The Meaning of Twelve and The Blessings for the Tribes #1

VIntroduction to Notes on The Twelve Tribes

An Emblem of the Tribe of Dan

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We are seeking to learn the revelation intended for us from the fact that the tribe of Dan is not listed in Revelation 7.   I will put here a series of three posts to do with the meaning of Twelve in the Bible and why there are twelve tribes of Israel.  Later, G-d willing, I will elaborate on this subject in depth.  Here, in the series of these three posts, I only want to highlight the question of the sealing of the tribe of Dan with the name of HASHEM by looking at the blessing of the tribes by Jacob and by Moshe.

In the blessing of the Twelve Tribes by Moshe the tribe of Simeon is not mentioned, just as in The Book of The Revelation of Yehoshua the Mashiach the tribe of Dan is not mentioned.  Here, in the first in this series of three posts, I will quote for you in full what Ramban says about the tribe of Simeon not being mentioned by Moshe in his blessing of the tribes.  After that I will post Jacob's blessings of the tribes in Genesis 49 and my (initial) comments on each of those blessings.  Then, finally, I will post Moshe's blessings for the twelve tribes in Deuteronomy 33 and my (initial) comments on each of those blessings.  After this, it will be possible to see the relationship of the sealing of the tribe of Dan to that of all the tribes, and, in that light, the relationship of the sealing of the tribes to the correspondence between the judgements in Exodus and the judgements in Revelation. [The material quoted here from Ramban is from Rabbi Dr. Charles B. Chavel's translation, published by Shilo Publishing House 1976.]

The whole purpose of G-d in this world is that the whole world be filled with the knowledge of the Good News of Israel and Her Messiah, and through this the true knowledge of G-d's love, as the waters fill the great ocean upon the earth (–> Hab. 2:14). The purpose of these studies is to help increase that knowledge toward that measure.

From Ramban's Commentary on Deuteronomy 33
On Moshe's Blessing of The Tribe of Simeon
Ramban begins by first quoting Ibn Ezra:  "Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra commented that 'he [Moshe] began with Reuben because he was the firstborn.  He did not mention Simeon because of the sin of [Baal] Peor, because the worshippers were Simeonites, the proof being their numbers, and their prince, too, being killed [in the affair].'

Ramban responds to Ibn Ezra's comment:  "In my opinion, the numbers are no proof because over thirteen thousand are still unaccounted for, aside from those who died in the plague [following the sin of Baal Peor].  In addition, other tribes as well diminished in population, for the sons of Gad lost five thousand, and the sons of Ephraim, eight thousand!  Moreover, from the verse which states, And Israel attached himself to Baal-peor, and it is said again, Take all the chiefs of the people it would appear that there are some among them from all the tribes, and that all their judges passed sentence on them.  And similarly He said, so that I consumed not the children of Israel in My jealousy (Num. 25:11).

<> } MellowWolfPblsh Note:  So, Ramban does not agree with Ibn Ezra that the reason the tribe of Simeon is not named by Moshe in his blessings is because of the extraordinary sin of the tribe of Simeon.  Further on, Ramban will indicate what he himself thinks about Moshe not mentioning the tribe of Simeon.  In the same way most commentators give the opinion that Dan is not mentioned in Rev. 7 because of the extraordinary sins of the tribe of Dan in leading the house of Israel into idolatry.  We will see that Ramban's comments here about Simeon and the twelve tribes speaks directly to this question about Dan and the twelve tribes.

Ramban continues to respond to Ibn Ezra's comment, but now addressing his readers:  "Now do  not rejoin against me from the affair of Achan where He said, Israel has sinned, [that there, though it was only one individual who sinned, He speaks of all Israel, and so here one might say, it was only one tribe that sinned and likewise He speaks of all Israel]. [The difference is that] there the sin had not yet been revealed, so He mentioned Israel generally [but in the case of Peor the facts of the sin were clearly given and still He spoke of all Israel, which shows that people from all the tribes were among the worshippers of Peor].

