The Book of Joel and The Laodicean Seventh-day Adventist Church - Number Fifteen

I contend that it is important to understand the connection of the symbol of four generations with the latter rain message to have the best hope of recognizing the significance of the opening four verses of Joel chapter one. Joel sings the song of the vineyard, but his opening stanza is the covenant’s prophetic association with four generations.

This passage is the prophecy that was fulfilled through the life of Moses. When the book of Joel begins the song of the vineyard by referencing four generations of escalating destruction, it is aligning the book of Joel with the prophetic fourth and final generation. That generation is Peter’s “chosen generation” who have been called out of darkness into His “marvelous light.” They are contrasted with their generational counterpart represented as a generation of vipers. That fourth and final generation is represented by John, who is a symbol of the one hundred and forty-four thousand, who “are called, and chosen, and faithful.”

Called at 9/11, chosen in the Midnight Cry and faithful at the Sunday law crisis, just as the Levites were faithful in Aarons and Jeroboams’ golden calf rebellions. The souls who are purified as silver in Malachi three, are Levites who are chosen during the message of the Midnight Cry, for the sealing is accomplished with, and by, an outpouring of the Holy Spirit.

In the previous article we brought out lines from the history of Moses, who Sister White identifies as the alpha of Bible prophecy, who prophetically connects with Christ as the omega of Bible prophecy. Moses is the foundation stone and Christ is the capstone. They both are symbols of deliverance from sin, as represented by the deliverance from Egypt with Moses. Yet all the manifestations of the power of God that occurred at the hands of Moses, were far surpassed, when Christ confirmed the covenant with many for one week. Moses is the alpha and Christ is the omega, and the omega is the number “22” and the alpha is the number “1.”

Dealing with Moses we find the deliverance which pervades his prophetic testimony is set within water. His deliverance from the water of the Nile at his birth, typified Noah in the ark. The baptism at the Red Sea aligns with Noah and the eight within the ark, which in turn aligns with the baptism of Joshua at the Jordan River, that was repeated by Christ at the very same spot. The testimony of Moses begins with deliverance at the Nile River and ends at the banks of the Jordan River. The baptism of Christ was His anointing to witness for three and a half years leading up to His death, which was represented at the beginning at His baptism. At His resurrection there was a few drops until the full outpouring at Pentecost.

God’s covenant promise to mankind begins with Noah, and His covenant promise to a chosen people through Abraham was fulfilled with Moses. Moses the alpha typified Jesus the omega who would come and confirm the covenant with “many,” not just a chosen people. As a type of Christ, Moses’ birth aligns with the covenant given to Noah, with the rainbow as the sign for all people. Moses also aligns with the covenant given to a chosen people, with circumcision as the sign for the chosen people. Moses’ covenant work was with “many,” not simply a chosen people. If that had not been the case, they would not have been constantly plagued by the mixed multitude.

In the middle of all the various ‘waters of deliverance’ represented throughout the life of Moses, the baptism at Bethabara on the Jordan River connects the beginning of ancient Israel’s covenant history in the Promised Land and with the end of its history, during the week that Christ confirmed the covenant with many. Christ’s baptism aligns with ancient Israel’s baptism and both histories speak to His resurrection when He breathed a few drops of rain, before the plentiful showers at Pentecost fifty days later. The entire line of alpha and omega in terms of Moses to Christ is portrayed within the waters of deliverance.

In the articles addressing the book of Joel, we have been “comparing the prophecies of the Old Testament with the history of the New,” and also the history of modern spiritual Israel. Whether it is the Old or New Testaments or the history of the three angels that began in 1798, all of those lines are represented as “the voice of Christ.” The written testimony of the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy is the voice of Christ, and the voice of Christ, is the voice of He who is the Word of God.

The “voice” of the Word of God, is God’s message as represented in His written Word. His message in the last days is the message of the latter rain, which includes a former rain, followed by a former and latter rain, according to Joel.

John the Revelator represents the one hundred and forty-four thousand who return to the old paths, for he hears a “voice” behind him. The “voice” behind is the voice of Christ “from the days of Adam” onward.

