As this shocking Supreme Court decision on Gay marriage settles into the nation, I’m reminded of the passage in Luke where Yeshua (Jesus) told us one of the final signs of His return. He said it would be like the days of Lot. While many of us are grieving over this decision, it should be a reminder to those of us who know the Lord, that His words are being fulfilled to the detail, every jot and tittle! And THAT is exciting news.

Luke 17:28-30 Likewise, just as it was in the days of Lot—they were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building, but on the day when Lot went out from Sodom, fire and sulfur rained from heaven and destroyed them all— so will it be on the day when the Son of Man is revealed.

Read on to verse 32. Remember Lot’s wife.

Remember Lot’s wife? Why would He mention her? Lot’s wife turned into a pillar of salt because she disobeyed the order not to look back at her burning city. Yes, our hearts are broken but for those of us who are children of God, we have a Kingdom ahead which can never be destroyed! This world is not our home! We are simply strangers and exiles on the earth. [Hebrews 11:13]

Remember Yeshua’s warning, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.” [Luke 9:62]

Let’s look up and ahead, for truly our redemption draweth nigh!

Most are aware of the recent decision by the Supreme Court on the issue of same-sex marriage, but many may not realize that this was only one of the history-making decisions reached this session.

This past month, the Supreme Court determined that the word “Israel” cannot be listed next to the word “Jerusalem” on an American-Israeli passport. Secondly, the Supreme Court rejected an appeal from North Carolina to revive a requirement that abortion providers must show an ultrasound to a pregnant woman before she has an abortion. Last but not least, the Supreme Court declared that the biblical institution of marriage was not between just a man and a woman.

This means that in only one month’s time, the Supreme Court came against Jerusalem (strike one), failed to defend the unborn (strike two) and to top it all off, came against holy matrimony (strike three and you’re OUT)!

The apostle Paul writes “Now these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did.” [1 Corinthians 10:6].

The prophet Jeremiah spells out in verse 5:9 and in verse 29, “Shall I not punish them for these things? declares the LORD; and shall I not avenge myself on a nation such as this?”

These are the characteristics of a nation rebuked harshly by the Lord.

• Men say, “As the Lord lives,” yet they swear falsely (Jeremiah 5:2)
• Refused to repent (Jeremiah 5:3)
• Mighty men did not execute God’s justice (Jeremiah 5:5)
• Children have forsaken God (Jeremiah 5:7)
• Despite being fed to the full, they committed adultery as each lusted for their neighbor’s wife (Jeremiah 5:8)
• They have grown fat and sleek (Jeremiah 5:27)
• They know no bounds in deeds of evil (Jeremiah 5:28)
• They judge not with justice and do not defend the innocent (Jeremiah 5:28)

Then, with much conviction, Jeremiah asks, “Shall I not punish them for these things? declares the LORD, and shall I not avenge myself on a nation such as this?” An appalling and horrible thing has happened in the land: the prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests rule at their direction; my people love to have it so, but what will you do when the end comes? (Jer 5:29-31)

All that said, in the midst of this passage is a blessing. “For these things happened to the nation of Israel to PRUNE it so it could once again PRODUCE FRUIT!

“Go up through her vine rows and destroy, but make not a full end; strip away her branches, for they are not the LORD’s.” (Jeremiah 5:10)

Whatever judgment may come, I hope that it will be done in such a way, that America may once again be fruitful.

Our God is merciful.

In Matthew 24, Yeshua (Jesus) makes an interesting correlation between the end of the age and a woman giving birth. [Matthew 24:8]. As the birth of a baby draws near, the birth pangs intensify, and the timing between pangs becomes shorter and shorter, eventually leading to the climatic moment of birth. The world is now in the middle of a prophetic birthing cycle. No one can deny that the birth pangs have been intensifying , but the key to knowing that birth is near is that moments before a baby is born, the WATER BREAKS. I believe we are about to embark on that pivotal moment in history.

