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Pre-parousia -- The green horse First posted: January 16, 2005
This article is the fifth 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. This article will deal with the manifestation of the "green" (or "pale") horse of the Apocalypse in these latter days.
Index "I keep the people, you keep the air"
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)
In our three previous articles, we saw that
We will now see how the word "earthquakes" refers to the "pale horse" of the Apocalypse:
"7And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see. 8And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth." (Revelation 6: 7-8)
The word "pale" in verse 8 above was translated from the Greek word chloros, which literally means "green" and is the word from which "chlorophyll" is derived. This word only appears 4 times in the New Testament: in Mark 6:39 and in Revelation 6:8, 8:7, and 9:4. In its three other appearances, chloros is translated as "green". Therefore, we will refer to the "pale" horse as the "green" horse from now on.
In order to understand how earthquakes are related to the "green" horse, we must first understand the spiritual meaning behind "earthquakes". The word "earthquakes" in Matthew 24:7 (quoted above) was translated from the Greek word seismos, which also appears in the following passage:
"50Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost. 51And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent; 52And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, 53And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many. 54Now when the centurion, and they that were with him, watching Jesus, saw the earthquake, and those things that were done, they feared greatly, saying, Truly this was the Son of God." (Matthew 27:50-54)
Notice that the earthquake caused the opening of graves, which in those days were caves with a large, heavy rock placed at the entrance to close the cave (Matthew 27:60-66, John 11:38). Therefore, "graves" in Scripture have the connotation of "dark", "hollow" places from which one cannot come out. In a sense, a "grave" was the equivalent of a "prison". Earthquakes, therefore, produce the release of prisoners from their spiritual prisons. This principle also appears in other passages of Scripture such as the following:
"1In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre. 2And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it." (Matthew 28: 1-2)
"25And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them. 26And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one’s bands were loosed. 27And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled. 28But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here." (Acts 16:25-28)
In Scripture, Sheol ("hell" in English and "Hades" in Greek) is portrayed as a prison in the center of the Earth, a dark and empty place with no "exit door". In a sense, Sheol is like a giant prison underneath the Earth:
"22And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; 23And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. 24And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. 25But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. 26And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence." (Luke 16:22-26) [The word "hell" in verse 23 above was translated from the Greek word Hades (the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew word "Sheol"). The word "gulf" in verse 26 was translated from the Greek word chasma, which refers to a "chasm" or "abyss". This means that Sheol has a large, empty abyss.]
Notice that Abraham was in Sheol along with the rich man. However, Abraham was in the part of Sheol with "air conditioning", so to speak, while the rich man was in the "warmer" section. The Lord refers to the "cooler" section of Sheol as "Paradise" in Luke 23:43. Before Jesus was resurrected, everyone went to literal Sheol, both the believing and the unbelieving. The believing, however, were sent to "Abraham's bosom", or "Paradise", where they were consoled. Even though Paradise was a place of "spiritual refreshing", it was still a "prison", because it was trapped inside Sheol. When Jesus was resurrected out of Sheol, he took Paradise and all the people who were confined in it up to Heaven, where it is now:
"8Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. 9(Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? 10He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.)" (Ephesians 4:8-10)
"How that he was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter." (2 Corinthians 12:4) [ Notice that Paul was caught up into Paradise. After Jesus was resurrected, Paradise was no longer down in Sheol but up in Heaven.]
Notice also that "Sheol" is described in Luke 16:23 as a place of "torment". The word "torment" was translated from the Greek word basanos, which literally refers to a touchstone, i.e.- a black stone that was used to test the purity of gold or silver by rubbing it against the metal and checking the color of the streak produced. The connection between "Sheol", "prison", "torment", and "blackness" or "darkness" is reinforced in other passages of Scripture:
"Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth." (Matthew 22:13) [ The "binding" and "taking away" speaks of someone being "sent to prison". The "weeping and gnashing of teeth" speaks of torment. The "outer darkness" speaks of a vast and empty dark place (an equivalent in the natural realm would be "outer space").]
"For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment" (2 Peter 2:4) [ The word "hell" was translated from the Greek word tartaroo ("Tartarus"), which refers to the deepest abyss of Hades. This is the only appearance of tartaroo in the New Testament.]
"10The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: 11And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name." (Revelation 14:10-11) [ Notice that "torment" is associated with "smoke", which points to "darkness", since a place full of smoke is a place with no "visibility".]
