Revelation 12 : The Woman and the Dragon

1And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars: 2And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered.

This sign occurs on September 23, 2017 and it is the only time it has ever occurred.  

 3And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns on his heads. 4And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born.

5And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up to God, and to his throne. 6And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and three score days.

The War in Heaven

7And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,8And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. 9And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceives the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. 10And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brothers is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night. 11And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives to the death. 12Therefore rejoice, you heavens, and you that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has but a short time.

The Dragon Persecutes the Woman

13And when the dragon saw that he was cast to the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man child.14And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.

15And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood. 16And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth.

17 And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.  

This sign in September should immediately do one of 2 things.  

Strike fear into your heart -or- joy and relief.

The occurrence of this sign came to my attention over a year ago and immediately struck fear into my heart.   Since that time I have devoted every single day and night to unpack the meaning and significance of this sign.   When it came to my attention I wasn’t sure if I was living a life worthy to escape the things coming on the earth.  I have told several people that this sign is going to occur over the past year and it has been met either a shrug of the shoulders and dismissive which completely baffled me.

 

National Preparedness Month

September is recognized as National Preparedness Month (NPM) which serves as a reminder that we all must take action to prepare, now and throughout the year, for the types of emergencies that could affect us where we live, work, and also where we visit. Due to the success of last year’s theme, “Don’t Wait, Communicate. Make Your Emergency Plan Today,” will be returning for this September with a continuing emphasis on preparedness for youth, older adults, and people with disabilities and others with access and functional needs.  Thank you for taking time help make America more prepared for emergencies.

Luke 17 : The Coming of the Kingdom

26And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. 27They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all.

28Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built; 29But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. 30Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.  

I had just bought a house and was planning to move onto the next phase of my life after my divorce.  I was fully devoted to doing the things I had envisioned for the house.  I was in Home Depot every weekend.  

It is a 1940’s cottage style house.  It didn’t need much foundational work, just cosmetic updates.    I was trying to create a fresh start for myself by changing addresses and appearance.

I was buying, selling, planting, and building.

After about a year, God began to place a conviction in my heart so strong that I began to drop all the plans, goals, and dreams I had set forth my self.   I knew a storm was coming and I knew that I needed to diligently seek Him with all my heart and soul.

In short, I needed to start preparing an Ark.  

But just like my focus was on the wrong house, my physical house, the Ark I needed to build wasn’t a physical Ark, it was a spiritual Ark.

Luke 6 : The House on the Rock

46And why call you me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say? 47Whoever comes to me, and hears my sayings, and does them, I will show you to whom he is like:48He is like a man which built an house, and dig deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently on that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded on a rock. 49But he that hears, and does not, is like a man that without a foundation built an house on the earth; against which the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of that house was great. 

Hebrews 11 : The Faith of Abel, Enoch, Noah

 6But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that comes to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. 7By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house;  by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.

I knew I needed to put on my armor because the battle was coming right to my front door.

I needed understanding and discernment.   

We live in the most confusing, deceptive time imaginable,

so I knew I needed to be anchored in the truth.

I needed to understand what His plan of redemption was.

I needed to understand His promises.

I needed to start shedding all the things that were hindering my relationship with Him.

I needed to understand what I was supposed to do and what He wanted from me.  

I needed to make sure I was living according to His will and not my own.   

It has taken me on the most disturbing, humbling, yet incredible journey of my life.  I pray by the end,  you will see the sign as pure joy instead of fear, and that you will understand that God wrote it in the stars from the foundation of the world.

Luke 21 : Be Watchful

34And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come on you unawares. 35For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth.   36Watch you therefore, and pray always, that you may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.

On May 4th, 2016, my company took us for a team building exercise to play the Escape Game. This day ended up being a day that forever changed my life though I didn’t realize at the time.

If you’ve never played, it’s a game where a group will go into a room and you have an hour to gather all the clues to unlock the door and break out.  I was dreading going cause I hate these types of things and I was really tired but something told me I needed to go.  That day happened to be one of the peak days of my overwhelm and frustration.

On my way there, I actually pulled off the side of the road and just started crying.  I felt God had put a prompting in my heart but I was overwhelmed with what I thought He was calling me to do.  I was crying out to Him a conversation that went like this: “Is this really what you want me to be doing and why? surely you have the wrong person.”

