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    Parashah 34: B'midbar (In the Desert)

    Parashah 34:B'midbar (In the desert); Numbers 1:1 through 4:20.

    Haftarah (Writings and Prophets):Hosea 2:1-22.

    B'rit Hadasha (New Testament):Luke 2:1-7; 1 Corinthians 12:12-31.

    Summary & Overview

    TORAH

    o Numbers 1:1 | The First Census of Israel

    o Numbers 2:1 | The Order of Encampment and Marching

    o Numbers 3:1 | The Sons of Aaron

    o Numbers 3:5 | The Duties of the Levites

    o

    Numbers 3:14 | A Census of the Leviteso Numbers 3:40 | The Redemption of the Firstborn

    o Numbers 4:1 | The Kohathites

    Last week we finished the Book of Leviticus where we looked at theJudgements regarding the Covenant that resulted in blessings and curses,based on whether you follow or break YHVHsCommandments. We are still inthe theme of our perusal to the Promised Land but this week covers a bit moreof the practical side of moving from the Mountain to the Kingdom.

    The Wilderness Experience

    This week we start the Book of Numbers orBmidbar, that means, in the Desert orWilderness. This was the first month, thebeginning of the second year after they leftEgypt. Israel faced their next obstacle theyhad to overcome before entering thePromised Land. The Desert is notdesigned for your flesh, this experience isthe part of your walk with YHVH whereyour flesh dies, and your spirit gets

    elevated. People always ask the question; why do bad things happen to goodpeople? In the previous Torah Portion, we saw one of the reasons is that youprobably broke His Commandments through sin that allowed a curse to comeover your life. There is another reason why bad things can happen to you, andthat is because you are in the Wilderness, the place where your flesh ischallenged so that your character can be build up to look like Him.

    Your previous destination was the Mountain where the Torah of YHVH wasreceived, His Word that is also known as water or rain (as seen from the rootword yarah). If you enter the Desert or W ilderness without the water of HisWord, then you will die spiritually. You need the Word of YHVH to sustain youthrough this part of your walk to ensure you reach your destination, the

    Promised Land.

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    No other way or shortcut leads to the Promised Land. This is where you willbuild a personal relationship with Yshua, the One Who leads the Way to theFather. If you decide to stay at the foot of the Mountain because you are afraidof the Desert, then you will be tempted by what is at the foot of the Mountain,the Golden Calf. You will worship something, either the Calf through falseworship or Yshua through His Word and Truth, this is the only way to actually

    worship the Father.This Wilderness-worshipexperience will quicken your spirit-man, and allowyou to practically express His Word through your life, that is pleasing to theFather. His Truth will be established in your life as you follow the Torah /Yshua. Without Yshua, you will get lost and die in the Wilderness, and if youdo not have the Torah, you will spiritually die. You cannot have a relationshipwith Yshua outside of the Wilderness where you practically have to walk withHim and follow Him because He is the only One who knows the way.

    Desert or Wilderness is the word midbar that sharethe same root as the word dabar that means

    word and honey bee.What do the Wilderness,honey bee and words have in common? Structureand order. You see YHVHs order in His creation,undefiled by man. You see the remarkable structurewithin a bees nest where they build eachcomponent with precision and accuracy. This same

    structure is found in YHVHs Word, where it is created and constructed withsuch precision and super intelligent design, so that those who engage in it, willbe changed and recreated from the inside out, and will reflect the samestructure and beauty in their lives.

    Lift up the HeadsOn the first day of Nissan, the day starting the NewYear, YHVH instructed Moses to count the tribes,every male, twenty years of age and up. YHVH isdoing something new, and Israel is moving into anew phase in their way to the Promised Land. Thephrase take the sum or count the number is thephrase nasah rosh in Hebrew, that means; to liftup their heads.To lift up the head has several meanings and we haddiscussed this earlier when we studied the Book of Exodus.

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    To Contribute: This is the first place where YHVH numbered His people, Hecommanded this at the time of the construction of the Tabernacle. This givesanother meaning to lifting up the heads, and has to do with your contributions.

