When Moses was 80 years old and tending to his father-in-law’s sheep on the backside of the desert, he came to Mount Horeb (also known as Sinai), the mountain of God, and saw a great sight. He saw a burning bush that was not consumed by the fire. “And the Angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. And when the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I” (Exodus 3:2-3).
This is the 7th time the “Angel of the Lord” is mentioned in the Bible. Moses was the 3rd recipient of a message from the “Angel (Messenger) of the LORD.” The first time was when Hagar ran away from Abram and Sarai, and the Angel of the Lord found her in the desert. The Angel of the Lord told her to return to her masters and submit to them. The second time was when the Angel of the LORD called out to Abraham from heaven to stay his hand and not sacrifice Isaac on the altar after Abraham had passed God’s faith test.
Incidentally, after the Angel of the LORD called out to Moses from the burning bush, he responded with the same words Abraham did when the Angel called out to him from heaven approximately 400 years earlier. They both responded with, “Here I am.” The Angel of the LORD then told Moses to take off his sandals, for the place where he was standing was holy ground. This is a verification that the Angel of the Lord is God. He is the pre-incarnate Jesus Christ (a Christophany), also known as the Word. The voice from the bush told Moses, “I am the God of your father—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look upon God” (Exodus 3:6).
God told Moses that He had heard the cries of the children of Israel as they were being oppressed in Egypt. He likewise told Moses He was sending him to Pharoah “to bring My people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.” He also told Moses, “When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain” (Exodus 3:12). Moses then asked God, “Indeed, when I come to the children of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they say to me, ‘What is His name?’ what shall I say to them?” (Exodus 3:13).
“And God said to Moses, ‘I AM WHO I AM.’ And He said, ‘Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, I AM has sent me to you.’ Moreover, God said to Moses, ‘Thus you shall say to the children of Israel: “The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you. This is My name forever, and this is My memorial to all generations” (Exodus 3:14-15). Interestingly, this name of God, “I AM,” (אֶֽהְיֶ֖ה) has a Hebrew gematria of 21 (or 3 x 7). Of course, you know the number 3 represents divine perfection, and the number 7 represents spiritual perfection in the Bible. The great I AM is perfect in every aspect.
Moses’ first encounter with Pharaoh didn’t end well, as the Egyptian ruler made the Hebrews work even more laborious after Moses delivered God’s message to him. Moses questioned God about this, and God told Moses that Pharaoh would indeed let His people go. God spoke to Moses and said, “I am the Lord. I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as God Almighty, but by My name LORD I was not known to them” (Exodus 6:3). The English word LORD is a substitute word for the Hebrew name of God, YWHW (Yahweh or Jehovah). The KJV uses the word “Jehovah” instead of LORD in this verse.
God introduced Himself to Abraham as “Almighty (Shaddai) God (El) in Genesis 17:1. This was when Abraham was 99 years old and God gave him the sign of the covenant (circumcision). He also changed Abram’s name to Abraham and Sarai’s name to Sarah at this time. In Genesis 28:3, Isaac blessed Jacob by God’s name of El Shaddai. In Genesis 35:10-11, God changed Jacob’s name to Israel and told him, “I am El Shaddai.” Israel called God El Shaddai to ten of his sons in Genesis 43:14 and Joseph (and his two sons) in Genesis 48:3. It appears God wanted Moses to call him by the name LORD (YHWH/Yahweh).
It took ten plagues from the LORD before the Pharaoh of Egypt relented and allowed the children of Israel to leave Egypt. The 10th plague was the one that finally did it, as it involved Egyptian death on a massive scale. 10 is the number for ordinal perfection. “And it came to pass at midnight that the Lord struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the captive who was in the dungeon, and all the firstborn of livestock. So Pharaoh rose in the night, he, all his servants, and all the Egyptians; and there was a great cry in Egypt, for there was not a house where there was not one dead” (Exodus 12:29-30).