The more I saw happening around me the heavier my heart got.  My brain felt like it was going to explode with all the research I was doing.   I felt like God was removing the scales from eyes for a purpose but I really wasn’t sure where it was going to lead.

I finally drug myself to the game.   They have 5 different rooms.   A different game in each room.   Our room happened to contain this book which I thought was extremely interesting considering most of the research I had been doing was on Babylon.

One of the first clues we were given in our room was this bible verse…

 LUKE 13:29

It was in context of the Narrow Gate.

Just a couple of months prior to this work event, I had created this site “NarrowGateEntrance” not really knowing what it would lead to.  I really named it that in hopes of figuring out what it truly meant and to figure out if I would be able to enter into it.

Little did I know, how quickly God would answer my prayer that day as I was heading to the game.

Little did I know, the depth of how God would end up answering that prayer.  

Little did I know, how much of a parallel it was with my life and my walk.  

My whole life I pretty much have kind of done my own thing. I participated and was there but was not really sure what I was supposed to be doing, ie my walk.  I went to church growing up.  I went to Sunday school.  I participated but nothing past that.  I procrastinate and wait until the last minute on just about everything.  I participated in the Escape Game but wasn’t of any use until the very end.  The other members of the team got us to that point, but at the end, during the confusion and panic, I was able to see something that they didn’t that would help us open the door.  Likewise, other followers of Christ have helped me to this point, and I feel he has revealed things to me that other people aren’t seeing.   I pray this site will help guide you to the door that leads to the life, and that you will be able to rest in confidence with the promises he gave us.

On May 4th, prior to heading to the Escape Game , I had stumbled across a video called the Lost Sheep which tied together so many things for me.

A few days later after the game, I went back to where I was born in Mississippi for a childhood friends wedding.  I was with my parents and we drove by the church we used to go to and I started having all these flashbacks and remember when I told my Dad I wanted to get baptized.  He took me in His car before church and before we got there He pulled off the side of the road and told me the significance of my decision that I was making.  I said I did, and that I wanted to give my life to Christ, but looking back I obviously didn’t fully understand what I was saying or understand the meaning of it.  I just felt in my heart that that’s what I wanted to do. As we kept driving around I continued having all these child hood memories flooding back to me.  Things I hadn’t remembered in 20 years.  

I began to see how God has watched over me ever since my decision as a kid and the story he has weaved in my life.  Even though I failed miserably at following him, turned my back on him, he has always been there watching over me openly accepted me back with open arms.  His love and grace for me made me whole again.

My story of rebellion, divorce, losing a child, broken relationships, being healed, and returning to the father showed me who he truly is and is endless love for us.  My personal story and testimony, is the story of the Lost Sheep and Ephraim, which made all of this hit home with me even more.

The recurring theme God was bringing up to me “the beginning”.   Just like we had to keep starting over at the beginning in the Escape Game,  as I was trying to understand the bible, I found myself constantly returning here…

the beginning of the bible

…to understand context of what I was reading in later books, where the 1st precepts are established.   I was trying to understand and make sense of things with a very vague sense of understanding the very first book of the bible.

I had no concrete biblical foundation.

Hosea 4 : God’s Charges against Israel

1Hear the word of the LORD, you children of Israel: for the LORD has a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land.  6My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because you have rejected knowledge, I will also reject you, that you shall be no priest to me: seeing you have forgotten the law of your God, I will also forget your children.

My frustration with the bible and my lack of understanding was because I did not understand this :

To understand the end we must understand what God’s initial intent from the beginning was.

 the Lord created man in his own image, and planted the Garden of Eden

GENESIS 1:27 :  THE 6TH DAY

27So God created man in his own image, in the IMAGE of God created he him; male and female created he them.

Genesis 2 : Creation of Man and Garden of Eden

7Then the LORD God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being. 8The LORD God planted a garden toward the east, in Eden; and there He placed the man whom He had formed. 9Out of the ground the LORD God caused to grow every tree that is pleasing to the sight and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

      10Now a river flowed out of Eden to water the garden; and from there it divided and became four rivers.11The name of the first is Pishon; it flows around the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold. 12The gold of that land is good; the bdellium and the onyx stone are there. 13The name of the second river is Gihon; it flows around the whole land of Cush. 14The name of the third river is Tigris; it flows east of Assyria. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.

