothing else from this Sabbath's B'midbar reading portion than this, but there is more to learn.

     All of the tribes of the Israelites were numbered for warfare in the same manner, with captains (nasi - chief, captain, prince, king, ruler, one lifted up) from each tribe appointed over them by the LORD. As the names of the captains are given in Numbers Ch. 2, many remind us of Messiah/Christ Jesus in meaning: "Given, appointed, bestowed of/by God", "Whose Father is God", "The Rock is God", and "Peace and Completeness of God".

     The Levites, or priestly tribe, who served in the tabernacle were not left out of the armies of warfare. The same Hebrew word seba/saba used above for "warfare, armies, soldiers, battle, etc., is used to describe the hosts and service of the Levites, all of those thirty to fifty years old were to be numbered. (see Num. 4:3, 4:23, 4:30, 4:35, 4:39, 4:43). Their service in the tabernacle was actually associated with the warfare of seba/saba. 

     We also can't forget the women! In Ex. 38:8, the LORD included them in His army of seba/saba warfare: "He (Moses) made the (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) laver of bronze and its base of bronze from the bronze mirrors (mar'a/mar'e - visions [sent by God], mode of revelation, mirror/sight, vision of form, appearance, visage, pattern or countenance) of the serving (seba/saba - see above) women who assembled (seba/saba - see above) at the door of the tabernacle of meeting."  Revelations and visions from God, particularly pertaining to a certain form, visage, countenance and pattern which, I believe, pertains to the visage and form of Jesus Messiah/Christ (see Isa. 52:13-15), are part of the spiritual warfare the Israelites were called to, especially through the women, as mentioned here.

This is a good place to look more closely at the Hebrew word for "wilderness", which is midbar. Midbar means, "wilderness, desert, uninhabited land, a sterile, sandy country." We would expect this desolate meaning. However, midbar also contains the meaning, "pasture as an open field where cattle are driven, plain country fit for the feeding of flocks." Two opposite conditions are contained within the meaning of midbar, as we can see. There is also a secret within the meaning of midbar that can help us understand the key that relates to these two opposite meanings.

Midbar also contains the meaning, "speech, mouth as an organ of speech." The Hebrew root word of midbar is the Hebrew word dabar, which means "speak, say, promise, tell, command, pronounce, warn, put to flight, sing."

On the battlefield of the wilderness, it is what we speak, pronounce and sing that determines whether a sterile desert or a pasture fit for feeding flocks and cattle is established. What are the armies of the LORD speaking in the wilderness? The LORD can take a spiritually desolate and uninhabited wilderness and turn it into a lush spiritual garden, or He can take a fruitful green pasture of food for His flocks and make it desolate, and it seems to depend largely on what His army speaks according to the meaning of midbar.

     The Israelites of the Book of Numbers were in their second year after their deliverance from slavery. As we mature in our walk with the Lord, we can expect that the Lord will begin to lead us into spiritual warfare, not only in our own circumstances, but in warfare that will lead to the spiritual salvation and liberation of other people and even nations. Often we regard people as being foes, however, the apostle Paul wanted us to have this revelation about our warfare: "For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled." (2 Cor. 10:3-5). This spiritual warfare isn't against other people, it is against our own minds! So many of us feel overwhelmed by problems that will pass away with all other temporal things, or we become discouraged by life's challenges and continued struggles against sins and weaknesses in our own souls and flesh until we tempted to wave the white flag of surrender. Never! Fight that battle with thanksgiving and praise out of our mouths, with hands lifted up and outstretched in reverence and worship, shouting the victory of the Lord as promised in His Word. As we continue to fight the spiritual battle, we need to understand that we are also winning the warfare on behalf of others as well.

     We can see that our warfare is directly connected to our relationship and covenant inheritance with and in Messiah/Christ Jesus, just as the Israelites' warfare was based upon their covenant heritage in God.

     In another place, Paul wrote: "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand." (Eph. 6:12-13).

     As the Israelites were, we are also called to be a spiritual army fighting spiritual warfare. We do not go to battle in our own strength, nor with weapons that have been made by men for use against men. but we are armed with the truth of the Word of God, which was embodied in Jesus (Jn. 1:14), and with the victory of Jesus:

     "These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." (Jn. 16:33, the Words of Jesus).

     "Death is swallowed up in victory...The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory though our Lord Jesus Christ." (1 Cor. 15:56-57/Isa. 25:8-9).

     "Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Rom. 8:37-39).

     Scripture tells us that Jesus sent out seventy disciples in His name to bring the Gospel to cities where He intended to go. They were to heal the sick and bring the message: "The kingdom of God has come near to you." (Lk. 10:1-9, excerpt). The seventy returned to Jesus with joy because even the demons were subject to them in Jesus' name. Jesus had known of their victory as He said to them: "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall be any means hurt you. Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven." (Lk. 10:17-20).

     As Jesus explained above, the serpents and scorpions He referred to were not physical creatures, but spirits or demons. Both of the creatures mentioned have the meaning in Greek of being sharp in vision, able to look into the distance in order to spy, being skeptical and having malicious intent especially associated with Satan, for the purpose of piercing and stinging.

     The disciples' obedience to the commands of Jesus, in His name healing the sick and declaring the Kingdom of God, sent Satan falling from his position in the heavens!  The warfare victory was not because of themselves, but it was because of the Yesua (Jesus' name in Hebrew) salvation of God is their lives. This is also the Great Commission that Jesus gave to His disciples. (see Mt. 28:18-20, Mk. 16:15-18).

     It is very important to know that this B'midbar Sabbath reading portion must be read on the Sabbath before the Feast of Shavuot, the Feast of Weeks, which in Greek is called Pentecost. Previous weeks' Sabbath reading portions were doubled together so that this B'midbar portion would fall on this specific appointed Sabbath. This year, Pentecost falls on this coming Monday-Tuesday. The Book of Acts tells us how the LORD fulfilled the Feast of Pentecost by sending the Holy Spirit in flames of fire to the believers in Messiah/Christ Jesus who obediently waited for "the power from on high" (Lk. 24:49 , Acts 1:8) in Jerusalem. The effect of the Holy Ghost fire was to change the believers' tongues (glossa - the tongue, an organ of speech, a distinct language).

     What were the changed tongues of the believers saying by the power from heaven? Foreign pilgrims who had come to Jerusalem for the feast were amazed, "because everyone heard them speak in his own language...Parthians and Medes and Elamites, those dwelling in Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya adjoining Cyrene, visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs - we hear them speaking in our own tongues the wonderful works of God." (Acts 2:1-11, excerpt).

