THE ISSUE - II

CONT., page 7

 

THE BREACH

We have already read what Yahweh decreed to Solomon for having the mark-of-the-beast 700 wives, who turned away his heart to serve other gods. Let us now read what the prophet Ahijah said to the man who would receive the kingdom promise that had belonged to Solomon - Jeroboam. We will see that undoubtedly Jeroboam represented Christianity. Jeroboam means, "the people increase, or many people," which is exactly what Christianity is - a work that has produced the largest religion in the world. And it was Christianity that received the rights of the kingdom from the first Remnant. How was the transition of that kingdom here forerepresented? Once again we see in a most dramatic fashion the transfer of the kingdom by a mantle. Yahweh continually uses these mantles to foretell the transfer of the kingdom rights.

In 1 Kings 11:29-30 we read:

And it came about at that time, when Jeroboam went out of Jerusalem, that the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite found him on the road. Now Ahijah had clothed himself with a new cloak (or, mantle); and both of them were in the field. Then Ahijah took hold of the new cloak (mantle) which was on him, and tore it into twelve pieces."

We see the same thing happening in similar fashion when King Saul lost his own kingdom rights. Saul wanted Samuel to pardon his sin for not destroying the Amalekites, and return with him from the battle. In 1 Samuel 15:26-28 we read:

But Samuel said to Saul, "I will not return with you; for you have rejected the word of Yahweh, and Yahweh has rejected you from being king over Israel." And as Samuel turned to go, Saul seized the edge of his robe (or, mantle), and it tore. So Samuel said to him, "Yahweh has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today, and has given it to your neighbor who is better than you."

Here with Saul we equally find the transfer of the kingdom evidenced by a torn mantle. In Acts we saw the transfer of the kingdom to Saul/Paul by the mantles of the false witnesses being laid at his kingdom feet. Likewise Elisha received the rights of the preceding prophet by receiving his mantle from above, keeping his eyes surely fixed upon him. Now, once again, we see the transfer of the kingdom foretold by a mantle being torn into twelve pieces and apportioned according to Yahweh's plan. And as seen here, this is not just any mantle, this is a "new mantle." Why the new mantle? Because it foreshadows the new kingdom of God that was given to the first Remnant. It was this new kingdom that was divided between the former and the ensuing. Let us read more.

And he (Ahijah) said to Jeroboam, "Take for yourself ten pieces; for thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel, 'Behold, I will tear the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon and give you ten tribes (but he will have one tribe, for the sake of My servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen from all the tribes of Israel), .... Nevertheless I will not take the whole kingdom out of his hand, but I will make him ruler all the days of his life, for the sake of My servant David whom I chose, who observed My commandments and My statutes; but I will take the kingdom from his son's hand and give it to you, even ten tribes. But to his son I will give one tribe, that My servant David may have a lamp always before Me in Jerusalem, the city where I have chosen for Myself to put My name'" (1 Kings 11:31-36).

Let us see the pattern: the kingdom was to be taken away from Solomon, given to Jeroboam, but for the sake of David, a remnant was to be preserved for "a lamp always before Me in Jerusalem." Do you see the clear pattern of the church? Do you see the promise of the Remnant - the lamp always before Him in Jerusalem? And recall here, Solomon is the only one in the entire Old Testament that is promised "the kingdom of Yahweh," making his pattern very important and revealing.

So what do we see here with the kingdom? It is first given to the Solomon first Remnant; but, because of the flesh (which is why Solomon had his mark of the beast 700 wives) and Satan (the adversary), the kingdom was taken away from the first Remnant and given to breach Christianity. Stephen was stoned, the Jerusalem church disintegrated into numerous divisions (whereas before it had been one intact unit in Jerusalem), and the kingdom proceeded to take on an order contrary to that seen in Acts 2 through 5. The fresh oil of Pentecost had passed. No longer were they one united group, no longer did they sell all their possessions and hold all things in common, no longer did they day by day continue with one mind, breaking bread, and taking their meals together, no longer did the shadow of Peter heal all on whom it passed. Ichabod (the glory had departed), and the next 2,000 years of Christianity became the holy ark of the covenant in the Philistine temple of Dagon for 7 months, or the Shunamite woman likewise journeying in the land of the Philistines during a 7 year famine (2 Kings 8:1-6). Even as the holy ark of the covenant and the Shunamite woman went to the corrupt Philistines for 7 periods of time, here with Solomon's promise of the kingdom, we see it going to one of Bible history's most corrupt kings - Jeroboam.