Therefore, we can safely say that "Sheol" is a prison full of torment, darkness, and emptiness. As we have shared before, Hittite spirits are spirits of tormenting emptiness and despair. Therefore, we can conclude that Sheol is a prison full of Hittite spirits of emptiness; Sheol is "full of emptiness".
As we saw in the previous section, earthquakes allow prisoners to escape from their prisons, and the biggest prison of them all is Sheol. Therefore, the "earthquakes" of Matthew 24:7 refer to spiritual agitations that will allow the souls of righteous believers to be free from the spiritual Sheols that the religious structures have relegated them to. This is what happened to Joseph. As you may recall, Joseph became a slave and a prisoner in Egypt for 13 years as a result of their older brothers' resentment and jealousy. Even though there was not a "literal" earthquake when the righteous Joseph was liberated, his release from prison was surrounded by "much agitation":
"Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph, and they brought him hastily out of the dungeon: and he shaved himself, and changed his raiment, and came in unto Pharaoh." (Genesis 41:14)
The phrase "brought him hastily out" was translated from the Hebrew verb ruwts, which means "to run". In Scripture, when the righteous "run" out of prison and into town, the unrighteous are "run out of town" and the earth trembles:
"44Behold, he shall come up like a lion from the swelling of Jordan unto the habitation of the strong: but I will make them suddenly run away from her: and who is a chosen man, that I may appoint over her? for who is like me? and who will appoint me the time? and who is that shepherd that will stand before me? 45Therefore hear ye the counsel of the LORD, that he hath taken against Babylon; and his purposes, that he hath purposed against the land of the Chaldeans: Surely the least of the flock shall draw them out: surely he shall make their habitation desolate with them. 46At the noise of the taking of Babylon the earth is moved, and the cry is heard among the nations." (Jeremiah 50:44-46) [ The phrase "run away" in verse 44 was translated from the verb ruwts mentioned above. Notice that verse 46 speaks of the earth shaking.]
[ Notice how God challenges the shepherds in verse 44. The words for "shepherd" and "pastor" are identical in Hebrew (and in Greek). Therefore, this passage speaks of God coming to destroy the pastoral matriarchy. No amount of pastoral protection and mercy will stop God from making His lion judgments upon His Church.]
"7They shall run like mighty men; they shall climb the wall like men of war; and they shall march every one on his ways, and they shall not break their ranks: 8Neither shall one thrust another; they shall walk every one in his path: and when they fall upon the sword, they shall not be wounded. 9They shall run to and fro in the city; they shall run upon the wall, they shall climb up upon the houses; they shall enter in at the windows like a thief. 10The earth shall quake before them; the heavens shall tremble: the sun and the moon shall be dark, and the stars shall withdraw their shining:" (Joel 2:7-10) [ The word "run" in verses 7 and 9 was translated from ruwts. Notice that verse 10 speaks of the earth shaking.]
The passage above is speaking of an army that God is sending in these latter days to destroy the earthly structures and the pastoral matriarchy inside the Church. This army is described as a terror-causing army of horsemen that comes to bring gloom and doom:
"1Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the LORD cometh, for it is nigh at hand; 2A day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick darkness, as the morning spread upon the mountains: a great people and a strong; there hath not been ever the like, neither shall be any more after it, even to the years of many generations. 3A fire devoureth before them; and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them. 4The appearance of them is as the appearance of horses; and as horsemen, so shall they run. 5Like the noise of chariots on the tops of mountains shall they leap, like the noise of a flame of fire that devoureth the stubble, as a strong people set in battle array. 6Before their face the people shall be much pained: all faces shall gather blackness." (Joel 2:1-6)
God's prophetic remnant has been abiding in the darkness and emptiness of the spiritual Sheol it has been relegated to. As it is liberated from Sheol, it will come out with a Sheol anointing, an anointing to bring terror, desolation, and darkness against the pastoral matriarchy that has sold the Church to Sheol purposelessness:
"14Wherefore hear the word of the LORD, ye scornful men, that rule this people which is in Jerusalem. 15Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves: 16Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste. 17Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place. 18And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it. 19From the time that it goeth forth it shall take you: for morning by morning shall it pass over, by day and by night: and it shall be a vexation only to understand the report." (Isaiah 28:14-19)
Pastors sincerely think that their pastoral mercy and protection will shield believers from God's righteous judgments (v15). The pastoral matriarchy has made a covenant with death and a deal with hell ("Sheol" in the original Hebrew text); they have sold God's prophetic people over to Hittite purposelessness in exchange for the Hittite ability to deceive and possess people (as we have said before, Hittite spirits are spirits that have a powerful ability to deceive). Obviously, most pastors do not make a conscious decision to "deceive" fellow believers. This deception operates at a subtler level.