     The tongues of the Holy Spirit gave praise for the wonderful works of God. We are brought right back to midbar (see meaning above regarding mouth and speech) and the largest tribe in the LORD's armies in the wilderness - the tribe of Judah, meaning "Praise". As we observe this Shavuot, Feast of Pentecost of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, which continues with us, let us join in the fiery tongues of praise.

     If you would like to know more about being in the Lord's army of believers, you can join me in my prayer: "LORD of hosts, You have called Your people to be part of Your armies of warfare and transformation. What a privilege to be called by You and included in Your mighty works! My heritage in You and in Your Son, Jesus, includes Your victories on our behalf. All creation is waiting for this manifestation of Your sons in the earth. Teach me to speak in the way that transforms the spiritually dry wildernesses into green pastures. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit who gives me a tongue to proclaim the wonderful works of God to all people and nations. Fill my mouth with praises because You have written my name in heaven. I ask this in the name of my Savior, Jesus. AMEN."

*NOTE: aleph-tav written in Hebrew as אֶת, are the first and last letters of the Hebrew alphabet. The meaning of the two pictographic Hebrew letters can also be interpreted "Adonai (Lord) of the Cross/Covenant". In the New Testament, these letters are translated as Alpha and Omega written as ΑΩ , the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. These letters are those by which Jesus Christ identifies Himself in the Book of Revelation: see Rev. 1:8, Rev. 21:6, Rev. 22:13.

Tabernacles&Passover

      This week's Sabbath reading portion will cover two weeks and is titled Acharei-Mot in Hebrew, which means "After the death". It covers Chapters 16 through 19 in Leviticus. This Sabbath is also the Sabbath after Passover, and it also occurs during the seven-day Feast of Unleavened Bread. This special timing is important to keep in mind as we seek to learn the Word of the LORD for us this week. As I read the Torah and haftorah portions, I thought that much of this reading dealt with the tabernacle and, later in history, the temple of God. The title, "After the death" comes from Lev. 16:1: "Now the LORD spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they offered profane fire before the LORD and died;" (see also Lev. 10:1-3). The bottom line of that severe lesson involving Aaron's two sons is that we cannot come before the holy God any way that we deem to be good and right. The LORD said that when we do that, we are not acknowledging His holiness, nor glorifying Him before the heathen. 

     In this Sabbath portion, the LORD commanded Moses to tell Aaron following the death of two of his sons not to come into the Holy Place inside the veil just any time, "lest he die". He was to come with his (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) flesh washed, putting on the holy linen tunic and trousers on his body and coming with the blood of sacrifice (Lev. 16:3-4). The LORD then described the practice that must be followed for the Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur. Not only was Aaron to make atonement for himself and his household, and for the people, but for the Holy Place and tabernacle as well because of the uncleanness of the children of Israel. (v. 16). The LORD added: "There shall be no man in the tabernacle of meeting when he goes in to make atonement in the Holy Place, until he comes out, that he may make atonement for himself, for his household, and for all the assembly of Israel. (v. 17). Aaron even had to make atonement with the blood sacrifice for the altar to cleanse it from the uncleanness of the children of Israel. (v. 18-19). The uncleanness of God's people defiles not only us but the tabernacle of God as well.

     This Sabbath reading portion also follows Passover this year, so we should consider this as we study this Sabbath lesson. Not only were the Egyptians plagued with the death of their first born that first Passover night, but the LORD judged the gods of Egypt as well (Ex. 12:12). What a dire calamity from which His people were separated out and spared by that blood on their doorposts! This is what Passover (pesah) means in Hebrew: "the feast of Passover or the sacrifice; a sparing immunity from penalty and calamity; the paschal lamb as the sacrifice of sparing [passing over]." You cannot separate the meaning of the day from the sacrifice that defines that day. Considering that the Lord Almighty is about to judge the gods and the nations of this world (Ps. 118:10-14), how should we, the spiritual tabernacle/tent/dwelling or temple of God (see 1 Cor. 6:19-20, Eph. 2:19-22), be thinking of that separating/sanctifying/saving Blood of our Passover Lamb, Jesus (see Jn. 1:29-30, 1 Pet. 1:18-21)? We will see another connection to Passover later in this Sabbath's reading portion.

     What is the spiritual meaning of a tabernacle? Tabernacle is the Hebrew word and root ohel/ahal, meaning "tabernacle, tent, dwelling, covering, home, sacred tent of Jehovah (YHWH, LORD), moveable, portable tent/to be clear, shine, to be bright, so called for a shining vibrating appearance". A tabernacle is also a personal dwelling place, where we dwell with God, and God dwells with and in us (see Ps. 23:6, Rev. 21:3). That dwelling place is supposed to be special, shimmering and vibrating with the brightness of God according to its meaning above. Paul wrote that we, the believers in Christ, are the temples of the Holy Spirit, a spiritual house of God (1 Cor. 6:17-20). Just as the blood of the Passover lamb set apart the Israelites' dwellings and identified those dwellings as belonging to the LORD, or "the sacred tents of Jehovah", we also have been covered with the Blood of the Passover Lamb, Jesus, and have become holy dwelling places or tabernacles of God. In being so, Paul warned us not to defile ourselves, the holy tabernacles of God, as we have become one with Him. Applying what we learned above from Leviticus, we do not want to disparage God's holiness nor profane God's name before the heathen. Let's see when, on another occasion, the uncleanness of God's people also caused His house to be unclean. 

     In another reading from this Acharei-Mot Sabbath portion, King Josiah brought Judah back to a covenant relationship with the LORD after hearing the words of the newly found Book of the Law, which had been discovered in the temple. This Book of the Word of God, now thought to have been the Book of Deuteronomy, had been so long neglected, that it had been forgotten until it was found again. When the (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) king heard the (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) words of the book, he rent his (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) clothes. (2 Kings 22:8-11). The king called all of the people of Jerusalem and Judah, both small and great, to come to him at the house of the LORD, and he read to them all the (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) words of the book of the Covenant which had been found in the house of the LORD. The king made a (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) covenant to follow and perform the (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) words of the LORD with all his heart, and all his soul: "And all the people took a stand for the covenant." (2 Kings 23:1-3). This was a blessed day for the king and Judah. However, by order of the king, all of the defiling idolatrous vessels that had been placed in the house of the LORD that were used to worship demon gods and idols had to be removed and burned. These things included articles that had been made to worship Ba'al (male divinity of the Canaanites and Philistines), Asherah (meaning groves of idol worship; a Babylonian/Canaanite goddess of fortune and happiness and supposed consort of Ba'al, associated with the planet Venus), and the articles used for worshipping all the hosts (saba - war, army, battle, wage war, angels) of heaven. He had the idolatrous priests removed that had been ordained to serve in the house of the LORD by previous kings. He tore down the ritual booths of the perverted persons that were set up in the house of the LORD. What kind of booths have we set up in the spiritual house of the LORD?

