SHELAH AND
CLAY OF SPITTLE
CONT., page 5
(First, we must read a few paragraphs from the preceding page of this writing, which are added here.)
We noted in Joshua 5:5 the following – “For all the people who came out were circumcised, but all the people who were born in the wilderness along the way as they came out of Egypt had not been circumcised.” Thus we see testified here that the first Remnant work was indeed a circumcised work; they did not do their own will and Yahweh took full responsibility for accomplishing their vital work. This is the full responsibility that we see attested to in Daniel 9, passages that Satan has entirely corrupted for Christianity’s false teachings regarding the abomination of desolation. We will quote here verse 27 of that chapter as it more correctly reads; and remember, the “he” spoken of here is not a beast antichrist that Christians make him to be. Verse 25 tells us plainly who “he” is and it is Messiah the Prince, Yahshua. Therefore the “he” is truly “He.” Let us now read this and gain more accurate and revealing truth.
“And He (Yahshua) will prevail in the covenant with the great for a period of seven, and in the middle of the period of seven, He will cause the sacrifice and the offering to cease; and for the overspreading of abominations, He will make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that which is determined will be poured out upon the desolate.”
There are three main points we will note here. First, the abominations that make desolate have been occurring for 2,000 years. This is the period of the church that is Christianity. This unmistakable truth is covered in A Lesson From Intercession, page 2, which examines verse 26 here in Daniel 9, and reveals the same truth that the desolation of the church comes because of its abominations. And when did these abominations that desolate come? They came in the middle of the covenant with the “great” ones. Once again, this is the middle lampstand breach period of Christianity that separates the two-part Remnant work (Zechariah 4). And how are the two Remnant then evidenced here? Just as we noted per the circumcision at the beginning of the wilderness period and at the end, Yahweh has made a “covenant” with them, He has taken responsibility for these works and in them “He will prevail.” These are the two-part Remnant, the “great” ones who are separated by the breach of Christianity.
Thus, if the breach period separates the two Remnant, then the second point is – What is meant by the “period of seven” that is split in the middle? Before we answer this, the term “a period of seven” is an accurate rendering, for this Hebrew word actually allows for the period of time to be marked in any increment – seven days, weeks, years, or whatever. So let us ask the question – How many years of ministry did the first golden rod, Yahshua, have on this earth? The answer – three and one-half years. Is that not a most interesting number? It is precisely one half of a “period of seven.” Therefore, if Yahshua ministered for half of the “period of seven” and then a breach occurred, causing these abominations that desolate, it only goes to reason that there is yet another three and one-half year period that remains in which He will once again “prevail in the covenant.” What could this be? Based on what we have learned in A Lesson From Intercession, it seems obvious that this will be a three and one-half year ministry period effected by the second golden rod that stands in the place of Yahshua. (More on this in the next section.)
That which we are seeing and saying here is certainly confirmed in the third point we want to note here from this verse, and that is that these desolations will be completed or come to an end when “that which is determined shall be poured out upon the desolate.” What is being spoken of here when it says – “that which is determined”? Of course the answer is best gained by once again looking at the account itself. And frankly, the answer is quite clear, for in verse 26 we read – “and the end (of this desolation) will come with a flood.” Clearly, “that which is determined” is the flood of the latter rain that is “poured out upon the desolate”!
But the main reason we address this, once again, is to point out that this “prevailing in the covenant” is a testimony of the work that Yahweh takes full responsibility to perform, which is evidenced here by the circumcision (“the sign of the covenant”) of the people before the wilderness period and at the end of the wilderness period. This latter circumcision is that which occurred in the second Remnant at Passover, 2004.
In contrast, Joshua 5:5 tells us that “all the people who were born in the wilderness along the way as they came out of Egypt had not been circumcised.” What does this tell us? It tells us that the breach wilderness period of Christianity is a period in which men strive in the kingdom of God according to their own flesh. Yahweh has given Mark Christianity the rod and the sandals, and they have had to strive to bring forth the required offspring, and have failed to do so. As uncircumcised wilderness wanderers, all they have thus been able to bring forth are unacceptable Ishmael works.
