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Pre-parousia -- Internal turmoil

First posted: December 19, 2004

 

This article is the second in a series of articles dealing with the spiritual events --- as prophesied by the Lord in Matthew 24 --- that are already taking place prior to the coming of the Son of Man.

 

Index

Nation against nation?

Girgashite nation

Intra-national conflict

Donkey King

 

 

 

Nation against nation?

In Matthew 24:7, the Lord declares the following:

 

"For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places." (Matthew 24:7)

 

This verse was fulfilled in a literal sense in the first half of the 20th century. During this time, the world was gripped by the two greatest military conflicts in the history of mankind: World War 1, between 1914 and 1918, and World War 2, between 1938 and 1945. After this, the nation of Israel, who had disappeared for some 1,900 years, was finally reborn in 1948.

 

The 1960s saw an increase in military tension and conflicts in the world, especially as a result of the Cold War. However, a closer look at these conflicts reveal that they were mostly of an "internal" nature. The war in Vietnam, for example, was an "internal" war where self-centered superpowers were struggling for military and political influence (not for freedom and justice -- this is the spiritual reason why America was defeated in that war). The guerilla movements in Latin America were also "internal" struggles, and the social unrest in Europe and the U.S. in the late 60s was also a manifestation of "internal" dissent. The only region that experienced major "external" conflicts between separate nations was the Middle East, as the Israeli people fought back the Arabs' attempt to destroy them.

 

However, as we said in our previous article, tensions around the world have greatly decreased since the late 1980s. It is very rare now to hear of one literal nation declaring war on another. Besides the wars waged by America against Afghanistan and Iraq, there really have been no major wars between nations in the last 10 to 15 years. Therefore, the "eschatologists" who continue to interpret Matthew 24:7 in a literal sense are missing something. In the early 20th century, these eschatologists said, "See, these wars mean that Jesus is coming in the next few years". In the 1960s, as the world was embroiled in turmoil and tension, these guys once again said, "See, Matthew 24:7 is being fulfilled; Jesus must be coming back in the next few years". Every time, they have been wrong, and the world has grown more and more "peaceful", at least in terms of inter-nation conflict. As a matter of fact, we have seen a greater collaboration between nations than ever before. The European Union has worked to reduce the national barriers that divide the European continent. International trade treaties such as NAFTA are common throughout the world, and tensions between traditional rivals such as China vs. Japan, China vs. Taiwan, and the two Koreas have greatly diminished.

 

As we have said before, the Lord constantly said many things in such a way that a literal interpretation becomes self-contradictory and even foolish. For example, He spoke of turning the other cheek in Matthew 5:39, yet we see Him confronting the young man who slapped Him in John 18:22-23, instead of turning the other cheek. In Matthew 5:22, Jesus says that whosoever says "Thou fool" shall be in danger of the fire of Gehenna, yet, in Matthew 23:17, Jesus calls the Pharisees and scribes "fools and blind"; in both verses, the same Greek word moros appears, so this cannot be blamed on the translation. Therefore, the Lord's words in Matthew 24:7 must be understood with the Spirit.

 

"14But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. 15But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man." (1 Corinthians 2:14-15)

 

"10For the LORD hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep, and hath closed your eyes: the prophets and your rulers, the seers hath he covered. 11And the vision of all is become unto you as the words of a book that is sealed, which men deliver to one that is learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I cannot; for it is sealed" (Isaiah 29:10-11)

 

In a sense, Matthew 24:7 did have a literal fulfillment in the two World Wars, but the end result of those conflicts was the birth of the nation of Israel, followed by a period of relative peace and prosperity in the 1950s. In the 1960s and early 70s, Matthew 24:7 also had a literal fulfillment, but this time it was in a more "internalized" way. The result of these conflicts was a world with notoriously less racial discrimination and a greater awareness of human rights; racial and ethnic barriers were broken, laying the foundation for the "globalization" movement that persists to this day.

 

These literal fulfillments, however, are really prophetic figures of what will now happen as the words in Matthew 24:7 are fulfilled in the spirit realm.

 

Girgashite nation

To understand Matthew 24:7 in the Spirit, we must first understand the spiritual meaning of the word "nation". This word was translated from the Greek word ethnos, from which we get the word "ethnic" in English. The word ethnos is derived from ethos, which means "custom" or "tradition". Therefore an ethnos refers to a large group of people who share a common history, customs, and traditions.

