Seventy Years

(again and again)
Zechariah 1:12
Post 180


The point of this 1st chapter of Zechariah is centered on the question of “How long”.
That question is a significant focus of my entire blog and our present study of the last Global Dominate Empires (GDE) to affect Israel and the rest of the world.
This and at least the next post are dedicated not to the answer, but to the question, with the answer following after.

* * *

In our last study we saw the wandering horse scouts proclaim; “We have walked to and fro through the earth, and, behold, all the earth sitteth still, and is at rest.” Zechariah 1:11
“Then (as a result of what they said) the angel of the LORD answered and said, O LORD of hosts, how long wilt thou not have mercy on Jerusalem and on the cities of Judah, against which thou hast had indignation these threescore and ten years?” Zechariah 1:12
“and the LORD answered the angel…” v.13a

So now we have the focus of the next narration answering the question; “When will the lack of mercy on Israel end?” *1 as God proceeds to give the answer.

But before we just go on to learn the answer, we need to understand the tri- *2 layers of this narration.
The historical layer receives understanding from the ancient layer, which in turn explains the prophetic layer. The prophetic layer then gives meaning to the historic layers.
But because the historic study gets very complex quickly, I will save that for the book, and here just take a very short look at only some of the elements in both the historical layers that are key to explaining the prophetic layer as it applies to world events we see happening today:

* * *

History:
All reasonable scholars, at least superficially recognize the historical context of this passage relating to when it was written. So lets take a moment to understand this lack of mercy that had already lasted 70 years; (a score is 20, so three 20s= 60. 60+10 is 70.) *3

The Israel of the released Babylonian captivity, and the ministering angel speaking with Zechariah, were not confused as to the length of their captivity. It was the calculated sentence by God their judge, to pay for crimes against Him as clearly shown in their subsequent history of II Chronicles 36:11-23.
With all the recognized valid accusations against them listed there, verse 21 identifies that the historian recognized the specific crime that demanded a specific payment;
“(The preceding events of captivity happened) To fulfil the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed her Sabbaths: for as long as she lay desolate she kept sabbath, to fulfil threescore and ten years.” II Chronicles 36:21

That historical record written after the fact, refers to the specific duration foretold in prophecy by Jeremiah before the captivity began;
“And this whole land shall be a desolation, and an astonishment; and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years.” Jeremiah 25:11
So now we have the pre-event prophecy and the post-event historic record showing that they knew the specific length of the captivity, and the just cause.
Ezekiel too, had full understanding that this 70 year punishment was a matter of fact ordained by God, and for this understanding Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Daniel could boldly declare to the king; it was God’s will that they submit to Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, and take their captivity as punishment from God.

But even before God sent them into “prison” he, through Jeremiah the prophet, encouraged them that a promise would follow the sentence of exactly 70 years;
“For thus saith the LORD, That after seventy years be accomplished at Babylon I will visit you, and perform my good word toward you, in causing you to return to this place.” Jeremiah 29:10

And just as prophesied, at the end of 70 years *4 the Jews were released in 536 BC by Cyrus king of Persia the new GDE, for the goal of returning to Israel and begin rebuilding their temple. (Ezra 1:1-4, Daniel 6:28)….

* * *
Historical events:
Through the first year the people, recently freed, went to work with great joy and enthusiasm;
They built an alter to God, they kept the obligatory feasts, they held daily burnt offerings, and gave freewill offerings to the LORD. (Ezra 3:1-7)
And after the proper preparation they broke ground and began to build the foundation for the temple in the second year. (Ezra 3:8-13) There was great joy even though they were troubled by “the people of those countries”. (Ezra 3:3)

Imagine, after 70 years of captivity they were finally home and supposed in God’s favor just as God through Jeremiah had promised!
But in their self-absorbed enthusiasm they missed what the prophecy actually said;
His good word toward them was for the purpose of their return. What comes after that was up to them, good or bad.

And soon they ran into increasing opposition by the people who had squatted on their land while they were away in “prison” *5. (Ezra 4:1-6) The general opposition and lawsuits lasted for about 71 years until king Artaxerxes Longimanus became the king of Persia in 465 BC. (Ezra 4:4-6) *6
Then the adversarial squatters (Ezra 4:10) stepped up the opposition and hired lawyers who wrote a letter (Ezra 4:11-16) full of specially crafted misleading truth to the new king, convincing him to put a “stop work order” on the temple of the people he governed but never actually knew,*7 and “Then ceased the work of the house of God which is at Jerusalem. So it ceased unto the second year of the reign of Darius (II) king of Persia.” (423-404 BC) Ezra 4:24 *8
This cessation from temple construction lasted about 44 years, (The rise of one king to the second year of the other: 421 BC Ezra 4:24) and in that time the people turned to occupying their private lives, fulfilling their own desires, and basically forgot the temple since they were forbidden to build it. They were just happy to be home building a new life!... but for 114 years? (70+44) *6

* * *

Now lets think about this:
In the first 70 years the people obeyed the law as they were focused on building the temple. But because their efforts were based only on gratitude and not on love, they did not respond well to discouragement. Because they saw less to be grateful for over time, the efforts and enthusiasm waned.
And don't forget the discouragement of opposition began back at the beginning when they arrived home. (Ezra 3:3)
So at the decree to stop construction about 71 years into it, the discouragement was already well mature, and they gave up easily. And with the failed hopes of faith, came a failure to obey the law of the God who seemed to fail them.
Sabbaths were a part of those laws, so we can be confident they stopped giving the land her required Sabbaths upon receiving the decree; perhaps much as America began in the 70s to keep her stores open on Sundays in violation of her long traditions honoring Sundays. Without the cause of faith, it just makes good economic sense.

Now I don’t have the year the decree to stop work was made, and so for validation provide the earliest date possible as the first year of Artaxerxes Longimanus, making it 44 years without providing a Sabbath for the land. (465-421 BC)

So after only one generation they were already on their way to another captivity!
What happens if the trend was allowed to continue? The obligatory payment of the forgotten Sabbaths comes due again!
And since learned sins are very difficult to break, if this guaranteed problem was to be cut off, NOW was the time to deal with it in the bud while it was still new. “…Behold now is the accepted time: behold, now is the day of salvation.” II Corinthians 6:2

It was here, in the second generation, born and raised in the sins of their fathers whose faith had grown weak in the captivity, that God sent Haggai and Zechariah to prophesy to their children before this trend became entrenched and the captivity doomed to repeat.

“Then the prophets, Haggai… and Zechariah, prophesied unto the Jews that were in Judah and Jerusalem in the name of the God of Israel, even unto them.” (Era 5:1)

“Be ye not as your (grand*9) fathers, unto whom the former prophets have cried, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Turn ye now from your evil ways, and from your evil doings: but they did not hear, nor hearken unto me, saith the LORD.
Your fathers, where are they? And the prophets, do they live for ever?
But my words and my statutes, which I commanded my servants the prophets, did they not take hold of your fathers? (for 70 years of captivity)
And they returned (to the homeland afterwards) and said, Like as the LORD of hosts thought to do unto us, according to our ways, and according to our doings, so hath he dealt with us.” Zechariah 1:4-6
In otherwords their historians who recognized they were the cause of the captivity, recorded it all in their Chronicles of history declaring that God did to them just as he had warned.
But in spite of all the documented proofs of history that God will do as he has said;
“…This people say, (because of the troubles and the stop work order;) The time is not come, the time that the LORD’s house should be built…
Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Consider your ways…because of mine house that is waste, and ye run every man unto his own house.” Haggai 1:2,5,7,9b

And now we know when the Book of Zechariah and our chapter of discussion was written, and the circumstances that brought it on! And it brings new seriousness to the words we read.

It was AFTER the 70-year “incarceration” was over, and their fathers had returned home in praise to their God, finally free of oppression, but they were weak in faith and heartsick to find they still faced struggle and opposition!
And it went on year after year for 70 years until their struggle became a deeply entrenched way of life.
Now the new generation, only one generation removed from captivity, had been doing the very same offenses as those who went into captivity. And the date the debt comes due again was doggedly on its way!
What a wakeup call they got from Haggai and Zechariah!

And it worked! The people woke up!
They realized suddenly that the problem was not God's failure to help them, but that they had failed God!
And so they began in earnest to again obey their God, and started fresh in building the temple so that they could again in obedience sacrifice according to God’s law. (Ezra 5:2)
And so they altered their learned course, finally becoming Jews - the children of God, no longer Jews - the servants of nations!

* * *

So why did they struggle for so long before figuring it out?
The problem was directly related to their perception of what God intended to do for them.
They believed that after the incarceration was paid, God would bring them home as promised. But they assumed that meant God was going to pamper them as well.
They perhaps unconsciously, felt that God owed them comfortable times after experiencing such oppression (as if it was undeserved), and were therefore frustrated by God’s “lack of mercy” on their troubles upon coming home, much as a convict might feel as he steps through the prison gate onto the streets of civilian life; penniless, jobless and friendless. And angry that no one would give him work.
Not joyful to finally be paid up and released from the incarceration he brought upon himself, but grumbling that “the man” had dumped him on his own.

But God’s perspective was significantly different;
“If they shall confess their iniquity, and the iniquity of their fathers, with their trespass which they trespassed against me, and that also they have walked contrary unto me; And that I also have walked contrary unto them, and have brought them into the land of their enemies; if then their uncircumcised hearts be humbled, and they then accept of the punishment of their iniquity: THEN will I remember…” Leviticus 26:40-41 (capitalized emphasis added)

This entire disparity between views is an issue of perspective.
Their perspective was the same “government owes me a living” mentality of America today.
In one perspective it is all about me, in the other it is all about God.
Which one is the perspective in your own life as you deal with your struggles?