    Exo 30:11-14 Then YHVH spoke to Moses, saying: 12 When you takethe census of the children of Israel for their number, then every man shall

    give a ransom for himself to YHVH, when you number them, that theremay be no plague among them when you number them. 13 This is whateveryone among those who are numbered shall give: half a shekelaccording to the shekel of the sanctuary (a shekel is twenty gerahs). Thehalf-shekel shall be an offering to YHVH.14Everyone included amongthose who are numbered, from twenty years old and above, shall give anoffering to YHVH.

    What is interesting here is that the heads are not counted, but thecontributions are counted that would be used for constructing the Tabernacle.The contributions were in the form of half a Shekel and were for the redemptionof the soul of the person and that there will be no plague among them whobrought it.

    Q - Why half a shekel?

    When you give half a shekel, contributing from your side, then YHVH will meetyou half way and provide the other half so that you can become one or echadwith Him as you contribute in the Kingdom.

    To Accept:is as if YHVH is having a personal one-on-one with each man, to look them in the eye beforethey are numbered. It is as if He wants to see what isin every mans heartbefore He accepts him, to get

    that personal commitment from each person beforethey are counted worthy.

    To Elevate: To lift up the head also reveals thatYHVH lift things up before they are useful, forexample, He elevated His people from slavery bygiving them His Commandments so that he can use them. It is similar toreceiving a training manual that you have to study to be equipped for the taskahead.

    To Appoint:To lift up the heads also means to appoint or to anoint thatshow that You can only be counted or used by Him if he equips you through HisWord and His Spirit.

    Counting by each Tribe

    The numbering of each tribe is repeated in thisPortion, repeating every detail over and overagain for each Tribe. Whenever you seesomething repeated in Scripture, you knowthere is something spiritual significant withinthat passage or chapter, and our task is to

    uncover the hidden wisdom. There is adifference between numbering a group or moband numbering the people in a structured way.

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    YHVH asked Moses to number the people under the banner of each Tribe,setting them up in a structured array, as you do in the military so that they willbe disciplined and structured groups, under the command of their appointedleaders or commanders. These leaders are listed in verses 5 to 15 who willcommand each of these divisions of Israel. The reason for numbering thepeople in this way confirms its military application.

    The Lord of Hosts: This relates to one of theNames of YHVH; YHVH Tsavaot.Tsava isthe singular of tsavaot and means hosts,army, company, assemble, warfare, soldiers,servants, to serve, battle. This gives us a newunderstanding of what an Assembly orchurch should be about this Name of YHVH;we are His soldiers, and He is ourCommander. We are to be servants thatserve Him and soldiers who fight for Him, who rage war against the enemy.

    There are more meanings associated with counting people and are found inother places in Scripture. If we link all these thoughts together, we will uncovereven more revelation on this topic. The first place YHVH counted His people isfound in Exo 30 about the construction of the Tabernacle. This was for peopleto understand the importance of their part and contribution in keeping thePresence of YHVH within their midst. It is like setting up the Headquarters firstand in this Torah Portion, setting up the Military to go out into the Wildernessand fight against YHVHs enemies.

    Then there is another place in Scripture, in the Berit Chadashah (NT), whereYHVH numbered His people, and that is in Revelation chapter 7 with the sealingand numbering of the 144,000, 12,000 from each tribe. This way of numberingis similar to what we find in this Torah Portion and reveals to us that it has to dowith the military application as well, setting up His Army for battle during the lastdays, in the Tribulation. We will look a deeper into this later on in this study.

    Transferring of Curses and Blessings

    YHVH gave the command to number the people in the context of a Militarysetup, which enabled them to do battle with the enemy. The purpose of settingup these soldiers is to lead them through the Wilderness to obtain the blessingsand ultimately, the Promised Land, at the end of their journey. This implies thatwe have to do battle to receive the blessings promised to us in the Word.

    Q - Why do we need to battle and fight for the things that are promised to us byYHVH?

    The reason we have to fightto receive our blessings, is because theseblessings already existed from the time of YHVHs Creation, in the Garden ofEden, but fell into the enemys hands. The first battlewas lost when Adamforfeited the Garden, by giving in to the tactics of the enemy. Adam and Evehad to leave this place of blessing and promise and live in a fallen anddefeated state outside the garden with their generations to come. Humanity

    lost the blessings and Land of Promiseto the enemy because of sin.