As we have said before, when pastors stray from God's will, they develop an unhealthy maternal desire to possess souls. This is why they don't mind phrases such as "Pastor Smith's sheep", "Pastor Thompson's sheep", or "my sheep" instead of speaking of "God's sheep". This unhealthy desire to possess a large number of sheep causes their hearts to have an unrighteous bias to believe only those things which they know will be pleasing to the sheep. They want the sheep to love them, so they unconsciously lean their sermons towards "nice" and "pleasing" things. They grow to abhor the word "judgment" because it "scares" the sheep away, and they begin to condone deliberate sin and iniquity in the "sheep", as long as the sheep stays within "their" fold. When they preach such a left-handed gospel, pastors allow Hittite spirits to sweep in and imprison the congregation's prophetic calling, and those who choose to abide in their prophetic calling are imprisoned right along with their calling.
I personally know of one pastor who was told by an ex-member of "his" congregation that another member (who sang in the choir) had cheated him out of money in a business deal and was unwilling to pay up. The ex-member (whom I know very well) had just moved to another congregation because the Spirit had prompted him to do so, and his move was not motivated by the issue with the scoundrel in the choir. He had decided to speak to the pastor concerning the issue, not so much to get his money back, but to have the pastor place spiritual pressure on the choir member in order to change his "stealing" ways. Instead of confronting the scoundrel, the pastor said the following words to the ex-member: "You are no longer a member of my congregation; the moment you left us, your problem with the choir member stopped being my problem" When a relative of the ex-member phoned the pastor to confront him for saying such a thing, he replied, "If you have a problem with the choir member, take him to court; if he stole from you, that is not my problem"
I know the pastor who said these words, and I can assure you that he looks on the exterior like a "hard-working", "loving", and "decent" pastor to most "evangelicals". Before I found out about this, I had already perceived that certain things were wrong deep within this man, but pride had already crept into his heart, and he never gave me the opportunity to speak to him (even if I had spoken to him, he would not have listened). You can only imagine what God must have thought when he heard this idiotic pastor say the words quoted above. These words are a vivid reflection of the "falsehood covering" that Isaiah 28:15 refers to. He was willing to cover the scoundrel choir member under a blanket of falsehood as long as he stayed within his fold; he had no interest whatsoever in defending the rights of the ex-member because he was no longer "his".
Obviously, if you ask that pastor a theoretical question such as "Do you think that a member of the congregation stealing from another is wrong?", he would sincerely answer, "Of course it's wrong", and he would even add, "If I found out about such a thing, I would confront the one who stole". How do I know that he would reply like that? Because a sister whom I know asked him the question and that was his sincere reply. The sister then pulled what I call "the Nathan card" (2 Samuel 12:1-14) by saying, "Well, why then did you allow so and so (the choir member) to steal from so and so (the ex-member)?" Unfortunately, the pastor's response was a little different from David's in 2 Samuel 12:14. Instead of repenting, the pastor pretended like he would take care of the situation, but he never did. The sister was a member of "his" congregation at the time, so he made an effort to look "righteous" to preserve his good image in the sister's eyes. He and the scoundrel also became concerned that other members of the congregation would find out about the scandal. When the theft became a threat to the unity of "his" flock, it became his problem. Before then, it was not. I believe this pastor would never steal literal money from anyone, but, by covering up for the scoundrel, he became a co-participant of the theft in God's eyes.
Soon after he found out about this incident, a brother whom I know very well prayed for judgments to come upon this pastor, and the pastor soon became very ill and had other sudden simultaneous problems. His wife attributed it to attacks from the "enemy", and she was right, because that pastor had made God his enemy by harboring deliberate unrighteousness and by being too proud to recognize his sin:
"Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God." (James 4:4)
The ground-swell of soul support around him served as a spiritual gateway for him to recover from his illness, but he still refused to repent. The black cloud of death-judgment continues over this man; some 6 or 7 years from now, he will already be dead (literally) despite the fact that he is not too old.