 

As we have said before, teachers are endowed with God's "Spirit of Perfection". People with this Spirit have a tendency to elaborate methods and procedures in an attempt to optimize the use of the available resources and eliminate any unnecessary spillover. This is why teachers are so inclined to create learning methods that allow students to learn the material in the shortest amount of time possible.

 

Teachers are also "backward-looking", in a sense, because the Spirit of "Perfection" (or "Completion") is always verifying whether or not the students have really learned the material taught in previous lessons; they are constantly striving to ensure that the student has a complete understanding of the material being taught (they are perfectionists focused on small details because of their quest for perfection or completion). They are also "memory-oriented"; the teaching ministry is the one most related in Scripture with reiterating and remembering things from the past.

 

Teachers (at least the good ones) are very reluctant to teach new things if they feel that the students still haven't mastered the old material which serves as a foundation for the new one; for example, arithmetic teachers are reluctant to teach multiplication if they think that the students are still struggling with addition, since you need to add in order to multiply.

 

"11Of whom we have many things to say, and hard to be uttered, seeing ye are dull of hearing. 12For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat. 13For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. 14But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil." (Hebrews 5:11-14)

 

Teachers' tendency to "look back", however, can lead to spiritual stagnation when they stray from the Spirit. Their perfectionist concern with optimization leads them to rely on methods that have passed the "test of time". To them, these methods are "time-efficient" mechanisms that cut down on the "planning time". Why go through the time and torment of thinking up something new when there is something old out there which has "worked" in the past?

 

I know of preachers who have stood up in front of the pulpit, ready to preach the message they prepared the night before, only to have the Holy Spirit tell them to preach on something completely different. At that moment, they have to choose between the safety of their prepared message and the complete uncertainty of a message which even they do not know, much less the audience. At that moment, the preacher has to decide if his fear of death (common in Girgashites) is greater than his desire to please God. If the preacher is willing to "die" in front of that audience and step out from the safety of life in his little Girgashite boat, he will begin to walk in the waters of the prophetic. Those who are not afraid of death enter the prophetic, and that's when we begin to teach things that even we did not know before (hallelujah!) That's when we become prophetic teachers:

 

"4And I say unto you my friends, Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. 5But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him." (Luke 12:4-5)

[The word translated as "hell" in verse 5 is gehenna, which is different from hades, the word used when referring to literal hell. Gehenna was the name of a valley south of Jerusalem where garbage was dumped and burned. Since garbage speaks of things that have lost their usefulness or purpose, Gehenna refers to when God casts off and burns a believer's prophetic calling and purpose.]

 

"11And when they bring you unto the synagogues, and unto magistrates, and powers, take ye no thought how or what thing ye shall answer, or what ye shall say: 12For the Holy Ghost shall teach you in the same hour what ye ought to say." (Luke 12:11-12)

 

As we have said before, teachers who stray from the Spirit become Girgashites. Therefore, Girgashites become staunch defenders of old traditions and customs (ethos), even when they go against the Spirit of God. These Girgashites establish a doctrinal structure that reinforces these traditions, teaching them down from one generation to the next.

 

Teachers in the Spirit also teach "customs", but the difference with these teachers is that they also manifest the prophetic anointing. While their teacher anointing causes them to "look back" and to design methods that "contain", they are also forward-looking and allow for the free overflow of prophetic emotions (in themselves and in others).

 

All nations (ethnos) revolve around customs (ethos), and these customs are reinforced through teachings. Therefore, we can safely conclude that any spiritual nation revolves around teachers. Since there are two types of teachers (Girgashite teachers and prophetic teachers), there are two types of spiritual nations: Girgashite nations and God's prophetic nation.

 

Intra-national conflict

Now that we understand the spiritual meaning of "nation", it becomes easier to understand what the Lord meant by "nation rising up against nation" in Matthew 24:7. As we said at the beginning of this article, literal nations did rise up against each other in the early parts of the 20th century, but this inter-nation conflict has become more "internalized" as the years have gone by.

 

Therefore, it is safe to say that what Jesus spoke of in Matthew 24:7 refers to nations within nations rising up against each other. This explains why the latter half of the 20th century saw the disintegration of so many nations that were once glued together through brute human strength. Consider, for example, the case of the Soviet Union, which was an empire of 15 nations glued together through brutal dictatorship. As God weakened the Soviet Empire, these nations fought for freedom and for the expression of their true identity. The same thing happened with the Communist Bloc in Eastern Europe, and even within smaller nations such as Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia.