Ramban responds to Ibn Ezra's point about Zimri, the prince of Simeon being killed:  "Similarly, the identity of the victim is no proof, for he [Zimri, the son of Salu] was only a prince of a father's house of that tribe, not the prince of the tribe.  Those who assembled against G-d in the congregation of Korach were greater and more honorable people than he [Zimri], for they were princes of the congregation, yet all their tribes did not follow them!  Additionally, the psalm [that relates the sins of the wilderness] mentions Dathan and Abiram and their affair by name, saying, The earth opened and swallowed up Dathan, and covered the company of Abiram; and it mentions They attached themselves also unto Baal-peor together with Moreover, they scorned the desirable Land which applies to the general population!

In concluding his response, Ramban introduces his own views:  "Forbid it also that Moshe should refrain from blessing the tribe of Simeon, [when it is said] that a tribe be not blotted out from Israel (Judges 21:17)!  For all those who had joined Baal-peor had already died, as it is said, for all the men that followed Baal-peor, the Eternal your G-d has destroyed from the midst of you, and it is written of those who survived, But you that did cleave unto the Eternal your G-d are alive every one of you this day.  And why should he [Moshe] not bless them?  They all made the [golden] calf and sinned in the affair of the spies, yet they were forgiven, and he blessed them!

"Now, I have seen in Midrash Rabbah the following text: 'Six families were eliminated because of the immorality caused by Balaam's advice, and so Scripture listed one family less of Simeon and five less of Benjamin.'  Thus, according to the opinion of the Rabbis Benjamin had a greater part in the sin than did the tribe of Simeon – yet Benjamin is included in the blessing!"

<> } MellowWolfPblsh Note:  Ramban has now finished with his response to the idea that the tribe of Simeon was not included in the blessing by Moshe of the tribes because of extraordinary sin.  He has entirely dismissed that idea.  If we are willing to study and to hear what Ramban is saying we will not go on to take the easy answer that the tribe of Dan is not named in the sealing of the Twelve Tribes in Revelation 7 due to the extraordinary sin of the tribe of Dan in idolatry.  Instead, we will begin to see that there is a great mystery to be unfolded here for us about the meaning of there being twelve tribes of Israel, and specifically in Revelation chapter 7, where we find the listing of the tribe of Levi together with Menasseh and Joseph in the counting of the measure of the twelve tribes.


Ramban goes on to give his own opinion about the blessing of the tribe of Simeon:  "In my opinion, the correct interpretation is that Scripture considers the tribes of Israel as only twelve.  So it stated in Jacob's blessing, All these are the twelve tribes of Israel. Now Jacob mentioned his twelve sons and considered Joseph to be one tribe.  Moshe saw fit to consider Joseph as two tribes, as he said, And they are the ten thousands of Ephraim, and they are the thousands of Menasheh.  This was for two reasons: one, since the Holy One, blessed be He, commanded and made them two tribes regarding the dedication of the altar, the flags, and the inheritance of the Land, he [Moshe] had to count them as two for their blessing.  Secondly, he referred to Joshua, who would make them possess the Land, and he was from Ephraim, the younger son, therefore Moshe had to mention his brother who was older than him.  Now he also wanted to bless Levi, for, through his blessing, all Israel would be blessed, in that his offerings shall be acceptable before G-d on their behalf.  Hence it was necessary to omit one of the tribes, for nowhere are they enumerated except as twelve, corresponding to the twelve constellations in the firmament, the twelve months of the year, and the twelve 'border diagonals' concerning which the Rabbis have said in the Midrash that they are the everlasting arms (here at Deut. 33:27).

