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The Sons Of Jephunneh

overcomer41

(Taken from the Bible study The Right To Possess.)


Joshua and Caleb possessed this overcoming spirit [the previous verses within the Bible study The Right To Possess refer to the overcoming sons and daughters]. After spying out the Promised Land of the children of Israel’s inheritance with ten other spies who gave a bad report, Caleb said, “We should by all means go up and take possession of it, for we will surely overcome it.” (Numbers 13:30/NASU) He said this because he believed God and desired to do what He said, not allowing what he saw with his eyes to take away that which he heard from God.

The Lord would then say to Moses;


“Surely all the men who have seen My glory and My signs which I performed in Egypt and in the wilderness, yet have put Me to the test these ten times and have not listened to My voice, shall by no means see the land which I swore to their fathers, nor shall any of those who spurned Me see it. But My servant Caleb, because he has had a different spirit and has followed Me fully, I will bring into the land which he entered, and his descendants shall take possession of it.”

(Numbers 14:22-24/NASU)


Caleb’s name means “a dog, faithful, loyal.” He represents all those who are the faithful and loyal servants of God. Like “man’s best friend,” they are the Lord’s best friend. He was the son of Jephunneh (yef-oon-neh') whose name means “he will be prepared, he will be facing.” This is another characteristic of the Caleb spirit among the faithful of the Lord. They will be the prepared ones who remain facing God with undistracted devotion (1 Cor. 7:35). They will not turn away from Him with insulting neglect and unfaithfulness, thereby breaking covenant with Him.

They are the faithful servants of the Lord who will remain alive in the final judgment on earth. Like the spies who gave a bad report of that which God said was theirs for the taking, many will die in the wilderness on the way, falling short of the finish line, never possessing what they had been given the right through Christ to possess. As with the children of Israel, they will find that, without obedience, the promise alone isn’t enough for entering in. Without our “working together with Him” (2 Cor. 6:1) we receive His grace in vain, which means “to believe without reason or effect,” and perish along with all the other unbelievers (Luke 12:46).

I wrote the following in my book The Womb Of The Dawn;


In Genesis 32:24-32 [see these verses right below], after many years of separation, Jacob is about to meet his brother, Esau, face to face. The last time he saw him was when he had deceived his father into giving him Esau’s blessing (Genesis 27). Fearing for his life, he now has an interesting encounter, wrestling alone with “a man” through the night until daybreak, the dawning of a new day.

After Jacob had the socket of his thigh dislocated, the man said to him, “Let me go, for the dawn is breaking.” Jacob said that he would not let go until he blessed him. I see in this passage of Scripture a picture in type of the last days Christian that holds on firmly to the Lord in a very dark, difficult period on earth until the dawning of a new day.

After wrestling with God and man, these “sons of dawn” [overcome and] arise, like Jacob, having received His blessing. After receiving the “dew of our youth,” [see Psalm 110:3] the covering glory of God, we will reign with Him forever more. This is the place we possessed at the beginning of creation in the Garden of Eden.

Notice verse 31 which says the sun rose upon him just as he crossed over Penuel. Penuel means “facing God.” As we turn toward God in our hearts, facing Him instead of turning away from Him, He will cause His face to shine upon us as we cross over into our spiritual inheritance at the end of this age.


To spurn God is to scorn Him, to despise and abhor Him. It is the same rebuke from the writer of Hebrews of Christians who, after turning toward Him, then turn away from Him and go on with a false sense of security, sinning willfully without repentance or any fear of God’s judgment for those who act in this manner.

To spurn God in arrogance and disrespect after turning to Him is not only still possible in the New Testament but is even more serious in the new covenant because of the blood of Jesus (see Hebrews 10:26-31). These covenant breakers are said to “trample under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace.” (Hebrews 10:29) To “trample under foot” is defined as “to treat with rudeness and insult, to treat with insulting neglect, i.e. turning away [unlike the son of Jephunneh] from the Son of God to indulge in willful sin.”

The Greek word interpreted as “insulted” in the above passage from Hebrews is enubrizo (en-oo-brid'-zo). It’s defined as “to treat insultingly, with contumely.” Vine's Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words defines it as “‘to insult’; some connect it with huper, ‘above, over,’ Latin; super, which suggests the insulting disdain of one who considers himself superior.”

Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines “contumely” as “harsh language or treatment arising from haughtiness and contempt.” So to insult the Spirit of grace is to think more highly of yourself than one ought to. It is to show through your actions or words an arrogance toward the Lord’s mercy/grace shown toward you, literally as if it is “beneath consideration, worthless, or deserving scorn.”

It’s hard to think of a greater depth of arrogance than this which is why the greatest judgment recorded in the Bible is against those among His own who have “escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning. It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them.” (2 Peter 2:20-21/NIV) The Bible is clear; to those who have been given/revealed much, much will be required (Luke 12:47-48).



Genesis 32:24-32See the note below.

24 Then Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him until daybreak [“dawn”].

25 When he saw that he had not prevailed against him, he touched the socket of his thigh; so the socket of Jacob's thigh was dislocated while he wrestled with him.

26 Then he said, "Let me go, for the dawn is breaking." But he said, "I will not let you go unless you bless me."

27 So he said to him, "What is your name?" And he said, "Jacob."

28 He said, "Your name shall no longer be Jacob, but Israel [“he will rule as God”, “God prevails”]; for you have striven [“to contend, to have power, to prevail, to persist, to persevere”] with God and with men and have prevailed [3201]."

29 Then Jacob asked him and said, "Please tell me your name." But he said, "Why is it that you ask my name?" And he blessed him there.

30 So Jacob named the place Peniel [6439- “facing God/the face of God”], for he said, "I have seen God face to face, yet my life has been preserved."

31 Now the sun rose upon him just as he crossed over Penuel [6439], and he was limping on his thigh.

32 Therefore, to this day the sons of Israel do not eat the sinew of the hip which is on the socket of the thigh, because he touched the socket of Jacob's thigh in the sinew of the hip.

NASU


OT:3201 yakol (yaw-kole'); or (fuller) yakowl (yaw-kole')

(Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance)

a primitive root; to be able, literally (can, could) or morally (may, might):

KJV - be able, any at all (ways), attain, can (away with, [-not]), could, endure, might, overcome, have power, prevail, still, suffer.

(Brown Driver Briggs Hebrew Lexicon)

to prevail, to overcome, to endure, to have power, to be able (Qal)

1) to be able, to be able to gain or accomplish, to be able to endure, to be able to reach

2) to prevail, to prevail over or against, to overcome, to be victor

3) to have ability, to have strength


This passage, which was quoted above, refers to the time when Jacob was about to see his brother, Esau, for the first time after many years since he had deceived him and received the right of the inheritance, as well as the blessing from his father. After sending his family ahead of him, he then spent the night wrestling with God. At dawn, in the breaking of a new day, he overcame and received the Lord’s blessing and received a new name (see the Bible study 2020 The Dawning Of The Light).

In His letter to the church in Pergamum, the Lord warned them to repent. He had commended them at first for holding fast His name in this place where “Satan’s throne” was. He then rebuked them for holding on to other false teachings as well, telling them to repent before declaring;


“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, to him I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, and a new name written on the stone which no one knows but he who receives it.”

(Revelation 2:17/NASU)


Further on in John’s Revelation, in the Lord’s word to the church in Philadelphia, He speaks again about receiving a new name (also see Isaiah 56:5, 62:2, 65:15). He says;


“I am coming quickly; hold fast [“to become master of, to rule, to get possession of, to lay hold of, to continue to hold, to retain”] what you have [“to hold, to own, possess”; see def. in John 12:35-36 below], so that no one will take your crown. He who overcomes [”to conquer, overcome, prevail”], I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he will not go out from it anymore; and I will write on him the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God, and My new name. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”

(Revelation 3:11-13/NASU)


Back in Genesis, chapter 32, we read that, at the dawning of a new day, the sun (Son) rose upon Jacob just as he crossed over Penuel which means “the face of God.” Like Jacob and Caleb, the son of Jephunneh (yef-oon-neh') which means “he will be prepared, he will be facing”, the overcoming sons and daughters of God who have remained faithful, facing Him rather then turning away/forsaking Him with an apostate heart in the great falling away of the last days (2 Thess. 2:1-4), will be among those who will receive the blessing of the Lord, a new name, not be hurt by the second death (Rev. 2:11), authority to rule over the nations (Rev. 2:26-27), and clothed in white garments and not have their name erased from the book of life (Rev. 3:5).