Recently I published a calendar, naming significant events that will be colliding within a few days of each other in the coming months. We could very well be experiencing a monumental, prophetic, water breaking event in our very near future,  a gushing outbreak of the outpouring of God’s Spirit and a harvest of multitudes.

When the church age began, every believer was Jewish. However, when non-jewish Cornelius came to faith – the Apostles realized the message of the gospel was not only for the Jewish people, but also for the Gentiles. In the first century, the Jewish apostles gathered in Jerusalem to determine what to do about the issue of Gentiles coming to faith (ironically, today the church is trying to figure out what to do with all these Jewish people coming to faith). But it is in the midst of this meeting, James stands up and quotes Amos 9. We read in Acts 15,

Acts 15:13-18 After they finished speaking, James replied, “Brothers, listen to me. Simeon has related how God first visited the Gentiles, to take from them a people for his name. And with this the words of the prophets agree, just as it is written, “‘After this I will return, and I will rebuild the tent of David that has fallen; I will rebuild its ruins, and I will restore it, that the remnant of mankind may seek the Lord, and all the Gentiles who are called by my name, says the Lord, who makes these things known from of old.‘

When James quotes this passage of Amos 9, it was only PARTIALLY FULFILLED!

If we read this passage in its entirety, we discover these events are now being fulfilled before our eyes.

Amos 9:11-12 In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof; and I will raise up his ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old: That they may possess the remnant of Edom, and of all the Gentiles, which are called by my name, saith the LORD that doeth this.

Amos 9:14-15 And I will bring again the captivity of my people of Israel, and they shall build the waste cities, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and drink the wine thereof; they shall also make gardens, and eat the fruit of them. And I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be pulled up out of their land which I have given them, saith the LORD thy God.

Along with the Gentiles coming into the Kingdom is the promise that God will restore the Jewish people back to their land and rebuild the waste cities and inhabit them. This prophecy could not be fulfilled unless the Jewish people were first expelled from the land, only to return many years later. This passage in Amos is being fulfilled in our generation.

If we look closely, the central theme of this passage is the HARVEST. In verse 13, Amos says,

Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that the plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him that soweth seed; and the mountains shall drop sweet wine, and all the hills shall melt.

The Keil – Delitzsch commentary on this particular verse explains it this way.

The ploughman will reach to the reaper.” Even while the one is engaged in ploughing the land for the sowing, the other will already be able to cut ripe corn; so quickly will the corn grow and ripen. And the treading of the grapes will last to the sowing-time, so abundant will the vintage be.

Prophetically, Amos declares that the harvest will be so ABUNDANT, that reaping and sowing will take place simultaneously!

Yeshua (Jesus) describes the world as His great harvest field, and in the parable given in Matthew 13, He says,

Mat 13:24-30 He put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field, but while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also. And the servants of the master of the house came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds?’ He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ So the servants said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’ But he said, ‘No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.‘”

The Lord declared that the wheat and the tares were to grow side by side together. As we see the tares, that is, the evils of this world manifesting, we also need to be mindful the wheat is also ripening right along with it!

Below is a chart of the population of the world since the birth of the Messiah.

As you can see, the population of the world in the above graph was essentially flat for 1900 years. It took nearly 1900 years to get to the first billion. From the 1930’s to now,  the population grew exponentially to seven and a half billion.

For those first 1900 years, there were an estimated 4-5 billion people that lived on the earth. Let us suppose for a moment, that only ten percent of those 4-5 billion people came to a saving knowledge of the Lord. This would mean for the first 1900 years, an estimated 400,000,000 to 500,000,000 million people in the world came to faith.

Today,  before our very eyes, we are seeing the world’s population grow to over 7 billion people! And if we suppose the same scenario of ten percent, then in our generation alone, there will be 700,000,000 or so people come to faith! This season, we may see nearly double the number of people entering the Kingdom then all 1900 or so years combined! That’s HUGE!

I urge you brothers and sisters, we are alive for the greatest opportunity that any generation has ever had! Now is not the time to cower in fear — now is the day of salvation! 

I strongly encourage you to listen to my message — This is not the end of the world!