      15Then the LORD God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it. 16The LORD God commanded the man, saying, “From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; 17but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.”

Eve was deceived by the serpent.  Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit and plunged humanity into a fallen state.  

Matthew 13 : The Parable of the Weeds

24Another parable put he forth to them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened to a man which sowed good seed in his field: 25But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way.26But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also. 27So the servants of the householder came and said to him, Sir, did not you sow good seed in your field? from where then has it tares?28He said to them, An enemy has done this.

So 2 seeds were planted

producing 2 different types of Fruit.

The servants said to him, Will you then that we go and gather them up? 29But he said,

No; lest while you gather up the tares, you root (G4491) up also the wheat with them. 30Let both grow together until the harvest:  and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather you together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.

 references are how many times a word is mentioned in the KJV  of the bible or the King James Hebrew or Greek Concordance, (you can verify all of them by using blueletterbible.org)

The Parable of the Weeds Explained

36Then Jesus sent the multitude away, and went into the house: and his disciples came to him, saying, Declare to us the parable of the tares of the field.  37He answered and said to them, He that sows the good seed is the Son of man;

38The field is the world;  the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one;

39The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels. 40As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world.41The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; 42And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.43Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who has ears to hear, let him hear. 

A tare is a plant that commonly grows in fields of grain. And although it looks similar to an edible grain, it isn’t suitable for food. In fact, many feel the specific tare, or weed, referred to in this parable is the darnel, a poisonous weed that is very similar in appearance to wheat.  While growing next to the stalk of wheat, darnel cannot be distinguished from the real wheat. It is not until near the time of harvest, when the wheat comes into ear or sprouts its fruit, that you can discern which of the two is the real item.

Only near the time for harvest can the fruiting head of darnel, left, be easily distinguished from the fruiting head of wheat, right.

Before this stage the plants look almost identical.

LUKE 12 : NOT PEACE, BUT DIVISION

51Suppose you that I am come to give PEACE on earth?  I tell you, No; but rather DIVISION:

  “Divisions”  17x 

“Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers,  Gather you together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.”

“threshingfloor”  17x

A threshingfloor was originally “…’to tramp or stamp heavily with the feet’…” and was later applied to the act of separating out grain by the feet of people or oxen and still later with the use of a flail.

Sheavesof grain would be opened up and the stalks spread across the threshing floor.

 (“bundle”) of grain

Pairs of donkeys or oxen (or sometimes cattle, or horses) would then be walked round and round, often dragging a heavy threshing board behind them, to tear the ears of grain from the stalks, and loosen the grain itself from the husks.

Ear of Grain

 

Husk, is the outer protective coating on the hull, on the fruit, on the seed, that becomes chaff.

IE…Maize’s ear of corn leafy outer casing shell covering

grow on the yellow fruit’s shell hull.

After this threshing process, the broken stalks and grain were collected and then thrown up into the air with a wooden winnowing fork or a winnowing fan. 

The chaff would be blown away by the wind; the short torn straw would fall some distance away; while the heavier grain would fall at the winnower’s feet. The grain could then be further cleansed by sieving.

Revelation 21 : The New Heaven and Earth

      1Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. 2And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. 3And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, 4and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.”

      9Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and spoke with me, saying, “Come here, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.”

Revelation  22 : The River and the Tree of Life

      1Then he showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb, 2in the middle of its street. On either side of the river was the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. 3There will no longer be any curse; and the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and His bond-servants will serve Him; 4they will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads. 5And there will no longer be any night; and they will not have need of the light of a lamp nor the light of the sun, because the Lord God will illumine them; and they will reign forever and ever.

So we should clearly see God’s ultimate plan for redemption is to restore Eden with His children, his seed, and to separate them from the wicked.  His seed, based off those created in His image, and   based off the type of fruit that is produced.  Eden to Eden.