The verse represents a break in chapter one, for up until the previous verse John was in the isle which is called Patmos, but in verse twelve he turns, and from there on John is in the Heavenly Sanctuary. When he turns, he is doing so, for in verse ten he had heard a voice from behind.

John represents those who hear the voice of Christ behind them. He hears Jeremiah’s trumpet message to return to the old paths, the paths the wicked refused to walk in and the warning trumpet they refuse to listen to. John listened, and the voice behind him identified himself as Alpha and Omega—the One who illustrates the new path, with the old path.

In verse twelve John turns around and sees a vision of Christ which Sister White aligns with the vision of Christ that Daniel had, which is the vision Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Paul had.

The vision we are considering includes the description of Christ’s voice. When John turns and hears Christ’s voice, it is as the sound of “many waters.” When Christ’s voice speaks of His covenant with men or with a chosen people it is associated with many waters. The message of Daniel seven through nine was unsealed in 1798, and then, in 1989 the message of Daniel ten through twelve was unsealed. 1798 is associated with the voice of the Ulai River and 1989 is the voice of the Hiddekel River.

The River Jordan is the link between the alpha covenant history and the omega covenant history of ancient Israel. The word Jordan means ‘descender’ and represents Christ ‘the great descender.’

The Jordan River represents Christ ‘the great descender’ and the Jordan is the connection between the alpha and omega history of the chosen people of God, who were given a vineyard to maintain. Moses’ waters of deliverance represent the voice of Christ, that can be heard if a soul would but turn around, to hear ‘the voice behind them,’ and the voice they would then hear is—the voice of many waters. From the flood of Noah to the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD, waters of deliverance are set forth as waymarks for God’s covenant people. Those waymarks represent the internal history of God’s final covenant people, the one hundred and forty-four thousand. The water that supplies the Jordan River originates in the dew and snow that accumulates in the Hermon mountains, which form the head waters of the Jordan River.

Those waters also produce the grotto of Pan, a deep pool, set within a cave located in Panium of Daniel 11:13–15, and Caesarea Philippi in the days of Peter. The head waters of the Jordan River also produce the satanic pool of the grotto of Pan. The voice of many waters identifies that the great controversy between Christ and Satan originated in the high mountain peaks of the Hermon mountains.

The name “Hermon” means “sacred, consecrated, devoted, or set apart,” and is a symbol of Heaven, the source of all water and the beginning of the great controversy as represented by “the gates of hell,” which was the label Jesus attached to the grotto of Pan, when at Caesarea Philippi. In that setting Simon Barjona was changed to Peter. Simon means ‘one who hears,’ and Barjona means ‘son of the dove.’ Simon was a symbol of the soul who heard the message of Jesus baptism that was represented by the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove. As one who heard the message of Christ’s baptism is changed in Peter representing 144,000. Peter was sealed while at Panium, which is verses thirteen through fifteen of Daniel eleven.

From Hermon’s waters, the Jordan river, a symbol of Christ—the great descender concludes His journey at the Dead Sea. From Heaven, where the dew of life originates, Christ descended to the death of the cross, represented by the Dead Sea. The Dead Sea shoreline is the deepest exposed surface land on earth. The Jordon river that descends, descends to the lowest water level on earth, as Christ descended to His death on the cross. From the water of life to the water of death, the River Jordan represents the descent of Christ from heaven to the cross.

Important themes of Bible prophecy are associated with water, and Bible prophecy is the voice of Christ, which is a voice of many waters. The whore of Babylon is seated upon many waters, and the waters of the Euphrates are dried up to prepare the way of the kings of the east, and the merchants and kings stand a far off and lament for the ships of Tarshish are destroyed in the midst of the seas, and the covenant of death that the drunkards of Ephraim accepted when the hid themselves under lies, is disannulled by the overwhelming flood of the papal Sunday law.

When Sister White references the “great rivers of Shinar,” she is addressing the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. Those waters can be traced back to the Garden of Eden where they are the third and fourth river to come out of Eden.

