The Keys to the Kingdom of Heaven – Part 9

The Positive and The Negative Application of Every Word

Exo 14:20 And it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel; and it was a cloud and darkness to them, but it gave light by night to these: so that the one came not near the other all the night.

Introduction

Not understanding that all scripture has both a positive and a negative application has served to keep the keys to the kingdom of heaven hidden from those to whom those keys have not been given (Mat 13:9-15). Exodus 14:20 is speaking of Christ, who we are told was the “cloud [that] went before them.”

Exo 13:21 And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to go by day and night:
Exo 13:22 He took not away the pillar of the cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from before the people.

The same cloud was to one people bright light as in the middle of the day, while on the other side of the very same cloud, there was such thick darkness that those in that darkness could not see their own hands in front of their faces.

Peter tells us that God has made Jesus “both Lord and Christ”. Here we are told, “The Lord went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud.”

Act 2:36 Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.

The word ‘Lord’ in Exodus 13:21 is translated from what the Jews call ‘the tetragrammaton’, meaning ‘the four letters’, and those four letters are YHWH. Those who have added the vowels have generally agreed to ‘Yahweh’. Some scholars add an ‘o’ between the ‘h’ and the ‘w’, translating the tetragrammaton as ‘Yehowah’, which is then Anglicized into ‘Jehovah’. We have several FAQs which give the scriptures proving that Christ, “the Word” is the ‘Yahweh’ or ‘Jehovah’ who did much of the speaking of the Word in the Old Testament. ‘Yahweh’ appears more than any other name in the Old Testament with 6528 entries. In the King James Version it is almost always translated in all caps as the LORD. The only exceptions are that it is translated as ‘God’ four times and as ‘Jehovah’ four times.

It was Yahweh who talked with Moses out of the burning bush:

Exo 3:4 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.
Exo 3:5 And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.
Exo 3:6 Moreover he said, I am the God of thy 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.
Exo 3:7 And the LORD said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows;

Yahweh, the LORD, spoke with Moses, and it was Yahweh who had spoken with and had eaten a meal with Abraham about 500 years earlier when He came to tell Abraham that Sarah would have a child:

Gen 18:13 And the LORD [Hebrew: Yahweh] said unto Abraham, Wherefore did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I of a surety bear a child, which am old?

It is Christ Himself who reveals to us that it was He who spoke to Abraham, and it was He who was the cloud that led them through the wilderness when He tells us this:

Joh 5:37 And the Father himself, which hath sent me, hath borne witness of me. Ye have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his shape.

So it is Christ Himself who was as dark as the darkest night to the Egyptians, and it was Christ who was at the same time light to Israel, His elect in type. Christ is not just a pillar of cloud. He is also the Word. Here is the New Testament revelation of what the pillar of cloud which was darkness to the Egyptians while at the same time being light to the Israelites means:

Joh 1:1  In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
Joh 1:2  The same was in the beginning with God.
Joh 1:3  All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
Joh 1:4  In him was life; and the life was the light of men.
Joh 1:5  And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.

If it is true that Christ is the Word, and if it is true “Ye have neither heard his voice at any time“, then it in no way contradicts those two truths to replace the word ‘made’ with the word ‘said’ in verse 3, and it would still agree with the sum of the Word of God.

Here is how it would then read:

Joh 1:3  All things were [said] by him; and without him was not any thing [said] that was [said].

One of the clearest applications of this key to the kingdom of God, this principle of being light to those who are given eyes that see while at the same time being total darkness to those who are not given eyes to see, is explained for us all in Matthew 13 where Christ explains to His disciples why He always spoke to the multitudes in parables:

Mat 13:10  And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?
Mat 13:11  He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.
Mat 13:12  For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.
Mat 13:13  Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.
Mat 13:14  And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive:

It was given to Israel to see what God was doing, but to the Egyptians it was not given. Everything that happened there at the Red Sea was just a type and shadow of what Christ came to reveal to those to whom He gives eyes that see and ears that hear.

Mat 13:11  He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.
Mat 13:12  For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.
Mat 13:13  Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.

It seems impossible that the very words that reveal the mind of God and His Son to His elect, the very words that nourish and feed and give light and life to God’s elect, are the very same words that poison, weaken, blind and give darkness and bring death to our “old man… the first man Adam”.

