RETURN OF THE RAVEN
There are two unfinished items remaining – windows and the old man. We have seen the testimony of the old man in a recent writing – Sending Out the Twelve. It was an old man who took the Levite and his concubine into his home and she was raped all night. And in this writing once again we see an old man who was reaching to get the black pearl, and was foiled by Satan’s move. So who is this old man?
We will begin looking at these two items by going to the book of Job. This book is a crystal clear testimony regarding the church. Even as there is a first Remnant, followed by the breach of Christianity when Satan dearths the people of the church, concluded by the double portion second Remnant, so we see Job being blessed in the beginning, then Satan gaining the rights to dearth him and all he possessed, then Job receiving the double portion in the end.
But just before Job received the double portion, corresponding with the beginning of the establishment of the second Remnant a “hot pepper” by the name of Elihu speaks up. In truth, he is the Elijah work that prepares the way for Yahweh to speak from a whirlwind in chapter 38. But what we will concentrate on here is Elihu’s message in 33:13-28. This is a relatively lengthy account; but it is worthwhile, and even necessary, to carefully read the entire portion.
13. "Why do you complain against Him,
That He does not give an account of all His doings?
Indeed God speaks once,
Or twice, yet no one notices it.
In a dream, a vision of the night,
When sound sleep falls on men,
While they slumber in their beds,
Then He opens the ears of men,
And seals their instruction,
That He may turn man aside from his conduct,
And keep man from pride;
He keeps back his soul from the pit (death),
And his life from passing over into Sheol.
19. Man is also chastened with pain on his bed,
And with unceasing complaint in his bones;
So that his life loathes bread,
And his soul favorite food.
His flesh wastes away from sight,
And his bones which were not seen stick out.
Then his soul draws near to the pit,
And his life to those who bring death.
23. If there is a messenger as mediator for him,
One out of a thousand,
To remind a man what is right for him,
Then let him be gracious to him, and say,
'Deliver him from going down to the pit,
I have found a ransom';
Let his flesh become fresher than in youth,
Let him return to the days of his youthful vigor;
Then he will pray to God, and He will accept him,
That he may see His face with joy,
And He may restore His righteousness to man.
He will sing to men and say,
'I have sinned and perverted what is right,
And it is not proper for me.
He has redeemed my soul from going to the pit,
And my life shall see the light.'”
Elihu then adds in verse 29-30:
“Behold, God does these twice, three times with men,
To bring back his soul from the pit,
That he may be enlightened with the light of life.”
What are we seeing here? Clearly, these “two, three times” that Yahweh brings back men’s souls from the pit to “be enlightened by the light of life,” are the three resurrections – first, the Remnant; second, Christians; and third, the world. As has been noted before (Seedtime and Harvest, …, page 3), these three resurrections form the three-part temple – the holy of holies and the holy place (the “two”), and the outer court (the third). They are also the three harvests – the barley, the wheat, and the grapes. Or, they are the three – the oxen, the sheep, and the goats. All three resurrections deliver man from the pit, from death, even as it is written – “each in his own order” (1 Corinthians 15:23).
This death referred to here is expounded upon in the verses above in the second section, or verses 19-22 – “his soul draws near to the pit, and his life to those who bring death.” Otherwise, the verses in the other two sections address what it will take to defeat death and escape from going down into the pit, which up to now has never taken place in mortal men (other than the prophetic testimonies of Enoch and Elijah). So what is the obviously critical testimony here? Let us see.
First, most amazing, Yahweh begins this process of the first resurrection with “a dream, a vision of the night.” Why does He use this means of communication, or one could even say impartation, with man? One reason, as we see here, is to “keep man from pride.” But there is another reason as well. Let us ask an important question – Did Solomon ask Yahweh for wisdom, an understanding heart? What if I told you the answer was – No! Solomon did not ask Yahweh for wisdom, and this is very important to note. We read in 1 Kings 3:5 a most important point – “In Gibeon Yahweh appeared to Solomon in a dream at night,” and it was in that dream that he asked for an understanding heart.
Could Solomon then boast that he had asked for wisdom? Not at all. This is a work that Yahweh did while, like Abraham when the covenant was made, Solomon was sleeping. Thus as we read above, Yahweh spoke to Solomon in a dream to keep him from pride. But there is another very important thing about a dream.
In the Scriptures we find several accounts regarding windows. What is a window? The Hebrew word for “window” is “challon” (#2474), and has its origin from another Hebrew word – “chalal” (#2490a), which means “pierce.” Thus the root word for window actually provides the connotation of piercing, piercing an opening, or a window. This is precisely what a divine dream is.
