People haven’t changed much since time began. God teaches us right from wrong, but we choose wrong most of the time. We all know about Adam and Eve and the trouble that came from them disobeying God. The Old Testament has many lessons to teach; a study of Jacob’s life holds many and is worth the time to learn from his mistakes.

Jacob’s trouble began in the womb. He was a twin, and his mother, Rebekah, suffered much during the pregnancy because of the fight between the twins even before they were born.

“And the children struggled together within her; and she said If it be so, why am I thus? And she went to enquire of the LORD. And the LORD said unto her, Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people, and the elder shall serve the younger” (Genesis 25:22-23). 

Esau was born first and was favored by their father, Isaac, and Jacob was the younger and favored by their mother, Rebekah. When the time came that Isaac was facing death, one son had to be given the blessing, and Isaac was going to bless the elder son, Esau. Rebekah wasn’t happy and pushed Jacob into taking Esau’s birthright, and then to deceive Isaac into giving him the blessing that was to be given to Esau.

Esau was very angry and wanted to kill Jacob, so Rebekah told him to go stay with her brother, Laban, for a few days. We know that God chose Jacob, and He would have worked it out so that Jacob would have been blessed anyway. Jacob did leave and went to work for Laban. While there, Jacob fell in love with Laban’s daughter, Rachel. Because Jacob was a good worker and the flocks thrived, Laban didn’t want Jacob to leave. So, a deal was made between Laban and Jacob that Jacob would continue to work for Laban seven years, and then he could marry his daughter.

Jacob honored his agreement, but at the end of seven years, Laban switched daughters, and Jacob ended up marrying Leah, the older daughter. Jacob wasn’t pleased at all, but he took Leah as his wife. He was married to Leah, but he loved Rachel. It’s a very complicated story, but eventually Jacob had twelve sons and a daughter from four different women. God can even use our bad choices for His glory, and Jacob is an example of this truth.

Jacob ended up working twenty years for Laban and became wealthy while there. After a time, Laban wasn’t happy with Jacob. God told Jacob that he needed to go home, so he packed up and took his family and servants and flocks away without telling Laban.

“And Jacob stole away unawares to Laban the Syrian, in that he told him not that he fled. So he fled with all that he had; and he rose up, and passed over the river, and set his face toward the mount Gilead” (Genesis 31:20-21). 

When Laban found out, he was livid. He accused Jacob of kidnapping his daughters. That seems odd since his daughters were married to Jacob. So Laban took out after the “kidnapper.” When he caught up with them, things could have been bad, but Laban and Jacob reached an agreement and made peace. Was Jacob’s trouble over? Not hardly. After 20 years of being away, he was headed back to his home and would have to face Esau.

There are many lessons found in Jacob’s life. The choices we make are important. Jacob could have let God work in him and through him, but he listened to his mother’s voice instead of going to God, and his choices made his life more difficult. God would have worked it all out so that Jacob would have been given the inheritance.

In spite of Jacob’s poor choices, God was with him and protected him. Along the way, Jacob matured and came to trust God. Some lessons only come from experience, and they can be hard lessons to learn.

Jacob was the son God chose to inherit God’s promise to Abraham; God knew that Jacob would have twelve sons who would establish the great nation of Israel. God also knew that the Messiah would be born from the tribe of Judah. It would have been much easier if Jacob would have chosen to trust God and allowed Him to work out the details, but Jacob made mistakes and paid the price for those mistakes.

Too many people think their sins in life are too big for God to forgive. That’s wrong. God wants all people to come to Him. He will use our sins and mistakes, just like He used Jacob’s.

“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28).

If you’ve sinned (we all do), repent and ask for forgiveness through Jesus, then serve the Lord.

I often wonder what Jacob thought during his rebellious years. He had been told the family history of how his grandfather, Abraham, had been called from a pagan life to establish a nation and how Abraham and his wife, Sarah, were very old and hadn’t had any children, so they tried to help God by having a child with Sarah’s maid, Hagar. Lots of trouble came from that child, but God blessed Abraham and Sarah, his wife, with a son, who was the son promised by God. That son was Isaac, who was Jacob’s father.

Jacob should have learned to trust God from listening to his family history. Did he think Esau was the one to continue the promise from God? Jacob was busy living his life when God saw it was time for him to understand that he was the one who was chosen. Jacob had to stop running from God.