"28Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me: 29For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the LORD: 30They would none of my counsel: they despised all my reproof. 31Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices." (Proverbs 1:28-31)
Revelation 6:7 declares that the name of the rider of the green horse is "Death" and that Sheol will follow. To truly understand the meaning of this, we have to understand how "death" and "Sheol" are spiritually related:
"For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." (Romans 6:23)
"Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:" (Romans 5:12)
Notice that the verse above says that sin entered by "one man". Even though both Adam and Eve fell in the garden of Eden, Scripture assigns a primary responsibility to Adam over Eve. Why? Because Eve was deceived into eating of the fruit (1 Timothy 2:14), while Adam deliberately and knowingly ate. The sin that Adam committed, according to Genesis 3:17, was that of obeying his wife. As we have said before, "woman" in Scripture is a figure of the soul, while "man" is a figure of the spirit. This means that, when Adam submitted to Eve's command, man's spirit became submissive to his soul. This matriarchy of the soul, in essence, is the "sin" that the book of Romans constantly refers to.
In Scripture, the word "sin" goes beyond being the label that one places on certain specific actions. Consider the fact, for example, that eating the fruit of a tree is not inherently "wrong". Adam's "sin" was not a murder, an act of fornication, or a robbery; "all" he did was eat the fruit of a tree. The problem with that act, however, was that he did it as a result of submitting his spirit to his soul. Therefore, we can say that any act that flows out of a soul domination over the spirit is "sin" in God's eyes. An act of kindness, for example, is "sin" if the act is born out of a decision at the soul-level, not the spirit-level; if that act of kindness is being moved by soul-centered mercy and is interfering with God's justice and work in the other person's life, it is a "sin", no matter how good and noble it seems externally.
Before the fall, the spirit of man could have direct, one-to-one communion with the Spirit of God; (the soul could also have communion, but under the covering of man's spirit). This is why the Lord God Himself would freely visit the garden:
"And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden." ( Genesis 3:8)
After the fall, the spirit of man became incompatible with the Spirit of God because of man's unrighteousness and God's righteousness. This led to a state of separation between the spirit of man and the spirit of God. As it is often preached, "death" in Scripture speaks of separation (physical death, for example, occurs when a person's soul is separated from the body). The spiritual "death" that the book of Romans constantly refers to is a separation of spirits, i.e.- the state of separation between the spirit of man and the Spirit of God. Therefore, we can say that the "matriarchy of our souls" (i.e.- "sin") caused a state of separation between our spirits and the Spirit of God (i.e.- "death"), since the wages of "sin" is "death" (Romans 6:23).
According to the following passage, this opened another "door":
"The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law." (1 Corinthians 15:56)
As we have studied before, "spiritual stings" are strongly related to Hittite spirits. Therefore, we can say that, when "death" sees "sin", i.e.- man's "female" soul domineering over man's "male" spirit, it receives the authority to inject Hittite spirits of purposelessness and emptiness into man's life. This is how Hittite spirits that were originally in Sheol were able to come up and flood the Earth. The Earth became spiritually empty and devoid of God's Holy Presence and filled with Hittite purposelessness. In a sense, the Earth's spiritual atmosphere became a Sheol of its own.
[As a parenthesis, it is worth noting that "sin" produces ramifications all over. For example, whenever a pornographic movie is made or aired somewhere in the world, a door of influence is opened to the Hittite spirits, who then come rushing in to wreak havoc in other people's lives; they manifest themselves in the form of serial rapists, stalkers, drug dealers, hopelessness, addictions etc., and they prey primarily on those who either promote the pornography, accept it, or are silently indifferent to it. They can also attack those who oppose the pornography, but only when these people offer themselves in prophetic sacrifice to destroy the influence of pornography on others; in those cases, however, the attacks that God allows are limited only to "what is necessary" and cannot deprive the person from fulfilling their prophetic calling.]
Notice that 1 Corinthians 15:56 declares that the "strength of sin" is the "law". The word "strength" is a mistranslation of the Greek word dynamis, which literally means "power". Therefore, the Lord is declaring in 1 Corinthians 15:56 that the "soul matriarchy" (i.e.- "sin") acquires greater power through the "law". Here, the word "law" is not referring to the "law of the Spirit" (Romans 8:2) or the "law of God" (Romans 8:7) but rather to the Mosaic Law and the Old Covenant. As we have said before, the Old Covenant speaks of "ministerial intermediaries" who stand in the way between the people and God, which therefore speaks of a people with no true, direct contact with the Holy and Righteous God. Therefore, the word "law" in 1 Corinthians 15:56 speaks of a demand for Godly righteousness without God Himself being present.