The Hiddekel is the Tigris, and of course, the Euphrates was the Euphrates, though modern historians and theologians disagree. They insist that the Ulai was not a great river, but simply a man-made aqueduct in Persia, not Shinar. Those same human authorities identify that the only two rivers of any note that are associated with Shinar, were the Tigris and Euphrates, and the prophetess states that the Ulai and the Hiddekel were “the great rivers of Shinar.”

The prophetess words on the message of water opposes the modern experts, as did the ancient experts—who opposed Noah’s message of water. We are informed that the two visions represented by the two rivers are in the process of fulfillment, and therefore, everything represented within those two visions that were given by “the two great rivers of Shinar,” will soon come to pass. The message associated with those rivers is the voice of Christ, for His voice is as many waters. The Tigris and Euphrates represent a major prophetic theme, and their testimony is related to the covenant that the alpha Moses set forth, which is the same covenant that the omega Christ confirmed.

In prophecy the Tigris represents Assyria and the Euphrates is Babylon. In this relation they are the two powers, represented as lions by Jeremiah who would carry first the northern kingdom and thereafter the southern kingdom into captivity.

Both Assyria and Babylon were northern enemies in relation to either kingdom of Israel, and are therefore types of the counterfeit king of the north—the papal power. Essentially the same political and religious traditions were carried out by the two powers that arose from the same cultural setting, but Assyria’s political structure emphasized statecraft, whereas; Babylon emphasized churchcraft, though very similar. Pagan Rome and papal Rome at some levels are identical, but still, pagan Rome represents statecraft and papal Rome churchcraft. Assyria, in prophetic relation to Babylon was a kingdom of statecraft, followed by Babylon a similar power that emphasized churchcraft. Assyria represented pagan Rome and Babylon represents papal Rome. All four of these powers trampled down God’s sanctuary and host. Assyria is associated with the Tigris and Babylon the Euphrates. This is in agreement with the drying up of the Euphrates in the book of Revelation, to prepare the way for the kings of the east as typified by the work of Cyrus in diverting the Euphrates to bring down Babylon. Babylon is the Euphrates; Assyria is the Tigris.

The king of the north in prophecy conquers the world during the Sunday law crisis and thereafter falls, but the conquering is often represented as an overwhelming flood. The story of the king of the north, as represented by Assyria and Babylon, is symbolized by rivers for the story is told by the voice of many waters.

The land between the two rivers is called Mesopotamia, which means ‘the land between two rivers.’ The two rivers represent the northern power which God employs to chastise His apostate people by scattering them into captivity. One of the tributary streams of the voice of many waters is found in the name “Padanaram,” which is referenced only ten times in the Scriptures. The first mention is in association with the covenant, for it identifies the blood roots of Rebekah, the wife of Isaac. The verse says:

The end of forty years has been shown upon the three witnesses of Moses to lead to Kadesh, 1863 and the Sunday law. The marriage of Isaac is a covenant marriage typifying the marriage of Christ to the one hundred and forty-four thousand at the Sunday law, which is 1863, which is Kadesh, which is the end of a forty-year covenant history. Rebekah was a daughter of a Syrian and the sister of Laban a Syrian, (who in the next generation of covenant history, broke a covenant with Isaac’s son Jacob.)

Bethuel means ‘house of desolation or desolator,’ so Rebekah was the daughter of “the house of the desolator.’ Syria means highland and plateau, and Padanaram means Mesopotamia, or the land between. Rebekah was from the bloodline of Syrians who came from Mesopotamia the highland between ‘the Tigris of Assyria’ and ‘the Euphrates of Babylon,’ who represent the lions which the Lord used to scatter his apostate sheep. The house of the desolators was joined with the house of God in the marriage of Isaac and Rebekah. It is not an accident that in the first mention of Padanaram, these two rivers representing the prophetic king of the north who is represented as an overflowing flood is first mention in Genesis 25:20.

The connection of the house of desolation with God’s covenant people continues when Jacob flees from Esau, and ends up at his uncle Laban’s and there serves two periods’ of 2520 days in order to secure the next covenant marriage. One marriage ends with the scattering of the northern kingdom of Israel and the other marriage ends with the scattering of the southern kingdom. When those two kingdoms respective period of scattering ended in 1798 and 1844, the marriage that Jacob labored to accomplish over two periods of 2520 was fulfilled, as the bridegroom came to the marriage on October 22, 1844.