Notice in the perspective God desired them to have, there is a needed recognition of:
• Their own guilt,
• The related guilt of their fathers which they have emulated,
• Their specific offenses against God,
• Their general contrary life toward God,
• And the recognition that God was therefore contrary to them and was the actual source of the problems they faced. (James 4:6)

We, like they, tend to view all this through a narrow contextual lens of religion, carefully segregating it from science.
But God is very clearly showing them, and us, that this IS science!
This is a calculable, repeatable, tangible cause and effect applied in our reality.
And even more amazing is that God does the work of doing the calculating, and writing the findings in His Book for us so that we can figure it out sooner!

Only in this specific and true awareness that the problem is both scientific and religious, can the actual solution be found.

"If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways;
then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land." II Chronicles 7:14

Notice the specific order of the healing process;
• Become a child of God through repentance to the receiving of forgiveness (my people)
• Deliberately turn your attention from self-centered, to God-centered.
• Begin a serious and intentional communication with God, with expectation.
• Then earnestly seek the God who does not yet respond to your prayers.
• Thus, discover your sins that hinder his response, and turn from them.

Without this specific and earnest approach, there is an incredible natural ability to block out the true cause and resort to enduring the consequences as unknowable and therefore unavoidable.
This is the all too common trend I see in struggling Christians today,
And the deeply seated trend I see in the Jews as a people.
It is just the nature of sinful man… whatever he chooses to call himself.

But while a pagan might seriously evaluate all possible causes in searching for the answer, the Christian and the Jew is sure he has the religious cause covered already, and so will not explore that possibility. (Revelation 13:15-16, Matthew 9:12-13)
In this way, the seeking Pagan has better chances of success than the Christian or the Jew! (Matthew 22:3-10 but don't ignore 11-14 lest you become a Universalist.)

It was while the Jews were stuck in this blind religious mind frame of failed faith, that Zechariah had his vision of the word of the LORD as God pled with them like he had with their fathers;
“Therefore say thou unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Turn ye unto me, saith the LORD of hosts, and I will turn unto you, Saith the LORD of hosts.” Zechariah 1:3
This is the scientific key to stopping the continuation of the consequences, not eradicating a punishment already deserved.
They had recently paid the debt and were freed, but had not yet altered the mindframe from what got them into trouble in the first place.
God's answer to this problem is the simple recognition of just whose reality this is!

When you play Monopoly, the game only works as it was intended when you play by the rules of the Maker. That simple acceptance eliminates the plethora of complex and confusing variations that spring up by ignoring such a foundational truth. "Ye shall not do after all the things that we do here this day, every man whatsoever is right in his own eyes." Deuteronomy 12:8 (verse 9 is a powerfully important key to finding God's rest! Hebrews 4:1-3)

Now to really understand God’s heart in this matter, you should read the short book of Haggai for some very personal evaluation for your own faith as well as learning God’s argument with the not-so-newly-anymore returned people.
If you have the right heart you may learn the reason and source of your own similar troubles and those of your nation! But remember as you read it; it may look like a rules issue but it is actually a perspective issue. (See also II Chronicles 15:1-7,12-15)
One additional aid: if you read the book and recognize yourself in the events of the text, but cannot resolve the cause in your mind, it is because you have not yet allowed the truth to break down your wrong pre-assumption that you are right with God.
Like the Jews who believed they were right with God because their father was Abraham (Matthew 3:9), it is your wrong doctrine of salvation that blinds you to the evidential facts of reality! (Proverbs 6:23, 10:17, 29:1)

Have you ever heard someone after many years of a specific character flaw, continue to dwell on an old memory of better days; “I'm not like this… This is just a temporary phase… Years ago God did such and such for me.”
These are ways of perpetually denying a real problem that exists now, by living in the past, be it real or imagined.
I believe at the time of the wakeup call, these Jews were still thinking of themselves as poor captives who deserved a break, even after 115 years! (536-421 BC) The complexity is that the original thought was based on a wrong premise of captivity. The rules of God's reality says they deserved their punishment.

The discouraged Jews in their self-absorbed perspective might have argued with God; “Hey, We were born in captivity because of the sins of our fathers. Our fathers came home in faith eager to build your temple, but were constantly opposed on every side. And now the king has commanded us to stop work. Why are you mad at us? Go make the king let us build.”

That sounds like a reasonable argument doesn’t it?

But from God’s perspective; “The 70-year incarceration was indeed due to your forefather’s sins. But that is over and your fathers are now dead. I kept my promise and brought you home. The sins that are happening now are yours; though they be the same sins your fathers sinned. My argument is your self-absorbed heart. If you really wanted to build the temple you would find a way to let me help you get it done. But you let yourself be so easily discouraged because it is still all about you.
And so as I described in Haggai, I have made your self-absorption a heavy burden in the desire to encourage you to turn to me. (Haggai, paraphrased)
"If you turn to me, I will turn to you, I am the LORD.” (Zechariah 1:3, paraphrased)

It is here in this situation that Zechariah gives his prophecy, and between the two prophets the people were suddenly awakened to their real situation, and began again to earnestly build the temple, which was THEIR rightful application to a corrected heart. (Ezra 5:2)

This time when their adversaries opposed them, they had the determination to face it down in the confidence God would prevail through them, and so it happened with them, (Ezra 5:3-6:15) just as it did once before, many years earlier. (II Chronicles 15)

Does that then fulfill the purpose for the prophecies of Haggai and Zechariah?
HARDLY!

* * *
Transition:
Yes, Historically it was at a time long after the 70 years incarceration was history, when the temple lay still unfinished and the people were discouraged from the constant opposition, that the wandering scout angels found the world to finally be at rest. (Zechariah 1:1-11)

And so with the proclamation of rest, the angel of Zechariah cried out to God in essence; “If the world is at rest, and the 70 year punishment is over, why do you yet hold back your mercy on Jerusalem and the cities of Judah?” Zechariah 1:12 paraphrased
But such a paraphrase looses a layer! The angel intentionally worded it “threescore and ten” years. (We will soon learn why in later posts)

Now a curious thing happens in God’s reply to the angel’s threescore and ten;
We will eventually see that his answer is clearly more than their 70 year situation fits.
Did the application work for them? Yes, though I have no idea their interpreted representation of horses as it applied to the powers of their day. *10

And now approximately 2432 years later, we see that the two examples of history were shadows of the prophetic situation today.
Because there is more to this prophecy than fit their situations, we will see that this prophecy was written in their day, reflecting on the shadow of their past, but even intended for full application in a much later time now upon us. *11

* * *

Déjà vu all over again: *12
In 33AD, Israel had again completed in a grand way, an established history of committed crimes against their Creator, but this time the Crimes were different and far greater, and so the justified incarceration was greater as well. (Matthew 23:37-39 and compound punishments of Leviticus 26)
And so after years of Haggai style troubles with their Roman oppressors, they failed to hear God’s message and were again uprooted from their homeland, this time by the Roman GDE, and sent into all the world as vagabonds for what turned out to be 1878 years, (70AD to 1948AD) Far longer than the 70 years because this time their sins were far greater than neglecting the Sabbaths for the land. But the cause-and-effect of judgment remained scientifically consistent.
Then when paid, as promised, God again called them to return to their homeland, and so they returned to the land of their fathers, creating the nation again on May 14, 1948;
“That then the LORD thy God will turn thy captivity, and have compassion upon thee, and will return and gather thee from all the nations, whither the LORD thy God hath scattered thee.
If any of thine be driven out unto the outmost parts of heaven, from thence will the LORD thy God gather thee, and from thence will he fetch thee:
And the LORD thy God will bring thee into the land which thy fathers possessed, and thou shalt possess it; and he will do thee good, and multiply thee above thy fathers.” Deuteronomy 30:3-5
So far, the historical account of God’s track record of prophecy is flawless.

And just as before, they are overjoyed with their long awaited freedom, rejoicing in their God who miraculously brought them home!...
But they are so self-absorbed they don’t read the prophecy right and fail to understand the point of what it said;
“And it shall come to pass, when all these things are come upon thee, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before thee, and thou shalt call them to mind among all the nations, whither the LORD thy God hath driven thee, And shall return unto the LORD thy God, and shalt obey his voice according to all that I command thee this day, thou and thy children, with all thine heart, and with all thy soul;
That then the LORD…" (and a promise follows.) Deuteronomy 30:1-2
Is this the heart of Israel today?
Clearly not. I am appalled at their hopeless paganism even after their miraculous return!
So do we now see the results of the promise that follows?;
…“And the LORD thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live”… Deuteronomy 30:6
Why has God not fulfilled verse 6?
Because they have not fulfilled verses 1-2.

