INTO THE WILDERNESS
Over the years many have asked: Is the
wilderness an actual place or a state of mind? What is the purpose of the
wilderness?
Scripture sets forth all the necessary information for correctly answering
these questions. The understanding of the wilderness kills the doctrine of the
Rapture.
For those who are unfamiliar with the Rapture Doctrine, I will briefly explain.
The Great Tribulation is the 3˝-year period
during which time the man of sin will reign over the sons of Adam. Scripture
says it will be the worst time in the history of man, that major trouble and
chaos will take place on Earth. Christians believe they will not endure this
because their god Jesus will rapture them to heaven, rescuing them from all
the chaos on Earth and protecting them from the Anti-Messiah. Our lesson will
show that is a false teaching.
Let us revisit those Scriptures that speak about the war and what the
wilderness is.
(NOTE: For purposes of this lesson, "Israel" here includes the physical seed along with the redeemed Gentiles who will join themselves unto Israel and become Israelites. (EZEKIEL 47:20-23))
Lets start in the Book of Revelation chapter 12:
Revelation 12:13 And when the dragon saw that
he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man
child.
(The Man-child is Yahoshua the
Messiah; the woman represents the nation of Israel.)
14 And to the woman were given two wings
of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness,
into her place, where she is nourished for a
time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.
15 And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman,
that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood.
16 And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and
swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth.
17 And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to
make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of YAH, and
have the testimony of Yahshuah Messiah.
In verse 14 we see mention of the
wilderness. It is described as being a place of nourishment for those
Israelites who escape Satan’s wrath against them. The wilderness will be the
place of safety for Israel during the great tribulation. After Satan is cast
to the Earth realm forever (Satan is still in heaven, he is not in some place
called "hell"), he will come to earth and persecute Israel; this
will be the beginning of his war against us. Yah will take Israel into the
wilderness and protect us from Satan’s wrath. Notice it does not say
anything about flying into heaven; it says Israel shall be nourished in this
wilderness. The book of Isaiah tells us what this nourishment will be. Let us
go to Isaiah (YisaYah) 35:
35:1 The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the
desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose.
He says the wilderness shall be glad
for them, "them" being those who have escaped Satan’s war and fled
into the wilderness. This is the same wilderness and same time period mention
in Revelation 12:
2 It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing: the glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon, they shall see the power of Yah, and the excellency of our Mighty One.
3 Strengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees.
4 Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be
strong, fear not: behold, your Mighty One will come with vengeance, even Yah
with a recompense; he will come and save you.
They have a fearful
heart because they have escaped Satan, but YisaYah (Isaiah) mentions that Yah
will come with vengeance and will save those in the wilderness. This is
speaking about the time following the great tribulation when the Messiah
Yahoshua returns to regather Israel and pay back the world for all its
wickedness.
5 Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.
6 Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and
the tongue of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and
streams in the desert.
We know the wilderness
will be in the desert, and streams of water will break out and the people will
rejoice. Take note of the description of the wilderness; a greater
understanding of this is still to be had.
7 And the parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water: in the habitation of dragons, where each lay, shall be grass with reeds and rushes.
8 And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein.
9 No lion shall be there, nor any ravenous
beast shall go up thereon, it shall not be found there; but the redeemed shall
walk there:
YisaYah just told us
what the nourishment mentioned in Rev. 12 shall be: There will be water and
vegetation in the midst of the wilderness. The people will be rejoicing, not
starving or dying of thirst. Yah will provide for our people.
10 And the ransomed of Yah shall return, and
come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall
obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
"The Ransomed of
Yah." HalleluYah! It says we shall come into Zion with songs and
everlasting joy. After we leave the wilderness, we will come into the land of
Israel, which means Yahoshua has returned and led us to victory.
Doesn’t that sound familiar? We escape the wrath of the enemy; Yah brings us into the wilderness and nourishes us; and then He leads us into the land of Israel. Oh, yes, this has happen before – our return to the land of Promise will be very similar to our exodus from Egypt. Yah is great.
