54. Let my people go : By Grace

Throughout the history of Israel, the people were familiar with the Old Testament prophesies concerning the coming of God's Kingdom, in which He Himself would reign in absolute justice and righteousness.
It was important that the Children of Israel should be aware of those days which would lead up to the establishment of that Kingdom.....The Last Days. Through the Scriptures, God has taught Israel many things concerning this period in order to make them aware of His needs and the future condition of the twelve tribes themselves:
God sent The Messiah to introduce to His people the order and condition of His kingdom.

He sacrificed the Messiah for the righteousness of the members of His kingdom.

He chose twelve Apostles who would govern the twelve tribes. during the preparatory period and afterwards

He established many individual Israelites who were 'called and positioned out of [ekklEsia] The Messiah'.

He promised to resurrect King David to occupy His throne in Israel whilst .....

God Himself would govern from Heaven.

He promised to pour out His Spirit upon all flesh in order to empower His authority.

And as far as all The Nations are concerned, He will resurrect a King of the Nations who has proved to be dedicated to Himself....King Nebuchadnezzar.
This period of introduction, The Last Days, was to last for 520 years [See By Grace No.5]. It began at the birth of Jesus Christ. It included God's action at the time of Pentecost in 30ad, when the Apostle Peter explained that the Jews on whom The Spirit had been poured, were not full of wine....

"but this is that which was spoken through the prophet Joel: And it shall come to pass in The Last Days saith God, I will pour out of My Spirit upon all flesh.....before that great and glorious day of The Lord come".
This introductory period continued in 45ad, being confirmed by the Apostle James in his letter to the twelve tribes where he said 'You have heaped up treasure in The Last Days'. Yet again, the writer to the Hebrews in 53ad tells them 'In these Last Days, God had spoken to us by His Son'. And finally, in 56ad with urgency the Apostle John writes to the 'little children' of Israel telling them: 'It is The Last Hour'.
But then, because God judged the Israelites to be unready, a great change takes place in 62ad. God refuses to accept the lukewarm attitude if His Children, telling them that they will no longer be able to understand or perceive His expression. nor be responsible for The Salvation of God, which would then pass to the nations.
For the heart of this people is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes have they closed; lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them. Be it known therefore unto you, that the salvation of God is sent unto the Gentiles, and that they will hear it. [Acts 28:27]
God's special relationship with His children was terminated and the remaining 485 years of The Last Days was postponed. because they were not ready for the full establishment of The Kingdom of Heaven in Israel.

It is clear from The Scripture that much yet needs to be fulfilled in these remaining years of The Last Days, so we recognize that God's withdrawal from His Children Israel, is only temporary. This is confirmed in two other letters, the first written by Peter in about 63ad, to the remaining faithful brethren when he writes 'there shall come in The Last Days, mockers'. Secondly, in 65ad the Apostle Paul tells us in his second letter to Timothy: This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come'.
Therefore these two N.T. prophecies of The Last Days remain to be fulfilled. This cannot begin until God’s restraints upon His people Israel are removed. See Isaiah chapter 35 verses 4 and 5, noted on page 6.

The nineteen Last Days prophecies are linked to the 70 weeks prophecy of Daniel. Both end at the Second Advent. The 70 Weeks, or 490 years, begin when The Messiah proclaims His commission quoting the prophecy of Isaiah in the synagogue at Nazareth, His home town (By Grace No.25). This was the year of the thirtieth Jubilee (By Grace No.9. The Last Days began when The Messiah was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the year 4bc (By Grace No.5), thirty years before He proclaims His commission. Thus, the period of The Last Days last for 520 years

When God removes these restraints, The Last Days will recommence. and the source of Salvation will return to the whole House of Israel.

When the Apostle Paul wrote his second letter to Timothy, he knew that THE LAST DAYS had been postponed. God gave him details concerning the depravity of people at the time when the Last Days will recommence:

Section 1. This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.