What are some of the events in the Scriptures that took place through windows? Of course the first time a window is mentioned is when Noah released the raven, and then the dove. In Joshua 2:15, 18, and 21 we see not only Rahab letting the two spies down through a window, but also her life was spared by placing a scarlet thread in it. David equally escaped death by being let down through a window after the second spear was thrust at him by Saul (1 Samuel 19:8-12). Elisha had Joash king of Israel to shoot an arrow through the opened window toward the east (2 Kings 13:14-17). In Song of Solomon 2:9-10 the Groom is looking through the windows when He calls to His Bride – “Arise, my darling, my beautiful one, and come along.” And twice the term “windows of heaven” is used – 2 Kings 7:2 and, of course, Malachi 3:10 where Yahweh promises to pour out a blessing one cannot contain.
Considering that Solomon received an understanding heart by a dream, and that Yahweh gives things to men in dreams to keep them from pride, and by them will deliver man from death, it is evident that dreams or visions do in fact provide or effect important impartations to men that are beyond the natural, and not just information, but a vital link to their provision. By doing this, man receives from Yahweh, not of himself, but by the window that He opens to him – piercing heaven and thereby availing something otherwise unreachable by him.
As we considered in The Issue, page 1, Yahweh has legal links wherein provision is made to a man that is otherwise impossible. Yahshua used the legal link, the window, of the Nazirite vow to effect the restoration of the garden of God, the kingdom of heaven. Intercession of any nature, as in the Nazirite vow, is always a legal link, a window. But it is evident that Yahweh can also establish that link by bringing that man into contact with the heavenly realm through dreams and visions. When we have a divine dream or vision, we have the legal right to its fulfillment. This is really quite wonderful, for it opens our lives to a dimension or degree of fulfillment that is far beyond us, Solomon being a clear example of this. And this is obviously the reason for Yahweh introducing the hope of the first resurrection by preceding it with this matter of dreams and visions. In truth, they make possible our receipt of this otherwise impossible fulfillment.
This man has had a dream, and some other intercessoral experiences, that have made me very sensitive to this matter of the old man. You have already read about the dream concerning the black pearl and how Satan lied that he would steal it away; and very significantly, the dream pointed to it being stolen, not only from this man, but from the old man as well. Again, the fact that these two identities were both present and impacted is quite significant. Shortly we will see what this means; but for now, let us see another testimony that Yahweh sovereignly and most significantly brought into this man’s life.
In 1980, I moved my family to Dallas, Texas, upon His clear word to me – “Move to Dallas.” I went there with the anticipation that I would enter into the “pastorate,” or what I thought was to begin a home church. But one day, Yahweh spoke to me again and told me – “I am going to teach you the death principle.” I thought this meant I was going to have to get a job; but it was more than that. Immediately after He spoke to me, our little home fellowship came to an end and I did indeed have to get that job. Yahweh had called me into the pastorate, I consented, then He gave me the vision for it, then an excitement for it, then …, He killed it! I told Him at that time – “If I did not know you better, I would say you are a cruel God.” You cannot imagine the extent of my pain then, for that death hurt immensely!
The job Yahweh opened up was cleaning carpets, primarily in apartments, and some of the apartments were in the lower-class areas of Dallas. So here I was with my college degree, having sat behind a desk for six-and-a-half years communicating with corporate people, mayors, and engineers, now performing blue-collar work (my uniform was literally blue). I even had to take my big senior ring off, lest I pull off a finger when taking the heavy equipment up and down stairs. (Interestingly, someone broke into our home and stole that ring and some change.)
There is an interesting story you can read about how Yahweh tested my faithfulness to my word concerning that job (click here), but let me now share how He used it to not only get me into the ministry to the poor, but even more importantly now, to have compassion for the “old man.”
One day I was setting up the equipment in a downstairs apartment, when I saw an old man pass by the window. He was tall with long white hair that hung down onto his shoulders, and had a white full beard, which, around his mouth, was yellowed from smoking. He was wearing a long light-colored trench coat, and had every appearance of a street person.
I watched him as he passed by, and then sat down on the front steps of the apartment and took from his inside pocket a vile of clear liquid, removed its cap, and brought it to his nose and began sniffing its contents. As I watched this, my heart broke for that old man, and the pain was so severe that I turned away and sought to escape it by busying myself with my work. But I could not escape the pain in my heart, for it only increased to the point that if it continued, I knew I would die! Finally, in desperation I fell down on my knees in that dirty apartment and cried out to Yahweh – “Either show me a way to help people like this old man, or take this unbearable pain from me!” He then answered me, and said something I had no previous knowledge about. He said – “I have already provided a way to help people like this old man, and that is that business men give the corners of their field.”