Since Passover, 2004, Yahweh has truly opened up for us the windows of heaven and caused His second Remnant to receive truth that can hardly be contained. These are the windows of heaven that we are looking through and are being shown these marvelous truths. This water of truth is the water that prepares us to be born from above. From the natural testimony, we know that we are created in water, in the womb, and Yahweh is giving us the water of His Spirit, the Spirit of truth, the Pool of Shelah, so that we can be born from above. We must enter into the waters of Jerusalem above in order to be born from above, and these are the waters we are entering into at this time.
There are actually two testimonies at birth – the water and nakedness. We already see what the waters are that we must have, that we must enter into; so what must we do in order to become naked? The answer is very simple.
In Job 1:21 we read – “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I shall return there.” How can a man return to his mother’s womb? This is almost as difficult a question as Nicodemus responded with when he asked – “How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born, can he?” (John 3:4). As we read from Job, obviously he can. But remember, that which is impossible in the natural, indeed becomes possible, and is even essential, when elevated to the higher dimension of the spiritual.
Spiritually, in what physical position were the first Remnant when they were born into the kingdom? They were birthed in water and they were naked – they held all things in common and they did not regard that what they had was their own. They voluntarily placed themselves in the very state about which Job was prophesying. Therefore, with the water of the former rain, and the nakedness of holding all things in common, they were born into the kingdom of God, and wait there for the second Remnant. So what is it that we must now have? Just as Job prophesied – “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I shall return there.” The second Remnant must experience the same nakedness and the same water in order to be born from above. We must return to our mother’s womb!
In the last section we just noted some marvelous truth from Daniel 9:27 regarding the covenant that Yahshua has made with the two-part Remnant which He will prevail in fulfilling. Let us examine this further and gain some most wonderful insight into the ways and works of Yahweh. Once again we will see how intercession is so critical in the government of God and for our success.
If Yahweh is going to indeed perform a second three and one-half year ministry period through a man who occupies the place of Yahshua as the second golden rod, then He has to provide that man legal authority through the intercession of the One who affords or makes possible that position in the first place – Yahshua. And in a most amazing way, we find two specific intercessions that Yahshua indeed performed in order to accomplish this. Let us see these two.
In Steve Jones’ very helpful book, Secrets of Time, 1996, under the sub-chapter, “Daniel’s 70 Weeks Ended in 33 AD,” we find some very revealing truth regarding Daniel’s seventy weeks. This is of course from this passage that we have been examining in Daniel 9, but more inclusively from verses 24-27. We will not address all the detail that Steve provides, but will also add some very important things that he misses.
Steve points out that Daniel’s seventy weeks began in 458 BC with the decree of Artaxerxes I that allowed for the rebuilding of Jerusalem (vs. 25), and ends 490 years later in 33 AD with Yahshua’s crucifixion. Daniel 9:24 begins, and once again we use a more literal translation:
“Seventy periods of seven have been decreed for your people and your holy city, to bring to an end the transgression, to make an end of sin, to make atonement for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the holy.”
What, or actually who, is this speaking of? Clearly, there is only One who has the authority “to bring to an end the transgression, to make an end of sin, to make atonement for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness,” and that is the One identified in the next verse and of whom this entire account concerns – “Messiah the Prince.” And regarding this work that Messiah will perform, we read in verse 25 – “So you are to know and discern that from the issuing of a decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem (the decree of Artaxerxes I) until Messiah the Prince, there will be seven periods of seven and sixty-two periods of seven.” Then in verse 27 it is added – “And He (Yahshua) will prevail in the covenant with the great for a period of seven, and in the middle of the period of seven, He will cause the sacrifice and the offering to cease.”