This passage is addressed to Christians, but it describes men generally. It is the last recorded prophesy in The Scriptures concerning The Last Days. Many believe that the character of those described by this passage could relate to people living to-day. At the end of this prophecy God describes a special condition which will arise at the time when His Children Israel, are being prevented from entering their prepared kingdom:

Section 2. Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith. But they shall proceed no further: for their folly shall be manifest unto all men, as theirs also was.
A typical analysis of its meaning can be read in the leaflet: Seed and Bread No.16’ However, it is true to say that this prophetic statement needs all its elements to be present before The Last Days will have recommenced. There are people who claim Godliness to-day, many of whom demonstrate their faith to be hollow and misguided. They are concerned primarily with affairs of this world and do not give their mind to things above. They demand from God those Spiritual gifts which God gave as a witness to the authority of His Kingdom in Israel, both of which were suspended in 62ad.

During this present time however, the Christian lives by the Grace of God alone, by faith and not by sight. He is challenged to live by faith upon God's Word alone. He awaits the re-establishment of this Kingdom subjecting the whole world, when God will again pour out His Spirit, then upon all flesh.

If Section 1 of this prophecy is active to-day, Section 2. most certainly is not, except in the very limited sense of demonic spirits attempting to counterfeit those Gifts of God described by Paul to the Corinthians.......healing, power, prophesy, teaching and tongues...etc.

Without going into the Greek and Hebrew semantics of the two names: Jannes and Jambres, it can be shown that they strongly resemble names of angelic powers who have been given guardianship of nations, two of which relate to the state of Egypt. At the time of Moses, Egypt was divided into upper and lower Kingdoms. We recall that God had placed an archangel Michael, to watch over the affairs of Israel. The Scriptures record that some angels, or 'princes' oppose the will of God. An example of which is the opposition of the 'prince' of Persia to the archangel Gabriel. [ Daniel 10:12-14].

These are the angelic powers which acted behind the Egyptian magicians or magi, when they opposed the demand of God, delivered by Moses and Aaron.......'Let My People Go!' These powers attempted to belittle the actions and power of God by copying, or counterfeiting His challenging acts. The heart of the Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, was hardened. He did not submit to the miraculous judgments imposed by God upon his country.

The passage in Section 2. tells us that the type of man living at the time when The Last Days recommence. resists the Truth in the same way as the magi were empowered to resist the miracles of God by Moses and Aaron. It tells us that they are' of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith.' These are strong words explaining their depravity and corruption, and as far as faith in God is concerned they are unworthy, disapproved, impossible to stand the test of Godliness. This implies that they attempt to display Godliness before all men, but are in reality serving the god of this present world order.

So, what exactly does the Scripture mean when it says: 'Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth'. These angelic powers counterfeited the actions of God, that is clear. So in that way, when The Last Days recommence, ungodly, unworthy and disapproved men will counterfeit the Truth, that is the fact expressed in The Scriptures. It does not say that they will counterfeit the coming actions of God, although that may be possible. But there is one interesting point which is common to both the actions of the evil magi and the prophesied actions of these ungodly men.......... Both actions are cut short by God's intervention.

The magi are able to counterfeit three actions of God's judgments, firstly Aaron's rod changed to a serpent, secondly the waters of the Nile turned to blood and thirdly the frogs introduced into all the intimate activities of the people of Egypt. Against this fourthly, we are told that when the Last Days recommence, there will come a point in the actions counterfeiting The Truth when God will not allow these ungodly men to continue.

The Questions arise:

1. Can we gain Spiritual insight into the coming fulfilment of The Truth and its counterfeit by these ungodly men ?
2. Further, can the counterfeit actions of the Magi give a deeper understanding of the coming actions of the ungodly?