The pain immediately left me, and I got up and finished my work. But when I went home that evening, I had to get my Bible and look up what He was talking about, and found that the corners of the field were not to be harvested, but to be set aside for the needy and the stranger (Leviticus 19:9-10, 23:22). From that point on, I set out to help the needy, and soon began a work called Sonshine House Ministries, which included thirteen years of a daily radio program called “The Corners of Your Field” in which I taught about the care of the poor and the needy. Then in 1994 the Spirit of Yahweh came upon me in a home we had built for women and children, and told me to walk away from everything we had worked to accomplish for those thirteen years and follow Him. We did so.
This now brings up an amazingly revealing truth. Often, when people hear from Yahweh, they think that what He is saying applies to the moment of time they are in, or the circumstances they are presently involved in. But in fact, though what He says might relate to the immediate, He has a higher fulfillment that is further down the road. In fact, what you think will occur per the immediate fulfillment indeed may even die, even as I had to let Sonshine House Ministries die, as well as my initial response to the call to the “pastorate.” We see things with shortsighted vision, but He sees a higher purpose, a higher promise, something that we cannot even understand at the moment; and in our loss we look like a total failure. I assure you, there were many who could not understand how I could simply walk away from everything I had built for thirteen years; but the fact is, Yahweh was wanting to give me that which He was speaking of all the time – the way to help the “old man”!
This is the same old man seen in the black pearl dream He gave me at the time the Spirit came on me in ’94. But there was even yet another thing Yahweh used to make me sensitive to the “old man.” Let me briefly share it as well.
This was not a dream, and it is hard to say it was even a vision, but more so a drama that He gave me. In fact, there were two dramas at that time, but we will only consider the one about the old man.
In the drama, Adam and Eve were given a chance to come back to earth in today’s world and reverse what they had caused. They were given a list of things they had to do, and were to report back to Yahweh on a certain day and time, who would be in the penthouse of a great and tall building downtown.
Adam and Eve worked diligently to complete everything on the list, and on the day of their appointed time had fulfilled the list. That morning with great excitement they rushed to the building, up the steps, right past an old man who was sitting there on the steps, into the building, into the elevator, and up to the penthouse where Yahweh was. With excitement they told Him they had fulfilled all the items; but He told them they had failed, for in their excitement they had rushed right past the old man.
This is what the church has done for 2,000 years. In all their excitement to do what they think to be the will of God, they have rushed right past the old man. What did Paul teach them? Did he teach them to provide for the old man, to make a way for him in his affliction, in his weakness? No, but instead Paul taught to reject and kill him.
knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that our body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin (Romans 6:6).
in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old man, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit (Ephesians 4:22).
Do not lie to one another, since you laid aside the old man with its evil practices (Colossians 3:9).
In the long term, this is a failed system, for it requires death and a will to “reckon” him dead; and in Paul’s own teachings, our success is not according to “the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy” (Romans 9:16 and John 1:13).
Paul, like King David, was a man of violence. He taught a violent conflict, and also like David, he and all of Christianity that is under his instruction cannot build the temple of Yahweh. Like David, they can begin gathering the means to accomplish this, but they cannot build it!
Not only did Paul teach a violent action against the old man, he likewise set forth violence against the church. In his letter to the Corinthians, there was a man who had “his father’s wife.” Paul’s decision in that matter was to judge him, to “deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of his flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus” (1 Corinthians 5:1-5). But there was far more to this than the immediate. Like my own experience with the old man on the steps of that apartment and its higher fulfillment, what Paul did here for “such a one” effected this judgment per a much larger fulfillment against all of Christianity.
What this man did in Corinth, is the same thing the first-born son, Reuben, did. Reuben likewise laid with his father’s concubine, and thereby lost his birthright. This is exactly what Christianity has done. They have laid with the world, Yahweh’s concubine, and have thereby lost the right to the kingdom of God. Likewise, as Paul set in action, they have been turned over to Satan for the destruction of their flesh, that their spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.
This was Paul’s modus operandi. He turned the church over to Satan for its destruction, he publicly rebuked the one upon whom the church was to be built and repeatedly slighted the apostles and exalted himself (He Was Jealous With My Jealousy, page 4 and Addendum), in the same letter to the Galatians he wished that those who troubled them would “mutilate themselves” (Galatians 5:12), and he taught a violent act against the old man and turned him over to death as well.
