Dear friends:

One of my readers, Gerlinda Skaar, sent me the below information that she had written.  I thought you would find it interesting. I cannot personally vouch for all the historical details but I suspect she is careful with her research.

Jim
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I have typed up this little lesson that I had in my binder on David and the parallels between him and the nation of Israel.  Also included are his physical attributes.   These are just some interesting points taken from Prophecy In The News magazine.  I do not recall the year of this information.
 
Did you know that Jesus, who is a descendant of King David, had a fair countenance, blue eyes and golden hair.  This is told in two separate historical accounts; one recorded by Eusebius in the first century and another recorded by Gamaliel in the second century.  David, the shepherd and later king over Israel also had a ruddy complexion.  Flavius Josephus, the Jewish historian, took note that he had a yellow complexion, indicating he had blond hair and a fair countenance.  It appears his skin was more susceptible to sunburn than it was to the tanning effect.  It is rather interesting to note that the ancient book of Enoch referred to Noah as having a fair countenance and light hair.  This clearly shows a family lineage, all bearing the same ruddy complexion and blue eyes.  Personal letters written by Pontius Pilate to Rome bear witness to the fact that Jesus had golden hair, ruddy complexion and a serene countenance. They are all related and come from the tribe of Judah.

There seem to be many parallels between David and Jesus.  Both are referred to as Shepherd and King.  David was the 8th son of Jesse.  Jesus has the numerical value of eight.

When Goliath demanded a man and not a committee to come against him, David came to the aid of his brothers and said he would kill the giant; he was rejected.  Jesus was rejected by His people.

Goliath had 6 fingers and 6 toes on each foot.  The number six stands for man.  The Antichrist will have 666 as his number.  Jesus, alone, will defeat him.

Now I would like to show the parallels between David and the nation of Israel.
Goliath was a Philistine (Palestinians, though not genetically related,  are the people who occupy the same territory of Gaza).

Goliath challenged David.  The Palestinians challenge David's kin today.

Goliath challenged Israel 40 days.  Forty is a period of testing.  When Israel defeated the enemy in the Six Day War of 1967, she failed to finish the job and returned the Temple Mount back into the hands of the enemy.  It is believed that 40 years of testing have been added to Israel.  The generation that does not build the Temple is as guilty as the generation that saw its demise.

David was small and the giant was so big.  The odds were against him.  Israel is only 1/10 of 1% of the total land mass of the Middle East.  She has only 6 million people and fields the smallest army and yet the Israeli Defense Force has proven itself among the most formidable of earth's military might.  Israel has had to fight five battles since becoming a nation in 1948 and each time she has defeated her enemies, just like David.  When God be for thee, who can be against thee?
 

In spite of her military genius, Israel has another quality shown in David, a willingness to negotiate peace.  One can discern from David's writings that he had compassion for those he fought.  This is so typical of Israel today, willing to give Egypt a conquered Sinai; willing to give the Palestinians her heartland, when God clearly said it belongs to Israel.  All Israel wants is Peace, just like David, yet it seems to elude her.  This is a commendable quality.

When David announced he would come against the Giant, he said the Lord had delivered him out of the hand of the Philistine, the Lion and the Bear.  This is a perfect prophetic picture.  The British had control of Jerusalem from 1917 to 1948.  The Jews mounted guerrilla warfare against them and defeated the "Lion".  Next comes the Bear, another prophetic picture of the next battle with Russia, the battle of Gog and Magog, as predicted by the Prophet Ezekiel.   And the Philistine (the Palestinians) will be defeated.

If the Lion and Bear represent end time wars, then Goliath, the Giant, could represent Armageddon.

Perhaps Ezekiel 38 opens the Great Tribulation when Russia invades and chapter 39 closes with the Giant of all Battles, Armageddon?

In I Samuel 17:41-47, David says in verse 46, "I will give the carcasses of all the last Philistines this day unto the fowl of the air, and to the wild beast of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel".

The defeated foe will be fed to the birds.  What more can be said?  This is a prophetic view of Revelation 19:17,18 which describes how the fowl are gathered to feed on the flesh of Kings, Captains and mighty men and all men both free and bond, both small and great.  Ezekiel 37:17-20 also mentions this feast for fowl and beasts.  (See my article 'The Giant of Syria')

Israel has yet to kill the bear and even after a victory over Russia and her allies, this will not bring Israel's Messiah,  Instead Israel will accept the false Messiah in her quest for Peace.  What a lesson here; if Israel would follow David example and trust in her God, she would be victorious.  But she will learn the hard way.