Did Christ then marry Leah, which means ‘weary and tired,’ or did He marry Rachel, which means ‘a good traveler?’ Leah and Rachel represent two classes of travelling virgins, one virgin who ‘grows weary’ and one virgin who ‘travels well’ on the path to marry Jacob on October 22, 1844.

In 1844, the Philadelphian Millerite movement went into the marriage. The marriage of October 22, 1844 separated two classes of worshippers represented by Rachel and Leah. Rachel, represents a class who had successfully travelled on the path to the marriage of October 22, 1844, but Leah’s class grew weary. They were then separated and the testing process of the third angel began, right where the testing-process of the Midnight Cry concluded.

The marriage had commenced and it was to thereafter to be consummated and tested. The marriage was consummated in 1846, and the testing process of the third angel began. In 1849 and 1850 the Lord was stretching out His hand a second time to gather His remnant. The second table of Habakkuk was then placed into history, as typified by the second sets of Commandments. After Moses broke the first set, the second set of tables were set forth. The 1850 chart replaced the 1843, and in 1850, the testing of ancient Israel as God’s new covenant bride continued towards Kadesh and 1863.

In 1856, more water from the two rivers came through the pen of Hiram Edson. The light upon the “seven times” which came through Edson’s pen, was the light represented by the two rivers that began their prophetic testimony at the Garden of Eden. The Garden of Eden is a symbol of mankind’s rebellion against God’s law, and is where the waters of the Ulai and Hiddekel rivers begin their journey. They travel through covenant history, for that Garden, the symbol of rebellion, is also where a lamb was slain to provide clothes to replace the fig leaves upon Adam and Eve. Covenant history begins with the covenant of life between Adam and God. That covenant symbolized by the tree of life, led to the broken covenant by Adam and Eve, that initiated a new covenant of life, when the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world provided clothing for the naked and lost pair. The two rivers which flow from that Garden ultimately become the symbols of the powers God employs as His rod of chastisement.

Those two rivers flowed out of Eden into the lineage of Rebekah and her covenant marriage to Isaac, and onward to Jacob, where the water of the two rivers is represented as two distinct periods of seven times. Then, the same two rivers flow through the last six chapters of Daniel, where three chapters are represented by each river. One river represents the increase of knowledge which was unsealed in chapters seven, eight and nine and the other river represents the increase of knowledge which was unsealed in chapters ten, eleven and twelve.

Chapters seven, eight and nine are represented as the vision of the Ulai and Christ is portrayed in a similar way in chapters ten, eleven and twelve. In both river visions, represented by three chapters—Christ is represented as standing upon the water.

The vision of Christ in chapter ten is similar to the vision John witnessed in Revelation chapter one, and in Daniel’s vision of chapter eight Palmoni is upon the waters, as He was in chapter twelve, where He was clothed in linen.

In the Hiddekel vision of Christ in chapter ten Christ is upon the water and clothed in linen and in the Ulai vision He is upon the water. The vision of Revelation one aligns with the vision presented in the Ulai and Hiddekel visions, where Sister White identifies that it is “no less a personage than the Son of God.” When she identifies the angel of Revelation ten she states the angel was “no less a personage than Jesus Christ.” The angel in Revelation ten lifts up His hand to heaven and swears by Him that liveth forever and ever, connected with the vision of Christ in chapter twelve who lifts up both His hand to heaven and swears by Him that liveth forever and ever. In Revelation ten He is upon both the water and land.

What exists “between the banks” of a river is water, and Daniel heard “a man’s voice between the banks,” so the voice came from the man upon the water, and the voice was the sound of the waters of the Ulai river.