So can the blessings of Deuteronomy and the promise of 30:3-5 apply to them now without them applying 1-2?
I don’t think so. Though symbolically fulfilled in 1948 as a shadow of things to come, that promise is actually for yet another time when they will fulfill the required heart of verses 1-2!
Then Hosea 5:15 will be fulfilled, and Zechariah 12.
But not until.
For Israel today there are other prophecies that apply (Ezekiel 37:1-22);

"When I would have healed Israel, then the iniquity of Ephraim was discovered, and the wickedness of Samaria:...and they consider not in their hearts that I remember all their wickedness: now their own doings have beset them about; they are before my face."
"They return, but not to the most High:..." Hosea 7:1-2,16

But perhaps. Just perhaps, in the symbolic 37 years left before the wandering horse angels stand among the myrtle trees in the bottom, to declare world rest, maybe the Jews will recognize their crimes against God and repent.
Otherwise the consequences of their own sins will come due again as a repeat of the last Diaspora we read in Jeremiah 16! which was to last so long that declaring to them an expected end of it would have been pointless;
"Why is my pain perpetual, and my wound incurable, which refuseth to be healed?
wilt thou (God) be altogether unto me as a liar, and as waters that fail?" Jeremiah 15:18

"Now therefore go to, speak to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying, Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I frame evil against you: return ye now every one from his evil way, and make your ways and your doings good." Jeremiah 18:11
So is it Islam and the Imperial forces that are the source of Israel's troubles, or God himself in response to their own sins?

But because they now have a long documented history of how God responds to sin, and is proven faithful to his promises both favorable and unfavorable; if they continue to ignore God’s desire for them the payment due is a compound debt of Leviticus 26 for stubbornness, added to their punishment for worshiping other gods.

Now don’t miss that the cause of the recently ended global incarceration they call an exile, was different than the Sabbaths neglect, and so the payment required was different too;

“Even all nations shall say, Wherefore hath the LORD done thus unto this land? What meaneth the heat of this great anger?
Then men (such as me) shall say, Because they have forsaken the covenant of the LORD God of their fathers, which he made with them when he brought them forth out of the land of Egypt: (the covenant found in the Torah specifically the Chumash. [1st 5 books of the Christian bible])
For they went and served other gods, and worshipped them, gods whom they knew not, and whom he had not given unto them:
And the anger of the LORD was kindled against this land, to bring upon it all the curses that are written in this book:
And the LORD rooted them out of their land in anger, and in wrath, and in great indignation, and cast them into another land, as it is this day.” Deuteronomy 29:25-28

Like Zechariah pointing out they were about to repeat the sins of their fathers that sent them into 70 years of captivity,
I am now pointing out that they are repeating the sins of their fathers that sent them into 1,878 years of Exile!
But remember this Exile was not primarily because of breaching the Sabbath of the land.
This was for worshiping other gods.
Take another look at the strange wording of the last line in verse 26; “For they went and served other gods, and worshipped them, gods whom they knew not, and whom he (God) “had not given unto them.”

Why would the Holy Spirit cause this to be written this way?
The translators of the Septuagint have wrongly included ‘them’, a word not in the original; “26 and they went and served other gods, which they knew not, neither did he assign them to them.” - http://www.ecmarsh.com/lxx/Deuteronomy/index.htm (sic.) the italics indicating inclusion for clarification.

God would never assign other gods to his people, but he would and did through scripture, assign to them THE prophesied Messiah who was his Son, part of the single triune God, to be worshiped.
But they rejected Jesus as their corner stone and set up their own Christ-less religion, void of any blood sacrifice, which was the very foundation of their original faith!
The amazing events that “just happened”, resulted in this “unexplainable” predicament of having no sacrifice for sins, because Jesus is God’s only provision, and came as the fulfillment of, and therefore no longer applicable, animal sacrifices!
“…Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes?” Matthew 21:42
God promised the Messiah, he sent the Messiah, They rejected the Messiah, and are now left without any scriptural salvation… But its God’s failure to provide? (Zechariah 13:6-7) Reject his Messiah and he takes away your animal sacrifice crutch.

This historical blindness and resulting crime against God, is a clue to the cause of the next holocaust; (Zechariah 13:8-9)
It is my belief that the Jews will receive the Antichrist as their messiah, which we are now learning will be the Islamic Mahdi. So the previous holocaust was because they rejected God's provided Messiah, the next will be for worshiping one that God did not send to them!
"I am come in my Father's name, and ye receive me not: if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive." John 5:43

Now notice; there was not provided a revealed specific duration for this crime as there was for the Sabbaths, but rather, Daniel discovered in prophecy past a set of 70 periods of 7, called weeks *13, which remained secret with God until it was prophesied by Daniel and revealed by history.
“The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.” Deuteronomy 29:29
Now what the Jews do after returning from the Diaspora is a revealed responsibility because it has now been revealed.

All this was the part they overlooked in their excitement to experience Gods promised return to the land in 1948, just as those of long ago overlooked the important part.

And like before, their homeland is now possessed by squatters, who simply moved in while they were away in “prison” and now are not happy to see them return.
But this time, not learning from the past, since it was so long ago, they were deceived in the telling that their adversaries just wanted to live in peace alongside them;
“If you would only give us a bit of land to call our own.”
And so they gave it. But it wasn’t enough.
Their adversaries wanted more, and so turned to lawyers who by foreign authority (though strangely not a GDE), took from them the temple mount by persuasion, disallowing them to develop it.
And so discouraged by the perpetual opposition and attacks, they turned to their self-absorbed lives of struggling to survive as a way of life. And in their failed faith to build the temple, they by force abandon the actual law (Torah), replacing it with interpreted law (Talmud) to fit there new circumstances. But in this fabricated faith they were not able to retain the power of God, and returned to the paganism of the nations from which they recently came.
And the struggle became a lifestyle, even embraced, until other than a strictly held ceremonial religion, they forgot the God who called them home though they daily talk of him philosophically. Frankly, they now worship a dead god of their own making, not the living God whom they rejected.
Their radio talk-shows break my heart as they speak of deep faith but with a hopeless heart, perpetually blaming the Romans for their original troubles, and now America, Imperialism, and Palestine for their present troubles, all the while they continue to ignore their own responsible sins which caused God himself to send the Romans in the first place, and now sends the pagan nations of the world to trouble them. Israel National Radio - (http://www.israelnationalnews.com/radio/)

And now America follows close behind in the type and shadow abandonment of her God to her own destruction, long allowing her elected presidents and congress to willfully violate and ignore her very foundational laws which were established from the Holy Bible; largely from the 5 books of Moses as viewed through the New Testament of the Messiah.
So who is causing the troubles we now see in America?
God himself!
And for the same purpose; “Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Turn ye unto me, saith the LORD of hosts, and I will turn unto you, saith the LORD of hosts.” Zechariah 1:3

So again the prophecy of Haggai is very applicable for their nation, and now our own, as we wait for the time of Zechariah 1 to come to pass, resulting in the cry; “How long?”

According to my calculations of the myrtle tree, we still have between 37 to 87 years before the wandering horse scouts will find the world at rest. (Zechariah 1:8-11) because of other factors we will eventually explore, I believe it is closer to the 37.
But while we wait, there are big things the scripture says will take place… and precious little of it is pleasant!

I pray that this refresher of these prophecies used the last time for the very same situation, might stimulate the same response as before!
But prophecy suggests otherwise.

* * *

The Jews today in their self-absorbed perspective seem to argue with God; “Hey, We were born in exile because of the sins of our forefathers. We come home in faith, eager to build your temple, but we are opposed on every side, and the UN has commanded us to stop work on the temple mount, and now wants to divide our holy city.
Why are you mad at us? Go make the UN let us build.”

That sounds like a reasonable argument doesn’t it?

But from God’s perspective; “The 70-weeks" of exile was indeed due to your forefather’s sins. But that is over and your forefathers are now dead. The sins that are happening now are yours; though they be the same sins your fathers sinned. My argument is your self-absorbed heart. If you really wanted to build the temple you would find a way to let me help you get it done. But you let yourself be discouraged because it’s still all about you.
And so as I described in Haggai, I have made your self-absorption a heavy burden in the desire to encourage you to turn to me. (Haggai, paraphrased)
If you turn to me, I will turn to you, I am the LORD. (Zechariah 1:3, paraphrased)

And now in a more complete fulfillment than before, the message of the wandering horse angels applies today because the prophecy was actually made primarily for these last days as I have suggested in the past several posts, and will clearly show in those that follow.

* * *

Modern Times:
At this point it would be speculation for me to more precisely identify the specific modern date of the angel’s declared world rest. But we now have the information necessary to more closely discover that specific time;

Babylon (red horses), the rising Caliphate (speckled), and Greece (white) all need to be involved in the time of this declared rest, AND Persia (black) needs to be missing as a player.(Zechariah 1:8)
Therefore this event of rest cannot have already taken place, nor declared so by the wandering scout angels, because the second Caliphate has not yet come, and Persia is not powerless.
We must investigate how that rest will come and what it will look like when it does come, before we can interpret the time more accurately.
But while we watch the violence of the Caliphate rising today we rightly fear what that means, yet here in Zechariah 1 we are shown a time of genuine global rest not long after its rise, (since its rise is only a very short event on its nonstop way into perdition. Daniel 12:7, Revelation 12:14, Revelation 17:11)

So how does Zechariah 6:8 fit into the picture of chapter 1?
Chapter 6 is an explanation of the last four GDEs on the planet directly related to the chronological great diverse beasts of Daniel 7, while Zechariah 1 is a specific point in time which identifies the active elements of that moment.