From the Scriptures, we know what God will do to re-establish the authority of His Children, the Tribes of Israel, as soon as The Last Days recommence. At The Rebellion [1Kings 12:1-24], the twelve tribes were split into two factions. This was an act of God. Ten tribes rebelled under Ephraim, leaving the remaining two honourable tribes under the title of Judah. Later in 774bc, God told Ephraim, by the prophet Hosea, that the ten tribes would become 'Not my People' and be scattered in the world. Much later in 62ad God Spiritually blinded and deafened Judah because of their lukewarm attitude to the introduction of His Kingdom, but He will, in His mercy, reverse these actions when He establishes His Kingdom. [Isaiah 35:4-6]

Firstly, He will reverse his action of Spiritual blindness, deafness and understanding imposed in 62ad [Acts 28:26-27], upon The House of Judah:

Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompense; he will come and save you. Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert. Isaiah 35:4
Secondly, He will no longer regard the House of Ephraim as 'Not my People', a condition imposed upon them by God in 634bc [Hos 1:8-9] .

and it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, 'Ye are Not my People', there it shall be said to them 'Ye are the Sons of The Living God'. Hosea 1:10

Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfortably unto her. And I will give her her vineyards from thence, and the valley of Achor for a door of hope:……………….. And I will sow her unto me in the earth; and I will have mercy upon her that had not obtained mercy; and I will say to them which were not my people, Thou art my people; and they shall say, Thou art my God. Hosea 2:14

By this God will be telling the world that the twelve tribes of Israel are His Children. He will probably have to plead with the nations to 'Let my people go', because, as we have seen above, Ephraim-Israel is at present scattered throughout the world and must return to their promised land before the Kingdom can be established with their King at the head. The Land is at present occupied by a people calling themselves 'Israelis', who are not the people of God. This mixture of peoples is there in defiance of God's purposes, even as the Canaanites and Nephilim were, prior to the occupation of Canaan by Joshua and the Israelites in 1454bc.

Let us now look in more detail at the first four miraculous acts of God imposed upon Egypt and Pharaoh in order to persuade them to release the twelve tribes of Israel:

A And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying, When Pharaoh shall speak unto you, saying, Shew a miracle for you: then thou shalt say unto Aaron, Take thy rod, and cast it before Pharaoh, and it shall become a serpent. And Moses and Aaron went in unto Pharaoh, and they did so as the LORD had commanded: and Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh, and before his servants, and it became a serpent.
Then Pharaoh also called the wise men and the sorcerers: now the magicians of Egypt, they also did in like manner with their enchantments. For they cast down each man his rod, and they became serpents: but Aaron's rod swallowed up their rods.
And he hardened Pharaoh's heart, that he hearkened not unto them; as the LORD had said. [Exodus 7:8]
Aaron's rod or staff was the symbol of his authority in relation to the tribes of Israel. In fact the Hebrew word for it contains also the meaning of 'tribe', especially that of the tribes of Israel. Egypt was known as a type of the world. The Magi, by casting their staves down before Aaron and Moses were stating their authority over the tribes of the world. However, when the staves became serpents, the final authority of the tribe of Israel was demonstrated by Aaron's staff swallowing those of the magi.
This ultimate authority of Israel in the world, is stated in many ways and many places in the Scripture, but the action of the magi at the time of Moses, teaches us that at the time of the recommencement of The Last Days, when God again calls Ephraim-Israel 'His People' and grants Spiritual sight and understanding to Judah-Israel, we can expect to see God's action counterfeited by the authority of other tribes.

B. God tells Moses to get thee unto Pharaoh in the morning; lo, he goeth out unto the water; and thou shalt stand by the river's brink against he come; and the rod which was turned to a serpent shalt thou take in thine hand. And thou shalt say unto him, The LORD God of the Hebrews hath sent me unto thee, saying, Let my people go, that they may serve me in the wilderness: and, behold, hitherto thou wouldest not hear. Thus saith the LORD, In this thou shalt know that I am the LORD: behold, I will smite with the rod that is in mine hand upon the waters which are in the river, and they shall be turned to blood. And the fish that is in the river shall die, and the river shall stink; and the Egyptians shall lothe to drink of the water of the river. And the LORD spake unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Take thy rod, and stretch out thine hand upon the waters of Egypt, upon their streams, upon their rivers, and upon their ponds, and upon all their pools of water, that they may become blood; and that there may be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, both in vessels of wood, and in vessels of stone. And Moses and Aaron did so, as the LORD commanded; and he lifted up the rod, and smote the waters that were in the river, in the sight of Pharaoh, and in the sight of his servants; and all the waters that were in the river were turned to blood. And the fish that was in the river died; and the river stank, and the Egyptians could not drink of the water of the river; and there was blood throughout all the land of Egypt.