 

This quest for the establishment of an individual identity can also be seen in cases such as South Africa, where a nation of black people rose up against the white Afrikaner nation that oppressed them in order to establish their suppressed identity. The same thing happened with the Civil Rights movement within the U.S. in the 1960s. Even the Vietnam War was a case of a Vietnamese nation of people who were tired of European occupation (in this case French occupation) and who wanted to forge a destiny of their own; the communists cleverly took advantage of this desire and used it to gain power. The fact that the U.S. failed to understand this, choosing instead to see Vietnam as another "domino" in their little game of world domination against the Soviet Union, cost America victory in Vietnam. The Vietnamese saw the U.S.'s involvement there as a second attempt by people of European origin to dominate them. Since the American government lacked a sincere, selfless interest in helping and blessing the Vietnamese people, that war was doomed to failure from the get-go. The war in Iraq is different, however, since this time America has a selfless interest in helping the Iraqi people to live in democracy and freedom. The Canaanite fools who constantly compare Vietnam with Iraq are too blind to understand this difference.

 

By the way, the WMD intelligence fiasco in Iraq was God's way of embarrassing George W. Bush for not being brave enough to sell the Iraq war primarily as a war of liberation and selfless investment in another country in order to receive long-term benefits that are not visible in the short-term. The WMD argument was a quick and easy way of saying,

"We have an interest in removing Saddam Hussein because he can attack us at any moment; we would not be interested in liberating the Iraqi people from Saddam's oppression if he didn't have WMDs; we are engaging in this war because, as always, we are looking out for numero uno"

 

Obviously, George W. Bush really has a heart-felt desire to see the Iraqi people living in freedom and democracy, and he knows that the freedom of the Iraqi people also has long-term benefits for the U.S. However, he was unwilling to sell the war as such to the American people, and he was duped by people like Colin Powell and Tony Blair into relying on the WMD argument to sell the war. I would not be surprised if they eventually do find that there were WMDs and that some of these weapons were dismantled and smuggled out of Iraq (into Syria and Jordan) as the American forces approached Baghdad. However, the reason for going to war had to be selfless and prophetically visionary this time, and God would not allow the war to be justified on self-centered, Girgashite grounds. This is why no WMDs have been found so far.

 

From the above, we can see how even the Iraq war, which seems on the outside as the conflict of one nation against another, was really an intra-national war. In a sense, it was through the military strength of the American people that the suppressed Iraqi nation was liberated from the "Bathist-party" nation (of Syrian origin) that was oppressing them.

 

The growing internalization of the "nation vs. nation" conflict in the last century reveals a powerful principle: when the Lord Jesus said that "nation would rise up against nation", He was referring to an internal conflict within the Church which would pit His prophetic nation against the Girgashite nations inside the Church who have worked to hush up God's prophetic voice through their human traditions and methodologies. As we have said before, Girgashites have an innate animosity against the prophetic anointing, and they do all they can to suppress God's prophetic voice:

 

"10Then Amaziah the priest of Bethel sent to Jeroboam king of Israel, saying, Amos hath conspired against thee in the midst of the house of Israel: the land is not able to bear all his words. 11For thus Amos saith, Jeroboam shall die by the sword, and Israel shall surely be led away captive out of their own land. 12Also Amaziah said unto Amos, O thou seer, go, flee thee away into the land of Judah, and there eat bread, and prophesy there: 13But prophesy not again any more at Bethel: for it is the king’s chapel, and it is the king’s court." (Amos 7:10-13)

 

Notice how verse 10 declares that "the land is not able to bear Amos' prophetic words". The word "land" was translated from the Hebrew word erets, which is translated as "earth" in many passages, and therefore points to the Girgashite spirit of earthliness. Amaziah the priest, was trying to protect the Girgashite structures of religious tradition and human authority from Amos' "dangerous" words. He was trying to prevent Amos from speaking prophetically against human authority (i.e.- the king and his religious system) in order to preserve his Girgashite ethnos.