The great rivers of Shinar as Sister White identifies them, are both attached to a vision where Christ is upon the water speaking, for His voice is as the sound of many waters. In both visions the question of “how long” is asked. Both rivers are also represented in Daniel’s ‘question and answer’ of chapter eight, which is the central pillar and foundation of Adventism. There, the two rivers are symbols of the “seven times” of scattering and trampling down of both the sanctuary and the host. The two rivers fulfill their role as God’s rod of chastisement, only to thereafter flow into the Millerite history of the first angel, where William Miller discovered his first prophetic jewel, which was the line of the “seven times” in Leviticus twenty-six. The two rivers represent the two scatterings of 2520 years, which were accomplished by the two lions of Assyria and Babylon, who are represented by the Tigris and Euphrates, and of course by Leah and Rachel, nieces of Rebekah, whose covenant marriage occurred when Isaac was forty years old, as recorded in Genesis 2520.

Miller only presented the scattering of “seven times” against the southern kingdom of Judah, which was fulfilled with the 2300-year prophecy in 1844. In 1856, the “new wine” of the “seven times” identified the same scattering upon the northern kingdom ending in 1798. As the first prophetic discovery of William Miller, the water of the river Euphrates arrived as the alpha doctrine in the history of the first angel. The water of the Ulai river arrived with the third angel. The alpha discovery of Miller was the seven times represented by the river Ulai and the omega discovery of Hiram Edson was the seven times represented by the Hiddekel river.

The 2520 represents the length of the period that is the same for each kingdom, but that begins and ends forty-six years apart. 1798 marks the time of the end and the arrival of the first angel of Revelation fourteen. 1798 is the fulfillment of the 2520 years of scattering brought upon the northern kingdom by the lion of Assyria. 1844 is the fulfillment of the “seven times” brought upon the southern kingdom and is represented by the lion of Babylon. The two rivers are the bookends for the history of the first and second angels’ messages that ended with the arrival of the third on October 22, 1844, when both the seventh trumpet and also the jubilee trumpet were sounded on the antitypical Day of Atonement.

The sounding of the seventh trumpet is a symbol of Christ’s work in combining His Divinity with humanity, and is represented by the 2300 years of the Ulai River vision, and the sounding of the jubilee trumpet is a symbol of the covenant of the land that was broken and brought upon God’s people, what Daniel called the curse and oath of Moses, and what Moses called the “quarrel of God’s covenant.”

The “curse” and the “oath” written of “in the law of Moses” is the “seven times” of Leviticus twenty-six. The word translated as “oath” is the same Hebrew word that in Leviticus is translated as “seven times.” The curse, for breaking the oath of the covenant in chapter twenty-five, is set forth in chapter twenty-six, where Moses identifies the curse as the “quarrel of the covenant.”

The Lord brought the sword of the lion of Assyria upon the northern kingdom to “punish” them by delivering them into “the hand of the enemy,” in 723 BC. Forty-six years later in 677 BC, the southern kingdom felt the curse of Moses. The curse of Moses is the quarrel of the covenant. For forty-six years the lions of Mesopotamia were employed by God to remove and trample down the host. At the end of that period of forty-six years Nebuchadnezzar destroyed the sanctuary. The host of Daniel’s question in verse thirteen of Daniel eight was enslaved by their enemies over a forty-six-year period that culminated with the destruction of the sanctuary, which was the other subject that was to be trampled down in verse thirteen. When those rivers reached 1798 and 1844 respectably, a host had been gathered together as a temple, for the host is a body, and the body is a temple. At the end of that period the temple erected over the forty-six years was to join with the heavenly temple in the marriage of Divinity with humanity. Marriage is between two temples, and what God joins together is not to be apart.

The water of the Tigris came to 1798 and the water of the Euphrates came to 1844. Just before the arrival of the third angel, the second angel arrived, and thereafter at the Exeter, New Hampshire camp meeting on August 12–17, 1844, the message of the Midnight Cry was poured out. Exeter means “a water fortress,” and at the camp meeting, there was a counterfeit meeting held in a different tent, set up by a group from Watertown, Massachusetts. The waters that originated in Eden, according to Sister White, were about to be dispersed as “a tidal wave” across the eastern seaboard of the United States. The earthquake which triggered that tidal wave occurred in the Garden of Eden when Satan conquered mankind, causing a seismic upheaval in Eden whose waves reached the Midnight Cry of the Millerite history. That tidal wave floods into the Midnight Cry in the history of the one hundred and forty-four thousand, and the wave that began at the earthquake of Adam’s sin reaches to the earthquake of the Sunday law of Revelation chapter eleven.