As requested by many and after much prayer and research, I have compiled a list of significant events over which we must be praying in the coming months.

By listing these events, let it be known that it is NOT in any way my intention to produce fear. Fear is not of God — for He has not given us a spirit of fear, but of love, of power and a sound mind. The following is only for a matter of awareness and prayer.

1. On or around June 26 the Supreme Court will decide on the issue of Gay Marriage in the United States, in the midst of President Obama’s declaration that June is LGBT month.

2. June 17-July 17 – Muslim fast of Ramadan.

3. At the end of June, the nuclear agreement with Iran is supposed to be finalized.

4. July 25-July 26 – Tisha b’av (9th of Av). What’s happened historically in the past on this day?

5. July 28th – On May 28th, Reuters reported that countries in the European Union were being given a two-month deadline to enact bail-in legislation. Any nation that does not have bail-in legislation in place by that time will face legal action from the European Commission. (So why is the European Union in such a rush to get this done? Could it be that the top dogs in the EU are anticipating that another great financial crisis is about to erupt?)

6. July 15th to September 15th – A realistic military training exercise known as ‘Jade Helm’ will be conducted by the U.S. Army. More than 1,000 members of the U.S. military will take part in this exercise. The list of states to be involved in these drills include Texas, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, California, Mississippi and Florida.

7. Sept 13-14 – End of the Shemitah year. In 2001 and 2008, both Shemitah years ended with the beginning of Wall Street crashes.

8. Sept 15 – The 70th session of the UN General Assembly begins on this date. It is being reported that France plans to introduce a resolution that would give formal UN Security Council recognition to a Palestinian state. Up until now, the United States has always been the one blocking such a resolution, but Barack Obama is indicating that things may be much different this time around.

9. Sept 23 – Yom Kippur and also the Jubilee of Jerusalem to the day.

10. Sept 24 – Pope Francis will address Congress. This will be the first time a Pope has ever addressed Congress.

11. Sept 25-27 – The United Nations is going to launch a brand new sustainable development agenda for the entire planet. Some have called this “Agenda 21 on steroids”. But this new agenda is not just about the environment. It also includes provisions regarding economics, agriculture, education and gender equality. On September 25th, the Pope will travel to New York to give a major speech kicking off the UN conference where this new agenda will be unveiled.

12. Sept 28 — First day of Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles) as well as the final blood moon of a Tetrad cycle. This super moon will be the closest it has been to Earth since 2011.  In 2011, the super moon came in conjunction with a blood moon over Washington D.C. and marked the beginning of the war in Libya.

My Friends, this is not the end of world! It is the BEGINNING OF THE KINGDOM!

Shalom everyone,

As we continue this study, I’ll be focusing on Daniel and his picture of the resurrection and its connection with Yeshua (Jesus).

Dan 6:2  and over them three high officials, of whom Daniel was one, to whom these satraps should give account, so that the king might suffer no loss.

Dan 6:10  When Daniel knew that the document had been signed, he went to his house where he had windows in his upper chamber open toward Jerusalem. He got down on his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as he had done previously.

So Daniel prayed three times a day, as his custom was — and we’ve seen previously how often the number 3 is connected to the resurrection.

Dan 6:4  Then the high officials and the satraps sought to find a ground for complaint against Daniel with regard to the kingdom, but they could find no ground for complaint or any fault, because he was faithful, and no error or fault was found in him.

Mat 26:59  Now the chief priests and the whole council were seeking false testimony against Jesus that they might put him to death,
Mat 26:60  but they found none, though many false witnesses came forward.

Luk 23:4  Then Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowds, “I find no guilt in this man.”

As Daniel, a Jew, was brought before Darius a pagan king, so was Yeshua, a Jew, was brought before pagan ruler to be executed.  In both the lives of Yeshua and Daniel, there was no fault found in them!

Dan 6:5  Then these men said, “We shall not find any ground for complaint against this Daniel unless we find it in connection with the law of his God.”

Joh 19:7  The Jews answered him, “We have a law, and according to that law he ought to die because he has made himself the Son of God.”

