This week’s 5 Minute Update was shared by Mark Pitrone, Assistant Congregational Leader, due to Eddie traveling. Eddie will be back, Yah willing, next week.
You can listen to the 5 Minute Update Audio by clicking here.
No Video Version is available due to technical issues.
Links to this week’s articles are below:
Arabs say “rivers of blood must flow.” And threaten much violence. The Arabs continue to fire missiles into Israel. Is the intifada about to being? Very possible.
Y’israel is being put in a position where they must trust their G-d not their fickle allies!
America in Prophecy
Report: US shipping arms ahead of strike on Iran
Israel
DEBKAfile: Jerusalem, West Bank, Gaza on alert against Palestinian threats
US will raise the heat until Israel toes the line on Iran
Netanyahu’s Brother-in-Law: Obama’s an Anti-Semite
Despite US Pressure, Israel Insists: No Preconditions for Talks
Report: Saudi Arabia Seeks Strike on Iran
Netanyahu bows to US demand for Jerusalem building freeze
US ponders denying Israel arms needed for conflict with Iran
Mark concluding by sharing a short teaching on Joel 2.
1a Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain: … 9a They shall run to and fro in the city; they shall run upon the wall, … 11 And YHWH shall utter his voice before his army: for his camp is very great: for he is strong that executeth his word: for the day of the YHWH is great and very terrible; and who can abide it?
That’s a great praise and worship song, isn’t it? Have you ever read Joel 2? That song is one of the most diabolically misapplied scriptures, taken completely out of their context, that I have ever heard – and I just was shown it the other day. I did not realize it myself, but was shown it by a friend of mine, We discussed this for some time, and learned some other valuable stuff along the way.
What follows in Joel 1b ff. is a warning to Israel.
let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of YHWH cometh, for it is nigh at hand; 2 A day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick darkness, as the morning spread upon the mountains: a great people and a strong; there hath not been ever the like, neither shall be any more after it, even to the years of many generations. 3 A fire devoureth before them; and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them.
You may be asking, “Who are ‘them’?” Who are the ‘great people’? 2 words – NOT US! Let’s continue in Joel 2.
4 The appearance of them is as the appearance of horses; and as horsemen, so shall they run. 5 Like the noise of chariots on the tops of mountains shall they leap, like the noise of a flame of fire that devoureth the stubble, as a strong people set in battle array. 6 Before their face the people shall be much pained: all faces shall gather blackness. 7 They shall run like mighty men; they shall climb the wall like men of war; and they shall march every one on his ways, and they shall not break their ranks: 8 Neither shall one thrust another; they shall walk every one in his path: and when they fall upon the sword, they shall not be wounded. 9 They shall run to and fro in the city; they shall run upon the wall, they shall climb up upon the houses; they shall enter in at the windows like a thief. 10 The earth shall quake before them; the heavens shall tremble: the sun and the moon shall be dark, and the stars shall withdraw their shining: 11 And the YHWH shall utter his voice before his army: for his camp is very great: for he is strong that executeth his word: for the day of YHWH is great and very terrible; and who can abide it?
This is a great and mighty people rushing through the city and running on the walls of Zion/Yerushalayim. They are disciplined and organized, they are conducting house to house searches. And they are YHWH’s army. Notice in v.6 that ‘the people shall be much pained.’ In v.1b, the inhabitants of haAretz are trembling at them. They are bringing destruction from YHWH on his people Israel. And in v.11 they are executing YHWH’s Word. When we sing, “Great is the army that carries out his word”, we are talking about an attacker who is bringing YHWH’s judgment on his people.
Do you see that this attack is going to happen in the end of days, which are VERY near if we are seeing things correctly, is happening because YHWH’s people are doing our own things, going our own ways. And YHWH will use the heathen to accomplish his word because WE WON’T!
We are supposed to live lives that provoke Israel to jealousy (Rom.10.19, 11.11) and the heathen have to execute YHWH’s Word against us! It is another fulfillment of the same prophecy Paul is speaking of in Romans. He is applying Dt.32.
18 Of the Rock that begat thee thou art unmindful, and hast forgotten Eloha that formed thee. 19 And when YHWH saw it, he abhorred us, because of the provoking of his sons, and of his daughters. 20 And he said, I will hide my face from them, I will see what their end shall be: for they are a very froward generation, children in whom is no faith. 21 They have moved me to jealousy with that which is not Eloha; they have provoked me to anger with their vanities: and I will move them to jealousy with those which are not a people; I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation. 22 For a fire is kindled in mine anger, and shall burn unto the lowest hell, and shall consume the earth (haAretz) with her increase, and set on fire the foundations of the mountains. 23 I will heap mischiefs upon them; I will spend mine arrows upon them. 24 They shall be burnt with hunger, and devoured with burning heat, and with bitter destruction: I will also send the teeth of beasts upon them, with the poison of serpents of the dust.
If we won’t bring the message of repentance and deliverance from sin, if we won’t recognize YHWH’s authority or submit to his word in our own lives, he will send destruction our way. The attackers are driven by demonic forces who are executing YHWH’s judgment.
We see some bad stuff coming down for America and Israel. We see vain and perverse men in high offices and we think that THEY are the problem. They’re not – they are just the symptom of the underlying disease. The disease is OUR idolatry, adultery and unrepentance of same. It is US who will have all this calamity come upon us, if we don’t repent ourselves, remove our idols from before us and follow YHWH’s instructions to make disciples of all nations.
