Sabbath - Black

Black restoration of many crowds

"¹⁵ But when Jesus knew it, he withdrew himself from thence: and great multitudes followed him, and he healed them all; ¹⁶ And charged them that they should not make him known:" (Matthew 12:15-16)

Yeshua's withdrawal from that place was in reaction to the Pharisees meeting to find a way to destroy Him (v14). When a person dies, his physical presence disappears and he can no longer be seen with the natural eye; hence, we can say that, when Yeshua withdrew His physical presence from that place, it was equivalent to Him "dying" in that place, for His physical presence was nowhere to be seen there. This correlates with how Cain kills red-horse Abel because of his resentment of Abel's spiritual "success", which emphasises the connection between the preceding verses of Matthew 12 and the red horse of the Apocalypse. It also indicates that the narration in Matthew 12 is going into the next stage, the "black-horse" stage.

When red-horse Abel "dies", he goes into the black-horse wilderness, creating a permanent division between the believers involved. Those who sympathise with the spirit of Cain (or who are too afraid to separate themselves from him) stay behind, whilst those who sympathise with Abel and are not focused on "earthly security" will walk away and join Abel in the difficult land of black-horse scarcity. This correlates with the "great multitudes" that followed Yeshua as He withdrew from the area "covered" by the religious leaders.

The phrase "great multitudes" in verse 15 above was slightly mistranslated from the Greek words polys meaning "many" and ochlos meaning "crowd". Therefore, a better translation would read "many crowds". This speaks of groups of people from different walks of life and different life experiences coming together to follow after the Lord. As we have shared before, things of the soul are inherently divisive along circumstantial, natural lines such as culture and race. Things of the Spirit, by contrast, transcend natural, visible factors and unite people around permanent and eternal things. This is why soul-centred people tend to become inexorably separated along lines of soul compatibility and are unable to truly relate to people whose soul make-up is different from theirs. Hence, we can say that the "many crowds" who walked away from the religious leaders and followed Yeshua into the "black-horse desert" were not being drawn by soulish factors but rather by things of the Spirit that transcended the soul. Thus, it is ironic that the red horse, which brings division amongst believers in the natural, actually enables a deeper unity that transcends natural factors, a unity amongst believers that goes beyond the soul and a unity with God Himself.

The fact that Yeshua "healed them all", as indicated in verse 15 above, points to what happens to the soul during the black-horse stage. The word "healed" was translated from the Greek verb therapeuo, which, as we have shared before, speaks of nursing a soul back to health. Hence, we can say that, in the black-horse wilderness, God deals with the crippling (Perizzite) damage inflicted by Cain on the soul, nursing the soul back to health whilst simultaneously infusing a "male" apostolic-prophetic impartation on the soul, "defocusing" it from "female" soul weakness and focusing it on "male" spirit strength.

The fact that Yeshua "charged the crowd that they should not make Him known" (v15) points to anonymity, which once again points to the black horse of the Apocalypse, since, as we have shared before, black-horse riders operate anonymously, (prophetically) launching invisible (apostolic) judgements from the wilderness into the religious structures they left behind. By charging them not to make Him known, He was not only telling them not to draw attention to Him; He was also telling them not to draw attention to themselves, which emphasises the need to be willing to operate anonymously in order to be a true "black-horse rider".

Father of independence

"¹⁷ That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, ¹⁸ Behold my servant, whom I have chosen; my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased: I will put my spirit upon him, and he shall shew judgment to the Gentiles. ¹⁹ He shall not strive, nor cry; neither shall any man hear his voice in the streets. ²⁰ A bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking flax shall he not quench, till he send forth judgment unto victory. ²¹ And in his name shall the Gentiles trust." (Matthew 12:17-21)

The word "spoken" in the middle of verse 17 was translated from the Greek verb rheo, which, as we have shared before, refers to a "prophetic flow". Interestingly enough, the word "saying" at the end of verse 17 was translated from the Greek word lego, which is the verb form of the noun logos; and, as we have studied before, logos speaks of apostolic judgements. Hence, the Spirit of God uses two different verbs to refer to Isaiah's prophetic utterance, one prophetic and one apostolic, which emphasises its connection to the apostolic-prophetic black-horse rider who launches apostolic judgements through a prophetic flow.