Let us now briefly look at this Jeroboam kingdom. What was it like? The stature of this kingdom can best be revealed by the regard it held as the comparison of all future Israelite kings. All other kings of Israel who led the people into sin were compared to Jeroboam. Jeroboam set the pattern for Israel; and almost without exception, all the kings of Israel after him followed in his ways of sin, leading the people astray. Very commonly the phrase appears - "he clung to the sins of Jeroboam," or "I will make your house like the house of Jeroboam." Jeroboam's house was corrupt, even as Christianity's house is corrupt. And what happened to kingdom-receiving Jeroboam and his house will happen to Christianity's house - "Moreover, Yahweh will raise up for Himself a king over Israel who shall cut off the house of Jeroboam this day, and what even now" (1 Kings 14:14).

Christians do not realize that for 2,000 years they have been cut off from the kingdom by death. As it is written - "the two parts in it (the flock of the kingdom of the Shepherd) will be cut off and perish" (Zechariah 13:7-8). The kingdom of the Shepherd is right here on this earth, given to us by Yahshua. So when Christians die, they are quite obviously cut off from the kingdom. As it is written - "The dead do not praise Yahweh, nor do any who go down into silence" (Psalm 115:17).

We had a dear friend who loved to sing praises. He relished getting together with others and joyously singing. But suddenly he died. At his funeral some of his favorite songs were sung, ones that he had heartily joined in singing many times. But on this occasion did he join in with us? Not at all! While everyone else sang, his body just laid there in that casket in silence. Not one note, not one word did he bring forth. Why? Because "the dead do not praise Yahweh." As written in Zechariah, our friend had been "cut off" from the kingdom where His praises were being sung.

For 2,000 years kingdom holders have been cut off from the kingdom by death. The 2,000 swine have all gone to the sea of death. They have all gone into silence. They no longer preach, they no longer teach, they no longer sing His praises; as declared by Paul - they all "sleep." The dead rest in sleep and wait for their resurrection. So on the one hand, kingdom-receiving Christians individually have already been experiencing the consequence of a Jeroboam period of being "cut off" from the kingdom. But corporately, this will happen as well.

In 1996, Yahweh intended to judge the church in wrath, even as He had planned to judge Babylon in wrath. Christianity is Mystery Babylon, and even as Yahweh did not carry out His wrath against Babylon, neither did He carry out His wrath against Mystery Babylon. Let us see a most revealing and foretelling prophetic picture of this.

When Yahshua hung on the cross, He was suffering what the body of Christ would equally suffer. As went Yahshua on the cross, so has gone His body on this earth. As it was proclaimed to Christianity's founder, so it was granted to his work - "I will show him how much he must suffer for My name's sake." After Yahshua's death, the Roman soldier came to break His bones; but finding Him already dead, he did not break His bones, but thrust a spear into His side and out came blood and water. What does this mean for the body of Christ? Let us see.

Bones represent governmental strength and order, as well as the source of life. We read that "life is in the blood," and the origin or source of blood is the bones. They could not break Yahshua's bones because He had the power of an indestructible life. Though He would die, He also had the power to rise from the dead. So if the soldier had broken His bones, it would have testified that He would no longer have possessed that power to resurrect. The source of His life would have been broken. Thus the alternative was to pierce His side.

