The meaning and purpose of super-typhoon Haiyan in the divine plan, Part 1

The revelation continues to unfold daily in regard to the importance of the Philippines in the divine plan and its relationship to the “kings of the east” (Revelation 16:12), whom God has raised up to overthrow Mystery Babylon.

Momentous events are about to occur on many levels, and some of the most important events, both economic and spiritual, are centered in the Philippines. Today’s “Cyrus, His anointed, whom I have taken by the right hand to subdue nations before him” (Isaiah 45:1) is working through the Philippines, the biblical land of Ophir, one of the main places where Solomon obtained his gold to build the temple and to establish Israel’s type of the Golden Age of Peace.

At the same time the Holy Spirit is now at the door, in the Year of the Open Door, ready to cross the Jordan into Mindanao, which means “The Promised Land.” It is now clear that the last great worldwide move of the Holy Spirit will begin there and soon explode into the rest of the world. The prophetic word from India coming from Sadhu Sundar Selvaraj, posted yesterday, confirms this and adds the dimension of divine judgment upon the Philippines. The reason for this judgment, he says, is on account of its great calling as the first nation to receive this outpouring of the Spirit.

“God is going to pour out His anointings in 7 cities of this nation like never done before anywhere else in the world. You will be the first nation and the first people in the world to receive that kind of an anointing.

“If you remember clearly… [the previous prophetic speaker at a conference in April 2013] saw a huge menorah, and from the menorah the seven spirits of the Lord came forth, and the seven spirits of the Lord will be poured upon the Philippines, the first of its kind in the world. Because you receive like the firstfruits anointing, the punishment will also be the first of its kind in the world. Blessings first of its kind, and the punishment the first of its kind.”

 This dimension of judgment upon the Philippines deserves closer study.

Super-Typhoon Haiyan

Last April, Selvaraj prophesied of a great typhoon and flood that was soon to come upon the Philippines. There is little doubt that this was super-typhoon Haiyan which struck the Philippines at 4:40 a.m. on November 8, 2013. We took the last flight from Manila to Davao at 9:00 p.m. the previous evening. The eye of the storm then made landfall in the southern tip of the province of Eastern Samar in the municipality of Guiuan.

“At 1800 UTC, the JTWC estimated the system’s one-minute sustained winds to 315 km/h (196 mph), unofficially making Haiyan the fourth most intense tropical cyclone ever observed. Several hours later, the eye of the cyclone made its first landfall in the Philippines at Guiuan, Eastern Samar, without any change in intensity; if verified, this would make Haiyan the strongest tropical cyclone to make landfall on record, surpassing the old record of 305 km/h (190 mph) set by Atlantic Hurricane Camille in 1969.”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Typhoon_Haiyan

The historical importance of Guiuan in Eastern Samar Province is seen in another article:

“Guiuan played a significant part in Philippine history. In the 16^th century, when Ferdinand Magellan discovered the Philippines, it is believed that he first landed on the island of Homonhon. It is probably because of this that the majority of the population are Catholics. The town’s church, the Church of the Immaculate Conception, is one of the oldest in the country.”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guiuan,_Eastern_Samar

From the island of Homonhon, Magellan erected the first cross in Butuan City on the nearby northeast coast of Mindanao. From there he went to Cebu, where he established the first mission. Chief Lapu-Lapu refused to convert to Catholicism, however, and in a battle, Magellan was killed. In my old collection of postage stamps, begun in 1956 when I lived on Mindanao, I learned of Lapu-Lapu, because there was a common postage stamp bearing his picture. I still have that collection with some of those stamps.

I will have much more to say about this history in Part 2. But first, we need to show the meaning of Haiyan.

The Meaning of Haiyan and Petrel

“Petrel is a type of sea bird and Hayan is the Chinese name for petrel.”

http://beforeitsnews.com/alternative/2013/11/typhoon-haiyan-meaning-of-the-name-2818136.html

(Hai = “sea” in Chinese, hence, the sea bird known in the West by the Latin name, Petrel.) So what is the meaning of Petrel?

“The word ‘petrel’ comes from the Latin name for the Christian Saint Peter, and refers to the habits of certain species to hover just above the ocean waves, with their feet barely touching the water, thus giving an appearance of walking on water, as St. Peter is said to have done.”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petrel

So we see that super-typhoon Haiyan is a sign of Peter walking on the water. It is part of the fifth miracle-sign in the book of John. Although the account in John 6 does not mention Peter’s experience, we know of it through Matthew 14:28-31, which tells the story with this added detail. Peter walked on the water in the midst of a typhoon in the Sea of Galilee.