"Behold my servant, whom I have chosen; my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased: I will put my spirit upon him, and he shall shew judgment to the Gentiles" (Matthew 12:18)

The word "servant" in verse 18 was translated from the Greek word pais, which, interestingly enough, can be translated as either "child" or "servant, king's attendant". Therefore, the word pais in verse 18 speaks of a father who lovingly takes his son under his wings. This reveals that, during the black-horse stage of "independence" from man, God shows Himself as "God the Father" to us. As a parenthesis, it must be said that, during the red-horse stage, God shows Himself as "God the Son" (a teacher with apostolic wisdom), and that, during the green-horse stage, He shows Himself as "God the Holy Spirit" who resurrects you from the dead.

The first time that pais appears in Scripture is in the following verse, where it is translated as "children":

"Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently enquired of the wise men." (Matthew 2:16)

Notice how this passage speaks of the pais's who were slaughtered by Herod because they were still in Bethlehem, as opposed to Yeshua, who had been taken out of there and to Egypt by Joseph. Therefore, the pais's who find the trip to Egypt "religiously unacceptable", choosing to stay behind, are subject to having their spiritual calling slaughtered by the enemy. By contrast, the pais's who see God as their Father will venture out into the "religiously unacceptable" black-horse wilderness and begin to know God as their Father who covers them in the wilderness.

The phrase, "My pais, whom I have chosen" speaks of being "handpicked", selected individually from amongst a crowd. This contrasts with the phrase "great multitudes" (or "many crowds" in Greek) 3 verses earlier. As we have shared before, the Old-Covenant structures emphasise mundane "soul collectiveness", at least in the sense of being one more soul amongst many. Under the New Covenant, however, your individuality as a spirit being is emphasised. This is why God begins to emphasise how "individual" and "unique" you are to Him as He takes you out from the Old-Covenant covering of "bigger soul" Cain and into the black-horse wilderness, where you are covered by the invisible Father of Spirits (1 Timothy 6:16, Hebrews 12:9).

The soul of God

"Behold my servant, whom I have chosen; my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased: I will put my spirit upon him, and he shall shew judgment to the Gentiles" (Matthew 12:18)

Notice how God refers to His own soul in Matthew 12:18 when He declares, " ... my beloved, in whom My Soul is well pleased". This means that, as we come out from the soul paradigms that divide us into multiple crowds, we actually begin to have a deeper relationship with God's Very Soul. Why? Because God requires that the soul be submitted under the Spirit, and He cannot have a soul relationship with souls that refuse the Spirit's covering. By staying under the natural covering of Cain, souls reject the covering of the Spirit and are therefore banned from having a deeper relationship with God's very soul.

The phrase "is well pleased" in Matthew 12:18 was translated from the Greek verb eudokeo, which is derived from the prefix eu meaning "well, good" and the verb dokeo meaning "to be of an opinion, think, suppose". Notice, therefore, how eudokeo has the connotation of subjective opinion, as opposed to cold, objective judgement. This points to how the soul is inclined towards "subjective opinion" and "thinking or supposing", whereas the Spirit is more prone to cold, certain, objective judgements. The fact that God's Soul has "subjective opinions" reveals that there is a place for them and that they are not inherently wrong, as long as they do not go against the understanding of our spirit.

