The book of Esther is unique in two ways: First, it is only one of two books in the Word of God with a woman’s name attached to its title (Ruth being the other). And second, it is the only book in the Holy Scriptures that does not refer to God or even to prayer, though prayer can be alluded to when fasting is mentioned.
In my own personal studies, I have seen quite a few Prophetic Imageries in Esther, some of which I would like to share with the reader. At first, this was a full study article, but I decided to whittle out some of the passages that were in the original article so that the Bible student will be able to find their own Prophetic Imageries in Esther in their own study time.
The following keys are helpful as we move along, in whom the characters in the book of Esther seem to represent in prophetic typology.
King Ahasuerus (or Xerxes) [meaning lion-king] = Father God or King Jesus, depending on context.
Queen Esther [her Persian name, meaning aster or star] or Hadassah [her given Hebrew name, meaning myrtle] = Israel and/or The Church comprising both Jew and Gentile, depending on context.
Mordecai [believed to mean pure myrrh – note the spiritual connection to myrrh and Messiah Yeshua in Psalm 45:8, Matthew 2:11, and John 19:39] = King Yeshua or Israel, depending on context.
Haman [possible meanings: tumult or noise, magnificent, illustrious, or there is a multitude] = Satan/Antichrist and their plan to destroy the Jews and believers in Messiah Yeshua.
We will be citing some of the passages in Esther and offering commentary with links to past articles for further study on any given topic.
“And when Haman saw that Mordecai bowed not, nor did him reverence, then was Haman full of wrath.” – Esther 3:5
We are told in verse six that Haman was told that Mordecai was a Jew, “wherefore Haman sought to destroy all the Jews that were throughout the whole kingdom.”
One could hardly think of a biblical Old Testament character that so vividly encapsulates the Antichrist indwelt by Satan himself during the Great Tribulation than Haman, for we are told in Revelation:
“And when the dragon [Satan] saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman [Israel] which brought forth the man child [Messiah Yeshua] … And the serpent [Satan] cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood… And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.” – Revelation 12:13, 15, 17
Haman’s attempted genocide of the Israeli people in the Persian empire was a dark foreshadow of Satan’s genocidal assault through the Antichrist on the nation and people of Israel and God’s remnant in the last half of the Tribulation.
“And the letters were sent by posts into all the king’s provinces, to destroy, to kill, and to cause to perish, all Jews, both young and old, little children and women, in one day… and to take the spoil of them for a prey.” – Esther 3:13
Antichrist, when he commits the Abomination of Desolation “in one day,” will have his representative United Nation forces that surround Jerusalem and stationed within Judea destroy as many Jews as possible while a remnant escapes to the Petra/Mt. Seir mountains/wilderness region as exiles. Consequently, the Arabs and other people from the nations will inhabit the exiled Jews’ homes in Judea and Jerusalem and “take the spoil of them for a prey.” [A Study of Zechariah 14:1-11 and The Abomination of Desolation: A Unique Link]
In Antichrist’s and Satan’s case, however, this “day” that begins with the Abomination of Desolation will turn into a three-and-one-half-year (1,260 day) attempted annihilation of Israeli and Gentile believers within the “day of the Lord” who refuse his Mark of the Beast economic and worship system.
“Now it came to pass on the third day, that Esther put on her royal apparel, and stood in the inner court of the king’s house, over against the king’s house: and the king sat upon his royal throne in the royal house, over against the gate of the house. And it was so, when the king saw Esther the queen standing in the court, that she obtained favour in his sight: and the king held out to Esther the golden sceptre that was in his hand. So Esther drew near, and touched the top of the sceptre.” – Esther 5:1-2
In The Prophetic Third Day, we had the following to say concerning Esther 5:1-2:
This passage seems to have both the rapture of the church and the Second Coming of Christ to save Israel at the end of the Tribulation in view.
Queen Esther (the church) coming to the King (Jesus) on the Third Day is a picture of the rapture.
The supplication of Queen Esther to the king will be that of protecting her people from wicked Haman’s (Satan/Antichrist) intent to kill all the Jews in the empire, and this is a picture of our Lord’s Second Coming.
“And Mordecai came again to the king’s gate. But Haman hasted to his house mourning, and having his head covered.” – Esther 6:12
Mordecai, as a representation of Jesus, came again to the king’s gate, just as Messiah came again to His eternal glory to the heavenly King, Father God, after His death, burial, resurrection, and ascension into heaven.
Satan, as Haman did, on the other hand, will mourn Messiah’s Second Coming as King of kings and Lord of lords, when the other two members of his unholy trinity, Antichrist and the False Prophet, will be thrown into the Lake of Fire, and he himself will be cast into the abyss.
