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The rise of the saints, part 2

The first sign of the rise of the saints in 2010 took place on February 7 of that year, when the New Orleans Saints football team beat the Indianapolis Colts 31-17 at the Superbowl.

https://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/super-bowl-xliv/25/

It was the Saints’ first trip to the Superbowl in their history in the National Football League. The key factor in their victory was the excellent passing game of quarterback Drew Brees, whose arm gained 288 yards.

New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees, who completed 32 of 39 passes for 288 yards and two touchdowns, was named the Superbowl MVP. (Most Valuable Player)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Bowl_XLIV

The numbers above help us interpret the story. The Saints won with a score of 31, which is the biblical number of “Offspring,” particularly referring to the Sons of God—that is, the “Saints of the Most High” (Daniel 7:22 KJV). See The Biblical Meaning of Numbers from One to Forty.

It was actually a win-win situation, because the Colts scored 17 points. The number 17 is the number of “Victory.” Colts are the offspring of horses, and we are told in Revelation 19:11 that Christ comes riding “a white horse” in His second coming. In other words, He comes not only as an individual but also in association with the saints, the sons of God. 2 Thessalonians 1:10 says that “He comes to be glorified in His saints on that day, and to be marveled at among all who have believed.”

In other words, the world at large will marvel at the transformation of the saints when God is glorified IN THEM.

In the Superbowl, Drew Brees “gained 288 yards” in his passing game. The Hebrew word for “moved” is rachaph, which has a numeric value of 288. The word rachaph pictures a dove fluttering or vibrating over the waters. It also pictures God breathing in and out to create a wind, or “breeze.”

The number 288 is the numeric value of “a holy calling” (2 Timothy 1:9) and “betrothed” (Leviticus 19:20 KJV). In Genesis 1:2 we read that “the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters.” It is clear that the number 288, which is 2 x 144, has to do with the moving of the Holy Spirit as He prepares the betrothed Bride of Christ, for “a holy calling.”

We see further that “The Bride, the Lamb’s wife” (Revelation 21:9 KJV) has a numeric value of 2880, and “the joy of thy Lord” (Matthew 25:21 KJV) is also 2880.

So in Genesis 24, when Abraham sent his chief steward, Eliezar, to find a wife for Isaac, it was a prophetic story of the Holy Spirit being sent out to find and prepare a bride for Christ. Eliezar means “God helps,” which pictured the great “Helper” (NASB), or “Comforter” (KJV) in John 14:16. Eliezar is, of course, a Hebrew name, and its New Testament Greek form is Lazarus, which has a numeric value of 144.

In the same story, Eliezar found Rebekah, who agreed to marry his master’s son, Isaac. He then gave her two bracelets (Hebrew, tsamid). The word tsamid has a numeric value of 144, and he gave her two of them (2 x 144).

Likewise, there are two groups of 144,000 in the book of Revelation. The first set are sealed in their foreheads in Revelation 7:4. This is a military symbol depicting those who are divinely protected. After a battle, the general customarily reviewed his troops and put a mark (tav) in the shape of a cross on the foreheads of those who emerged from battle unscathed. See Ezekiel 9:4.)

In those days women were not part of the military, so this is also a male theme.

The second set of 144,000 is found in Revelation 14:1. They are described as virgins, a term that was applied to women. They are said to be singing a new song. Revelation 14:4 says (literally), “These are they which were not defiled among (meta) women, for they are virgins.” It appears, then, there are 144,000 men and 144,000 women who are overcomers paired together as couples, for a total of 288,000.

This correlates to the 288 singers in David’s choir (1 Chronicles 25:7) and to the 288,000 in David’s National Guard (1 Chronicles 27:1).

We see, then, that when the New Orleans Saints won Superbowl 44 in 2010, it foreshadowed the rise of the Saints of the Most High in the following years. Even the number 44 is significant, because it is the biblical number for “chosen people.”

https://godskingdom.org/blog/2011/10/the-biblical-meaning-of-44

This indicates that God has chosen the saints of the Most High to rule the earth after the fall of Mystery Babylon. Yet as I have already noted, the saints still had to wait another seven years to 2017, when the time allotted to the world “beast” empires would expire. Even then, because Babylon refused to release the people from its power, it would take longer to enforce the verdict of God.