After you step out in faith from under the covering of man, the Soul of God the Father will, in His love, see you favourably, after which He will "put His spirit upon you", which speaks of Him covering your soul with His Spirit. Once you shed the temporary, Old-Covenant covering, He will cover you with His eternal, New-Covenant covering. The word "put" in the phrase "put My Spirit upon him" in Matthew 12:18 was slightly mistranslated from the Greek verb histemi, which literally means "to establish". As we have shared before, the concept of "establishing" is most directly related to the apostolic endowment, since it is the endowment most directly related to the establishment of an enduring foundation. On the other hand, the act of "placing" the spirit upon someone points to the act of "anointing" someone, which, in turn, points to the prophetic endowment. Therefore, we can say that the phrase "put My Spirit upon him" speaks of an apostolic-prophetic impartation from God Himself, which emphasises the connection to the apostolic-prophetic black horse of the Apocalypse.

Black-horse telegram

"Behold my servant, whom I have chosen; my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased: I will put my spirit upon him, and he shall shew judgment to the Gentiles" (Matthew 12:18)

After receiving God's apostolic-prophetic impartation, we can then "shew judgment to the Gentiles". The word "shew" was translated from the Greek verb apaggello, (pronounced apangelo), which is derived from the prefix apo and the word aggelos meaning "messenger, angel". As shown by its use in verses such as the following (where it is translated as "told"), the word apaggello has the connotation of a "long-distance message" sent in the form of a "telegram":

"And as he was now going down, his servants met him, and told him, saying, Thy son liveth." (John 4:51)

"Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that he had spoken these things unto her." (John 20:18)

The Greek word for "apostle", apostolos, is also derived from the prefix apo, and it speaks of someone being sent out to a place to give a message. Hence, we can say that, even though apaggello and apostolos speak of a long-distance message, apostolos emphasises the messenger being sent and apaggello emphasises the sending of the message. As we have said before, the endowment most directly related to the sending (or "launching") of things from a distance is the prophetic endowment. According to Matthew 12:18, what we are to "send out" are judgements, which are most directly related to the apostolic endowment. Therefore, we can say that the phrase "shew judgment" in Matthew 12:18 speaks of taking apostolic judgements and launching them to faraway distances through the prophetic endowment. This once again points to what we have shared on the black horse of the Apocalypse. Whereas the apostolic endowment is more naturally prone to issuing "localised" judgements within the environment the apostle has been sent to, the conjunction of the apostolic and the prophetic enables the issuing of judgements to distant environments that the apostle-prophet is significantly separated from.

The word "Gentiles" in the phrase "shew judgment to the Gentiles" was translated from the Greek noun ethnos, which literally means "nations". As we have shared before, "nations" are formed around and sustained by the teacher endowment, which, when corrupted, turns Girgashite. Since God calls us to "shew judgment to the nations", we can safely infer that those judgements will be geared towards corrupted nations, which means that those judgements shall target the Girgashite spirit. All of this correlates once again with the black horse of the Apocalypse, given that black-horse riders fight against the spirit of Balaam, which aims to use prophetic and evangelistic grace for banal, earthly, Girgashite ends.

Rejection of human efforts

"He shall not strive, nor cry; neither shall any man hear his voice in the streets" (Matthew 12:19)

The word "strive" in Matthew 12:19 was translated from the Greek verb erizo, which is derived from the word eris. As we have shared before, eris, when used in a negative sense, points to an apostolic endowment corrupted by the Girgashite spirit. Since the Girgashite spirit results from a corruption of the teacher endowment, we can say that the verb erizo points to apostolic actions combined with teacher attitudes. Since red-horse riders are teacher-apostles, we can say that the phrase "he shall not strive" points to the direct face-to-face contention that the red-horse rider engages in when he is sent into the structures of Cain.