Petrel and the Signs in John

The way that the book of John was structured reveals eight miracle-signs which represent the eight days of the feast of Tabernacles. Each is followed by teaching or commentary on the meaning of each sign.

The middle signs (#4 and #5) are the central focus of the book. The last half of John 6 gives teaching in regard to the fourth sign, where Jesus fed the 5,000. John 7 gives us the meaning of the fifth sign, where Jesus came to the temple in the midst of the feast of Tabernacles (John 7:2, 14). Hence, when Jesus came to the disciples in the middle of the Sea of Galilee during the storm (tribulation), He again came to the temple in the middle of Tabernacles. Because He walked on the water in the fifth sign in John’s book, we know that Jesus appeared in the temple suddenly on the fifth day of Tabernacles.

The fourth sign reveals the purpose of Christ’s first coming, whereas the fifth sign reveals His second coming. The fourth sign is therefore about breaking the bread to feed the world with His body, because Jesus was born in Bethlehem, “house of bread,” so that men could spiritually “eat” His flesh and “drink” His blood (John 6:53-56). His body would first have to be “broken” in order to feed the world, and so He was crucified to pay for the sin of the world. The “fragments” were then collected to depict His resurrection, and the leftovers were more than they had started with. Jesus was greater in His resurrection than during His ministry.

After Jesus fed the multitude, He sent the disciples across the sea while He Himself “withdrew again to the mountain by Himself alone” (John 6:15). This prophesies of Christ’s ascension to heaven, while the Church went into the “storm” of tribulation. He then returns, and Peter goes out to meet Him, as Paul said in 1 Thessalonians 4:17. Because John placed this story as the fifth sign (representing the fifth day of Tabernacles), it suggests that Christ will return on that day in some future year. The Head will be united with the Body so that the Body—complete in its body parts—can be presented to the Father as the New Creation Man on the eighth day of Tabernacles.

The point is that super-typhoon Haiyan, or Petrel, is a pattern-sign of the second coming of Christ. The storm sets the stage for Peter’s walk on the water. And so, when I gave my Philippine Trip reports prior to the trip in late October, I understood that we were going to see both the fourth and fifth signs of John emerge in the Philippines. Little did I know then that I would arrive just as a super-typhoon was about to make landfall!

The Philippine Trip Report of October 29, 2013 reads,

Anyway, it appears that at Lake Sebu we will not only feed the hundred pastors, but we will also see the next sign in John, where Jesus walks on the water…

It occurred to us that Lake Sebu is like the Sea of Galilee when Jesus walked on the water. In researching Lake Sebu, I found that its size is given as 360 hectares. The number 360, as Ron has so often mentioned, is a full 360-degree circle. Galilee itself means “circuit,” or circle….

Some intercessor friends who live not far from Cebu in the Philippines sent me this link today:

“Cebuano” comes from the root word “Cebu,” the Spanish version of the original name “Sugbo,” which most probably comes from the verb “sugbo,” meaning “to walk in the water.” In the old days, the shores of the Cebu port were shallow, so travelers coming from the sea had to wade in the water to get to dry land.

http://litera1no4.tripod.com/cebuano_frame.html

That sounds like the sign in John 6, where Jesus walked on the water as if it were shallow….

All in all, I am expecting an eventful trip.

https://gods-kingdom-ministries.net/daily-weblogs/2013/10-2013/more-revelation-of-the-philippine-trip/

In writing this, it occurred to me that in order to walk on water, there must first be a storm. I began to write this in that blog, but then deleted it, because I did not want to worry anyone prior to the trip. I figured we might see a storm on Lake Sebu itself, or some other representation of “tribulation,” which I could then report when I returned. I did not dream that I would encounter the greatest typhoon ever to make landfall in recorded history. Since it made the news around the world, it worried some of you anyway!

My intercessor friends near Cebu (actually, the city of Bacolod) warned me of possible danger from Muslim insurgents in the area, but as it turned out, they were in more danger than I was. Even so, I knew the Lord would take care of them, so I did not worry about them. They came to Manila and met Darla and I as we were heading back from our trip. They told us how they had prayed, and the typhoon went north of Bacolod. See the path of Haiyan here:

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2013/11/11/world/asia/typhoon-haiyan-map.html?_r=0

Being on the back side of a typhoon meant that the winds were less severe. Their house and coffee shop received no damage, and the next week they were able to fly out of the airport and meeting us in Manila. They even took us out to eat at the best buffet in the city. It was at the Shangri-la Hotel, the best hotel in the country where all the dignitaries and politicians stay when they come to Manila.

So we started our venture by “feeding a hundred men,” and ended by being fed with the best food in the country. That was our final experience before leaving Manila the following morning, November 18.