Genesis 49:13 (NLT2)

¹³ “Zebulun will settle by the seashore and will be a harbor for ships; his borders will extend to Sidon.

The prophecy given by Jacob to his twelve sons in Genesis chapter 49 says that Zebulun would settle by the seashore and be a harbor for ships and his borders will extend to Sidon. However on the tribal territory map (showing the location of the territory allotted to each of the twelve-tribes) shows the region of Zebulun as being land-locked (as seen on the map above).

49:13-15. Zebulun would be enriched by seaborne trade (though it did not actually border the Mediterranean; cf. Josh. 19:10-11).The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures by Dallas Seminary Faculty.

Notes For Verse 13a [Zebulun] The sixth son of Leah (Gen. 30:19-20). b [haven of ships] Zebulun had great trade with Tyre and Sidon. Dake's Annotated Reference Bible: Containing the Old and New Testaments of the Authorized or King James Version Text.

However, the Bible Knowledge Commentary and the Dake's Study Notes emphasize that Zebulun was enriched by seaborne trade even though it did not actually border the Mediterranean ocean. It is pointed out that Zebulun had great trade with the seaport cities of both Tyre and Sidon. This was made possible with the use of trade routes used for carrying on commerce with these coastal cities.

Isaiah 9:1 (NASB)

¹ But there will be no more gloom for her who was in anguish; in earlier times He treated the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali with contempt, but later on He shall make it glorious, by the way of the sea, on the other side of Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles.

In earlier times God treated the land of Zebulun and Naphtali with contempt because of the idol-worshiping Jewish population who were deported by invasion. The gloom of darkness speaks also of the darkness of idol worship from pagan Gentile inhabiting this region.

The scripture above also refers to the "way of the sea" or it could be translated as a "highway to the sea" as it refers to the trade routes that ran from the coastal cities of Tyre and Sidon toward the interior of Israel in Zebulun and Naphtali.

The way of the sea describes a major international highway running through this region. This is the only place where the Bible used this phrase, but it appears often in Assyrian and Egyptian records. The invading Assyrian soldiers took that route when they invaded the Northern Kingdom. From that area the Messiah will arise and will wipe away the gloom and darkness brought on by Gentile domination. The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures by Dallas Seminary Faculty.

The Bible Knowledge Commentary mentions the fact that both Assyrian and Egyptian records speak of international highways (or trade routes) that ran through this region from Zebulun and Naphtali to the coastal cities of Tyre and Sidon.

A Better Translation

The scripture below speaks of the borders of Zebulun extending to Sidon but in fact the location of Sidon is far north (in present-day Lebanon) and this is far beyond the borders prescribed for Zebulun by Joshua.

Genesis 49:13 (NLT2)

¹³ “Zebulun will settle by the seashore and will be a harbor for ships; his borders will extend to Sidon.

The above scripture would therefore be better translated as follows:

Genesis 49:13 (7KB)

Zebulun will be enriched by seaborne trade being a haven for goods brought by sea and transported over his highways which extend from Zebulun (to Tyre) and as far as Sidon.

It only makes logical sense that the borders of Zebulun could not reach as far as Sidon (in present day Lebanon) but rather it is his "trade routes" which extend to this northernmost port city of Sidon.

Prophecy of Moses for Zebulun

Deuteronomy 33:18 (AMP)

¹⁸ And of Zebulun he said: Rejoice, Zebulun, in your interests abroad, and you, Issachar, in your tents [at home].

Moses also gave prophetic words to the twelve tribes of Israel and the prophetic word for Zebulun (Amplified version) speaks of his "interests abroad" which can easily be applied to outside international business interests just as this tribe engaged in trade with the coastal cities of both Tyre and Sidon.

Therefore, a better translation of the prophetic word given by Moses for Zebulun would be:

Deuteronomy 33:18 (7KB)

¹⁸ About Zebulun he said: "Rejoice, Zebulun, in going out (for your business interests abroad) via your highways to the coastal cities of Tyre and Sidon . . . and you, Issachar, in your tents [at home].