Ramban continues:  "As the Sages mentioned in Tractate Berachoth (Babylonian Talmud):  'The Holy One, blessed be He, said to the prophet [Isaiah], Go and tell the congregation of Israel:  My daughter, I have created twelve constellations in the firmament to correspond to the twelve tribes.'  Similarly, at Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal where Scripture counts Levi, Joseph is not mentioned as two tribes [and there Simeon is also mentioned].  Likewise you will see in the distributions of Ezekiel that he counts Joseph as two tribes with reference to the apportioning of the Land and does not mention Levi (see Ezekiel 48:4-5).  On the other hand, in enumerating the city exits [of Jerusalem] he mentioned, the gate of Levi, one and did not list the tribe of Joseph as two tribes.  Instead, he said, the gate of Joseph one, since the tribes are always counted as only twelve.  Accordingly, Simeon was left out [of Moshe's blessings] since his tribe was not large and it was not the intention of the blessing of Jacob, their father, that they become numerous.  Instead he divided them in Jacob and scattered them in Israel, and to that extent they, too, were blessed through the blessing of the rest of the tribes among whom they were.

<> } MellowWolfPblsh Note:  Ramban goes on from his comments about the blessing of the tribe of Simeon being and aspect of the blessing of all the twelve tribes together to giving his comments about the order of the list of the tribes that Moshe uses here.  This is important for understanding the reason for the order of the list of the tribes in Revelation chapter 7 and I will not quote Ramban further on this but will come back to this at a later point.  In conclusion in this post I will only quote Ramban on the relation of Moshe's blessing of the tribes to Jacob's blessing of the tribes.  Ramban's statement on this will help clarify the nature of my comments on both Jacob and Moshe's blessings of the tribes, which I will offer in the two posts to follow in this series.


Ramban On The Relation of Moshe's Blessing of the Twelve Tribes 
to Jacob's Blessing of the Twelve Tribes
Ramban opens his comments on V'zoth Habrachah, 'And this is the blessing...  "AND THIS IS THE BLESSING WHEREWITH MOSES THE MAN OF G-D BLESSED THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL BEFORE HIS DEATH.  "It states the man of G-d in order to indicate that his blessing will be fulfilled because he was the man of G-d, and the prayer of the upright is His delight (Prov. 15:8).  Now Scripture calls Moshe our teacher the man of G-d, and so also the rest of the prophets, Elijah and the others, but it does not state 'the man of the Eternal [Hashem].  The reason is known to every student learned in [the 'Received' or 'Kabbalistic' understanding of] the Torah.  So also by way of the Truth [of the (deeper) 'Received' or 'Kabbalistic' understanding there is a special meaning contained in places in the word of G-d in the word, 'v'zoth,' 'this'], v'zoth is the blessing, [the word, "this", can be understood not only to refer to the blessing which is about to be heard but can be understood to itself be the blessing, once the deeper Kabbalistic understanding of use of the word, v'zoth, "this", in Scripture is known], as in, From the Eternal [Hashem] has 'zoth' (this) come (Psalms 118:22-23).

Ramban continues speaking of the Kabbalistic meaning of v'zoth...  "Similarly it is said in the case of Jacob, 'v'zoth (and 'this' is) what their father [Jacob] spoke unto them [in blessing the twelve tribes].  It was this blessing that David meant when he said, 'Zoth (This) came to pass unto me, because I have kept Your precepts (Psalms 119:56), alluding  to Zion the city of David, for there the Eternal commanded the blessing even life forever (Psalms 133:3).

And so Ramban concludes:  "Our Rabbis meant this secret in their interpretation in Bereshith Rabbah:  'v'zoth (and this is) what their father spoke unto them.  A man like me is destined to bless  you, and, from the very place where I [Jacob] concluded – from there he will begin.  At the moment Moshe our teacher rose to bless them, he began with 'vizoth habrachah (and this is the blessing) – from the very place where their father concluded.

"'This then is the meaning of the expression 'v'zoth' what their father spoke unto them.  He said unto them:  When will these blessings reach you?  From the time you accept the Torah, in which is written, V'zoth' (And this is) the Law etc.'  For this word zoth alludes to the blessing which is the Torah, and this is the covenant, as it is written, 'Zoth' (This is) My covenant (Genesis 17:10).