So where is Persia (now generally Iran) in this last days declaration of rest?
Clearly Iran is a heavy player as we observe today… but times change quickly! God has plans for Iran.
Yet notice; Iran is fully Islamic today, and not at all the Persia it once was.
The intent and desire of the Iron spirit (beast) is to overpower and consume all others; conformity by devouring power and fear. (Daniel 7:7,19)
This description does not fit the kingdom of Persia; though they were mighty in conquest they were not merciless and destructive to nations, as shown by their returning Israel to her lands and faith.
Iran has now been consumed by Islam’s Iron Empire spirit; to the extent it now has a self-sacrificing desire to destroy Israel at any cost.
So the silver spirit of ancient Persia is no longer a player, though the geography once called Persia and now called Iran, is still in play…(for a time).
Call it new management, but the black horse of the north country shown in Zechariah 6:6 is the key we need to interpret other last days prophecies regarding "the north country". (Jeremiah 6:22, 10:22, 23:8 ect. ect.)
Today, Iran is now under the influence of the spirit of Iron and striving with God’s opposing speckled horse spirit. Watch how this plays out in modern history.

Then we also know the speckled spirit opposing the iron spirit is, among others, under the influence of God’s higher commanding red spirit that opposes hell’s higher commanding spirit of Babylon.
And the battle of the spirits is getting ugly as men submit to the spirit of evil while God’s called are taking up spiritual defense against it. (Ephesians 6:10-18)
But this is no Hollywood movie, this is reality!

Regardless;
Following the historic pattern, Israel has paid her debt and is now back home as God promised. What happens now is a result of her own relationship with God.
And true to the pattern, because of her understandably confused faithlessness, she is struggling with growing opposition, and yet we see by historical application of prophecy the world can be declared at rest even while Israel continues to struggle, just as before. The representing scout angels of Zechariah 1, in keeping with the four spirits of the winds in Zechariah 6, are representing regions of global power, not the odd independent peoples that have a local aggressive bone. This interpretation is proven by the history of the times in which Zechariah gave the prophecy and how it applied to their events.

So after Babylon and the new Caliphate rise, and Persia is diminished, the world is found to be at rest while Israel continues to struggle, the angel of Zechariah 1:12 can then ask; “how long wilt thou not have mercy on Jerusalem and on the cities of Judah, against which thou has had indignation these threescore and ten years?” *13

That is the question!

* * * * * * *

*1 All About Israel:
If the whole topic and point of this chapter directly relates to Israel’s troubles, why should I take my time to learn about it if I am not a Jew?
The rest of the chapter will explain that in the next posts. But in short, according to God’s perspective, the entire temporal world revolves around Israel as the planets revolve around the sun.
We now see as foolish the scientists who once thought something other than the sun was the center of the solar system. So we will one day have the knowledge to understand that Israel is the center of all that happens on the earth.
If the sun has troubles, you can bet the earth and the other planets will face repercussions, and so it is with Israel. (Zechariah 13:1-3 , 14:2)
As long as we thought the solar system revolved around the earth, we were unable to rightly interact with the science of it. And so it goes with Israel in every way; scripturally and temporally. When Israel is in trouble, so are all the nations and families of the world.
“And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.” Genesis 12:3, (also; 18:18, 22:18, 26:4)

*2 Tri-: A combining form meaning: 1. Characterized by, or having, three, or three parts;
as in tricycle. 2. Three times or in three ways; also, into three, as in trisect.
- Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary 5th edition 1948
[note: this does not suggest three of something, but a combining of three to make one.]

*3 Counting:
When Jeremiah prophesied the Babylonian captivity, he did not use this “threescore and ten” terminology, but simply said seventy years.
That is because the entire 70 years was a mathematical calculated unbroken sentence for the crime of failed Sabbaths that must be paid consecutively.
Yet here in the angel’s query, he was also speaking of the same 70 years, but in a more romantic way… for a cryptic reason.
This “threescore and ten” is not supposed to be romantic, it’s just the way they talked. No different than when we put groups of numbers together like; Twenty-three. We say it like this because we count in “groups” of 10s; so we have 20 and a fraction of another 10 to total 23.
Their counting includes a numeric group called a score, which simply means 20, like a dozen means 12 for us; so they add 3 score and a fraction of another score (10), to total 70.
Three score and ten, is similar to saying three dozen and five.
It’s just a way of speech.

But God does not waste words or ways of speech.
There is hidden within this normal accounting method, an actual cryptic message of yet another time than that of the simple 70 years of Babylonian captivity of the angels query, just as the use of representing horses allowed Zechariah’s prophecy to accurately apply it to two different events thousands of years apart.
And like the interconnected analogy of the horses to explain multiple related parts of reality, so the use of ‘threescore and ten’ can be accurately applied to more than one interconnected event.
This romantic accounting of 70 is what allows for a strange insertion of time between groups, we call the 70 weeks of Daniel 9. (much more in following posts)

*4 Was it exactly 70 years?
I have often wondered why the scriptures remain silent with information that would make my historical search easier, and as I try to include into a writing all that I learn in the search, I discover the original thought disappears in the volume.
With a learned trust that the scriptures always prove true when researched, we can avoid the confusing and distracting volume and maintain the thought it is conveying. But if the scriptures are not trusted, it takes a lot of heavy research to find it true.
Many before me have gone to great lengths to do the research, and I have studied them, as well as done my own investigation.
It is a shame that the entire world of thought cannot be written in a single book, but we will have to leave such things to another day or another work.

Historically it is difficult to show in few words the proof that the captivity lasted exactly 70 years, due to a number of variable angles, perspectives, events, and records:

“Exile 597-538
The Chaldeans, following standard Mesopotamian practice, deported the Jews after they had conquered Jerusalem in 597 BC. The deportations were large, but certainly didn't involve the entire nation. Somewhere around 10,000 people were forced to relocate to the city of Babylon, the capital of the Chaldean empire. In 586 BC, Judah itself ceased to be an independent kingdom, and the earlier deportees found themselves without a homeland, without a state, and without a nation. This period, which actually begins in 597 but is traditionally dated at 586, is called the Exile in Jewish history; it ends with an accident in 538 when the Persians overthrow the Chaldeans.” - http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/History/Exile.html

There are many such legitimate and illegitimate arguments in determining the actual start date of the captivity, let alone the start date of God’s indignation that Daniel used as his baseline to begin calculating.
Now although we don’t have in concrete the actual date the indignation began, we do have the exact year they were released; 536 BC. So we are able to start with the release and count backwards 70 years to the beginning. 536+70 = 606 BC. And we find that indeed the first siege of Israel which made them subservient to Babylon happened in 606 BC. The common 597 BC date is the third siege when Jerusalem was destroyed and the nation dispersed. But by the math we understand that God’s indignation began in 606 when Israel’s independence was lost.
While Sir Robert Anderson’s “The coming prince” has done a marvelous job showing the understanding and math that Daniel used, I marvel that the prophets never showed their work, they simply told the sum, and the sum is true.
So according to common recorded history, the captivity lasted less than 70 years.
Yet as a man living the experience of the captivity and doing the research, Daniel understood the 70 years was near completion. (Daniel 9:2) and it proved out that his calculations were correct.

*5 Type and Shadows:
For our prophetic study it will be important to note the various ways in which the squatters opposed them, in order to recognize the same methods used today:
• Through fear of conflict, (Ezra 3:3)
• Through deceitful “requests to help” because of false claims of historic worship of the same God. (Ezra 4:1-2)
• Through heavy discouragement and construction complications (Ezra 4:4)
• Through lawsuits and legal battles (Ezra 4:5)

*6 Relevant Persian timeline:
606 BC - 1st siege; Babylon conquers Israel and some takes captives; “70 years of Servitude” begins.
586 BC - 3rd siege; Temple and City destroyed and “70 years of Desolation” begins.
550 - 530 BC: Cyrus king of Persia Not yet the GDE.
536 BC - Darius takes Babylon for king Cyrus making this the first year Cyrus is the GDE and king of the Jews.
536 Cyrus releases Jews to Israel to build temple in the first year of his control. (Ezra 1:1) 70 years fulfilled for the people.
534 BC - Temple foundation begins (Ezra 3:8) and is completed (3:10-12)
522 - 486 BC: Darius becomes king of Persia
485 - 465 BC: Xerxes king of Persia
465 - 424 BC: Artaxerxes Longimanus king of Persia
??? Artaxerxes’ decree to stop work on the temple (Ezra 4:17-24)
445 March 14 - Decree of Longimanus to rebuild Jerusalem (Ezra 2:1,6-7)
none the less, lawsuits continue unstopped to frustrate the construction (Ezra 4:5)
423 - 404 BC: Darius II king of Persia
Temple construction continuously frustrated from Cyrus to Darius (Ezra 4:5)
421 BC - Zechariah and Haggai prophesy (Ezra 5:1,Haggai 1:1, Zechariah 1:1)
Temple construction resumes unauthorized (Ezra 5:3)
421 - Darius II allows rebuilding the temple and decrees to stop the hindrances. (Ezra 6:6-12) and so the hindrances finally stopped (Ezra 6:13)
417 BC Temple is completed! (Ezra 6:15) (had to be Darius II because Artaxerxes followed (Ezra 7:1)
This makes Zerubbabel 137 years old at completion! (Zech 4:9, Ezra 3:8)
404 - 358 BC - Artaxerxes II king of Persia
???-7 Decree of Artaxerxes II for Ezra to go help Nehemiah with the city construction still in progress (Ezra 7)
358 - 336 BC Artaxerxes III and IV kings of Persia
336 - 330 BC : Rule of Darius III last king of Persia GDE
Persian Timeline was an aid to this outline.