Is this true of every word of God?

So, how far do we go in applying this dark to one and light to the other, this positive to one and negative to the other, key to the kingdom of heaven? If indeed Christ is the Word, and if the scriptures are in fact His written Word, then the principle revealed to us in this particular key to the kingdom of heaven must surely apply to “every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.” What is it we are told of “every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God?”

Mat 4:4  But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

1Co 4:6  Now these things, brothers, I applied to myself and Apollos for your sakes, so that in us ye might learn not to think above that which is written, so that ye may not be puffed up, one over the one against the other. (ACV)

If it is true that the Word of God is darkness to those who do not know God and it is light to those to whom He is revealing Himself, and if it is true that “man shall… live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God”, then it follows that we must all live first in that spoken and written darkness before we are given eyes that see and ears that hear the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven. Is that a true statement? Do the scriptures confirm that we are all first the Egyptians who could not see their hands in front of their own faces because of the extent of the darkness in which they were living?

Here is the scriptural answer to that question via the pen of the apostle Paul:

Eph 2:1  And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;
Eph 2:2  Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:
Eph 2:3  Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.

There is our answer. “We all had our [way of life] in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.” What this key to the kingdom reveals in practice is that every man lives out both the positive and the negative words, the blessing and the curses, that have proceeded out of the mouth of God, including these very dark, negative words:

Joh 3:36  He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.

Rev 15:7  And one of the four beasts gave unto the seven angels seven golden vials full of the wrath of God, who liveth for ever and ever.
Rev 15:8  And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power; and no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled.

No man is able to enter into the temple until the seven plagues of the seven angels… [who were given] the seven vials full of the wrath of God are fulfilled in that person’s life, which life is the temple of God, as the apostle Paul told all those who were in His charge:

1Co 3:16  Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
1Co 3:17  If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.

If indeed Christ is the Word, and if we are to live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God, does that not mean that we must confess to all the sins of all men and bear all the curses as well as all the blessings of scripture? Is that not exactly what Christ, our Savior, did?

Isa 53:2  For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.
Isa 53:3  He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
Isa 53:4  Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
Isa 53:5  But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
Isa 53:6  All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.

Col 1:24  Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the church:

1Co 15:3  For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;

Gal 1:4  Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father:

1Pe 2:24  Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.

Eph 5:30  For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.

Are these words which have no personal application to you and me? The keys to the kingdom of heaven, which kingdom is within us, reveal that both the bright side and the dark side of Christ are ours. It is not just the bright, good, lighted side which is ours. The keys to the kingdom of heaven reveal that we, too, must fill up in our own bodies that which is behind of the afflictions of “He [who] is despised and rejected of men.” We, too, must have no beauty that we should be desired. We also must be despised and rejected of all men. It is given to us to be a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. It is given to us on His behalf to bear the griefs and sorrows of our fellows. It is given to us to be wounded for the transgression and bruised for the iniquities of our fellow man; to be “crucified with Christ” for the very same reason, goal and purpose for which Christ was crucified.

It is also given to us to be required to bear all the sins of all men from Adam on, just as did Christ Himself:

Lev 16:10  But the goat, on which the lot fell to be the scapegoat, shall be presented alive before the LORD, to make an atonement with him, and to let him go for a scapegoat into the wilderness.

Lev 16:21  And Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat, and shall send him away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness:

[Read this link for more on who this ‘scapegoat’ symbolizes: The Spiritual Significance of the Scapegoat and the Nazarite Vow]

Luk 11:50  That the blood of all the prophets, which was shed from the foundation of the world, may be required of this generation;
Luk 11:51  From the blood of Abel unto the blood of Zacharias, which perished between the altar and the temple: verily I say unto you, It shall be required of this generation.

Let’s examine the depth of the application of this particular key to the kingdom of heaven which teaches us that there is both a bright, positive side to our Lord as that pillar of cloud, which was at the very same time dark and negative, as He stood between and delivered His people from their enemies, all of which we now know was a type and shadow of the kingdom of God which is within us.