<> } MellowWolfPblsh Note: From these comments of Ramban's on the blessing of the twelve tribes by Jacob and by Moshe we can see the deep nature of their unity.  The Rabbis teach that they are not to be understood side by side so much as they are to be understood with the blessings of Moshe following on directly from the blessings of Jacob.  When we seek to understand the revelation of the the sealing of the twelve tribes - and especially the sealing of the tribe of Dan - in Revelation chapter 7, with the name of the Eternal (Hashem), we are seeking to understand something of the revelation of the end of days that Jacob did not reveal to his sons.  We are seeking to understand this as a fulfillment of all these blessings specifically in the end time.  Therefore, we see the great significance that there is in this teaching that the blessings of Moshe follow on from the blessings of Jacob.  Having come to this place, we can go on to reading the blessings of the tribes by Jacob and by Moshe.  These will be given in the two posts that follow.


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The Meaning of Twelve and The Blessings for the Tribes #2

Little Book Rev. 10 – Exodus-Revelation Judgements

An Emblem of The Tribe of Dan

This is the 1st in a subseries of posts on the sealing of the tribes.  It is a part of a background set of posts for the Exodus-Revelation Judgements Series.


What Does The Little Book of Revelation Chapter 10 Have To Do With The Concealed Sealing of The Tribe of Dan in Revelation Chapter 7?

We must make note of this question before going on to considering the sealing of the tribe of Dan as the key to the study of the relationship of the Exodus-Revelation judgements.

What is being revealed here – with the command to John not to write what he hears from the seven thunders and to eat the little book – is that something is being concealed.  How is the revelation that something is being concealed an aspect of the revelation of Yehoshua as the Mashiach of Israel?  This has the same nature as the ascension into heaven of Yehoshua being also an aspect of his sacrifice and resurrection for Israel. This is the divine concealment which is unfolded in the mystery of the gathering of the harvest of the nations, (which Mashiach does from his "concealed" place Above), and is the mystery of grace being unfolded.  Therefore what we see here in Rev. 10, in the revelation of the concealment of the revelation is at the heart of all revelation.

What is more, just as the concealment of Yehoshua in heaven is not a full concealment to those who receive his spirit, indeed rather than a concealment in the natural sense it is a concealment wherein concealment is itself the power of salvation – for it is in this way that God works in them both to will and to do his good pleasure.  And here the eating of the Little Book has the same meaning.  When the Little Book of concealment is digested and turned into the nutrients and muscles and sinews of the body of Mashiach, then John and the whole of the body will testify before the world as the mature 144,000 representatives - which is to say, as the corporate representation of the camp of Israel - Rev. 14.  So understand what this 144,000 is and what the concealed sealing of the tribe of Dan is in relation to this number.

Next:

The Meaning of Twelve and The Blessings for the Tribes #1

Introduction to notes on the Twelve Tribes

Exodus Judgments and Revelation Judgements No. 2

Link:

Exodus Judgements and Revelation Judgments No. 1 

The First Seven Plagues In Egypt

On The Seals of Authority: 
Putting The Judgements Into Perspective

In this post I will take a step back to put the judgements in the Book of the Revelation of Yehoshua the Mashiach into better perspective.  In doing this, I will be looking at the subject of the separation of people of Israel from Egypt, or the nations, that the judgements create.

The Distinction Between Israel and Egypt Is the Message
In Exodus the separation builds from the first judgments.  When the waters turn to blood, they do not turn to blood for the Israelites.  When the frogs and other creatures invade every space and every place they do not invade Goshen, where the Israelites were.  Finally in the later judgements, the distinction begins to be specifically named, "Only in the land of Goshen, where the Israelites were, was there no hail."  Thus this message was continuously strengthened until everything culminated in the final judgement of the death of the firstborn and the dogs among the Israelites did not bark, although the terror of the angel of G-d was in the land and there was a great cry in all the land.  This was to show the complete safety and security that the blood of the Passover provided for the people of G-d..." that you may understand how Hashem makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel."