*7 Guided research:
Truly there is nothing new under the sun.
We see in Ezra 4:11-16 a carefully crafted letter of truths which the king would be able to research and verify but still effectively guiding the ruler to the ends the writers desired.
And so we see in Ezra 4:18 the king did his own research of what he was told to look for, thereby thinking his conclusion was flawless, and he found it to be just as he was told. Ezra 4:19-20 And so the king commanded to do with great diligence, just what these guiding men wanted him to do. Ezra 4:21-22
But the king never found in his research the decree of Cyrus the king to let them return and that the kingdom would pay the bills!
That information had to be searched by the guidance of others. Ezra 5:17
Upon such a search that information was also found true, and a completely different decree made to result in the opposite ends from the first. Ezra 6:6-12
It has been rightly said; “The power of influence is always greater than the position of power.”

*8 Darius II:
We know it was not Darius III (336-330) because the decree from Darius to resume the work was sent still in the life of Zerubbabel. (Ezra 5:2)
Therefore the stop work order lasted 14 years

*9 Grand fathers:
Scripture uses the term fathers to mean previous generations much as our founding fathers wrote about our forefathers. Fathers simply means earlier generations.
Fathers 1 ab; a primary word; father in a literal, and immediate, or figurative and remote application.

*10 Multiple application:
And now we understand the use of “horses” in the message; so that it could accurately apply to the powers then, and now again with different powers thousands of years later!
This is not Nostradamical, this has a specific purpose.
And so does the wording of threescore and ten.


*11 Context:
It is most always rightly cried error when someone uses half a scripture to validate a point. We strongly demand that context must be maintained when interpreting scripture. And so this is usually true as we judge the validity of an interpretation.
But Jesus himself showed a trend of using only half a scripture, apparently out of context, to make his point. (Luke 4:16-21 vs. Isaiah 61:1-3)
I hesitate to make this point because this passage was not provided in Matthew, showing us that this concept was not intended for the Jews. It is a truly complex and dangerous thing to rightly validate one thought with only half a verse because the other half does not seem to apply!
Yet we can analyze Jesus’ use and recognize that the other half DOES apply, just not at that moment. Jesus was using a passage written for a later date, to apply part of it to a shadow of an earlier time. This is the same application of Zechariah 1.
But I am not using half a concept to validate my interpretation… They were!
The entire prophecy is applicable this time, just as that one Jesus used partly then, is fully fulfilled at his return.

*12 Déjà vu:
(French pronunciation: [deʒa vy] , meaning "already seen") is the experience of feeling sure that one has already witnessed or experienced a current situation, even though the exact circumstances of the previous encounter are uncertain and were perhaps imagined. - déjà vu

* 13 Threescore and ten, called the Seventy Weeks:
This has evolved into an entire post all its own coming next.
*

Zec 1 Cliff’s Notes

Post 179

Did you have a tough time with that last post?
Don’t fret, it was a real workout even for the exercised!
So here are the significant points condensed, (as if any of the other points are not significant)

* * *

The specific colors of horses tell us that Babylon, Greece, and the 2nd Caliphate all must be present before the only true declaration of world rest can be made, though that does not grantee any kind of duration.
The point of the passage is not the glorification of the rest, it is to note the TIME that the rest occurs.

It is prophesied in I Thessalonians 5:3 that men will cry peace just before sudden destruction, but these horse angels are of God, so we can trust their findings to be true. Further investigation of scripture is needed to learn what comes after this time of world rest is declared. We will get into that in posts to come.

The point that they stand among the myrtle trees in a valley, is a declared point in time. I have suggested that is; between 2048 and 2098 AD and intend to add more information supporting this in later posts.

And finally, by what this passage tells us, we can know that although the Jews have been returned to the land as promised by God, the struggle will not end yet.

So the angel requests to know; When will the struggle end and God pours out his mercy on Israel?

We are getting to that.

* * * * * * *

More Horses?!

Part 4
post 178
Zechariah 1:1-12

Cause:
Verses 1-6 deserves a careful look as it identifies the cause of cry made later in verse 12: “….how long wilt thou (God) not have mercy on Jerusalem and on the cities of Judah, against which thou hast had indignation these three score and ten years?”
(which we will eventually get to).

But first we see the sum of the reason for the trouble, is carried here in v.2-3;
“The LORD hath been sore displeased with your fathers.
Therefore… Thus saith the LORD of hosts;
Turn ye unto me, saith the LORD of hosts, and I will turn unto you, saith the LORD of hosts” Zechariah 1:2-3

The entire context of scripture can only be properly understood when we read it with the understanding that Israel is always the central focus. Of course we Gentile believers are able to apply the truth of it to ourselves, but not to the failure in understanding of this foundational concept. All the global events we read here is to be interpreted with this in mind.

But I leave the study of those beginning verses for another time in order to sooner arrive at the direct link with Zechariah 6:1-8, Daniel 7, and Revelation 17 which is our present study regarding the identity and timing of the last GDE (Global Dominate Empire).
* * *

"I saw by night, and behold a man riding upon a red horse, and he stood among the myrtle trees that were in the bottom;
and behind him were there red horses, speckled, and white." Zechariah 1:8

Spirits of what?
Zechariah 1:7-11 has frankly utterly stumped me for years, but with our recent study I now see how it makes very good sense, and provides one very significant validation to my interpretation of the fourth great beast having 3 parts;

To begin with we see a red horse.
We learned in Zechariah 6 that the chariots represent God's spirits of the heaven controlling the winds, and the horses further represented God's spirits over the Empires.
The red horses are specifically those over the Empire of Babylon.

But in this Zechariah 1 passage, there is no chariot (representing a high ranking spirit guiding the team of angels) instead we see a lone man *1 riding a single red horse. And behind him are other horses under his command (no riders declared).

To help us understand, lets call the red chariot (driver) a commander, and this lone red rider a sergeant and the riderless horses corporals.
The chariot driver had a specialized regiment of horses all for a specifically focused purpose of red, and this sergeant rider under his command has a squad of a few corporals from several diverse regiments with his own mission to accomplish, though he himself is directed by the red commander.
I hesitate to use military terms here which implies the purpose of conflict, no such implication is given in the passage. These are just scouts.

It is very easy to confuse the three elements of what we are learning by improperly mixing metaphors as it were *2.
These elements are:
1. The actual spirits of the four winds revealed as horses and chariots of various colors for the purpose of understanding the
2. actual four spirits of God over the empires, which are in turn revealed for the purpose of understanding the organization and nature of the
3. actual spiritual realm, and thus the identity of this small band of mixed horses.
4. We are also shown glimpses of the demonic spirits over the empires as beasts which strive with the horse spirits of God.

So while we use the real one to metaphorically explain the other real one, so that we can understand yet a third real one, enlightening our comprehension of another kind, we must be very careful not to incorrectly blend them by analogy in our attempt to understand them.

It must be noted that if the color was not important, scripture would not have included it. By their colors we are to make the connection between the two narratives of chapters 1 and 6.
Yet in this case the color is not representing the empire of Babylon anymore because this single red horse is now the focus, not the whole chariot of red horses we saw in chapter 6.
But because scripture does not add confusion of unequal representation we can be confident this lone red horse is under the authority of the red commanding chariot spirit of that empire. It will eventually come clear that this lone horse rider is God's spirit over the city of Babylon.
This understanding of different rolls under the "red" authority, will help us in later interpretation.


Where are they?
Now here we see this single red horse and rider as sergeant over his squad, standing in a valley among myrtle trees...

(Because the theme of this whole chapter revolves around "How Long?", my hypothesis is that this represents Israel at rest with shade giving myrtle trees grown up over time in a valley running with water. This has not yet happened, and cannot happen until 2048 at the earliest.*3)

...and behind him are more red horses, speckled horses, and white horses. The commas distinguish these are not mixed colored horses standing there, but horses of different colors standing together.
Now this is the first time we actually see a location for at least some of the red horses that represented God's spirits over Babylon, and we remember from chapter 6 that the white horses represented His spirits over Greece.
But where are the black horses over Persia, and what are these speckled horses?

Zechariah asks the question for us; “What are these? And the angel that talked with me said unto me, I will shew thee what these be.” Zechariah 1:9
We cheated and jumped ahead to chapter 6, so we have information Zechariah didn't have at this time.
But note that the angel did not say he would tell him, but show him. And so we learn who they are by watching the events unfold. In other words what comes after is for the purpose of showing us what these horses represent:

The man *1 riding the red horse (1:8) explains in verse 10, that the other horses behind him are “they whom the LORD hath sent to walk to and fro through the earth.”
Then just in case we don’t pick up on the catchphrase, the horses behind him answered his statement by saying; “We have walked to and fro through the earth…”
Now where have we heard such a line repeated so much before? The spirits of Zechariah 6:5 did the same thing, and a very big deal was made of it there too so that we would pay attention and make a positive connection.

We are then given a report of what they found by walking back and forth; “…and, behold, all the earth sitteth still and is at rest.” Zechariah 1:11b

At this point our understanding needs to branch into many areas simultaneously;
1. The now apparent larger group of various wandering horses.
2. The connection of the Red horses to those that wander.
3. Where are the Black horses?
4. What do the speckled horses represent?
5. The purpose and result of the wandering horses, (which we just read).
6. Retain the train of thought to continue the narrative: "How long?"

So before we just move on in the narrative, lets discuss:
* * *

Topic 1:
We have discovered that instead of only the Bay horse winds of the Hadley cell of the 4th chariot wandering to and fro, (chapter 6) Here we see; red, speckled, and white horses wandering to and fro through the earth under the authority of a single red horse...but the bay horses are not among them!
These various and specific colors tell us which ministering spirits are present at the time the declaration is made. This will prove to be significant in identifying "When".

