THE ISSUE - II

CONT., page 8

 

THE FRUIT OF THE KINGDOM

Up to this point we have focused on the timing issue of the kingdom, seeing that it has not been the season or time of fruit bearing. In fact we have so focused upon this that we have not really addressed what exactly this required fruit is. Having only briefly mentioned this possibility in the last section, let us now identify this required and thus far impossible fruit. Though we will briefly digress on this, we will and must return to this matter of timing.

While the term "first fruits" is not always a highly specific term, particularly in the New Testament, there are two who are identified as being "first fruits" unto Yahweh that will help us to understand this subject required fruit. If we want to know what is the desired fruit of the kingdom, then it helps to understand what and who are these "first fruit" unto Yahweh. Granted, other "first fruit" are mentioned in the Bible that are simply wave offerings, and we cannot cover this aspect as well here, but let us here understand what is this fruit that is actually a harvest to and received by the Father.

First, in 1 Corinthians 15:20 and 23 we find that Yahshua is identified as being "first fruits" to Yahweh. Yahshua was, of course, the first to ascend to the Father to receive His born from above body that is not of this earth. This gave Him the ability to pass through walls, to appear and disappear, and to ascend to heaven while others gazed intently. Thus, this transition from the earthly to the heavenly qualified Yahshua as "first fruits."

But we also find in Revelation 14:4 the identical term applied to another group. Here we find that the 144,000 were called the "first fruits to God and the Lamb." If Yahshua was the first fruits, how can this group be the first fruits as well? It is all a matter of relational expression. While Yahshua was certainly the first fruits to ascend alive, He was unique from the rest of mankind in that He was the Son of God. He was not from Adam, having been conceived of the Spirit in a virgin. So when the prophetic 144,000 are called the "first fruits," they are such by the fact that they are the first from mankind to ascend to the Father, to equally be born from above and enter into immortality.

The question now is - Who are these 144,000? We cannot dwell on this, but one will notice that there are not one but two groups of 144,000 - the one here in chapter 14, and one in chapter 7. Why are these two separate groups identified by the same number? Revelation is a vision, a prophetic picture, and not literal. These two groups of the identical number represent the two Remnant. Clearly it is the Remnant in Revelation 20:5 that are in the "first resurrection." This "first resurrection" is obviously the event that brings about these "first fruits," comparable to Yahshua equally being the "first fruits." As revealed regarding Yahshua in 1 Corinthians 15, fruits amount to one thing to Yahweh - to get earthly men to heaven into immortal bodies. This has yet to take place for mankind, and it will be the Remnant who will enter into this "first resurrection," bringing forth unto Yahweh these desired and long awaited "first fruits."

Notice likewise regarding these "first fruits to God and to the Lamb," that "no lie was found in their mouth." This is precisely what Yahshua is effecting in His second Remnant. He is removing the error that has prevailed in Christianity for 2,000 years, opening our eyes to see all things clearly, and feeding us His truth from the marriage feast of the Lamb. In this marvelous provision we can GREATLY rejoice, and affirm that the truths we are seeing afford one more testimony that this second group of 144,000 represent the truth-proclaiming second Remnant who ascend alive.

Thus we see from the Scriptures the fruits Yahweh requires. Man may have in his mind all kinds of ideas as to what fruit Yahweh is desirous and requires, but it is evident from these Scriptures and at large that Yahweh's harvesting of men to heaven into immortality is this fruit. This is the fruit that the church has yet to produce. Up to now the church's fruits have only been wave offerings retained in the hands of the earthly priests; and we have seen why it has not yet been possible for this fruit to ascend to Him - it has not been the right time.

When the church has not been able to bring forth the required fruit of the kingdom, it is because the church has not been able to bring forth men into immortality. Men in the first 2,000 years of the church have all been swine - unclean because they have not had the power of "rumination," or resurrection. Thus they have all gone to the sea of death. Likewise testified, the "two parts" of the church have all been cut off and perished in death (Zechariah 13:8).

