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The rise of the house of Joseph, part 3

Apollyon’s challenge in the Divine Court was primarily coming from the Church’s objection to the Dominion Mandate being transferred to the overcomers on November 30, 2000. Yet it was also a challenge to the house of Joseph, because, in the end, Christ is the Head of both houses. Christ is the Repairer of the breach between Judah and Joseph by coming twice.

Apollyon Loses Israel

Apollyon was the leader of seven demonic princes who appealed to the Divine Court on January 29, 2001. Many years earlier, I learned that he was the one responsible for losing the “lost sheep of the house of Israel.” The northern ten tribes had indeed been lost and largely forgotten. In fact, this was prophesied in the name of Joseph’s son, Manasseh, “forgetfulness.” Genesis 41:51 says,

⁵¹ Joseph named the firstborn Manasseh, “For,” he said, “God has made me forget all my trouble and all my father’s household.”

And so, when the house of Israel, led by the tribes of Joseph, were exiled to Assyria, God caused them to forget their origins. All ten tribes largely lost their tribal names as well as their collective name Israel.

Likewise, the name of Joseph’s second son, Ephraim, was also prophetic. It means “a double portion of fruit” (Genesis 41:52). Ephraim was given the Birthright, which was the Fruitfulness mandate, and so that tribe later led the house of Israel during the time of the Divided Kingdom. Its first king was Jeroboam, an Ephraimite. The name Ephraim became synonymous with Israel, especially in the prophecies of Hosea.

Ephraim was to become fruitful while in the wilderness (Hosea 1:10), because the Fruitfulness Mandate was to be fulfilled outside of the old land of Israel. The divine plan was for Ephraim (Israel) to “fill the whole world with fruit” (Isaiah 27:6). The metaphor suggests that Israel would put down roots in the world, even as Joseph had put down roots in Egypt. After Joseph was sold by his brothers, he never lived in the old land again.

So also with Israel in the end times. The state today which is recognized by the governments of men as Israel is not the government of Joseph who alone was given the Birthright and its name, Israel. The Israeli state is a Jewish state, a reconstitution of the old nation of Judah.

The prophecies given to both Israel and Judah have not been set aside, but, as Paul tells us in Romans 11:1-7, the promises of God have been fulfilled in the faithful remnant—that is, the believers. The modern popular teaching that unbelievers can be “chosen” or “elect” on the basis of race is foreign to Paul’s doctrine.

Apollyon Counterfeits the Holy Spirit

Apollyon’s official title is the Prince of Persia. His Hebrew name is Abaddon (Revelation 9:11). So we see the city of Abadon in southern Persia (now Iran), where oil was discovered more than a century ago. I learned many years ago that crude oil was a prophetic type of the counterfeit to olive oil. Olive oil was used to anoint people with genuine callings and with the Holy Spirit. Hence, Apollyon counterfeits the Holy Spirit, and this (to me) explains why some who claim to be Pentecostal are actually a mere counterfeit of Pentecost. From my observation over the years, I have seen the real Pentecost as well as its counterfeit.

When Apollyon challenged the authority of the overcomers on January 29, 2001, it was a Pentecostal who physically wrote the letter that we received that day. The connection is revealed by the timing of the letter and how it fit with the revelation we had received prior to receiving it. We knew what to watch for; we did not know how the revelation would manifest.

Her objection was the same as what was seen in the biblical story of Saul and David. The house of Saul, as a whole, had difficulty accepting the fact that they had lost the calling to rule Israel. When David was temporarily overthrown by his son, Absalom, we read how Shimei, who was of the house of Saul (2 Samuel 16:5-7), cursed David.

⁵ When King David came to Bahurim, behold, there came out from there a man of the family of the house of Saul whose name was Shimei, the son of Gera; he came out cursing continually as he came. ⁶ He threw stones at David and at all the servants of King David… ⁷ Thus Shimei said when he cursed, “Get out, get out, you man of bloodshed and worthless fellow!”

On one level, this was fulfilled when Jesus, the Son of David, was overthrown by the chief priests (representing Absalom). Jesus was cursed by those who opposed His right to rule. In later times, however, the Church in the Pentecostal Age were the representatives of the house of Saul, who persecuted the overcomers who were of the house of David.