 

The Girgashite nation's effort to silence the prophetic voice can also be seen in the following passage:

 

"6Prophesy ye not, say they to them that prophesy: they shall not prophesy to them, that they shall not take shame. 7O thou that art named the house of Jacob, is the spirit of the LORD straitened? are these his doings? do not my words do good to him that walketh uprightly? 8Even of late my people is risen up as an enemy: ye pull off the robe with the garment from them that pass by securely as men averse from war. 9The women of my people have ye cast out from their pleasant houses; from their children have ye taken away my glory for ever. 10Arise ye, and depart; for this is not your rest: because it is polluted, it shall destroy you, even with a sore destruction. 11If a man walking in the spirit and falsehood do lie, saying, I will prophesy unto thee of wine and of strong drink; he shall even be the prophet of this people." (Micah 2:6-11)

[Notice how, when the Girgashite nation does allow the prophetic voice, it is only under the condition that it prophesy of blessings and happiness (v11). In these cases, the so-called "prophetic" voice is speaking under a Canaanite and Hittite influence.]

 

In verse 10 above, the Lord declares that His people had risen up against Him as an enemy when they tried to silence the prophetic anointing (v6). As we have said before, Girgashites are at enmity and war against the prophetic anointing, meaning that Micah 2:10 is speaking of the Girgashite nation rising up against the prophetic voice. However, God is raising up a nation of His own:

 

"11And I raised up of your sons for prophets, and of your young men for Nazarites. Is it not even thus, O ye children of Israel? saith the LORD. 12But ye gave the Nazarites wine to drink; and commanded the prophets, saying, Prophesy not. 13Behold, I am pressed under you, as a cart is pressed that is full of sheaves. 14Therefore the flight shall perish from the swift, and the strong shall not strengthen his force, neither shall the mighty deliver himself: 15Neither shall he stand that handleth the bow; and he that is swift of foot shall not deliver himself: neither shall he that rideth the horse deliver himself. 16And he that is courageous among the mighty shall flee away naked in that day, saith the LORD." (Amos 2:11-16)

 

In conclusion, we can say that, in Matthew 24:7, the Lord is speaking of how God would in these latter days, raise up a prophetic nation that would enter into spiritual conflict against the Girgashite nation inside the Church. Amos 2:14-16 declares that the conflict between these two ethnos shall be won by the prophetic nation. The strong Amorites (Amos 2:10) and the Girgashites who support them shall be disrobed (Amos 2:16), and the robe they are currently so proud of shall be shown for what it is: temporary, not eternal.

 

Donkey King

In Matthew 24:7, the Lord also speaks of "kingdom rising up against kingdom". We have already seen how the "nation against nation" phrase refers to an internal conflict (within the Church) between Girgashite customs (ethos) and teachers who promote a prophetic ethos. Therefore, we must infer that the kingdom conflict also speaks of an internal struggle inside the Church, since both the "nation" and the "kingdom" conflicts are mentioned together in the same verse.

 

Practically all the famous "eschatologists" of today are Girgashites. Yes, even the famous ones who appear on TV and write books about "end-time prophetic events". Yes, even the one who can recite hundreds of eschatological passages from memory (you know who I'm talking about). Even though they are nice, well-meaning people who make a human effort to serve the Lord, they are men who revere theological tradition and who believe that the Bible is a book you analyze, instead of being a book you listen to. Therefore, God has blinded them and prevented them from really hearing the true prophetic voice of God. My spirit rises up in prophetic indignation when I hear these men hold so-called "prophetic" conferences about end-time events. It is evident from the way they express themselves that the prophetic anointing is not on them. Instead, they are influenced by spirits of Amorite and Girgashite intellectualism that perverts the true meaning of God's prophetic word.

 

I must also share with you that I strongly dislike the word "theology". This word is derived from the Greek words theos, meaning "God", and logos, meaning "word". Therefore, it would appear as if "theology" means, "word of God". However, this is not the case. Consider, for example, the word "physiology", which is derived from the Greek words physis, meaning "nature", and the word logos once again. Obviously, it would be silly to say that "physiology" then means "word of nature"; it makes more sense to interpret it as "word about nature", since physiology is the science that studies the processes of living organisms. This reasoning applies to all the words that end in the suffix "-ology". Therefore, "theology" really means "word about God", in other words, theologians are people who say things about God, studying and analyzing Him, just like a biologist who stands over a dissected frog to analyze it. All the "-ologies" are attempts by man to establish dominion over what is being "-ologized". In biology, man is establishing dominion over "living things" (bios means "life" in Greek); in psychology, man is attempting to establish dominion over the "psyche" (or "soul"); in cardiology, man is attempting to establish dominion over the heart (kardia means "heart" in Greek). It is not wrong for man to establish dominion over things, but, cursed be anyone who dares to establish dominion over God:

 

"And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth." (Genesis 1:26)

 

"27For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him. 28And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all." (1 Corinthians 15:27-28)

[To God, any attempt to make oneself lord over fellow believers is equivalent to trying to be lord over God, because man was created in God's image and was designed to be One with Him (Matthew 20:25-28)]

 

You cannot analyze God's Word; you listen to His Word, because He is the Word (John 1:1). You cannot separate Him from His Word. Fellow believer, if these articles have been a blessing to you, you can rest assured that it is not because we sit down to "analyze" the Bible; it's because we sit down to listen to God and ask Him, "What do you want to say to us today, Lord?" We are to listen to Him and allow Him to guide us, not only when we have the Bible in front of us, but at all times and in every area of our lives. Fellow believer, our entire life must be a discipling class with Him as our Teacher and Lord. We are to be as disciples that sit at His feet to listen to the Master. God wants to raise up disciples, not theologians. What theologians try to do is to first stand up, tell the Master to sit down, and then analyze Him as He sits there in silence. It's no wonder, therefore, that they never hear anything from God! Cursed be any man who relies on his natural mind to understand the Word and who teaches others to do so, for the Word can only be understood in the Spirit!

 

Having said all of the above, let us make a brief comment on a passage that eschatological theologians have misinterpreted for ages:

 

"1And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see. 2And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer." (Revelation 6:1-2)

 

Theologians say that the rider of the white horse in the passage above is the "anti-Christ" as he goes out to win over the nations of the Earth and establish himself as the president of a "world government" that will dominate the entire planet. However, there are big problems with this theory:

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For starters, the rider of the white horse began to ride as a result of the "first seal" being loosened. Revelation 5:1-4 declares that John wept because no one was found to be worthy of loosening the seals. This means that John wanted the seals to be broken. Does it make sense to say that John wanted the anti-Christ to conquer the world?

 

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Revelation 5:5 declares that the Lamb (i.e.- Yeshua) has prevailed to open the book and loosen the seals. Revelation 5:12 then declares that the Lamb is worthy to receive power and strength. The context of Revelation chapter 5 clearly implies that the loosening of the seals will lead to the Lamb receiving that power and strength. Therefore, does it make sense to say that the breaking of the very first seal would lead to the anti-Christ receiving power and strength to rule over the whole Earth?

 

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The words "white horse" in verse 2 were translated from the Greek words leukos and hippos. These two words appear together in only 2 other verses in the New Testament, Revelation 19:11 and 19:14, where they refer to the white horses that the Lord Jesus and His army of righteous saints will ride. Therefore, it is evident that these white-horse riders are not "wicked men". What proof, then, do these "theologians" have that the white-horse rider in Revelation 6:2 is wicked?

 

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The Greek word for "white", leukos, appears in 22 verses in the New Testament besides Revelation 6:2, and, in all of them, it is always used in the context of holiness and spiritual cleanliness. There is no reason, therefore, to believe that the "white horse" in Revelation 6:2 represents the manifestation of "evil". In fact, when one studies the other 22 verses where leukos appears, it becomes evident that the white horse speaks of a holy host of remnant believers full of God's Glory and Presence.

 

What, then, would motivate the "eschatological theologians" to claim that Revelation 6:2 is speaking of the anti-Christ? Because their hardened, Amorite hearts and literal, Girgashite minds refuse to understand the true spiritual meaning of Revelation chapter 6. They cleave to an eschatological scheme where believers are no longer on Earth when the Apocalyptic judgments come. Therefore, it becomes impossible to them that the rider of the white horse in Revelation 6:2 could be anyone other than a wicked person. It definitely could not be Jesus, according to them, because Jesus is not supposed to return to Earth with His saints until Revelation chapter 19, when He appears riding on a white horse followed by His army of saints. However, as we have said before, Girgashites are people bound by chronological time, so they interpret the book of Revelation as a single chronological sequence of events, without realizing that the book of Revelation tells the same story 4 times, from 4 different angles:

  1. The lion-face angle in Revelation 4:2-8:1 (the 7 seals)

  2. The eagle-face angle in Revelation 8:2-11:19 (the 7 trumpets)

  3. The man-face angle in Revelation 12:1-14:20 (the woman vs. the dragon)

  4. The bull-face angle in Revelation 15:1-20:15 (the 7 angels)

[God willing, we will share more on this in a future article]

 

From all of the above, we can safely say that the white horse of Revelation 6:1 is being ridden by Jesus as He is manifested through a faithful prophetic remnant in these latter days. According to Revelation 6:1, that prophetic remnant will "go forth conquering, and to conquer". The phrase "go forth" was translated from the Greek word exerchomai, which literally means "to come out". Therefore, Revelation 6:1 is saying that the remnant will come out from inside the Church "to conquer" the world unto God. However, it comes out "conquering", meaning that it will have conquered the Church itself before coming out to conquer the world unto God.