In the Book of the Revelation a very strong point is made about the distinction between Israel and the world before any open judgement is allowed to begin.  In chapters 4 and 5 it becomes clear to those in heavenly places that the hour for Israel's final redemption and for judgements in the earth has come.  Only in the midst of chapter six does this become apparent to those who are upon the face of the earth.  Once it has been revealed in both heaven and earth that this hour is come, the judgments are ready to begin.  But before they begin the great message of the judgements, which will be told in terms of the distinction that G-d makes between Israel and the nations, is clearly stated.

We can make this even clearer by putting it into its context in the Revelation.  One has been found in heaven, the Lamb, who is able to open the Book of the Seven Seals.  What book is this?  It is the book of the authority to bring about the great judgments that will come upon the earth.  What are these judgements for?  They are for the final redemption of the woman of chapter 12, the redemption of the woman and her children, the final redemption of Israel from the fall of Adam and from her captivity among the nations, which represented her captivity to the fallen nature of Adam.

The First Seal
The first seal is the seal of authority over the word of Adam, which is the corporate power of empire and government.  The Lamb of the tribe of Judah has been given power to take authority over every word of authority upon the earth, because he is the Son of Adam, whether it has taken the form of political authority or military authority.  In opening this seal, the hidden Mashiach, in his office as the Lamb of G-d, takes immediate personal authority over every heavenly prince of every one of the seventy nations.  He does this in order to bring about his revelation to his beloved Jerusalem, that she might receive him as her own.

The Second Seal
The second seal is the seal of authority over peace and conflict in the world.  Again, the Lamb takes authority over this area of heavenly authority.  This is the aspect of blessing and cursing coming from the word of G-d which is in the world, the aspect of weakness and strength that is in nature, and the area of jurisdiction over the human will, over the will to sin and the will to virtue.

For it is in the exercise of the human will in response to Divine Providence that conflict arises in the world or that conflict is prevented.  It is this area of authority that the authority of the word of Adam must govern.  Now the Lamb takes authority over both of these areas.  He does so for the sake of his revelation to Jerusalem and for the sake of the her complete redemption from Adam's sin and from her own sin and from the world's sin.  This means that the will of the nations, like the will of Pharaoh, will be moved away from peace toward conflict.  For only so long as this temporary world continues as it is does the will of Pharaoh and the will of the nations have opportunity to choose peace and to try to build a civilization of peace.  When the redemption of Israel comes it means this temporary world is coming to an end and therefore the opportunities for its building itself up in terms of its own structures of peace are coming to an end.  Pharaoh and the nations can do nothing, therefore, except fear the redemption of Israel and hate the promise of it.  When they see that it is coming, they can do nothing but set their will toward conflict.

The Third Seal
The third seal is the seal of authority over economic health and welfare.  The second seal, the second area of authority, was over the area of the designs of Divine Providence in the world and over the management of the reaction of Humanity to those designs.  This third area of authority is the area of life in nature and in human society where blessings and curses are felt and take effect.  The former is authority over the situation of the world, its design as a world of time, and over reaction to that design.  The authority here is over the dynamics of this world of time, how the blessings and curses of Divine Providence are realized, how their effects are distributed.  It is the spiritual jurisdiction of giving and receiving, and of establishing measure for measure.  It is authority over the world economy.

The world of time is a prison.  Although a prison, by definition, is a place of punishment, this prison world is a prison of mercy – although only few recognize this mercy and many see the punishment.  Punishment is not the will or way of G-d, but in order to be merciful to Adam it was necessary for G-d to put his hand in Adam's way, to prevent him from walking straight and irretrievably into death.  G-d took the day of Adam's death into his own hand and in doing so turned it into a world of time in which Adam was imprisoned.  Adam could not but experience this as a painful punishment, and on account of Adam's pain, G-d himself cried out with pain.  But there was no other way than to allow for this world of time if G-d was to be merciful and prevent Adam from ending in eternal death.