So lets go back to the beginning to see what precepts and foundational groundwork was laid in the Book of Genesis

The Threads Established in Genesis

17

Setting Apart and Dividing

Joseph | Ephraim

Egypt :: Land of Affliction

Joseph | Ephraim & Judah

Name

Rachel : Lamb

Fruit | Firstborn | Firstfruits

2nd Portion :: Double

JERUSALEM = “set ye double peace”

EGYPT = “double straits”

Shinar = “country of two rivers”

Machpelah,  which means = “double” or “portion”,

where Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were buried

Cave of Patriarchs

Machpelah is located 17 miles west of the dead sea

 

GENESIS 17 : Abram Named Abraham

1And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said to him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be you perfect.  2And I will make my covenant between me and you, and will multiply you exceedingly.  3And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying,  4As for me, behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be a father of many nations.  5Neither shall your name any more be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made you.

6And I will make you exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come out of you.  7And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your seed after you in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God to you, and to your seed after you. 8And I will give to you, and to your seed after you, the land wherein you are a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.

The Covenant of Circumcision

9And God said to Abraham, You shall keep my covenant therefore, you, and your seed after you in their generations. 10This is my covenant, which you shall keep, between me and you and your seed after you; Every man child among you shall be circumcised. 11And you shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant between me and you. 12And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every man child in your generations, he that is born in the house, or bought with money of any stranger, which is not of your seed. 13He that is born in your house, and he that is bought with your money, must needs be circumcised: and my covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant. 14And the uncircumcised man child whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised, that soul shall be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant.

 Sarai renamed and promised son

15And God said to Abraham, As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall her name be. 16And I will bless her, and give you a son also of her: yes, I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of people shall be of her. 17Then Abraham fell on his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, Shall a child be born to him that is an hundred years old? and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear? 18And Abraham said to God, O that Ishmael might live before you! 19And God said, Sarah your wife shall bear you a son indeed; and you shall call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him. 20And as for Ishmael, I have heard you: Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation. 21But my covenant will I establish with Isaac, which Sarah shall bear to you at this set time in the next year. 22And he left off talking with him, and God went up from Abraham. 

Genesis 17  :  17

17Then Abraham fell on his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, Shall a child be born to him that is an hundred years old? and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear?

“laughed”   17x

 “Hebrew שֵׁם Shem”  17x

SHEM = “NAME” :   son of Noah 

SHEMwas MELCHIZEDEK

Genesis 14 : Melchizedek Blesses Abram

17And the king of Sodom went out to meet him after his return from the slaughter of Chedorlaomer, and of the kings that were with him, at the valley of Shaveh, which is the king’s dale. 18And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God.  19And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth:  20And blessed be the most high God, which has delivered your enemies into your hand. And he gave him tithes of all.

Sarai and Abram “renamed” to Sarah and Abraham

Jacob was “renamed” to Israel

Name : Bread and Wine

REVELATION 3 : MESSAGE TO THE CHURCH IN PHILADELPHIA

12Him that overcomes will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from my God: and I will write on him my new name. 13He that has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit said to the churches.

Ear of grain | fruit

 

This chapter is  thethread that everything can be tied back to. 

GENESIS 37 : JOSEPH’S DREAMS

1And Jacob dwelled in the land wherein his father was a stranger, in the land of Canaan. 2These are the generations of Jacob. JOSEPH, being 17 years old, was feeding the flock with his brothers; and the lad was with the sons of Bilhah, and with the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives: and Joseph brought to his father their evil report.3Now Israel (Jacob) loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age: and he made him a COAT OF MANY COLORS. 

4And when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him, and could not speak peaceably to him.  5And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it his brothers: and they hated him yet the more. 6And he said to them, Hear, I pray you, this dream which I have dreamed: 7For, behold, we were BINDING SHEAVES in the field, and, see, my sheaf arose, and also stood upright; and, behold, your sheaves stood round about,  and made obeisance to my sheaf.  8And his brothers said to him, SHALL YOU INDEED REIGN OVER US? or shall you indeed have dominion over us?  And they hated him yet the more for  his dreams, and for his words. 9And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it his brothers, and said, Behold, I have dreamed a dream more; and, behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance to me.  10And he told it to his father, and to his brothers: and his father rebuked him, and said to him, What is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall I and your mother and your brothers indeed come to bow down ourselves to you to the earth?  11His brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the saying in mind.   

VIRGO HOLDING THE SHEAF OF GRAIN | WHEAT | FRUIT

Joseph dreams that his brother’s fruit would bow down to his and also the sun, moon, and 11 stars.  Meaning the fruit he produced would be more acceptable in the site of God than his brothers.  

