August 29: SPECIAL FORCES (part 1)
Then [Jesus] appointed twelve, that they might be with Him and that He might send them out to preach. Mark 3:14
Jesus was very strategic. The twelve disciples spent three and a half years of intensive training with Him. These “special forces” marched into Satan’s domain, spearheading a great expansion of the Christian faith, a faith which still continues its march to “turn the world upside down.”
In Revelation, we find a similar special forces unit: a vast army of 144,000. Their close relationship with the Lamb is directly tied to sealing them with a special name. Why are they so important? It is because of their proactive role in the strategy to reach the world for Christ. They are commissioned in the last days to prepare the world for the Savior’s return.
Many are asking about the identity of this group. We are told in Revelation 7 that it is comprised of 12,000 from each of the twelve tribes of Israel. Is this to be taken literally or symbolically? Even though many have chosen a literal application, a close look at Scripture reveals otherwise. After the death of Solomon, the nation of Israel split into two. The ten northern tribes held on to the name Israel which means “Overcomer”. But, instead of overcoming the world’s negative influences, they were overcome by paganism and rampant idolatry. Therefore, God allowed the dreaded Assyrians to flow over them like a tidal wave: In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria took Samaria and carried Israel away to Assyria (2 Kings 17:6).
The southern part of the divided kingdom (the tribes of Judah and Benjamin) called Judah, means “Praise and Thanksgiving.” Sadly, they also fell deep into idolatry. The LORD sent another dreaded enemy, Babylon, who devastated Jerusalem, destroyed the temple, and carried them away to Babylon. After spending 70 years in captivity, thousands returned. But this was only a small fraction of the Jewish population from Babylon. As a foreshadowing of the last days—the days in which we live—most of the Jews preferred to remain in Babylon.
But there is no historical record, Biblical or secular, that indicates an exodus of the children of Israel from Assyria. Instead, the Assyrian king transplanted an assortment of people from various conquered pagan nations into the region of Samaria: Then the king of Assyria brought people from Babylon, Cuthah, Ava, Hamath, and from Sepharvaim, and placed them in the cities of Samaria instead of the children of Israel; and they took possession of Samaria and dwelt in its cities (2 Kings 17:24). The rest of the chapter details the disastrous results of claiming to fear God while mixing paganism into daily practice.
Long before the time of Jesus, the ten northern tribes of Israel had intermarried with pagan nations to the point of losing their identity with the God of Israel. They had dissolved and disintegrated into the abyss of worldliness. God’s repeated warnings had been ignored…
They mingled with the Gentiles And learned their works; They served their idols, Which became a snare to them. They even sacrificed their sons And their daughters to demons… Thus they were defiled by their own works, And played the harlot by their own deeds. Psalm 106:35-37,39
Dig deeper: Leviticus 18:24-30; Deuteronomy 7:3-4; 28:64-68
To be continued…