     In turn, the king had the high places defiled with the burned bones of dead men, so idolatry could no longer be practiced there. He had Topheth (topet/tapap - "place of fire" near Jerusalem, place of human sacrifice, to strike, spit upon, smite, kill) defiled in the same manner. It was the place where the people brought their children to pass them through the fire of the god Molech ("king"; chief deity of Ammonites and Phoenicians that required the sacrifice of infants). How many millions of born and unborn infants have been destroyed on our watch? There were even strange altars and chambers on the roof of the house of God that previous kings had used, which King Josiah now demolished. What kind of spiritual chambers have we set above the house of the LORD? The king also defiled the high places that King Solomon had built "for Ashtoreth ("star"; Phoenician female deity of war and fertility) the abomination of the Sidonians, for Chemosh ("subduer"; deity of Moabites and Ammonites) the abomination of the Moabites, and for Milcom ("great king"; also known as Molech; god of the Ammonites and Phoenicians; demanded infant sacrifice) the abomination of the people of Ammon, as well as various other pillars and wooden images. What kind of idols have we brought into the spiritual house of the LORD with us? There had also been an idolatrous altar built at Bethel, which means "House of God", which the king had to break down, burn and crush into powder. What an abomination the worship in Israel and the house of God had become! These demonic gods and spiritual rulers of wickedness still desire to inhabit and pollute the holy places of God, the tabernacles of God, which we are also. Not only did the king set fire to Judah, but he took the spiritual battle to the high places of Samaria. These abominations are what had become of the house of the LORD and the people of God.

     After King Josiah had performed all of these things, the king commanded (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) all of the people saying: "Keep the Passover to the LORD your God, as it is written in this Book of the Covenant. Such a Passover surely had never been held since the days of the judges who judged (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) Israel, nor in all the days of the kings of Israel and the kings of Judah. But in the eighteenth year of King Josiah this Passover was held before the LORD in Jerusalem." (2 Kings 23:21-23). Do we keep the Passover as it is written in the Book of the Covenant?

      What we learn from this is that Passover is a time of battle and warfare, including spiritual warfare, whether against a physical Pharaoh and his house as in the first Passover, or against the false gods that try to hold God's people in spiritual bondage. Scripture says that spring, which is also the time of Passover, is the time when kings go off to battle. That time came for King David, but while he sent his army into battle, he remained in Jerusalem attaining another man's wife for himself instead. It led to the murder of the husband (2 Sam. 11). It cost David the death of his first child from that union, and David would be brought to deep repentance, asking the LORD that he be cleansed of the defiling sin (Ps. 51). We are also called to be kings and priests before God and in service to Him, as Jesus served His Father in heaven faithfully. Have we disregarded the Passover and spring call to spiritual battle in order to follow our own ways? 

     As the first Passover approached, the servants of the LORD, Moses and Aaron, went in to Pharaoh, the most powerful ruler of the greatest kingdom on earth, and threw down the spiritual battle gauntlet before him. They didn't go in their own strength but armed with the Rod and the Word, both of which are associated with the Messiah/Christ, Jesus. They didn't go in with their own words either, but with the Word of the LORD which was: "Let My people go that they may serve Me." The battle is the LORD's but He uses His servants to hear and obey His voice, to run with His vision.

     Most of the church doesn't observe Passover, and we who do, observe it amongst the pleasantness of the family and according to tradition but perhaps not as a day of great spiritual warfare in the present. Perhaps we need to change our thinking regarding this day. It was not a day of pleasantness for Jesus the Messiah/Christ. It was a day when He battled the rulers of this world, a battle that they would not win (1 Cor. 2:7-9). It was a day in which He was betrayed by a disciple. He battled spiritual rulers in the Garden of Gethsemane (meaning "oil press" or "wine press") where that battle almost did Him in. An angel had to come in order to revive and strengthen Him, while His disciples slept (Lk. 22:39-44). He battled through beatings, humiliation, mocking, scourging, and the piercing of the nails of the cross (LORD/YHWH: yod, hey, vav, hey- "behold the hand, behold the nail"). Do we think it was not a battle for Him to descend into hell after His death, leading those who were held captive in death to freedom (Ps. 68:18-20), and wresting away the keys of death, hell and the grave (Rev. 1:17-18)? 

     At the Passover Seder, from which we were given our beloved Communion, Jesus told His disciples that He fulfilled the elements of Passover. They were to take and eat the bread broken as meaning His body broken for them. They were to drink the cup after supper as meaning His blood poured out for them in a new covenant, and we were to remember His death in this way until He comes again (1 Cor. 11:23-26, Mt. 26:26-29, Mk. 14:22-25, Lk. 22:13-20). Paul wrote that we were to examine ourselves when partaking of this powerful Passover bread and cup so to assure that we are not doing it in an unworthy manner but in the discerning of the Lord's body (1 Cor. 11:27-32). Yes, there was a glorious, victorious day of resurrection and rejoicing, but it wasn't on Passover. It came three days later on the day after the Sabbath, which is a Sunday, the first day of the week, on the Feast of First Fruits as it is appointed in the Law of Moses (Lev. 23:9-12) and fulfilled by the Messiah/Christ, Jesus. This appointed date is not the same as "Easter" (what booth have we set up in the house of the LORD?) on which the church has chosen to mark the event. If we are to memorialize the resurrection of Jesus as First Fruits of the Resurrection (1 Cor. 15:20-26) according to the Words of the Book of the Covenant, then we should be observing it this Sunday, the day following the Sabbath after Passover (more on this next week). The victory of resurrection was achieved for us, but the spiritual battle in the name of Jesus is ongoing as Paul and the other apostles wrote. Look inward and look outward and see if there still are not overcoming battles to fight for the souls of our nations, for those who are still caught and held prisoners in spiritual darkness, and even for ourselves as we work out our salvation. Look and see if we, the spiritual tabernacles of God, are defiled with idolatry. 