Here is what is involved in being saved from sin and death for those who are given to receive it. This is what is given to the “scapegoat”, the Lord’s “living sacrifice…” to bear the sins of the people (Rom 12:1, Lev 16:10-21):

Mat 10:21  And the brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child: and the children shall rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death.
Mat 10:22  And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.

Mat 10:24  The disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above his lord.
Mat 10:25  It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the servant as his lord. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they call them of his household?

Act 9:15  But the Lord said unto him [Ananias], Go thy way: for he [Saul of Tarsus] is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel:
Act 9:16  For I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name’s sake.

Rom 8:17  And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.

Rom 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

Php 1:29  For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake;

Col 1:24  Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the church:

2Ti 2:12  If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us:

2Ti 3:12  Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.

Heb 11:25  Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season;

Heb 13:3  Remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them; and them which suffer adversity, as being yourselves also in the body.

1Pe 4:19  Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator.

Rev 2:10  Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.

Does this all sound negative and dark? The fact is that this is the best thing to which any of us could possibly be called. If it is not given us to bear these words, then the proverb is true:

Pro 24:10  If thou faint in the day of adversity, thy [spiritual] strength is small.

The godly, the unjust and the day of judgment

Who are the unjust whom the apostle Peter tells us are “reserve[d]… unto the day of judgment?

2Pe 2:9  The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished:
2Pe 2:10  But chiefly them that walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness, and despise government. Presumptuous are they, selfwilled, they are not afraid to speak evil of dignities.
2Pe 2:11  Whereas angels, which are greater in power and might, bring not railing accusation against them before the Lord.
2Pe 2:12  But these, as natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things that they understand not; and shall utterly perish in their own corruption;

Whoever verse 10 is speaking of must surely be some especially reprobate person:

2Pe 2:10  But chiefly them that walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness, and despise government. Presumptuous are they, selfwilled, they are not afraid to speak evil of dignities.

Do we think of ourselves only as ‘the godly’ whom the Lord knows how to deliver out of temptation? The keys to the kingdom of heaven within us, and this key concerning the light and dark side of the same cloud, the negative and the positive application of every word of God, will open our eyes to see that we ourselves are that man of verse 10. It is we ourselves who are “chief… of… sinners”. It is we who have taken Uriah’s wife and murdered Uriah to cover up our sin.

Only when we see ourselves as being that dark side first will we understand what the spirit is telling us when Christ said:

Mat 13:24  Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field:
Mat 13:25  But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way.
Mat 13:26  But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also.
Mat 13:27  So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares?
Mat 13:28  He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up?
Mat 13:29  But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them.
Mat 13:30 Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.

1Ti 1:15  This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.

That “kingdom of heaven” is not just “likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field.” It is also likened unto “his enemy [our “old man” who] came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way.” The keys to the kingdom of heaven reveal that the kingdom of heaven is also likened to the householder, Christ, who tells his servants to “let both [the wheat and the tares] grow together until the harvest, and in the time of the harvest… gather ye first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.”

When is “the harvest”? The harvest is the judgment. Whether it is now or at the great white throne judgment, that is when the tares are gathered first in bundles and are burned up.

1Co 3:13  Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.
1Co 3:14  If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.
1Co 3:15  If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.
1Co 3:16  Know ye not that ye are, the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
1Co 3:17  If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.

So when are the tares gathered together in bundles and destroyed with the brightness of His coming? When are God’s elect judged and purged of all the tares in their lives? Here is when that day of judgment takes place in the kingdom of God within us:

1Pe 4:17  For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?

The tares are even now being gathered and bound up in bundles and being burned up by the brightness of the coming of Christ and the Truths of His doctrine in all those who now are the house of God. Here again is how they are being “burned”, and here is how the wheat is being gathered into Christ’s barns:

1Co 3:13  Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.
1Co 3:14  If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.
1Co 3:15  If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.
1Co 3:16  Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?

Using ‘the dream is one’ key (Gen 41:26), and being told by Christ that the kingdom of heaven is within His people and that the wheat symbolizes His own words, His doctrine, we must conclude that God’s barn and God’s temple are both the same. They both symbolize those He is gathering together, those in whom He dwells as His temple, those who have Him within them and live by His words and His doctrines.