Now the body of Christ has suffered trial and crucifixion for 2,000 years. Satan has placed the cares of this world crown of thorns on its head. He has blindfolded its eyes so that it cannot see. The body of Christ has been spit upon, bruised, and beaten so much that, as it is written, it is not even recognizable as Yahshua. The purple and scarlet robe has been placed on this body as though it is reigning, a reed is even placed into its right hand, but all to the shame of the body. It thinks it will reign, but it will not. That reed is taken and used to equally beat the body of Christ. Upon this cross, one who has the power to break its bones comes to do so, but does he? No, seeing that the body of Christ is already dead precludes this wrath, thus insuring that the power of resurrection still belongs to the dead body. So instead of severe wrath, the body of Christ receives another act - a sharp spear is thrust into its side and out comes blood and water! What is this blood and water coming from the side of the body of the last Adam? It is the same that came from the side of the first Adam - A BRIDE! So in 1996, instead of Yahweh carrying out promised wrath against Mystery Babylon Christianity, the body of Christ, He had mercy on it (seeing that it was already dead, evidenced by 2,000 years of death and the body sleeping in their graves) and chose to pierce its side instead and bring out a bride. This He did at Passover, 2000!

On the one hand, the wrath promised to Jeroboam Christianity has been carried out individually, as Christians are daily cut off from the kingdom by death; but on the other hand, though Christianity will not reign with Yahshua in the Millennium, they will not receive wrath that keeps them from resurrecting, and will resurrect in their time. Their bones have not been broken. More on this resurrection later.

Yahweh did cut off the house of Jeroboam; and equally, both individually as well as corporately, He cuts off the house of Christianity. Christians are "cut off" from the kingdom via death, and Christianity has lost the rights to the kingdom to the Remnant. More on this also as we go along.

At this point, we need to look at a very prophetic and highly important statement concerning Christianity-representing Jeroboam. Recall that one of the three adversaries Yahweh raised up against Solomon was Jeroboam. Let us read what caused this former servant of Solomon to rebel against his master. In 1 Kings 11:27 we read - "Now this was the reason why he (Jeroboam) rebelled against the king: Solomon built the Millo, and closed up the breach of the city of his father David."

This is a MOST unusual statement. The Millo was a fortified part in the city of David, or Jerusalem. "Millo" means "filling up, making full, or abundant," and looks to the second Remnant. But for now let us concentrate on the term - he "closed up the breach of the city of David, his father." This is most significant! We find here that the very one who would represent breach Christianity, rebelled for the repairing of the breach at Jerusalem! This is an obviously dramatic association that clearly speaks.

Before considering this association more specifically, let us ask some important and hopefully thought provoking questions. Why did this breach in the kingdom of God occur? This is a very important question with great implications. Why did Yahshua not go ahead and reign here on earth, even as His disciples fully expected? And most importantly, why did Yahshua not go ahead and bring others into resurrection life, possessing resurrected bodies, even as He Himself possessed and told Nicodemus that he must have. If Yahshua as the King of this kingdom possessed this new "born from above" imperishable body, then why did His disciples not also go ahead and possess these bodies? The promised land kingdom was to be a place where sickness was removed from its inhabitants - "I will remove sickness from your midst" (Exodus 23:25). So why then did men continue to get sick and die in Yahshua's restored kingdom? Adam and Eve were not supposed to die in the garden kingdom; why now did men die in the restored garden of God? Let us consider the timing of this breach period in the kingdom.

First, it has been addressed in THE ISSUE, as well as in this writing, that the kingdom Yahshua restored was corrupted (even as in the garden) because man was still in earthly flesh, and because of the presence of Satan. These two elements have always corrupted any work of God on the earth. But then again, one could ask - Why did not Yahshua go ahead and do something about these two? His kingdom was restored, why did He not go ahead and bring it into perfection with Him reigning? Per His redemptive work and His resurrection, why did He not go ahead and reign on earth, bringing His followers equally into resurrection life? Why did the great initial move of the former rain Pentecost cease? Why did it not go ahead and produce the fruit of the kingdom? The answer to these questions is relative to a third extremely important issue regarding the corruption of the kingdom, and that is - timing!