The one thing all men greatly need and indeed are awaiting is that which was promised in "earnest," in down payment, on the day of Pentecost. The kingdom awaits the day when its inhabitants will receive their immortal bodies, the fullness of the Spirit. This is the goal of the kingdom, the long awaited fruit - for its inhabitants to receive resurrection out of the natural/the earthly into the spiritual/the super(above)natural. These are the new wineskins, the new bodies, that are essential to be able to hold the new wine of the Spirit.

A young boy once exclaimed to his grandmother - "My father is not Daddy; my father is God. He is my real Father." Then after a moment of silence he asked the honest question, which only children seem to think of - "I wonder who is my real mother?" Grandma could not answer his inquiring question. If God is our Father, then who indeed is our mother? The fact is, as long as men continue to be born of the flesh, which comes from the earth (even as Adam came from the earth, and to which men return upon death), the earth is our mother. We are in bodies given to us by Mother Earth. At the present earthly flesh level, God is our Father, and earth is our mother. How long will this remain? Until we can be "born from above" by another mother - Jerusalem above.

The long awaited fruit of the kingdom of God manifested to man, is to bring man to a higher state - to be born from above by the heavenly kingdom mother, New Jerusalem. All men will have two mothers. First is Mother Earth, from which we get our present earthly bodies. But that is only temporary, and even corrupt and cursed. Yahshua told Nicodemus - "You must be born from above." This is our much needed second mother, who is actually our permanent mother. It is she who provides our state which is our true, long awaited, and promised destiny. She is the one who, up to this point, is barren - having not yet brought any man into resurrection. As cited by Paul from Isaiah 54:1 - "But the Jerusalem above is free; which is our mother. For it is written, 'Rejoice, barren woman who does not bear; break forth and shout, you who are not in labor; for more are the children of the desolate than of the one who has a husband.' And you brethren, like Isaac, are children of promise" (Galatians 4:26-28). What is our promise? That we will be born from that woman who, thus far, is barren, who has not been in labor. She has not yet brought forth any children into resurrection; she is desolate, though she has, in part, given us the earnest or down payment of the Spirit - the promise that we will indeed be born of her. Will she bear children? Indeed she will! "For more are the children of the desolate (Jerusalem above) than of the one who has a husband (the earth that has thus far brought forth many, many children into bodies)." Jerusalem above will bear children unto immortality; the fig tree will finally produce its fruit from the tender growth.

And very briefly, one other requirement that Yahweh has expected of man has been for him to prepare the way for and bring forth the Son of God. This likewise has been an impossible task for Christianity. For MANY reasons Christianity has failed to bring forth and prepare the way for Yahshua's return. More on this later.

Now that we have seen what is the fruit that Yahweh requires, let us continue with this matter at hand. We have seen that the fig tree of Christianity is cursed for not bringing forth this fruit of resurrected life, even though it was not the season for fruit. And we saw that Jeroboam rebelled against Solomon for repairing the breach of Jerusalem. Both of these matters require that we now address exactly what is the duration of the kingdom. Very importantly, when is the season for the kingdom to bear fruit unto immortality? And finally, concerning the breach that has been in "Jerusalem" (or the kingdom) for 2,000 years, when and how is that breach to be repaired?

To answer these questions, it must be remembered that the kingdom of God is made of men. The kingdom is man-ward, living stones; it is an expression in men and is not specifically a "place." Thus, all the governing factors relative to the kingdom are dependent upon and wholly relate to the laws on how Yahweh relates to man. In other words, the laws relating to man will be carried out on a much higher scale per the kingdom.

Numerology is a very important and revealing aspect of Yahweh. And an important aspect of numerology, per the ways of Yahweh, is the fact that numbers of a single and double digit generally relate to individuals in their earthly state. On the next level of the nations, numbers often increase to the hundreds place. For example, while a man might go through three years in order to fulfill a pattern, a nation might go through 300 years to fulfill the identical pattern. Going one step higher, at the third and highest kingdom of heaven level, numbers often elevate to the thousands place. Thus, as written in 2 Peter 3:8, we find testified that man is particularly related to a scale of 24-hour days, while Yahweh in heaven relates to a much higher scale of thousands - "with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day." While a day, or even a year, identifies or expresses the level of man, Yahweh occupies the corresponding thousands level. Thus in our example of three and 300 years, the kingdom would then fulfill the same pattern with 3,000 years.

