The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun. 10 Is there any thing whereof it may be said, See, this is new? it hath been already of old time, which was before us Ecclesiastes 1:9-10
Although it is debated who wrote Ecclesiastes, most likely it was King Solomon; the wisest man the world has ever known. The verse above has more meaning than one can imagine. The verse is speaking to cycles. What was done in the past will be done again in the future. On a large scale, it speaks to a repeat of certain historical events that occurred in the Old Testament. On a smaller scale it speaks to the repetition of daily activities and mindsets of man throughout the ages. Essentially it is saying that nothing new will come that has not already come and that includes the end of days.
Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, 10 Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure Isaiah 46:9-10
The bible is an open declaration of events beginning with the first state of the universe to the last. It conveys future events by inference, as historical archetypes. Wikipedia defines archetype as “A statement, or pattern of behavior, a prototype upon which others are copied, patterned, or emulated”. There are many archetypes in the bible. I will outline a few here as an example starting with Abraham.
Abraham, although a gentile from Ur in the ancient land of Assyria, was the first Hebrew and father of the Israelites. His name in Hebrew means “father of a multitude”. The Lord called Abraham out of his country. “Now the Lord had said unto Abraham, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will show thee” Genesis 12:1. Abraham was given the everlasting covenant of God that led to the nation of Israel; still in existence today. Interestingly, according to Jewish tradition, Abraham was born in 1948 A.M. (Anno Mundi – calendar era based on the biblical creation of the world). This year is significant as it also was the year Israel was created as an official nation (1948 A.D.)
Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee: 2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: 3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. Genesis 12:1-3
The covenant was sanctioned through a series of transactions in which the Lord visited Abraham seven times and seven times He certifies His Word. After the third visit when Abraham was separated from his nephew Lot, Abraham picked 318 of his servants to engage in war in the Sodom/Gomorrah area. A series of battles was fought at the time that included four kings:
And it came to pass in the days of Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of nations; 2 That these made war with Bera king of Sodom, and with Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, and Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela, which is Zoar. 3 All these were joined together in the vale of Siddim, which is the salt sea. Genesis 14:1-3
The king’s battle took them into the area of Sodom where Lot lived and was captured. One man escaped and brought the news to Abraham who then took his 318 trained men, rescued Lot and regained the spoils of war. Research reveals the four kings are significant in that they represent prophetically four future nations.
Amraphel King of Shinar was actually Nimrod of Babylon, “a mighty hunter before the Lord” who hunted and enslaved the souls of men. He held the first monarch, was the father of the occult and pagan worship, and defined the original, sinful, Babylon which today is a mystery that envelops the entire world. Arioch, king of Ellasar was associated with the area later known as Greece. The Greeks refer to themselves as the people of “Ellas”.
Chedorlaomer was the progenitor to the Medo-Persian Empire and ruled the land between the Persian Gulf on the south and the Caspian Sea on the north. The final king Tidal, king of the nations or “Goyim” as the Hebrew text has it seemed to control an area across several gentile regions. History references connect him to Tudhalia I, ruler of the Hittite empire that covered most of Turkey to the eastern end of the Black Sea. The Hittite king engaged in mounting of large mercenary armies from the surrounding tribes and trained them through systematic training making them a fierce warrior nation for centuries. “King of nations” suggests a large area of influence and Jewish history place Tidal as forerunner of the large, Western, gentile empire that would follow stating that “Tidal is Rome”.
These four kings emulated the 4 gentile nations of Babylon, Greece, Medo-Persia, and Rome later to become world empires as history dictated. Thirteen Hundred years after Abraham’s battle with the four kings, Daniels prophecy of the 4 gentile nations is revealed Daniel 2:31-35.
After his victory, Abraham returned to the city of Salem, later to become known as Jerusalem.
17 And 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. 18 And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God. 19 And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth: 20 And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all. Genesis 14:17-20
The “kings dale” would become the future site of Mt. Zion. Here Abraham met with Melchizedek, whose name means “king of righteousness”, to partake in the sacramental bread and wine which foreshadowed the future Jewish festival of Passover initiated six centuries later. Melchizedek was a type of Christ, whose sacrifice brought the new covenant and the called-out body of believers known as the church. After the Church age comes to an end with the Rapture, Jesus’ superior priesthood will bring the same covenant to Israel.