The voice of Christ is the voice of many waters, and the waters combined make up the message of the latter rain. Isaiah and his son Shearjashub are standing in verse three of chapter seven at the pool from the upper conduit, presenting the latter rain message in the sealing time of the one hundred and forty-four thousand. There Isaiah’s pronouncement upon the foolish and wicked king Ahaz is that the Lord would send upon Ahaz the waters of Assyria, king Sennacherib and his water would flow up to the neck.

Ahaz refused the waters that were ‘sent’ by the Lord, so the Lord ‘sent’ the waters of Assyria to Ahaz. Ahaz “rejoiced” in the confederacy of “Rezin and Remaliah’s son.” Ahaz “rejoices” in a counterfeit latter rain message represented by Rezin and Remaliah’s son.

Rezin and the son of Remaliah, who is Pekah, king of the northern kingdom, represent a counterfeit of Isaiah and his son. The foolish and wicked king Ahaz “rejoices” in the confederacy represented by the ten northern tribes of Israel and Syria, typifying the unlawful relationship of church and state at the Sunday law. Ahaz rejoices, for shame and joy are the two opposites emotions that are employed by inspiration to address those who are represented in the debate of the latter rain. When Jeremiah ate the little book it was the joy and rejoicing of his heart, and Joel informs us God’s people will never be ashamed. Ahaz, as a Laodicean is blind, so he is rejoicing in the false water message and rejecting Isaiah’s true water message. He should be ashamed for trusting in the counterfeit latter rain message represented by the flood of the king of the north, but he has rejected the message of Shiloah.

The message of Shiloah in Isaiah eight is the message of the latter rain. The pool of Shiloah is identified in the New Testament as the pool of Siloam. In Hebrew or Greek it means “sent.” It was expedient for Christ to leave that He might “send” the Holy Spirit. Isaiah and Ahaz are at the pool of Shiloah, and the test is based upon whether to have faith in the pool Shiloah as represented by Isaiah and his son, or faith in Rezin and Remaliah’s son? Ahaz is choosing between two waters, the waters of Shiloah or the waters of the King of Assyria. Ahaz rejoiced in the alliance and message represented by Rezin and Remaliah’s son and he therefore received the flood of desolation, instead of the water that runs softly at his judgment. His judgment represents the Sunday law when the king of the north overflows the entire world like a flood. It does so from the Sunday law onward, when the flood of the Midnight Cry is also sweeping the world.

Ahaz rejoices in the alliance of the ten northern tribes and Syria, and thus rejoices in the message that combines church and state, as represented by every unlawful alliance found within God’s Word. Isaiah represents a Philadelphian and Ahaz a Laodicean. Christ connects Isaiah’s testimony with His own when He cures the blind man, a Laodicean at the pool of Siloam.

The blind man along with the foolish and wicked king Ahaz are tested as to whether to place their confidence in the pool of Siloam or the flood of Assyria. The blind man knows he is blind, but Ahaz is rich, increased with goods and in need of nothing. Ahaz is the foolish virgin at the pool of the latter rain, and the blind man a wise virgin. The waters that are Sent from, or the waters that are sent from Assyria are the test.

A pool is where water is gathered together, and prophetically a pool is where the various streams, rivers, creeks, seas, oceans, lakes, rain and dew of all the “waters” which represent the voice of Christ are gathered together. The pool of the latter rain is formed by the water which flows from the upper pool. The pool represents the message of the latter rain in the context of a test. Ahaz rejected the waters that flow softly, but the blind man was obedient to the message connected with the pool. Jesus took some of His Divinity, represented as “spit” and combined it with clay, representing the combination of Divinity with humanity that is accomplished by Christ in the Most Holy Place.

Christ spat on the ground and mixed His spit to form clay. He used the message of the combination of Divinity and humanity to anoint the eyes of the blind man. The message represented by the combination of Divinity and humanity is the message of 1888, and it is designed to transform a person from the condition of Laodicea unto the condition of Philadelphia. But the message requires human participation. They must go to the pool, then wash.