The Angel of the LORD did not strike the Hebrew’s firstborn, for they followed Moses’ (and the LORD’s) instructions regarding killing (and then eating) a lamb and taking some of the blood from the animal and placing it on the doorposts and lintel of their houses. “For I will pass through the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the LORD. Now the blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you; and the plague shall not be on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt” (Exodus 12:12-13).
As Christians, we know the sacrificial lamb’s blood which highlighted a cross on the doors of the Hebrew’s homes was a harbinger of Christ’s blood that was shed on the cross approximately one and a half millennia later. By believing in Jesus’s blood as the once and for all atonement for sin, the second death will “pass over” all believers, and you will have eternal life.
In remembrance of the 10th plague, the destruction of the firstborn of Egypt (both of man and beast), and the deliverance of the children of Israel out of bondage, the firstborn males of the Israelites were consecrated or set apart for the LORD. “Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Consecrate to Me all the firstborn, whatever opens the womb among the children of Israel, both of man and beast; it is Mine'” (Exodus 13:1).
God claimed the firstborn males of Israel and also the firstborn of their beasts as His own for having saved them during the Passover plague in Egypt. The clean beasts became His by sacrifice, but the unclean ones could not be treated similarly. They had to be “redeemed” by the sacrifice of clean animals in their place. The firstborn of all Israelite men were initially claimed for the sacred ministrations of the priestly office to come.
The children of Israel left Egypt on Nisan 15, 1446 BC and came to Mt. Sinai in the third month of Sivan. They stayed at Sinai for about a year before moving on further into the wilderness. Many events transpired there, both good and bad. The LORD came down Mt. Sinai in fire and smoke, which terrified the children of Israel. Moses went up the mountain and received the statutes of the Law and the 10 Commandments.
The tribes of Israel rebelled against the LORD and made a golden idol in the form of a molded calf. Moses and Joshua were up on the mountain at the time, and God told Moses to get down to the camp, for the people had corrupted themselves. When Moses saw what was going on, “his anger became hot, and he cast the tablets out of his hands and broke them at the foot of the mountain. Then he took the calf which they had made, burned it in the fire, and ground it to powder; and he scattered it on the water and made the children of Israel drink it” (Exodus 32:19-20).
“Then Moses stood in the entrance of the camp and said, ‘Whoever is on the Lord’s side—come to me!’ And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together to him. And he said to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God of Israel: Let every man put his sword on his side, and go in and out from entrance to entrance throughout the camp, and let every man kill his brother, every man his companion, and every man his neighbor.’ So the sons of Levi did according to the word of Moses. And about three thousand men of the people fell that day” (Exodus 32:26-28).
Moses had to make atonement for the children of Israel, for the LORD was going to kill the people for their disobedience and rebellion against Him (for disobeying the 1st and 2nd Commandments which had just been given to them). Moses even told the LORD if He didn’t forgive their sin then blot out his (Moses) name from the Book of Life (Exodus 32:32). Moses was successful in persuading God not to kill the children of Israel; however, they were punished for their sins.
After this, Moses met with the LORD after cutting two tablets of stone like the first ones so a new set of 10 Commandments could be made. “Now the Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord” (Exodus 34:5). “And the LORD passed before him and proclaimed, ‘The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children’s children to the third and the fourth generation'” (Exodus 34:6-7).
This name of God is quite different than the two-word name, I Am, that God gave Moses at the burning bush. This is a 32-word name in Hebrew. Just as God’s name, “I Am that I Am,” is twofold, so God has another twofold name, “The LORD, the LORD,” at the start of this 32-word name, and then followed by God, merciful and gracious… I believe this twofold LORD is referring to God the Father and God the Son. In John 10:30, Jesus says, “I and my Father are one.” In John 14:9, Jesus tells Phillip, “He that has seen me has seen the Father.”
The two verses of Exodus 34:6-7, which contain the 32-word name for God, have a gematria of 6734 (or 37 x 13 x 7 x 2). Did you catch that? The number 6734 is the reverse for the chapter and two verses in Exodus 34:6-7 (3467)! That’s quite a coincidence. For the significance of gematria in the Old Testament and the numbers 37 and 73, see I AM, the Great Mathematician :: By Randy Nettles – Rapture Ready.
