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The importance of 2016, Part 2

2016 seems to be a Jubilee year in many ways. A Jubilee year is also an extra Sabbath year, so it is not surprising that the Hebrew word for Sabbath is Strong’s number 7676. We just concluded two conferences in Branson during this Hebrew year, where Highway 76 is the main highway running through the town. That is a double 76.

Jonathan Cahn has been saying that this is also a Shemitah year (that is, a Jubilee). Though he has no actual evidence that this is the chronological Jubilee from Adam, nonetheless, there are many Jubilees, depending on the date of one’s starting point.

Likewise, Pope Francis has also declared 2016 to be a Jubilee Year of Mercy. In his way of reckoning, this Year of Mercy began on December 8, 2015 (the Catholic Feast of the Immaculate Conception) and ends on November 20, 2016 (the Catholic Feast of Christ).

It appears, then, that 2016 is a Sabbath or Jubilee on some level. Even the occultists consider this to be an extremely important year. They see it as their year to complete their preparations for the coming of Apollo, through whom they hope to consolidate their control over the earth and set up their kingdom.

They will fail, however, not only because Apollo is not Jesus Christ, but also because the decree has gone forth from the Heavenly Court to cast out the bondwoman and her son. The children of the flesh have been rejected as rulers in the age to come. The children of promise are the Isaac company, who have been chosen to rule under Christ. The first set of decrees were made April 3 and 12 of 1998, and the decrees 18 years later in 2016 are now being made as a double witness.

A Confirming Dream

Even this morning I received a telephone call from a man who told me of a dream that confirms this. In the dream he looked at the sky while praying, and suddenly purple petals began to rain down upon them out of the clouds. With this came a Scripture verse from Isaiah—something about “hasten.” He could not figure out what verse this was. I told him it was Isaiah 8:1, 3, 4 KJV, where the prophet was to have a son and name him Maher-shalal-hash-baz. The name means “Hasten, spoil, speed, prey.” The NASB translates it in Isaiah 8:1, “Swift is the booty, speedy is the prey.”

This is a reference to Israel’s captivity to Assyria (Isaiah 8:4), where Israel in the flesh was cast out for being spiritual Ishmaelites. Recall from Jeremiah 2:24 that their rejection of God’s law had made them “a wild donkey,” which is the same term describing Ishmael in Genesis 16:12. Because Israel’s “mother” was Egypt, they were Ishmaelites and donkeys from a prophetic standpoint, and this is why they had to be redeemed with the Passover lamb according to the law in Exodus 13:13.

Many of those Israelites remained genuine believers (“sheep”), but over the years, most of them returned to their fleshly ways and became spiritual Ishmaelites. In other words, they took after their mother (Egypt), rather than their Heavenly Father. For this reason, God cast them out, for they were no different from Ishmael in His eyes.

The positive side of the prophecy is in the fact that Isaiah had another son named Shear-Jashub, “The Remnant Shall Return” (Isaiah 7:3). His name prophesied a “return” from captivity, as seen in Isaiah 10:20, 21, 22). Note, however, that it was not the whole nation of Israel who would return, but only a “remnant.” Most were to remain as spiritual Ishmaelites, children of the flesh, not qualified to rule in the Kingdom.

God is no respecter of persons. The “Ishmael” metaphor applies equally to all children of the flesh. This is the Law of Impartial Justice, which is the second “stone” placed in the wall of the New Jerusalem on November 29, 2012. (The first was the Law of Victims Rights, placed on September 12, 2012.)

In 2012 God raised up opposition to the Law of Impartial Justice. Children of the flesh do not like this law, because they think that their genealogical descent from Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob qualifies them as “sheep,” and they do not think of themselves as “donkeys” or “Ishmaelites.” But the fact is that flesh must die in order to be raised as a new creation. Ishmael must be cast out in order to recognize the authority and calling of Isaac.

The New Creation

Resurrection takes one fully out of the flesh realm and into the spiritual realm as a new creation.  Look at the transformation that occurred even in Jesus. The change in Him also demanded a change in our relationship to Him, for Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 5:16, 17,

¹⁶ Therefore from now on we recognize no man according to the flesh; even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer. ¹⁷ Therefore if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.