 

This is what the Lord meant when He spoke of the internal struggle of "kingdom against kingdom" within the Church in Matthew 24:7. Those with a heart that is truly ruled by King Jesus will rise up to fight against Amorite kingdoms that have been established inside the Church.

 

Even as we speak, the Lord has an army of wild asses outside of the Church's spiritual Jerichos. These are the men and women who have come out of the Church's Girgashite structures and who are standing like John the Baptist, out in the lonely wilderness, determined to see the walls of Jericho come down.

 

These men and women have come out of Jericho "blind", unwilling to see things through the prism of man's religious perspective. They have recognized their spiritual blindness, while the rest inside Jericho claim to see, but are really blind. This prophetic remnant has preferred to go outside and be touched by Jesus in order to see things as He sees them, not as man sees them:

 

"39And Jesus said, For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind. 40And some of the Pharisees which were with him heard these words, and said unto him, Are we blind also? 41Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth" (John 9:39-41)

 

"29And as they departed from Jericho, a great multitude followed him. 30And, behold, two blind men sitting by the way side, when they heard that Jesus passed by, cried out, saying, Have mercy on us, O Lord, thou Son of David. 31And the multitude rebuked them, because they should hold their peace: but they cried the more, saying, Have mercy on us, O Lord, thou Son of David. 32And Jesus stood still, and called them, and said, What will ye that I shall do unto you? 33They say unto him, Lord, that our eyes may be opened. 34So Jesus had compassion on them, and touched their eyes: and immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed him." (Matthew 20:29-34)

 

Just as Joshua's army shouted outside the walls of Jericho (Joshua 6:20), the blind men in the passage above shouted outside of Jericho. Immediately after this passage, the Lord goes into Jerusalem riding in on an ass:

 

"4All this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, 5Tell ye the daughter of Sion, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass. 6And the disciples went, and did as Jesus commanded them, 7And brought the ass, and the colt, and put on them their clothes, and they set him thereon." (Matthew 21:4-7)

 

When Jesus entered Jerusalem, He went to the temple and cast out the sellers and buyers, the moneychangers, and those who sold doves, and He established spiritual control over the temple, according to the parallel passage in the book of Mark:

 

"And would not suffer that any man should carry any vessel through the temple" (Mark 11:16)

 

As we have shared before, "vessels" in Scripture refer to "methods". Therefore, the passage above is prophesying that, as the prophetic remnant establishes spiritual control over the Church, it will end the use of Girgashite methods and traditions inside the Church. The Amorite kingdoms will fall as their Girgashite support-base is destroyed, and God's kingdom will be established:

 

"42Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes? 43Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof. 44And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder. 45And when the chief priests and Pharisees had heard his parables, they perceived that he spake of them. 46But when they sought to lay hands on him, they feared the multitude, because they took him for a prophet." (Matthew 21:42-46)

[Amorites maintain their control by intimidating the coward and conforming Girgashite believers who are afraid to die. This ground base of support will be destroyed, and the fear will be "reversed". Instead of the multitude fearing the Amorites, the Amorites will fear the multitude as the true prophetic anointing is reestablished inside the Church (v46)]

 

In Scripture, Egypt is strongly related to the Girgashite spirit, as can be seen from the following evidence:

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In the King James version, the phrase "land of" appears 638 times, and it appears followed by the word "Egypt" more than any other word. The phrase "land of Egypt" appears 227 times (almost 36% of the time). The phrase "land of Canaan" is a very distant second with 66 appearances (73 if you count the 7 appearances of the phrase "land of the Canaanites"). The fact that the Holy Spirit emphasizes the connection between Egypt and "land" or "earth" so much indicates that Egypt was a Girgashite nation.

 

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Egypt was (and still is) a land steeped in tradition. They preserved the same religion and the same form of Pharaoh-ruled government for thousands of years. This again points to a strong Girgashite influence.