By contrast, the word "cry" in Matthew 12:19, which was translated from the verb kraugazo, denotes a strong outpouring of prophetic emotion, as when a prophet shouts from the outside in an effort to be audibly heard by those inside. Therefore, the phrase "he shall not strive nor cry" speaks of someone who will not use the apostolic and prophetic endowments in a way that will be visible to natural man. Such a person will not endeavour to operate apostolically and prophetically in a way that may "decay into the Girgashite", i.e. that may decay into an attempt to achieve spiritual ends through "arm-of-flesh", "focus-on-the-visible" means. Instead, the person described in Matthew 12:19 will launch his voice prophetically in a way not discernible by the natural ear, sending lethal apostolic judgements into matriarchal structures from the outside without having to be inside. Because of this, the person's voice becomes "anonymous". Without the target audience knowing who has spoken, or even that someone has spoken at all, the judgements are sent in the Spirit, producing tangible results that the target audience cannot deny. This requires faith, which is what propels the believer into the black-horse stage, and it is this faith that the believer develops and grows in as he or she abides in the black-horse wilderness under God the Father.

"⁸ The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed. ⁹ For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it. ¹⁰ When Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel." (Matthew 8:8-10)

Rejection of wide gates

"He shall not strive, nor cry; neither shall any man hear his voice in the streets" (Matthew 12:19)

To understand the phrase "neither shall any man hear his voice in the streets", we must consider the word "streets", which was translated from the Greek word plateia, which literally means "broad way, street" and is derived from the word platys meaning "broad". Interestingly enough, platys is only used once in all of Scripture, in the following verse, translated as "wide":

As we have studied before, a "wide-gate" believer is one who does not filter his faith through the narrow gate of God's will and judgements, using his faith instead to pray for the things that he wants, with no regard for what God wants. Hence, we can infer that "hearing his voice in the streets" refers to proclaiming a wide-gate, "ask-for-anything-and-ye-shall-receive" message in order to draw followers unto oneself. In other words, the phrase "hearing his voice in the streets" refers to a pedlar, a street vendor enthusiastically shouting as he offers cheap magic potions to people who are constantly looking for the easy way out. From what we have studied before, we can then conclude that the phrase "hear his voice in the streets" is referring to people speaking in the spirit of Balaam, which is the spirit that God's remnant battle against during the black-horse stage. Therefore, when the Lord declared "neither shall anyone hear his voice in the streets", He was declaring that the remnant will refuse to adopt Balaam's tactics and will be faithful to operate in an anonymous apostolic-prophetic way during the black-horse stage.

Cain, the bruised reed

"A bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking flax shall he not quench, till he send forth judgment unto victory" (Matthew 12:20)

The word "reed" was translated from the Greek word kalamos, which, as we have shared before, can also mean "pen" and is therefore related to God's written laws, and, hence, to His apostolic judgements. In a subtler sense, however, kalamos also points to another ministry, as revealed by the last 3 times that it is used in Scripture, in the book of Revelation, translated as "reed" each time:

"And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein" (Revelation 11:1)

"¹⁵ And he that talked with me had a golden reed to measure the city, and the gates thereof, and the wall thereof. ¹⁶ And the city lieth foursquare, and the length is as large as the breadth: and he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs. The length and the breadth and the height of it are equal." (Revelation 21:15-16)

Notice that the reed (i.e. kalamos) is used in the verses above as a tool of measurement. Notice also that it is used in verse 16 above to verify that the length, breadth, and height of the city are equal. Therefore, kalamos has the subtle connotation of measuring exactness, which points to God's Spirit of Perfection, and, thus, to the teacher endowment. Teachers are constantly "measuring" their students, using the apostolic wisdom that they have, and they are prone to measuring the work performed against a goal or standard that they desire to reach.

Hence, we can infer that the "reed" of Matthew 12:20 is referring to both the apostolic and the teacher endowments. Since the reed is "bruised", we can say that it refers to teacher and apostolic endowments that have been corrupted (or "made crooked"), which would then point to the Girgashite and Jebusite spirits (given that a Girgashite is a teacher gone bad and a Jebusite is an apostle gone bad). Reeds can grow very tall, which points to the Amorite spirit of tallness in a negative sense. Thus, the "bruised reed" points to the spirit of Cain, the red horse's "nemesis", since, as we have shared before, Cain is a Girgashite-Jebusite gone Amorite that fosters swampland stagnation (in other words, a "bruised reed" is what Cain looks like in God's eyes). This means that the phrase "a bruised reed shall he not break" refers to God's remnant not making an effort to break down Cain and his human structures through natural means. Why? Because breaking the reed through natural means may bring Cain down in the short term, only to have him grow again from the ground because its spiritual roots were left untouched.