And the magicians of Egypt did so with their enchantments: and Pharaoh's heart was hardened, neither did he hearken unto them; as the LORD had said. Exodus 7:1

God's power over life and death is prominently displayed in this action. The life of Egypt, its river, is subjected to the life of God, the blood, which is both the earthly life of our bodies and the Spiritual life of God's children.

C. Go unto Pharaoh, and say unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Let my people go, that they may serve me. And if thou refuse to let them go, behold, I will smite all thy borders with frogs: And the river shall bring forth frogs abundantly, which shall go up and come into thine house, and into thy bedchamber, and upon thy bed, and into the house of thy servants, and upon thy people, and into thine ovens, and into thy kneadingtroughs: And the frogs shall come up both on thee, and upon thy people, and upon all thy servants. And the LORD spake unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Stretch forth thine hand with thy rod over the streams, over the rivers, and over the ponds, and cause frogs to come up upon the land of Egypt. And Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt; and the frogs came up, and covered the land of Egypt.
And the magicians did so with their enchantments, and brought up frogs upon the land of Egypt.
Exodus 7:25

Frogs represent evil spirits. When they come in like a flood [Isaiah 59:19] there will be no peaceful rest and no unpolluted food. Their peace and the very Bread of Life will cease.

D. Stretch out your rod, and smite the dust of the land, that it may become stinging insects throughout all the land of Egypt. And they did so; for Aaron stretched out his hand with his rod, and smote the dust of the earth, and it became stinging insects throughout all the land of Egypt. in man and in beast, all the dust of the ground became stinging insects throughout all the land of Egypt.
And the magi did so with their enchantments to bring forth stinging insects, but they could not, so they remained upon man and upon beast. The the magi said to Pharaoh, This is the finger of God: and Pharaoh's heart was hardened, and he hearkened not unto them; as the Lord had said.

This action of God brings to an end any ability of the Magi to counterfeit it. Paul has told Timothy that in The Last Days the ungodly will counterfeit the Truth, proceeding until they can progress no further: for their folly shall be manifest to all as that of the Magi were.
These are the four actions of the magi of Egypt that Paul referred to when explaining to Timothy the means by which evil men and seducers will withstand The Truth in The Last Days.
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Analysis and Conclusion

What then is the purpose of this counterfeit action ? As with any counterfeit, it attempts to persuade those to whom it is applied, to accept a false purpose, condition or circumstance. The purpose of this particular example, generated by evil men and seducers, is to lead believers in The Christian Scriptures to accept a circumstance which appears to be true. Believers look forward to the time when God, by Jesus Christ, will be manifested to establish His kingdom on Earth. Because of many extraordinary happenings, believers today, early in the 21st century, are being led to accept that this imminent change is the manifestation of their Hope.
The Christ Himself told his disciples what to expect when these changes began:

And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to show him the buildings of the temple. And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down. And as he sat upon the mount of Olives,
the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the age? And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.

1. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.
2. And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.
3. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom:
4. and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
All these are the beginning of sorrows. Matthew 24:1
At this time, early in the 21st century, many global catastrophes are at present being experienced. Because of this, Christians are being led to believe that Christ will shortly return. Astute people recognize that small disasters are being 'hyped up by the media' to fulfil that impression. Earthquakes, pandemics, food shortages and wars, particularly in third world countries are reported. Local wars abound in Africa, the Near East and South America. The threat of a universal war is constantly reported. The momentum underlying all these things is increasing, the media seeming to make the most of it.
The casual reader of the Christian Scripture sees in all this the possible fulfilment of its prophetic statements, wishing to hope that The Christ's Second Coming will shortly bring it to an end.