Gen 41:26  The seven good kine are seven years; and the seven good ears are seven years: the dream is one.

Mat 13:18  Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower.
Mat 13:19  When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side.

Mat 13:41  The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom [within us] all things that offend, and them which do iniquity;

Mat 24:31  And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

Luk 17:20  And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation:
Luk 17:21  Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.

Conclusion

“Them that do iniquity” of Matthew 13:41 is our own old man within all of us, who is even now being judged and is now being crucified with Christ and is even now dying daily. What a blessing it is to know the mind of Christ and to have all these keys to the kingdom of heaven, and to know that the dark side of that cloud that is Christ is simply the first Adam whose demise is the birth of the new man, the bright side of the same cloud, the last Adam; the birth of Christ Himself within each of us:

1Co 15:45  And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.

Rom 11:28  As concerning the gospel, they are enemies for your sakes: but as touching the election, they are beloved for the fathers’ sakes.
Rom 11:29  For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.
Rom 11:30  For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief:
Rom 11:31  Even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy.
Rom 11:32  For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all.
Rom 11:33  O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!
Rom 11:34  For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor?
Rom 11:35  Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again?
Rom 11:36  For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.

Psa 139:12  Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee.

Isa 45:7  I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.

Rev 1:17  And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last:

[Part ten can be found here.]

(Key verses: Genesis 49:16-18)

In the final section of the book of Genesis, we see Jacob living in Egypt for seventeen years until his death at the age of one hundred forty-seven years (Gen 47:28). Prior to his death he called his twelve sons together to tell them “which shall befall [them] in the last days”:

Gen 49:1 And Jacob called unto his sons, and said, Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the last days.
Gen 49:2 Gather yourselves together, and hear, ye sons of Jacob; and hearken unto Israel your father.

The theme of “the last days” provides important indicators to our own spiritual progress and maturity, especially for those who can see that the “ends of the world are come” on them (Isa 2:2; Mat 24:1-35; Act 2:14-21; 2Ti 3:1; Heb 1:2). What Jacob said to these sons “happened to them for ensamples, and are written for our admonition” (1Co 10:11). In previous discussions we focused on Jacob’s last words to Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Zebulun and Issachar. In this discussion, Dan is the focus, and here are the final words of Jacob to him:

Gen 49:16 Dan shall judge his people, as one of the tribes of Israel.
Gen 49:17 Dan shall be a serpent by the way, an adder in the path, that biteth the horse heels, so that his rider shall fall backward.
Gen 49:18 I have waited for thy salvation, O LORD.

“Dan shall judge his people, as one of the tribes of Israel”

Here is the background to the birth of this son of Jacob:

Gen 30:1 And when Rachel saw that she bare Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister; and said unto Jacob, Give me children, or else I die.
Gen 30:2 And Jacob’s anger was kindled against Rachel: and he said, Am I in God’s stead, who hath withheld from thee the fruit of the womb?
Gen 30:3 And she said, Behold my maid Bilhah, go in unto her; and she shall bear upon my knees, that I may also have children by her.
Gen 30:4 And she gave him Bilhah her handmaid to wife: and Jacob went in unto her.
Gen 30:5 And Bilhah conceived, and bare Jacob a son.
Gen 30:6 And Rachel said, God hath judged me, and hath also heard my voice, and hath given me a son: therefore called she his name Dan [Hebrew: dân = ruler/judge].

Dan was Jacob’s fifth son born and the first offspring from Rachel’s handmaid, Bilhah. The Hebrew meaning of the name “Dan” links with God’s judgment. In this regard, it is also interesting to note that the tribe of Dan was positioned on the north side of the tabernacle in the wilderness, and they were also part of the ten northern tribes when the kingdom of Israel split after the death of Solomon. We know that the north is also generally associated with God’s judgment in the scriptures (Lev 1:11; Job 37:22; Isa 14:31; Isa 41:25; Jer 1:14; Jer 4:6; Jer 6:1; Jer 10:22; Jer 25:9; Eze 1:4; Eze 48:1):

Num 2:25a The standard of the camp of Dan shall be on the north side [of the tabernacle] by their armies…

Because of this position of the tribe of Dan with the tribes of Naftali and Asher at the north of the tabernacle, it follows that these tribes were the last of the twelve tribes of Israel to journey or to enter into battle in the forty years in the wilderness. The tribe of Dan is specifically mentioned as being “hindmost” or “at the rear”:

Num 2:31 (KJV) All they that were numbered in the camp of Dan were an hundred thousand and fifty and seven thousand and six hundred. They shall go hindmost with their standards.