     As we come to the Passover battle, we don't come before Pharaoh, or the other gods ruling our lands and people, or even our own flesh with its sin, in our own strength but with the Word of the LORD saying, as Moses said: "Let My people go that they may serve Me." Thank God that we are not called to fight these battles on our own, but in the name above all names, Jesus (Grk. form of the Hebrew word, Yeshua, meaning "God is salvation"), to which all creation, even the demons and false gods, must bow their knees (Phil. 2:5-11). It is the only name under heaven that has been given by which we must be saved (Acts 4:11-12).

      The LORD gave us the pattern of His tabernacle/temple and the fulfilment of that prophetic pattern, which tells the miraculous journey of our salvation and unification with the LORD through the sacrifice of the Son, and the living tabernacle which we are through Christ and the Holy Spirit within us, and the glorious tabernacle which the LORD will bring down from heaven to dwell among His people (Rev. 21:1-4). This is a three-in-one pattern. The LORD also gave us the pattern of the sacrifice of the Passover lamb in Exodus, the pattern of the spiritual warfare connected to it between Pharaoh/gods of Egypt and Moses who delivered the Word God, the judgment and the deliverance, again, a three-in-one pattern. Through the sacrificial death of His Son, Jesus, the Lamb of God, we see the fulfilment of the Passover with the warfare of His suffering, of His death and descent into hell, and of the judgment against death and the deliverance/ascent. We need to see the pattern and its fulfilment in order to walk in it as His servants for the sake of those who are held in any kind of spiritual or physical bondage, and of those, there are many in this world. 

     Next week we will look at part two of this two-week Sabbath reading portion, Acharei-Mot.

     If you would like to learn more about these things, you can join me in my prayer: "Heavenly Father, the LORD's Passover, and Your holy tabernacle are precious in Your sight. Both of these were accomplished through the sacrifice of Your beloved Son, Jesus, as the Lamb of God who comes to take away the sins of the world. Help me to understand the depths of Passover, which still affects with power the present and the future, and the glory of Your dwelling place, the tabernacle of the LORD, in and with us, which also still impacts the present and the future. Let me follow You according to Your Word of the Covenant, both the concealed and revealed. Cleanse me and purge me of all ungodliness and fill me with Your Holy Spirit to teach me Your Word and ways so I can walk in Your life-changing truth. I ask this in the name of Jesus. AMEN."

 *NOTE: aleph-tav written in Hebrew as אֶת, are the first and last letters of the Hebrew alphabet. In the New Testament, these letters are translated as Alpha and Omega written as Α Ω , the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. These letters are those by which Jesus Christ identifies Himself in the Book of Revelation: see Rev. 1:8, Rev. 21:6, Rev. 22:13.

     

     