In order to move the heart of Adam to turn from the thought of painful punishment to the thought of loving mercy G-d measured everything with great care in the world of time.  In the authority of the word of Adam, which G-d gave to leaders and rulers in Humanity, and in the authority over the design of Divine Providence in the world, which he gave also to rulers, but under the supervision of his chosen servants, G-d purposed that all people everywhere should have opportunity to taste of the goodness of life, through the goodness of his word, and to know from this taste that life was in need of redemption and was worth redeeming.  This opportunity for well-crafted taste of the goodness of life would come through the spiritual management of the economy of the world prison. the world of time.  However, when the time of the end would come, a time of judgement and great conflict, only the Lamb of G-d was found worthy to manage the world economy with such precise measure that in the end G-d's love and mercy would be seen and not only pain and torment, and all the world would be saved.

The Fourth Seal
The fourth seal is the seal of the authority of death and life itself.  Throughout history the angel of death has ruled over the children of Adam and the children of Adam have lived their lives in bondage through the fear of death.  At times, through great plagues or famines, the angel of death has boasted of the ability to take the whole corporate soul of Humanity itself.  Certainly this was the threat in the time of the great flood in the generation of Noah.  Only the hand of mercy at the last minute seemed to grant a reprieve.  In our times the angel of death boasts loudly with new threats that he is able to come through atomic fire or through a great inflammation of inhuman evil in the human heart and finally take the corporate soul of Humanity itself away with him.  Yet here, in the hour that is revealed in heavenly places, even this angel and his authority is made subject to the authority of the Lamb of G-d who has taken away the sin of the world.  Here, in the opening of the fourth seal, the angel of death is made to become the servant of the Redeemer of Israel and of his revelation of himself to her.

The angel of death will go out and will kill a fourth of the world's population, and the angel of hell will run along behind him like his dog, but they will not be boasting.  Their authority will be stripped from them and they will be obeying the orders of the one who kills in order to make alive.

The Fifth Seal
The fifth seal is the seal of the authority of delaying the end of the day of death, the end of this world.  The prayers of the faithful witnesses, the few are prayers for the many, for all Israel.  The vengeance they pray for is the vengeance of their testimony of eternal peace being victorious over the deceitfulness of temporal peace, the cloak of conflict, and the false prophets who would build up this world at the expense of eternal salvation.  It is not a vengeance of revenge that they seek but of the victory of good returned for evil.  And for this very reason, their prayer, "How long?" is a prayer that delays the end until all that can be done in preparation for the fullness of salvation is done.  This is the seal of the commission of Elijah and of the voice crying in the wilderness, "Prepare the way of Hashem."


The Sixth Seal
The  sixth seal is the seal of the authority of bringing forth the hour of judgements in the world for the sake of the redemption of the children of G-d.  No one knows the day nor hour when the Son of Adam will come, not even the Son, but the Father in heaven alone.  But the Son was found worthy to open this seal of authority, over which no one but the Father of Israel himself held authority.

When the hour of the testimony of the Lamb's sacrifice for his people Judah and Israel is fulfilled and his kingdom is announced to the ends of the earth, then the end will come.  The Son will hear the commandment of the Father and will go before the death-fear of the nations and before the hopelessness in the heart of Jerusalem and he will demand that they let go of his bride and allow her to lift up her face unto him.  At this hour the rulers of this world will know that they have lost control of the Jewish People and of Jerusalem and of all her converts and they will fear the Lamb of G-d more than the angel of death.

Then all will be prepared for Israel's final redemption and for the judgements that must come to free her.  It will be at that very time that the message of G-d in bringing forth the judgements will be made clear.  For the unleashing of the storm-winds of judgement upon the world will be held back until the servants of G-d are sealed in their foreheads with the singular name of Israel's G-d, the name in which all his names are one.

The Next Post directly on this subject will be at the link first listed below.  