Spiritual Perspective

Matthew 4:12-17 (HCSB)

¹² When He heard that John had been arrested, He withdrew into Galilee.

¹³ He left Nazareth behind and went to live in Capernaum by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali.

¹⁴ This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah:

¹⁵ Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, along the sea road, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles!

¹⁶ The people who live in darkness have seen a great light, and for those living in the shadowland of death, light has dawned.

¹⁷ From then on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, because the kingdom of heaven has come near!”

In these scriptures both Zebulun and Naphtali are mentioned together as being located along the sea road, beyond the Jordan and the region is called the Galilee of the Gentiles. This was in fulfillment of what was said by the prophet Isaiah.

Isaiah 9:1-2 (NLT2)

¹ Nevertheless, that time of darkness and despair will not go on forever. The land of Zebulun and Naphtali will be humbled, but there will be a time in the future when Galilee of the Gentiles, which lies along the road that runs between the Jordan and the sea, will be filled with glory.

² The people who walk in darkness will see a great light. For those who live in a land of deep darkness, a light will shine.

In 732 b.c. this northern portion of Israel became an Assyrian province under Tiglath-Pileser III, thus humbling the people there and putting them in gloom. Under Gentile domination, that area was called Galilee of the Gentiles. The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures by Dallas Seminary Faculty.

The Bible Knowledge Commentary speaks of past Israeli history when the northern tribes of this region engaged in persistent and unrepentant idol-worship which brought about a curse and destruction for them. So, this region was conquered in 732 B.C. and came under Assyrian domination. The idol-worshiping Jews were deported and hauled off into exile and the king of Assyria repopulated the region with mixed-Gentiles from other regions to keep the land productive and producing tax revenues. Populating the area with mixed-race nationalities reduced the chances of the mix-population uniting for revolt. It is for this reason that this area became known as the Galilee of the Gentiles because of the large mixed-race Gentile population living in that region which displaced the original idol-worshiping Jewish inhabitants that fell from God's grace.

Matthew 4:13-17 (NIV)

¹³ Leaving Nazareth, he went and lived in Capernaum, which was by the lake in the area of Zebulun and Naphtali--

¹⁴ to fulfill what was said through the prophet Isaiah:

¹⁵ "Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, the way to the sea, along the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles--

¹⁶ the people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned."

¹⁷ From that time on Jesus began to preach, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near."

This same area that was once full of spiritual darkness of idolatry and lost its Jewish population was now the very region where Jesus began to teach and preach. Jesus moved into Capernaum which was a town located on the western shore of the lake.

The way of the sea describes a major international highway running through this region. This is the only place where the Bible used this phrase, but it appears often in Assyrian and Egyptian records. The invading Assyrian soldiers took that route when they invaded the Northern Kingdom. From that area the Messiah will arise and will wipe away the gloom and darkness brought on by Gentile domination. The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures by Dallas Seminary Faculty.

Again, BKC comments for Isaiah 9:1 speaks of the "way of the sea" which refers to a major international highway running through this region and this trade route is referred to in both Assyrian and Egyptian records because this route was also used for military conquest.

Principle Zebulun

Genesis 49:13 (7KB)

Zebulun will be enriched by seaborne trade being a haven for goods brought by sea and transported over his highways which extend from Zebulun (to Tyre) and as far as Sidon.

It should be noted however that often the word of God uses natural things as an expression of spiritual truth. The term "many waters" often refers to large populations or people or even large military forces.

Psalm 18:16-17 (NKJV)

¹⁶ He sent from above, He took me; He drew me out of many waters.

¹⁷ He delivered me from my strong enemy, From those who hated me, For they were too strong for me.

David was speaking of being attacked by large military invasion forces and when God saved David in battle, he praised God for drawing him out of "many waters" (from the large overflow of military forces that overwhelmed him) like a flood of water!