Monsters&Men

This Sabbath reading will be the first of our solar calendar year 2022. Although the LORD had appeared to Abraham generations before, the LORD had a new revelation of Himself to give to Moses and the children of Israel, who were in bondage in Egypt. God revealed His name: YHWH, or as translated in English, LORD: "I am the LORD. I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as God Almighty, but by My name LORD I was not known to them." (Ex. 6:2-3). The four Hebrew letters of His name are yod: meaning "hand/arm, completed work", heh: meaning "behold, reveal", vaw: meaning "nail, nailed to", heh:meaning again "behold, reveal". This 4-lettered name gives us the picture of Christ: a completed work connected to a nailed hand. With the revealing of the name, YHWH, the LORD also associated this name with seven promises. In fact, the LORD bookends these promises with the statement of His name: "...say to the children of Israel: I am the LORD (YHWH); I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, I will rescue you from their bondage, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments. I will take you as My people, and I will be your God...And I will bring you into the land which I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; and I will give it to you as a heritage: I am the LORD (YHWH)." (v. 6-8). As well as there being seven promises spoken here, the number seven is associated with the Sabbath. Moses brought the revelation of the Name YHWH and its promises to the Israelites, as the LORD commanded him to do: "...but they did not heed Moses, because of anguish of spirit and cruel bondage." (v. 9). The scriptures recognize that because of the anguished condition of their spirits from their cruel treatment, the Hebrew slaves were not able to receive or believe these promises of the LORD. In this case, we can see that the people of God, because of their anguished condition, would not be delivered out of Egypt because of their great faith in God, nor because they had an understanding or great knowledge of God. God would deliver them because He promised to do so. I began to see this epic account of the deliverance of the children of Israel out of bondage in Egypt as an example of God's spiritual warfare over that country, but also having importance to us today, as I hope to share. Moses was given this command by God: "Go in, tell Pharaoh king of Egypt to let the children of Israel go out of his land." (v. 11). Well, the victory was not immediately seen. The LORD's first problem was not with Pharaoh, however. It was with Moses! Moses didn't like the idea that he should go in before Pharaoh with the command of the LORD (Ex. 6:12, 30). Moses didn't see anything special about himself that he should be given the task of confronting Pharaoh, and leading Israel out of Egypt. As far as he was concerned, he was a shepherd in the wilderness, working with his father-in-law, and he was happy to remain so. This is exactly what made Moses the kind of man God could use in this great story of deliverance. Finally, Moses did go with his brother Aaron before Pharaoh repeatedly to deliver the Word of the LORD to let His people go. Again, success was not immediately seen. Pharaoh did not listen to the words of Moses because his magicians, using occultic power, could duplicate the fearsome signs that the LORD had shown Moses to do, but God was not done yet. As the LORD worked on Pharaoh, eventually there were signs performed by Moses that Pharaoh's magicians could not duplicate, and they even told Pharaoh that these signs must be from God (Ex. Ch. 8, 9). At that point, Pharaoh would promise to let the children of Israel go, but then change his mind when the plagues were stopped: "And when Pharaoh saw that the rain, the hail and the thunder had ceased, he sinned yet more; and he hardened his heart, he and his servants. So the heart of Pharaoh was hard; neither would he let the children of Israel go, as the LORD had spoken by Moses." (Ex. 9:34-35). As we can see from this Sabbath's reading, spiritual warfare requires endurance and patience. Don't lose hope; don't give up. In another reading for this Sabbath, at a later point in time, the LORD identified Pharaoh with a monster to Ezekiel, the prophet: "Thus says the LORD God: 'Behold I am against you, O Pharaoh king of Egypt, O great monster (tannin - dragon, serpent, sea monster, venomous snake) who lies in the midst of his rivers, who has said, 'My River is my own; I have made it for myself." (Ezek. 29:1-3). This was the LORD's prophecy against Pharaoh and Egypt because, even centuries later, He remembered the way the Israelites' backs and shoulders were broken under their oppression (v. 6-7). "And the land of Egypt shall become desolate and waste; then they will know that I am the LORD, because he said, 'The River is mine, and I have made it." (v. 9). The LORD also prophesied through Ezekiel that He would give Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon to conquer, which He did (Ezek. 29:19). The LORD never forgets to bring justice to His people. As we can learn from this Sabbath reading from Ezekiel, when the LORD engages in spiritual warfare regarding nations, He identifies not only the leaders and people of the land, but also the demonic spirits that they have allowed to occupy and rule over their land. We see this demonic power present over kingdoms in the New Testament also. According to what Satan revealed in his challenge to Christ, the demonic realm seeks and claims the glory and power of the world's wealth: "Then the devil, taking Him (Jesus) up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said to Him, 'All this authority I will give to You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours." (Lk. 4:5-7, Mt. 4:8-9). Jesus, of course, declined the offer, telling Satan that scripture commands "You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve." (v. 8). We should know that the devil had spoken a lie to Jesus when he claimed that the kingdoms of the world belonged to him. The LORD said that He is the One who tears down kingdoms, and builds them up (Jer. 1:9-10). Although the Book of Revelation makes clear that the powers of darkness covet and seek to control the wealth of the world (Rev. Ch. 18), it also assures us: "...And there were loud voices in heaven saying, 'The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!" (Rev. 11:15). The LORD concedes nothing to Satan, ever. We learn from the Sabbath verses in Ezekiel, where the LORD is setting His prophetic judgment over Egypt, that in order to clear the land of the "monster", He will make the land desolate and waste (see above Ezek. 29:9). It seems that glory, power, and wealth-seeking devils have no desire to rule over desolation, dust, jackals, and vultures! The scriptures warn us that many nations, as Egypt did, will face desolation as they have submitted themselves to these princes of darkness for the purpose of getting or keeping wealth, and those nations will begin to oppress people of faith because of it, as Egypt did. Scripture teaches as it warns: the love of money is the root of all evil, "for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows" (1 Tim. 6:10). We, the people of God, should not connect ourselves to the love of money, because evil lies behind it. The LORD warns His people in scripture not to be part of these systems of monsters and men built upon blood and greed:"...Come out of her My people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues..." (see Rev. 18:2-5). It is an evil with which the LORD promises to deal crushingly. Although we will see the desolation of many nations now and in the future because of the things we are discussing here, another Sabbath reading portion gives us a promise of the renewal found in the salvation of the Messiah, God's Servant, God's Elect One, who has been revealed to us as Jesus: "...I will keep You and give You as a covenant to the people, as a light to the Gentiles/nations, to open blind eyes, to bring out prisoners from the prison...I am the LORD (YHWH); and My glory I will not give to another, nor My praise to carved images. Behold, the former things have come to pass, and new things I declare; before they spring forth, I tell you of them...The LORD shall go forth like a mighty man...He shall prevail against His enemies..." (Isa. 42:6-13, excerpt). If you would like to learn more about these things which are prophesied to come to pass, you can join me in prayer: "Heavenly Father, You have revealed Your Name, YHWH, to us, and the picture of Christ within it, and the promises connected with that mighty Name. They are promises of deliverance, of Your possession of us as Your people, the giving of Yourself to us as our God, and the inheritance You have set aside for us. As You deal with the nations of the earth, even my nation, take me deeper into Your salvation through Jesus, and fill, lead and keep me in Your ways by Your Holy Spirit. I set my faith, trust, and deliverance into Your hands, for You have promised to overcome Your enemies. I ask and receive this in Jesus' name. AMEN."