We can now conclude that, wherever a direct relationship between our spirit and the Spirit of God is denied (i.e.- there is "law"), the domination of the soul over the spirit (i.e.- "sin") gains greater power. This means that, without God's direct presence, sin gains even greater power every time righteousness is demanded of us. This is the reason why churches all over the world are filled with frustrated believers who truly want to do what is right and who faithfully go to church Sunday after Sunday without seeing real results and without growing in the Spirit. This is the result of pastors throughout the world who have instituted an atmosphere where the Old Covenant has been subtly reinstated (by creating a difference between "ministers" and "regular folks") and where soul interests predominate over the Spirit of God. The only way to have true victory over sin is by truly living out the New Covenant where we have direct communication with the Holy and Righteous God and where our souls stay in submission to our new-man spirits (Ephesians 4:24, Colossians 3:10), without allowing our soul interests to predominate over the Spirit's Righteousness, Purposes, and Will.
Before proceeding, let us summarize the definition of the Scriptural terms we have seen so far:
The Church is currently under a soul matriarchy that constantly places soul interests at the forefront and works to suppress the voice of the Spirit (Amos 2:10-13) by "killing" the men and women who truly speak in the Spirit and sending them to "Sheol prison". The soul matriarchy inside the Church works to separate believers from a direct relationship with God by placing "ministers" as the permanent "intermediaries" between God and each believer, and it demands a "righteousness" that is based on the obedience of external rules and regulations. Using the Scripture's terminology that we have studied in this section, the Church is currently in "sin" and is under the "law", which in turn reinforces "sin's" power.
Because of this, God is beginning to bring judgment against the Church through His green-horse riders. By definition, "sin" draws in "death". Therefore, the believers whom the Church forced into "death" and "Sheol" will be the very ones whom God will use to bring "death" from their Sheols to a Church in "sin" (i.e.- under pastoral matriarchy). This is why Revelation 6:8 declares that the name of the green-horse rider is "death".
As we saw above, the sting of "death" is "sin", meaning that "death" draws in Sheol despair and emptiness wherever "sin" abides. This is why Revelation 6:8 declares that the green horse is followed by "hell" or "Sheol". Those who were sent to the despair of Sheol by the pastoral matriarchy will be used by God to cast the spiritual leaders of the matriarchy into the despair of the "outer darkness" (Matthew 22:13). A "spiritual switch" will be made. As the spiritual earthquakes of Matthew 24:7 take place, the prophetic remnant will come out of Sheol and the promoters of the pastoral matriarchy will be sent to Sheol to take their place. This will not be done in the strength of the flesh but in the anointing of the Spirit of God.
In our previous articles, we have associated each of the three words in the latter half of Matthew 24:7 ("famines", "pestilences", and "earthquakes") with each of the 3 persons mentioned in Jude 1:11 (Cain, Balaam, and Korah). "Famines" and the black horse come against the spirit of Balaam; "pestilences" and the red horse come against the spirit of Cain. By elimination, we can conclude that "earthquakes" and the green horse come against the spirit of Korah. But, why? To answer this we must examine the story of Korah in Numbers chapter 16.
Numbers 16:1-2 declares that Korah, Dathan and Abiram, On, and 250 renowned leaders of the people got together and went against Moses and against Aaron:
"3And they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron, and said unto them, Ye take too much upon you, seeing all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the LORD is among them: wherefore then lift ye up yourselves above the congregation of the LORD? 4And when Moses heard it, he fell upon his face: 5And he spake unto Korah and unto all his company, saying, Even to morrow the LORD will shew who are his, and who is holy; and will cause him to come near unto him: even him whom he hath chosen will he cause to come near unto him." (Numbers 16:3-5)
In short, Korah was accusing Moses of exalting himself over the people and of not allowing the congregation to come before God because they were "all holy" and had as much a "right" to approach God as he did. Some of you might be noticing that what Korah said sounds similar to many of the things we share in our articles. However, there are some fundamental differences that must be pointed out.
For starters, Korah is claiming that all the congregation is "holy" (Numbers 16:3), and he is saying this 5 chapters after Numbers chapter 11, where the congregation which he calls "holy" began to act like crybabies and demanded "meat", which caused God to kill many of them at Kibroth-hattaavah. He is saying this 3 chapters after chapter 13, where the congregation which he calls "holy" did not believe that God would give them victory against the giants in the Promised Land. He is saying this 2 chapters after chapter 14, where the congregation which he calls "holy" tried to stone Joshua and Caleb to death for believing that God would give them victory over the giants (Numbers 14:10) and where God curses the "holy" congregation (Numbers 14:20-35) despite Moses' soul-centered intercession.
