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CONTRASTS OF BELIEVERS AND UNBELIEVERS DURING THE GREAT TRIBULATION

12-05-10

COMMONALITIES: “PLACE” AND “FEED-NOURISHED”

(Rev 12:5,6)  And she brought forth a man child [Jesus Christ, foreshadowing the advent of the sons (huios) of God], who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron [metal symbolic of judgment]: and her child was caught up [harpazo: 1 Thess 4:17] unto God, and to his throne. And the woman [the believing church] fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days [1260 days = 42 months = 3 ½ years].

1.      wilderness = Gk: lonesome, waste: desert, desolate, solitary.

2.      (Luke 4:25)  But I tell you of a truth, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, when great famine was throughout all the land;

(Rev 12:13,14)  And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman [the believing church] which brought forth the man child. And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle [a metaphorical picture of the Bible], that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time [symbolically 3 ½ years], from the face of the serpent.

(Gen 47:11-13)  And Joseph placed his father and his brethren, and gave them a possession in the land of Egypt, in the best of the land, in the land of Rameses, as Pharaoh had commanded. And Joseph nourished his father, and his brethren, and all his father's household, with bread [a type of “I am the bread of life” John 6:35], according to their families. And there was no bread in all the land [no belief]; for the famine was very sore, so that the land of Egypt and all the land of Canaan fainted by reason of the famine [i.e., lacking “the Word of life” 1 John 1:1].

1.      Commentary: Rameses = a city in the very fertile land of Goshen situated in the northeastern section of the Nile Delta adjoining the Mediterranean Sea.

2.      fainted = Heb: to burn, i.e. to be rabid (fig. insane); also (from the exhaustion of frenzy) to languish:--faint, mad.

WHEN MONEY FAILS…

(Gen 47:14 ,15) And Joseph gathered up all the money that was found in the land of Egypt, and in the land of Canaan, for the corn which they bought: and Joseph brought the money into Pharaoh's house. And when money failed [was consumed] in the land of Egypt, and in the land of Canaan, all the Egyptians came unto Joseph, and said, Give us bread: for why should we die in thy presence? for the money faileth.

1.      Commentary: “all the Egyptians” = All the Israelites were hidden out of sight in the land of Goshen, nourished (with bread) and protected under the wings of Joseph. (Psalm 91)

2.      (Psa 33:18,19)  Behold, the eye of the LORD is upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy; To deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine.

3.      (Isa 65:13,14)  Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, my servants shall eat, but ye shall be hungry: behold, my servants shall drink, but ye shall be thirsty: behold, my servants shall rejoice, but ye shall be ashamed: Behold, my servants shall sing for joy of heart, but ye shall cry for sorrow of heart, and shall howl for vexation of spirit.

…AND MATERIAL POSSESSIONS ARE GONE…

(Gen 47:16,17)  And Joseph said, Give your cattle [Heb: live stock]; and I will give you for your cattle, if money fail. And they brought their cattle unto Joseph: and Joseph gave them bread in exchange for horses, and for the flocks [of sheep and goats], and for the cattle of the herds [cows], and for the asses: and he fed them with bread for [in exchange for] all their cattle for that year.

1.      Commentary: The famine was derived from want of grains for the people and grass for the animals, probably caused by a lack of rain (water, i.e., Holy Spirit). Therefore the starving Egyptians exchanged for bread all their famished cattle, the horses and asses which were used for labor, and all their flocks and herds which were used for food and clothing.

…BODIES AND LANDS ARE LAST FOR SALE

(Gen 47:18,19)  When that year was ended, they came unto him the second year, and said unto him, We will not hide it from my lord, how that our money is spent; my lord also hath our herds of cattle; there is not ought left in the sight of my lord, but our bodies [housing], and our lands [housing]: Wherefore shall we die before thine eyes, both we and our land [they were married to the land]? buy us and our land for bread, and we and our land will be servants unto Pharaoh: and give us seed, that we may live, and not die, that the land be not desolate.

1.      servants = Heb: a servant:-- X bondage, bondman, [bond-] servant, (man-) servant.

2.      Commentary: The Egyptians (unbelievers) had no seed to sow wheat and barley for themselves (food), and God was withholding the rain that produced grass for the cattle. Under those circumstances, the hungry cattle were a liability daily getting thinner and thinner (of less value), and the land useless. There is no life without seed.  “Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God.” (Luke 8:11)

3.      (Job 2:4)  And Satan answered the LORD, and said, Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life.

(Gen 47:20-22)  And Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh; for the Egyptians sold every man his field, because the famine prevailed over them: so the land became Pharaoh's. And as for the people, he removed them to cities [the Industrial Revolution] from one end of the borders of Egypt even to the other end thereof. Only the land of the priests bought he not; for the priests had a portion assigned them of Pharaoh, and did eat their portion which Pharaoh gave them: wherefore they sold not their lands.

1.      Commentary: The Israelites were safe in Goshen while the Egyptians were starving to death, excepting Pharaoh (“the beast” Rev 13:1,2: the secular government) and the priests (the false prophet, “another beast” Rev 13:11: the religious government)

(Gen 47:23-27)  Then Joseph said unto the people, Behold, I have bought you this day and your land for Pharaoh: lo, here is seed for you, and ye shall sow the land. And it shall come to pass in the increase, that ye shall give the fifth part unto Pharaoh, and four parts shall be your own, for seed of the field, and for your food, and for them of your households, and for food for your little ones. And they said, Thou hast saved our lives: let us find grace in the sight of my lord, and we will be Pharaoh's servants. And Joseph made it a law over the land of Egypt unto this day, that Pharaoh should have the fifth part; except the land of the priests only, which became not Pharaoh's. And Israel dwelt in the land of Egypt, in the country of Goshen [a type of Heaven]; and they had possessions therein, and grew, and multiplied exceedingly.

Amen