Let us see another example of this - the difference between Yahshua, the man, and the body of Christ church. Though Yahshua was indeed God, while upon earth He was within the man realm, the single and double digit realm. But very importantly, what He performed on the man realm (as we saw in THE ISSUE), was the pattern for the larger and higher realm - the kingdom of heaven. So, while Yahshua's ministry on earth was three and a half years, the body of Christ that possessed the kingdom of heaven is 3,000 years of ministry. Also, while Yahshua was in the grave three days, equally the body of Christ would be in the grave three "days," or once again the kingdom level of 3,000 years. This three part period of Christianity is likewise seen in the three hours of darkness which came while Yahshua hung on the cross, and at the end thereof Yahshua cried out - "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?." It is also seen in the three times Peter denied Yahshua before the cock crowed. And as we have equally seen, it is the three days of blindness and lack of food that Saul/Paul experienced. Now let us look at this identical three-period-kingdom pattern on a nations level.

It has been addressed in previous writings that the United States of America is the kingdom of heaven on a nations level. The name America means "heavenly kingdom" - "amer" means heavenly, "ric" means kingdom, and "a" makes the word feminine. Thus in the name Amer-ric-a we see this nation's true identity as the "heavenly kingdom," or the kingdom of heaven. America is Yahweh's greatest fulfillment to Abram, on a nations level, that from his offspring "all the families of the earth shall be blessed." America, as restored Israel, is the nations level kingdom of heaven fulfillment of this promise to the "families of the earth." And again, even as we have seen that the kingdom of heaven is on a three-part pattern, so Amer-ric-a has entered into a three-part work; in fact (and we will see why later), it will have two three-part periods. But since America is a nation and not the true spiritual kingdom of heaven, as is the church, its tenure is not on the thousands level, but rather on the nations hundred level.

For three hundred years America passed through a three-part preparation period (the 1600's, 1700's, and 1800's). Yahweh, having completed His preparatory purposes in America during that time, brought this Israelite kingdom of heaven work into the "blessing to the nations" period in 1900. Since then, America has begun fulfilling Yahweh's promise to Abram that in him "all the families of the earth shall be blessed." This blessing period will equally last for three parts, or the 1900's, 2000's, and 2100's. Thus we see Yahweh working with the nations on the hundreds level, America being a more perfect fulfillment of the kingdom pattern. (Later in this writing, a comparison of what was supposed to happen to the true kingdom will reveal why we say here that America is the "more perfect" fulfillment.)

Before we move to the scripture that we need to examine per the season for the kingdom to bear fruit, let us look at one more highly revealing example of these increases in the progression from personal, to nations, to heavenly.

The period of the church thus far can be directly equated to the children of Israel during their forty years in the wilderness. This period is a very important prophetic testimony foreshadowing the plans and ways of Yahweh relative to the church, providing a most revealing mirror image. In Acts 7:38, Stephen even calls these Israelite journeys - "the church in the wilderness," for truly they represented the church in many ways in its "wilderness."

The question thus arises - If the Israelites spent forty years in the wilderness, what comparative higher level of numbers has the church thus far spent wandering in its almost 2,000 year long wilderness? We have already seen in other writings that the two parts of the church (i.e., the first approximate 2,000 years) "will be cut off and perish" (Zechariah 13:8). For 2,000 years Christians have been cut off from the kingdom here on earth by death, or sleep. At the end of this cut-short period, Yahweh will bring man into the "promised land" - the Millennial reign with the Remnant. This, of course, is equally what happened to the Israelites in the wilderness - all of those who were over nineteen years of age were likewise cut off and perished in the wilderness! But how can these approximate 2,000 years compare with the number 40? In a very important way, as we will see!