Obviously, anyone who was making judgments in the spirit would have never called such a congregation "holy". The reason why that congregation could not enter into God's presence as Moses could is because they themselves chose not to do so; they said to Moses, "You go talk to God; we don't want to die to our fleshly earthliness; if that's the price we must pay to be before Him, we don't want to pay it":
"24And ye said, Behold, the LORD our God hath shewed us his glory and his greatness, and we have heard his voice out of the midst of the fire: we have seen this day that God doth talk with man, and he liveth. 25Now therefore why should we die? for this great fire will consume us: if we hear the voice of the LORD our God any more, then we shall die. 26For who is there of all flesh, that hath heard the voice of the living God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as we have, and lived? 27Go thou near, and hear all that the LORD our God shall say: and speak thou unto us all that the LORD our God shall speak unto thee; and we will hear it, and do it." (Deuteronomy 5:24-27) [In essence, that congregation said to God, "We prefer intermediaries; things are easier for us that way; You are not worth dying for"]
Therefore, it is evident that Korah was making "soulish" judgments with the eyes of his natural mind; he was making judgments without seeking a direct communication with God, and he was making judgments where he determined the validity of those judgments by the number of important and renowned people who agreed with him. Pastors (and teachers) have a natural tendency to seek strength in numbers, and this is precisely what Korah did. Those who judge in the spirit and have a true zeal for God's righteousness are willing to stand alone against a multitude; Korah, instead, gathered 250 important leaders of the people to confront 2 people: Moses and Aaron. When Moses saw that Korah was coming against him with a multitude of leaders, Moses did not try to get a multitude of his own. He simply fell on his face and issued the following challenge: "Let's see whom God judges to be right in this matter" (Numbers 16:5). While Korah relied on natural means to prove his point, Moses resorted to supernatural means to vindicate himself.
The fact that Moses fell on his face is a sign of humility, which defies Korah's subtle accusation of "pride" against lonely Moses. Despite Moses' flaw of human mercy, he had a sincere desire to see God manifesting His Glory and His prophetic Spirit through all the people, not just him (Exodus 33:15-16, Numbers 11:28-29); unlike most of today's pastors around the globe, Moses was not trying to "hog" the anointing"!
Korah placed the label of "holy" on a wicked congregation that chose to live under the "intermediary" structure of the Old Covenant (Deuteronomy 5:24-27). Our current circumstances, however, are different from Korah's. We now have access to live under a New Covenant where God Himself calls us all a "holy nation" (1 Peter 2:9). Anyone who is willing to abide in His judgments has free access to God's grace and Glory; the "spiritual castes" which pastors try to preserve are no longer valid (1 Peter 2:7-10, Matthew 27:51), and cursed be anyone who tries to maintain them:
"6Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder. 7They say unto him, Why did Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement, and to put her away? 8He saith unto them, Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so. 9And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery." ( Matthew 19:6-9)[This passage speaks of a truth that goes far beyond the literal marriage between a man and a woman. It speaks of God's union with His people. Because of the Israelites' hardness, Moses allowed for "divorce", which refers to the Old Covenant separation between God and the people. Now, the only justifiable reason for "divorce" is "fornication" (an Amorite sin), meaning that God "divorces" people only when Amorite pride enters their hearts and they sin unto death.]
This is how the issue was decided between Moses and Korah:
"28And Moses said, Hereby ye shall know that the LORD hath sent me to do all these works; for I have not done them of mine own mind. 29If these men die the common death of all men, or if they be visited after the visitation of all men; then the LORD hath not sent me. 30But if the LORD make a new thing, and the earth open her mouth, and swallow them up, with all that appertain unto them, and they go down quick into the pit; then ye shall understand that these men have provoked the LORD. 31And it came to pass, as he had made an end of speaking all these words, that the ground clave asunder that was under them: 32And the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up, and their houses, and all the men that appertained unto Korah, and all their goods. 33They, and all that appertained to them, went down alive into the pit, and the earth closed upon them: and they perished from among the congregation. 34And all Israel that were round about them fled at the cry of them: for they said, Lest the earth swallow us up also." ( Numbers 16:28-34)
Even though the passage does not explicitly mention an "earthquake", it is obvious that the earth shook as it opened up to swallow up Korah and company. Massive earthquakes have been known to cause wide cracks on the ground that may "swallow up" cars, houses, or people. Therefore, the connection between "earthquakes" and Korah becomes evident. This connection is strengthened by the fact that Korah and gang were acting like a multitude of souls who were trying to wrest control from the Spirit, Who is represented by Moses. Korah was trying to impose a soul matriarchy, which, as we saw above, is precisely what the green horse and the earthquakes come against. The connection between "earthquakes" and Korah is further strengthened by the reference to "the pit" (Numbers 16:30); the word "pit" was translated from the Hebrew word "Sheol", which, as we saw above, is a "large prison" which is opened up through "earthquakes".
