The Birthright and Sonship--Final

In ancient times the rabbis disputed whether the Messiah would be born of Judah or of Joseph. Each side could point to supporting proofs. Would he be Messiah ben Judah? or Messiah ben Joseph?

As it turned out, both were correct. What they did not realize was that the Messiah was to come twice, according to the law. The first was the death work Messiah ben Judah (Gen. 49:5). The second was the living work of Messiah ben Joseph, because his robe was dipped in blood (Gen. 37:21; Lev. 14:6; Rev. 19:13).

These same laws, when viewed from the perspective of spiritual maturity, show us that the first work of Christ granted us citizenship through the feast of Passover; the second grants us sonship by means of the feast of Tabernacles. The interim, of course, is Pentecost, the feast designed to teach us obedience while yet in the wilderness.

Scripture teaches us how to be obedient servants of God, but it also speaks of sonship. When we understand the full picture, we see that the two ideas are not incompatible, but are progressive. We learn to be servants of God while we are yet minors. Paul teaches this in Gal. 4:1-5,

¹ Now I say, as long as the heir is a child, he does not differ at all from a slave, although he is owner of everything, ² but he is under guardians and managers until the date set by the father. ³ So also we, while we were children, were held in bondage under the elemental things of the world. ⁴ But when the fulness of time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, ⁵ in order that He might redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons [huiothesia].

Paul was applying this principle more to the historical distinction between the OT and the NT. In that context, the Passover Age extended from Moses to Christ; the Pentecostal Age is the time between the two comings of Christ; and the Tabernacles Age is the coming Age. Paul did not say that this full adoption of sons had occurred already, but that this was the purpose of Christ's coming.

The three feasts, when applied on a personal level, portray our spiritual growth. Through Passover we begin our journey (birth); at Pentecost the Father trains us in obedience ("bar-mitzvah"); at Tabernacles, we receive "the adoption of sons." This adoption is not a reference to being adopted from another family as an orphan, but is the old practice of bestowing power of attorney upon a mature son who is proven to be responsible and trustworthy.

As individuals, we progress though these stages as we grow spiritually into maturity. But in the historical context (as Paul explained it above), there are appointed times in history for these events to take place. With Moses the Kingdom was birthed; with Christ the Passover Age was fulfilled, and the Age of Pentecost began. The Church was led into the wilderness for 40 Jubilees of obedience training. We are now coming out the other end of Pentecost into the Tabernacles Age, wherein all individuals of past ages who came into spiritual maturity will be raised in the First Resurrection to reign with Christ in the Age to come. These are the overcomers.

The rest of mankind, along with those believers who remained immature and/or disobedient, will be raised in the general resurrection at the end of the Tabernacles Age.

We will all come into Sonship eventually, but as in every family, not everyone is born at the same time. Some reach maturity before others, and it is not necessarily determined by biological age. So is it in the Kingdom of God. My purpose and calling in life is to feed people with the Word of God, so that they may grow up into Christ. This involves balanced meals and only as little "junk food" as possible.

So history "matures" on an overall level, and when it does, it is called "the fulness of time" (Gal. 4:4). And  individual believers mature in Christ as well. To understand the big picture, we ought to see both levels. For this reason, I try to present you with both historical and personal perspective. That way, we can better understand where we are personally in the big historical picture. When we know this, we no longer walk blindly, wondering how best to do the work of the Kingdom.

Our Place in History

The basic principles of the Word are timeless, but their applications differ and must be adapted to the circumstances and challenges of the day. It is important, then, that we know the issues of our time and what is both the will and plan of God. Above all, we must know where the path of history will end, for that is the divine goal.

We see biblical patterns being replayed in modern history, because the basic principles of the Word remain unchanged. God still requires men to recognize Him as the sovereign of all that He created. God still requires men to be obedient to His laws in general and His leading in particular. When we violate His law or disobey His leading, He takes steps to correct us. These are His judgments, and they are good because they are not designed to destroy us but to correct us as a Father corrects His children.

In biblical times, the Israelites spent a lot of time being corrected by "captivities." A century ago, America came under the same judgment for its violation of God's laws. We came into the captivity of Mystery Babylon when President Wilson signed the Federal Reserve Act in 1914. In 1981 God began to raise up and train spiritual warriors to deal with this captivity, but this did not work so well, since "Saul" was yet alive. After the prophetic "death of Saul," from 1993-2006 we were able to conduct a more successful prayer campaign to bring about the end of Babylonian rule.

In 2007 we began to see the collapse of the Babylonian economic system. In 2009 we finally saw the overthrow of Pan/Azazel, followed by the end of a related warfare (2004-2009). The beginning of the end occurred on June 24, 2009 with the casting out of Pan from the Black Forest in Colorado Springs. Michael Jackson died the next morning.

By July 17 the divine court work against Pan was fully dealt with (as far as we know). It coincided with the death of Walter Cronkite, the narrator-voice of the Owl of the Bohemian Grove.

So we are now nearing the end of a very long captivity. This probably means that the final showdown is drawing near. We know that the year 2010 is extremely important in the history of the Kingdom. And by the Hebrew calendar, 2010 begins on Sept. 20, 2009. I did not really take full notice of this year until I wrote about it in web logs dated July 28, 2008. If you have not read those, I suggest that you do so as soon as possible, because we are fast approaching the beginning of the year 2010.

The way things are shaping up right now, it is apparent that the danger of an Israeli attack on Iran has greatly increased. Such an attack would have a disruptive effect, not only on the supply of oil, but also on the financial markets. And the likelihood is quite high that this would ultimately lead to the destruction of Damascus (Isaiah 17:1) and Jerusalem (Isaiah 29:1-6). Although the Bible does not tell us WHEN, these two prophecies have yet to be fulfilled. Damascus has never been destroyed, and Jerusalem has never been destroyed in the manner that is described in Isaiah 29:5, 6.

Are we nearing the time for those prophecies to be fulfilled? I think so. But regardless, we should become familiar with those prophecies, so that if it happens in our life time, we will be prepared and will be able to counsel others who would be in a state of shock.