It really comes down to our two identities, the first from Adam or Israel, the second from the Holy Spirit who has begotten Christ in us. We may identify with either the child of the flesh or the holy seed that has been begotten in us by faith. Interestingly enough, BOTH of these children have God as their Father. The difference is their mother. Paul says that our mother is the New Covenant, or Sarah—that is, “the Jerusalem above” (Galatians 4:26). The children of the flesh are of the Old Covenant, or Hagar—that is, “the present Jerusalem” (Galatians 4:25).

So let us identify with the New Creation Man within us, who has been begotten by God through the incorruptible, imperishable “seed” of the word (1 Peter 1:23, 24, 25). Children of the flesh need a change of identity, which can only be done in the divine court. One cannot make such a claim without giving up all confidence in the flesh, as Paul did in Philippians 3:7, 8, 9.

It is not that flesh has no value at all. Israel in the flesh was given the first opportunity to hear the gospel. They were given the oracles of God at Sinai, while other nations languished in darkness (Acts 7:38; Romans 3:2). In this way, God was unequal in choosing just one nation to bless the rest of the world. This inequality, of course, is rectified in the Restoration of All Things, for only in this way can God fulfill His own standard of righteousness and be justified in such inequality. And this is also why He made provision for the lambs to redeem the donkeys. To be “chosen,” one must be willing to die for donkeys, for that reflects the love of God and the character of Jesus Christ.

In the past 18 years since 1998, we have had time to prepare our hearts and to learn how to change our identity from the old man (Adam) to the new man (the last Adam). From a prophetic standpoint, we are now at a critical time, perhaps even some sort of a deadline that could determine our calling as the sons of Sarah. It is time to cast out the bondwoman and her son in a more enlightened way, not only the external Ishmaels but more importantly, the Ishmael within.

It appears that this will take the form of a decree or prayer on April 12. The revelation is still developing, so I will say more in the next few days. But even if you are late, you can always make your decree retroactive.

Merle Haggard Dies

The singer, Merle Haggard, died April 6, 2016 on his 79^th birthday.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/07/arts/music/merle-haggard-country-musics-outlaw-hero-dies-at-79.html?smtyp=cur

We have often seen signs of what is going on in the spiritual realm, and this is no different. This has no negative reflection on Haggard himself, but is a sign to us of what is happening. Haggard is a form of Hagar, and Merle means “raven.” One site says it means falcon or blackbird.

https://themeaningofthename.com/merle/

The Hebrew word for “raven” is oreb, which comes from the word arab. Ishmael was the progenitor of the Arab people today, as they themselves bear witness.

https://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/Lexicon/lexicon.cfm?strongs=H6150&t=KJV

Recall that the ravens fed Elijah while he was at the brook Cherith, or Kerith. The Ferrar Fenton Bible renders 1 Kings 17:2-4,

² Then the message of the Everliving came to him to say: ³ “Go from here, and proceed to the East, and hide yourself near the brook Kerith, which runs into the Jordan, ⁴ and the brook will give you drink, and I will instruct the Arabs to supply you with food there.”

Fenton has a footnote which reads:

“The word צרבים Arabim, was erroneously translated ‘ravens’ by the Greek versioners, and the blunder, as usual, has been repeated since. It means Arabs, as I have translated it in my text.”

Arabim is the Hebrew plural for Arab. All of this identifies Merle Haggard as a sign of Ishmael-Hagar, and it is no coincidence that God would have chosen this particular time to put him in the news. His death also suggests that the river Kerith has dried up, and God is preparing a new source of provision represented by the vessel of oil held by the widow in Zarephath.

1 Kings 17:14 says,

¹⁴ For thus says the Lord God of Israel, “The bowl of flour shall not be exhausted, nor shall the jar of oil be empty, until the day that the Lord sends rain on the face of the earth.”

Zarephath means “refinery.” It appears that we are coming into the time where God will refine us as gold and silver, which is part of the Elijah ministry that is prophesied in Malachi 3:2, 3. The fire is provided by the Holy Spirit (Matthew 3:11,12). This is good news, for I take it as a sign of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, which apparently could not take place until the bondwoman and her son were cast out.

All of this points to 2016 as being a pivotal year in the course of Kingdom history. Apparently, our competition among the occultists know this as well, for they have been preparing to set up their Kingdom of Apollo for a long time.  They had a head start on us, but they are way behind God, Who seems to have it all under control.

Things are about to get interesting.