The name "Korah" literally means "bald", and speaks of an "uncovered head" or a "head with no veil" (1 Corinthians 11:1-15). As we studied before, the "head veil" speaks of the soul's submission to the spirit. Therefore, the fact that "Korah" means "bald" speaks of Korah's soul trying to shirk off the covering of the Spirit:
"For if the woman be not covered, let her also be shorn: but if it be a shame for a woman to be shorn or shaven, let her be covered." ( 1 Corinthians 11:6)
When Joseph came out of prison, he "shaved himself" (Genesis 41:14). Why? Because he was finally coming out from under the covering of the soul. His exit from prison was a prophetic figure of the end of the soul matriarchy, where the believer's spirits will finally be free to manifest themselves uncovered. While your soul must remain "covered", your spirit must be "uncovered" (1 Corinthians 11:7, Matthew 27:51).
"I keep the people, you keep the air" In our previous articles, we saw the connection between the word "famines" of Matthew 24:7 and Jesus' temptation to turn stone into bread, and we saw the connection between the word "pestilences" and the temptation to jump off the temple's pinnacle. By elimination, we can conclude that the word "earthquakes" is connected to the remaining temptation where satan offers Jesus the kingdoms of the Earth in exchange for being worshipped by Jesus:
"8Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; 9And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. 10Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve." ( Matthew 4:8-10)
This temptation correlates with what we shared on Isaiah 28:14-19 above, where the Lord declares that the Church's "leaders" have made a deal with the Hittite spirits of Sheol whereby the Hittites are "authorized" to fill the spiritual atmosphere with purposelessness in exchange for the Hittite ability to deceive and possess people; satan was offering Jesus possession of the world's kingdoms, as long as he got domination of the spiritual atmosphere of the Earth.
Korah tried to become the king and leader of Israel by convincing everyone that they were "holy" when they really were not "holy". Believing Korah, therefore, meant believing a lie (which points to deception, which in turn points to Hittite spirits). Through a lie which he apparently convinced himself into believing, Korah was trying to become the "leader" of the people. He was willing to hand himself and others over to Hittite spirits of deception in order to be king. This is exactly what satan was tempting Jesus into doing in Matthew 4:8-10.
Many pastors sincerely convince themselves into thinking that we do not need to go through God's purifying judgments in order to see Him face to face. Why? Because believing such a truth would imply preaching messages that rub the soul the wrong way, which would then lead to a loss of popularity and, therefore, to a loss of "power". Therefore, they prefer to preach a "grace" message that is not founded on truth, a message where we can go into the Holy of Holies without any sense of fear or reverence for God's righteousness and where the only reason to enter the Holy of Holies is to have a "religious experience" ("wheat") or to ask for a brand new car ("barley"):
"28Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear: 29For our God is a consuming fire." (Hebrews 12:28-29)
Notice that this passage speaks of receiving an unmovable kingdom, which contrasts with the temporary kingdoms that satan was offering Yeshua. Notice also that it speaks of "grace", but in the context of "reverence and Godly fear". Notice also that it speaks of "serving God", which is part of what Jesus answered satan in Matthew 4:10. The reference to God as "consuming fire" also points to what God did to Korah's 250 men:
"And there came out a fire from the LORD, and consumed the two hundred and fifty men that offered incense" (Numbers 16:35)
When Jesus spoke of "serving God alone" in Matthew 4:10, He was saying that His soul would stay under submission of the Spirit alone; satan was suggesting to Jesus that He "serve Himself" by taking the worldly kingdoms; instead, Jesus refused to allow His soul to take dominion in His life. He rejected any type of soul matriarchy, where His Spirit would be obligated to serve His soul's desires. Yeshua's soul remained under the covering of the Spirit.