BigPicture

We have a unique prophetic role to play in spiritual warfare. Nations and people are hanging in the balance, but often we can't see it, because the cares of this world are consuming our time and attention. In speaking to Jeremiah after He touched Jeremiah's mouth, the LORD said, "Behold, I have put My words in your mouth. See, I have this day set you over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out and to pull down, to destroy and to throw down, to build and to plant." (Jer. 1:9-10). It is true that this is Jeremiah's call to the office of prophet, but we are all called to be prophetic people. In fact, we are told by Paul to covet to prophesy (1 Cor. 14:39)). The root meaning of the word "prophesy" in Greek includes "the Messiah; of men filled with the Spirit of God, who by God's authority and command in words of weight plead the cause of God and urge salvation of men." Rev. 19:10 says, "...brethren that have the testimony of Jesus...for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy." In another place it says, "And they overcame him (the accuser of the brethren who is cast down) by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death." (Rev. 12:10-11). God uses His people to accomplish spiritual warfare against principalities, powers, rulers of the darkness of this age, spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places (Eph. 6:12). We can learn more about this spiritual warfare through this Sabbath's assigned readings from the Torah and the haftarah. The title of the Sabbath portion for this week is B'shallach, meaning "When he let go". Sometimes we view Pharaoh's finally agreeing to let God's people go from slavery to serve Him, and the later destruction of Pharaoh's army in the Red Sea as the end of the story, the victory won. However, "when he (Pharaoh) let go" is just the beginning of the warfare. A Jewish commentary on this portion of Sabbath reading contends that God fought powers of Egypt both on high and below; not just the natural power of Pharaoh and his army, but the spiritual powers behind them. Isaiah 19:1-3 reveals the spiritual battle against Egypt, including the statement, "The spirit of Egypt will fail in its midst...". The word "Egypt" in Hebrew, Mitsrayim, involves much more than a physical nation. The root meanings of the word include: narrow straits, siege, entrenched, limit, distress, confine, bind, beset, show hostility, be an adversary. In the final encounter with the Egyptians at the Red Sea, God leads the Israelites to a position opposite Ba'al Zephon(Ex. 14:2). Ba'al Zephon is the name of Egypt's god of wealth. It also means lord of the north, darkness, destroyer, laid up or concealed, treasure. At the Red Sea, God changed phases of matter, liquid to solid, and solid again to liquid (Ex. 14:22, 26, Ps. 78:13), in order to deliver and then to destroy. After the miraculous deliverance at the Red Sea, Moses and the people celebrated exultantly through an inspired song (Ex. 15). It is called "Song by the Sea". The Song declares: "The LORD is my strength and song, and He has become my salvation; He is my God and I will praise Him...The LORD is a man of war (root: make war, devour, to eat, to feed on); The LORD is His name..." In v. 9 of the Song, the enemy makes threats against God's people that begin with the phrase "I will..." (see Isa. 14:13-14) saying: "I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil...I will draw my sword." The Song states that because of what has been accomplished by the LORD in this warfare against Egypt, four other nations will be affected: Philistia/Palestina, Edom, Moab, Canaan (v. 14-15). These four names are connected in meaning with rolling in the ashes in mourning, covetousness and murderous threats, immorality, merchandising/trafficking/humiliation. The Song concludes: Till Your people pass over, O LORD, Till the people pass over whom You have purchased. You will bring them in and plant them in the mountain of Your inheritance, in the place, O LORD, which You have made for Your own dwelling, the sanctuary, O LORD, which Your hands have established." (v. 16-17). The accomplishment of the "entering in" of God's people has a direct impact on the outcome for these nations mentioned, and the spiritual strongholds they represent. This is the role we, His people, play in this warfare as we enter into the realm of the throne of God. In the very next chapter of the Sabbath readings (Ex. 16), however, it is one month later, and the people of Israel were in the wilderness of Sin (meaning thorn, clay). The Israelites began to complain against Moses, because they were not happy with their lack of comforts and food. They began idealizing their conditions back in Egypt. They wanted meat, and they wanted bread. Twice it is pointed out that their complaints were not really against Moses, but against God (v. 7-8). The people were in a "thorny" place, and they were immediately affected by their circumstances and conditions. They certainly did not see "the big picture". Their attitude angered God, but not only did God miraculously provide the meat and bread that the Israelites craved, but He provided it in such a way as to allow them to still keep His rest with Him on the Sabbath (Ex. 16:22-23). This would not be the last time in the Exodus account, however, that God's people failed to trust Him. What things are our hearts craving that we think we lack, things we think we need but don't have, that cause us to feel dissatisfied, even resentful? How does this craving and wanting affect the spiritual warfare going on around us? In contrast, Paul pleaded with God concerning the thorn in his flesh (see "clay" in connection with the meaning of the wilderness of Sin) that had been given to him. Paul called that thorn "a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure." God answered Paul that His grace was sufficient (arkeo-to be possessed of unfailing strength, to defend, to ward off, raising a barrier, to be satisfied, to be content; Root: to raise up, to lift up) for Paul, "for My strength is made perfect in weakness." Paul noted tht he will be happy to accept his infirmities, "that the power of Christ may rest upon me." (2 Cor. 12:7-9). Paul's contentment and satisfaction because of his trust in the power of Christ in him, even in the pain of the thorn in his flesh, is a powerful spiritual weapon in God's hands. This is a great revelation in contrast to the complaints and dissatisfaction of God's people in the wilderness, those complaints still often heard in the mouths of His people today. The Book of Hebrews said of Moses: "By faith Moses....esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt; for he looked to the reward. By faith he forsook Egypt..." (Heb. 11:24-27). Hebrews also says: "...let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." (Heb.12:1-2). Jesus was not just inconvenienced by thorns, but He wore thorns, and did so without complaint, because He saw the "big picture", the spiritual victory being accomplished. Psalm 78, another reading for this Sabbath, tells us that the experiences and attitudes of the Israelites were recorded "That the generation to come might know...that they may set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God...and may not be like their fathers...that did not set its heart aright, and whose spirit was not faithful to God." (v. 5-8). Of that generation in the wilderness, the psalm says, "...they tested God in their heart by asking for the food of their fancy. Yes, they spoke against God; they said, "Can God prepare a table in the wilderness?" (v. 18-19). The psalm says that God had to slay His people before they returned and sought for Him (v. 34). It is a very sad statement about a people who were easily overturned and beset by their own sin, doubt and desires. As we saw above, it only took a month for Israel to forget the miraculous deliverance of God. I think that sometimes it only takes a day, or even an hour to forget. The big picture of God's warfare plan is so important, that spiritual enemies, and even our own flesh do everything possible to knock the people of God off of their prophetic track. If we are to get through some of these severe tests and trials, and the challenges being faced today, we will have to keep "the big picture" in mind. May we remain the prophetic people that God has called us to be in warfare in Christ, undeterred by the challenges and difficulties in front of us. Our Father uses us in warfare. If you would like to be joined to Christ and His victory over all things, you can pray: "Dear Lord Jesus, I come to You knowing that You are my strength and my salvation. I believe that You died for me, and rose from the dead, conquering the grave for Me. I place my trust in You, that you will never leave me nor forsake me. You have forgiven me when I have failed, when I have sinned. Your Holy Spirit fills me and inspires me to sing a song of Your greatness and victory over all my enemies. Teach me to be satisfied, for Your strength overcomes my weaknesses. I give You thanks. Amen."