That’s how it is for all of us. We cannot serve God on our own terms. Jacob was about to get a lesson from God that he would never forget. He had sent all of his family away from him, and he was alone. But he wasn’t alone; someone was there.

“And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day. And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob’s thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him” (Genesis 32:24-25).

Jacob knew the “man” was God, but struggled anyway. We all wrestle with God. We choose to work our own will rather than saying, “Thy will be done.” Life would be so much more satisfying if we didn’t fight God’s will.

Jacob had to be alone in order for God to deal with him. Then Jacob wrestled with God. God allowed the struggle until Jacob was ready to submit. Still, the struggle left a mark on Jacob. His thigh was never the same but was a reminder of his fight with God. Jacob knew who he was fighting and had wrestled all night.

When Jacob was at the end of the fight, God told him to let go. But Jacob wouldn’t give up until God blessed him. “And he said unto him, What is thy name? And he said Jacob” (Genesis 32:27).

Of course, God knew Jacob’s name, but Jacob had to say it out loud. Names are important, and the name Jacob means “heel holder” or “supplanter.” The name was given to him because he had fought at birth to be the firstborn and held onto Esau’s heel. By saying his name out loud to God, he was actually confessing to a lifetime of fighting. God knew him better than he knew himself, and changed his name.

“And he said Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed” (Genesis 32:28).

The name Israel means “God prevails.” At any time during the night of wrestling, God could have ended the fight but allowed Jacob to fight until the fight was taken out of him. Then his name was changed to Israel. The twelve sons of Israel are the tribes that comprise the nation of Israel.

In Scripture, God sometimes refers to the nation as “Jacob” and sometimes as “Israel.” When the nation is in rebellion, it’s called “Jacob,” but when it’s in a right relationship with God, it’s called Israel. Today, that nation has been established under the name of Israel, although they are mostly opposing God, but God will never turn from them. Although they will face some very troubling times, known as the time of Jacob’s trouble, God will fight the battle when they call upon Him. One day they will recognize that Jesus came to them first as their Messiah, but they rejected Him. When they finally call upon Him, He will finish the final battle.

The final seven years of Earth history is known as the Time of Jacob’s Trouble, not the time of Christians’ trouble. Just as Jacob sent his family away prior to his wrestling with God, Christians will be taken away, and Israel will stand alone in the final battle…until they submit to God.

Christians are in a battle, too. Like Israel, we quite often wrestle with God. Today, there is much apostasy within the church. God’s truth is being questioned, and sin is being accepted. This is one of the signs that we will be taken Home soon. The Rapture will take us away from the time of Jacob’s Trouble, but until then we battle against Satan. Or at least we should. Actually, we need to let God battle for us against the wiles of Satan.

“Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded” (James 4:7-8).

Remember, Satan was defeated at the cross. Jesus is the King of kings, and Lord of lords, and He will prevail. Today, Satan knows he was defeated but is too prideful to give up. He still wants to destroy as many humans as he can. When he puts temptation in your path, resist. When he plants thoughts in your mind that you aren’t good enough for God, resist. God never gave up on Jacob, and He will never give up on you.

Christians have a wonderful blessing, and that is the Holy Spirit living inside of us. King David could pray that the Holy Spirit wouldn’t be taken from him, but Christians are sealed with the Holy Spirit. Certainly, there is evil in the world, and Satan’s minions cause problems, but we don’t have to fight them alone.

“Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world” (1 John 4:4).

When you wrestle with God, or are tempted to sin, remember that God is your strength. Lean on Him.

God doesn’t want us to be ignorant of the fact that we fight spiritual battles every day, but He wants us to be armed and trained to fight the spiritual battle. The war was won at the cross, but we still have spiritual battles to fight, and we need to know who the enemy is. Paul told us who we wrestle with.

“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places” (Ephesians 6:12).

The enemy is evil and part of the unseen spiritual realm. We can feel the evil but don’t often see it. As we draw near to the Rapture and the subsequent Time of Jacob’s Trouble, evil spirits seem to be manifesting more often. Put on the armor of God, and don’t take it off. Don’t let your guard down.