What is seen in Abraham’s actions predict the truth that the four kingdoms must be defeated before the Kingdom of Heaven can be established. Abraham’s enemies of gentile powers conferred with the old gods with the ultimate plan to control the world. The fundamentals of the plan never change as over and over again it emerges to be defeated again and again. Today, three of the four gentile powers have been defeated in past history. The fourth power of Rome (in a dispersed form) has reared its ugly head and is once again attempting to conquer the world.
Essentially, Abraham celebrated Passover before there was a Passover and this sets the theme that resonates through history until its final fulfillment. This theme can be seen in the life of Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and the Great Tribulation.
Egypt of the Old Testament symbolizes the world system, or world order, a system of idolatry, political power, and wealth that is the model for Israel’s battle with the final Gentile kingdom. Ancient Egypt enslaved the Jewish people under Pharaoh, a type of Antichrist. Moses was called out to liberate them from bondage resulting in the ten plagues falling on the Egyptians. The 10 plagues foretell the days of the Great Tribulation to come when Israel will emerge victorious from the ultimate enslavement of the world system under the control of the coming Antichrist. Without going into detail, the 10 plagues are representative of the outpouring of vials in Revelation.
The death of the firstborn was the final plague on Egypt. The Israelites were instructed to paint the blood of a lamb on their doorpost in order for the Angel of death to “Passover” them as he carried over all of Egypt in one night. This action connects the past to the future as it looks back to when Abraham drank of the cup with Melchizedek and forward to its ultimate fulfillment in the Passover cup which Jesus partook with his disciples before giving His own life’s blood for the world. Thus the Passover became eternally memorialized for Israel as the blood on the door became a great symbol of deliverance from judgment and freedom from bondage. The blood from the lamb foreshadowed the great “Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” John 1:29.
During Passover, the Israelites eat unleavened bread for seven days which speaks of freedom from the physical corruption of sin, represented by the leavening (yeast) that would normally be present. Scripture would be recited and the taking of four cups. Each of the cups represents a prophecy taken from Exodus 6:6-7.
6 Wherefore say unto the children of Israel, I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will rid you out of their bondage, and I will redeem you with a stretched out arm, and with great judgments: 7 And I will take you to me for a people, and I will be to you a God: and ye shall know that I am the Lord your God, which bringeth you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.
The first cup – Salvation – The Lord saved the people from Egypt’s judgments (believers are saved from the Lord’s judgment).
The second cup – deliverance – celebrates the actions of Moses the deliver (believers are delivered from the bondage of sin).
The third cup – redemption – recalls the miracles of their time in the desert – (believers are redeemed by the blood of Christ).
The fourth cup – relationship – exalts the contract between God and His people at the Mountain of God, and His promise to bring them into the Kingdom – (believers have a personal, intimate relationship with God just as a father is to his son).
When Jesus took the fourth cup at the last supper, He activated an ages-long plan that would bring Him into a full relationship with the redeemed.
He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done. Matthew 26:42
When Jesus was arrested, He said “Then said Jesus unto Peter, Put up thy sword into the sheath: the cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it” John 18:11. Jesus now personifies the cup and bread taken so long ago by Abraham in the presence of Melchizedek.
Now let’s take a look at how Jesus is an archetype of Israel:
- He had a miraculous birth; born of a virgin. In her old age Sara, wife of Abraham, miraculously gave birth to Isaac.
- Jesus is called the only begotten Son of God. Israel is also called the son of God. “And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith the Lord, Israel is my son, even my firstborn” Exodus 4:22.
- Jesus was taken to Egypt to escape King Herod. Israel went to Egypt to receive deliverance from famine by a Pharaoh who had made their brother Joseph prime minister.
- Both Jesus and Israel experienced hatred upon their return to Israel. The Jews rejected Jesus while Israel’s return was marked by many kingdoms in the area and once they entered in the Promised Land, they still had to fight aggressive tribes. Today with Israel’s current return as a nation in 1948, nothing has changed.