Isaiah 17:12-13 (NKJV)

¹² Woe to the multitude of many people Who make a noise like the roar of the seas, And to the rushing of nations That make a rushing like the rushing of mighty waters!

¹³ The nations will rush like the rushing of many waters; But God will rebuke them and they will flee far away, And be chased like the chaff of the mountains before the wind, Like a rolling thing before the whirlwind.

Again, a large multitude of people are referred to as "many waters" like a sea of humanity and the rush of invading nations like the roar of the seas!

Revelation 17:1 (NIV)

¹ One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and said to me, "Come, I will show you the punishment of the great prostitute, who sits on many waters.

The great prostitute here represents false religions which sits upon "many waters" which refers to the worldwide population of earth that cover the globe like the oceans cover much of the earth.

Genesis 49:13 (7KB)

Zebulun will be enriched by seaborne trade being a haven for goods brought by sea and transported over his highways which extend from Zebulun (to Tyre) and as far as Sidon.

Returning again to the prophetic word about Zebulun, it speaks of seaborne trade brought by the sea and trafficked overland. This trade and commerce and moving of goods over the seas to ports worldwide represents the spread of the gospel.

2 Corinthians 4:7 (NKJV)

⁷ But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.

The Apostle Paul speaks of the treasure of revelation of the gospel and spiritual things and the knowledge of God's word all being contained in earthen vessels. This means that the human body is made of the dust of the earth just like a vessel of clay.

Genesis 2:7 (NASB)

⁷ Then the LORD God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.

The first man Adam was created out of the dust of the earth therefore when a person is born again, they are carrying the glory of God within the earthen vessels of their human body (much like a clay pot or pottery container that is also made of dust of the earth.

It is also interesting that great cargo ships on the sea are often referred to as marine vessels. Just as the human body is an earthen vessel to carry the glory of God so the knowledge of God is spread over the whole earth by human vessels (instead of marine vessels) - which carry natural cargoes over the oceans. The gospel is carried by human vessels of clay over the oceans or "many waters" of humanity which comprise the entire world population living on earth.

Acts 10:1-6 (NKJV)

¹ There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of what was called the Italian Regiment,

² a devout man and one who feared God with all his household, who gave alms generously to the people, and prayed to God always.

³ About the ninth hour of the day he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God coming in and saying to him, "Cornelius!"

⁴ And when he observed him, he was afraid, and said, "What is it, lord?" So he said to him, "Your prayers and your alms have come up for a memorial before God.

⁵ Now send men to Joppa, and send for Simon whose surname is Peter.

⁶ He is lodging with Simon, a tanner, whose house is by the sea. He will tell you what you must do."

The angel of the Lord appeared to a Gentile man who was a commander of a Roman military unit of 100-soldiers. This was a God-fearing man who gave to the Lord and his prayers and his alms became a memorial before God and this opened the door of salvation for him and his household. But it must be noted here that the angel of the Lord did not preach the gospel to Cornelius directly but instead told him to send men to Joppa and find Apostle Peter who would be the one to tell him what to do. It was given to humans to preach the gospel and carry the knowledge of God to others who are not saved. This knowledge of God and salvation is carried by human vessels (earthen vessels) to those who live upon the earth who make up the sea of humanity.

Zebulun and Gospel Trade on Sea of Humanity

Genesis 49:13 (NLT2)

¹³ “Zebulun will settle by the seashore and will be a harbor for ships; his borders will extend to Sidon.

Again, it is interesting that Zebulun is a land-locked territory but the prophecy about Zebulun was such that Zebulun was referred to as a haven for ships when in fact it has no natural harbor and does not border a natural ocean like the Mediterranean Sea. But if this is considered according to spiritual perspective then Zebulun being a harbor for ships speaks of humans who were hearing the gospel from the Jewish Messiah Jesus.

A ship moored to the dock (being loaded with cargo) speaks of believers learning spiritual truths as they are loaded up with revelation of God's word. When they are filled with the word and matured spiritually then these believers become vessels to carry the light of the gospel across the sea of humanity all over the face of the earth.