Num 2:31 (YLT) All those numbered of the camp of Dan are a hundred thousand, and seven and fifty thousand, and six hundred; at the rear they journey, by their standards.

Dan associates with judgment, and we know that judgment links with a harvest which occurs after a lengthy growth process has taken place where even the seeds of the evil one have had time to mature and reveal their function in our lives:

Mat 13:36 Then Jesus sent the multitude away, and went into the house: and his disciples came unto him, saying, Declare unto us the parable of the tares of the field.
Mat 13:37 He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man;
Mat 13:38 The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one;
Mat 13:39 The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world [Greek: aiōn = age]; and the reapers are the angels.
Mat 13:40 As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world [Greek: aiōn = age].

As the tribe of Dan was “hindmost” or “at the rear”, this tribe helps us to see that it is only in our “last days” when we can appreciate God’s judgment through His symbolic seven plagues, as only then it is actually fulfilled:

Rev 15:8 And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power; and no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled.

Dan was the first son born of a concubine, but was given full status of sonship by Jacob in these words to him. Dan’s position did not affect his inheritance, even as all in Adam will be conformed to the image of the Son of God through judgment (1Co 15:22-28):

Rom 8:29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.

“Dan shall be a serpent by the way…”

In our time of spiritual immaturity, we cannot see God’s church as an integrated unit, as at this stage we accept divisions and compare ourselves with others in the household of God (1Co 3:1-9; 2Co 10:12). This spirit was also in the tribe of Dan who were not satisfied with the territory initially allotted to them:

Jdg 18:1 In those days there was no king in Israel: and in those days the tribe of the Danites sought them an inheritance to dwell in; for unto that day all their inheritance had not fallen unto them among the tribes of Israel.

When we cannot see Christ as the Head of the body having all things under control, our whole perspective of His body and the operation of that body is also twisted. Then we usually do what is right in our own eyes and judge things from that perverted point of view. This is the theme of the book of Judges and that period of physical Israel’s history, for our learning:

Jdg 21:25 In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes.

The period of the rule of the judges in physical Israel’s history is very significant to understand our own perverted sense of righteousness – “that which was right in his own eyes”:

Isa 64:6 But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.

The tribe of Dan wanted more land, and their eyes were looking over the fence, so to speak:

Jdg 18:2 And the children of Dan sent of their family five men from their coasts, men of valour, from Zorah [the birthplace of Samson], and from Eshtaol [Samson was buried here], to spy out the land, and to search it; and they said unto them, Go, search the land: who when they came to mount Ephraim, to the house of Micah, they lodged there.

We know the number five spiritually indicates grace through faith in our lives, and here we see five men being sent out by this tribe to spy – pointing to their time of unbelief which is the negative spiritual application of the number five (Eph 2:8-10). In this time of insecurity and unbelief about our own spiritual gifts and ministry in the body of Christ, we are ‘spying’ on other’s gifts and ministries, being busybodies and not satisfied with our own “bread” which God have given us, as the apostle Paul also found in the church at Thessalonica:

2Th 3:11 For we hear that there are some which walk among you disorderly, working not at all, but are busybodies.
2Th 3:12 Now them that are such we command and exhort by our Lord Jesus Christ, that with quietness they work, and eat their own bread.

Within this time of searching and spying, the tribe of Dan found an unprotected city called Laish (also called Leshem) as the inhabitants of this city were “careless…quiet and secure” as “there was no magistrate (judge) in the land”:

Jdg 18:7 Then the five men [of the tribe of Dan] departed, and came to Laish, and saw the people that were therein, how they dwelt careless, after the manner of the Zidonians, quiet and secure; and there was no magistrate in the land, that might put them to shame in any thing; and they were far from the Zidonians, and had no business with any man.