The Word Of My Perseverance


The Lord changed Jacob’s name to Israel (“he will rule as God”, “God prevails”) because, God said, “you have striven [“to contend, to have power, to prevail, to persist, to persevere”] with God and with men and have prevailed.” In these last days, when a flood of wickedness had been poured out upon the earth, “as it was in the days of Noah,” perseverance in Christ is especially critical. We MUST keep our eyes fixed on Jesus who already won the battle and will, if we are willing, lead us in His victory over the flesh, the world, and the devil. His victory was guaranteed for us on the cross.

The same Hebrew word for “prevailed” is also found within the story of Samson. It is a sad story of the enemy prevailing/overpowering God’s anointed because he failed to persist in the will of God. In the end, though, Samson repented while being blinded by the enemy and in complete bondage to him, and destroyed more of the enemy in his death than while alive. His story is a picture of the need to walk in the death of our flesh while living so that we can walk in the life and victory of Jesus. Also, and I believe even more critical, we see the enemy’s tactics of war against the followers of Christ…


Judges 16:4-6See the note below regarding the tactics of the devil used against every Christian.

4 After this it came about that he [Samson] loved a woman in the valley of Sorek [“choice vines”], whose name was Delilah [“languishing”, “feeble”; taken from a word that means, figuratively, “to be oppressed”].

5 The lords of the Philistines came up to her and said to her, "Entice [6601] him, and see where his great strength lies and how we may overpower [3201] him that we may bind [631] him to afflict [6031] him. Then we will each give you eleven hundred pieces of silver."

6 So Delilah said to Samson [“sunlight”, “like the sun”], "Please tell me where your great strength is and how you may be bound to afflict you."

NASU


OT:6601 pathah (paw-thaw')

(Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance)

a primitive root; to open, i.e. be (causatively, make) roomy; usually figuratively (in a mental or moral sense) to be (causatively, make) simple or (in a sinister way) delude [see 2 Thess. 2:11]:

KJV - allure, deceive, enlarge, entice, flatter, persuade, silly (one).

(Brown Driver Briggs Hebrew Lexicon)

1) to be spacious, to be open, to be wide

a) (Qal) to be spacious or open or wide

b) (Hiphil) to make spacious, to make open

2) to be simple, to entice, to deceive, to persuade

a) (Qal)

1) to be open-minded, to be simple, to be naive

2) to be enticed, to be deceived

b) (Niphal) to be deceived, to be gullible

c) (Piel)

1) to persuade, to seduce

2) to deceive

d) (Pual)

1) to be persuaded

2) to be deceived


OT:3201 yakol (yaw-kole'); or (fuller) yakowl (yaw-kole')

(Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance)

a primitive root; to be able, literally (can, could) or morally (may, might):

KJV - be able, any at all (ways), attain, can (away with, [-not]), could, endure, might, overcome, have power, prevail, still, suffer.

(Brown Driver Briggs Hebrew Lexicon)

to prevail, to overcome, to endure, to have power, to be able (Qal)

1) to be able, to be able to gain or accomplish, to be able to endure, to be able to reach

2) to prevail, to prevail over or against, to overcome, to be victor

3) to have ability, to have strength

The most frequent use of this verb is in the sense of “can” or “to be able”… When yakol is used without another verb, the sense is “to prevail” or “to overcome”… There is no distinction in Hebrew between “can” and “may,” since yakolexpresses both “ability” and “permission”… The Septuagint translates yakol by several words, dunamai being by far the most common. Dunamai means “to be able, powerful.” It is first used in the New Testament in Matthew 3:9: “...God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.”

(from Vine's Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words, Copyright © 1985, Thomas Nelson Publishers.)


OT:631 'acar (aw-sar')

(Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance)

a primitive root; to yoke or hitch; by analogy, to fasten in any sense, to join battle:

KJV - bind, fast, gird, harness, hold, keep, make ready, order, prepare, prison (-er), put in bonds, set in array, tie.