But again, this is more than just a personal thing per Paul. Because of his founding role in Christianity, his violent actions revealed the very character of Christianity that would follow. And not only does Paul’s failure to help the old man reveal the governmental state of the church during Christianity, but also his commitment to the old man’s rejection and death. This 2,000 year period of the church was given to afflict the old man and to deliver him to death; but the fact is, that system, that method, is a miserable shortfall failure for the same reason that the law failed. For both of these, their weakness has been that their implementation requires the performance of the flesh – “For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did” (Romans 8:3).
Therefore, even as the Law given to the sons of Israel proved to be weak through the flesh, so the teaching of death to the old man has proven likewise. And even as Yahshua came to fulfill the Law, so He must now perform a work to fulfill the problem with the old man – not to kill him, but to “let his flesh become fresher than in youth.”
The church’s ongoing battle with the old man has failed, and Yahweh must effect for man what he has not been able to accomplish; and this cannot be done by and through Christianity, any more than the temple could be built by and through David. Christianity is an old wineskin that cannot receive the new work. Yahshua must once again perform a new work, a new wineskin – the Bride. But let us look more at this matter of Paul and Christianity.
Though warned by a prophet to not go to Jerusalem, Paul declared – “And now, behold, bound in spirit, I am on my way to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit solemnly testifies to me in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions await me” (Acts 20:22-23).
What spirit bound Paul? The same spirit that has bound the church for 2,000 years – Satan. Where did that spirit lead him? To bondage and death. The end of Paul’s life was a telling testimony of what lay ahead for the church. He even went on to tell us precisely what would and has taken place in the church to this very day – “I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them” (Acts 20:29-30).
Paul proceeded on to Jerusalem and there shaved his head, and thenceforth was placed into bondage and never found deliverance. Such has been the state of the church for 2,000 years. Quite significantly, the first man and the last man in the Bible to shave their heads, which would include their beards, both produced the same results – BONDAGE! Joseph, the first, shaved his head (significantly, while in jail), and though affording temporary refuge, the sons of Israel were thereby led into bondage in Egypt. Paul, the last, shaved his head (and went to jail), and the church thereafter has been in their own bondage. Let us digress on this prophetic message regarding the beard.
Ever so briefly, though a great deal more could be reported, Isaiah 7-10 affords a remarkable testimony of the two-part Remnant and the breach of Christianity. Identical to the testimony of Zerah –> Perez –> Zerah, we see per the two sons of Isaiah – Shearjashub –> Maher-shalal-hash-baz –> Shearjashub (“a remnant will return”). Isaiah 7:3, where Shearjashub is briefly mentioned, is like Zerah extending out his arm and capturing the scarlet thread, then taking it back in. In the verses following we see the breach of Christianity, attested by the birth of Maher-shalal-hash-baz, whose name means – “swift is the booty, speedy is the prey.” This is Christianity, and the verses immediately before and following his birth tell us what Christianity is like. We will consider one of those specific items, but first let us note that the “Zerah” is then birthed! Shearjashub’s name actually means “a remnant will return,” and this is precisely the outcome at the end of corrupt Christianity – the Remnant return. In Isaiah 10:20-23 we read:
Now it will come about in that day that the remnant of Israel, and those of the house of Jacob who have escaped, will never again rely on the one who struck them (Satan-dominated Christianity), but will truly rely on Yahweh, the Holy One of Israel.
A remnant will return (“Shearjashub”), the remnant of Jacob, to the mighty God.
For though your people, O Israel, may be like the sand of the sea (Christianity),
Only a remnant within them will return (“Shearjashub”);
A destruction is determined, overflowing with righteousness.
For a complete destruction, one that is decreed, the Lord Yahweh of hosts will execute in the midst of the whole land.
Even as a remnant came out of Babylon at the end of their established period of bondage, so Yahweh is calling a Remnant out of mystery Babylon Christianity.
But all of this was pointed out for two reasons: (1) to let you see once again the incredibly vast nature of this seamless garment of truth that Yahweh has per the two-part Remnant and breach Christianity, and (2) to point out one of the specific prophesies regarding the breach.
During this breach period recorded in Isaiah 7, beginning with the very statement in verse 6 – “Let us go up against Judah and terrorize it, and make for ourselves a breach in it” – up through 10:19 (after which Yahweh declared the need for the remnant), we read in 7:20:
In that day the Lord will shave with a razor, hired from regions beyond the Euphrates (that is, with the king of Assyria), the head and the hair of the legs; and it will also remove the beard.