In that light, the woman, who essentially cursed me in her letter, was a Pentecostal of the house of Saul. Of course, I did not take it personally, though she meant for me to do so. It was clear to me that we were all just playing our roles in prophecy. So she was “Shimei” to me, and I followed David’s advice in 2 Samuel 16:11, “Let him alone and let him curse, for the Lord has told him.”

I have no doubt that the Pentecostal woman was led by God to write that letter in order to give us revelation of Apollyon’s activity in the larger prophetic picture. I have seen countless examples of this, dating back to November 12, 1981 when I received the phone call from the pastor in Phoenix who did not realize that he was functioning as the spokesman for the Broken Cross army that had invaded America through the broken-down Sheep Gate at San Francisco. At the time, neither he nor I understood what was happening, but later, after I read the battle report from the Net of Prayer, I realized what had happened.

The Response to the Challenge

Challenges in the Divine Court must be met with a response so that the challenge does not win by default. God led me to file the response (on behalf of the overcomers) even as Moses did when his authority (and Aaron’s) was challenged in the sedition of Korah and his cohorts. God told Moses to tell all of the princes of the tribes to bring their staves and “deposit them in the tent of meeting” (Numbers 17:4). Numbers 17:5 continues,

⁵ It will come about that the rod of the man whom I choose will sprout. Thus I will lessen from upon Myself the grumblings of the sons of Israel, who are grumbling against you.

The 12 rods of the princes were then put into the tabernacle. In effect, this was an appeal to the Divine Court. When authority is challenged, one must appeal to the one who has given that authority. Numbers 17:8 says,

⁸ Now on the next day Moses went into the tent of the testimony; and behold, the rod of Aaron for the house of Levi had sprouted and put forth buds and produced blossoms, and it bore ripe almonds.

It took just one night for Aaron’s rod to bring forth ripe fruit. So it became clear to all the princes of the tribes that Moses and Aaron were indeed called by God to lead the house of Israel. In this way God opened their eyes, giving them the revelation of who was truly called. The fruit was almonds, because the Hebrew word for almond is shawkade, which comes from the root word shawkad, “sleepless, to watch, to wake, be alert.”

This was the manner in which we were led to deal with those who had challenged our authority as the house of David. God answered by giving us a sign of fruitfulness, which was the sign of the house of Joseph and Ephraim!

On February 2, 2001, going before the Divine Court, we were led to call forth all the princes who might lay claim to represent the houses of David and Joseph. We told them to (spiritually) lay their rods of authority in God’s tabernacle to see which would bear fruit. God told us that He would give His answer at noon on February 21.

God Answers

It happened that in early January 2001, Sunny Day had again received revelation to gather a meeting, this time at the DoubleTree Hotel in Minneapolis, on February 21 and 22. One of the items on her agenda was to discuss and pray about almonds. In fact, we were to study the story of Moses and Aaron in Numbers 16 and 17.

I wrote about this in a special report on January 10, weeks before the opposition letter arrived. But even at that early date, I had already discerned that opposition was brewing. The revelation was already coming, though it was yet incomplete.

Sunny Day sent out special invitations to a select group of friends, including Tom and Michele Berry. Because they were coming from out of state, they asked if I would pick them up at the airport on February 21. The flight was scheduled to arrive at 11:22 a.m. I immediately realized that they were the sign of fruitfulness that God was giving me.

Their flight was a few minutes earlier than “noon on February 21,” but as it turned out, the plane was a few minutes late. They arrived precisely at noon. The Berrys were the sign of fruit which appeared at the revealed moment in time.

Though I have gotten used to God’s ways, I am always amazed when God moves so precisely according to revelation that was given weeks in advance. Other men’s eyes may not be opened by such God-given signs, but those who have eyes to see and ears to hear are enlightened by His word and are taught by His Spirit the ways of God.

In this way God confirmed the authority of the houses of David and Joseph. As for me, I took this as the answer to the challenge letter of January 29. The spiritual staff that I had deposited in the tabernacle of heaven bore almonds and berries at the appointed time. Therefore, I have continued to pursue my Ephraimite calling of the Fruitfulness Mandate.

I will continue to teach the restoration of all things, because the will of God is to “fill the whole world with fruit” (Isaiah 27:6).