These inhabitants of Laish lived “after the manner of the Zidonians”, which was a city focused on self-interest and physical prosperity. Earthly things and entanglement in worldly affairs naturally have a tendency to attract the flesh and cause a state of lukewarmness and carelessness about spiritual things, of which we are warned about in the scriptures (1Co 11:28-34; 1Ti 4:16; 1Ti 6:6-11; Rev 3:14-22):

Amo 6:1 Woe to them that are at ease in Zion, and trust in the mountain of Samaria, which are named chief of the nations, to whom the house of Israel came!

The tribe of Dan was naturally attracted to this city of Laish and saw the opportunity to conquer it. In this they operated like “an adder in the path, that bites the horse heels, so that his rider shall fall backward.” The tribe of Dan, with their carnal aspirations and hunger for more land at this stage, appointed six hundred men with weapons of war:

Jdg 18:11 And there went from thence of the family of the Danites, out of Zorah and out of Eshtaol, six hundred men appointed with weapons of war.

This is significant, as we know the number six is the number of man and his beastly efforts to establish what he deems important (Gen 1:24-31). This haughty human spirit of pride can also be picked up in the Danites as they also renamed the city of Laish (or Leshem) after their own name (1Jn 2:16):

Jos 19:47 And the coast of the children of Dan went out too little for them: therefore the children of Dan went up to fight against Leshem, and took it, and smote it with the edge of the sword, and possessed it, and dwelt therein, and called Leshem, Dan, after the name of Dan their father.

Physical man is a deluded creature who believes he has a free will and that his works of flesh can establish a name for himself in the earth – and even in the heaven. This is the nature of mankind since the creation, as God Himself causes this worldly spirit to operate in mankind for a period of time (Jer 18:4; Rom 8:20; 1Jn 2:16; Eze 14:9; 2Th 2:11). In this time we cannot help but be convinced that we can build our own heavenly towers with our own ways and methods – spiritual slime and bricks:

Gen 11:3 And they [the people who congregated in Babel after the global flood] said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them throughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for morter.
Gen 11:4 And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.

This tribe of Dan was very noticeable in the scriptures in their desire to worship graven images as they also appointed their own priests, even hiring a Levite who was not from the line of Aaron:

Jdg 18:19 And they said unto him, Hold thy peace, lay thine hand upon thy mouth, and go with us, and be to us a father and a priest: is it better for thee to be a priest unto the house of one man, or that thou be a priest unto a tribe and a family in Israel?

Jdg 18:29  And they called the name of the city Dan, after the name of Dan their father, who was born unto Israel: howbeit the name of the city was Laish at the first.
Jdg 18:30  And the children of Dan set up the graven image: and Jonathan, the son of Gershom, the son of Manasseh, he and his sons were priests to the tribe of Dan until the day of the captivity of the land.

Another witness to this self-glorification within this tribe of Dan is mentioned earlier in scripture when Israel was still in the wilderness and the following event took place:

Lev 24:10 And the son of an Israelitish woman, whose father was an Egyptian, went out among the children of Israel: and this son of the Israelitish woman and a man of Israel strove together in the camp;
Lev 24:11 And the Israelitish woman’s son blasphemed the name of the LORD, and cursed. And they brought him unto Moses: (and his mother’s name was Shelomith, the daughter of Dibri, of the tribe of Dan:)
Lev 24:12 And they put him in ward [under guard/type of imprisonment], that the mind of the LORD might be shewed them.
Lev 24:13 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
Lev 24:14 Bring forth him that hath cursed without the camp; and let all that heard him lay their hands upon his head, and let all the congregation stone him.
Lev 24:15 And thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel, saying, Whosoever curseth his God shall bear his sin.
Lev 24:16 And he that blasphemeth the name of the LORD, he shall surely be put to death, and all the congregation shall certainly stone him: as well the stranger, as he that is born in the land, when he blasphemeth the name of the LORD, shall be put to death.

It was a son in the tribe of Dan who openly blasphemed the name of the Lord and was stoned to death. We do blaspheme and curse God openly by claiming preeminence in the knowledge of His Word but failing to do His Word or apply that knowledge in our own lives and the lives of others (1Ti 6:1-6; Tit 2:3-5; Jas 1-26):

Rom 2:23 Thou that makest thy boast of the law, through breaking the law dishonourest thou God?
Rom 2:24 For the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you, as it is written.