“And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.” – Revelation 19:20
“And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him…” – Revelation 20:1-3a
The other imagery is that Israel, represented by Mordecai, will come again to the King’s gate in Jerusalem where Yeshua’s Millennial reign will be centered in Israel after Messiah sends His holy angels to “gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other” (Matthew 24:31) and “from the four winds, from the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven” (Mark 13:27) back to Israel following their last and final dispersion, never to leave their God-given Promised Land again.
“On that day did the king Ahasuerus give the house of Haman the Jews’ enemy unto Esther the queen…” – Esther 8:1a
At Christ’s Second Coming, King Yeshua [King Ahasuerus] will give back to Israel [Queen Esther] Judah and her beloved city of Jerusalem, along with an enlarged border of Israel to inherit during the Messianic Millennial Kingdom, that Satan, through the Antichrist, “the Jews’ enemy,” had taken from them in the middle of the Tribulation.
The enemy’s proverbial “house” – usurped and used to oppose and destroy God’s people for a time – will once again become the property of the Creator and His people during the Messianic Millennial Kingdom.
“Sing, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel; be glad and rejoice with all the heart, O daughter of Jerusalem. The Lord hath taken away thy judgments, he hath cast out thine enemy: the king of Israel, even the Lord, is in the midst of thee: thou shalt not see evil any more.
“In that day it shall be said to Jerusalem, Fear thou not: and to Zion, Let not thine hands be slack. The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing.
“I will gather them that are sorrowful for the solemn assembly, who are of thee, to whom the reproach of it was a burden. Behold, at that time I will undo all that afflict thee: and I will save her that halteth, and gather her that was driven out; and I will get them praise and fame in every land where they have been put to shame.
“At that time will I bring you again, even in the time that I gather you: for I will make you a name and a praise among all people of the earth, when I turn back your captivity before your eyes, saith the Lord.” – Zephaniah 3:14-20
“And the king took off his ring, which he had taken from Haman, and gave it unto Mordecai…” – Esther 8:2a
The Father takes off the proverbial “ring” from Satan’s power as the “god of this world” (2 Corinthians 4:4) and gives this “ring” to the rightful heir of planet Earth, King Jesus. After all, He is creation’s Creator!
“… The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.” – Revelation 11:15
“And I appoint unto you a kingdom, as my Father hath appointed unto me; That ye may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.” – Luke 22:29-30
“And Mordecai went out from the presence of the king in royal apparel of blue and white, and with a great crown of gold, and with a garment of fine linen and purple…” – Esther 8:15
King Jesus [Mordecai] goes “out from the presence of the King,” Father God [Ahasuerus], “in royal apparel” and “a great crown of gold.”
King Yeshua, going “out from the presence of” His Father, finally gets the royal apparel and crown to don in His personally created Earth that He so rightly deserves, ready to rule and reign as omnipotent Creator, Savior, Redeemer, and King.
“And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God…
“And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, King Of Kings, And Lord Of Lords.” – Revelation 19:11-13, 15-16
“And the Lord shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one Lord, and his name one.” – Zechariah 14:9
“And in every province, and in every city, whithersoever the king’s commandment and his decree came, the Jews had joy and gladness, a feast and a good day. And many of the people of the land became Jews; for the fear of the Jews fell upon them.” – Esther 8:17
King Yeshua’s reign, on behalf of His chosen people, Israel, will be full of “joy and gladness,” where they will have “a feast and a good day,” with the surviving Gentile Sheep on Earth having deep respect and reverence for the King and His people.
“Thus saith the Lord of hosts; It shall yet come to pass, that there shall come people, and the inhabitants of many cities: And the inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying, Let us go speedily to pray before the Lord, and to seek the Lord of hosts: I will go also.
“Yea, many people and strong nations shall come to seek the Lord of hosts in Jerusalem, and to pray before the Lord. Thus saith the Lord of hosts; In those days it shall come to pass, that ten men shall take hold out of all languages of the nations, even shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, We will go with you: for we have heard that God is with you.” – Zechariah 8:20-23
“The Jews gathered themselves together in their cities throughout all the provinces of the king Ahasuerus, to lay hand on such as sought their hurt: and no man could withstand them; for the fear of them fell upon all people.” – Esther 9:2
Exiled Israel will come back from the mountains of Petra/Mt. Seir on the heels of Messiah Yeshua and His heavenly armies – we may even pick them up on our heavenly horses! – and will “gather themselves together in their cities” of Judah “throughout all the provinces of the King” Messiah and “lay hands on such as sought their hurt,” following the Abomination of Desolation that exiled them in the first place, 1,260 days earlier.