- Jesus was executed by the Romans on the cross. Israel had the same fate with the destruction of the temple in 70 A.D. and hundreds of thousands hung on Roman crosses that lined the roads for miles. Eventually they had a great Diaspora and were driven to the four corners of the earth.
- Jesus resurrected on the third day. Israel is prophesied to rise again on the third day. “I will go and return to my place, till they acknowledge their offence, and seek my face: in their affliction they will seek me early Hosea 5:15 “After two days will he revive us: in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight Hosea 6:2.
- Our Lord will never die again. He is Everlasting Life. In the end the Kingdom of Israel shall last forever. “And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever Daniel 2:44.
As a type of Israel, Jesus’ final victory and eternal existence have set the path for Israel. Since their existence over three thousand years ago, so many gentile nations have sought to destroy Israel, only to fail. There are many other archetypes too numerous to mention here.
The end of days during the Tribulation will be a repeat as “in the days of Noe”. The coming Antichrist and his cohorts lying, wondrous powers will be a repetition of the ancient, supernatural, and worldly sin committed in the days of Noah. So what about the Antichrist himself?
You may be surprised to know the bible says he has already walked the earth and will be resurrected to walk it again. There is “nothing new under the sun”!
The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is Revelation 17:8
We can see that the Antichrist has already existed, died, and his spirit will be resurrected as he comes up out of the bottomless pit and enters a human whose linage belongs to a long line of Seleucids including the infamous Antiochus IV Epiphanes. At some point the Seleucids intermarried with the Roman Flavian dynasty, which gave birth to the emperor Titus who destroyed the Jewish Temple in A.D. 70. That linage will also go back further to include the lost Jewish tribe of Dan. The Hebrew root word din means judgment and is from whence the word Dan is derived.
16 Dan shall judge his people, as one of the tribes of Israel. 17 Dan shall be a serpent by the way, an adder in the path, that biteth the horse heels, so that his rider shall fall backward. Genesis 49:16
Jesus symbolized as a lion, came from the tribe of Judah and the Antichrist in his attempt to mimic all the Lord does, will spring from the tribe of Dan from the ancient territory of Bashan located just to the south of modern day Damascus.
14 For I will be unto Ephraim as a lion, and as a young lion to the house of Judah: I, even I, will tear and go away; I will take away, and none shall rescue him. Hosea 5:14
22 And of Dan he said, Dan is a lion’s whelp: he shall leap from Bashan. Deuteronomy 33:22
The Antichrist was/is also an Assyrian and Bashan is located near the center of that ancient empire.
And this man shall be the peace, when the Assyrian shall come into our land: and when he shall tread in our palaces, then shall we raise against him seven shepherds, and eight principal men. 6 And they shall waste the land of Assyria with the sword, and the land of Nimrod in the entrances thereof: thus shall he deliver us from the Assyrian, when he cometh into our land, and when he treadeth within our borders. Micah 5:5-6
This man in ancient times was none other than Amraphel king of Shinar\Nimrod. But Christians should not be looking for the Antichrist, but Jesus Christ!
The days of Jesus walking the earth were a transition period between the law and the Gospel of Grace, between the Old and New Testament. Most of Israel rejected Jesus and roughly 40 years after His death on the cross, the temple was destroyed and the Roman slaughter and dispersion of the Jewish nation began.
Today the Church age is coming to an end and another transition will soon take place once the Church is called home. Then the nation of Israel will once again become the spiritual light of the world. Like the days of division between the Jews when Jesus walked the earth, the church today is becoming increasingly divided in Biblical doctrine. The end result will be an apostate church that gathers all religions of the world into one for the Judgment that follows.
For nothing is secret, that shall not be made manifest; neither anything hid, that shall not be known and come abroad Luke 8:17
References:
KJV Bible
J.R. Chruch, Daniel Reveals The Blood Line of The Antichrist (Oklahoma City, OK: Prophecy Publications, 2010)
Gary Stearman, Time Travelers of The Bible (Crane Missouri: Defender, 2011)
Looking for that Blessed Hope! 