In Deuteronomy 28:68 Yah says He will send us
back into Egypt this time in ships. We understand this is speaking about the
transatlantic slave trade, when Israel as a people were transported to the
west and other countries just as prophecy said. By going into Egypt again, Yah
will bring us out of Egypt again in the same fashion.
Deuteronomy 28:68 And Yah shall bring thee into Egypt again with ships, by
the way whereof I spake unto thee, Thou shalt see it no more again: and there
ye shall be sold unto your enemies for bondmen and bondwomen, and no man shall
buy you.
Just as He led our people out of Egypt and into the wilderness to save them
from the wrath of the enemy, He will lead us and save us this time around.
In our exodus from Egypt, Yah sent his two witnesses to Pharaoh (Aaron and Moses). Likewise, He will send two witnesses to the man of sin (Rev 11). Now get this Israel entered the land as a conquering army under a General by the name of Yahoshua. Israel will re-enter the land as an army under another Israelite by the Name of Yahoshua. HALLEUYAH!
Another aspect about the wilderness that we need to understand is that Yah will NOT ONLY USE THE WILDERNESS AS A PLACE OF SAFETY FOR ISRAEL, BUT HE WILL ALSO use the wilderness to cleanse Israel. He did this when our people were in the wilderness the first time, and He will do it again. No sinner will enter the land of Israel; they will all die in the wilderness. Let’s go to the book of Ezekiel (Yahzeqyl) 20, where we get more info about the wilderness.
Ezekiel 20:35 And I will bring you into the
wilderness of the people, and there will I plead with you face to face.
Once again we see
Israel will be in the wilderness with Yah, He said He would plead with us face
to face.
36 Like as I pleaded with your fathers in the
wilderness of the land of Egypt, so will I plead with you, saith Yah.
HalleluYah. Yah,
Himself, is making the comparison of us in the wilderness with the wilderness
our fathers’ experience. He said He will plead with us just as He did with
them.
37 And I will cause you to pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant:
38 And I will purge out from among you the
rebels, and them that transgress against me: I will bring them forth out of
the country where they sojourn, and they shall not enter into the land of
Israel: and ye shall know that I am YAH.
Yah will bring us into
the bond of the covenant. Remember YisaYah (Isaiah) said Israel will be joyful
during this time. He also said in verse 8 of Chapter 35:
8 And an highway shall be there, and a way, and
it shall be called The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it;
but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err
therein.
The unclean, or the
unbelievers – those who will murmur against Yah – will die in the
wilderness, just as our fathers did.
The wilderness, Brothers and Sisters, is the place of safety for Israel during the 3˝-year rule and war of Satan against Israel. No man will be taken into heaven to be protected; the protection will take place on Earth in the wilderness.
Those of you who know me personally and those
who have read my articles are likely aware that The Matrix is my
all-time favorite movie. So I must make mention that the concept of the
wilderness was in the movie The Matrix. The people of the underground
city called "Zion" were the people of the wilderness. They were in
the place of refuge. It was no coincidence that the place of safety was called
"ZION" or that the majority of its residents were "Black"
(Israelite) people. As in The Matrix, there were some who were not in
the wilderness, or place of safety. They were left behind to teach, or
"unplug" the rest of the sons of Adam. Not all Israel will make it
into the wilderness. Some will be "left behind" to teach and free
the minds of those caught up in the satanic system. Lets go back to the Book
of Revelation Chapter 12 verse 17:
17 And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went
to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of YAH,
and have the testimony of Yahshuah Messiah.
(Remember that "the woman" in Revelation 12 represents the true
Hebrew Nation of Israel.) After Yah has brought the majority of Israel into
the wilderness and Satan cannot touch them, he will become irate and will make
war with the remnant of Israel that does not make the wilderness. However,
notice this that he will make war with the ones who keep the commandments of
Yah and have the testimony of Yahoshua the Messiah. These people are the ones
we call and know to be "Messianic Hebrew-Israelites" – you and me.