(Brown Driver Briggs Hebrew Lexicon)

to tie, to bind, to imprison

a) (Qal)

1) to tie, to bind

2) to tie, to harness

3) to bind (with cords)

4) to gird (rare and late)

5) to begin the battle, to make the attack

6) used of obligation of oath (figurative)

b) (Niphal) to be imprisoned, to be bound [see the note for Acts 16:22-26 in the Bible studies Shaking, 2020 The Dawning Of The Light, and Binding And Loosing]

c) (Pual) to be taken prisoner

TO BIND

'acar (aw-sar') [OT:631] - "to bind, imprison, tie, gird, to harness." This word is a common Semitic term, found in both ancient Akkadian and Ugaritic, as well as throughout the history of the Hebrew language. The word occurs around 70 times in its verbal forms in the Hebrew Old Testament. The first use of 'acar in the Hebrew text is in Genesis 39:20, which tells how Joseph was "imprisoned" after being wrongfully accused by Potiphar's wife.


The common word for "tying up" for security and safety, 'acar is often used to indicate the tying up of horses and donkeys 2 Kings 7:10. Similarly, oxen are "harnessed" to carts 1 Samuel 6:7, 10. Frequently, °asar is used to describe the "binding" of prisoners with cords and various fetters Genesis 42:24; Judges 15:10, 12-13. Samson misled Delilah as she probed for the secret of his strength, telling her to "bind" him with bowstrings Judges 16:7 and new ropes Judges 16:11, none of which could hold him.


Used in an abstract sense, 'acar refers to those who are spiritually "bound" Psalm 146:7; Isaiah 49:9; 61:1 [see the note for Acts 16:22-26 in the Bible studies Shaking, 2020 The Dawning Of The Light, and Binding And Loosing] or a man who is emotionally "captivated" by a woman's hair S.O.S. 7:5. Strangely, the figurative use of the term in the sense of obligation or "binding" to a vow or an oath is found only in Numbers 30, but it is used there a number of times vv. 3, 5-6, 8-9, 11-12. This section also illustrates how such "binding" is variously rendered in the English versions: "bind" (RSV, KJV, NAB); "promises" (TEV); "puts himself under a binding obligation" (NEB, NASB); "takes a formal pledge under oath" (JB).

(from Vine's Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words, Copyright © 1985, Thomas Nelson Publishers.)


OT:6031 `anah (aw-naw')

(Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance)

a primitive root [possibly rather ident. with OT:6030 through the idea of looking down or browbeating]; to depress literally or figuratively, transitive or intransitive (in various applications, as follows):

KJV - abase self, afflict (-ion, self), answer [by mistake for OT:6030], chasten self, deal hardly with, defile, exercise, force, gentleness, humble (self), hurt, ravish, sing [by mistake for OT:6030], speak [by mistake for OT:6030], submitself, weaken, in any wise.

(Brown Driver Briggs Hebrew Lexicon)

1) (Qal) to be occupied, to be busied with

2) to afflict, to oppress, to humble, to be afflicted, to be bowed down

a) (Qal)

1) to be put down, to become low

2) to be depressed, to be downcast

3) to be afflicted

4) to stoop

b) (Niphal)

1) to humble oneself, to bow down

2) to be afflicted, to be humbled

c) (Piel)

1) to humble, to mishandle, to afflict

2) to humble, to be humiliated

3) to afflict

4) to humble, to weaken oneself

d) (Pual)

1) to be afflicted

2) to be humbled

e) (Hiphil) to afflict

f) (Hithpael)

1) to humble oneself

2) to be afflicted


Within these verses that deal with the fall of Samson and his binding and imprisonment by God’s enemies, the tactics of the devil commonly used against God’s people are revealed. They are entice, overpower, bind, and afflict. As with any wise military strategist, in order to incapacitate the strength of those with whom you are fighting, you look for their weakness. Satan knows this well having watched mankind, and in particular God’s people, for centuries to discover the best ways to overpower them.