In 458 BC, Artaxerxes I made that inaugural decree to rebuild Jerusalem, beginning the clock on this countdown to the consummation of Yahshua’s work to make an atonement for sin and bring an everlasting righteousness. And while Steve has been used in a wonderful way to bring this to light, he misses a very important and revealing testimony. In Secrets of Time, he makes the mistake of beginning the 120 year Jubilee cycle at Adam’s creation. The error of this is that Adam did not fall in the year he was created; and to correct this error, Steve has to add a seven year breech at Yahshua’s crucifixion to make the Jubilee cycle a continuous flow of time. (It is not important that you understand this in order to grasp what is being presented in this section.) Quite obviously, Adam fell seven years after his creation, or at the number of the mark of the beast, thus beginning the 120 Jubilee cycle when the offense was created and the need for Jubilee began (the release of debt).
Beginning that Jubilee cycle at this correct placement effects a most confirming testimony – the seventieth Jubilee from Adam’s fall is precisely the year of the beginning of Daniel’s seventy “weeks” – 458 BC! Thus, Daniel’s seventy periods of time began precisely at the seventieth Jubilee, and would also culminate precisely at the eightieth Jubilee when Yahshua was crucified. This not only reveals the precise timing of Yahweh in all of this, but it also validates the authenticity and significance of this 120 Jubilee period (which of course ended in 1993 AD). Let us continue.
Steve points out that these distinct “periods of seven” set forth in verses 24 and 27 transpired as follows.
Periods of Seven |
Number of Years |
Years in History |
|
Seven periods of seven |
7 x 7 years = 49 years |
458 BC – 409 BC |
|
Sixty-two periods of seven |
62 x 7 years = 434 years |
409 BC – 26 AD |
|
One period of seven |
1 x 7 years = 7 years |
26 AD – 33 AD |
The reality of this truth is glaringly undeniable. One cannot argue with history or time, and both of these very clearly point to the certainty of this truth. And then add to this the confirmation of the seventieth and the eightieth Jubilees, this is rock solid undeniable evidence. Let us now examine the final “period of seven” and consider the statement – “and in the middle of the period of seven, He will cause the sacrifice and the offering to cease.”
Steve once again does an excellent work in introducing this. Regarding the statement in verse 26 that “after the sixty-two periods of seven, the Messiah will be cut off and have no one,” he points out that this refers to what would take place in the final “period of seven” that followed, and that His being “cut off” occurred in two ways – first at His baptism, and finally at His crucifixion.
You will recall that Yahshua’s ministry was a period of three and one-half years, beginning with His baptism on the Day of Atonement, 29 AD. Thus His baptism specifically marked the time when “in the middle of the period of seven, He will cause the sacrifice and the offering to cease.” Three and one-half years following Yahshua’s baptism, He was crucified in 33 AD.
So one would wonder how Yahshua’s baptism caused “the sacrifice and the offering to cease.” As Steve points out – “In the eyes of God, the sacrifices and oblations (at least those performed on the Day of Atonement) became irrelevant at that point, for now the True Goat had been presented to God.” Yahshua’s baptism legally initiated the true fulfillment of the sacrifices for atonement, and no longer were the old animal sacrifices necessary. Truly, He “caused the sacrifice and the offering to cease”; and with the invasion of Rome in 70 AD, Yahweh put a natural end to that which He legally ceased at Yahshua’s baptism.
The second “cutting off,” which was the more complete fulfillment foreshadowed by Yahshua’s baptism, was of course His crucifixion at Passover, 33 AD. This statement, “cut off,” is the same Hebrew word, “karath,” used in Zechariah 13:8 where we read that those in the wilderness body of Christ period, or the first “two parts” or 2,000 years of the church, would “be cut off and die.” Once again, that which happened to Yahshua in His affliction, foreshadowed that which would happen to the body of Christ – they were both “cut off and died.”
The difference here though was that Yahshua was “cut off” and had “no one.” What could this mean? Undoubtedly, one of its meanings is found in the one who foreshadowed preparing the way for His return – Elijah. In 1 Kings 18:22 at the test of Carmel, Elijah declared in like words – “I alone am left a prophet of Yahweh.” Then after that test when he was fleeing from Jezebel and had eaten the food that would give him strength for forty days, he said once again – “And I alone am left; and they seek my life, to take it away” (19:10). Then after being hidden in the cleft of the rock on Mount Sinai and coming out at the sound of the gentle blowing (or the like gentle flowing of the waters of Shelah), Elijah, for the third and final time, said – “And I alone am left; and they seek my life, to take it away” (19:14).
