Types of the Bride of Christ: Zipporah

Zipporah was the wife of Moses and the daughter of Reuel, who was the priest of Midian.  She was one of Jethro’s seven daughters.  There is far less written about her than other bride types, yet there is still much to glean from Scripture.

After killing an Egyptian who struck a Hebrew, Moses fled to Midian.  There he helped Zipporah and her sisters who were being pushed away from a well as they were trying to get water for their flock.  This is reminiscint of Rebekah, another type of the bride of Christ, who also meets her bridegroom by the well. 

Reuel opens his home to Moses and gives him Zipporah as a wife — a Gentile bride.  We see a similar pattern with Asenath, the Gentile bride given to Joseph (another type for Christ) who was also the daughter of a priest.  Zipporah coming out of her family of seven sisters has been compared to the bride coming out from the church.  Zipporah was also given to Moses during the time of his rejection.

Zipporah and Moses had a son named Gershom, “for he said, I have been a stranger in a strange land.” (Exodus 2:23)  Their second son was Eliezer, which means God is my help.  When Moses returns to Egypt, Scripture tells us that the Lord “met him and tried to kill him.” (Exodus 4:24)  The Hebrew verb for “kill” used here is also sometimes used to mean the death of wisdom.  Blumenthal writes: “At this moment what God expressed to Moses by threatening to “kill” him is the demand that the prophet dedicate himself totally and irrevocably to the people he is about to lead.”     

That may explains what happens next.  Zipporah takes a sharp stone and cuts off the foreskin of her son (which one we do not know, some suggest her firstborn) and casts it to touch Moses’ feet, saying, “Surely a bloody husband art thou to me” (Exodus 4:24-26).  Extra sources tell us that Moses had failed to circumcise one of his sons, because Zipporah was opposed to it.  As far as we can tell, however, she was the first woman of the Bible to circumcise her son. 

The NET Bible notes suggest that Zipporah was telling Moses, “I have delivered you from death, and your return to life makes you my bridegroom a second time, this time by blood bridegroom, a bridegroom acquired by blood.”  Christ is our bridegroom acquired by blood, but I need to dig deeper because I think there is more to this passage that is not yet clear. 

Later, Zipporah is secure at her father’s house during the time when God delivers His judgments on Egypt.  This is a type for the bride being raptured and spared during the tribulation period.   

Chitwood writes in “The Bride in Genesis,” “Zipporah did not accompany Moses to Egypt when he appeared to his brethren the second time and was not present during any of this dealings with his brethren in Egypt… she was separated from Moses during this time and reunited with him only after the Exodus.”  

I know this post is about Zipporah, but in reading Exodus 4, I had to chuckle as Moses tries his best (three times) to back out of what the Lord has asked him to do.  We all may have doubts at times, but I cannot imagine actually standing before the Lord, trying to convince Him to change His mind!   

Types of the Bride of Christ: Asenath

Asenath was the daughter of Potiphera, the priest of On.  Her marriage to Joseph certainly allied him with one of the most powerful priestly families in Egypt.

Asenath’s name is of Egyptian origin and it may mean that she belongs to the goddess Neit.  She is only briefly mentioned in Scripture.  

From historical accounts, we know that she was a pagan.  Some Jewish writers believe that she was a proselyte (a convert).  These writers suggest that she was first spurned by Joseph and repented of her idolatry by wearing a sackcloth and ashes and disposing of her wealth.  Jewish legend goes on to say that she lost her beauty, until she washed her face in pure water and became marvelously beautiful.  Then she married Joseph. 

Another Jewish legend is that bees covered her and stung her lips to remove her false prayers.  Other non-Biblical stories are that she saved Joseph’s life when Potiphera was going to slay him, testifying that her mother lied about her accusations.  Or that she was really a member of Jacob’s family — the daughter of Joseph’s sister, Dinah — and conceived in her rape by Shechem.

Joseph is one of the strongest types for Christ in Scripture.  What we do know from the Bible is that Asenath becomes Joseph’s bride during the time of his rejection.  He also marries her before the seven years of famine. 

In fact, we do not hear of Asenath again until after the famine, which I believe is telling us that the bride will be removed from the earth before the Tribulation. 

Reference: Jewish Encyclopedia

Will We Follow Him?

So they called Rebekah and said to her, Will you go with this man? And she said, I will go. (Genesis 24:58, Amplified Bible)

I will go. Three simple words that epitomized Rebekah’s faith in her bridegroom, a man she did not even know! She was willing to leave her home and her people, a type of those believers who are wiling to leave everything behind to follow Christ and become His bride.

And Ruth said, Urge me not to leave you or to turn back from following you; for where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people and your God my God. (Ruth 1:16, emphasis mine).

