We are now living in the time of the Gentiles, which is a measured time. When King Yeshua returns instead of the nations ruling on earth we’ll have Israel ruling the nations. The Kingdom of Heaven will be ushered in when the clay and iron feet from Nebuchanezzar’s dream shatter and we see the end of that beast kingdoms.
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Over the past few episodes we looked at correlations between the sharp sickles of Passover, specifically the First Fruits of the Barley, and the sharp sickles of Revelation Fourteen. Within that passage of Revelation, we read a very specific prophecy:
And another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, and he also had a sharp sickle. Then another angel, the one who has power over fire, came out from the altar; and he called with a loud voice to him who had the sharp sickle, saying, “Put in your sharp sickle and gather the clusters from the vine of the earth, because her grapes are ripe.” So the angel swung his sickle to the earth and gathered the clusters from the vine of the earth, and threw them into the great wine press of the wrath of God. And the wine press was trampled outside the city, and blood came out from the wine press, up to the horses’ bridles, for a distance of 1,600 stadia. (Re 14:17-20)
Yeshua harvests for Firstfruits of the Barley and Shavuot, the conclusion of human “wheat.” The angel of fire harvests those from the Vineyard as well as the vineyard of the whole earth to throw them into the winepress of Sukkot, when the decrees of Rosh HaShanah are executed upon the whole world. Sukkot is also known as “The Feast of the Nations.” One may enjoy the Feast of the Nations with Yeshua, or one may be part of a nation consumed by his wrath.
As we’ve seen, the prophecies of Scripture are fulfilled multiple times in history. Often there are textual markers, such as a doubled word or repetition within the text, or sometimes a chiasm. Blood up to the horses’ bridles is a very precise prophecy, and it leads the reader to a previous fulfillment. In the last stand of the Jews who followed Bar Kokhba, a false messiah, the Romans massacred the inhabitants of Beitar. According to the lone survivor of the massacre, the blood in Beitar ran up to the Roman horses’ noses. That leads to the Footsteps prophecy of Song of Songs, which prophesies the “turn” of Messiah on the mountains to meet with his Beloved Israel.
2:17 Until the cool of the day, when the shadows flee, turn, my beloved, and be like a gazelle or a young stag on the mountains of Bether.
The mountains of Bether are an odd location because they are not mentioned anywhere else in Scripture, and even the Romans’ massacre there was far in the future when first prophesied in the Song. There must have been a singular event in history that would mark a step of Messiah’s turning to his Beloved.
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“Then I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and sitting on the cloud was one like a son of man, with a golden crown on His head and a sharp sickle in His hand. And another angel came out of the temple, calling out with a loud voice to Him who sat on the cloud, ‘Put in your sickle and reap, for the hour to reap has come, because the harvest of the earth is ripe.’ Then He who sat on the cloud swung His sickle over the earth, and the earth was reaped.” (Re 14:14-16)
Yeshua is the one with the sickle in the Cloud. He sits, or in Hebrew, “dwells” there. The same Hebrew word, yashav, means to sit or dwell. Yeshua harvests his firstfruits with the message, “Reap,” and he hurries to reap the Father’s firstfruits. In this instance, he reaps the standing sheaves all the way to the end of the earth. He hurries to perform the mitzvah and doesn’t let it age or sour.
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Although the red beast Rome destroyed the daily sacrifice, it cannot destroy the sacrifices in the highest place, the Kingdom just above Mount Zion. Now let’s investigate the image of the beast, its last kingdom Rome, and red Rome’s daughters. This will help us to understand Revelation Fourteen, the one like the Son of Man with a sickle, and then the angel with the sharp sickle who follows him.
The “Footsteps” working text is found here in the Song of Songs:
Until the cool of the day, when the shadows flee, turn, my beloved, and be like a gazelle or a young stag on the mountains of Bether. (So 2:17)
“The mountains” in the corresponding midrashic thread allude to the powerful kingdoms that have subdued Israel, and specifically Rome, the largest and most powerful kingdom, whose “feet” are still mingled with the governments of the kingdoms of the earth. The mountains of Bether (Beitar) are an unusually specific reference to a place that had no historical significance until hundreds of years later when the Romans destroyed the last of the Jews there who followed the false messiah Bar Kokhba.
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Being hidden in the North finds another context in Psalm 48:
Beautiful in elevation, the joy of the whole earth, is Mount Zion in the far north, the city of the great King. In its palaces, God has made Himself known as a stronghold.” (Ps 48:2-3)
The “far north” position of Mount Zion is also where palaces are located. It is thought that the Palace of Messiah is in the Garden of Eden, just above Mount Zion. Far north is perhaps not the best translation. The hindmost part of the north is better from other contexts. Dan’s banner camped in the north, faced out for protection, and the Tabernacle would have been located on the extreme north’s “backside.” Messiah is said to be “concealed in the north.” Think of the tribes facing out of the gates of Jerusalem to judge the nations.
“Palace” in Hebrew is armon ????????:
The two-letter shoresh ram ?? usually indicates something elevated and high, creating wordplay:
Rameses – high horse/ram sus
Aram – exalted, people of the palace
Armon – castle, palace,
Hermon – elevated mountain
Elohim has “made Himself known” [??????] in Zion’s palaces, perhaps alluding to Yeshua’s need to “know” his disciples to admit them to the only true high place, the Kingdom of Heaven. Mount Hermon, pictured above, in some traditions is the location of the Transfiguration.
Six days later, Jesus took with Him Peter and James, and his brother John, and led them up on a high mountain by themselves. And He was transfigured before them; and His face shone like the sun, and His garments became as white as light. And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him. Peter responded and said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good that we are here. If You want, I will make three tabernacles here: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” While he was still speaking, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and behold, a voice from the cloud said, “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to Him!” (Mt 17:1-5)
Perhaps the disciples realized they’d been shown one of the palaces of Zion, and for this reason thought it appropriate to erect three sukkot, connecting Hermon as a palace to the gathering into Sukkot of Glory when Messiah returned from the North, or hidden palace. He made himself “known” to them.
Hermon is a location in Israel that dependably produces snow. Yeshua may have been showing them his “hiding place” in the coming exile, a place with storehouses of snow for the coming day of Judgment for the nations. Sukkot is also The Feast of the Nations. The nations will either feast WITH Yeshua in Sukkot of Glory, or they will BE the feast of unclean birds. Everyone will be KNOWN, either with residence in the Divine Sukkah, or with thorns and briers of Judgment.
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