Dear Doves,

 

In 1988, I heard Willie George tell how that when he was writing children's bible lessons that the Lord revealed to him that Sampson was a type, and antitype, of the church.  Sampson judged Israel 20 years, which was prophetic of the 2000 year church age.  I wondered why God used a prophetic multiplier of 100 in this case instead of 50 like in most cases.  What was different about the prophetic picture of Sampson?

 

I later realized that Jacob's time spent at Laban's house was also a prophetic picture of the church in that after 20 years,  Jacob and all his family slipped away without letting Labon know.  This appeared to be a type of the rapture and here again the prophetic multiplier was 100 instead of 50.  I thought maybe both these cases were showing us the church under the attack of Satan and were different in that respect.

 

However, last week, the Holy Spirit revealed that these were both pictures of the church versus the world instead of Satan, and that Jacob was a picture of the Philadelphian church which goes in the rapture, whereas Sampson was a picture of the Laodicean church that gets left behind.  Today as I was thinking on this, it became obvious why each picture was 20 years instead of 40.  Since each represented half of the whole picture, we have to add the two together to get the full picture, 20 + 20 = 40.   Duh!  This was God's way of alerting us to the fact that neither is a complete picture by itself.

 

I'm sure there is more to be revealed, but here is what I have seen in these two pictures so far: 

 

I had also thought it strange that Sampson, a Nazarite, would seek a Philistine wife, even though the scripture indicates that he was going to use her as an occasion against the Philistines (Judges 14:4).  The story of Sampson destroying the Philistines is a prophetic antitype in that it represents the church reaching out to the world to save the world.  Things went fine for Sampson according to God's purpose, until he began to actually love a Philistine woman named, Delilah (16:4).  We see here, a picture of the church in time beginning to enjoy the things of the world and start becoming more worldly.  Even though Sampson was anointed, as he continued to lay his head in Delilah's lap, the anointing seemed less and less valuable until finally he chose the favor of Delilah above the anointing.  Isn't that exactly what much of the church has done today, they valued the anointing of God in their services less and less and the favor of the world more and more until finally they lost God's anointing in their services.  Also, just like Sampson in verse 16:20, they carry on business as usual and don't even realize that the anointing has departed from them. 

 

Sampson wound up loosing the anointing, blinded, and serving the Philistines.  Considering that losing the anointing of God, like Adam and Eve did in the garden, reveals one's nakedness before God, note what Jesus said to the church at Laodicea in Rev. 3:17, "... and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:"  What a perfect description of Sampson grinding grain in the prison house:  wretched and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked!  However, the Lord is pleading with the Laodicean church that she might repent and still have her day.  Here again, Sampson is an antitype in that at the end, he called on the Lord, (16:28), and his anointing returned so that he destroyed more Philistines at his death than he did during his life (16:30).  When the rapture of the Philadelphian church occurs, the blind and naked Laodicean church will wake up and call on the Lord.  The anointing will be restored and more people will be saved during the tribulation than the whole church age.

 

Now, looking at Jacob, we see how he reached out for a wife at Laban's house, just as the church is reaching out to the world that the world might be saved.  But instead of becoming like Laban and wanting to stay with Laban, Jacob wanted to return to his own country, Genesis 30:25.  He even went so far as to separate his sons and his flocks three days journey from Laban.  We see here how that the bride part of the church is a pilgrim and stranger in the world and longing to go to her own country.  She has separated herself from the world, even though in the world, she is not of the world. 

 

Just as Laban was blest because of Jacob's presence at his house, the world has been greatly blest because of the faithful church in this world.  Jacob's increase at Laban's house, Gen. 30:43, is a type of the open door that God sets before the Church of Philadelphia, reaping a harvest before she departs.  But as Laban began to deal treacherously with Jacob and change his wages to try and get the advantage, the world has come against the church in these last days trying to get the advantage, but they are just stirring up the wrath of God to come.  Just as Laban's countenance changed toward Jacob, in my lifetime, I have see the world's countenance change toward the faithful church in ways that I never imagined could happen.  How clearly St. John 15:19 is being fulfilled:  "If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you."

 

Then finally, the time came when God said to Jacob, Gen. 31:13  "Now arise, get thee out of this land and return to the land of thy kindred!"   He immediately took his wives, his family, and his increase and left unawares to Laban and "he rose up and passed over the river, and set his face toward the mount!"  I hope you can see how Jacob's sudden departure is a type of the rapture which will take the world, like Laban, by surprise.  I'm sure there's a lot more here to be revealed concerning how the events associated with Jacob's departure are a type of the rapture of the Philadelphian church,  but here's the clincher:  To the church of Philadelphia in Rev. 3:12, Jesus says, "I will write upon him the name of my God, ...and my new name."  And what did God do for Jacob when he departed from Laban's house, he changed his name to Israel, "A Prince of God", Gen. 32:28.  Notice also that he commended Jacob that he had power with God and had prevailed.  Sounds a lot like Rev. 3:8, "... for thou hast a little strength, and has kept my word, and hast not denied my name".

 

I have often wondered why Rachel took Laban's gods when she departed, because it appeared that she should cleave to the God of Jacob.  When looking at her concern about her inheritance in Gen. 31:14-15, and realizing that the gods were probably made of gold, it appears that she was taking them as inheritance for the gold rather than to worship.  Seeing how she hid them, for the gold, that Laban couldn't find them to take them back, reminds me of Rev. 3:11, "hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown".  Could those golden idols represent some of the worst sinners, i.e. the devil's finest, that get saved at the last minute and the devil sure wants them back?  Or the soul winner's crowns that are won at the last minute before the rapture?  Well, since I'm going beyond revelation into supposition, I had better go ahead and terminate this post.

 

May God grant you more understanding of how these two 20 year periods are types of the end-time church, one part worldly and left behind, but the other part, separated and called to arise and return to her own country suddenly!  It takes both parts to complete the picture of the end-time church.

 

David Robinson