THINGS--Part 1 of 4 parts.
THINGS THAT WERE
JESUS CHRIST, the same yesterday, today and forever. These words, tho penned by Paul nearly 2000 years ago, nevertheless seem to reverberate throughout Father's universe, as they have done from the beginning. Fortunate and happy indeed is the individual that understands the deeper meaning in them. We humans long for and appreciate continuity and consistency. Consider for example, how wonderful it would be if you could always depend on your car, your spouse, or your friends to be so immutable.
Our Father is natural. In fact, as PM is fond of saying, Father is SUPERnatural. He never asked us, his children, to put on this flesh blindness while He himself did not. Father came into the flesh, showed an example to us of how to live the Word. then left the flesh the way all since have done. He died. As Paul said so eloquently, He died not in vain, but He died so that all could live. What is the deeper meaning here? It has to do with salvation of a sort, but not just the salvation taught in the cemeteries. I am firm that Paul meant for us to look into the writings for the answers we need especially in this time. Man shall not live by bread alone...
Father has caused it to be written, by His people, the complete story. HIS-tory. We all know about the "world that then was", at least the fact that there was a previous earth age.
We can accept the obvious truth, of persons (souls) having free will and few listening to God, the story of Lucifer's fall, and the overthrow of the first earth age. Tho we know these things, there are precious few 'details' written for us. What to do?
I for one subscribe to the words of Solomon "there is nothing new under the sun..." . As an example, If we have studied out a subject in the Word umpty-ump times, and get no more information on the subject, yet we are still hungry for info, what's wrong with using what you know about human nature, or physical science, and doing a little "what if" game? After all, human nature has not changed since the creation. People still get cold, hungry, hot, tired, angry, jealous, greedy, etc. just like they always have. We will sometimes play little 'what if" games in what follows. Be sharp.
There is the legend about the lost continent of Atlantis, handed down thru Greek 'mythology'. (Plato) It is said in this legend, that Atlantis was located beyond the 'pillars of Hercules' (Gibraltar) which would locate it in the Atlantic ocean between Europe and North America, and it supposedly existed some 10000 years before his (Plato's) time. It is further said that the people who occupied this land of Atlantis were tall, of very high intelligence, and built multi-storied buildings. Further, they possessed flying machines, as well as all sorts of innovations like hand held fire which provided light without heat or smoke, another which produced heat without light or smoke, and a means of communicating over great distances. This entire continent and all it's knowledge was lost when it sank beneath the sea. It further states that these occupants KNEW it was going to sink, but with all their intelligence, could not stop it from happening. Does not this legend fit with what we suspect about the first earth age? I believe that many legends have their basis in truth, tho sometimes they may greatly distort the truth.
The gist is, both science and even legends support the premises that continents sink and rise. We will delve into some secular research which supplies a very plausible (to me) cause of the occurrances. We began by stating that God never changes, and will continue to use His creation in a natural way to accomplish His ends.
Now most of us think we understand how this continent shifting occurs. Earthquakes and Volcanos, right?
Not probable at all. Why? Well, for one thing, an "earthquake" as we know it could not sink a continent. Neither could a volcano. They can destroy cities, even vast land areas, maybe sink a small island, but it is not reasonable to expect enough force to alter a seventh of the earth to come from WITHIN the earth. Let me take you to Amos 1:1 and Zechariah14:5. Note that both Amos and Zechariah expected the reader to know about the 'earthquake'. WHICH earthquake, you ask? Earthquakes are common in the mideast, and generally everywhere else. Do yourself a favor and study out this word 'earthquake' in your Strong's. It is not just an 'earthquake' as we think of it. It's a 'disruption'. For example HOW do you flee from an earthquake? They just happen. Quick. Just ask anyone who has been thru one. No time to flee. Just dive under the table, and if you survive, go sit down away from buildings. No fleeing to it. In Part 3, Things to Come, we will study out what this earthquake could very well have been, and why the people of the time KNEW exactly which "earthquake" the prophets were talking about. It is my belief that this SAME 'earthquake' is coming again, and probably very soon.