In our previous articles, we saw how the "famines" of Matthew 24:7 come against the "lust of the flesh" of 1 John 2:16, while the "pestilences" come against the "pride of life". By elimination, we can conclude that the "earthquakes" come against the "lust of the eyes".
From Jesus' temptation in Matthew 4:8-10, it is evident that the spirit of Korah tries to get people to follow the lust of the eyes; satan showed Jesus the kingdoms of the world and their glory in an effort to get Jesus to value or judge them by what He saw, not by what He heard from the Lord.
As we have seen before, the "eyes" in Scripture are related to the making of judgments, and the part of the soul that makes judgments is the mind. Therefore, we can say that Korah allowed the enemy to pervert his mind and to allow the judgments of his mind to be conformed to his personal interests. Korah wanted a "ministerial robe"; he wanted to be acclaimed and "followed" by the people; he wanted a flock to call his own, and his mind began looking for a way to achieve that goal. One day, satan said to him, "Have you noticed that only Moses ministers before God's presence? Isn't that unfair? The people are just as holy as Moses. Why should he be the only one?". Korah was obviously aware of the terrible things that the unholy people of Israel had done against God, but his mind made a semi-unconscious decision to ignore those facts, because he saw satan's lie as the key to achieving his dream. If he could only convince others of this lie, he would get the "robe" he had been looking for. Since the lie benefited his soul's interests, he said to himself, "the lie must be true".
Some of you may be aware of CBS News' "Memo-gate" scandal during the 2004 U.S. elections. Dan Rather's soul wanted George W. Bush to lose, so he convinced himself into thinking that the memo documents were legitimate, even when CBS's own experts raised serious doubts. Even after the bloggers revealed all the falsehoods behind these documents, Dan Rather continues to say that he believes in the documents' legitimacy. All he is willing to admit is that the documents could not be "completely" verified. At one point, he even said that, even if the documents were ever proven false, he would still believe that their content was true. The "lust of the eyes" sure got hold of Dan Rather when his Texan eyes beheld those false documents for the first time!!! His mind duped itself into believing a blatant lie, even despite all the factual evidence against it.
From what we have studied above, we can say that the green-horse riders will be men and women who have been to hell and back. They are men and women who have shed the blood of their lives in prophetic sacrifice so that others may be restored. They are the ones who are willing to expose themselves to the Sheol torments of Hittite stings so that God's purposes may be fulfilled in others. Therefore, we can safely say that green-horse riders have a strong prophetic anointing on their lives. Since the color "green" is strongly related to concepts such as "life" and "hope", it is not surprising that the green horse is related to the prophetic anointing.
The green-horse riders will also manifest a great degree of human frailty. When Jesus was resurrected, He appeared before Mary at the sepulcher:
"14And when she had thus said, she turned herself back, and saw Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus. 15Jesus saith unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? whom seekest thou? She, supposing him to be the gardener, saith unto him, Sir, if thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away." (John 20:14-15)
Since the "woman" in Scripture generally represents the "soul", Jesus' words in verse 15 are saying, "Soul, why do you let yourself get carried away by what your natural mind can see? I have risen, and I physically stand before you, yet you cannot recognize Me because your soul continues operating under the influence of a Girgashite mind."
Mary even thought that Jesus was the gardener (v15), meaning that Jesus appeared like any other human on the outside. Therefore, we can say that the resurrected green-horse riders will be "Prophet-Men".
As we have said before, "flying creatures" like the "eagle" speak of the prophetic anointing. Therefore, the green-horse riders are "Eagle-Men".
Out of the 7 triplets mentioned in a previous article, we have related the following items from each triplet:
Fellow believer, we pray that you will become a green-horse rider who is willing to go to Sheol and back in order to bring death to the pastoral, soul matriarchy inside the Church and in the world. We pray that you will cause "spiritual earthquakes" that will desolate Babylon and shake the nations of the Earth so that God may be glorified.
"29And the land shall tremble and sorrow: for every purpose of the LORD shall be performed against Babylon, to make the land of Babylon a desolation without an inhabitant. 30The mighty men of Babylon have forborn to fight, they have remained in their holds: their might hath failed; they became as women: they have burned her dwellingplaces; her bars are broken. 31One post shall run to meet another, and one messenger to meet another, to shew the king of Babylon that his city is taken at one end" (Jeremiah 51:29-31)
{The next article is titled "The beginning of sorrows"} |