Ruth clung to Naomi, and professed that she would follow her while Orpah kissed her mother-in-law and returned to her people, a type of those believers who remain faithful in Christ and those who turn back to the world.

Then the Lord rained on Sodom and on Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of the heavens. He overthrew, destroyed, and ended those cities, and all the valley and all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground. But [Lot’s] wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt. (Genesis 19, 24-26)

This is another type of the saved believer who does not seek first the kingdom and looks longingly back to this world. Throughout Scripture, we see people who falter at some point during their race. Esau sells his birthright for a mere cup of stew. Moses disobeys the Lord by striking the rock twice and is not allowed to enter the Promised Land. In fact, of the estimated 2.5 million Israelites who were believed to be living in the desert during that time, only two men followed God and are able to enter the land: Joshua and Caleb. The others who did not harken to God’s voice are not even allowed to see it (Numbers 14:22-30).

Paul mentions a thorn in his flesh that the Lord refuses to remove despite his pleas on three occasions. I can imagine him crying out:  Lord, give me the strength, endurance, and faith to follow You in all ways and to seek first Your kingdom no matter what the cost.

Satan’s plan remains the same as it was in the garden, which is to disqualify man from inheriting the kingdom. He attacks each of us in different ways. Learn more and be encouraged by John Herbert’s excellent sermons about the three enemies that can disqualify us from the race: the world, the flesh, and the devil.

Pretribulation Rapture: Fact or Fiction?

I watched a video this week where two pastors passionately argued that a pretribulation rapture is a work of fiction.  Their mission is to warn that believers will go through the tribulation.

When you do not understand the coming millennial kingdom and the events surrounding the judgment seat of Christ, it is easy to confuse parts of Scripture.  I believe this is what happened to these pastors.

They cited 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17, which does describe the rapture (emphasis is mine):

¹⁶ For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. ¹⁷ After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.

Then they cited Matthew 24:29-31 as evidence of why there will not be a pretribulation rapture (emphasis is mine):

²⁹ Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: ³⁰ And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 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.

But Jesus is not talking about the rapture here.  The pastors stressed the importance of comparing Scripture with Scripture, but they fell short.  They based their assumption on the mention of a trumpet in both 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 and Matthew 24:31.  Look at a previous verse, Matthew 24:27:

For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

I believe this verse does refer to the rapture.  Believers will meet Jesus in the clouds in the air — which happens in an instant, like lightening — but no one on earth will see Him.  Immediately after the rapture, the seven-year tribulation begins.  Then after the tribulation everyone will see Christ Jesus when He visibly returns to earth.  This is the post-rapture and post-trib event that Jesus is describing in Matthew 24:29-31.  

We see a similar reference to Christ Jesus’ visible second coming to earth in Revelation 1:7 (emphasis mine):

“Look, he is coming with the clouds,” and “every eye will see him,
even those who pierced him”;
 and all peoples on earth “will mourn because of him.”
So shall it be! Amen.

The pastors also argued that Matthew 24:37-41 describes the rapture:

³⁷As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. ³⁸For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; ³⁹and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. ⁴⁰Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. ⁴¹Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.  (Matthew 24:37-41, emphasis mine)

I admit that these verses stumped me.  When you compare Scripture with Scripture, during the days of Noah God “took away” all the evil people in the flood.  This includes the nephillim, the giant offspring of fallen angels who mated with daughters of men (Genesis 6:4) to try and pollute the human gene pool and prevent the birth of Jesus.  While Matthew 24:37-41 sounds like the rapture, it would be contradictory.

I prayed for God’s wisdom, set my studying aside, and went to listen to John Herbert, a kingdom truth preacher I like.  Wouldn’t you know it he was talking that about that very passage!  Herbert says the parable is describing all believers at the judgment seat of Christ; that the Greek word for “taken” describes being an intimate associate or a joining to one’s self. 

Comparing Scripture with Scripture, Jesus tells us in Matthew 13:38 that the field is the world.  Grinding the mill also relates to the threshing floor, where the wheat will be separated from the chaff.  In the Matthew 24:40-41 parable, Herbert says Jesus is talking about believers and their works done while in the body that will either withstand the test of fire or be burned up at the judgment seat of Christ.  

Herbert also says the ones who are left behind in Matthew 24:40-41 are believers whose works do not withstand the test of fire.  They will be outside the millennial kingdom (in the outer darkness) for a period of 1,000 years.

An alternate theory is that Jesus is referring to the remnant of believers who will be saved during the tribulation period.  The ones who are taken are those who are unsaved and will suffer God’s wrath and judgment.  But I need to do more study on this before I make a conclusion. 