Regarding the golden calf incident, for their act of obedience and faithfulness, the Levites were chosen over the other tribes of Israel for service in the Tabernacle (and later the two Temples in Jerusalem) and to make atonement for the children of Israel. The firstborn of all 12 tribes of Israel were originally designated to be used for this work, but now the Levite males from 25 to 50 years of age would be used instead (Numbers 8:24-25).
In the Torah, God gave His people the Law – a set of commands, statutes, and rituals – to set them apart and help them understand His holiness. One unique ritual was the “wave offering” (Hebrew: tenufah). This was a special sacrificial offering, either of animals or grain, in which a portion of the sacrifice was waved or elevated before the Lord and then released by God for the use of those involved in the sacrifice. The meat and grain fed the families of the priests. It was used on several sacred occasions, including consecrations, purification rituals, peace offerings, and trespass offerings. This wave action represented a presentation of the sacrificial offerings to Jehovah. Whatever was being waved was set apart for use to the LORD.
The cleansing and dedication of the Levites are recorded in Numbers 8:5-26. This event occurred on Nisan 13, 1445 BC, the day before the second Passover. See The Wave Offering Before the Lord :: By Randy Nettles – Rapture Ready for details. “And you shall bring the Levites before the tabernacle of meeting, and you shall gather together the whole congregation of the children of Israel. So you shall bring the Levites before the Lord, and the children of Israel shall lay their hands on the Levites; and Aaron shall offer the Levites before the Lord like a wave offering from the children of Israel, that they may perform the work of the Lord” (Numbers 8:9-11).
Four times in Numbers 8, the Levites are said to be “like a wave offering” to the Lord (NKJV). This is the first time in the Bible that a wave offering would be in the form of people. “And you shall stand the Levites before Aaron and his sons, and then offer them like a wave offering to the Lord. Thus you shall separate the Levites from among the children of Israel, and the Levites shall be Mine. After that, the Levites shall go in to service the tabernacle of meeting. So you shall cleanse them and offer them like a wave offering” (Numbers 8:13-15).
“For they are wholly given to Me from among the children of Israel; I have taken them for Myself instead of all who open the womb, the firstborn of all the children of Israel. For all the firstborn among the children of Israel are Mine, both man and beast; on the day that I struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt I sanctified them to Myself. I have taken the Levites instead of all the firstborn of the children of Israel. And I have given the Levites as a gift to Aaron and his sons from among the children of Israel, to do the work for the children of Israel in the tabernacle of meeting, and to make atonement for the children of Israel, that there be no plague among the children of Israel when the children of Israel come near the sanctuary” (Numbers 8:16-19).
The firstborn males of the twelve tribes of Israel had been redeemed (and replaced) from sacrificial service in the Tabernacle of the congregation (and later the two Temples of Israel) by the sons of Levi. The kings of Israel may have come from the tribe of Judah, but the high priest and the priestly caste came from the tribe of Levi.
On the next day, Nisan 14, 1445 BC, the 2nd Passover was observed (Numbers 9:3). It was celebrated on Mt. Sinai. On the first day of the second month, Iyyar 1, 1445 BC, Moses initiated the first census of Israel of every male individual, from twenty years old and above—all who were able to go to war (Numbers 1).
Every tribe was counted except for the Levites, for they would not go to war but would be solely responsible for the Tabernacle of the Testimony, as described in Numbers 1:50-53. They would serve the high priest, Aaron, and his sons, and the needs of the children of Israel to do the work of the Tabernacle.
Later, however, the Levites were counted in Numbers 3:14-39. Every male from a month old and above was counted. The count was 22,000 males. It’s interesting that the LORD also had Moses count all the firstborn from a month old and above among the children of Israel (the other 11 tribes). The count was 22,273 males. This is only a difference of 273 males in favor of the 11 tribes.