Before the saints could rule the world, God would have to test their hearts to distinguish between the church and the overcomers. Judgment also begins at the house of God (1 Peter 4:17), and the purpose of such judgment is to turn the hearts of His people.

The Christchurch Quake

Early in the morning of September 4, 2010, a 7 Richter earthquake struck Christchurch, a city on the south island of New Zealand.

https://www.britannica.com/event/Christchurch-earthquakes-of-2010-2011

Both the Anglican and Roman Catholic cathedrals of Christchurch suffered serious damage. Church officials believed that the latter structure was beyond repair, and the spire of the Anglican cathedral collapsed.

This was not the first time we had seen signs of divine judgment upon the church. We had seen such signs in the past. But the destructive quake at Christchurch was dramatic and obvious. I visited Christchurch in February of 2018 and wrote three trip reports the following month. Here is one of them, showing pictures of Christchurch.

https://godskingdom.org/blog/2018/03/new-zealand-trip-report-part-2

On February 15, 2018 we flew from Auckland to Christchurch on the south island of New Zealand.

Our friend Neal picked us up at the airport. It was good to see Neal and Denise again. Recall that the last time we were in Christchurch in 2016, he drove us around the city to show us the reconstruction that was going on there.

Christchurch had been struck by a massive earthquake in 2010 and 2011, and even after five years (2016) there were construction cranes on nearly every tall building in the city. But now most of that construction has been completed.

Our Declaration of Identity

In Revelation 2 and 3, the message to the Seven Churches adds a special blessing to those who overcome (Revelation 2:7, 11, 17, 26, etc.). The implication is that not all believers overcome, and that there is a special blessing attached to the overcomers, which the church as a whole will not be given.

In 2010 we saw that in the rise of the saints, God was distinguishing the overcomers from the church as a whole. The devastation on Christchurch was too obvious to miss. So on November 21, 2010 we were led to set forth a Declaration of Identity, in which we declared before the throne of God who we are.

https://godskingdom.org/blog/2010/11/your-sons-and-daughters-will-prophesy

This is not something that we should merely THINK in our minds, although we certainly ought to contemplate this during idle moments. It is important to prophesy this aloud, preferably in front of a mirror, where you can look yourself in the eyes and speak it into your ears. There is something about our soul's construction that needs to hear and see in order to truly believe what the Spirit commands.

So look in the mirror and prophesy to “the real you” this way:

Prophetic Declaration of Identity

You are a son [or daughter] of God, begotten by the Holy Spirit, a child of the Promise. You have been given the Birthright with all of the blessings of heaven and earth at your disposal, to be used in accordance with the divine plan that the Spirit is outworking in the earth daily.

As part of the Body of Christ, positioned under the Head, you have been given all authority in both heaven and in earth. It is your calling to have dominion over the creation itself and to exercise that authority as Jesus Christ did when He ministered in the earth. You have authority over time and distance, governments, principalities and powers, nature, disease, and death itself.

You are the righteousness of God in Christ, called to show forth the glory of God to every creature, that all may know both the character and the works of God through YOU. So come forth this day and subdue all things under your feet. Bring order out of chaos, deliverance from bondage, light out of darkness, health out of sickness, and life out of death.

I have observed over the years the importance of knowing who you are. There are many Christians who believe in their head that they are a child of God, but in actual practice, they live in a very different world. It is time that believers explore this issue in order to experience the abundant life (John 10:10), the joy of the Lord (Matthew 25:21), and the victorious life (Romans 8:37) that God intends for us.

It does not mean that the life of the overcomers is trouble-free. In fact, they are often severely tested, as we see throughout history and in Hebrews 11. Paul tells us in Romans 8:36, 37,

³⁶ Just as it is written, “For Your sake we are being put to death all day long; we were considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” ³⁷ But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us.

By knowing who we are in Christ, we can have the faith to overcome whatever we face, even as the men of faith in Hebrews 11 did in earlier days. Knowing who we are is necessary for us to give thanks in everything (1 Thessalonians 5:18).