Notice also the satraps used the “law of his God” to execute him, just as the “pharisees” used the “law” to execute Yeshua!

Dan 6:6  Then these high officials and satraps came by agreement to the king and said to him, “O King Darius, live forever!

Luk 23:2  And they began to accuse him, saying, “We found this man misleading our nation and forbidding us to give tribute to Caesar, and saying that he himself is Christ, a king.”

Joh 19:15  They cried out, “Away with him, away with him, crucify him!” Pilate said to them, “Shall I crucify your King?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar.”

Just as the “satraps” peddled their trap in disguise as “oh King”, the Pharisees plotted against “Jesus” by claiming they had no King but Caesar!

Dan 6:7  All the high officials of the kingdom, the prefects and the satraps, the counselors and the governors are agreed that the king should establish an ordinance and enforce an injunction, that whoever makes petition to any god or man for thirty days, except to you, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions.

Mat 26:15  and said, “What will you give me if I deliver him over to you?” And they paid him thirty pieces of silver.

Notice the “satraps” of Daniel’s day — plotted as how they could destroy Daniel — just as the Pharisees did in Yeshua’s day.  Connected to the plot to destroy Daniel was the number 30 — just as 30 was connected to the plot to kill Yeshua.

Dan 6:13  Then they answered and said before the king, “Daniel, who is one of the exiles from Judah, pays no attention to you, O king, or the injunction you have signed, but makes his petition three times a day.”
Dan 6:14  Then the king, when he heard these words, was much distressed and set his mind to deliver Daniel. And he labored till the sun went down to rescue him.
Dan 6:15  Then these men came by agreement to the king and said to the king, “Know, O king, that it is a law of the Medes and Persians that no injunction or ordinance that the king establishes can be changed.”

Mat 27:17  So when they had gathered, Pilate said to them, “Whom do you want me to release for you: Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?”
Mat 27:18  For he knew that it was out of envy that they had delivered him up.

Joh 19:12  From then on Pilate sought to release him, but the Jews cried out, “If you release this man, you are not Caesar’s friend. Everyone who makes himself a king opposes Caesar.”

Darius knows the reason the men delivered Daniel was because of ‘envy’ and Darius didn’t want to execute Daniel in his heart.  Just as Pilate knew it was out of envy the High Priest delivered up Yeshua to be crucified, and Pilate didn’t want to execute Yeshua and said, “My hands are clean”.

As Daniel is thrown into the lions den — it’s a death sentence, yet this picture of death becomes fully understood as Daniel emerges and later is a picture of resurrection! 

Dan 6:16  Then the king commanded, and Daniel was brought and cast into the den of lions. The king declared to Daniel, “May your God, whom you serve continually, deliver you!”

Mat 27:43  He trusts in God; let God deliver him now, if he desires him. For he said, ‘I am the Son of God.'”

As Darius tells Daniel, may the Lord deliver you — the same words are uttered before Yeshua.

Dan 6:17  And a stone was brought and laid on the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet and with the signet of his lords, that nothing might be changed concerning Daniel.

Mat 27:65  Pilate said to them, “You have a guard of soldiers. Go, make it as secure as you can.”
Mat 27:66  So they went and made the tomb secure by sealing the stone and setting a guard.

The tomb of “Daniel” is sealed with the King’s signet, so was the tomb of Yeshua!

Dan 6:18  Then the king went to his palace and spent the night fasting; no diversions were brought to him, and sleep fled from him.

Darius could not sleep and was troubled by Daniel in the Lion’s den.

Mat 27:19  Besides, while he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent word to him, “Have nothing to do with that righteous man, for I have suffered much because of him today in a dream.”

Pilate’s wife was troubled in her sleep because of Yeshua’s death.