The first Remnant was supposedly on its way to bringing the return of Yahshua and resurrection life. Why then did a breach in this work have to occur? Timewise, why was it necessary to wait 2,000 years in order to complete the work begun by the first Remnant? The breach church was a delay period between the two separated Remnants. Why the 2,000 year delay? Why, why, why? Let us now see why.

As you will understand better as we continue in this, Jerusalem is prophetic of the kingdom of God, as is likewise the fig tree - thus the reason Yahshua cursed the fig tree on the way specifically to Jerusalem. Jerusalem is, of course, an earthly picture of the heavenly kingdom that bears the same name - New Jerusalem, or Jerusalem above. How is it then we see that the fig tree is also prophetic of the kingdom of God? Once again we preface with the oft repeated and very important truth - "that which has been is that which will be, and that which has been done is that which will be done." Where then do we see the fig tree representing the kingdom of God, and more specifically the carnal, corrupt, fruitless, insufficient kingdom? In that very important and revealing beginning for mankind.

Christians say their eyes have been opened to see their own sin, their own nakedness before God, and their need for Yahshua; and certainly they are correct. Man is naked because of the fall, and he must be covered. But, the covering man needs, the covering man absolutely must have, is not of this world. Anything of this earth is earthy and insufficient. Man must have the covering of a born from above, resurrected body. So meanwhile, with what does kingdom man cover himself? Of course - fig leaves! Man does not yet have the covering of a resurrected body, so he seeks to cover himself with that which is at hand - the fig leaves of the corrupted earthly kingdom of God of Christianity, those fig leaves man gathers himself. Are the fig leaves of Christianity sufficient to cover "seeing" believers? No more than the fig leaves were sufficient to cover "seeing" Adam and Eve (having eaten from the kingdom tree of the knowledge of good and evil).

Thus we see in this account a prophetic type, a mirror image of the true substance, a riddle: Adam and Eve ate from the kingdom tree of the knowledge of good and evil, their eyes were opened to see their nakedness, they became "like one of Us, knowing good and evil" (Genesis 3:22), and they covered themselves with fig leaves until Yahweh made a covering for them. This is exactly what Christians do. Men eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they too see their nakedness, they are "born again" to "become like one of Us" (i.e., become a child of God), and they cover their nakedness with Christianity. Why? Because that is all that has been available. There has been nothing other than the fig leaves of Christianity. But, very importantly, are the fig leaves of Christianity sufficient? Is God satisfied with the covering of Christianity? Absolutely not! God can no more be satisfied with the fig leaves of Christianity that man fashions together, than He was satisfied with Adam and Eve's fig leaves which they fashioned together. As we will see, there is a big problem with fig leaves. (And might it be noted here - if the earthly nation now called "Israel" is the fig tree [Matthew 24:32], as Christians falsely purport, then Adam and Eve demonstrated that that nation's leaves are entirely insufficient and must be permanently done away with and replaced with another, not to speak of Yahshua's cursing it to death for failing to bear fruit. Hello? By this belief, Christians actually elicit both great harm and rejection upon "Israel.")

What did Yahweh do for insufficiently clad Adam and Eve? He personally made "garments of skin" so as to correctly cover them. And what is it Yahweh must do once again? He must personally make for man "garments of skin." And what is the clothing Yahweh alone can make for us? New born-from-Jerusalem-above bodies that will correctly cover our nakedness, replacing the old insufficient leaves of Christianity. What is the problem of being covered with the leaves of this fig tree? Let us see.

We will consider two other testimonies of the fig leaves, but this time represented by the entire tree. The first one provides some very important insight into the problem associated with the timing of the fruit of the kingdom. From Matthew 21:18-19 we read:

Now in the morning, when He returned to the city, He became hungry. And seeing a lone fig tree by the road, He came to it, and found nothing on it except leaves only; and He said to it, "No longer shall there ever be any fruit from you." And at once the fig tree withered.