Balaam, the smoking flax

"²⁰ A bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking flax shall he not quench, till he send forth judgment unto victory. ²¹ And in his name shall the Gentiles trust." (Matthew 12:20-21)

The word "smoking" in the phrase "smoking flax" of Matthew 12:20 was translated from the Greek word typho. Interestingly enough, typho is the root of the verb typhoo, which literally means "to make proud, to puff up with pride" and is translated in that sense the 3 times that it appears in Scripture (1 Timothy 3:6, 1 Timothy 6:4, 2 Timothy 3:4). Therefore, the word "smoking" (typho) points in a negative sense to the Amorite spirit of pride.

On the other hand, the word "flax" was translated from the Greek noun linon, which literally means "linen clothing made from flax" and is the word from which the English word "linen" is derived. The spiritual meaning behind linon is subtle and cannot be discerned with ease, especially because it is only used twice in Scripture (the other time being in Revelation 15:6, translated as "linen"). Therefore, to get a better sense of it, we must consider another Greek word that is used for "linen" in Scripture, as well as one of the Hebrew words that is used for "linen".

Another Greek word for "linen" in Scripture is othonion, which is only used 5 times in Scripture: once in Luke 24:12 and 4 times in the Gospel of John. Every time it appears, othonion is used to describe the linen clothes used to wrap Jesus' body after His death, which were left at the tomb after He was resurrected (John 19:40, 20:5-7). Therefore, othonion has a strong connection with Yeshua's prophetic sacrifice, which is emphasised by the fact that it appears mostly in John, the most prophetic of the 4 Gospels. Interestingly enough, the word othonion is derived from the word othone, which is only used twice in Scripture (in Acts 10:11 and Acts 11:5) to describe the linen sheet that Peter saw in the vision of the "unclean" animals. Therefore, othone points to prophetic visions that challenge people to break away from long-held traditions and paradigms. This connection between linen and the prophetic is emphasised by the Hebrew word bad, which is used 23 times in Scripture to refer to linen. This word appears 5 times in the following two verses, translated as "linen" each time:

"He shall put on the holy linen coat, and he shall have the linen breeches upon his flesh, and shall be girded with a linen girdle, and with the linen mitre shall he be attired: these are holy garments; therefore shall he wash his flesh in water, and so put them on." (Leviticus 16:4)

"And Aaron shall come into the tabernacle of the congregation, and shall put off the linen garments, which he put on when he went into the holy place, and shall leave them there:" (Leviticus 16:23)

Notice how linen is referred to as "holy" in verse 4 above and how the linen garments were to be put on when going into the Holy Place and left there upon leaving. This reveals a strong spiritual connection between linen and holiness, which once again points to the prophetic endowment, since, as we have shared before, it is the endowment most directly related to "holiness" per se. This subtle but strong connection to the prophetic is further emphasised by the use of the Hebrew word bad in Daniel 12:6-7 to describe a man "clothed in linen" who was "upon the waters of the river", since "flowing waters" are most directly associated to prophetic flow. As shown by passages such as Exodus 28:42, 2 Samuel 6:14, and Jeremiah 13:1 (which uses the word pishteh instead of bad), linen was often used for undergarments, which once again points to the prophetic endowment, since it is the endowment most directly related to intimacy with and closeness to God.