However, I have posted several pieces that supply very important background understanding.  If you read through the background studies and follow the links at the end of those studies it will lead you forward to this next study in this series which is on the sealing of the tribe of Dan.  Or you can go directly to that study by following the link provided here:

The Sealing Of The Tribe of Dan
Where is the sealing of the tribe of Dan and with what number is he measured?  Answering this question will put us in a position to clearly understand the relationship of the judgements in the Book of Exodus and the judgements in the Book of the Revelation of Yehoshua HaMashiach.

Link to Critical Short Background Studies for this series.

New on The Mellow Wolf Matthew Files

Few and Many series No. 1 Yehoshua Heals Many

See new notes on the commentary on Matthew chapter 8 there as well, by using the Index link in the right hand column on the Mellow Wolf Matthew site – or if you prefer, use the link to the commentary to Matthew chapter 8 that you will find at the bottom of the post that the link here will take you to:  Few and Many series No. 1

Exodus Judgements and Revelation Judgments No. 1

Here is the first post in the series on the correspondence of the judgments in Exodus upon Egypt and the judgments upon the nations.  We will see that because Israel is in now in captivity throughout the whole earth, judgment comes upon the whole earth in The Book of the Revelation of Yehoshua the Mashiach.

Link back to the Introduction To This Series

As a prelude to the parsha of Va'eira, at Exodus 10:1, we read of how Moshe is complaining to G-d on behalf of Israel that the promise of redemption which he has brought to them is not being accomplished.

The First Seven Plagues In Egypt

Rabbi Chaim Malinowitz of Monsey, NY,  (see for example -  http://torahlectures.com/search.aspx), explains in a tape series commentary on this parsha that G-d is saying to Moshe that the fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, had the promise but lived without complaint without seeing the fulfillment of the promise through the revelation of the name, Hashem, the great name by which G-d makes Himself known in and through Israel alone.  How then should Moshe complain when now the name is being revealed to him?  Now, through the very obstinacy of Egypt in trying to keep Israel slave, G-d will reveal Himself by and through His great name, and will bring Israel into the beginning of the realization of the promise.  But it is on behalf of the people of Israel that he complains, not due to his own trouble on this account.  With this background to this study, I will begin to look at the unfolding of the plagues.

In the first plague Moshe is sent to encounter Pharaoh in a 'secret place' where Pharaoh has gone down by the Nile River.  The construction of Moshe's name means that he is one who draws out of the water.  Here he will draw the truth out of the water.  The Egyptians have made their river their nature god.  The truth is that Pharaoh's power came from the source of the angel of death on the side of enmity with the Creator of life, the G-d of Israel.  Pharaoh filled the Nile River with blood when he sought to drown all of the sons of Israel in the river.  Now Moshe will draw out this truth.  In doing so, he will announce that the G-d of Truth will draw Israel out of the bloody waters of Egypt and bring them to Himself.  Pure water will be found only with the children of Egypt through all the land.  The Nile itself will be blood only within the borders of Egypt.

In the second plague unclean creatures, represented by frogs, will come out of the Nile in overwhelming numbers, entering every opening.  The true unclean spirit of of the false god of the Nile will be seen.  Everywhere the water of the Nile has gone the visible unclean spirit of the Nile will be seen to go.  The terrible noise of the voices of endless frogs will reveal the noise of the lies of Egypt that are heard in the ears of the G-d of Truth.

In the third plague the dust and filth that Israel has been trappled into in slavery by Egypt is turned into a great pollution of lice and gnats that afflict the Egyptians but leave the children of Israel untouched.  Here the principle of 'measure for measure' is pointedly illustrated to the Egyptians.  They oppressed the Jews and pushed them down into the dirt and then called them, "Dirty".  But now it is the Egyptians who the G-d of Truth is making to be truly dirty with lice and swarms of gnats.