You see how far Samson had walked when he allowed his lust for women to be seen in broad daylight with no shame or fear of God. His obvious weakness would become the easy target of the devil. It would eventually result in his being taken captive and having his eyes gouged out, the very thing used to lead him astray. Spiritually speaking, this is what occurs to every Christian whom the devil overpowers. They/we end up in bondage, unable to move or fight against the enemy. Having once been given spiritual eyes to see by the Holy Spirit, they no longer see.

When Israel walked in rebellion against the Lord, He said to Ezekiel; “Son of man, you are living among a rebellious people. They have eyes to see but do not see and ears to hear but do not hear, for they are a rebellious people.” (Ezekiel 12:2/NIV) We now live in a land where the majority of the Lord’s anointed are in the same state as Samson, blind and imprisoned, without even knowing it (Rev. 3:17).

This same thing happened to the Laodicean church of the lukewarm who were neither cold nor hot. Jesus said to them;


“…because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth. Because you say, ‘I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing,’ and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked.”

(Rev. 3:15-17/NASU)


The deceived, lukewarm leaders in the church in America, and beyond where we have exported our spiritual harlotries, have become the devil’s mouthpiece. Let’s look at how this came about per the strategy of our enemy that was successfully carried out against Samson.


Satan’s Choice Vine To Operate Through


The first thing to observe is the type of person, in this case a woman, who was used by the devil to do his dirty work. She lived in “the valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah.” Sorek means “choice vines.” The Hebrew for Delilah is defined as “languishing,” or “feeble.” It’s taken from a word that means, “figuratively, to be oppressed.”

According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, to languish is “to be or become feeble, weak, or enervated [which means “to reduce the mental or moral vigor of; to lessen the vitality or strength of; to make someone feel weak and without energy”]; to be or live in a state of depression or decreasing vitality; to become dispirited; to suffer neglect; to assume an expression of grief or emotion appealing for sympathy.” It comes from the Latin word languere which means “to be weak or faint.” It can also mean to “have a desire for something or someone who is not present” (vocabulary.com). This weak willed, weak spirited person is the “choice vine” that is wide open and vulnerable to be overcome by Satan and then used by him to destroy others.

One definition of languish is “to fail to make progress or be successful.” A good example of this spirit in the New Testament is found in Paul’s second letter to Timothy. In describing to him what people will be like in the “difficult”, or “terrible” times of the last days, Paul says;


“Have nothing to do with them. They are the kind who worm their way into homes and gain control over weak-willed women, who are loaded down with sins and are swayed by all kinds of evil desires, always learning but never able to acknowledge the truth. Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so also these men oppose the truth — men of depraved minds, who, as far as the faith is concerned, are rejected [“not standing the truth, reprobate”]. But they will not get very far [NAS version- “they will not make further progress”] because, as in the case of those men, their folly will be clear to everyone.” (2 Timothy 3:1-9/NIV)


There was a time when Jesus rebuked a group of Jews who had believed in Him, saying; “I know that you are Abraham's descendants; yet you seek to kill Me, because My word has no place in you.” (John 8:37/NASU) To have “no place” means “to have no room or space for receiving or holding something; to not go forward, advance, or proceed; to make no progress.” The Delilah, weak-willed, oppressed spirit that, through apathy and disobedience, makes no room for the progress of the Spirit within them is the chosen one, the “choice vine” among God’s people whom Satan searches for and finds room to operate within so as to overpower/overcome other chosen ones of God. Much destruction within the church has taken place throughout the centuries through this wicked, deceived spirit of seduction.


Exposing The Strategy Of Satan


The first word in the tragic story of Samson’s falling away from God is the word interpreted in English as “entice.” The Hebrew for it is pathah (paw-thaw') which is defined as “to be open, to be spacious, to be roomy, to be open minded, to be simple, to be naïve, to be seduced, to be deceived, to be persuaded.”

In Proverbs, Solomon warns man/mankind against the deceitfulness of a harlot. He says; “With her many persuasions she entices him; with her flattering lips she seduces him.” (Proverbs 7:21/NASU) Many within the church have been enticed and overpowered by the devil through this seductive spirit that has found a dwelling within the “weak-willed” who are oppressed. Whether or not it’s a man in the church who is led by his flesh and uses his influence to seduce a woman of this nature, or a weak man who is seduced by a woman that has become vulnerable for one reason or another to the enemy, the result is always devastating. This is, in fact, the seductive demonic spirit that operates within the leadership of Babylon, the spiritual harlot.