The apostle Paul has told us that The Last Days will be characterized by men who will resist the Truth by withstanding it in the way that the Magi withstood Moses. The Record tells us that the Magi copied God's acts in an attempt to display before Moses and Pharaoh a power as great as that of God.
Thus the increasing hazards and disasters which we are experiencing to-day, at the beginning of the second decade of the 21st Century could well prove to be the beginning of an action attempting to withstand The Truth of God. If this is so, what can mankind expect in the near future?
The disasters quoted in Matthew chapter 24 will lead directly to the Second Advent of The Lord Jesus Christ. The Evil One's intention is to copy them in order to lead Christians to accept that Christ’s Second Advent is imminent, and thereby allow the evil one to introduce his own World Order in an attempt to pre-empt that of God. What warning is being portrayed for our understanding by these four events ? The meaning of the plagues applied by Moses and counterfeited by the Magi will teach us what to expect. We are dealing here with some important symbols established by God:

A. Egypt as a nation represents the world and its order, ruled by
rebellious angelic powers.[2Tim 3:8.]
B. Aaron's Staff represents the authority of the Twelve tribes of
Israel. The Hebrew word for staff is MATTAH [Gesenius
(Strong 4294) (3)] the same as SHEBET….’tribe’ (Strong 7626).
C. The Magi's staves represent the earth's organized tribes.
D. The river of Egypt sustains and represents the life of Egypt.
E. The blood is the true life of God's order. We are told that 'The
Life is in The Blood'. [Lev. 17:11,14]. The life of God is in the
blood of Jesus Christ [Romans 3:25].
F. Jannes and Jambres are Upper and Lower Egypt's defending
angelic powers. [See Daniel:10:13]
G. Frogs symbolize unclean spirits, i.e. demons [Rev. 16:13]

We can now apply this understanding and interpret the action of the ungodly when they attempt to confront the Truth when The Last Days recommence First Action. The Staves.
God's challenge to the World Order is the establishment of the Nation of Israel, both the House of Judah-Israel and the House of Ephraim-Israel, in their promised Land from the River of Egypt to the River Euphrates. The symbol of that authority, Aaron's staff, consumes all other authorities symbolized by the staves of the Magi.
Second Action. The River Nile and the blood.
The Life of the world is in its waters, not its seas. Without those waters there would be no life. The life of a man is in his blood, whilst God's life, offered to man, is found only in the blood of the sacrificial lamb, Jesus Christ. The waters of the world can give only temporary life, but the blood of God can give eternal life. The world's spirit rulers [Eph 6:12] will attempt to confront this principle by counterfeiting it, but God's gift will raise all Israel to Life [Ezekiel ch.37].
Third Action. The frogs in all Egypt.
God has promised to empower all members of His kingdom with the manifestation of His Spirit, as that of the early churches up to the time when the House of Judah was made Spiritually blind, deaf and without understanding in 62ad. Over the intervening years, many misguided people have sought this power and unknowingly accepted a counterfeit supplied by the evil one. This power in the form of demonic activity will be poured out like a flood [Isaiah 59:19] when God supplies His faithful ones with the Power of The Sanctifying Spirit.
Fourth Action. The stinging insects in all Egypt.
The angelic opposition manifested through the Magi could no longer withstand the power of God. Their plan was defeated and made to look ridiculous 'even as those who will counterfeit the Truth in The Last Days.

given in Isaiah 59: When the enemy shall come in like a flood the Spirit of The Lord shall cause him to flee, and The Redeemer shall come to Zion and unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob, saith The Lord.

2. given in 2Timothy. But these men shall proceed no further, for their folly shall be manifest unto all men as theirs [i.e. the Magi and the forces of The Pharaoh] also was.

When this occurs, God will cause all those who are His true Children to: Arise, Shine for your Light has come and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee'. [Isaiah 60:1] At the same time all those who love The Lord Jesus Christ will shine forth with Him in Glory. [Colossians 3:4]