Either way, I am convinced that these verses — and all of the types — in Scripture do not support a post-tribulation rapture.

Let Them Be For Signs and For Seasons (Part 1)

Last summer, I watched a beautiful documentary about the Star of Bethlehem, which was presented by Frederick A. Larson.

Using stargazing software, Larson was able to prove that Christ’s star, which is described in the Book of Matthew, correctly correlates with celestial events that occurred in 2 and 3 B.C.  He also connects the darkness that occurred the moment Christ died on the cross to another celestial event.  You can learn more by visiting his website. 

After watching the film, I wondered why did Larson stop at the cross?  I quickly downloaded some stargazing apps and went to Scripture to see if I could find any astrological clues that could shed some light on the season that Christ Jesus might return.

Let me state right now that the purpose of this study is not to claim to know the date that Christ will return.  In fact, I was hesitant to broach this topic because no one knows when our Lord will return as King except the Father.  Scripture also strongly warns against divination and sorcery.  Then I read a wonderful study by the late J.R. Church about how the messages of the constellations were meant to foretell the first and second advents of our Lord and God’s plan for redemption; not to be used for divination about man, which does constitute sin and idolatry. 

I discovered that from the start, Scripture tells us how we are to use the stars:

And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years (Genesis 1:14, emphasis mine)

In Matthew 16:2-3, Jesus rebuked the Pharisees and the Sadducees when they asked for a sign from heaven, because He knew full well that they should have been able to know the season of His first advent:

When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red. 3And in the morning, It will be foul weather to day: for the sky is red and lowering. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times?

This gave me reassurance to continue my study, which started with word searches on the sun, moon, and stars.  I was brought to the Book of Joel, where the prophet foretells Christ’s physical return to earth (which is not to be confused with the rapture, when he will meet believers in the clouds as described in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-1):

For the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision. 15The sun and moon will be darkened,
 and the stars no longer shine. 16The Lord will roar from Zion and thunder from Jerusalem; the earth and the heavens will tremble. But the Lord will be a refuge for his people, a stronghold for the people of Israel. (Joel 3:15, emphasis mine)

I used NASA's solar eclipse website to determine when the next total solar eclipses will occur.  One will happen on August 21, 2017.  Using Vito Technology’s amazing Star Walk app, I could see that the moon will also cover the star Regulus in the constellation Leo.  

Regulus, which is one of the brightest stars, is called the “King Star.”  It is actually a multiple star system.  An astronomer from Cornell University's "Ask an Astronomer" website explained that during this particular solar eclipse, Regulus will not be visible because it will be up during the day and very close to the sun.  Also, if the moon passes in front of any star, the star will not only get dimmer, but become invisible until it reappears from behind the moon.

This celestial event appeared to match Joel 3:15 exactly!  

Unfortunately, it does not line up with Daniel’s prophecy about the 70^th week, the seven-year period that I believe will begin with the rapture. During this time, the antichrist will be revealed and there will be “peace and prosperity” for 3½ years.  But those left behind will suffer the tribulation horrors for the remaining 3½ years, until Christ Jesus triumphantly returns to earth, binds Satan (Revelation 20:1-3), and establishes His millennial kingdom (if you have not accepted Jesus as your Savior, I pray you will do so because time is running out).

Then last week, I read "Signs of the Times," an interesting article by Jerusalem-based journalist David Dolan.  He writes about tetrads (four consecutive full lunar eclipses) and their connection to Biblical feasts.  Tetrads are quite rare, however, several have occurred in the last 70 years, which Dolan connects to pivotal events with Israel.  He also writes that an upcoming cycle will occur on the first evening of Passover over the next two years and also on the first night of the Feast of Tabernacles.  This will be the last tetrad occurring on Biblical feasts until the end of this century. 

Dolan questions whether the rapture might be tied to one of these dates, which immediately renewed my interest in stargazing.  While a total lunar eclipse will occur on April 15, 2014, the actual date of the next Passover is April 14, 2014 (in the Jewish calendar, holidays begin at sunset on the previous day).  The 4/14/14 date is interesting.  A multiple of 7, the number 14 can imply a double measure of spiritual perfection.  It also represents deliverance or salvation.

Passover commemorates events in Exodus — when the Israelites were freed from slavery in Egypt — and the 10^th plague; the death of every Egyptian first-born child.  The Israelites were instructed to mark the doorposts of their houses with the blood of a slaughtered spring lamb (a type of the cross and the crucifixion) so the spirit of the Lord would pass over their homes.  This also appears to be a type of the rapture.

If the rapture did occur on the eve of April 14, 2014, do the sun, moon, and stars reveal anything else?  

I will save that discussion for next time.