In reading Stephen Jones's book, Secrets of Time, we see that one very important way Yahweh marks time is by Jubilees. The Jubilee was set on a time duration period of fifty years, and at the end thereof a trumpet was to be blown and all debts were to be forgiven (Leviticus 23:8f). All land was to return back to the original holder. No debt could extend beyond the Jubilee. It was a fresh start! Steve points out that very significant events occur in history on this Jubilee cycle (which actually accumulate on forty-nine year sequences, in that the fiftieth year marks the first year of the next Jubilee period - i.e., a period of ten Jubilees would equate to 10 x 49 years, or a total of 490 years). What we find is that the church has indeed been "the church in the wilderness" for a period of forty, but not forty years, or 4,000 years, but forty Jubilees. Forty Jubilees would equal 40 x 49, or 1,960 years. As we will see, this Jubilee time is a grace time and is equal to the legal time of 50 x 40, or 2,000 years. Where are we now in this Jubilee time of forty "years" in the wilderness? Let us see.

Yahshua was crucified on Passover, 33 AD, providing the restored kingdom to the church. Forty Jubilees, or 1,960 years, from Passover (or Pentecost) in 33 AD would place one at 1993 AD. Thus, the church has had its period of forty in the wilderness - not the original pattern level of man at forty years, but rather the higher kingdom level of forty Jubilees. As we see, with these forty Jubilees now complete, it is time to enter into the promised land! (More per the significance and validity of these Jubilee periods will be seen, as well as what it has meant for this period to end in 1993.)

This brings us to the place of answering the all-important question of the duration of the kingdom. With this groundwork laid, let us read in Genesis 6 the linchpin passage to this question. This passage has already been introduced in THE ISSUE, and is parallel to the statement of Yahshua in the garden at Gethsemane - "the Spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak." For context purposes, we will provide verses 1 through 3.

"Now it came about, when men began to multiply on the face of the land, and daughters were born to them, that the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves, whomever they chose. Then Yahweh said, 'My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, because in his going astray he is flesh; nevertheless his days shall be one hundred and twenty years.'"

It is important to understand here what Yahweh was saying when He promised man these 120 years. This reason is found within the context of the promise in Genesis 6. He was weary of putting up with man; "nevertheless," He said, "his days shall be one hundred and twenty years." We find then that for the duration of 120 years, Yahweh was giving man that specific amount of time to correct his sins, or at its completion He would hold him accountable and judge him. This was undoubtedly the message Noah was preaching to the people in those days. As Jonah declared to Nineveh a forty day period before judgment, Moses was declaring a 120 year period. The book of Jasher (referred to twice in the Bible) confirms not only Yahweh's purpose of these 120 years, but also the people's awareness of this probationary period. In Jasher 5:8 and 11 we read:

For thus saith the Lord, "Behold I give you a period of one hundred and twenty years; if you will turn to me and forsake your evil ways, then will I also turn away from the evil which I told you, and it shall not exist," saith the Lord .... And the Lord granted them a period of one hundred and twenty years, saying, "If they will return, then will God repent of the evil, so as not to destroy the earth."

Even once upon the ark, when the rain began to fall and the waters became violent around them, Noah cried out from the then sealed ark, reminding them:

"Behold now that you see the trouble of your souls, you wish to return to the Lord; why did you not return during these hundred and twenty years, which the Lord granted you as the determined period" (Jasher 6:22)?

Why then 120 years? It is the promised period for the testing of man. Let us look quickly at this identical period of testing seen in two other testimonies (to be considered later in greater detail). First, we find that Moses spent forty years in Egypt in Pharaoh's house, forty years as a shepherd, and forty years leading the children of Israel through the wilderness to the promised land, for once again a total of 120 years. Did the great and humble man Moses pass the test? No. In the end he was not able to enter the promised land.

Next, we see the identical 120 year period, but this time relative to the nation of Israel while it was united. There were three periods of united Israel, each once likewise forty years in duration. King Saul reigned for forty years, followed by King David's reign for forty years, concluded by Solomon's reign for forty years, totaling 120 years. What happened to the nation of Israel following its 120 year test? It too failed the test, for at the completion of that time Israel was split, never again to be united before both nations were deported.

Moses did not pass the test after his promised 120 years. Israel did not pass their test after its 120 years. Did those in the time of Noah pass the test? No. Their 120 years passed, Yahweh was sorry He made man, and the flood came and cleansed the earth! The fact is, no man in the flesh can pass the test of 120 years! All fail! So, very importantly, "120" marks the time promised to man to prove himself; it is a period of testing, of waiting, or as Bullinger identifies in his book, Numbers in Scriptures, it is a period of probation.