When the kingdom of Israel split under the rule of Solomon’s son, Rehoboam, the tribe of Dan was one of the ten tribes who joined Jeroboam to form the northern kingdom of Israel. It was actually in the city of Dan where Jeroboam put one of the two golden calves for the purpose of worship (1Ki 12:26-31). Birds of a feather flock together, the saying goes, as Jeroboam was also insecure and self-absorbed as he wanted to prevent those under his rule from traveling to the temple in Jerusalem to sacrifice and worship there, as prescribed by God. This finds application in us when we worship our own image (our ideas and false sense of importance) which is the highest form of delusion in our mature beastly state:

Rev 13:11 And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon.
Rev 13:12 And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.
Rev 13:13 And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men,
Rev 13:14 And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.
Rev 13:15 And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.
Rev 13:16 And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads.

“Dan is a lion’s whelp: he shall leap from Bashan”

Moses expressed these words about this tribe of Dan before the entrance in Canaan:

Deu 33:22 And of Dan he [Moses] said, Dan is a lion’s whelp: he shall leap from Bashan.

We know that the lion is also the sign of the tribe of Judah, as Judah and his tribe grew from being a lion’s whelp to be an old lion. This tribe of Judah was the leading tribe in journey and battles in Israel and positioned first on the east side of the tabernacle in the wilderness (Gen 49:8-9; Jdg 1:1-2) As Judah was the appointed leader in this sense, so was the tribe of Dan appointed to bring up the rear of the people of Israel in their wanderings in the wilderness. This symbol of a lion’s whelp, which is connected here to the Danites, spiritually points out their immaturity in leadership. It is within our spiritually immature state that we actually also project ourselves to importance and rulership over others, like all worldly authorities are given to do (Mat 20:25-28). This type of leadership is also found among God’s people when He takes away the love for His Word and its authority in our lives:

Isa 3:1 For, behold, the Lord, the LORD of hosts, doth take away from Jerusalem and from Judah the stay and the staff, the whole stay of bread, and the whole stay of water,
Isa 3:2 The mighty man, and the man of war, the judge, and the prophet, and the prudent, and the ancient,
Isa 3:3 The captain of fifty, and the honourable man, and the counsellor, and the cunning artificer, and the eloquent orator.
Isa 3:4 And I will give children to be their princes, and babes shall rule over them.

The tribe of Dan, in its immature state, leaps from Bashan. Bashan was a fruitful district on the east side of the river Jordan, which is spiritually very significant. The tribe of Dan was blessed with strength and could conquer other nations as the scriptures already pointed out. This was also seen in the life of Samson, one of the judges of Israel. Samson was used as a judge in Israel, and he was indeed from the tribe of Dan. He was a life-long Nazarite, which again brings this immature spiritual state to the fore. God in His mercy will bring all babes in Christ to maturity by destroying our inward Philistines, even our many wonderful fruits of the flesh. This is what the story of this Danite Samson brings to us – God designs occasions through which He also brings the immaturity in us to an end:

Jdg 14:1 And Samson went down to Timnath, and saw a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines.
Jdg 14:2 And he came up, and told his father and his mother, and said, I have seen a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines: now therefore get her for me to wife.
Jdg 14:3 Then his father and his mother said unto him, Is there never a woman among the daughters of thy brethren, or among all my people, that thou goest to take a wife of the uncircumcised Philistines? And Samson said unto his father, Get her for me; for she pleaseth me well.
Jdg 14:4 But his father and his mother knew not that it was of the LORD, that he sought an occasion against the Philistines: for at that time the Philistines had dominion over Israel.

It was purposeful for God, who alone can create and use evil, to bring forth good as God “sought an occasion against the Philistines” to remove the dominion which the Philistines had over Israel (Gen 1:31; Gen 50:20):

Pro 16:4 The LORD hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil.