Dan 6:20  As he came near to the den where Daniel was, he cried out in a tone of anguish. The king declared to Daniel, “O Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to deliver you from the lions?”
Dan 6:21  Then Daniel said to the king, “O king, live forever!
Dan 6:22  My God sent his angel and shut the lions’ mouths, and they have not harmed me, because I was found blameless before him; and also before you, O king, I have done no harm.”
Dan 6:23  Then the king was exceedingly glad, and commanded that Daniel be taken up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no kind of harm was found on him, because he had trusted in his God.

Dan 6:25  Then King Darius wrote to all the peoples, nations, and languages that dwell in all the earth: “Peace be multiplied to you.
Dan 6:26  I make a decree, that in all my royal dominion people are to tremble and fear before the God of Daniel, for he is the living God, enduring forever; his kingdom shall never be destroyed, and his dominion shall be to the end.
Dan 6:27  He delivers and rescues; he works signs and wonders in heaven and on earth, he who has saved Daniel from the power of the lions.”

Dan 7:13  “I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him.
Dan 7:14  And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.

Rev 5:9  And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation,
Rev 5:10  and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.”
Rev 5:13  And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying, “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!”

Rev 12:10  And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God.

And finally the thematic connection to the “resurrection” is its connection to the Kingdom of God!  For His is a Kingdom that shall never be destroyed!

Your brother in the Lord with much agape love,

George

Shalom everyone,

As we continue this series the next obvious sign of the resurrection in the Old Testament is the sign of Isaac and Abraham.

Gen 22:1  After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.”
Gen 22:2  He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.”

So God “tests” Abraham and as a perfect picture of the coming sacrifice of God’s only begotten Son (Yeshua – Jesus) God instructs Issac to go and sacrifice his son, Issac.  Where does he say to offer him?  On Moriah — the exact location of the Temple Mount.

Gen 22:3  So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac. And he cut the wood for the burnt offering and arose and went to the place of which God had told him.

Notice Abraham didn’t waste any time — he left the next morning!  And arrived on a donkey — just as Yeshua triumphantly entered Jerusalem on a donkey!

Gen 22:4  On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place from afar.

You’ll notice over and over again the number 3 in connection to the resurrection throughout the Old Covenant.

Gen 22:5  Then Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; I and the boy will go over there and worship and come again to you.”

At this point, we get an understanding that Abraham knew something — he wasn’t sure about the test — but he did expect to RETURN with Issac.

Heb 11:17  By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son,
Heb 11:18  of whom it was said, “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.”
Heb 11:19  He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back.

Abraham wasn’t sure what God was going to do — but He “considered” even at this point the — RESURRECTION!

Gen 22:6  And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son. And he took in his hand the fire and the knife. So they went both of them together.

This is a perfect picture of the cross that Yeshua would carry before his crucifixion.

Gen 22:7  And Isaac said to his father Abraham, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” He said, “Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?”
Gen 22:8  Abraham said, “God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” So they went both of them together.

So even here, God would provide the Lamb for himself — just as the Lamb of God was provided for the world.

Gen 22:9  When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built the altar there and laid the wood in order and bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood.

This is the Hebrew understanding of “Akeda” which is the “binding of Isaac” and its root comes from the Hebrew word, akod, which meant — bound but it literally means “ringed” or “striped”.  One of the ancient scholars of Israel, Rashi, explained the use of the verb as “stripe-like marks” left by ropes on the ankles and wrists of a person who is tied hand and foot.  Thus the reason for the word “akeda” for the naming of the story is named after the marks that were left on Issac’s body!   A perfect picture of the fact that Yeshua still had marks even after his resurrection.  As Thomas only believed after reaching his hands into his side — and his wrists — a perfect picture even to the Hebraic understanding of word — akeda.  As Issac was laid on the wood — so Yeshua was laid on the cross.

Gen 22:10  Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son.
Gen 22:11  But the angel of the LORD called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.”
Gen 22:12  He said, “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.”
Gen 22:13  And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son.
Gen 22:14  So Abraham called the name of that place, “The LORD will provide“; as it is said to this day, “On the mount of the LORD it shall be provided.”