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    YHVH made a promise to Eve that from her will come the One that will crushthis enemy and retrieve all that was lost, back from the hand of this enemy. Itwas as if an exchange of gifts took place after the battle, Satan, a cursedfallen Angel, exchanged his curses for the blessings and ownership ofwhat once belonged to man.

    The purpose of the Torah is to equip us and enable us toretrieve back these lost Blessings. YHVH made promisesin His Word that He will help us to overcome and take backthat which we lost with the aid of His Word and His Spirit.

    Deut 30:3-5 That then YHVH your Elohim will turn your captivity, andhave compassion upon you, and will return and gather you from all thenations, whither YHVH your Elohim has scattered you. 4If any of you bedriven out unto the outmost parts of heaven, from there will YHVH your

    Elohim gather you, and from thence will He fetch you: 5And YHVH yourElohim will bring you into the Land which your fathers possessed, andyou shall possess it, and He will do you good, and multiply you aboveyour fathers.

    The enemy caused us to be scattered, enslaved by his followers, held captiveunder his authority and the flesh. We see all the curses we studied last weekthat came upon Israel; all these curses need to be returned to the rightfulowner, namely Satan. The only power Satan has over us is the lie, the originaltactic he used to steal away our inheritance. YHVH is raising up an army withthe swords of Truth in their hands and in their mouths by which they will defeatand conquer the enemy in their lives with the Truth, under the command ofYshua the Messiah.

    QHow do we know that Satan took ownership of the earth and all that is in it?Satan tempted Yshua after He spent forty days in the Wilderness, and offeredYshua all the Kingdoms of the earth if He would bow down and worship him.Satan would not have made that statement is he was not the legal owner, andYshuadid not accuse him of lying either. This proofs that Satan attainedownership of YHVHs Creation and took away its control from Adam when mansinned. YHVH is the owner and gave Adam authority to subdue it.[Gen 1:28]

    Subdueis the word kavashsbkthat means, to bring under bondage or

    submission, to force and to keep under, to tread under feet. This is what iscurrently happening with YHVHs Creation, including man, Satan is subduing.

    us and YHVHs Creation under his feet or authority.This is what we need to dowith the enemy, trample him under our feet, taking the authority and blessingsback from him.

    Gen 3:15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman,And between your seed and her Seed; He shall crush your head,and you shall bruise His heel.

    Psa 91:13 You shall tread upon the lion and the cobra, The young lionand the serpent you shall trample underfoot.

    We see the same concept in Psa 91 where the Serpent will be trampled

    underfoot, and in Gen 3 it explains the consequences of the foot trampling onthe head; the crushing and destruction of the authority that was over YHVHCreation.

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    Mal 4:3 You shall trample the wicked, For they shall be ashes under thesoles of your feet On the day that I do this, Says YHVH Tsavaot(Commander of the Armies).

    Luke 10:19 Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpentsand scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by

    any means hurt you.We are YHVHs Army and His hands and feet, and the primary purpose of thefeet is to trample the enemy, taking back the blessings and give back the curseswe received from Satan. This is the same concept we discussed in last weeksTorah Portion when we looked at the Precepts, the standards that must beraised up against the enemy.

    Q - Why do we need to struggle to attain the promises of YHVH in my life? Whydo I not get these promises automatically?

    Personal Application: A lot of Believers struggle with this reality and can crack

    the foundation of their faith if they go through struggles and not see YHVHspromises and blessings realising in their lives. The problem is, people think thatfaith is a magic concept that will release the blessings if you know about them.This is called passive faith, just knowing thetruth but not acting on it. They donot understand that they are part of an army that must not accept the cursesand defeat in their lives, by seeking the truth and raise it up by applying it intheir lives, not allowing the enemys lies within their camps. Without the truth(Torah), you will not defeat the enemy in the Wilderness.

    Numbering of the 144,000

    The Wilderness represent another time period,and that is the time before entering the Kingdom ofYHVH, better known as the Tribulation. TheTribulation represents the time of battles betweenthose with the Blessings (enemy) and those withthe Curses (YHVHs people), to take back what theenemy has stolen, in exchange for the curses that caused death anddestruction.