Topic 2:
This band of various wanderers has a “sergeant” on a red horse standing in front of them.
We noted that the Red horses representing spirits over Babylon, was the Jetstream winds that have an overall affect on all the winds beneath it, i.e. the white horses of the Ferrel cell (Greece) and the grisled/bay horses of the Hadley cell (Rome).
Therefore this small squad of horses is a specialized selection under the same chain of command.

Topic 3:
God's black horses of the Polar cell over the realm of Persia, are on the otherside of the Ferrel cell and therefore not directly under the commanding jurisdiction of the red sergeant of the subtropical Jetstream wind (Zechariah 6:8) (Though because there is a polar Jetsream as well, added to the fact that the band of horses declared the entire world to be at rest, I conclude the red commander does have overall jurisdiction. Yet this is not shown in the narrative because it is not relative to the prophecy regarding the band of observers under the red Jetstream commander.)
What does that mean?
It means that for reasons we will later discover, God's spirit over the Empire of Persia is not present at the "When" of this passage.



Topic 4:
So this red commander has behind him; his own red horses (angels), some white horses, and some speckled ones. The speckled is a new breed.

Now today we interpret the word speckled to mean “spotted”, more like the original word grisled, and so our modern altered interpretation breeds confusion.
But the original word, and therefore intent, was that speckled means “obnoxious Bay”.
Here are the original words and their meanings from the Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Hebrew Bible:

• Speckled 8320 saruq; from 8319; bright red (as piercing to the sight), ie. Bay
8319 sharaq; a primary root; properly to be shrill, i.e. to whistle or hiss (as a call or in scorn).

• Grisled 1261 barod; from 1258; spotted (as if with hail)
1258 barad; a primary root, to hail.

• Bay 554 amots; probably from 553; of a strong color, i.e. red (others fleet).

Scripturally Speckled and Grisled are clearly different: (Genesis 31:10)
But Speckled and Bay are very similar... but not the same.

So the question becomes; Why does Zechariah use two different words for the same color of horses; Bay and Speckled?

My interpretation is that the speckled are a further division of the Zechariah 6:7 bay horses, which both being bay, when combined are just half of the two colors; (bay and grisled) of the Zechariah 6:3 4th chariot, representing the two parts; Rome and the two-fold Islamic Caliphate we see in Revelation 17:10-11 as the 6th (Rome), 7th (Caliphate) and 8th (Caliphate two), which are all the three parts of the Daniel 2:40-43 final Iron Empire as: legs, feet, and toes of iron, all rolled into the 4th great diverse beast of Daniel 7:7-8.

Now go back and read the definition of the word speckled! It is bay... only magnified to make it a unique line of what is still just bay!
"And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven..." Revelation 17:11

Topic 5:
But what does the red horse sergeant have to do with the wandering ones, besides helping us to cross-reference all these prophecies to find the ciphers for these secrets?

Before we answer this question we have to remember that the horse and chariot spirits we saw in Zechariah 6, are sent from God (Zech 1:10, Dan 7:2) to aid the nations, and are not the evil princes (spirits) of the nations sent from hell. (Dan 10:13,20)

So if the commander of the red horses represents the spirit as the Jetstream and its overall influence over the spirits of global powers of men, what does it have to do with the walking angels which we now know are more than just the wandering storm winds of the bay (1st Caliphate) horses, but is rather white and red, with a unique variation of the bay called speckled, though missing the original bay and grisled horses?
The answer is; the Jetstream is the chief of wandering winds, showing the red angel has more overall authority than all the others, including the 8th kingdom of Islamic Caliphate here called speckled, though this riding red sergeant only manages those under his more defined scope of angels who themselves are over the authorities of Greece, Babylon, and the yet to rise "more vigorous" Caliphate.
Because the black, grisled and bay are not among them, we can know that Persia, Rome and the first Caliphate play no part when the scouts make their report of peace.

The significant point is that according to a chronological timeline, the report is made while the 8th kingdom of Revelation 17:11 is in position, the city of Babylon has also risen, and Greece is established to play a significant part.
that narrows significantly the time we can expect to see the world rightly declared to be at rest!

Are you hearing this? Today we watch in fear as Islam is rising to attempt a global oppression. but after it is successfully the 8th and final Empire, the world will find a time of rest! How strange. But we will get to that later.
* * *

Rabbit trail:
Our global “general” weather trends are largely determined by where the Jetstream happens to travel on any given year.
Here in Alaska we are directly beneath a major collision of currents, and the northern Polar Jetstream location has “everything” to do with our season’s weather trend. Alaska Jet Stream article *4
This year the Polar Jetstream flows below Alaska on a direct horizontal course before dipping down to affect the lower 48. (That's Alaska speak for the rest of the U.S.A)



Polar Jetstream 2011 *4 (animated Jetstream well worth checking out, though a rabbit trail to our discussion. [pick 4 days, 6 hours, faster, then hit resume])

…In recent years it made a great “omega” right over the entire State of Alaska, bringing a lot of snow with moist warm air. This year it is cold and dry with less snow than I have ever seen.
But this is just the northern Polar Jetstream, not the more significant Subtropical one that our present passage is discussing.
I am sure that there is another red horse commander for this region, but this is not the topic at hand.

That rabbit trail was to show the wandering authority of the red horses of the Jetstreams, and therefore the chain of command authorizing the red captain to command the various horses of the wandering band.

I am confident that this red authority shows the spirit of Babylon remains a quiet but powerful influence over the nations of the earth even though her physical presence lies quietly abandon for the time being under the sands of Iraq, waiting for her time to rise again.
* * *

Return to Topic 5:
Since this sergeant is a single angel of the entire red regiment, it seems probable that not all of the red and white horses are with this wandering captain; only representations of their regiments are with him.
But the entire bay company, including the speckled half, is a part of the wandering Hadley regiment, Yet strangely we see no representing grisled horses (Rome) or bay horses (Caliphate 1) present.
This tells me that at the time this prophecy takes place, only the speckled 1/3 of this Hadley regiment will be present.

So because the red regiment is also a wandering regiment like the bay, the question is; What are the white representatives of Greece doing with this wandering squad, as they are of the only none wandering regiment there? Greece does not even fit into this chronological theory, its period of being the GDE is past.
The answer is two fold:
First, Greece is still Greece, just no longer the GDE. It remains, while Babylon and Islam have disappeared, with prophecies to return in modified forms.
I suggest this is why Greece is not represented as a wandering wind, but the others are.
Second, we should be startled to see prophecy of Greece rising to play a significant role, yet while the modern prophetic scholars are fruitlessly watching for Rome to revive, Greece is being ignored.

Therefore; Babylon, Greece and the return of the Caliphate will all have a significant role under the authority of the Babylonian spirit in the last days events at the time this squad of observers declare the world is at rest. (Daniel 8:22-23+) No Egypt, No Assyria, No Persia, No Rome, No Revived Roman Empire of European nations, and not the first try of the Islamic Caliphate.

Am I saying none of these nations will exist? No, just that they don't play any independent significant role in the last days events at that time...
Even Iran, which used to be Persia, is no longer under the spirit of silver but now wholly under the Islamic spirit of iron and therefore now under the authority of the 4th chariot commander. So although the geographic area remains in play, the spirit of the ancient Persian Empire is gone though he proved to be a tough cookie in his day. (Daniel 10:12-13,20)
This then allows the black horse of Persia to be absent while placing Iran under the speckled horse authority. This is the only possible explanation for the wandering horses to claim they have walked the whole while missing a black horse.
But this sounds a bit to convenient, almost like a manipulation of the prophecy to make it fit.
I submit a theory that between now and the declaration of rest, Iran will be utterly destroyed and therefore its absence will not be a prophetic manipulation. (this theory developed another time)
Rome too is still on the earth, but we don't see the grisled representation present. This is because Rome is no longer a power player, and also falls under the authority of the speckled horse as part of the iron empire.
So we see that all four of the diverse beasts of Daniel 7 are in a way, still among us in various and somewhat confusing ways, but the spirits in authority at the time of global rest, are those only of Babylon, Islam and Greece.

Topic 6:
Returning to the narrative;
In a defense of the Deity of Christ, Paul asked this question of what God only said to Jesus; “But to which of the angels said he at any time, Sit on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool?
Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?” Hebrews 1:13-14
This confirmation that Jesus is no angel, (since he was told by God to sit on his right hand until God made all his enemies his footstool. Psalm 110:1) also tells us that ALL angels are ministering spirits sent out, not to minister TO, but to minister ON BEHALF of the saved.