Issac by this age was strong enough to fight off his father Abraham who was well into his age — yet Issac was willing to lay down his life — just as Yeshua was willing to lay His life down for His Father.  Even the exact location of the sacrifice would be known years later as the PLACE where the Lord would provide His Son as the “lamb of God” for the sins of the world!

Gen 22:15  And the angel of the LORD called to Abraham a second time from heaven
Gen 22:16  and said, “By myself I have sworn, declares the LORD, because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son,
Gen 22:17  I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies,
Gen 22:18  and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice.”

The sacrifice of Issac was connected to the blessings of the nations — and years later the sacrifice of Yeshua — is the blessing to the nations!

I’m sure there’s more comparisons, but this summarizes the story of Abraham and Issac and the connection to the Resurrection,

Your brother in the Lord with much agape love,

George

Shalom everyone,

I thought I would do a series of teachings on the parallels on one of the most “prophesied” event in the Old Testament — and the focus of the New Testament authors — the Resurrection.

Most people have never examined how many stories are directly connected to the most historic and earth changing event in the history of the world — the resurrection.

I will begin with the sign of Jonah and continue this series showing how many “pictures” of the resurrection are throughout the Scriptures.

Jonah is laid out in a chiastic structure, which means that it a story that is laid out in a fashion where the story is unveiled — then its central theme is identified — then re-wrapped the same way it was originally wrapped.

A) Jonah 1:15  So they took up Jonah, and cast him forth into the sea: and the sea ceased from her raging.

B) Jonah 1:16 Then the men feared the LORD exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice unto the LORD, and made vows.

C) Jonah 2:1-2a Then Jonah prayed to the LORD his God from the belly of the fish,  saying, “I called out to the LORD, out of my distress, and he answered me;

D) Jonah 2:2b out of the belly of Sheol I cried, and you heard my voice.

E) Jonah 2:3 For you cast me into the deep, into the heart of the seas, and the flood surrounded me; all your waves and your billows passed over me.

F) Jon 2:4  Then I said, ‘I am driven away from your sight; yet I shall again look upon your holy temple.’

E) Jonah 2:5 The waters closed in over me to take my life; the deep surrounded me

D) Jonah 2:6b yet you brought up my life from the pit, O LORD my God.

C) Jonah 2:7 When my life was fainting away, I remembered the LORD, and my prayer came to you, into your holy temple.

B) Jonah 2:9 Those who pay regard to vain idols forsake their hope of steadfast love. But I with the voice of thanksgiving will sacrifice to you; what I have vowed I will pay. Salvation belongs to the LORD!”

A) Jonah 2:10 And the LORD spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah out upon the dry land.

So it’s a story wrapped up with Jonah being cast into the sea and concludes with the sea casting Jonah to the land.  Each point A coincides with A, and B with B, so this story unveils itself in a unique way so we can examine the main point.

The main point of Jonah — that he was driven out of the sight of the Lord — yet will once again look to the Temple!

As Yeshua (Jesus) stated in Matthew —

Mat 12:39  But he answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.
Mat 12:40  For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

He’s referring to Jonah’s sign — of three days and three nights — the number 3 will be used by the LORD over and over again as a sign of the resurrection.

Jonah 1:17  And the LORD appointed a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.

Just as Jonah “died” and was “resurrected” so this was a sign of the resurrection.  Jonah should have died — yet he didn’t!   Jonah swallowed by a great fish — a picture of death.  Was in the belly of the fish, three days and three nights — a sign of the burial of Yeshua.  Jonah being spew up out of the belly of the great fish — the resurrection.  Notice that Jonah’s head was wrapped — Jonah 2:5 weeds were wrapped about my head as a picture of the crown of thorns!

Just as Yeshua left His glory when he came to earth — driven out of the sight of the Lord at his death — YET He was restored to His glory in the Holy Temple.

John 17:5  And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.

He RETURNED to the TEMPLE!  Resurrection!

As you can see the picture of Jonah is much deeper, and I’ll do a series of teachings dealing with one of the most prophesied events in the Bible — the resurrection!

Your brother in the Lord with much agape love,

George