Three times Elijah said “I alone am left.” Does this not sound familiar to you, especially in the context of what we are considering here? When did Yahshua say words similar to these? Even as Elijah said three times “I alone am left,” so Yahshua said following three hours of darkness – “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” If there was ever a time when Yahshua was “cut off and had no one,” clearly it was when He came to the end of the three hours of darkness and He was forsaken. But would He be forsaken? No more than Elijah was the only one left – “Yet I will leave 7,000 in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal and every mouth that has not kissed him,” answered Yahweh (1 Kings 19:18). Yahweh had to reverse the inevitable destructive outcome of the church, and used the intercessions of Yahshua and Elijah to effect this – “your curse be on me.”
Thus we see that Daniel 9:24-27 was fulfilled in every detail in Yahshua and the church. But this entire matter brings up something that Steve fails to address.
The reason this passage even made it into this writing, was because my dear brother, Brendan, brought it up during our conversations regarding these truths. But what puzzled him most regarding this passage and what Steve was saying, was that it says that in “the middle of the period of seven” there would be the overspreading of abominations that would make desolate. While Steve addresses the first part of this passage per being “cut off,” He does not address this critical second part as well. Brendan thus wondered if somehow Yahshua would have had a ministry that began three and one-half years before His baptism; but this was not possible, for His ministry could not begin until after John had prepared His way, and not until He was thirty, the age of ministry. And then there was the breach period in the middle that did not really exist either! These were very good questions though. What is their answer? Let us see.
The fact is, two testimonies were taking place here at the same time. On the one hand, we see the undeniable evidence regarding Yahshua’s baptism in the middle of that “period of seven” years, as well as His crucifixion at its completion on the eightieth Jubilee. But as we also saw so very clearly in the last section, this is a prophecy regarding the two-part Remnant as well, along with the breach of Christianity that causes the abominations that desolate, and finally the determined outpouring of the flood, the latter rain, upon the desolate. So why the two different fulfillments? For the sake of the law of intercession!
Again, when in this vital “period of seven” years was Yahshua actually walking out His ministry? In the latter three and one-half years. But in the higher realm and fulfillment, regarding the “period of seven” years in which “He will prevail in the covenant with the great,” when was He actually walking out this fulfillment? The answer is – the first three and one-half years. Therefore, the higher and more complete fulfillment of this passage was being fulfilled when Yahshua carried out the first three and one-half years of this seven period covenant that was “interrupted” in the middle by the abominations that make desolate. Thus, “in the middle of the period of the seven” years of the covenant, at Yahshua’s crucifixion and His return to heaven the breach indeed began. This breach would last until the second golden rod was brought forth.
Yahshua clearly said in John 9:4-5 before sending the blind man to the Pool of Siloam – “We must work the works of Him who sent Me, as long as it is day; night is coming, when no man can work. While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” Yahshua clearly stated that when He left this world, night, or darkness, would return to it. Thus, as it is written here in Daniel 9:27, Yahshua did indeed “make it (the kingdom) desolate, even until the consummation,” which is where we have been for 2,000 years.
Of course the truth of this is plainly stated here in these passages as well. While men will readily acknowledge that Yahshua came to “make an end of sin, to make atonement for iniquity, (and) to bring in everlasting righteousness,” they are not so willing to acknowledge that He also came, as it is stated, “to seal up vision and prophecy.”
This is precisely what He accomplished when He left this earth, and has transpired until this day. And this is the message equally revealed in Exodus 33:17-23 – He placed Christianity in the cleft of the rock and put His hand over them so they could not see as He passed by. Again, He sealed “up vision and prophesy.”