Acts 2:4-11 (NIV)

⁴ All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.

⁵ Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven.

⁶ When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard them speaking in his own language.

⁷ Utterly amazed, they asked: "Are not all these men who are speaking Galileans?

⁸ Then how is it that each of us hears them in his own native language?

⁹ Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,

¹⁰ Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome

¹¹ (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs--we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!"

On the of Pentecost the disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke in various foreign languages as the Spirit of God enabled them to speak. There were Jewish people from every nation on earth visiting Jerusalem and these Jews from foreign nations all heard the disciples speaking in their own native languages and declaring the wonders of God!

Acts 2:37-41 (NIV)

³⁷ When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, "Brothers, what shall we do?"

³⁸ Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

³⁹ The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off--for all whom the Lord our God will call."

⁴⁰ With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, "Save yourselves from this corrupt generation."

⁴¹ Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.

Peter preached to the foreigners in Jerusalem in the day of Pentecost and on that day they had about 3,000-Jewish foreigners become saved. These newly saved Messianic Jews became earthen vessels of the Holy Spirit when they were born again and filled with the Holy Spirit of God!

1 Corinthians 3:16 (NASB)

¹⁶ Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?

When a believer is saved and filled with the Holy Spirit then they become vessels of the Holy Spirit who dwells within them. Their human bodies become temples of the Holy Spirit and they carry the presence of God within them as earthen vessels.

It is these earthen vessels that carry the gospel light to all nations on earth just as the first Jewish converts on the day of Pentecost carried the light of the gospel home with them to their various nations and could witness to other Jews about their new life in Christ using their own native tongues.

Acts 2:41-42 (NASB)

⁴¹ So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and that day there were added about three thousand souls.

⁴² They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.

These foreign Jewish converts remained in Jerusalem after they were saved and they devoted themselves to the teaching of the Apostles and to fellowship and to breaking of bread and to prayer. This activity was like having a cargo ship moored to the dock and it being loaded with precious cargo. They were being fed spiritually by the Apostles who taught God's word and broke the bread of revelation of God's word to feed them spiritually. They were filled with the Holy Spirit and now they were being filled with the word of God and with bible knowledge and revelation by the teaching of the Apostles. This enabled these Messianic Jews to return home to their various nations carrying the gospel light within their earthen vessels like cargo ships carrying precious cargo to nations all over the world!

Genesis 49:13 (NLT2)

¹³ “Zebulun will settle by the seashore and will be a harbor for ships; his borders will extend to Sidon.

Again, it is interesting that Zebulun was referred to as being by the seashore and a harbor for ships and having borders extend to Sidon which is a port city. But this same region was repopulated with various language groups of conquered people by the king of Assyria so that is why it was called the Galilee of Gentiles because of the mixed-Gentile population living there. These people also were without the light of the gospel and had no knowledge of God so when Jesus started teaching in that region it was as if a great light had dawned as bright as the sun!

Matthew 4:12 (NASB)

¹² Now when Jesus heard that John had been taken into custody, He withdrew into Galilee;

John the Baptist was the forerunner of Jesus to prepare the hearts of humans for repentance and get them ready for the ministry of Jesus to follow. When John was put into prison by Herod that was the end of his ministry and he remained in prison until he was executed. Jesus knew that the end of John's ministry also marked the beginning of his own and for this reason Jesus relocated to the region of Galilee in the territory of Zebulun.

John 3:27-30 (NASB)

²⁷ John answered and said, "A man can receive nothing unless it has been given him from heaven.

²⁸ "You yourselves are my witnesses that I said, 'I am not the Christ,' but, 'I have been sent ahead of Him.'

²⁹ "He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom's voice. So this joy of mine has been made full.

³⁰ "He must increase, but I must decrease.

The decrease of John began with his imprisonment by Herod and in fact that was the end of his earthly ministry and he never got out of prison and was later beheaded in prison.