Revelation 3 : Message to the Church in Philadelphia

7And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write; These things said he that is holy, he that is true, he that has the key of David, he that opens, and no man shuts; and shuts, and no man opens; 8I know your works: behold, I have set before you an open door, and no man can shut it: for you have a little strength, and have kept my word, and have not denied my name. 9Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before your feet, and to know that I have loved you.  10Because you have kept the word of my patience, I also will keep you from the hour of temptation, which shall come on all the world, to try them that dwell on the earth. 11Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which you have, that no man take your crown.12Him that overcomes will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from my God: and I will write on him my new name. 13He that has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit said to the churches.

GENESIS 37 (Continued): JOSEPH’S DREAMS

12And his brothers went to feed their father’s flock in SHECHEM. 13And Israel said to Joseph, Do not your brothers feed the flock in Shechem? come, and I will send you to them. And he said to him, Here am I. 14And he said to him, Go, I pray you, see whether it be well with your brothers, and well with the flocks; and bring me word again. So he sent him out of the vale of Hebron, and he came to SHECHEM. 15And a certain man found him, and, behold, he was wandering in the field: and the man asked him, saying, What seek you? 16And he said, I seek my brothers: tell me, I pray you, where they feed their flocks. 17And the man said, They are departed hence; for I heard them say, Let us go to Dothan. And Joseph went after his brothers, and found them in Dothan.   18And when they saw him afar off, even before he came near to them, they conspired against him to slay him.19And they said one to another, Behold, this dreamer comes. 20Come now therefore, and let us slay him, and cast him into some pit, and we will say, Some evil beast has devoured him: and we shall see what will become of his dreams. 21And Reuben heard it, and he delivered him out of their hands; and said, Let us not kill him. 22And Reuben said to them, Shed no blood, but cast him into this pit that is in the wilderness, and lay no hand on him; that he might rid him out of their hands, to deliver him to his father again. 23And it came to pass, when Joseph was come to his brothers, that they stripped Joseph out of his coat, his coat of many colors that was on him;24And they took him, and cast him into a pit: and the pit was empty, there was no water in it.

 25And they sat down to eat bread: and they lifted up their eyes and looked, and, behold, a company of Ishmeelites came from Gilead with their camels bearing spices and balm and myrrh, going to carry it down to Egypt. 26And Judah said to his brothers, What profit is it if we slay our brother, and conceal his blood? 27Come, and let us sell him to the Ishmeelites, and let not our hand be on him; for he is our brother and our flesh. And his brothers were content. 28Then there passed by Midianites merchants; and they drew and lifted up Joseph out of the pit, and sold Joseph to the Ishmeelites for 20 pieces of silver: and they brought Joseph into Egypt.  29And Reuben returned to the pit; and, behold, Joseph was not in the pit; and he rent his clothes. 30And he returned to his brothers, and said, The child is not; and I, where shall I go?   

JOSEPH was sold for 20 pieces of silver (metal) at the age of  17

into EGYPT, the land of AFFLICTION by his brothers

JOSEPH lived  17   years OUTSIDE of EGYPT

JACOB lived   17   years INSIDE of EGYPT before passing away

17 Prophetic Books in OT 

17  Psalms and Historical OT Books 

Deuteronomy 17 :17

Neither shall he multiply wives to himself, that his heart turn not away: neither shall he greatly multiply to himself silver and gold.

Genesis 41 : The Sons of Joseph

50And to Joseph were born two sons before the years of famine came, which Asenath the daughter of Potipherah priest of On bore to him. 51And Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh: For God, said he, has made me forget all my toil, and all my father’s house. 52And the name of the second called he Ephraim: For God has caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction. 

Jasher 50:15 Joseph was 34 when he they were born to him in Egypt.

So Joseph gave birth to his 2 sons 17 years after being sold at age 17 

GENESIS 48 : JACOB BLESSES EPHRAIM AND MANASSEH

5And now your two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, which were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you into Egypt, are mine; as Reuben and Simeon, they shall be mine.  17  And when Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand on the head of Ephraim, it displeased him: and he held up his father’s hand, to remove it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head. 18And Joseph said to his father, Not so, my father: for this is the firstborn; put your right hand on his head. 19And his father refused, and said, I know it, my son, I know it: he also shall become a people, and he also shall be great: but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his seed shall become a multitude of nations. 