    Rev 7:4 And I heard the number of those who were sealed. Onehundred and forty-four thousand of all the tribes of the children of

    Israel were sealed:

    Each of the twelve Tribes was sealed on their foreheads, twelve-thousand ofeach tribe. Some believe that these are the only ones that will be saved duringthe time of the Tribulation and out of seven billion people, is not a lot.

    QWhat do these 144,000 represent and what is it linked to?

    We can only use Scripture to interpret Scripture, and if we relate this to theTorah Portion, it undoubtedly refers to the Army of YHVH, with the numbering ofthe people in Rev 7, similar to what we see in the Book of Numbers. This has todo with the setting up of YHVHs Army, for the time of the Tribulation, beforeentering the Promised Land. The 144,000 probably relates to the leaders that

    will be across the whole earth, just like Moses led the people out of Egypt in theExodus, so will these Leaders lead the people out of Babylon, called theGreater Exodus.

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    The context of Rev 7 is about the scene where the multitude of people isstanding before the Throne of YHVH.

    Rev 7:1,9-10, 14-15 After these things I saw four angels standing at thefour corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that thewind should not blow on the earth, on the sea, or on any tree. 9Afterthese things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one couldnumber, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before thethrone and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palmbranches in their hands, 10 and crying out with a loud voice, saying,Salvation belongs to our Elohim who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!14 So he said to me, These are the ones who come out of the greattribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood ofthe Lamb. 15 Therefore they are before the throne of YHVH, and serve

    Him day and night in His temple. And He who sits on the throne willdwell among them.

    These are the ones that came out of the Great Tribulation, who were saved as aresult of the Great Tribulation. This event is recorded with the numbering of the144,000 and is right after the Sixth Seal of Rev 6, and the Seventh Seal ofchapter 7, initiating the Seven Trumpets Judgements. We read in Matt 24 thatthe sign of the Son of Man only appears after the Tribulation, causing confusionfor being mentioned between the Sixth and Seventh Seals.

    Matt 24:29-31 Immediately after the Tribulation of those days the sunwill be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall

    from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.30 Then thesign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the

    earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the cloudsof heaven with power and great glory. 31And He will send His angelswith a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect

    from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

    QWhy did YHVH place this detail about an event after the Great Tribulationright in the middle of the Seal and Trumpet Judgements?

    There are key phrases that connect Rev 7 to Matt 24 and these are the FourCorners and Four Winds,that relates to the gathered or saved" people,(Rev7) and the Four Winds, from where the people are going to be gathered from(Matt 24). These gathered ones are the great multitude that was before the

    Throne of YHVH in Rev 7.Messiah will come and gather His peopleand carry them over the Thresholdof the Kedron Valley, just as a Groom carries His Bride over the threshold intothe House He prepared for Her. This event is known as the Rapture.

    The Sealing or numbering of the 144,000 is recorded between the Sixth andSeventh Seals and Trumpet Judgments and takes place before the end of theTribulation where the people are gathered or Raptured, as mentioned in Mat24. This means that the sealing of the 144,000 happens in the Tribulation whilethe gathering of the people happens after the Tribulation, but are recorded inthe same chapter in Rev 7. What is going on?

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    The Saints standing before the Throne happen after theTribulation, after the Seventh, Seal, after the SeventhTrumpet, after the Seventh Bowl. The sealing of the144,000 is part of the setting up of the Army of YHVH thatwill be established before the Trumpet Judgements. Theyneed to be sealed and ready to help the people to comeinto the Kingdom as the Judgements unfold right to theend of the Tribulation.

    What is interesting is that the gathering of the saints isreferred to in Rev 7:1, with the mentioning the 4 winds and4 corners of the Earth. Then they have mentioned again inverses 9 through 17. In between, we find the sealing andcounting of the 144,000 in verses 2 through 4. The sealingof the 144,000 is in the middle of the event where the Saintsare gathered and standing before the Throne of YHVH, justlike Chapter 7 events is in between the Seal and Trumpet

    Judgements.