The second word to remember is “overpower” which comes from the Hebrew yakol (yaw-kole'). It means “to prevail, to overcome, to endure, to have power, to be victor.” Vine's Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words states, “The most frequent use of this verb is in the sense of ‘can’ or ‘to be able.’” It is through our partaking of the seductive bait of our enemy that he “can,” or is “able” to then move forward to the next phase of his plan. Our disobedience grants him permission and empowers him to be victorious over us.

John writes that Christ’s life is “the Light of men,” and that “the Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it” (John 1:1-5), which means to “overpower” or “overtake.” The Greek word for it is katalambano [kat-al-am-ban'-o] which is defined as “to take eagerly (i.e. seize, possess), to lay hold of so as to make one's own, to obtain, of evils overtaking one.” Samson is our example of someone who through continued disobedience caused the light of God within him to be overtaken, or overpowered by darkness (see the Bible study The Light Becoming Darkness). He did not make the right choice with the power of God granted to him.

As we will see, though, at his death he regained through repentance the strength of God that he would use to bring down the enemy one last time. He is in fact even mentioned in Hebrews, chapter eleven, which is the great hall of faith (Hebrews 11:32). I see a message within this for the church in America.

One day, Jesus said to the crowd that had gathered around Him;


“For a little while longer the Light is among you. Walk while you have [2192- “to have, to own, possess”; see Rev. 3:11 on p.10] the Light, so that darkness will not overtake [same Hebrew in John 1:5] you; he who walks in the darkness does not know where he goes. While you have [2192] the Light, believe [4100- “to believe, to trust, to place confidence in, to commit to”] in the Light, so that you may become [1096- “to become, to begin to be, to come into being”] sons of Light.”

(John 12:35-36/NASU)


The Greek for “overtake” is katalambano [kat-al-am-ban'-o], the same word used in John 1:5. This is another reference to the way of becoming the sons and daughters of God (i.e. sonship). In order to become “sons of Light” we need to “believe in the Light” while we are in possession of Him, or in Him as many Scriptures say. If we walk in the light of Christ while we possess His light, He will always overpower the darkness within us so that we may become a son or daughter of God. John referred to this in John 1:12 when he said that those who have “received Him” have been given the “right to become children of God.”

In this passage, John’s subject is those who received Christ, those who were literally born of God. By definition, they have laid hold of Christ, making Him their own. They are the only ones that have been given the right to become children of God. This is interesting because it would be assumed that they are instantly, at the choice of receiving Christ, to be His child. Per John, there is more in regards to bringing this right to completion in Him.

The definition for “right” is, “privilege, power of choice, liberty of doing as one pleases, the power of rule or government.” Freedom in Christ, therefore, is the “authority, power (of choice), privilege, liberty of doing as one pleases” that is only granted to those who turn in repentance to Jesus, receiving Him as their Lord and Savior. The unbelievers do not have this freedom to choose. They are slaves to sin and the devil (2 Tim. 2:26), imprisoned under his power and authority. It was Samson’s poor choices that eventually led to his imprisonment by the enemy. It is the same for us today.

In his first letter to the church of the Thessalonians, Paul exhorts them regarding the day of the Lord’s wrath on earth, saying;


“But you, brethren, are not in darkness, that the day would overtake [katalambano] you like a thief; for you are all sons of light and sons of day. We are not of night nor of darkness; so then let us not sleep as others do, but let us be alert and sober.”

(1 Thessalonians 5:4-6/NASU)


This was Samson’s issue. He slept in the enemy’s lap with no fear of God and the consequences of walking in continued sin. Due to an arrogant presumption on the goodness of God (i.e. “eternal security”), he lived with a false sense of security, eventually losing his anointing because he did not remain “alert and sober.” This is the current state of the church in America which is why we must be shaken by the Lord so as to be awakened to our true state of spiritual powerlessness.