Recalling that the kingdom is composed of men, that Yahweh's history of earthly man and the laws relating to him are patterns for the kingdom of heaven, and adding the fact that "120" marks the probationary period of testing or proving man, how then does all of this play out for the kingdom? This is very important! What does it all mean? A great, great deal, as you will see!

As we have noted, the original kingdom of God was given to man, to Adam and Eve, in the garden of God. Of course that original kingdom was defiled, and as a result Adam and Eve were placed outside the garden. But even further, what we find is that Yahweh then gave mankind a 120 period of probation per man's placement upon this earth in the original kingdom of God. This was not a 120 year period as given to the people in Noah's days, or to Moses, or to Israel; but all mankind was once again given the much higher duration period of 120 Jubilees, even as the church in the wilderness was given forty Jubilees. So, Yahweh has given earthly man 120 Jubilees probation or testing from the time of the first garden kingdom. And of course what we find once again is that these things that happened in the natural are the patterns, or foretelling natural events, of what Yahweh will accomplish on the higher realm of His heavenly kingdom.

How much time do these 120 Jubilees calculate out to be? Where are we now in this 120 Jubilee period? Calculating the amount of time is the easy part. 120 Jubilees multiplied times the 49 years for each Jubilee period equals 5,880 years. Using Steve Jones' excellent accounting of history, we can easily course out the time. However, here is where we also have to diverge from Steve's writings. The following information was initially pointed out to this writer by a man who has studied Steve's findings considerably, and disagrees with him on this matter of when the 120 Jubilees began. We cannot dwell on this, but must also provide ample information so as to verify both the significance as well as the application of this 120 Jubilee cycle.

Paul D. Bailey brought to this writer's attention that in the sequence of Jubilees, the 80th Jubilee had to occur in the year of Yahshua's crucifixion. In order for this to take place, this Jubilee cycle must begin in the seventh year after the creation of Adam. Steve starts this cycle at Adam's creation, with the result that the 80th Jubilee falls seven years short of Yahshua's crucifixion. But interestingly, Steve then picks up at the crucifixion and counts out the remaining forty Jubilees, which as we have seen are complete in 1993. However, doing this creates an entirely unacceptable situation - it places a seven year gap or break in the 120 Jubilee cycle. Let us see what happens when the 80 Jubilees are moved forward the seven years in order to provide the required complete and uninterrupted period. We will point out only a few significant events that occur along the way.

Beginning the Jubilee cycle seven years after the creation of Adam, the first somewhat significant mark is the 40th Jubilee. While nineteen was the cutoff age for the sons of Israel who were allowed to enter into the promised land following their disobedience, we find that the 40th Jubilee from Adam marked the nineteenth year of Abram, the man who has brought men into the hope of the promised land by faith. The 60th Jubilee fell on the year before Solomon completed the construction of his house. Then one of the most affirming testimonies that this is in fact the true cycle is the 70th Jubilee, which fell precisely on the year of the Edict of Artaxerxes 1. This important edict provided for the rebuilding of the city of Jerusalem. Of course Jerusalem is a picture and type of Jerusalem above. But even more meaningful is that this 70th Jubilee decree began the famed Daniel's seventy weeks (Daniel 9:24). Precisely 490 days, or 70 weeks x 7 days, from this decree of Artaxerxes, Yahshua hung on the cross and died for the cleansing and rebuilding of Jerusalem above, fulfilling Daniel's seventy weeks!

These 490 days of Daniel's seventy weeks are equally a period of ten Jubilees (10 x 49), and were the countdown to Yahshua's GREAT Jubilee of THE most significant and anticipated Jubilee thus far in this Jubilee cycle - the 80th Jubilee! This Jubilee provided the most essential and characteristic provision of Jubilee. The entire purpose and message of Jubilee was the release of debt. This was exactly what Yahshua provided on this 80th Jubilee - release from the debt of sin!