As indicated on wikipedia.org, linen is a very strong fabric, yet it feels cool and smooth to the touch, meaning that its contact with the body is very subtle, which explains why linen's spiritual connection to the prophetic is also strong but very subtle. The fact that linen fibres can break easily if folded and ironed in the same place repeatedly points to the prophet's vulnerability to death despite the prophetic endowment's strong spiritual qualities. Now that we have discerned the connection between "linen" and the prophetic, we can say that the linon (i.e. flax) mentioned in Matthew 12:20 refers to the prophetic endowment. And, given that it is used within a negative context, we can say that the flax of Matthew 12:20 refers to a prophetic endowment gone bad, meaning that it points to the Hittite spirit.

The word "quench" in Matthew 12:20 was translated from the Greek verb sbennymi, which is only used 8 times in Scripture. After its first appearance, in Matthew 12:20, it appears in Matthew 25:8 to refer to oil lamps "going out", which points to the prophetic endowment (due to its spiritual connection to oil). After that, it is used 3 times in Mark 9:44, 46, and 48 to speak of Gehenna, where the worm does not die and the "fire is not quenched", which points yet again to the prophetic endowment, since Gehenna speaks of prophetic callings and purposes being lost. After the book Mark, sbennymi reappears in Ephesians 6:16, where it is used to speak of the fiery darts of the evil one being quenched by the shield of faith. This points to the Hittite spirit (i.e.- the prophetic "gone bad"), since, as we have said before, Hittites launch "arrows" (and other sharp, piercing "objects") from a distance. After Ephesians, sbennymi is used in the following passage, translated as "quench":

"¹⁷ Pray without ceasing. ¹⁸ In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. ¹⁹ Quench not the Spirit. ²⁰ Despise not prophesyings." (1 Thessalonians 5:17-20)

Notice how sbennymi is related to prayer (v17), an action that is inherently prophetic, and to "prophesying" (v20), all of which reinforces the fact that sbennymi speaks of snuffing out prophetic flow, when it is a "good" flow, and Hittite flow, when it is a "kakos" flow.

As indicated on wikipedia.org, flax would occasionally be burnt, not to provide any sort of lighting (as in the case of oil) but to get rid of the unharvested flax, which could get in the way of the next harvest if not burnt. Being a plant, flax naturally comes from the earth, and when it is burnt, it turns into dust that goes back to the earth. Therefore, we can say that the end of smoking flax is Girgashite in nature, since that is the spirit most directly related to earthliness and temporality.

As we saw above, the word "smoking" in the phrase "smoking flax" of Matthew 12:20 points to Amorite pride and the word "flax" refers to Hittite flow. Therefore, we can say that a "smoking flax" (which turns into Girgashite dust) refers to a Hittite-Amorite gone Girgashite. A "smoking flax" releases Amorite pride as he operates as a Hittite prophet in a way that brings no prophetic light to others, consuming himself to the ground. Hence, the "smoking flax" of Matthew 12:20 refers to the spirit of Balaam, which is the black-horse rider's "nemesis", since Balaam is a Hittite-Amorite gone Girgashite.

Thus, we can conclude from all of the above that the phrase "a smoking flax shall he not quench" (i.e. "a typho-ing linon shall he not sbennymi") means that God's remnant shall not try to suppress or snuff out the evil flow of Balaam through natural means. Even though quenching Balaam's "fire" through natural means may bring him down in the short term, it leaves his unharvested flax on the field, in the way of any meaningful, future harvest. Therefore, it must be consumed through supernatural means so that it will finally disappear for good and be no more. As we have studied before, this supernatural consumption is done by God's black-horse riders as they prophetically launch apostolic judgements that consume Balaam's wheat and barley.

Doing "nothing" in black

"²⁰ A bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking flax shall he not quench, till he send forth judgment unto victory. ²¹ And in his name shall the Gentiles trust." (Matthew 12:20-21)

In short, when the Spirit declares that "A bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking flax shall he not quench" in Matthew 12:20, He is saying that God's remnant will seem "missing in action" during the black-horse stage, apparently "doing nothing" to stop Cain or Balaam whilst they separate themselves into the black-horse wilderness. In reality, however, God's black-horse remnant do a great deal, operating at an invisible, supernatural level, dealing with root issues in order to forge a long-term, permanent solution. This requires faith, for it is difficult for the natural mind to believe that true results can be accomplished by "doing nothing", at least as perceived by the natural mind. Faith, however, is what is exercised and developed during the black-horse stage. God's remnant use that faith for extraordinary things in the invisible realm (extraordinary things that do produce tangible results). Balaam's followers, by contrast, use that faith to obtain temporary blessings that will eventually be burnt like unharvested flax and become true nothingness.