    When we fit these two events on the Menorah Pattern, then things start to makesense. The central branch of each three-branch Menorah pattern representsthe centre of most important part of each of the two events that are the Sealingof the 144,000 and the Saints standing before the Throne. The timing of thesealing of the 144,000 takes place in between the Seal and TrumpetJudgements so that the Saints can be gathered to stand before the Throne atthe end of the Tribulation when Yshua appears. If it were not for the sealing ofthe 144,000 leaders, then the Saints would not have come through theTribulation and be standing before YHVHs throne in white robes and palm

    branches.

    The Changing Lists of Tribes

    When we look at the numbering or sealing of the144,000 within each Tribe, we see differencesbetween the Tribes at the Beginning, listed in Gen29, and at the End, recorded in Rev 7. Then wefind differences between both these lists and thelist of names found in Numbers 1, in this TorahPortion.

    QWhat is the significance of these three listsand what can we learn from their differences?

    We will study the differences between these three lists and through this find outwhat happened to Armies (Tribes) during the time called the Wilderness,between Genesis and Revelation. These changes will reveal hidden wisdomthat will apply to us because we are living at a time, travelling through the lastpart of this Wilderness.

    Gen 29 lists the 12 sons of Jacob (Israel), and each one of them became aleader of each one of the twelve Tribes. The Book of Numbers counted the

    people within each Tribe about the twelve Armies that are to do battle beforeentering the Promised land.

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    The list in Rev 7 represents those who are set up to fight during the time ofTribulation and represent the Tribes who remained or are left over right beforethey entered the Kingdom.

    The difference between Gen 29 list and Num 1 list shows that Levi wasremoved, meaning that Levi looks after the spiritual side of the troops while the

    other Tribes are fighting. We also see that Joseph split into two Tribes, Ephraimand Manasseh as a result of the birthright blessing released over Josephstwosons, moving the double portion from Joseph to Ephriam.

    Returning of the Birthright / Inheritance: Comparing Numbers 1 with Rev 7,we see the disappearance of Dan and Ephriam. Manasseh replaced Dan, andwe will look at what this means in the next section. Ephriam was replaced byJoseph, meaning that the birthright returned to Joseph. Remember Joseph is apicture of Yshua, and this reveals to us that the Birthright will be returned toYshua after His Second Coming. Yshua, the Second Adam, will take back theInheritance from Satan, the Inheritance or authority over His Creation, which

    the first Adam lost.Sign of the End: Levi made his appearance again indicating the re-establishment of the Priesthood in the End-times with the rebuilding of theTemple and starting of sacrifices, signalling the start of the Great Tribulation.We currently see the setting up of the Levitical Priesthood in our day meaningthe time is near.

    The Lost Tribe of Dan in the Wilderness

    The fact that Dan did not make a list is an indication that Dan andhis descendants were lost into the nations, never to return. This was

    because of the battlethat took place in the Wilderness during thetime, in between Numbers and Revelation, which they lost.

    We also see Manasseh (another half of Joseph) taking the place ofDan as one of the Twelve Tribes as found in Revelation 7. Does this representthe grafting in process where Ephraim is grafted into Joseph and Dan isgrafted into Manasseh through the Work of the Messiah, through these battlesof truth (kavashsubdue) that took place in the Wilderness as explained byPaul in Rom 11?

    QWhat happened to Dan and what can we learn from this?

    We learn from Gen 49:16 that Dan shall judge his people and will be a serpentby the road or way, that will bite the horses heels so that his rider will fallbackwards.

    Dan has the symbol of a serpent because he was one of the first tribes tointroduce Idolatry into Israel and some believe that is why this Tribe no longerexist.

    Jud 18:30-31 And the people of Dan set up the carved image forthemselves, and Jonathan the son of Gershom, son of Moses, and his sonswere priests to the tribe of the Danites until the day of the captivity of theland. So they set up Micah's carved image that he made, as long as the

    house of Elohim was at Shiloh.

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    Revealing of Messiahs First Coming as Saviour:The symbol of the serpentin the Wilderness is a symbol that represents the coming Messiah, andeveryone who looked upon this serpent was healed and saved. We see thesignificance of Dan (the Serpent), representing the Messiahs First Coming asHealer and Saviour in the Wilderness.