If you or someone you know is going through tough times, find out who the fight is against. Are you fighting God by choosing sin and expecting Him to bless you? Have you made choices in life that have caused problems in your life now? Learn from Jacob. Submit to God and let Him lead you. Don’t blame God for the results of your own choices. If you rob a bank, you go to jail; if you engage in sexual sin, your health is affected. If you dabble in the occult, you’ve invited demons into your life.

Life turned out good for Jacob after he quit fighting God. He still faced many more challenges in life, but God prevailed.

God bless you all,

Nathele Graham

twotug@embarqmail.com

Recommended prophecy sites:

www.raptureready.com

www.prophecyupdate.com

www.raptureforums.com

All original Scripture is “theopneustos,” God-breathed.

If you would like to be on my mailing list to receive the commentaries, just drop me an email and let me know.

“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee” (Psalm 122:6).

 

 

Can you feel it? There’s excitement in the air! Jesus will be calling us Home soon, and if you’re like me, you can hardly wait. I listen to the awful news reports, but instead of allowing them to scare me or cause me to worry, I look at things through the lens of prophecy. Prophecy doesn’t make things better, but it does make it all clearer.

The hatred toward Israel is Satanic. Israel seems to be blamed for everything, and Iran and the Muslim world won’t be happy unless they totally destroy God’s chosen people. That won’t happen. Israel is back in their land, and that’s where they’re going to stay. The Bible tells me so!

“And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea. And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth” (Isaiah 11:11-12).

The nation of Israel has been gathered for the second time, and, praise God, they aren’t going away! Bible prophecy will be fulfilled. For those with eyes to see and ears to hear, we know it’s being fulfilled today.

Daniel was an amazing man of God. He was born in Jerusalem but was taken as a captive to Babylon. God’s truth was a part of his nature, and nothing the pagan Babylonians could do would change Daniel’s heart for God. His refusal to embrace the pagan ways got him in trouble, but God always protected Daniel. Because Daniel honored and loved God, he was given an amazing prophecy known as Daniel’s 70 weeks. If you study it, you’ll understand that God isn’t finished with Israel. You’ll also understand that the Church age (a time period between the 69^th and 70^th week) is coming to an end. What will happen to Christians and to Israel is something everyone needs to understand.

“Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy 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” (Daniel 9:24).

Remember, Daniel was Jewish, so “thy people” refers to the Jewish people, and “thy holy city” is Jerusalem. Don’t be deceived. No matter how loud Satan yells through the mouths and hearts of the Muslim world, Jerusalem belongs to God, and He gave it to Israel. The term “week” is a common term for seven years, in the same way a decade is understood as ten years, or a score is known as 20 years. So, 70 weeks is 490 years. This prophecy is given a timeframe and is specifically directed to the Jewish nation.

When Daniel was taken captive, a war was raging; it was a war that fulfilled prophecy. God had said that the Jewish nation would be taken captive to Babylon because of their failure to follow God’s directions to allow their land to rest. Prophecy was fulfilled, and the temple in Jerusalem was totally destroyed. Daniel knew this, but during the captivity he had never stopped praying towards Jerusalem. He knew that one day God would restore it. The 70-week prophecy confirmed this to Daniel.

“Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again and the wall, even in troublous times” (Daniel 9:25).

That’s very specific. History tells us that this prophecy was fulfilled exactly. Various decrees were given to allow the rebuilding of the Temple, but these attempts failed. On March 14, 445 BC, Artaxerxes issued a decree allowing the rebuilding of Jerusalem. You can read about the various decrees in Ezra and Nehemiah, but the one named in Daniel’s prophecy is found in Nehemiah chapter 2, and is the one that allows the city to be built.

According to calculations by Sir Robert Anderson in his book The Coming Prince, it can be proven that Jesus fulfilled Zechariah 9:9 and rode into Jerusalem on a young donkey on April 6, 32 AD. I’m not a great mathematician, but the calculations can be found in The Coming Prince, or by doing a little research yourself. Daniel had prophesied it, Zechariah described it, and Jesus was right on time and fulfilled it. Still the Pharisees missed it. Jesus lamented their blindness

“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee; how often would I have gathered thy children together as a hen doth gather her brood under her wings, and ye would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate, and verily I say unto you, Ye shall not see me, until the time come when ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord” (Luke 13:34-35).

