Monthly Archives: January 2020

Multiple Types of the beast: Ahab, King of Israel

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In most important things, Scripture gives us more than one opportunity to see, and understand, and be ready, for what will be. In prophecy, if something is very important, quite often times God gives us more than one opportunity to understand.

Ahab has a kingdom that is united
around false religion.

Subversion of God’s Holy religions began with the first king of the northern kingdom of Israel. It was all about subverting true religion to serve the political purposes of government. Many rulers, as perhaps mini-types of the beast, fall guilty to such temptations. Ahab then increased the turn to evil religion.

He did “evil in the sight of Yahweh above all that were before him,” 1Kgs 16:30.

Ahab toke as a wife a Sidonian worshipper of Baal: Jezebel. She soon organized the extermination of the prophets of God, 1Kgs 18:4; and Ahab began in Israel the worship of the Mother Earth “goddess” Asherah, the covert passion of the modern ecology movement. It was a fertility cult involving religious prostitution and infanticide.

Elijah responded,

“… As Yahweh, the God of Israel, lives, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word. ”
1Kgs 17:1 WEB

James tells us,

“Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain, and it didn’t rain on the earth for three years and six months.”
Jas 5:17 WEB

That is exactly the amount of time that the beast rules in Revelation. This amount of time is variously expressed as “three years and six months, 1,260 days, forty-two months, or as “time, times, and half a time.”

Also the two witnesses in Revelation 11,
for 1,260 days, Rev 11:3

“have the power to shut up the sky, that it may not rain during the days of their prophecy.” Rev 11:6 WEB. Indeed, the two witnesses seem a little like Moses, and a little like Elijah.

Elijah even proved to Ahab that Yahweh, the Lord our God, was superior to Baal at the dramatic confrontation on Mont Carmel in 2Kings 18.

And Ahab, multiple times, was close
to true and lasting repentance.

When his conscience afflicted him over the murder of Naboth in 1Kings 21, it says,

“… when Ahab heard those words, that he tore his clothes, and put sackcloth on his flesh, and fasted, and lay in sackcloth, and went softly.”
1Kgs 21:27 WEB

His repentance was sincere enough to touch God’s heart, 1Kgs 21:29;

but Ahab never let his repentance last.

So in the end he had to be lured to his death, as is clearly depicted in 1Kings 22. In the end, the dogs of Samaria licked up his blood, 1Kgs 22:38.

Of the beast himself, he is destroyed in the great battle against God at the Second coming of Christ, Revelation 19 and many other passages, and is thrown alive into hell, Rev 19:20, where the worms will eternally eat on them.

“… for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring to all flesh.”
Isa 66:24 WEB

WEB is the World English Bible, a copyright free revision
of the original ASV American Standard Version 1901

Multiple Types of the beast: Pharaoh of the Exodus

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The oppression of Israel began out of fear.

Political fear of these “outsiders” taking over their country, or siding with their enemies. So the Pharaoh said,

“Behold, the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we.”
Ex 1:9 WEB

So a Egypt far less populous that even in later ancient times, oppressed God’s people and “set taskmasters over them to afflict them with their burdens,” Ex 1:11 WEB. The purpose was not just to use them for labor, but indeed to ruin them with hard labor and oppression. Often in history political fears drive religious oppressions, with genocidal results. Then God sent Moses to secure their release.

It has been briefly discussed in posts on Identifying Types, that the wilderness wanderings are typical (symbolic) of the Christian life, with the Red Sea finally separating Israel from the Egypt of this world. That means: that Egypt is symbolic of this world, and then the Pharaoh is symbolic of the “god of this world,” 2Cor 4:4.

The beast in Revelation 13 is trying to unite a one-world government, with a single religious focus on himself, as the true god of this world! Christians then become obstacles to the political unification of this world. This is indeed like the ancient Caesars as “gods,” but what is pictured in Revelation is far more complete and thorough than anything done in ancient times, and “All who dwell on earth will worship him,” Rev 13:8, even all who are not written in the book of life. The phony man/god will make war on the saints and overcome them, Rev 13:7. However neither ancient Rome nor the caesars ever overcame the church.

Similarly, Pharaoh did overcome and enslave Israel in ancient Egypt.

God’s people are to have their spokesmen.

It was Moses in ancient Egypt. It is the two witnesses in Revelation 11. It seems an attempt is made in both cases to bring this arrogant king to reason. The pattern seen over and over again, is that Moses bargains for freedom for Israel, the Pharaoh responds with greater oppressions, and God responds with increasingly harsh strokes on the beast and his kingdom.

Moses turns the waters of the Nile into blood. The two witnesses “have power over the waters, to turn them to blood,” Rev 11:6. “A great mountain burning with fire” is thrown into the sea and turns it to blood in Rev 8:8 WEB.

Repeatedly the Pharaoh ALMOST relents.

Pharaoh’s servants repeatedly plea “How long will this man be a snare to us? Let the men go, that they may serve Yahweh,” Ex 10:7. There was frogs, darkness, locusts, hail, and boils on all the people. All of these things have their equivalent in Revelation. At one point the Pharaoh even says,

… “I have sinned this time. Yahweh is righteous, and I and my people are wicked.”
Ex 9:27 WEB

But the Pharaoh of Egypt will never let
repentance stick.