8Judah, you are he whom your brothers shall praise: your hand shall be in the neck of your enemies; your father’s children shall bow down before you.  9Judah is a lion’s whelp: from the prey, my son, you are gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up?  10The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and to him shall the gathering of the people be.  11Binding his foal to the vine, and his ass’s colt to the choice vine; he washed his garments in wine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes:  12His eyes shall be red with wine, and his teeth white with milk.

The Holy Spirit writes the law onto our hearts which allows us to produce the 2nd portion of fruit.  

 

The Fruit of the Spirit.  

 

The Fruit, now in terms of our actions. 

 

Those who have accepted Him into their lives and heart, and live obediently, bear this fruit.  

 

We are known to others by this fruit.

Genesis 28 : Jacob Flees to Laban

1And Isaac called Jacob, and blessed him, and charged him, and said to him, You shall not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan. 2Arise, go to Padanaram (“field”), to the house of Bethuel your mother’s father; and take you a wife from there of the daughers of Laban your mother’s brother.  3And God Almighty bless you, and make you fruitful, and multiply you, that you may be a multitude of people; 4And give you the blessing of Abraham, to you, and to your seed with you; that you may inherit the land wherein you are a stranger, which God gave to Abraham. 5And Isaac sent away Jacob: and he went to Padanaram to Laban, son of Bethuel the Syrian, the brother of Rebekah, Jacob’s and Esau’s mother.

jacob’s Ladder

10And Jacob went out from Beersheba, and went toward Haran. 11And he lighted on a certain place, and tarried there all night, because the sun was set; and he took of the stones of that place, and put them for his pillows, and lay down in that place to sleep. 12And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it. 13And, behold, the LORD stood above it, and said, I am the LORD God of Abraham your father, and the God of Isaac: the land where on you lie, to you will I give it, and to your seed; 14And your seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in you and in your seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed. 15And, behold, I am with you, and will keep you in all places where you go, and will bring you again into this land; for I will not leave you, until I have done that which I have spoken to you of. 16And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, Surely the LORD is in this place; and I knew it not. 17And he was afraid, and said, How dreadful is this place! this is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.

The Stone of Bethel

18And Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put for his pillows, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil on the top of it. 19And he called the name of that place Bethel: but the name of that city was called Luz at the first.

Bethel = “house of God” ( located between Benjamin and Ephraim and also a location named by Jacob. Under Israelite rule, Bethel first belonged to the Tribe of Benjamin, but was later conquered by the Tribe of Ephraim.)

BETHEL is known as Beitin today and is located 17 miles west of the Jordan River

20And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on, 21So that I come again to my father’s house in peace; then shall the LORD be my God: 22And this stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall be God’s house: and of all that you shall give me I will surely give the tenth to you.

 jacob received the 1ST BORN blessing from Isaac even though he was born after Esau. 

Genesis 29 : Jacob Meets Rachel

1Then Jacob went on his journey, and came into the land of the people of the east. 2And he looked, and behold a well in the field, and, see, there were three flocks of sheep lying by it; for out of that well they watered the flocks: and a great stone was on the well’s mouth. 3And thither were all the flocks gathered: and they rolled the stone from the well’s mouth, and watered the sheep, and put the stone again on the well’s mouth in his place.

4And Jacob said to them, My brothers, from where be you? And they said, Of Haran are we. 5And he said to them, Know you Laban the son of Nahor? And they said, We know him. 6And he said to them, Is he well? And they said, He is well: and, behold, Rachel his daughter comes with the sheep. 7And he said, See, it is yet high day, neither is it time that the cattle should be gathered together: water you the sheep, and go and feed them. 8And they said, We cannot, until all the flocks be gathered together, and till they roll the stone from the well’s mouth; then we water the sheep.

Joseph and Judah who were children of Rachel and Leah . Jacob, the Son of Isaac, produced the 12 Tribes of Israel with 4 wives.  The other 2 were Rachel and Leah’s handmaids.

Rachel was the wife He loved the most, just as Joseph was the son he loved most…Rachel’s Firstborn.

רָחֵל Râchêl, raw-khale’ Rachel means “ewe” , hence any sheep

Jacob Marries Leah and Rachel

14And Laban said to him, Surely you are my bone and my flesh. And he stayed with him the space of a month.