Matthew 4:13 (NASB)

¹³ and leaving Nazareth, He came and settled in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali.

Jesus then left his home town of Nazareth and settled in Capernaum which was a town located by the lake in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali. This was the ministry headquarters of Jesus when he began to preach the gospel.

Principle Zebulun goes together with Naphtali and Zebulun speaks of humans becoming saved and filled with the Holy Spirit as temples of God and having their earthen vessels filled with the knowledge of God by these believers sitting under the teaching of Apostles and Prophets and Teachers.

1 Corinthians 12:28 (NASB)

²⁸ And God has appointed in the church, first apostles, second prophets, third teachers . . .

The first three ministry gifts in the church are Apostles then Prophets and then bible Teachers. The Apostles lay a foundation of divine order in the lives of new believers and the Prophets lay a foundation of holiness and fear of the Lord and the bible Teachers lay a foundation of knowledge of God's word. Often both Apostles and Prophets will possess dual-callings so they will have a dual gift of Apostle/Teacher or Prophet/Teacher. The bible teaching of at Apostle/Teacher will always expose disorder and put that disorder back into order by the systematic teaching of God's word. The bible teaching of a Prophet/Teacher will always expose sin by the systematic teaching of God's word to define specific sins and then call people to repent of those sins and thus their fruit is holiness and fear of the Lord to clean up the believers of sin.

See the link "Fivefold Ministry Gifts" for more details.

Acts 2:42 (NIV)

⁴² They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.

Again, it should be noted that the first thing that the new believers did on the day of Pentecost was to devote themselves to the teaching of the Apostles (who laid a foundation of divine order in their lives). It is the Apostles who are listed first in importance because they have the first bottom layer of the foundation of spiritual growth for new believers. Everything else is built upon that foundation which itself rests upon the cornerstone of Jesus Christ.

Ephesians 2:19-20 (NIV)

¹⁹ Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household,

²⁰ built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone.

New believers are built upon the foundation of Apostles and Prophets with the Apostles laying a foundation of divine order and the Prophets laying foundation of holiness and fear of the Lord (on top of the Apostle's foundation of divine order). But everything is laid upon the chief cornerstone which the whole spiritual building is established (who is Jesus Christ himself).

1 Peter 2:4-5 (NIV)

⁴ As you come to him, the living Stone--rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him--

⁵ you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

Believers are like "living stones" and they are built upon the foundation of Apostles and Prophets into a spiritual house and a temple of God upon earth.

Revelation 21:14 (NASB)

¹⁴ And the wall of the city had twelve foundation stones, and on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

The heavenly city will have twelves foundation stones and on these stones are written the names of the twelve Apostles of the Lamb. This has spiritual significance because these names were written on the foundation stones of the wall of the heavenly city. This speaks of the fact that everything is built upon the foundation of the Apostles with the next layer being the foundation of the Prophets laid upon that and then layers of bible Teaching upon these foundations to build a high wall around the city.

No Apostle Foundation No Heaven

Revelation 22:14-15 (NIV)

¹⁴ "Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city.

¹⁵ Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.

The scriptures above speak of the gates of the city (which are placed within the walls of the city). The walls of the city represent separation of the just within from the unjust that are without. Those who are within are washed by the blood of the Lamb and received salvation as a free gift. These were counted worthy to enter into the gates of the heavenly city because they were not trusting in the self-effort of trying to earn their own salvation by dead religion. Outside walls of the heavenly city will be the lake of fire where everyone who were once occupying hell will be cast (which is the second death).

Isaiah 66:24 (NASB)

²⁴ "Then they will go forth and look On the corpses of the men Who have transgressed against Me. For their worm will not die And their fire will not be quenched; And they will be an abhorrence to all mankind."

Those who are saved and counted worthy to enter the gates of the heavenly city can go out and look upon those corpses of the "living-dead" who have transgressed against God. These are the people who trusted in self-effort and were involved in false religion and who loved sin more than the truth and lived in vile manner on earth. Their worm will not die and their fire will not be quenched for all eternity as they live forever in unbearable agony together with Satan and the demons who deceived them.