The immature spirit in the tribe of Dan was also seen when Israel had to fight against Jabin, the Canaanite king under a female judge, Deborah. The tribes of Dan, Reuben and Asher were absent in the war, and they could not see God’s purposes in all of these things. This is what Deborah had to say about these tribes:

Jdg 5:16 Why abodest thou among the sheepfolds, to hear the bleatings of the flocks? For the divisions of Reuben there were great searchings of heart.
Jdg 5:17 Gilead abode beyond Jordan: and why did Dan remain in ships? Asher continued on the sea shore, and abode in his breaches.

All authorities, the good ones and the weak or evil ones, are appointed by God for His purposes (Dan 4:25; Rom 13:1). We know that female leadership in a house, a church or a country, is not reflecting the true relationship in the Godhead between Father and Jesus (Gen 2:21-24; 1Co 11:3; Eph 5:21-33; 1Pe 3:1-6). When God goes to such measures, it is to expose our own hearts in the process as we do not know the deceitfulness and wickedness of our hearts (Deu 8:2):

Jer 17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?

Jacob’s final word to Dan included this hope:  “I have waited for thy salvation, O LORD.”

We all must go through much tribulation to receive God’s salvation, even through blaspheming against God through the spirit of the world with all its lusts and pride in us (Act 14:22). The obsession with their own name and image in these Danites is what we are admonished about, as their name is actually omitted from the twelve tribes in the spiritual city of God in the book of Revelation! However, these self-absorbed Danites in us “shall fall, and never rise up again”, even as spiritual Babylon will fall at the appointed time (Rev 18:1-24):

Amo 8:14 They that swear by the sin of Samaria, and say, Thy god, O Dan, liveth; and, The manner of Beersheba liveth; even they shall fall, and never rise up again.

When our old name is blotted out, we are given a new name. The new name comes through the doctrine of Christ which will be engraved on the heart of each person in Adam. Even as Aholiab, who was also from the tribe of Dan, was used by God to work in blue, purple and scarlet, and fine linen with the building of the tabernacle in the wilderness:

Exo 38:22  And Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, made all that the LORD commanded Moses.
Exo 38:23  And with him was Aholiab, son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, an engraver, and a cunning workman, and an embroiderer in blue, and in purple, and in scarlet, and fine linen.

With the building of the temple of Solomon, the king of Tyre, Huram, also advised Solomon of another skillful man, whose name was Hiram or Huram Abi, who was a descendant with the same craft within the tribe of Naphtali, although he was the son “of a woman of the daughters of Dan” (1Ki 7:13-14):

2Ch 2:13 And now I have sent a cunning man, endued with understanding, of Huram my father’s,
2Ch 2:14 The son of a woman of the daughters of Dan, and his father was a man of Tyre, skilful to work in gold, and in silver, in brass, in iron, in stone, and in timber, in purple, in blue, and in fine linen, and in crimson; also to grave any manner of graving, and to find out every device which shall be put to him, with thy cunning men, and with the cunning men of my lord David thy father.

All of these colors, and even the fine linen, speak of God’s righteousness and salvation through His temple in heaven, even as we enter through the veils at the doors of the tabernacle with the cherubims woven in them, which all symbolizes His elect (Gen 3:24; Joh 10:1-18; 1Ti 3:15; Heb 10:19-20; Rev 3:12):

2Ch 3:14 And he made the vail of blue, and purple, and crimson, and fine linen, and wrought cherubims thereon.

Dan and his tribe typify our road from being the last to be the first, if we can give a truthful account that we lived by all the words of God (Mat 4:4; Mat 20:1-16; Rom 5:8; 1Co 15:22-28; 1Ti 1:15). The tribe of Dan shows this “strange work” of judgment through which God humbles us through His chastening grace (Isa 28:16-21; Jer 2:19; 1Co 11:31-34; Tit 2:11-12; Rev 21:8):

Deu 8:5 Thou shalt also consider in thine heart, that, as a man chasteneth his son, so the LORD thy God chasteneth thee.
Deu 8:6 Therefore thou shalt keep the commandments of the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, and to fear him.

Detailed studies and emails relating to these foundational themes in Scripture are available on the www.iswasandwillbe.com website, including these topics and links:
The Keys to The Kingdom – Part 5
Why Are They Blessed?
Numbers in Scripture
Job 42:9-17 “So The LORD Blessed The Latter End of Job More Than His Beginning”
Fear Not
The Spiritual Significance of The Nazarite Vow