So this special band of walking ministers does what?
Without going off on another long rabbit trail, lets have a look at another band that don't wander but “run to and fro through the whole earth.” Zechariah 4:10b These that run are the seven eyes of the Lord. Zechariah 3:9, 4:10a
“For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him…” II Chronicles 16:9
which brings us to;
"(there)…stood a Lamb (Jesus) as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth.” Revelation 5:6b (Rev. 3:1)

So now we have made a full circle and know that the seven running Spirits are the eyes of God running to and fro looking for opportunities to show himself strong, not directly to, but in behalf of, his faithful children.
Therefore the 4 standing spirits (Zech. 6:5) are subordinate ministering spirits doing the bidding of the 7 directly from the Holy Spirit.
And the wandering company of spirits (Zech. 6:7) are yet subordinate to those standing, and still a select few of those regiments and companies are part of the specialist walking spirits scouting the earth. (Zech. 1:11)

This is not hard to see if you picture a military chain of command. All of them with the focus of ministering in behalf of the faithful.
With the evil spirits intent on thwarting them, they end up striving over humanity. with man involved too, the striving involves governments and nations and Empires.(Daniel 7:2, 9:22, 10:13-13,20-21, 11:37-38, 12:1) yet God remains ultimately in control to fulfill his will in his time; "Thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians." Daniel 5:28
But we have been kept from this clear awareness until now;
"But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end:..." Daniel 12:4
* * *

So why do the evil spirits always seem to dominate the empires of the earth?
That question will be answered in more detail in the next post, but simply put; It was answered back at the beginning of this chapter;

“The LORD hath been sore displeased with your fathers.
Therefore…Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Turn ye unto me, saith the LORD of hosts, and I will turn unto you, saith the LORD of hosts.
Be ye not as your fathers, unto whom the former prophets have cried, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Turn ye now from your evil doings: but they did not hear, nor hearken unto me, saith the LORD.”… Zechariah 1:2-4

The spirits which are dominate are granted authority by God through the will of man, as the spirits (both good and evil) work through the actions and wills of men (both good and evil) on their good or evil behalf.
"And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." Matthew 16:19
* * *

And now we have arrived at the beginning of the whole question today:

“…How long wilt thou (God) not have mercy on Jerusalem and on the cites of Judah, against which thou hast had indignation these threescore and ten years?” Zechariah 1:12

But that answer will have to wait until the next post.
(and lest you have forgotten, we are searching for the answer to the timing of when the last GDE that affects Israel will rise, and what it will look like.)
* * * * * * *

*1 Man 376 iysh; contrast from 582 [or perhaps rather from an unused root meaning to be extant]; a man as an individual or a male person; often used as an adjunct to a more definite term (and in such cases frequently not expressed in translation).

Therefore Zechariah was simply stating a rider that looked like a man.

*2 Metaphor: a figure of speech in which a word for one idea or thing is used in place of another to suggest a likeness between them. - Merryman-Webster Electronic Dictionary.

*3 Myrtle Trees:
Grow like small bushes when dry but large bushy shade trees when there is plenty of moisture. It takes a well moistured myrtle tree 100-150 years to mature.
Since Israel became a nation and began to plant and irrigate myrtle trees in 1948, 2011 minus 1948 = 63 years of growth. 100 years minus 63 = 37 more years to reach earliest maturity. 2011 plus 37 more years = 2048 until this prophecy of a rider on a red horse standing in the bottom among myrtle trees proclaiming rest, can take place.
(remember, this is just a hypothesis at this time.)

*4 In case the links doesn't work:
Alaska Jetstream Article: http://www.adn.com/2010/08/14/1410264/shift-of-jet-stream-makes-for.html
Animated Jetsream: http://squall.sfsu.edu/scripts/nhemjetstream_model.html
*

The Four Winds

of the Heavens
Part 2 ( part 1 The Great Whore)
post 175

I beg you to read this short section of Zechariah 6:1-8 before continuing, because pre-reading it has profound impact on your later understanding that you will not get if I just give you the answers first.

I realize you will not yet see how this post relates to the Last World Empire, but I encourage you to read it on its own merit, to be amazed at this secret science from the Creator, and discover later how it ties in to prophecy!

* * *

Identifying the Four Spirits:

Zechariah 6:5 “And the angel answered and said unto me, These are the four spirits of the heavens, (8064) which go forth from standing before the Lord of all the earth.”

Quick overview:

In verse 1 we have two brass mountains from between which come 4 chariots (with 5 various colored horses): Red, black, white, grisled, and bay.

The brass mountains are an identifier for when and how in the events these spirits come, but lets ignore those for the time to look at the chariots.

Verse 5 tells us plainly that these chariots are the 4 spirits of the heavens.

Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance;

Heavens 8064 shamayim; dual of an unused singular shameh; from an unused root meaning to be lofty; the sky (as aloft; the dual perhaps alluding to the visible arch in which the clouds move, as well as the higher ether where the celestial bodies revolve.

Clearly meaning at least; the atmosphere, troposphere, and stratosphere.

Troposphere: “(from Greek: tropein - to change, circulate or mix) is the lowermost layer of the Earth's atmosphere. Most of the weather phenomena, systems, convection, turbulence and clouds occur in this layer, although some may extend into the lower portion of the stratosphere.”

(http://www.weatheronline.co.uk/reports/wxfacts/Troposphere.htm)

Stratosphere: “Little moisture enters the stratosphere, so clouds are rare. Even though the stratosphere has complex wind systems, violent storms don't occur there. Because the air temperature in the stratosphere slowly increases with altitude, it does not cause convection and has a stabilizing effect on atmospheric conditions in the region. Stability generally limits vertical extensions of cloud and leads to the lateral spreading of high cumulonimbus cloud with characteristic anvil heads. This means that weather (in the form of clouds) is almost entirely confined to the troposphere below. That's why airline pilots prefer to fly in the stratosphere.”  (http://www.weatheronline.co.uk/reports/wxfacts/Stratosphere.htm)

So by identifying these same four spirits elsewhere in scripture we can learn more about when they play their part, and just what they do;

“And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree” Revelation 7:1

Interestingly these 4 angels hold the four winds of the earth, not of the heavens. So are they different?

We already know by science that the global winds of the earth, are found in the heavens as the word is defined in the original text.

Mark 13:27 also confirms they are the same; “And then shall he send his angels, and shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven.”

Clearly both the heaven and the earth are identified under the scope of the four angels of the winds.

By definition of the regions of their responsibility, we see these are the same spirits as identified in the Zechariah 6:5, Daniel 7:2 and Revelation 7:1.

Clearly the winds of the heavens are global. Zechariah 6:5 identifies these spirits as going forth from standing before the Lord of all the earth, therefore proclaiming that the winds of the earth are controlled by spirits, which are directed by God.

It is here we should note that although there are 4 chariots representing 4 spirits, the horses of these chariots defined by color represent 5 winds, and there are yet unknown numbers of horses for each chariot, but at least 2 of each color due to the plural form of the word horses.

All that to say, one spirit can have dominion over more than one wind within his scope of authority, but all the winds (horses) of each chariot (authority) can be scientifically categorized under one controlling force.

This is prophetically important.

* * *

Identifying Their Job:

We learn in the following verse the purpose of the four angels holding the four winds;

“…and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea,” Revelation 7:2.

It is indisputable that these angels use the winds to hurt the planet, but for some reason the earth and sea are separated as different. I suggest that we might discover although this global weather "hurt" will actually occur, the hidden prophecy means the earth as the planet, and the sea as the humanity (Isaiah 17:12).

But there are two ways in which this hurt might be accomplished:
(I have since figured out theory 2 is correct. See post 200 The First Woe 
http://when-did-reason-die.blogspot.com/2011/06/first-woe.html)

“And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree” Revelation 7:1.

Theory 1- Let loose the winds:

"And after" follows the incredible events of the previous chapter which have yet to happen.

These four angels are described as holding the four winds from blowing "after that". They then might unloose the wind to do great damage to the earth and sea and trees. Immediately we think of hurricanes and tornadoes, unleashed with God’s great fury.

The wording describes the angels successfully holding the winds so that they do not blow anywhere, not even on any tree, presumably in this theory  “before they let them loose”.

Though this holding back has never yet been accomplished, might it one day come to pass? Scripture says it will.

But is the holding back a reprieve from the blowing damage?

Zechariah 1:11 describes a time when by search the earth is found to be “sitting still and at rest.” Could this also mean the winds themselves are still?

Perhaps.

But the question must be asked; Can the earth be at rest if the winds do not blow?

This thought extends into theory 2;

Theory 2- Hold the winds:

This verse can also be interpreted to mean that the damage done will be as a result of the angels holding back the wind from blowing at all.

How might this damage the earth?

If the main four winds of the earth we now know in science, do not blow, the damage done will be unimaginable! The rains will not come, the currents of the seas will be affected, the temperature of the air and the sea will dramatically change, there will be much sea life die from temperature change alone, not to mention the nutrients stop coming in the currents. The ability of these spirits to hurt the trees by not blowing, can mean nothing less that a lack of rain, which besides drought, results in fire.

Such a lack of blowing would be catastrophic to the sea, the earth and the trees.

But so would extreme blowing such as the earth has never seen.

I am leaning with uncertainty to the not blowing theory, but either way the earth is damaged.

* * *

Investigating the earth’s winds:

Just Google “global winds” for lots of information.

I am no scientist, but I find it curious that the non-religious scientific community recognizes 3 global wind cells; The Polar, the Ferrel, and the Hadley.

I find it curious that 3 of the 4 chariots in Zechariah 6 are described as going to specific locations (part of no. 4 wanders “to and fro” but not up and down).

Considering that Israel is always the central focus of scripture, lets examine these 3 winds of the earth related to the geographic location of Israel:

(Look at the below map and find Israel located just above the Horse latitude.)

Zechariah 6:6-7:

“The black horses which are therein (chariot #2) go forth into the north country; (Polar)

and the white (chariot #3) go forth after them; (Ferrel)

and the grisled (½ chariot #4) go forth toward the south country. (Hadley)

And the bay (½ chariot #4) went forth, and sought to go that they might walk to and fro through the earth: …” (random).

Note: the red horses of chariot #1 are missing entirely. (Scripture is as amazingly complex as is the temporal reality which it explains, this adds to the thrill of figuring it out.)