All have sinned and come short of the glory of God, but Jesus said the blind man and his parents had not sinned. Jesus is removing the question of blame from the blind man’s condition, and identifies him as a man that was raised up to glorify the Lord, and the prophetic man in Bible prophecy that is raised up for the purpose that “the works of God should be made manifest” are the ensign, which is made up of men and women who have transitioned from Laodicea to Philadelphia. The ensign is where the works of God are manifested, for His work was to combine Divinity with humanity (as represented by the ointment of clay), and the trophies of that work are those who not only heard the Laodicean message, but those who followed the prescription in the message. The prescription for the blind man was to go and wash. Once he could see he did not need to try and glorify God, the circumstances surrounding him made that happen.

It began with Christ’s approach, followed by Christ’s work. The last work of Christ in the Heavenly sanctuary in relation to man is to transform a human being from a valley of dead dry bones, or from being dead in the streets or from being blind as a bat. His last work is to recreate His people into His image, and that is the very work He did when He created Adam out of the dust of the ground, then breathed into him the breath of life. The last work is the first work, for He first made the clay and then anointed that clay with the life of His Spirit. With Adam the Spirit was His breath, with the blind man it was the water. With Ezekiel’s valley of dead bones it was a gathering message which created the body. Then a message of the four winds was breathed upon the body, and then it stood up as an mighty army.

While the blind man was yet blind, Jesus saw Him and then approached him. He approaches the blind man within the context of a question that was raised by His disciples, thus allowing Him to establish the proper prophetic setting for the illustration. The “works of God” are a prophetic symbol upon many various lines of witnesses in the Bible. Every manifestation of the “works of God” in the Scriptures is fulfilled in the time of the latter rain. Jesus is placing the context of the story in terms of the final message, as represented by Elijah in the last verses of Malachi.

The parents and the blind child are not condemned as sinners, for this is the time of God’s marvelous works, and in that time the hearts of the parents and the hearts of the children will get turned to see the issue at hand. The issue being—whether the blind Laodicean man has been changed into a anointed Philadelphian man. That is the issue that confronts the parents and the child in the time of the latter rain, for that is also the time of judgment. And the time of judgment is carried out during the third and fourth generations according to Abraham’s covenant prophecy. The blind man is the last and fourth generation, and his parents are the third. In that period the Elijah message places families into circumstances where they are forced to accept or reject the message of the pool of Siloam. The foolish and wicked king Ahaz rejected the message of that pool, but the blind man accepted. The Elijah message of Malachi is set in the context of a curse before the great and terrible day of the Lord.

When Jesus organized the setting we are considering, He included in His summary of the purpose of the miracle was that He must work then, for a time will come when no man can work. The work He referred to takes place in the daylight, and the end of work is represented as night. His reference is to the close of probation.

When He finishes His work of judgment, he takes off His priestly garments and puts on His garments of vengeance. When He finishes that work of separating the lost from the saved, the work of salvation ends. Probation is closed and it is now nighttime when no man can work. Christ’s message was not only the Laodicean message to a blind man, but it was the Elijah message set within the context of the nearness of the close of probation, which is Christ’s sanctified motivation to work for the saving of souls.

First Christ approached the blind man, then prepared and applied the ointment, then gave instructions for a work that the blind man must do for himself, and just as importantly is that as he takes up the work his sight is restored. Once he has sight he has transformed from a blind Laodicean into a Philadelphian. The transformation period of those two churches was fulfilled in the beginning from 1856 unto 1863.

That period represents the separation of the wheat and tares, and the final sealing of the one hundred and forty-four thousand who are thereafter lifted up as an ensign. The blind man immediately became the public focus—once he changed from a Laodicean unto a Philadelphian. The blind man is the one hundred and forty-four thousand and the wicked and foolish king Ahaz are the former covenant people who are spewed out of the mouth of the Lord. At the same point in history, Jesus is either using his spit to anoint His new covenant people, or He is spitting the old covenant people out of His mouth.

We will continue these thoughts in the next article.