Those who know to keep Torah (instructions/laws) and know Yahoshua is Messiah
are those who "have the testimony of Yahoshua." The word
"testimony" is 3141 in Strong’s concordance, it’s the Greek word
mar-too-ree-ah and means ‘EVIDENCE GIVEN; A WITNESS. The
testimony of Yahoshua is those who will testify in the face of the adversary
that YAHOSHUA IS HAMOSHEAKH (The Messiah). These will experience Satan’s
wrath. The book of Daniel (Dani’yl) gives us more details about this period:
11:32 And such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he corrupt by flatteries: but the people that do know their Mighty One shall be strong, and do exploits.
33 And they that understand among the people shall instruct many: yet they shall fall by the sword, and by flame, by captivity, and by spoil, many days.
34 Now when they shall fall, they shall be holpen with a little help: but many shall cleave to them with flatteries.
35 And some of them of understanding shall
fall, to try them, and to purge, and to make them white, even to the time of
the end: because it is yet for a time appointed.
This group of those left behind to
instruct was represented in The Matrix in the characters of Morpheus,
Neo, Trinity, Tank, Dosier, etc.
The wilderness is a real place (not a condition
or a state of mind) Yah has preserved for our safety during the time of
tribulation. In the wilderness we will be cleansed, just as our forefathers
were cleansed in the wilderness of Egypt.
Revelation 12:17 and Daniel 11:32-35 are speaking about the same period.
Satan will make war with those who do not make it to the wilderness, angry
because he cannot get to the ones in the wilderness.
Scripture does not state the exact location of the wilderness; but I believe it will consist of many places as together we make our track back to the land of Israel.
Our forefathers wandered in the wilderness for 40 years; they were all over the place. Our time in the wilderness will be for three ˝ years. I believe our wilderness time for us in the Americas will be the exact same route we took to get here. I believe we will return through the west coast of Africa, picking up our brothers and sisters along the way, through central Africa, through East Africa, through the exact same wilderness in which our forefathers wandered, and, finally, to the land of Israel. A mighty righteous army marching over Jordan! HALLELUYAH! YAHOSHUA TELLS THOSE IN YAHUDAH, SOUTHERN ISRAEL, TO ESCAPE INTO THE MOUNTAINS. MANY BELIEVE THE WILDERNESS WILL BE SOMEWHERE NEAR THE LAND OF ISRAEL.
MATTHEW 24:15 When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)
16 Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains:
17 Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house:
18 Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes.
19 And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days!
20 But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day:
21 For then shall be great tribulation, such as
was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
When the time comes, we will know when and where to go. Remember, Yah is our
Guide.
To recap:
• The time between which the Man of Sin proclaims to be the greatest God and the time of Yahoshua’s return will be 3˝ years.
• The wilderness is the place of safety and nourishment established by Yah to protect Israel from Satan during that 3-˝ year period.
• The wilderness is a physical place located on Earth; it is not a state of mind or the rapture.
• Our retreat into the wilderness will be like the wilderness period in the days of Moshe.
• Yah will utilize our time in the wilderness to cleanse us and purge those who refuse to accept (the rebels).
• Subsequent to our wilderness period, Israel will be brought into the land of Israel and restored to a sovereign nation under Yah.
• Those who do not make it into the wilderness will be left behind to teach the people and will suffer the full blow of Satan’s anger. (These are they who will be beheaded for the testimony of Yahoshua and for keeping the Laws of Yah.)
Read this lesson along with last week’s ("The Mark of the Beast & the War Against the Saints") to help increase your understanding of this time soon to come. We are quickly coming to the days that were foretold so long ago.
There you have it my people. I hope this lesson has been a blessing for you as it has been for me.
The Question and Discussion session will begin
this Tuesday, January 25, 2005. Look for the next lesson on February 5,
2005.