We will for now leave the rest of this "earthquake" subject for part 3, and review quickly some of what most already know, to set the mood for what follows.
Fathers Word as carried out by His Creation and documented for us in our study tools, declares the rising and sinking of land masses in the first few verses of Gen 1. From the physical ruin of the first age the Word reconstructed the age of now. In the eighth day of this second age, He formed the seed of a people which would be His servants. The importance the Word places on these Servants is impossible to overlook for the rest of His Word after the first Chapter of Genesis deals with them alone, until the the gathering of the Kings and Queens of the races in Rev 21:24.
If Father thus places such importance on His servants, we should endeavor to understand about their physical lives, (read us) for He implies in His Word that "as it was in the beginning, so it will be in the end". Perhaps here is a key for those trying to understand what it will be like shortly, during the time of "Jacobs trouble".
I have no intention of evolving thru Adam, Enoch, Noah and the rest, including Abraham.
We will go quickly to where the main part of the story I wish to tell begins. Father had chosen many before, but when He changed Jacob's name to ISRAEL, the die was cast, for "Israel" means '(those) iysh (who) rule (with) God'. NOTICE the 'iysh'. It does not say 'adam', nor 'geber' nor 'enosh' nor some other word Father uses for man. 'Israel' thus is not a racial term, nor is it really gender specific. For the feminine of iysh is iysha, virtually the only term used by Father for females.
Tho we will not dwell on him, realize that Jacob's brother was Esau. Esau was Isaac's firstborn, and by custom the birthright was his. Jacob wanted the birthright, while Esau was more interested in the "blessing", (read earthly inheritance). Esau got neither, Jacob got both (a double portion), which he passed to Joseph's sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, in Gen 48:22 "Moreover I have given you one portion "above" thy brethren...."
The word "above" means "He gave them God's portion which he had"--look it up, and take it to its roots.
We will start our "what ifs" here. In Egypt. Egypt is also the place where we will end up in Part 3, tho it will be called Babylon by then.
Our first "what if" actually begins about 20 or so years earlier than Gen 48. We can begin with the story of Joseph finding great favor with Pharoah by allowing God to interpret Pharoah's dream of the '2 sevens of years'. As you know, Joseph quickly rose to second in command of the entire country of Egypt, having complete control over all the country's storehouses of food AND treasury (money). He was also well loved in all the neighboring countries, because he willingly sold food to them at fair prices. God's Man, Joseph, was effectively in charge of the world. He was also Pharoah's favorite, and wore Pharoah's ring of leadership. Kenites didn't like this one bit. They still don't. If you carefully read the story of how Jacob came to be in Egypt, and the way they were treated when there were God-inspired leaders running Egypt, and then read Ex 1, you will be puzzled, unless you think about mankind's traits and the Kenites.
Under Joseph, the Pharoah ended up owning the farmlands and treasures of all the subjects of Egypt THAT WERE NOT ISRAELITE. All Israel lived in the land of Goshen, partly because the sheep and cattle Israel owned were an abomination to the Egyptians. Now here is something interesting. These people (egyptians) were not shepherds, yet their Pharoah was, for he separated Israel in Goshen, and gave them rulership over his own flocks.
Well, here we are. Israel sitting on the top of the world, owning all the land and stuff they chose to, and paying no taxes, apparently until sometime after Joseph passed on. HOW WAS it then, that Israel lost it all, and became enslaved? We have to play "what if".
In Exodus 1, we see a 'king' arose that knew not Joseph. Well you don't have to be too smart to figure out that this new king did not know God either. For to know Joseph was to know God, as we have seen.
Now this new king apparently had a problem, for he surely was smart enough to figure out that the Israelites were so rich and powerful they could whip him outright, especially with God's help. (Ex 1:8-10) (That word 'wisely' is worth thinking about, SHREWDLY).