Revelation 21:7-8 (NIV)

⁷ He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his God and he will be my son.

⁸ But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars--their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death."

Those who overcome sin and false religion will inherit the blessings of entering the heavenly city as God's citizens. But outside of the city are the cowardly and unbelieving and the vile and murderers and sexually immoral and those who practice magic arts and idolaters and liars who will be in the lake of fire which is the second death.

Revelation 20:12-15 (NIV)

¹² And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books.

¹³ The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done.

¹⁴ Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death.

¹⁵ If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

All those who were formerly in hell who died before the judgment day will be transferred out of hell and then be judged and then cast into the lake of fire which is the second death where they will make their eternal abode.

Revelation 21:27 (NIV)

²⁷ Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life.

Nothing impure will enter the heavenly city only those whose names were written in the book of life. Therefore, it is of imminent importance that believers submit to the teaching of Apostles and Prophets because without a foundation of divine order and holiness and fear of the Lord they will not enter the heavenly city.

The foundation stones of the wall of the heavenly city will have the names of twelve Apostles which represents the spiritual foundation laid by Apostles which is the foundation of spiritual life. Without the foundational teaching of Apostles, no human will make it into the heavenly city. First is the Apostles teaching then second is the Prophets teaching and then the general teaching of a bible Teacher which makes up the walls of the city. These walls represent knowledge imparted by Apostles and Prophets and Teachers and this is what separates those who are worthy to enter the heavenly city from those who are not worthy who are left outside the walls to dwell in the lake of fire.

Those involved in false religion are full of pride and arrogance that says that they have no need of the free gift of eternal life but they can earn their own salvation by human self-effort of following dead religion and all of its man-made rituals. All those involved in dead man-made religions will perish eternally in the lake of fire!

Those who do not have the divine order of an Apostle and the holiness and fear of the Lord of the Prophet will not enter the kingdom of God. Those who join false religion or attend churches run by laymen ministry intruders will all end up in the lake of fire because they have no foundation of Apostles and Prophets and bible Teachers which makes up the wall of separation of the just and the unjust. It is the teaching foundation of Apostles and Prophets and Teachers that separates those who are damned from those who enter the heavenly city.

Separation by Parables

Just as the wall will separated the wicked from the just in the heavenly city so parables were used to separate those who are unworthy from those who have ears to hear.

Mark 4:1-2 (NIV)

¹ Again Jesus began to teach by the lake. The crowd that gathered around him was so large that he got into a boat and sat in it out on the lake, while all the people were along the shore at the water's edge.

² He taught them many things by parables, and in his teaching said:

Jesus taught the people by the lake which was in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali and he used parables as means of conveying spiritual truth to the crowds. Those who had spiritual eyes to see and spiritual ears to hear would be able to understand the meaning of the parables. But those who were unworthy were unable to see revelation and so they remained spiritually dull of hearing.

Luke 10:23-24 (NIV)

²³ Then he turned to his disciples and said privately, "Blessed are the eyes that see what you see.

²⁴ For I tell you that many prophets and kings wanted to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it."

Jesus chose his disciples specifically because they had eyes to see and ears to hear the revelation he gave (with the exception of Judas). These eleven men would later become earthen vessels to carry the light of the gospel and knowledge of God as Apostles. These men were earthen vessels being loaded up with precious cargo of the revelation of God's word which would be released on the day of Pentecost when they began teaching the foreigner Jewish congregation in Jerusalem who would later carry the gospel to all Jewish communities worldwide.

Human Freewill and the Gospel

The gospel however is intertwined with human freewill and God will not force his way upon anyone. Every person who comes to God must do so by their own human freewill to freely chose to come to God. If they want to live their own lives (like a sheep gone astray) and they want to retain their own human independence, then they will have disqualified themselves from the gospel and disqualified themselves from making Jesus their Lord. The religious leaders were of this type and disqualified themselves from salvation by their human ego and pride and rebellion and independence and self-will.