In the fourth plague wild creatures, and even their habitat, from every place on the planet are miraculously transported into Egypt.  Rather than nature being the willing servant/god of Pharaoh and the Egyptians, it is made evident that nature, as represented by all the creatures of the earth, are groaning and travailing in pain, under the servitude of Egypt and the nations, "waiting for the liberation of the children of G-d," (Romans 8).

In the fifth plague the livestock of Egypt is brought into judgment.  In this the prosperity of Egypt is directly overthrown.  In every way, the Egyptians designed to block the prosperity of Israel, seeking to keep husbands and wives apart through the designs of slavery, and in every way to economically afflict the children of Israel as Laban afflicted Jacob.  Now, the future of the economy of Egypt, which Egypt has built up on the strength of the Jews, is torn down by the G-d of Judgment.  Egypt is put on notice that unless it repents it will have no future.

In the sixth plague ashes of death are thrown up into the air and boils of uncleanness appear on the flesh of all Egyptians.  These are the ashes of death that have been created by the propaganda of Egypt against the people of G-d, the one true G-d, even Hashem.  The Egyptians have let its poison out into the air in the form of evil speech.  Now its evil poison will remain within their bodies and come out only as boils upon their flesh.

In the seventh plague a great hail storm comes to destroy the early crops of Egypt, to destroy half of its very bread of life, as a final warning, before the hardness of its Pharaoh's heart is so great that even the opportunity to repent of his enslavement of Israel will be taken from him.

Now we have come to the key to understand the correlation of the plagues of Egypt with the plagues of the nations of all the earth in the last time, the last captivity of Israel.  In the time of the 7th Trumpet, when it is preparing to sound, when the trumpet is to the lips and the sound is almost coming forth, at that time the warnings will come to an end and the full measure of judgments, brought through the Bowls poured out, will begin.  For these Bowls are themselves the issue of the sound of the 7th Trumpet.

And here in Exodus we have this pattern given and set in the judgments and plagues of Israel's redemption.  In the seventh plague of hail the early crops are destroyed and not the later crops.  This is in order that the later crops may be destroyed by the plague of locusts which will come next.

Anyone who studies these things carefully will have in their understanding the key to learning the nature of the testimony of the two witnesses in Jerusalem, which will end with Jerusalem giving praise to Hashem, as told in Revelation 11:13.  G-d willing, I will show this in the posts in this series to come.

From this point, of understanding the relationship of the 7 Trumpets and the 7 Bowls as given in the relationship of the Plague of Hail and the Plague of Locusts in Exodus, it is possible to go on directly to understand the mystery of the design of all the plagues in Exodus and in Revelation, each in their order.  From this can be seen their precise correspondence, one with the other.  All of this is given in the explanation of G-d to why He hardened Pharaoh's heart after he did not repent after the 6th and 7th plagues.  G-d willing, it is at that point that I will continue to discuss these things in the next post in this series.

Next:
On The Seals of Authority

The first seal is the seal of authority over the word of Adam, which is the corporate power of empire and government.  Read more...

Mashiach Our Soul

I have done some work on my blog, Mashiach Our Soul, in the past couple of days that would be very helpful to look at and study in relation to the study I will be posting here – hopefully this coming week – on the correlation of the redemption plagues in Egypt and in the Book of the Revelation of Yehoshua the Mashiach.

Links to that work begin here >

LAMENTATIONS CHAPTER 1 - Judaic Commentary

and

Genesis 49 Level One

You will find other important and relevant new posts also on that site.

As well, I have also recently done work on the Kabbalah, Bereshith and Messiah site that will be important in relation to the upcoming study here about Revelation 10:7.

MellowWolfPblsh on Twitter

MellowWolfPblsh 

The Redeemer of Israel will not rest in his land until he has brought eye to eye justice between all souls upon the earth.

6:44 PM Jul 19th

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If you are prepared to follow the coming posts here on the Hearing Seven Thunders site on the plagues in Exodus -> the plagues in Revelation, contemplate the statement above.  It is the guiding truth for this study.
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