We will want to examine this further, but for now let us quickly look at the second testimony. As additional evidence in identifying the fig tree with Christianity, we read a most interesting parable that Yahshua told. From Luke 13:6-9, we read of a fig tree which a man had planted in his vineyard, and for three years he came looking for fruit from it and found none. The first outstanding thing to notice here is the specific number of years in which the man had come to gather fruit from this fig tree - three years, or the allotted period of the church (i.e., 3,000 years). If Yahweh gave the church their full three periods of time, would He find fruit? No more so than the man in Yahshua's parable regarding the fig tree found fruit. "Cut it down," was the command of the dissatisfied man to the vineyard-keeper.

But the vineyard-keeper had a suggestion for the problem, and we will consider that in a future section. For now however, note again the clear and consistent testimony of the three part duration fig tree as Christianity.

Christianity has had the kingdom of God - the fig tree - for 2,000 years. And like the fig tree from which the man longed to eat, and like the fig tree from which Yahshua longed to eat, examination of the church fig tree equally reveals only Adam and Eve leaves, just foliage - a form of godliness but not the power or fruit thereof. The church thus far has the show - the leaves - of being a true fig tree - the kingdom - but not the fruit! Why does it not have the fruit? Christianity Mark 11:13 uniquely tells us the specific reason why the fig tree of Christianity has failed to have fruit. In reference to the fig tree Yahshua cursed, we read - "for it was not the season for figs." Yahshua cursed this fig tree for not having any fruit, despite the seemingly unusual fact that it was not even the season for figs! Why? Why would Yahshua curse a tree for not having fruit on it, when it was not even the right season for fruit-bearing? The answer to this is extremely important and relevant to our questions at hand!

By way of introduction (to be more fully considered in the following study of Genesis 6), what we find is that the church (including the first Remnant) received the kingdom equally out of season. It was not time for the kingdom of God to be restored - being 2,000 years too early, as we will see later! Thus, the fig-leaf-clad church in fact could not even bear the fruit required, any more than the fig tree Yahshua cursed on the way to Jerusalem could bear fruit. As pointed out, there remained two major resulting problems - men were still in their earthly flesh, and Satan was not yet bound. Therefore, when Yahshua cursed the fig tree for not bearing fruit when not in season, it being the identical tree from which Adam and Eve took leaves to try to cover themselves, He prophetically demonstrated the coming problem with the church kingdom of God - it was premature! Therefore, Christianity's kingdom is equally cursed and will "wither at once" (Matthew 21:20-21). At Yahshua's return, Christianity will in fact be "cast into outer darkness," or dispersed to the nations. This will not be as bad as it sounds, considering the mercy factor, but in comparison to entering into immortality, it is still far inferior.

For the sake of affirmation, let us parenthetically consider two more quick evidences to this "out of season" state of Christianity. First, this premature acquisition of the kingdom by Christianity was likewise clearly foreshadowed by the reign of King Saul, which was equally premature (1 Samuel 8). The people wanted a king; and though it was not time for them to have one, Yahweh gave them one anyway, prematurely. But, this king was likewise provided with great warning from Samuel.

Premature King Saul furthermore received his kingdom in a way that distinctly foreshadowed and established his identity with Christianity. He became king on Pentecost, during the wheat harvest. Equally, the kingdom was given to the church on Pentecost. Saul received two loaves of bread from three men carrying three jugs of wine; and at the hill of God where the Philistines were, there the Spirit of Yahweh came upon him and he prophesied (1 Samuel 10:1-13). Pentecost is the feast where two loaves of bread were waved before Yahweh (2,000 years); and on that day the Spirit of Yahweh equally came upon the church and they prophesied. Saul was directed to then go and wait for 7 days until Samuel arrived, or the mark of the beast period of the church. What could be clearer or more graphic?

Saul, who appropriately bears the name of Christianity's chief teacher (Saul/Paul), was Christianity that received the kingdom before the time, prematurely. And the outcome for Saul, the outcome for Jeroboam, the outcome for Christianity, were all the same - they were all "cut off" from the kingdom rights; the out of season fig tree was cursed. With this MOST affirming testimony regarding Saul, let us now consider the second telling evidence.