Samson/Delilah

We have entered the season of Lent, and for many Christians, this is marked by a vow to give up something that they enjoy during the 40 days before Resurrection Sunday. According to the doctrine taught, this vow is also to be accompanied by prayer, penance, mortifying of the flesh, self-reflection and spiritual preparation. As the Cardinal of New York explained, the outward activities are only an indication of an inward change. It is what goes on in the heart that has the true importance, he said.
Whether you observe Lent in this traditional manner, or not, it is a good time to examine our own hearts as the remembrance of the atoning crucifixion, and the celebration of the resurrection of Christ approaches. For me the story of Samson and Delilah has an important message for us.
Samson was a Nazirite. Nazir in Hebrew means consecrated. An angel appeared to Samson's mother, who is unnamed in scripture, which is interesting. She and her husband, Manoah ("rest"), had no children because she was barren. Manoah was from Zorah (hornet, wasps; root meaning:to be leprous, to scourge, to strike down, stricken and smitten by God-see Isa. 53:4). The angel told the woman that she would have a son, and she was to refrain from wine or any product of the grape, for her child was to be a Nazirite from the womb. Yes, God knows us and destines us before we are even formed in our mother's womb. In spite of what some may believe, the life of man is divinely created and ordained (Ps. 139:13-16), and it is created with the light and life of Christ. That light and life in each of us is meant to overcome the darkness. (Jn. 1:4-5). Back to our story.
When the woman's son was born, he was never to take a razor to his hair, according to the instructions of the angel. This would be his Nazirite vow. He was to remain in that vow his until his death (Judges 13:1-7, 13-14). Although he was identified as an angel, the person who appeared before Samson's mother might well have been Christ, because when asked his name, he replied, "Why do you ask My name, seeing it is wonderful?" Isaiah tells us that one of the names of the Son, the Christ, would be "Wonderful" (Isa. 9:6). Also, Manoah declared regarding the "angel", "We shall surely die, for we have seen God." (Jud. 13:22).
It would be through Samson's consecration that he would be able to judge Israel.
The judges of Israel were an office provided by God. They were raised up when an enemy would overrun the land and afflict God's people. The enemy was often able to overrun the land because God's people forgot Him, and lived in sin. This certainly reflects our time also. We have forgotten God, and the spiritual enemy has overrun our land.
The judges were gifted by God in ways that would allow them to lead the unarmed people to miraculous victory over those oppressors, and bring deliverance to God's people. In Samson's case, his Nazirite vow of consecration endowed him with great strength. He destroyed many Philistines and their sources of wealth-their vineyards, grain, and olive trees- which made the Philistines determined to destroy Samson (Jud. 15:5). Samson's life and calling were impacted by his obsession for Delilah. Delilah was from the Valley ("to divide for a possession") of Sorek ("choice vines, choice grapes; root word: to hiss, to whistle as a signal used to call, bright red as piercing to the sight"). Everything about her was a challenge to Samson's consecration. Delilah pestered him into telling her the secret of his strength, which was his consecration, or Nazirite vow. As a result, the enemy found out his secret, and they thought they had at last found the way to rid themselves of Samson's interference. They cut off Samson's hair and his eyes were gouged out. He lost his strength, and he spent his days blind, grinding at a millstone, and in chains. That is not the end of the story, but more later.
The name Samson in Hebrew is Shimshon, which means "like the sun, glittering, shining upon pinnacles and shields"; it refers to the rising of the sun rather than its setting because it is associated with the eastern direction (which is also associated with antiquity or eternity). The meaning of his name is associated with openings such as windows, that allow the sunlight to enter. It is also associated with the notched battlements of a fortress. As we can see from his name, Samson represented a great ascending light, the light of battle and defense.
Delilah's name in Hebrew means "to make feeble, pining with desire, weak". The root meaning is "dried up, brought low, not equal, emptied, impoverished, made thin, languish, hang down, to be oppressed, also to hang down like a bucket that removes water from a well".  
As we consider the names of the two people involved, the great promise of Samson's life, his purpose as a light of deliverance, was challenged by something that was specifically purposed to draw something away from him, to enfeeble him, to draw him low, to oppress him, as it also impoverished and oppressed God's people and the land.
The judges of Israel were a fascinating lot, but they are not only relegated to the Old Testament. Isaiah wrote that the judges would be restored by God:
"I will restore your judges as at the first, And your counselors as at the beginning. Afterward you shall be called the city of righteousness, the faithful city. Zion shall be redeemed with judgment, and her converts with righteousness.”  Isa. 1:26-27
The impact of judges in their office, as you can see above, has a wide sweeping effect on peoples and cities. Just as the judges of old were equipped by God for their calling, Jesus told us, "Behold, I have given you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you." (Lk. 10:19). However, this is made possible because of our connection with Christ in the fact that our names are written in heaven (v. 20). Again, this shows us our divine creation and purpose. We are from above, in Christ, not beneath (Jn. 8:23, 1:12-13). How does our New Testament judgeship, ridding the land of the enemy, work?
 Paul tells us that our warfare is not carnal against flesh. Our weapons also are not carnal, but spiritual. We have indeed been called into a deliverance warfare against the enemy, but that warfare begins in us. It begins in our own minds and with our own obedience:
"For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, and being ready to punish all disobedience when our obedience is fulfilled."  2 Cor. 10:3-6
The importance of victory in that spiritual warfare is not just for our benefit, but for the benefit of many. There is a song entitled, "Making War in the Heavenlies", and it's a great song, but the victory in the heavenlies begins on a much smaller scale- within us. Just as the enemy put Delilah across Samson's path to destroy his consecration and derail his judgeship, so also the enemy places similar disruptions in our path, disruptions that appeal to us. Those distractions and disruptions "pester" us, returning again and again. How do we overcome the continual challenge to our New Testament judgeship?
The accuser of the brethren is cast down, and salvation and strength comes as,
"... they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death".  Rev. 12:10-11
In understanding this scripture in the context of the story of Samson, the blood of the Lamb is our consecration. The Lamb of God was slain before the foundation of the world (Rev. 13:8), and we were consecrated in Him before we were formed in our mother's wombs:
"For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified. What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
                                                                                                           Rom. 8:29-31
The word of our testimony, which is the Word of God in us, is our Nazirite vow. Concerning our not loving our lives unto the death stated above, as we will see, to Samson, his purpose as a deliverer and his service to God as a judge in Israel was more important to him than his own life.
Though captured, blinded and enslaved, Samson's hair grew back. His Nazirite vow was of the type that, like the re-growing of hair, would continue until his death. In the last moments of his life, Samson's strength returned as his hair grew, and he asked God to let him move in his Nazirite consecration and purpose once again. Samson pulled down a whole stadium containing the enemies who had come to mock him, and the God he represented. Samson destroyed more of the enemy in his death than he had during his whole life (Judges 16:28-31).
Our judgeship is not about destroying flesh enemies as it was in the Old Testament, but in the pulling down of spiritual strongholds through our obedience in Christ. We cannot allow those things that the person of Delilah represents to abort our purpose, trying to cut off the ascending light of Christ in us, or to hold God's people in captivity to impoverishment, oppression and enfeeblement.

Our Father has called us to be part of His Light of Deliverance.

