Ship of the West

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Song of Moses (which all Israelites have been commanded to learn) reveals what will fuel the hearts of the rebel Israelites of the last days. 

"I will hide my face from them," he said, "and see what their end will be; for they are a perverse generation, children who are unfaithful. They made me jealous by what is no god and angered me with their worthless idols. I WILL MAKE THEM ENVIOUS BY THOSE WHO ARE NOT A PEOPLE; I WILL MAKE THEM ANGRY BY A GENTILE THAT HAS NO UNDERSTANDING" (Deuteronomy 32:20-21).

Why would ignorant and unlearned gentiles have such an adverse effect upon the Israelite people? The following passage of Isaiah helps give us some insight. “In the last days, the mountain of YHWH’s temple will be established … and all Gentiles will stream to it. Many peoples will come and say, "Come, let us go up to the mountain of YHWH, to the house of the God of Jacob. He (Jacob) will teach us His (YHWH's) ways, so that we may walk in his paths." The Torah will go out from Zion, the word of YHWH from Jerusalem” (Isaiah 2:2-3). 

Isaiah’s prophecy states that undeniable evidence will be displayed throughout the earth, revealing to all that the God of Israel has taken the reins Government into his own hands. People of all nations who are “unlearned” about the requirements of His Kingdom will disconnect from the secular powers seek out Torah keeping Israelites to become more knowledgeable about the Kingdom they are about to embrace. "This is what YHWH Almighty says: "In those days ten men from all languages and nations will take firm hold of one Jew by the hem of his robe and say, 'Let us go with you, because we have heard that God is with you" (Zechariah 8:23).

But Moses reveals that a counterforce will rise to explain away this prophetic event. That counterforce will come in the form of lawless Israelites whose leaders seek the approval of the religious world. This branch of Israel has long sought to fulfill the promised blessing to all nations. But like Cain, they have devised their own methods to fulfill this objective. Today these Israelites awaiting the time when their expectations will come to pass. But an unrecognized branch of Israel has been growing as well. Like Abel, this portion of Israel seeks to offer what YHWH wants; not what they want. 

As the power of the spirit comes to fulfill his covenant and enable Israel to teach the Law of Moses to the gentiles, it will hover over the righteous and unrighteous of Israel alike. But alas! the spirit move away from those who are lawless. Yeshua’s teachings confirm that YHWH will not empower Israelites who show disregard for the Torah. He said, “Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments (of the Torah) and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commandments will be called great in the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:19). 

Like Cain, the faces of rebel Israel will be downcast for a time. But their disappointment will soon turn into envy and jealousy as the song of Moses declares. Because the fulfillment of the Covenant promises (which they have steadfastly rejected) do not fit within the narrative of their doctrines, lawless Israel will ridicule the multitudes who seek enlightenment from their righteous brothers about the Torah. From this point onward, the rebellious seed of Israel will work diligently to silence the voice of the remnant. 

The prophecies of Daniel point to one specific Sabbatarian community who will initiate this rebellion of jealousy. Although they are well known today for their high regard of the 10 commandments; the subsequent doctrines of the Seventh Day Adventists are counter intuitive to that which is taught in the Torah. They have become increasingly lawless through the years they have spent nursing on Roman doctrines. Had they wholeheartedly embraced the Torah in the early generations of their development, they could have resisted the gravitational pull of Babylon. But the spirit of YHWH cannot force the rebellious Israelites from their reckless descent. YHWH relents, "Ephraim is joined to idols; leave him alone!" (Hosea 4:17). 

The prophecy of Daniel gives us insight regarding the actions that idolatrous Israel will take at the inception of the Everlasting Kingdom. The angel said, “They shall take away the daily, and they shall place the abomination that makes desolate” (Daniel 11:31). Please note that I have taken the word “sacrifice” out of this passage because it was added by man. (You will never find this word in the Hebrew text). It is important to understand what Daniel means here. The Israelites who have come under the influence of both Roman and their own unique ideologies and calculations, will work intensely to prevent the expansion of the Everlasting Kingdom. 

The verse says “they (Israel) shall take away (sur) the daily (tamiyd)”. In Hebrew “sur” represents one who turns the head of the people through power and legislation (see 1 Samuel 28:3). The second word in the phrase “tamiyd” means continual. The root of this word is “miyd” and relates to the unrolling of a carpet so that one can dwell comfortably in a tent. As we put this phrase together, we find that the People of Israel use the power of state-craft to prevent the roll-out of the everlasting Kingdom. This will be an unusual turn of events for Seventh Day Adventists who have long promoted religious freedom and warned against the dangers of mingling church and state. But as their position of importance becomes overshadowed by the remnant, they will be willing to compromise one of their greatest attributes to regain their prominent position. 

King Saul provides us an excellent example of what occurs after the spirit of jealousy fills the soul vacated by the spirit of YHWH. Saul was enraged and spent the final decade of his life hunting down David who was favored by YHWH because he obeyed the Torah. When the spirit departs from those of Israel who despise the Torah, they will spend the duration of the last days hunting down their Covenant keeping brothers who have taken refuge in the wilderness. The man clothed in linen reveals the span of time until forgiveness for the rebels will be impossible. "From the time that the daily is abolished and the abomination that causes desolation is set up, there will be 1,290 days. (Daniel 12:11)

Their zeal against the Torah and the Everlasting Kingdom will not be ignored by the powers of the failing nations. The rebels of Israel will be highly regarded by the Kings of the Earth for a time. Together, they will conspire to fill the Earth with violence against the Kingdom. The rebels of Israel will fulfill their prophetic destiny, but in ways they did not anticipate. In their foolishness, they will choose to stand on a diminishing heap of twisted metal in an attempt to destroy a mountain of stone. For YHWH says that this mountain “will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end” (Daniel 2:44). Note how unrolling/expanding in the word daily (tamiyd)” also relates to the little stone of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream about the everlasting Kingdom, “the rock … became a huge mountain and filled the whole earth” (Daniel 2:35). 

The envy of rebel will awaken the jealousy of YHWH for his Covenant keeping People. The song of Moses states “I will make them envious by those who are not a people; I will make them angry by a nation that has no understanding. For a fire has been kindled by my wrath, one that burns to the realm of death below. It will devour the earth and its harvests and set afire the foundations of the mountains. "I will heap calamities upon them and spend my arrows against them. I will send wasting famine against them, consuming pestilence and deadly plague; I will send against them the fangs of wild beasts, the venom of vipers that glide in the dust” (Deuteronomy 32:21-24).

But this is all part of a grand design. The punishment of the rebels in the sight of all nations will prove the be a blessing to the Gentiles. Moses wrote that the Gentiles who have no understanding shall rise higher and higher while the jealous rebels of Israel sink lower and lower (See Deuteronomy 28:43). It is notable that it is the song of Moses will be sung by all those who overcome the beast. They will have witnessed the blessings and curses brought to Israel and a great multitude will make their decision to follow Torah!