One of the most direct statements that Yahshua had come "early," or before the "legal" time, was given in a most unusual manner. When Yahshua encountered the demons in the two men in the country of the Gadarenes (meaning, "organized or assembled"), the demons cried out - "What do we have to do with You, Son of God? Have you come to torment us before the time" (Matthew 8:29)? Do you understand what they were asking? They were proclaiming exactly what we have been pointing out. Yahshua was "early," "before the time," and these demons knew it. (Demons know more than mortals.) Since the Son of God was on the scene, they wondered if He was going to go ahead and perform what they knew was not supposed to take place for another 2,000 years! Thus they asked Him this question regarding timing.

But of course their question fits right into the rest of the account, giving us understanding as to how this timing issue would be resolved. What took place next in response to the timing question from those demons, evidenced what would be their work for the remaining time they knew they legally had a right to. Per their request, they were cast into the 2,000 swine (Christianity Mark 5:13)! Why 2,000 swine? Remember, the demons preluded this request by pointing out a timing issue. The demons were cast into specifically 2,000 swine in testimony to the fact that they would enter into the kingdom members for 2,000 years, or until Yahshua did finally come at the proper time. Those demons knew exactly what they were doing; they knew exactly what they were asking. They knew who this Man was; they knew His authority, what He was bringing about, and His timing; and they cared absolutely nothing about momentarily inhabiting some literal pigs. They wanted men, kingdom men! The demons requested to be cast into the 2,000 swine as a legal agreement that they could/would enter into the 2,000 year period of the church. Satan was thus given the right to enter into the kingdom and its members, and has taken every one of them to death.

When Yahshua cast the demons into the 2,000 swine, He responded to those demons that invoked a question regarding proper timing, with an act that was directly related to their timing issue. "You are too early," the demons objected. "We request the rights to occupy the 2,000 years of this earthly-man kingdom." "You are right," responded Yahshua, "I will grant you 2,000 years in My kingdom." And those 2,000 swine were the agreed period of time those legion of demons were given the rights to possess - the "premature" kingdom of God, the two loaves of leavened bread. The kingdom given to earthly man has been the premature unclean swine period of the kingdom, and all of those kingdom men have rushed headlong to the same place - the sea of death!

Thus we see that one of the clearest testimonies of Christianity's premature receipt of the kingdom, comes from the objections of knowledgeable demons; who not only knew precisely who this Man was - the Son of God - but also that He was too early. Having clearly affirmed this fact regarding premature timing, not only here, but in the graphic account of premature King Saul, as well as in Yahshua cursing the fig tree, let us now briefly return to this outstanding matter of Jeroboam rebelling against Solomon for closing up the breach of Jerusalem (the fig tree kingdom).

As we said, the fig tree and Jerusalem represent essentially one and the same thing - the kingdom of God. So why would Jeroboam rebel for Solomon closing up the breach? We need not devote time to understanding what this statement meant in the natural. The fact is, the more important truths we can draw from these passages are in the realm of the prophetic. When Solomon "closed up the breach of the city of David," prophetically this spoke volumes!

We have already seen that the city of David or Jerusalem kingdom of heaven was prematurely given to the first Remnant. Equally, we have already noted that a breach in the kingdom occurred which is the 2,000 year long period of Christianity - separating the two Remnants - and will have to be Divinely closed. To address this matter concerning the closing of the breach, it will be helpful and worthwhile to consider what is the "season" for the fruit of the kingdom. When is the fruit-bearing "season" of the kingdom? Do not forget where we are - make a mental note - for at the end of this study we will return to this question of Jeroboam's rebellion against Solomon for closing up the breach. But first, it is profitable that we here consider more fully why the breach had to occur and when it can close. Of course, all of this we are considering works together for Yahweh's perfect purpose and plan; but for now, we will look closely at the cause and affect of the matter. This additional material necessitates a very extended departure from the flow of this issue of Jeroboam, requiring several sections to develop; but as has been said, the information to be obtained is very much worth this departure.

Continue to page 8 of THE ISSUE - II for THE FRUIT OF THE KINGDOM

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