    Revealing of Messiahs Second Coming as Judge:There is another aspectof Dan that prophetically point to Messiah, but relates to His Second Coming.Dan will be in captivity at the time of Shiloh, that means place of rest or timeof rest, the time prior to the End, Dan is hidden and will be revealed prior to thetime of rest or Millennial Sabbath and in the same way we see Messiah hiddenand will only be revealed as Judge (Dan), prior to this time entering His Rest.

    Just like in the Book of Ester where the name of YHVH is nowhere to be found,so is the name of Dan nowhere to be found but still hidden at the end, but willbe revealed through Messiah. Dan means Judge, and we will look at the Bookof Judges, the time between the rule of Joshua (Yshua the Saviour) and the

    rule of King David (Yshua as King).

    The time of the Judges reveals more about why the Messiah will be a Judge

    before He will rule as King and that is because of the Wilderness. This time issimilar to the time of the Judges where man rebelled against YHVH. This timein the Wilderness, or time of the Judges, propheticallypoints to the timeframe between YshuasFirst andSecond Comings, and is the time we find ourselves in.

    We can learn so much from the Book of Judges(Danites), how we need to live as Believers, especially asthe End is drawing closer. Through this, we see ourselvesrepresented by the hidden Tribe of Dan, who regularlyfall into idolatry and rebellion against YHVH. When this

    happens, He sends judges to help us and govern usuntil His Second Coming. After that He will take theauthority of the Great Judge, Who will judge us and thenations.

    During our Wilderness experience, we follow the same Cycle of Sin that Israelwent through; you fall into sin, the sin enslaves you through receiving badconsequences. You then cry out to YHVH, and He raises up people that willhelp you to overcome that sin (believing a lie), serving YHVH again. The Cyclecontinuously repeats through your life and is because of the Wilderness we findourselves in and the absence of our King, Yshua the Messiah.

    Jdg 21:25 In those days there was no King in Israel. Every man did theright in his own eyes.

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    We find ourselves in a time absent of His GovernmentSystem that is based on His Torah, we all livescattered throughout the world, and each one of us istrying to do what is right in your own eyes. Each oneof us follows our own convictions and perception ofthe Truth, and that is why this time in the Wildernessis so messy. On the one hand, you find Believers thatdo not want to follow a leader or a Denominationbecause of confusion and deception, and on the otherend of the scale, you find people who blindly follow individuals andorganisations that restrict the Truth. All these Believers are represented by theTribe of Dan, hidden and leaderless, some doing idolatry, all going throughCycles of Sin.

    Dan also represents the judges during this time, the leaders, individuals,denominations and organisations. The absence of Dan in Rev 7 reveals to usas the Wilderness experience comes to an end, all the judges, leaders

    denominations and institutions will be replaced by the King, Yshua theMessiah. We will no longer be confused by these Danites (leaders), but eachone of us will be divided in,even grafted into one of the Twelve Tribes listedin Rev 7 as we enter into the New Jerusalem through one of these TwelveGates.

    Rev 21:10-12 And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and highmountain and showed me the Great City, the Holy Jerusalem, descendingout of heaven from Elohim,11 having the glory of Elohim. Herlight was like a most precious stone, like a jasper stone, clear ascrystal. 12Also, she had a great and high wall with twelve gates, and

    twelve angels at the gates, and names written on them, which are thenames of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel:

    What have we learned?

    The Wilderness is not a place for the flesh but for your spirit to grow.

    The Wilderness relates to YHVHs Word that brings order to your life.

    The Wilderness represents the place in between the two Comings ofYshua, the place of preparation and battle for our blessings.

    Numbering represents the setting up of YHVHsArmy before entering theWilderness.

    We go through development stages starting as the Bride, entering intoCovenant with Him, then transform to the Priesthood, keeping His Housein order. Then we become Soldiers in His Army, raising the standard ofthe Truth against the Enemy to get back our Inheritance he stole.

    An exchange takes place between the enemy and us, retrieving ourblessings while returning the curses that belong to him.

    The Wilderness represents the Great Tribulation as well, the time we willgo through under the Great Judge, just like crossing the Jordan(judgement) before entering the Promised Land.

    We are represented by the hidden Tribe of Dan. We are judged or

    governed through the Wilderness in a time of confusion, and everybodydoes what is right in their own eyes because there is no King in Israel.