According to the location of Israel on the globe, what we know of this description fits amazingly accurate! Since Israel is the focus location, it is neither north or south, and the description of the white horse (cell) over the region of Israel is simply; “they follow after those going north”.

How else would you put it?

The passage speaks of “countries” as geographic regions related to Israel, but also fits the global cycles of the earth’s winds perfectly.

Science today refers to them globally as 3 cells, though they are mirrored in the other hemisphere.

Likewise the biblical plural of horses representing the winds, implies at least two of each color, suggesting a further scriptural accuracy related to the redundant winds of both hemispheres.

* * *

Regarding the Mysterious Winds of the Missing Red horses:

Zechariah 6:2 "In the first chariot were red horses..."

and then we never hear of them again for the remainder of the narration.

Jetstream: “A river of fast flowing air at high altitudes above the earth that generally flows from west to east over the mid-latitudes. The jet stream separates cold polar air from warmer air to the south and generally "steers" surface features such as fronts and low pressure systems."

(http://cimss.ssec.wisc.edu/oakfield/keyterms.htm).

FYI: I have learned that each hemisphere has two jet streams; one between each weather cell, not that it matters much here except when counting horses, but has significant meaning prophetically.

A great curious read: NOAA on Jetstream - (http://www.srh.noaa.gov/jetstream//global/jet.htm)

So while Jetstreams are the high altitude winds that have a stabilizing affect on the cells beneath them, they are scientifically independent from the 3 weather cells.

I am convinced that the winds of the Red horses are the Jetstreams, and because of their extreme altitude, are generally viewed as disconnected to events on the surface though very much influential. Therefore they are identified in scripture as present but curiously left out in the Zechariah narrative showing their location in reality as sort of secret.

For the hidden prophecy, the declaration of their presence while missing in the narrative is significant. By leaving their location out of the prophecy, it confirms them to be unique from the other 3 related cells, and suggests their actual location/relation as sort of mysterious (Revelation 17:5).

This fits the intriguing description of these four spirits in scripture very well.

The only remaining question is the identity of the Bay Horse winds controlled by the angel also controlling the Hadley winds.

* * *

Regarding the Wandering Winds of the Bay Horses:

Why are the winds of the 4th chariot divided in destination and shown by two different colors of horses? Some, the grisled horses, going south as the Hadley cell, and some wandering “to and fro through the earth” as the yet unknown winds of the bay horses.

Are the storm winds such as hurricanes, typhoons and tornadoes all related to the Hadley cell of the south country? (equator) and therefore are the Bay horses?

Zechariah 6:7 is almost comical in its repeating that these winds wanted to walk back and forth, asked to walk back and forth, got permission to walk back and forth, and so they walked back and forth.

Therefore there must be a significance causing this to be included here with such diligence!

Storm Cells: "A storm cell is an air mass that contains up and down drafts in convective loops, moves and reacts as a single entity, and functions as the smallest unit of a storm-producing system." - (storm cells: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Storm_cell)

That is a pretty good description to fit our analogy!

Though storms seem independent, my limited research suggests storms are produced by interaction between each of the three related cells, But only in the region of the Hadley cells do we get such independent storm cells “wandering to and fro through the earth” to the extent that we keep a fearful eye on their wandering by actually tracking them! We even name them!

This is good enough for me to accept that these storm cells are significant enough to be the bay horses, under the fourth angel, that ask and get permission to wander back and forth unpredictably doing great violence.

It should be noted that these Bay Horse winds are not a 5th chariot of the 4 winds, but are a significant portion of the 4th one though kind of going to a 5th location. Shouldn't then the Bay Horse winds be a group of their own with a chariot of their own? I will show in time that this specific number and type is a prophecy which we will cover in the next post.

Remember too, the angels are not the winds, they just control them. This is why the prophetic description shows chariots and horses = controllers and winds.

In this way the angel of the last chariot can manage 2 different kinds of winds within his “scope of authority” and so we see confirmed the storm winds are directly related to the Hadley cell’s activities.

So in this discovery of just what the horses are, and the science of what we know about global winds, I have come up with an actual count of the horses in each chariot:

1st   Chariot,  4 Red horses,    Jet streams,  both Hemispheres

2nd  Chariot,  2 Black horses,  Polar cells,  both Hemispheres

3rd   Chariot,  2 White horses, Ferrel cells, both Hemispheres

4th   Chariot,  2 Grizled horses, Hadley cells, both Hemispheres

4th   Chariot  has unknown Bay horses,  Independent Storm cells

Am I suggesting I have some great wisdom to uncover this long hidden truth?

Hardly.

Although I have not been able to find this information taught anywhere, and had to “figure” this out on my own, I do find it curious why the latitudes, between the weather circulation cells, are called “Horse Latitudes”.

Google “horse latitudes etymology” for a whole string of very weak theories as to how the name came about.

I am suggesting that when the brilliant minds discovered these wind patterns “for the first time” they were men quite familiar with scripture, and saw as I do, the incredible truth of reality the ancient scriptures have been faithfully telling us! Perhaps those men actually used the information here in scripture to discover the cells and patterns in the first place.

I suggest that they named these latitudes in honor of this ancient biblical truth, knowing that one day their faith would be scrubbed from history but their hidden clues would remain, leading us back to the knowledge of how they learned what they did! This is a Jordan Stone (I will explain later).

What a thrilling study it has been to uncover like an archeologist the secrets once known but now long buried. To find such wisdom in the strange telling of Zechariah 6.

* * *

The point of the confusion:

This was all unarguably just a bunch of Nostradamus-like mumbo-jumbo that could almost mean anything you wanted it to when you pre-read it. But we have seen unfold a fascinating pre-written accurate science of the weather systems of the Earth by the Creator himself long before our science caught up, and this discovery is so accurate that the mystery of the correct interpretation is finally revealed. Nostradamus cannot do that!

Now if you pre-read it and found yourself utterly confused, and then a great light of recognition came on by the interpretation; that was the point of the pre-reading!

Jesus spoke in Parables because he wouldn't force the people to understand.

"Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand" Matthew 13:13.

Jesus is not saying; "They want to know, but I'm not going to tell them."

He is saying; "They don't want to know, therefore I speak truth in parables to help them not know while still giving the truth to those who do. The truth is there if they want it."

This is nothing new to Jesus and the New Testament, Jesus himself only quoted the same idea from Isaiah;

"And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias; which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive: FOR (because) this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes THEY have closed; LEST at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them" Matthew 13:14-15 (all cap emphasis added).

Notice: It is the people who have closed their own eyes for the purpose of not seeing. They are hiding intentionally from being converted!

Let’s read that original passage in Isaiah because it is alarming to me and should be alarming to the reader who, looking for easy answers, gives up in confusion;

"Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?

Then said I, Here am I; send me.

And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not.

Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes;... Isaiah 6:8-10a.

Why is that?! The verse tells us as it continues:

Lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed"

Isaiah 6:10b.

This Isaiah passage continues on to explain God is speaking of the Jews who have been blinded and cut off from the LORD, and we know elsewhere this was so that us Gentiles could be grafted in.

But here is the scary part.

Suddenly with this knowledge the reader sighs with big relief because for a moment he thought perhaps this passage was speaking about him!

And that IS THE BLINDNESS!

Jesus in Matthew WAS speaking about us.

God blinded the Jews, but we blind ourselves!

We are told that if we the unnatural branches fall to the same dullness of the natural branches who were cut off, how much quicker shall we be cut off too! (Romans 11:21) But Why!?

God is not interested in us having the right answer with a wicked heart, for the very reason why we just want the right answer so that we can retain our wicked heart!

Rather God is interested in our regeneration that happens through searching until we find the right answer. The right answer becomes the end of the mission, the mission is where the actual change takes place!

If winning the winter Olympics is the goal, then there is a huge loss experienced when the award is won; The goal is accomplished and now I am lost. This is the same condition as those who have said the magic words and "accepted Jesus into their heart" but find they are still lost and confused.

But if the activity is the love, then the gold at the Olympics is just a nice landmark in the adventure.

We are so goal oriented that we just want someone to fast track the struggle and tell us the answer so we can comply without the change.

This is the Lottery mentality that brings destruction not success.

Jesus does indeed want us to arrive at the right answer, but only by the correct process of restructuring our very minds and hearts and eyes and ear of understanding (Romans 12:2).

It took me several weeks of earnest searching with God to come to my understanding of this post passage, and that came after years of preparation to be able to succeed at this study. Therefore I received a great amount of growth by the effort that you did not get from me just telling you the answer.

So if the answer is what you are seeking, you got it now, and can go back to your ball game. The answer was anti-climactic.

But if finding that secret place in God is what you are seeking, then my study will only be an exciting assist in your own searching process already in progress.

This is one reason why this mystery is hidden in this very strange way.

But so far, we have only revealed the secret science of global weather.

There is also an entirely different secret prophecy hidden here as well that directly relates to the last day Empire we are watching rise today!

But I can't just tell it to you because there is far too much understanding we still need to cover before it can make sense.

Another reason why this scientific information is given to us in this strange way is because after learning the truth of all the confusion, we can see how very accurate it is.

With this mental transition of understanding from mumbo-jumbo to accurate message, we now have a sample of how other confusing prophesies actually have very accurate messages as well.

This is like a cipher solved which we now have as a tool to figure out the others!

Oh, I almost forgot:

I believe the two brass mountains are the sun and the moon... in the context of the weather meaning, but this goes way beyond that!

But that is for another book.

* * * * * *