12 Therefore also now, saith YHWH, turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning: 13 And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto YHWH your Eloha: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil. 14 Who knoweth if he will return and repent, and leave a blessing behind him; even a meat offering and a drink offering unto YHWH your Eloha?
Do you see that? YHWH is so ticked that he says he MAY forgive us IF we repent and turn to him (v.14). He brings his own meat offering (Yeshua?) and leaves it for us.
15 Blow the trumpet in Zion, sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly: 16 Gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the children, and those that suck the breasts: let the bridegroom go forth of his chamber, and the bride out of her closet.
We are to gather for the Feasts – this is all Fall Feasts language, Blow a trumpet (T’ruah) sanctify the fast (Kippurim), call a solemn assembly (Sukkoth), etc. The fact that he tells us to do all this strongly implies that we are NOT.
17 Let the priests, the ministers of YHWH, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, Spare thy people, O YHWH, and give not thine heritage to reproach, that the heathen should rule over them: wherefore should they say among the people, Where is their Eloha?
Here, at the Feast, the priests practice the corporate repentance of Israel. For, once we’ve gone after other Elohas, only when we repent and seek his face by going Yah’s way will he hear our prayer and heal his land (2Chron.7.14).
18 Then will YHWH be jealous for his land, and pity his people. 19 Yea, YHWH will answer and say unto his people, Behold, I will send you corn, and wine, and oil, and ye shall be satisfied therewith: and I will no more make you a reproach among the heathen:
When we repent, He turns his face towards us, and begins to bless us by giving us favor in the earth. If we see that he has begun to bless us, we will continue to seek his face and then he will
20 But I will remove far off from you the northern army, and will drive him into a land barren and desolate, with his face toward the east sea, and his hinder part toward the utmost sea, and his stink shall come up, and his ill savour shall come up, because he hath done great things.
The northern army is described in a few verses. Remember that they came to execute YHWH’s word against us because we were sold in idolatry and adultery. The army did great things, he was rushing in the city and running on the walls. He was a great army. Now, he is in full retreat. All it took was our repentance and obedience. Here’s what happens when we truly repent and go after YHWH’s heart:
21 Fear not, O land; be glad and rejoice: for YHWH will do great things. 22 Be not afraid, ye beasts of the field: for the pastures of the wilderness do spring, for the tree beareth her fruit, the fig tree and the vine do yield their strength. 23 Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in YHWH your Eloha: for he hath given you the former rain moderately, and he will cause to come down for you the rain, the former rain, and the latter rain in the first. 24 And the floors shall be full of wheat, and the fats shall overflow with wine and oil.
All the curses are removed and the blessings flow. The heathen are in full retreat. When we are in fellowship with YHWH, there is NOTHING that can stand in our way, because HIS Way has become OUR way.
Next comes the description of the army that had carried out his word;
25 And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpiller, and the palmerworm, my great army which I sent among you.
Now think of Rev.9.
3 And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power. 4 And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of Eloha in their foreheads. 5 And to them it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months: and their torment was as the torment of a scorpion, when he striketh a man. 6 And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them. 7 And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle; and on their heads were as it were crowns like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men. 8 And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions. 9 And they had breastplates, as it were breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle. 10 And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails: and their power was to hurt men five months. 11 And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon.
We even get an idea of the time frame of the attack in Joel – from about Shavuoth to Yom Kippur in the year it comes, if I am seeing it right. Abaddon = destructive judgment – abad (אבד) = destruction, don (דנ)= judgment. Revelation adds some detail to the prophecy we’re looking at. It is demonically inspired men who bring the judgment against the people who are called by YHWH’s Name, but who have been taken in adultery and idolatry. It is only during such destruction at the hands of the very demons we have been idolizing that we see the truth that only YHWH is Elohim and we cry out for his deliverance. When Israel cries out to YHWH for deliverance, when she stops trusting in herself or in human allies, that she will cry out in anguish to their YHWH and he will hear them. We will say, “Hosheanu! Save us!” THEN he will respond with his Yeshua and we will answer, “Baruch haba b’Shem YHWH! Blessed is he who comes in the Name of YHWH!”
What follows that is the destruction of the Destroyer and Yeshua setting up his Kingdom in the city that was wasted by the Destroyer.
26 And ye shall eat in plenty, and be satisfied, and praise the name of YHWH your Eloha, that hath dealt wondrously with you: and my people shall never be ashamed. 27 And ye shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am YHWH your Eloha, and none else: and my people shall never be ashamed. 28 And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: 29 And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit. 30 And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. 31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of YHWH come. 32 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of YHWH shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as YHWH hath said, and in the remnant whom YHWH shall call.
This is definitely a Millennial blessing, for that is the first time that it will be able to be said of Yisrael that she will NEVER be ashamed.
Guess who we should be? Ps.47.
9 The princes of the people are gathered together, even the people of the Eloha of Abraham: for the shields of the earth belong unto Elohim: he is greatly exalted.
We SHOULD be the ‘magen haAretz’ – the shields of the earth. In this we fail.
So, all the destruction is coming on America and Abaddon is sitting in the seats of power because WE are guilty of idolatry, which is spiritual adultery (even if we haven’t committed it physically) and WE have not truly repented. Do you want to see the Universal Health Insurance Plan, the socialism that has affected every area of American life, the exponential decline of America’s societal value and values go up in smoke?
Repent. Turn from your own wicked ways, seek YHWH’s face and ask his forgiveness of your idolatry and adultery against him. THEN ask him to heal your land, and he will do it!
We closed in collective group prayer of repentance.
Shalom in Yeshua the Messiah,
Jocelin Boutet
Hebraic Heritage Ministries Int’l