For this discrepancy, the LORD told Moses, “For the redemption of the two hundred and seventy-three of the firstborn of the children of Israel, who are more than the number of the Levites, you shall take five shekels for each one individually; you shall take them in the currency of the shekel of the sanctuary, the shekel of twenty gerahs. And you shall give the money, with which the excess number of them is redeemed, to Aaron and his sons” (Numbers 3:44-48). The total amount of redemption money the children of Israel (11 tribes) had to pay was 1,365 shekels.
The firstborn of the eleven tribes of Israel had been redeemed from sacrificial service in the Tabernacle (and later the two Temples of Israel) by the Levites. Then the cloud lifted, and the march from Sinai began on the twentieth day of the second month (Numbers 10:11). Approximately 38 years and 11 months later, on Nisan 10, 1406 BC, the children of Israel would cross the Jordan River and enter the Promised Land of Canaan.
Next year, on Nisan 10 (April 8), 2025 AD, it will have been 3,430 years since the children of Israel entered the Promised Land of Canaan on Nisan 10, 1406 BC. That is 49 generations of Jews if you count a generation as 70 years. It is 490 Shemitah weeks or 70 Jubilees if you count 1406 BC as the start of the first Shemitah week and it runs continuously without stopping, even when the Jews are not in the land (or restarting when they are back in the land). Will something biblically significant occur during the year 2025-2026? We’ll see soon enough if we haven’t been raptured by then.
Let’s back up a moment and take a look at the waving of the Levite priests that occurred on Nisan 13, 1445 BC at Mt. Sinai, and look at the time that has elapsed since then. If the Tribulation (Daniel’s 70th week) were to start in 2026 (see Shavuot, Pentecost, and the Rapture :: By Randy Nettles – Rapture Ready) by a confirming of the covenant (as per Daniel 9:27) and the appearance of the conqueror (as per the first Seal judgment in Revelation 6:2), then it would probably take a few more years before the events that transpire with the opening of the 6th Seal judgment of Revelation 6:12-17 to occur. The sealing of the 144,000 Jews of Revelation 7 occurs immediately after the 6th Seal judgment and before the 7th Seal judgment is opened. The 7th Seal judgment opens the seven Trumpet judgments.
In 2028 AD (Nisan 13/April 8), it will have been 3,472 years (or 496 sevens) since the wave offering of the Levites in 1445 BC. I believe that the waving of the Levite priests in 1445 BC and the sealing of the 144,000 sons of Israel in (possibly) 2028 AD, separated by nearly 3.5 millennia, are biblically connected regarding the sons of Israel. The date for 2028 would align chronologically with the following hypothesis that I wrote about in The Spirit of Antichrist in 2024 :: By Randy Nettles – Rapture Ready.
“I believe Dr. Thomas Horn could be correct in his assessment that the third Trumpet judgment of Revelation 8:10, in which the ‘star’ or asteroid called Wormwood falls upon the earth and poisons a third of the waters, is the asteroid called 99942 Apophis. This asteroid is a near-earth asteroid. Scientists say the closest known approach of Apophis to Earth occurs on Friday, April 13, 2029, 21:46 UT, when it will pass Earth closer than geosynchronous communication satellites but will come no closer than 31,600 kilometers above Earth’s surface. However, Tom Horn and others think Apophis will hit the earth, and this will be the 3rd Trumpet judgment.”
Note: In this scenario, the 3rd Trumpet judgment of Rev. 8:10 would occur approximately 1 year later than the sealing of the 144,000 Jews of Rev. 7:1-8. Incidentally, the number for Apophis, 99942, is interesting. 9 is the number for ‘judgment.’ The three 9’s (999) would, therefore, represent ‘divine’ judgment. 42 is 6 x 7. 6 is man’s number, and 7 is God’s number. Also, if you add the five digits, you get 33.