Bound And Afflicted Christians


To continue to the third of these four words is to be in a VERY dark place. The simple, four letter English word is “bind.” The Hebrew word is 'acar (aw-sar'). The definition for it is, “to yoke or hitch, to tie, to bind, to harness, to be imprisoned.” (See the note for Acts 16:22-26 in the Bible studies Shaking, 2020 The Dawning Of The Light, and Binding And Loosing regarding what occurred when Paul and Silas were in prison.) How many in the church have been taken captive by the enemy through continued sin and disobedience to the will of God and are not even aware of it? The answer is the majority of the church in America which is why the darkness is currently prevailing (“overpowering/overcoming/overtaking”) in our land.

The last phase, and the ultimate goal of the devil in the church, is “to afflict” us, keeping us chained in a useless state of spiritual paralysis, without sight and hopeless under his oppressive occupation. Our final Hebrew word of this evil strategy is `anah (aw-naw'). The definition for it is, “to be occupied, to be busied with, to oppress, to humble, to be afflicted, to be bowed down, to be depressed, to be downcast, to weaken oneself.” It is through this simple scheme that the enemy of our souls has effectively weakened and “occupied” the church, imprisoning multitudes of God’s people throughout the ages behind demonic barriers. This satanic occupation among the hearts of God’s people is the reason that so many of our number have now fallen away from Christ with an apostate heart.

When a person breaks the law they forfeit their rights and are locked up. Where justice prevails in a society, lawlessness results in a loss of freedom. When a man or woman chooses to come under the Lordship of Jesus Christ (become a Christian), under His government rule, and then continues to walk in rebellion against God’s will, it is inevitable that they will become bound and afflicted. They have forfeited the grace of God shown toward them, like Samson, and are then lawfully given over to the power of the jailer, the devil.

The good news, though, is that the devil does NOT have the last word on earth. In the dawning of a new day, the Lord has begun to shake the prison house of the enemy, with the intent to set His captives free for one last time before His return (see the Bible study 2020 The Dawning Of The Light).

In His rebuke of Israel for their spiritual harlotry, the Lord declared through the prophet; “I will go away and return to My place until they acknowledge their guilt and seek My face; In their affliction they will earnestly seek Me.” (Hosea 5:9/NASU) The Lord disciplines His wayward children with the intent that we would return to Him with a repentant heart. Without repentance, many in the church in America, like Samson, will feel a depth of suffering the likes of which we have never experienced.

The psalmist declared;


“The Lord looked down from his sanctuary on high, from heaven he viewed the earth, to hear the groans of the prisoners and release those condemned to death.”

(Psalm 102:19-20/NIV)


There is a groaning among the church that has begun and will only increase as the pressure of the Lord increases in our nation. Some will not repent but will curse God and die. As we’ll see in type through Samson, others will remember God and repent causing Him to remember and restore them.


Asleep In The Lap Of The Enemy


After foolishly sharing the secret of his strength with those whose desire was to destroy him, he went out as usual, not knowing his strength had departed from him as he lay sleeping in the lap of his enemy, and was finally bound under their power. This is THE picture of the current state of the church in America, as well as our general state as a nation. Like the Israelites in their wilderness journey, we are;


“…a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation that did not prepare its heart and whose spirit was not faithful to God… They did not keep the covenant of God and refused to walk in His law; They forgot His deeds and His miracles that He had shown them… for their heart was not steadfast toward Him, nor were they faithful in His covenant.”

(Psalm 78:8, 10, 37/NASU)


America, and in particular God’s children within us, is now in our last opportunity to repent before the judgment of God falls in earnest (I was given a revelation regarding this last call from God to His people which I wrote in a book called 911; God’s Last Offer To The Church). We have only experienced a small portion of the wrath of God that will come upon us for our chastisement. Church, to not repent in this final moment, presuming that God will protect you even though you walk in rebellion to His leading in your life, is to be unprotected in a time of sheer terror on our soil with all the other unbelievers. Repent while the door of God’s mercy remains open.

We are a nation of covenant breakers who will soon experience the fear of the Lord. Like Samson, a time is coming when our nation will go out against those who hate us, relying solely on our military might, totally unaware that the One who gave us our strength is no longer there. I recently heard within me the following warning; “If you do not fear Me, I will bring on you what you do fear.” Oh God, I pray, remember us!