 

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Except for the regions close to the Nile, Egypt is a very dry and "dusty" country. This again points to the Girgashite spirit, since Girgashites are emotionally dry individuals who suffer the "disintegration" process caused by the curse of Genesis 3:17-19. Girgashites end up as dry dust that is blown away by the wind.

 

Even though preachers declare that we came out of Egypt when we were born again, the Church still remains in Egypt. The Israelites who physically came out of Egypt with Moses returned to Egypt in their hearts, and the same has happened with the Church:

 

"36He brought them out, after that he had shewed wonders and signs in the land of Egypt, and in the Red sea, and in the wilderness forty years. 37This is that Moses, which said unto the children of Israel, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear. 38This is he, that was in the church in the wilderness with the angel which spake to him in the mount Sina, and with our fathers: who received the lively oracles to give unto us: 39To whom our fathers would not obey, but thrust him from them, and in their hearts turned back again into Egypt, 40Saying unto Aaron, Make us gods to go before us: for as for this Moses, which brought us out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him." (Acts 7:36-40)

 

However, God is raising up a prophetic remnant that is coming against the kingdom of Egypt. These men and women have the kingdom of God in their hearts, and the Amorite kings in Girgashite Egypt will be deposed:

 

"1The burden of Egypt. Behold, the LORD rideth upon a swift cloud, and shall come into Egypt: and the idols of Egypt shall be moved at his presence, and the heart of Egypt shall melt in the midst of it. 2And I will set the Egyptians against the Egyptians: and they shall fight every one against his brother, and every one against his neighbour; city against city, and kingdom against kingdom. 3And the spirit of Egypt shall fail in the midst thereof; and I will destroy the counsel thereof: and they shall seek to the idols, and to the charmers, and to them that have familiar spirits, and to the wizards. 4And the Egyptians will I give over into the hand of a cruel lord; and a fierce king shall rule over them, saith the Lord, the LORD of hosts." (Isaiah 19:1-4)

 

Notice how the passage above begins with a reference to "the coming of the Lord". The Lord's Second Coming consists of Him coming into His Church to destroy the Amorite kingdom that is currently inside it. He will come upon a "swift cloud", which, as we saw before, refers to Him manifesting Himself from within you and me; you are the cloud, my friend, out of which Jesus will be manifested in His Second Coming, and as He does, spiritual kingdoms will fall, and His presence will be manifested (v1).

 

Notice how verse 2 speaks of internal struggle, of brother against brother and everyone against his neighbor. This refers to the internal struggle within the Church between God's prophetic remnant and the carnal believers:

 

"21And Isaac intreated the LORD for his wife, because she was barren: and the LORD was intreated of him, and Rebekah his wife conceived. 22And the children struggled together within her; and she said, If it be so, why am I thus? And she went to enquire of the LORD. 23And the LORD said unto her, Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger." (Genesis 25:21-23)

 

Just as Jacob and Esau struggled inside Rebecca's womb, so is the prophetic remnant currently struggling against the Girgashite believers who, like Esau, have discarded their invisible, prophetic calling in order to pursue earthly goals. Esau is the elder, the one who currently holds the visible authority inside the Church. However, the one who will be blessed by God is Jacob, the younger one, the discarded one who does not currently hold the visible authority, for the kingdom shall be given to those who have been belittled by men but who are valuable in the eyes of Almighty God:

 

"26Then shall ye begin to say, We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets. 27But he shall say, I tell you, I know you not whence ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity. 28There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out. 29And they shall come from the east, and from the west, and from the north, and from the south, and shall sit down in the kingdom of God. 30And, behold, there are last which shall be first, and there are first which shall be last." (Luke 13:26-30)

[Notice how verse 26 says that the workers of iniquity will say to Jesus, "you have taught in our streets", to which the Lord will reply, "I don't know where you are from" (v47). Multitudes of believers throughout the Church sincerely think that the teachings they promote are teachings from Jesus Himself, without realizing that they are nothing but traditions of men (Mark 7:6-7). As He is manifested inside His Church, Jesus will say to them, "That was not Me who was teaching you those things; those were Girgashite teachers who taught you, but you were too cowardly to prophetically defy them, because you preferred to stay within the warmth of your earthly structures than to be out in the cold with Me. All this time, I was speaking to you through the donkeys whom you rejected. Depart from Me, for I abhor you, just as I abhorred Esau." (Romans 9:13)]

 

{The next article is titled "Pre-parousia -- The red horse"}