This is the precise testimony that Paul afforded when he shaved his head and thereby went into bondage; and this is the testimony that men continue to present as they do likewise. Any man who shaves his head/beard joins Paul and Joseph in giving evidence to the bondage that Christians have been in from the outset, the very bondage that was prophesied here in this breach period in Isaiah 7-10.
Paul, by his many acts, revealed the violent fate of the church and the violence against the old man. Though scales may have fallen from his eyes when Ananias prayed for him (Acts 9:17-18), the scales of pride actually remained on him and have been on the church for 2,000 years. Even as we have seen thus far, what Yahweh does at a point in time may not be fulfilled in the immediate, but is for a later time. This was certainly true for Paul and his pride, and is most certainly true for Christianity.
What is Christianity? It is Leviathan, the great sea monster that makes sport in the sea of death (Psalm 104:26), and out of which must come the Jonah Remnant. Job 41:15-16 tells us that Leviathan's “strong scales are his pride, shut up as with a tight seal, one is so near to another, that no breath/Spirit (“ruach”) can come between them.” The breath of the Spirit cannot get through the pride of Christianity.
Quite revealingly, the word “Leviathan” is composed of two Hebrew words, the first with which you will be most familiar. As you might notice, the first word is “Levi.” The word “Leviathan” is #3882 in the concordance. And the word just before it in the concordance, #3881, is the word “Levi,” and is composed of the identical Hebrew letters of the beginning of “Leviathan.” So “Leviathan” therefore means – Levi-something?
What does “than” mean? It is actually the word “tan” in Hebrew, and is found in the concordance as #8565. Strong’s Concordance says the word “tan” means “monster or dragon.” Thus “Leviathan,” or “Levi-tan,” means “Levi-dragon,” or Levi the dragon!
Thus in Jeremiah 14:6 we equally read – “And the wild donkeys stand on the bare heights; they pant for breath/the Spirit (“ruach”) like the dragon (“tan”), their eyes fail for there is no vegetation.” Such has been the fate of wild donkey Pentecost Christianity – they pant for the Spirit, and their eyes of understanding fail them for lack of the word of truth. Their scales of pride are so tight, they pant for the Spirit. There has been a drought on the word since the first Remnant, and there is nothing to eat. In like testimony per the tight scales, Christianity is the “impenetrable forest” that must come down, which brings the “sound of the shepherd’s wail, for their glory is ruined” (Zechariah 11:2-3).
In Genesis 49:5 we read Israel’s amazing and highly revealing prophecy regarding Levi:
"Simeon and Levi are brothers;
Their swords are implements of violence.
Let my soul not enter into their council;
Let not my glory be united with their assembly;
Because in their anger they slew men,
And in their self-will they lamed oxen.
Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce;
And their wrath, for it is cruel.
I will disperse them in Jacob,
And scatter them in Israel.”
All of this failure and wrath has meant violence to both the kingdom – “the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and violent men take if by force” (Matthew 11:12) – and to the old man! Paul relegated him to nothing but an ongoing violent death, and this cannot continue!
15. In a dream, a vision of the night,
When sound sleep falls on men,
While they slumber in their beds,
Then He opens the ears of men,
And seals their instruction,
That He may turn man aside from his conduct,
And keep man from pride;
He keeps back his soul from the pit (death),
23. If there is a messenger as mediator for him,
One out of a thousand,
To remind a man what is right for him,
Then let him be gracious to him, and say,
'Deliver him from going down to the pit,
I have found a ransom';
Let his flesh become fresher than in youth,
Let him return to the days of his youthful vigor;
Then he will pray to God, and He will accept him,
That he may see His face with joy,
And He may restore His righteousness to man.
He will sing to men and say,
'I have sinned and perverted what is right,
And it is not proper for me.
He has redeemed my soul from going to the pit,
Thus, there is indeed clear testimony that deliverance from death will come through a dream and a vision. This testimony is adequate; and while these experiences point to this truth regarding the old man, Scriptures confirm it as well. In fact, you will recall from the writing, Sending Out the Twelve, that the old man in Judges 19 was from Ephraim, the tribe that leads the people into the promised land west of the Jordan. Again, Moses with his rod and wilderness rights was of the tribe of Levi, while Joshua, who did not bear the rod and brought the people into the prophetic Shelah Millennial period, was of the tribe of Ephraim, the hope-filled tribe of the old man.
Continue to page 4 of Return of the Raven for HOPE FOR THE OLD MAN