Under The Power Of The Enemy


The Bible says that, after being overpowered by the Philistines, they immediately gouged out his eyes and bound him with bronze chains, making him a grinder in the prison (Judges 16:21). Spiritual blindness within the majority of the church in America is proof that we have been taken captive for quite a while already, grinding under the oppression within the prison of the enemy.

It was during this time that something began to change, though; Samson’s hair began to grow again. That from which he drew his strength from the Lord began to come back. He had been walking in arrogant presumption for so long that he lost all discernment and, eventually, the source of his strength. This is what has happened to the church in America. We have gone on with business as usual for so long, in our own strength, our own power, our own branding, etc., that we have become as foolish, and shameless, as Samson.

You have to believe that during his imprisonment, Samson, without his physical eyesight, began to see things more clearly than ever before. There was a return to his spiritual senses. In his letter to Timothy, Paul said;


“The Lord's bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged, with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will.”

(2 Timothy 2:24-26/NASU)


Many within the church in America have fallen asleep and been taken captive by the devil and, unknowingly, are doing his will. This is why the darkness is now prevailing in our nation.

After being humble by his enemies, and remembering who the source of his strength was, Samson would be granted one last moment from the Lord to avenge the loss of his eyes at the hand of his enemies.

The result of Samson’s fall was rejoicing by the Philistines who praised their god Dagon, offering a great sacrifice to him. This is what always occurs among the heathen when God’s people disobey Him and make room for Satan to overpower them. Satan is temporarily glorified rather than God.

In their frenzied celebration, the lords of the Philistines called for Samson to come and “amuse” and “entertain” them. As they mockingly laughed at him, Samson asked the boy who was holding his hand to place his hands on the pillars which the Philistines house rested. Here lies a daunting picture of the weakening power of sin. The man who had once been so powerfully used by God against those who ruled over His people could now be led by even a little boy.

The Bible records for us what happened next;


“Now the house was full of men and women, and all the lords of the Philistines were there. And about 3,000 men and women were on the roof looking on while Samson was amusing them. Then Samson called to the Lord and said, ‘O Lord God, please remember me and please strengthen me just this time, O God, that I may at once be avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes.’ Samson grasped the two middle pillars on which the house rested, and braced himself against them, the one with his right hand and the other with his left. And Samson said, ‘Let me die with the Philistines!’ And he bent with all his might so that the house fell on the lords and all the people who were in it. So the dead whom he killed at his death were more than those whom he killed in his life.”

(Judges 16:27-30/NASU)


God remembered Samson because he remembered God. To remember God is to acknowledge Him as not just your Savior, but also your Lord. For Samson it was to humbly admit that He alone was the source of his great strength. He was the “head covering” that enabled Samson to do great exploits. It was to be for God’s glory, not Samson’s.

Part of the definition for the Hebrew word interpreted as “remember” in this passage is “to mark (so as to be recognized).” In our recognition of Jesus as our Lord through our actions and deeds I believe we will receive a “mark” that will distinguish us as His children that will be spared in the day of His wrath (Malachi 3:16-18, Ezekiel 9:4-6).

Through the final moments of Samson’s life I see a picture of the final moments of the church’s life in America. Spiritually speaking our enemy, the devil, has already bound the majority of the church, and in particular the leadership. Their strength from God is gone and most are totally unaware. They are already blind (Rev. 3:16-18) and in a spiritual grind, going in circles, imprisoned under the power of the devil. Only those who acknowledge their spiritual impotency, remembering God as their strength, will be granted one last push against the pillars of the devil’s house that he has built through injustice and unrighteousness.

I was given a revelation from God on Easter morning of this year, 2020, that I believe compares to what happened to Samson. It was revealed to me, through Matthew 28:1-2, that this will be the year “to begin to grow light” when the dead body of Christ will begin to awaken and rise up with His resurrection life through a great shaking. The “Head-covering” of Christ will begin to grow once again on His anointed ones, giving them the strength to rise up one last time, pushing back against the foundational pillars that currently uphold the enemies house, causing it to come down with a great and final crash. (See the Bible study 2020 The Dawning Of The Light.)




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