So, they devised a plan, evidently a do-gooder public works project of building government and public use buildings, whereby all "good" citizens would surely donate some funds. (maybe not tax per se, but a "use" fee?). Furthermore, those citizens who choose not to donate funds, could perform labor in kind, and even be paid for it, and a fine wage at that. And so, lots of the young Israelites moved away from their parents in the country, and began to work and live in the cities where these fine wages were available. Now, like all youngsters, their wages did not go as far in the city, so they began to sell off their parents' flocks and lands as they inherited them or borrowed on their future inheritance, which the Kenites readily bought, and actually advertised for.
Life in the city was not bad, especially the night life, and there were actually lots of money lenders, who would cheerfully lend the hard-working Israelites money at reasonable interest when needed. But, whereas there was no direct tax on the lands the Israelites managed to hang on to, since their children had moved to the cities, their parents now had to hire shepherds to tend flocks, and to pay them, they had to sell the fruit of their flocks. Well, over the years the flocks disappeared, the Elders went to the Father, and the Israelite children were up to their eyeballs in debt to the kenites. (sound familiar?) There is nothing new under the sun.... & As it was.....so it will be.
Well, to make a long story longer, at the time when the Israelites began to struggle to make ends meet, the king just "had to" raise taxes to fight a war with the Assyrians. "just a temporary tax"--he promised. It seems the Kenites had made the Assyrians mad by financially playing 'both ends against the middle' in the "Rule the World" game. Now, it seems, the new tax was so much of a burden, the WIVES and children of the Israelites had to get jobs. The Israelites had their home-life destroyed, because everyone was so irritable and tired when they got home they did not have time to talk (much less pray together).
In fact, most did not cook dinner, as they took turns stopping for lamb-ka-bob or pita sandwiches with feta cheese on the way home, taking more of their income to do it. It was the norm for young couples to use the king's subsidized day care for their young children while they worked. The babysitters union had strict rules set down by the king, on exactly how these Israelite children were to be instructed and cared for during the day. The children were to be quizzed daily on what happened to upset them while they were home with their parents, for it was a crime according to the king to mentally or physically affect a child's ego. In addition, the king ordered all the doctors to 'kinda' abort any Israelite males that were born.
Finally, the war with the Assyrians came to a sort of truce, because the Kenites promised them a shared export program called the ke(N)ite (A)ssyrian (F)ree (T)rade (A)greement, where certain products formerly made in Egypt would in the future only be made in Assyria, and further promised that the Egyptians would buy all the product they could make. Since the Kenites owned the factories, they promptly moved them to Assyria, hiring laborers there for a tenth the cost in Egypt, but selling the goods in Egypt at the old price. Well, those brick-making jobs the Israelites had began to look pretty good to the laid-off native Egyptians, and the Egyptian "taskmasters" began to practice a little nepotism. They hired only Egyptians for wages, but the Israelites were such good workers, that they could keep their jobs for food and shelter if they wished. Most had no choice.
It was into this scenario that Moses came. Now, I'm sure Moses knew, since he was raised in the king's house, that the Israelites had brought this fate on their own stupid selves. He was, however, an Israelite, and he was going to try to get them out of Egyptian bondage. He denounced his Egyptian citizenship and organized the Moses militia. During a recruiting trip, however, he killed an Egyptian guard, and was quickly turned on by his brother Israelites. This was evidently Father's way of telling him, "Good Idea, Moses, but the wrong approach--Tell you what, you hi-tail it before the Egyptians kill you, and we'll talk later".
Forty years later, Father talked to Moses. You know Moses had evidently left off caring for his brethren in Egypt. He made more excuses for not doing Father's will than I can imagine. But, he went.
Fast forward now to the Exodus, and all the miraculous events therein. The afternoon before the Exodus was the first Passover, and the night before, the death angel roamed in Egypt. High in the heavens, according to Immanuel Velikovsky in three of his books, there was a special visitor. It was a comet, a comet coming closer to earth than any had for 3450 years, the last time it made it's rounds. This time of the Exodus would turn out to be no ordinary time for the next 40 years. The powers of heaven were about to be shaken.
Again.
continue in part 2 of 4