“Approximately one year later, in the spring of 2030, the Feast of Passover occurs in Israel. It will be very memorable, as I believe the third temple will have been built by then, and the Antichrist will come to Jerusalem and fulfill Daniel 9:27 (and Matthew 24:15 and 2 Thessalonians 2:4) regarding stopping the sacrifices and oblations and setting up the abomination of desolation (in the midst of the 70th week) in the newly built 3rd Temple in Jerusalem. See The 1290th and 1335th Day of Daniel 12:11-12 :: By Randy Nettles – Rapture Ready for more details.
After the supernatural sign of the Rapture, many Jews will realize that the New Testament is an addition to the Tanakh (Old Testament) and that Jesus is their Messiah whom they didn’t recognize the first time. These Jewish believers will come from all over the world and will preach the gospel of Christ and His coming Kingdom to the world during the Tribulation. They will come from the twelve representative tribes of Israel, including the tribe of Levi. These are the 144,000 Messianic Jews mentioned in Revelation 7.
“After these things I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, on the sea, or on any tree. Then I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God. And he cried with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was granted to harm the earth and the sea, saying, Do not harm the earth, the sea, or the trees till we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads. And I heard the number of those who were sealed. One hundred and forty-four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel were sealed” (Revelation 7:1-4).
It is at this time that the ‘firstborn’ (Messianic Jews) of the twelve tribes of Israel will become what God initially intended them to be before they were replaced by the Levites in the time of Moses. God told Moses on Mt. Sinai, “Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine. And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation” (Exodus 19:5-6).
These future Messianic Jews will be consecrated for service to do the Lord’s work. The Levites will revert to being one of the twelve tribes that are sealed for service, just 12,000 out of 144,000. The Bible doesn’t mention it, but I think these 144,000 Messianic Jews will be “waved (and separated) before the Lord” at the time of their sealing, like the Levites of old.
The results of their ministry are seen in Revelation 7:9, “After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb.” The 144,000 Jews will be sealed for service like the Levites of old were cleansed and consecrated for their service in the Tabernacle and Temple.
The seal will also be for protection from God’s remaining 15 judgments that will be poured out upon the earth, sea, and trees. In Ezekiel 9:4, we read of a similar case where before the Babylonians destroyed the city of Jerusalem, angels went throughout, searching out and sealing the faithful to protect them from the destruction. Here, the Lord again delays the coming judgments until His faithful can be sealed.
We are not told how long the 144,000 Jews’ ministry will last, probably till the end of Daniel’s 70th week. The first four Trumpet judgments are found in Revelation 8. After the fourth Trumpet judgment, a flying angel is heard crying loudly, “Woe, woe, woe to the inhabitants of the earth, because of the remaining blasts of the trumpet of the three angels who are about to sound!” (Revelation 8:13). The three woes coincide with the 5th, 6th, and 7th Trumpet judgments.
We know the 144,000 are still on Earth at the time of the 5th Trumpet judgment, as Revelation 9:4 stipulates that when the 5th Trumpet sounds, the locusts from the bottomless pit are commanded only to sting those men who do not have the seal of God on their forehead. According to Revelation 9:12, this is the first of the three woes.
The 6th Trumpet judgment of Revelation 9:13-19 coincides chronologically with a great earthquake that occurs after the two witnesses of Revelation 11 are killed, then resurrected after 3.5 days, and have ascended into heaven. A tenth of the city of Jerusalem is destroyed, and 7,000 people perish. “The rest were afraid and gave glory to the God of heaven” (Revelation 11:13). After this, Rev. 11:14 says, “The second woe is past.”
The 7th Trumpet judgment of Revelation 11:15-19 coincides chronologically with the mid-point of the Tribulation (Daniel’s 70th week), as found in Revelation 12, when the Devil is cast to the earth and persecutes the Jews and the faithful remnant. “Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time” (Revelation 12:12). It’s interesting that the Jews’ past and future history is given in this chapter of Revelation, as 12 is often associated with Israel in the Bible.
The 7th Trumpet judgment is the 3rd woe of Revelation 8:13. Here, we see the importance and significance of the numbers 3 and 7 (or 37, 73). The 7th Trumpet judgment ushers in the seven Bowl judgments of Revelation 15 and 16, which constitute the second half (approximately) of Daniel’s 70th week.