What will now take place? Yahweh will now complete the covenant promise for the remaining three and one-half years. He is bringing light and causing the darkness to flee. He is removing His hand from a Remnant so we can see His back, the works He has done and is now doing. He is unsealing His word, “vision and prophecy,” even as promised in Daniel 12:4 and 9. And as promised here in Daniel 9:24 as Yahshua’s concluding work, He is fulfilling that which has been spoken – “to anoint the holy”!
The word “holy” used here is the same word used in Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers when referring to the “holy place,” the very place and period which we have been addressing. Now that the wilderness period of the church with its darkness is complete and we have entered into the holy place, so we see the message here that Yahshua will, in conclusion, anoint the holy place, and thus the second Remnant who are seeing and will effect these things. If we lay these items out in Daniel 9:24, we see three basic works.
|
Yahshua’s Work
|
Effected Fulfillment
|
|
To bring to an end the transgression To make an end of sin To make atonement for iniquity To bring in everlasting righteousness
|
Accomplished in Yahshua’s
|
|
To seal up vision and prophecy
|
|
|
To anoint the holy
|
Anointing the second Remnant in the holy place Shelah work |
Thus we see Yahweh bringing to an end the darkness that has been on the church since Yahshua left, and anointing the holy place and the holy people at this consummation. This is in accordance with the work of the second golden rod and the final three and one-half years of the covenant. And regarding His covenant, we find this most incredible intercession! Let us now more fully bring it to light.
Once again, when did Yahshua walk out His three and one-half years according to the 490 years from the edict of Artaxerxes I to rebuild the temple? From this legal chronological standpoint, He was walking out the final three and one-half years of the period of seven. And by doing this, what was He in fact accomplishing? While Yahshua walked on this earth, He carried out both of these three and one-half year periods at one time! For we see that legally, chronologically, He was fulfilling the final three and one-half years; yet experientially, He was in fact walking out the first three and one-half years of the covenant. In truth, Yahshua was actually repairing the breach by walking out both of these periods at the same time. Yahshua was walking in the higher dimension that elevates above the natural and makes the impossible possible.
Therefore, with the establishment of the second golden rod, all he will do is simply walk out the very authority and victory that has already been effected or carried out by Yahshua. Yahshua, as an intercessor, has already walked through the latter part of the “period of seven”; He has already accomplished that work, already obtained the legal right for it. Such is the incredible power and work of intercession. This is the reason this man is seeing these incredible things at this time, and this is why he can have such confidence. They have already been walked out and intercessorally secured by Yahshua!
While this addressed Brendan’s concerns regarding what Steve presented timewise, this truth raised an equally troubling and yet confirming concern for Kyle. Verse 27 says – “And He will prevail in the covenant with the great for a period of seven, and in the middle of the period of seven, He will cause the sacrifice and the offering to cease.” What troubled Kyle was the fact that if what Steve was presenting was in fact the fulfillment, then the question arises – What took place three and one-half years before Yahshua’s baptism that initiated the covenant?
This is an excellent question! The fact is, nothing took place three and one-half years before His baptism, and that is the very point that we are making here. Clearly, His three and one-half year ministry was the first half of the “period of seven” years of the covenant, that covenant being initiated at His baptism. Thus once again we see conclusive evidence that there is now before us the three and one-half years of the covenant that remain. These are the covenant years we are in right now.
And one final point regarding this. Peter called at this time and pointed out that the period of “sixty-two periods of time” is what Steve has been shown to be what he calls “Judged Time.” Following a period of 434 years, or 62 x 7 years, Yahweh carries out His judgment. Just a few examples of this are:
Steve gives other examples, but this will give you an idea as to what Judged Time is. And this is the judgment foretold in this account in Daniel 9 where Yahshua breaks the “seventy periods of seven” into 7 + 62 + 1. If this was not significant and intended to prophesy, then Yahweh would not have broken this down but left it at seventy. But by these numbers, He spoke. And the dates per some significant events marking the way do not seem to have any relevance, but the significance seems to be in the numbers themselves. Let us see what that specific message is.