Yeruwshalaim

Metaphorically speaking, there is a hub around which a huge wheel turns. There is a sun around which planets revolve. There is a nucleus around which electrons orbit. As important and central as this hub, sun, or nucleus is to our spiritual walk, we don't give it much thought, prayer or recognition. We tend to neglect it, but it is by this center, or "hub", that nations will rise or fall- our nation, your nation, all nations, regardless of continent or hemisphere. That "hub" is Jerusalem.
On the long timeline of history, we are currently living in the age of nations (goyim). Nations didn't always exist. In fact many nations are relatively new, but today there is no territory on earth that has not been mapped, bordered in, and defined as being within a nation. One of the last nations to be carved out of the earth, mapped with boundaries set, with the official approval of the other nations: Israel. The completion of this age of nations brought with it the beginning of the countdown of a scriptural prophetic clock. Jesus spoke of the significance of the completion of the age of nations and its connection to Jerusalem, which was also translated to us from the Greek as "the time (meaning includes: a limited period of time, a fixed and definite time; the time when things are brought to crisis, the decisive epoch waited for) of the Gentiles (meaning includes: a tribe, a nation, a people group)" (Lk. 21:24). Around that time in history when Jesus prophesied, there were few independent or self-governing nations. With a few exceptions, most of the earth was sectioned into huge empires, vast barbarian territories, a few city-states, and uncharted whole continents. His audience must have wondered what Jesus was talking about, but now, we can see it and understand it.
All nations are going to be drawn, and are now being drawn to an ultimate destination, and that destination is Jerusalem. What happens to those nations will depend upon how they deal with Jerusalem. This is the word of the LORD:
"Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of drunkenness to all the surrounding peoples, when they lay siege against Judah and Jerusalem. And it shall happen in that day that I will make Jerusalem a very heavy stone for all peoples; all who would heave it away will surely be cut in pieces, though all nations of the earth are gathered against it...In that day the LORD will defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; the one who is feeble among them in that day shall be like David, and the house of David shall be like God, like the angel of the LORD before them. It shall be in that day that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem."   Zech. 12:2-3, 8-9
The nations are raging as never before. Frightening headlines of deep espionage and sabotage, underhanded election tampering, aggression, warfare, attacks and counter-attacks, assassination, missiles, nations blatantly supporting terrorist organizations, fill our eyes and ears daily. The LORD connects all of these things to the coming of His Anointed (Christ), His Son in Psalm 2:
"Why do the nations rage, and the people plot (imagine, growl, utter, mutter, fervor of mind, devise, roaring) a vain thing (emptied, worthless, fruitless)? The kings of the earth set themselves...against the LORD and His Anointed ("Messiah")..."  v. 1-2
In this Psalm the LORD guarantees:
"Yet I have set My King on My holy hill of Zion."  I will declare the decree: The LORD has said to Me, "You are My Son, today I have begotten You...I will give you the nations for Your inheritance, and the ends of the earth for Your possession." v. 6-8
The nations, and the spiritual strongholds over them (Dan. 10:12-14, Eph. 6:12, Rom. 8:38-39, 2 Cor. 10:4-6), do not want to belong to the Messiah, their anointed and appointed King. They rage and writhe against the decree of God. They plot, kill, and destroy on a scale never seen before. Eventually they will all turn against the place from which the Word and Law of God flows which is Jerusalem, as we will see.
It is important here to look at the meaning of the word Jerusalem, the original Hebrew being Yeruwshalaim. Simply put, the word means, "teaching of peace". The use of the verb "teaching" means it is an ongoing activity. It was before, it is now, and it is continuing into the future. The Hebrew root word is "yara", meaning archers, to shoot (an arrow), instructed, teacher, flow as water (rain), to point out, aim the finger, i.e. to teach. The second root word that makes up the word "Yeruwshalaim" is "shalam". It means peace and more: "peace, to make peace, to recompense, to repay, to restore, restitution, amends, make safe, to complete and perform, to make an end of that is perfect, prosperous, reward, to live friendly, to submit oneself to the dominion of any one".
We can see the importance of this meaning of Yeruwshalaim, or Jerusalem, and the importance of its fulfillment in these verses from the prophets Isaiah and Micah:
"...concerning Judah and Jerusalem...Now it shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the LORD's house shall be established on the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow to it. Many people shall come and say, "Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, and we shall walk in His paths." For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. He shall judge between the nations, and rebuke many people; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore. O house of Jacob, come and let us walk in the light of the LORD."  Isa. 2:1-5, Micah 4:1-3
The Law, the Word, and the teaching of the LORD will go forth from Jerusalem and Zion, and the nations will be taught and learn peace.
There is an interesting story about this verse above from Isaiah. The United Nations in New York City is a very impressive building inside and out. Across a wide avenue from the U.N., there is a small park named for the first African-American to win the Nobel Peace Prize, Ralph Bunche*. Inside that small park a wall was built that faces the U.N.. An excerpt from the verse above from Isaiah was carved into that wall, but there was no attribution to Isaiah under the carved quote. A decade later, a group of citizens went to Mayor Koch and told him that the name of Isaiah should be added beneath the quote, and he agreed to add it. That wall facing the U.N. has been referred to as "the Isaiah Wall" since that day (see here). The prophecy of Isaiah regarding the nations of the earth faces the one place on earth where all of those nations meet daily. It is the nature of the Word of God that all creation must eventually manifest it, or conform to it, and so must the nations.
Our governments wrestle continually with how to deal with the dangerous events among the nations today. However, scripture has told God's people what to do. David prophesied/wrote/sang of the importance of Jerusalem in this matter, "For the thrones are set there for judgment, the thrones of the house of David. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: "May they prosper who love you. Peace be within your walls, prosperity within your palaces." For the sake of my brethren and companions, I will now say, "Peace be within you." Because of the house of the LORD our God, I will seek your (Jerusalem's) good." 
                                                                                                    Ps. 122:5-9
David said that for many reasons, it is required of us to pray for the peace of Jerusalem, and all that its meaning contains.Do the headlines and threats of war alarm you? Are you concerned about the havoc surrounding the nations of the earth? Pray for the peace of Jerusalem, because the fates of all of the nations are directly tied to it. Within our prayers is the understanding that Jerusalem is indeed a physical place, but it also encompasses a meaning and truth for our age and for all time that prophesies regarding Zion, the Mountain of the LORD, the House of God, the thrones of judgment, the thrones of David, the out-flowing of the Law and the Word of God, the "teaching of peace" to all people and nations. Jerusalem is the sun, and all the nations revolve round it, whether they know it or not. As we pray for the peace of Jerusalem, we are praying the will and Word of God, and we are also praying for the nations, even the darkest and most oppressive of them, for God has promised that His kingdom will be composed from every nation, kindred, tongue and tribe (Rev. 5:9-10, 7:9-10).

Our Father has commanded us to "Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem".

*Ralph Johnson Bunche ( August 7, 1904 – December 9, 1971) was an American political scientist, academic, and diplomat who received the 1950 Nobel Peace Prize for his late 1940s mediation in Israel. He was the first African American to be so honored