That blindness has lasted to this day, but one day the blindness will be lifted. “For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits, that blindness in part is happened to Israel until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in” (Romans 11:25).

God is not finished with Israel, and the Church hasn’t replaced Israel. Prophecy is being fulfilled, and one day soon, the nation of Israel will call out to their Messiah…Jesus Christ the Lord. The lifting of the blindness will happen after Christians have been Raptured and the horrors of Daniel’s 70^th week have happened.

Daniel’s prophecy goes on to talk about the crucifixion. “And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined” (Daniel 9:26).

Daniel must have been very happy to learn that Jerusalem and the Temple would be rebuilt, but then he was told it would be destroyed again. And so, it happened in 70 AD. Israel has faced many wars, but God has never completely turned from them, and He never will. This prophecy goes far beyond the destruction that happened in 70 AD. It goes a few years beyond today. After the Messiah was “cut off” (crucified), the way was opened for salvation by grace, not by the works of the Law, but by faith in Jesus.

The temple was destroyed in 70 AD, and the Jewish people were scattered throughout the world. There is a “pause” in the 70-week prophecy. This pause has lasted nearly 2,000 years, but prophecy didn’t stop. The persecution of the Jewish people is Satanic, but in 1948, they were regathered in their land and won’t be uprooted. We are still in the “pause” between the 69^th and 70^th week, but the 70^th will start soon after Christians are Raptured; God will turn His attention back to Israel.

The 70^th week is described in Revelation, beginning in chapter 6; Jesus spoke of it in the Olivet (Matthew 24 and 25, Mark 13:3-13, and Luke 21:7-19), as well as in Daniel.

Concerning the Anti-Christ, he writes, “And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate” (Daniel 9:27).

This tells us that the Temple will be rebuilt. There is much talk in Israel today about rebuilding the Temple. They have all the items needed to be used for the rituals in the Temple, as well as priests being trained, and their garments are fitted to them. It’s also very possible that they have ashes from the red heifer. I’m very astonished that suddenly there are many red heifers being born. Some qualify, and some don’t. The ashes of a red heifer are needed to purify the Temple. We live in amazing times.

Sometimes it seems as if God is slow to fulfill prophecy. That’s when people begin to twist His words and come up with “replacement theology” and the idea that the Rapture isn’t in Scripture. God has a plan, and that plan must be fulfilled. We saw in Romans 11:25 that there’s a specific number of Gentiles that must come to salvation before the blindness will lift from Israel. God is willing to be slow to fulfill prophecy, while waiting for souls to be saved.

“The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9).

If you want to hurry things along so the Rapture will take us Home, you need to share the Gospel. Your friend or a family member just might be the one we are all waiting for! God has made the only way for salvation, and that’s through the blood of Jesus Christ. Why did He do this? Because He loves us. Jesus loves me; this I know. He loves you too.

“Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die? saith the Lord GOD: and not that he should return from his ways, and live?” (Ezekiel 18:23).

The Rapture will take all Christians Home, not because of our own righteousness, but because Jesus is righteous. After that, Daniel’s 70^th week will start. We have many Biblical prophecies to tell us that that week will soon happen. God’s wrath will be poured out, but Christians will be safe with Jesus and away from God’s wrath.

The Anti-Christ will be revealed after the Rapture, but all of the tools he needs to implement the Mark of the Beast and track people are being used today. Don’t be deceived by all the “good” AI can do. Implanted chips may sound wonderful, but beware. Trust in Jesus, not in the world.

The war that’s happening in the Middle East isn’t just some whim of politics; it’s fulfilling prophecy. We are admonished to pray for the peace of Jerusalem, and I do.

“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee” (Psalm 122:6).

Ezekiel, Psalms, Isaiah, and more tell us that major war will engulf the entire world. Plagues, famine, signs in the sky, and more will become common. Jesus isn’t slow in His return but is right on time. Don’t reject Him.

God bless you all,

Nathele Graham

twotug@embarqmail.com

Recommended prophecy sites:

www.raptureready.com

www.prophecyupdate.com

www.raptureforums.com

All original Scripture is “theopneustos,” God-breathed.

If you would like to be on my mailing list to receive the commentaries, just drop me an email and let me know.

“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee” (Psalm 122:6).