Messiah Yeshua, as He destroys His enemies from Bozrah, through Judea, and all the way to Jerusalem at His Second Coming, will understandably allow the returning exiles of Israel the chance to take vengeance on their enemies who took their brethren’s lives and their personal possessions in Judea and Jerusalem in concert with Yeshua Himself. [A Study of Zechariah 14:12-21].
“In that day will I make the governors of Judah like an hearth of fire among the wood, and like a torch of fire in a sheaf; and they shall devour all the people round about, on the right hand and on the left: and Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place, even in Jerusalem.
“The Lord also shall save the tents of Judah first, that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem do not magnify themselves against Judah.” – Zechariah 12:6-7
“And all the rulers of the provinces, and the lieutenants, and the deputies, and officers of the king, helped the Jews; because the fear of Mordecai fell upon them.” – Esther 9:3
Along with our Lord and the returning exiles of Israel, we can see an allusion to the heavenly armies that will return with Jesus in this verse. That is, as Ambassadors of Christ, the bride of Christ are the “rulers… and the lieutenants, and the deputies, and [certainly] officers of the King,” and we will surely aid those returning Israelites supernaturally protected in the wilderness of Edom (modern-day southern Jordan) at Christ’s Second Coming, “because the fear of [Jesus Christ] fell upon [us]” from our conversion to salvation in Christ Jesus our Lord.
“And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.” – Revelation 19:14
“In that day shall the Lord defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and he that is feeble among them at that day shall be as David; and the house of David shall be as God, as the angel of the Lord before them. And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.” – Zechariah 12:8-9
The “inhabitants of Jerusalem” will have been supernaturally protected in the wilderness following the Abomination of Desolation, but they are still the original and promised “inhabitants of Jerusalem!” The returning Israelites will be mighty in that day when “[Messiah Yeshua] will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem” to wage war against the King at His vengeful Second Coming.
“And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great tumult from the Lord shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbour, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbour. And Judah also shall fight at Jerusalem; and the wealth of all the heathen round about shall be gathered together, gold, and silver, and apparel, in great abundance.” – Zechariah 14:13-14 [A Study of Zechariah 14:12-21 and Isaiah 14 and 14: Babylon Near and Far – Part 2]
“For Mordecai was great in the king’s house, and his fame went out throughout all the provinces: for this man Mordecai waxed greater and greater.” – Esther 9:4
The fame of Messiah began at His First Advent:
“And the fame hereof went abroad into all that land.” – Matthew 9:26
Messiah’s fame has continued throughout the church age:
“Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” – Acts 4:12
“And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.” – Ephesians 1:19-23
Messiah’s fame will continue throughout the Millennial Kingdom:
“All nations whom thou hast made shall come and worship before thee, O Lord; and shall glorify thy name.” – Psalm 86:9
“And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles.” – Zechariah 14:16
The fame of Messiah will be witnessed at the Great White Throne Judgment:
“Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” – Philippians 2:9-11
And Messiah’s fame will continue forever in the Eternal Kingdom:
“And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him: And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads.” – Revelation 22:3-4
“As the days wherein the Jews rested from their enemies, and the month which was turned unto them from sorrow to joy, and from mourning into a good day: that they should make them days of feasting and joy, and of sending portions one to another, and gifts to the poor.” – Esther 9:22
At the end of the Tribulation, when Messiah Yeshua saves His people from their enemies, Israel’s lot will be “turned unto them from sorrow to joy, and from mourning into a good day: that they should make them days of feasting and joy,” as God’s promises to them will finally be fulfilled.
“And in this mountain shall the Lord of hosts make unto all people a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the lees well refined.” – Isaiah 25:6
“For Mordecai the Jew was next unto king Ahasuerus, and great among the Jews, and accepted of the multitude of his brethren, seeking the wealth [welfare, good, prosperity, happiness] of his people, and speaking peace to all his seed.” – Esther 10:3
As Messiah Yeshua said to Israel at His First Advent:
“For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.” – Matthew 23:39
Just as “Mordecai the Jew was next unto king Ahasuerus, and great among the Jews, and accepted of the multitude of his brethren, seeking the wealth of his people,” so, too, is Messiah Yeshua sitting at the right hand of the Father today and will finally be “great among the Jews, and accepted of the multitude of His brethren, seeking the [welfare, good, prosperity, and happiness] of His people” at His glorious Second Coming and subsequent Messianic Millennial Kingdom where He will fulfill all the promises of God to His chosen people, Israel!
“And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.” – Romans 11:26-27
If the student of the Word of God ascertains in their own studies more of these prophetic gems in the book of Esther, and if you are so led, please share them with me!
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May we all keep Answering the Call of The Great Commission, and giving an answer to every man and woman who so desperately needs Jesus and asks us, “Why Am I Here and What Is It All About?”
Love, grace, mercy, and shalom in Messiah Yeshua, and Maranatha!
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