So in the end he has to be broken and destroyed, when he goes to fight directly against God.

WEB is the World English Bible, a copyright free revision
of the original ASV American Standard Version 1901

Identifying Some Types, Part 9 of 9

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Ancient Israel has a huge “exodus” from the
Egypt of this world

They had been in bondage in Egypt, a bondage directed by the Pharaoh as a type of the god of this world (2Cor 4:4). Then God personally delivered them from Egypt and bondage, and put a separation between them and the Egypt of this world, and led them into the promised land.

A new “god” of this world will come.

“he who opposes and exalts himself against all that is called God or that is worshiped; so that he sits as God in the temple of God, setting himself up as God.”
2Thes 2:4 WEB

This man has the entire world worship him.

“All who dwell on the earth will worship him …”
Rev 13:8 WEB

This has obviously NOT happened yet! No one man has been worshipped by “all,” yet! He will be destroyed by Christ’ second coming, 2Thes 2:8, Rev 19:20.

This man will overcome the church.

“It was given to him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them.”
Rev 13:7 WEB

I am sorry to tell you this folks. Rome and the caesars did NOT overcome the church. Instead the church overcame Rome and the caesars! But this beast will overcome the church.

And one more time the true church will be forced
out into the wilderness.

The church is pictured as the faithful woman.

“The woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, that there they may nourish her one thousand two hundred sixty days.”
Rev 12:6 WEB

Hosea speaks of the future of what God “will” do.

““Therefore, behold, I will allure her,
And bring her into the wilderness,
And speak tenderly to her.”
Hos 2:14 WEB

For the days that this vicious beast rules (1,260), the church will be protected in the wilderness (Rev 12:6 above).

God will send plagues on the beast and his kingdom
like the plagues of Egypt.

Read of those plagues in Revelation chapters 15 and 16, and other places in Revelation and the rest of Scripture. They are very much like the plagues God sent on Egypt in 15th century BC, including waters turning to blood, darkness, and hail and all the rest.

Then will come Greater Exodus to Come

Ancient Israel came out of Egypt, into the wilderness, an into a this world promised land. The saints will have an exodus, The Great Exodus into the wilderness, and then into the new heavens and new earth where righteousness dwells, 2Pe 3:13.

“16 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with God’s trumpet. The dead in Christ will rise first, 17 then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air. So we will be with the Lord forever.”
1The 4:16-17 WEB

The Greater Exodus into the Greater Promised land.

Understanding types is essential for understanding prophecy. This has been some practice.

WEB is the World English Bible, a copyright free revision
of the original ASV American Standard Version 1901

Identifying Some Types, Part 8 of 9

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How sin or righteousness may affect our lives.

Many of God’s commands may affect our lives, including how long or how well we may do in this life.

“When a man’s ways please Yahweh,
He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him. ”
Prov 16:7 WEB

We have promises related to good conduct, such as,

“Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land which Yahweh your God gives you.”
Ex 20:12 WEB

Paul in Eph 6:1-3 said this was “the first commandment with a promise.” Actually there are many. For instance.

“He who believes and is baptized will be saved; …”
Mk 16:16 WEB

Despise such prophetic instruction at your own risk.

So how might sin affect our lives?

If we look at the symbolism is 1 Corinthians 10 and at the history to which it refers, we see more than one way that sin may affect our lives. One of the ways mentioned specifically in this text is that we may die as a direct result of our sins. Paul mentions.

“Neither let us commit sexual immorality, as some of them committed, and in one day twenty-three thousand fell.”
1Cor 10:8 WEB

Some say, well God doesn’t act that way today. I would ask, where did you get that? The Bible says “For I, Yahweh, don’t change,” Mal 3:6 WEB, or

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.”
Heb 13:8 WEB

None of that sounds like a God who has changed! In fact, almost every day we hear of people who die as a direct result of their sins, in committing robbery, drug abuse, food abuse, etc. I am not talking about so-called miracles, merely God working in history, as He does everyday. It happens everyday! Often we see these things on the evening news. We just don’t connect the dots.

We can also just waste away as a result of our sins.

Just as Israel did in the wilderness. The Lord said that all of those men who saw His glory and His signs would ever enter the promised land, but would have to waste away in the desert until they all died, Num 14:22-23, 33. In other words, sometimes part of our just punishment for our sins is to not die suddenly and soon, but to just waste away in our wickedness. David says the same of many of the wicked,

“Don’t kill them, or my people may forget.
Scatter them by your power, and bring them down, Lord our shield.”
Psa 59:11 WEB

And so it is with many of our age.

“Now all these things happened to them
by way of example,

“and they were written for our admonition, on whom the ends of the ages have come.”
1Cor 10:11 WEB

This is rich material for preaching if we use it correctly, and good preparation for dealing with types in prophecy. If fact, some of this IS prophecy, both of the world to come, and the Christian age, and you and I.

WEB is the World English Bible, a copyright free revision
of the original ASV American Standard Version 1901