Between the 6th and 7th Trumpet judgments, we have the heavenly scene where a mighty angel gives John a little book. The angel tells John, “Take and eat it; and it will make your stomach bitter, but it will be as sweet as honey in your mouth” (Revelation 10:9). “Then I took the little book out of the angel’s hand and ate it, and it was as sweet as honey in my mouth. But when I had eaten it, my stomach became bitter. And he said to me, You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, tongues, and kings” (Revelation 10:10-11).
This is reminiscent of Ezekiel 3:3, where Ezekiel receives a vision of God (and the four living creatures) and is given a scroll of a book of “lamentations, mourning, and woe” (Ezekiel 3:9-10). “Moreover He said to me, ‘Son of man, eat what you find; eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel.’ So I opened my mouth, and He caused me to eat that scroll. And He said to me, ‘Son of man, feed your belly, and fill your stomach with this scroll that I give you.’ So I ate, and it was in my mouth like honey in sweetness” (Ezekiel 3:1-3). Ezekiel was given the unpleasant task of prophesying the impending doom of Jerusalem and Judah by the hands of the Babylonians. This vision was given to him in 593 BC. Seven years later, in 586 BC, Jerusalem was sacked by Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians, and the Temple was destroyed.
Like Ezekiel, John is given a prophecy about the tribulation of the Jewish people. Only this tribulation will be during the end times. After eating the little book of “lamentations, mourning, and woe,” John prophesies about the last 3.5 years of the Tribulation or Daniel’s 70th week. Revelation 11 describes the newly built third temple in Jerusalem and the ending of the two witnesses’ ministry, where they are martyred and resurrected 3.5 days later. Chapters 12-14 describe events that occur during the middle of Daniel’s 70th week.
Revelation 14:1-5 is a Millennial scene with the 144,000 Messianic Jews of Revelation 7 now on Mount Zion with Jesus, the Lamb of God. This chapter is placed out of chronological order to show that the unholy trinity (Satan, A.C., false prophet) of Revelation 13 will not prevail in destroying the Jewish people and the people of faith that remain on the earth. These 144,000 Jews with the Father’s name sealed on their foreheads will enter Jesus’ millennial kingdom unharmed. They will be the first fruits of many more Jews who will become believers during the Great Tribulation, enter the Kingdom of God on Earth, and be part of the nation of Israel for a thousand years.
The ministry of the 144,000 Jews (representing all 12 tribes of Israel) of Revelation 7 and 14 is a future fulfillment of Exodus 19:5-6, “Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine. And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation” (Exodus 19:5-6). The 144,000 are the first fruits of this crop of priests of the Father and Son. During the millennial reign of King Jesus, they will be His priests in the holy nation of Israel and will lead the nations to Jerusalem to worship the King of Glory.
The conditions of Daniel 9:25 will finally have been met for the Jewish people and the holy city: “to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy. The 70th week and seven of Daniel 9:24,27 will have finally been fulfilled, and the Kingdom of God on Earth will have begun.
“But you shall be named the priests of the Lord,
They shall call you the servants of our God.
You shall eat the riches of the Gentiles,
And in their glory you shall boast.
Instead of your shame you shall have double honor,
And instead of confusion they shall rejoice in their portion.
Therefore in their land they shall possess double;
Everlasting joy shall be theirs.
‘For I, the Lord, love justice;
I hate robbery for burnt offering;
I will direct their work in truth,
And will make with them an everlasting covenant.
Their descendants shall be known among the Gentiles,
And their offspring among the people.
All who see them shall acknowledge them,
That they are the posterity whom the Lord has blessed.’
“I will greatly rejoice in the Lord,
My soul shall be joyful in my God;
For He has clothed me with the garments of salvation,
He has covered me with the robe of righteousness,
As a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments,
And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
For as the earth brings forth its bud,
As the garden causes the things that are sown in it to spring forth,
So the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth
Before all the nations” (Isaiah 61:6-11).
Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Randy Nettles