Thus, as in the case of Moses and Israel, once again we see the unmistakable testimony of this 120 Jubilee period divided into three 40-Jubilee parts. The first division came at Abram's 19th year. And most significantly, the second division came precisely at Yahshua's crucifixion. So we see quite precisely a patriarch period of forty Jubilees, followed by the offspring of Abram period of forty Jubilees, completed by the church period of forty Jubilees. More on this later.

These noteworthy aforementioned events clearly affirm that this is in fact the correct placement of the Jubilee cycle. But there are yet two events per this cycle that we have not dealt with - the beginning and the end. The all important completion of 120 Jubilees in 1993 will be dealt with in a future section. For now let us briefly consider the beginning point of this most important Jubilee cycle on which all the events of man relative to the works of Yahweh hang.

As stated, Steve Jones places the beginning of the Jubilee cycle at the creation of Adam. Why? Simply because that is when Adam was created. But we can see from the cycle just presented that a seven year advancement of it would throw everything off so that it would entirely lose its meaning and create an entirely unacceptable seven year gap.

What Steve fails to see is that his Jubilee cycle is a cycle of earthly flesh, and the flesh always falls short (even as Adam and Eve proved). Steve's cycle has only one significant correlation - a fiftieth Jubilee (or as he calls it a Jubilee of Jubilees, or we could even say a Pentecost of Jubilees) that falls on the year in which the children of Israel failed to enter into the promised land. And in clear testimony, this is exactly what would happen if earthly flesh, even pre-fall Adam and Eve earthly flesh, was given the responsibility of bringing man into the promised land. It would dreadfully fail! Likewise, even as Steve's perfect earthly man Jubilee cycle falls 7 years short of salvation at the cross of Yahshua, so would and does earthly man fall short of the required work of the Son of God. No, a Jubilee cycle based on even a pre-fall "perfect" earthly man is proven in every way to be a sad shortfall!

And might we say here that these two alternative cycles seem to be the sum of Yahweh's testimony regarding man. A work, a test, according to the ability of earthly man leads to failure and is a shortfall. Only a work based on man's acknowledgement of his failure and Yahweh's works of grace and order can bring man to His perfect provision. Man's success is not based on what he can do - the education he receives from other men, his efforts to set up God's kingdom, even his attempts to ascend to heaven - but his success is wholly dependent upon Yahweh performing these works in and for man.

So why would Yahweh delay the initiation of the Jubilee cycle seven years? The answer is once again most clear in the meaning of Jubilee.

What again is Jubilee? Jubilee is the release of all debt, the restoration of one's rightful inheritance. On the higher and more complete fulfillment, we have seen with Yahshua's death on the 80th Jubilee, that this looked to His provision of man's release from the debt of sin. Since jubilee is specifically and clearly related to the issue of sin, it is rather obvious that there would be no need for Jubilee for man until he sinned, or in the case of mankind, until Adam first sinned.

Many have posed the question - When did Adam and Eve eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil? The Bible does not directly tell us; we simply know what took place when it did occur. But since Jubilee is relative to the release from the debt of sin, the restoration of one's lost inheritance, we can know exactly when they ate from the tree - at the outset of the Jubilee cycle! It was their sin that created the need for Jubilee and restoration. There was no need for Jubilee when Adam walked with God and they were not naked.

Also, we know that the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was a type and picture of Christianity. What is the mark of the beast per that work? It is the number 7. So, we see that the Jubilee cycle started 7 years after Adam was created, identifying the problem of the beast in the kingdom, and foretelling eating from that tree of Christianity. Even as Solomon lost the kingdom of Yahweh rights with the acquisition of his 700 wives, even as the first Remnant lost the kingdom rights with the establishment of the 7 men to provide the care that the elders shirked, so we see here in the original garden of God that Adam and Eve likewise lost the garden rights in their seventh year! The mark of the beast 7 has had its destructive consequences from the outset!

Thus, even at the beginning of this MOST important and telling Jubilee cycle in which Yahweh began the clock for mankind's release from the debt of sin 7 years after Adam was created, we see one more testimony that this Jubilee cycle, when placed on this time schedule, is confirmed in many very important and revealing ways. All that now remains for us here is to progress with our study of time to the place where we can see what occurred in 1993 - the long awaited and anticipated end of this 120 Jubilee period.