15And Laban said to Jacob, Because you are my brother, should you therefore serve me for nothing? tell me, what shall your wages be? 16And Laban had two daughters: the name of the elder was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. 17Leah was tender eyed; but Rachel was beautiful and well favored.18And Jacob loved Rachel; and said, I will serve you seven years for Rachel your younger daughter. 19And Laban said, It is better that I give her to you, than that I should give her to another man: abide with me.20And Jacob served seven years for Rachel; and they seemed to him but a few days, for the love he had to her.

21And Jacob said to Laban, Give me my wife, for my days are fulfilled, that I may go in to her. 22And Laban gathered together all the men of the place, and made a feast. 23And it came to pass in the evening, that he took Leah his daughter, and brought her to him; and he went in to her. 24And Laban gave to his daughter Leah Zilpah his maid for an handmaid. 25And it came to pass, that in the morning, behold, it was Leah: and he said to Laban, What is this you have done to me? did not I serve with you for Rachel? why then have you beguiled me? 26And Laban said, It must not be so done in our country, to give the younger before the firstborn. 27Fulfill her week, and we will give you this also for the service which you shall serve with me yet seven other years. 28And Jacob did so, and fulfilled her week: and he gave him Rachel his daughter to wife also. 29And Laban gave to Rachel his daughter Bilhah his handmaid to be her maid. 30And he went in also to Rachel, and he loved also Rachel more than Leah, and served with him yet seven other years. 

Genesis 33 : Jacob Settles in Shechem

18And Jacob came to Shalem, a city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, when he came from Padanaram; and pitched his tent before the city. 19And he bought a parcel of a field, where he had spread his tent, at the hand of the children of Hamor, Shechem’s father, for an hundred pieces of money. 20And he erected there an altar, and called it EleloheIsrael.

SHECHEM where Joseph was feeding the flock,

is located 17 miles WEST of the JORDAN (now called Nablos)

Sheckem = “back” or “shoulder”, “hinder part” ::  Hebrew שְׁכֶם (shĕkem) H7926 “shoulder*”  17v

Isaiah 22 : The Valley of Vision

      22“Then I will set the key of the house of David on his shoulder,
            When he opens no one will shut,
            When he shuts no one will open.

      23“I will drive him like a peg in a firm place,
            And he will become a throne of glory to his father’s house.

REVELATION 3 : MESSAGE TO THE CHURCH IN PHILADELPHIA

7And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write; These things said he that is holy, he that is true, he that has the key of David, he that opens, and no man shuts; and shuts, and no man opens;

The ONYX STONE was placed on the SHOULDERS of the High Priest’s garments which was the same stone used to represent JOSEPH on the High Priest’s Breastplate

SHECHEM was were JOSEPH and JOSHUA (who was from the Tribe of Ephraim) were buried.

SHECHEM was where JOSHUA, who led Israel into the Promised Land, made a covenant with the people after crossing THE JORDAN.  (Joshua 24)

Genesis 46 : Jacob’s Journey to Egypt

1And Israel took his journey with all that he had, and came to Beersheba, and offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac. 2And God spoke to Israel in the visions of the night, and said, Jacob, Jacob. And he said, Here am I. 3And he said, I am God, the God of your father: fear not to go down into Egypt; for I will there make of you a great nation: 4I will go down with you into Egypt; and I will also surely bring you up again: and Joseph shall put his hand on your eyes.

5And Jacob rose up from Beersheba: and the sons of Israel carried Jacob their father, and their little ones, and their wives, in the wagons which Pharaoh had sent to carry him. 6And they took their cattle, and their goods, which they had gotten in the land of Canaan, and came into Egypt, Jacob, and all his seed with him: 7His sons, and his sons’ sons with him, his daughters, and his sons’ daughters, and all his seed brought he with him into Egypt.

 Those who went to Egypt

8And these are the names of the children of Israel, which came into Egypt, Jacob and his sons:…

 26All the souls that came with Jacob into Egypt, which came out of his loins, besides Jacob’s sons’ wives, all the souls were 66; 27And the sons of Joseph, which were born him in Egypt, were two souls (EPHRAIM & MANASSAH): all the souls of the house of Jacob, which came into Egypt, were 70.

 Part 2 : THE LOST CITY

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