The first period of time is the number 7. Seven is of course the mark of the beast. The next period of time is the 62. Sixty-two periods of seven is Judged Time! Then in conclusion there is the 1 week of the covenant. Here seems to be the message. Because of the mark of the beast, Yahweh must send His judgment. But where does that judgment fall? It falls on Yahshua, the initiator of the covenant who occupies the first half of that resulting judgment period. But the second half must equally be a judgment, but this time to our good – the removal of the mark of the beast from the church. This is where we are today – the consummation of the legal Judged Time upon the beast, Satan.
Let us now consider a second intercession He has provided as well for the second golden rod. You will recall that at the age of twelve, Joseph and Mary took Yahshua to the Passover in Jerusalem. On their return home, they could not find Him and returned to Jerusalem to look for Him. “After three days” they found Him in the temple, “sitting in the midst (middle) of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions. And all who heard Him were amazed at His understanding and His answers.”
Why was this account recorded in the Scriptures? Remember, all Scripture is for the purpose of prophecy, government, and practical, and one is wise to understand that this account was not recorded just for the sake of history.
There are some things here that are most important both prophetically, as well as governmentally. From Luke 2:41-51 we find:
We will get straight to the point. What we find here is Yahshua’s intercession for the twelfth disciple who replaces Judas and who is added in the time of the second Remnant. This is the apostle whom He did not add to their numbers while they were just the eleven. While Yahshua was with the eleven following His resurrection, and had more than ample opportunity to do so if He had purposed to, He did not add a twelfth apostle at that time. (More on this in the concluding section.) But even so, He had already provided for this replacement, but through a foreshadowing intercession that would be fulfilled in the fullness of time.
As we have said, intercession is critical for success, and Yahshua’s intercession was to guarantee the success of that twelfth man. Thus, this intercession was performed when Yahshua was precisely twelve years old, the twelfth year in His life, or the twelfth apostle.
They found Him after three days, or the legal end of the church period that must be cut short to two. These two days are certainly implied in the account, for in verse 44 we specifically read that Joseph and Mary “went a day’s journey;” thus, with the day’s journey return, the days in which they actually searched for Him would have been two days, or 2,000 years.
And as we have seen, this 2,000 year period is the middle breach period. Did Yahweh find a twelfth apostle in the middle breach period of the church? No. He has searched for a man to repair this breach and found no one. Therefore at the very end of this period, just before the Millennium, He has had to spit on the earth, declaring that man has failed to bring forth this required offspring, and make a man of His own spittle and from the dust of the earth. This is the man who benefits from the authority of this vital intercession, without which we would have all perished. Thus He brings forth a twelfth apostle who was in the middle, in the breach period, of the teachers.
And in like regard as the response of those who heard twelve year old Yahshua’s understanding and answers, so it is most amazing what Yahweh is revealing to this man. There is no way he could have the answers and insight that has been given to him except the Spirit reveal it. And the only desire of this man is to equally give his Father pleasure and to do His will only – not my will but Your will be done.
And per the last point listed above regarding this account, it is most telling that this intercession is only recorded in second Remnant Luke, the very place from which this twelfth apostle must arise and perform his work.
Finally, while Yahweh has searched for a man for 2,000 years to fill this twelfth position as His apostle, it is also very significant that in John 9:7, it is specifically stated that “Siloam” means “sent.” Thus He sent the blind man to the Pool of Sent. This is the very quality identified with and the meaning assigned to an apostle – a “sent one,” a messenger, one who is sent on a mission. Therefore the blind man’s eyes were anointed with clay of spittle fashioned by Yahshua and sent to the Pool of the Apostle. Quite obviously, this is a reference to the twelfth apostle whom Yahshua fashions by His own works and intercessions, the arrow sent out the window to the east by Elisha to arrive to where we are today, and establishes him in the Shelah Millennial period. Likewise, this is the Shelah Millennial reign in which the latter day concluding twelve apostles will be established in order to complete the twenty-four elders, thus providing even more meaning and evidence to the already great significance of this highly prophetic and revealing account regarding the Pool of the Apostle(s).
Proceed to ADDENDUM