At this point, let us summarize some of these most telling signs per the time we now live. As we just considered, we are now at the end of the remarkably significant 120 Jubilee cycle! Equally, we have now completed the 40 Jubilees in the wilderness, beginning from Yahshua's crucifixion and Pentecost! Add to this the fact that man is now at the end of the sixth day (or 6,000 years) in the history of man, and is entering into the Millennial rest; as well as the fact that we have entered into a new millennium in our own calendar; plus the profound fact that 1999 marks the 2,000th year since the birth of John the Baptist and Yahshua (and as pointed out in these writings, 2,000 is a most decisive watershed number, dividing not only numbers but also time); along with the noteworthy fact that according to the patterns of the heavens, we are now entering into the age of Aquarius (to be addressed later); can it not be easily stated that:

we live in the MOST culminating and significant time

in the history of all mankind!

How has man done in these 120 Jubilees of earthly flesh? Not so good. Adam and Eve failed in the original garden kingdom, corrupting the kingdom. The people to whom Noah preached failed, bringing the flood. Abraham kept failing in his own life, though his faith reckoned him as righteous. Moses failed in his 120 years and did not enter into the promised land. The kingdom of Yahweh was divided at the end of its 120 years. The Israelites failed to love Yahweh and keep His laws, and were twice cast out of their promised land. As we saw in THE ISSUE, the three Nazirites failed in their own lives and could not restore the kingdom. And now, finally the church - how has it done? Is it any surprise, and certainly no secret, that the church too has failed to maintain the kingdom that Yahshua as a Nazirite restored? We have already seen that even as Adam and Eve failed, so the church has failed, and with the same consequences - the loss of the kingdom and death. So, with the probation period of 120 Jubilees now completed, what is the conclusion? The same as the fate of Moses, the same as the fate of Israel - man constantly falls short and cannot please Yahweh.

So let us look back to 33 AD when Yahshua restored the kingdom of God, and ask some questions. Yahshua gave man the kingdom He Himself restored, but man could not handle it and once again resulted in his death. And again we ask - Why did not the perfect kingdom of God fully come in 33 AD with Yahshua's resurrection, or shortly thereafter as expected? Why did not man go ahead and enter into resurrection life, receiving his resurrected body, as we asked in the preceding section? Why the 2,000 year breach? We said it had to do with timing, and we saw that it was because the kingdom was given to man too early - while he was still in his flesh and not in the right "season." Even as the kingdom-representing fig tree on the way to Jerusalem was cursed by Yahshua for not having fruit when, in fact, it was not the season, so the church fig tree is cursed when, in fact, it too could not produce fruit because it too was not in the right season, being too early. The cursed fig tree was thus a mirror image of the church fig tree. When will the fig tree produce the fruit of the kingdom? When is the season for the "figs"? Not until the end of the kingdom's period of probation; not until 120 Jubilees have passed. So in 33 AD, had the 120 Jubilee probation period been completed for man? No. Yahshua was crucified on the 80th Jubilee, 40 Jubilees beforehand. Equally so, Yahshua's coming was only at the beginning of the fifth day, and the legal release of servitude to this earth could not come until the Sabbath day, the seventh (which, once again, is precisely what we are upon now).

What then is the significance of 1993 when 120 Jubilees have been completed? It marks the end of mankind's probation period of testing, a period in which man has utterly failed to bring forth righteousness upon the earth, even as those in the time of Noah failed and after 120 years were judged with the flood. What too is the outcome for Christianity, since in 1993 its 40 Jubilee period was completed as well? It too has equally been judged a failure and the kingdom has gone back to the Remnant. What then is our hope? Now that mankind's probationary testing period is completed, now that the church's wilderness period has been completed, Yahweh can legally perform what man has failed to do! Let us look further at this matter of the judgment of the church, but at the same time providing a way of escape, a hope for the future for all mankind.

 

Continue to page 9 of THE ISSUE - II for THE PARABLE FROM THE FIG TREE

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