Black evangelistic conquest

"²⁰ A bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking flax shall he not quench, till he send forth judgment unto victory. ²¹ And in his name shall the Gentiles trust." (Matthew 12:20-21)

The Spirit declares in Matthew 12:20 that the remnant's apparent inaction will continue "till he send forth judgment unto victory". The phrase "send forth" was translated from the Greek verb ekballo, which literally means "to throw outwards". Therefore, it has the connotation of someone throwing something a long distance away. This once again points to the black-horse rider's "propensity" for prophetically launching apostolic judgements from the wilderness into the structures they left behind. The phrase "unto victory" means that black-horse riders will continue to do this until complete victory is achieved. They are not interested in half-baked results but in a total and convincing, long-term victory. Since "victory" is most directly related to the evangelistic endowment of conquest, the word "victory" at the end of Matthew 12:20 emphasises something we have shared before: The "undercurrent" spirit in black-horse riders is the evangelistic endowment, for, as they continue with their invisible launching of judgements, God's thunder begins to roar across the spiritual atmosphere, and the fear of God's Kingly Name begins to fill the spiritual realm's airwaves. This explains why Matthew 12:21 then declares that "in His Name shall the nations hope".

From faith to hope

"And in his name shall the Gentiles trust." (Matthew 12:21)

The word "trust" at the end of Matthew 12:21 was mistranslated from the Greek verb elpizo, which literally means "to hope". The endowment most directly related to hope is the prophetic endowment, since it is the endowment that inspires people to pursue a vision in the distant horizon. The word "Gentiles", in turn, was translated from the Greek noun ethnos, which, as we have shared before, literally means "nations" and refers to the groups of people forged by teachers, or by Girgashites if those teachers "go bad". Girgashites oppose the prophetic with gusto, meaning that they destroy the ability of people (and even their own ability) to operate in hope. God is therefore declaring in Matthew 12:21 that, through their judgements, black-horse riders lift Girgashite nations out of their anti-prophetic state, enabling them to operate in prophetic hope. Hence, through the black-horse riders' (above-the-natural) faith, green hope begins to emerge.

Invisible Sabbath

As you may have noticed, we have not mentioned the Sabbath at all throughout this posting, especially because the Sabbath is not explicitly mentioned in Matthew 12 after verse 12. Even so, all that has been shared here relates to the Sabbath and to our role as priests doing spiritual work during the "Sabbath", as indicated in Matthew 12:5:

"Or have ye not read in the law, how that on the sabbath days the priests in the temple profane the sabbath, and are blameless?" (Matthew 12:5)

The reason why the Sabbath is only mentioned explicitly until verse 12 is because the first 14 verses of Matthew 12 relate to the white-horse epiphany (that we are priests) and to the visible contention that God's red-horse riders must engage in. During the black-horse stage, however, our spiritual work becomes "anonymous" and largely invisible to the natural eye, even when the effects of our work can indeed be seen in the natural realm. This is why the "Sabbath" is not explicitly mentioned during the verses related to the black-horse stage, for the Sabbath observed during the black-horse stage is of a higher spiritual level, above the level of the visible and requiring a higher quality of faith.

In the previous article, we saw how Matthew 12:1-8 points to the galloping of the white horse and Matthew 12:9-14 to the galloping of the red horse of the Apocalypse. In this posting, we saw how Matthew 12:15-21 points to the black horse of the Apocalypse. In a future posting, we shall share on how the next verses in Matthew 12 also relate to the horses of the Apocalypse.