Acts 13:45-46 (NASB)

⁴⁵ But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and began contradicting the things spoken by Paul, and were blaspheming.

⁴⁶ Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly and said, "It was necessary that the word of God be spoken to you first; since you repudiate it and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles.

The religious Jews repudiated the gospel and contradicted the truth spoken by Paul and Barnabas and judged themselves as being unworthy of eternal life. These religious Jews were moved by jealousy when they saw large crowds following Paul and Barnabas and the preaching of the gospel. Religious people make a living off of having a large crowd of adherents following them. If these people were to get saved and set free from dead religion and no longer follow these religious leaders then these religious people will be out of a job.

John 11:47-48 (NASB)

⁴⁷ Therefore the chief priests and the Pharisees convened a council, and were saying, "What are we doing? For this man is performing many signs.

⁴⁸ "If we let Him go on like this, all men will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation."

The fact of the matter is that false religion is depicted as a prostitute that goes to bed with political officials in compromise to get what they want. The prostitute uses a client to get money and the client uses the prostitute for lust but there is no love between them in this compromise relationship where both parties use one another to get what they want.

The Jewish religious leaders were in bed together with the Roman political system. They had some control over the people because they inserted themselves between the people and God and made a good living off of this religious system. They could also cause people to riot or calm them down and have peace. The Roman governors had to have peace or else they their superiors in Rome would replace them. So local Roman governors would compromise with the religious leaders saying if you keep the people from rioting then we will grant you some autonomy to do what you want in running your religious system for money.

But Jesus had many miracles and healing and even raised the dead and large crowds of people were following Jesus and the religious leaders feared that if all of the people followed Jesus then the Romans would see that these religious leaders had no more control or influence over the people. Thus, the Romans would discard these religious leaders completely and they would have their profitable religious money-making system come to ruination.

It should be noted therefore that this is the main reason that religious people persecute those who become believers. Those who become believers can go directly to God themselves and are no longer deceived to think they have to go through these religious intermediaries who have assumed a position of mediator between the people and God. When people get saved, they discover that they do not need religious intermediaries anymore so then these religious people are left without a job. All dead religion is like this and these religious leaders all feel threatened by having people get saved and go directly to God and bypass their worthless religious system and all of its man-made rituals.

It is for this reason that those who embrace dead religion (and those who make a livelihood from it) are those who cut themselves off from salvation and the free gift of eternal life. Those who love dead religion more than the truth will go to hell with their false religions because they refuse to humble themselves and accept the free gift of eternal life provided only by God's Son Jesus.

Those involved in dead religion are filled with religious pride and self-effort supposing they do not need a free gift of life when they assume that they can earn their own salvation by engaging in dead religious works and man-made nonsense rituals.

Not everyone will be saved but only those who have spiritual eyes to see and spiritual ears to hear the truth of God's word. Only those who will humble themselves of human self-effort of trying to earn their own salvation by dead religion can be saved.

This is the reason that Jesus spoke only in parables because parables were a secret code that only those whose hearts were right could understand. If their hearts were not right (and they were involved in earning their own salvation by dead religion) then they would not be able to hear or receive the revelation of God.

Thus, humans will sort themselves out for the gospel by their own response. If they humble themselves, they can be saved but if they embrace their own self-effort in earning their own salvation by being adherents to dead religion they will go to hell.

Matthew 21:31-32 (NASB)

³¹ "Which of the two did the will of his father?" They *said, "The first." Jesus *said to them, "Truly I say to you that the tax collectors and prostitutes will get into the kingdom of God before you.

³² "For John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him; but the tax collectors and prostitutes did believe him; and you, seeing this, did not even feel remorse afterward so as to believe him.

John preached repentance but the religious leaders refused to humble themselves and repent because they were making a big income off religion. They did not want anyone to get saved and stop following them or they would lose both political power and money. But the prostitutes and tax collectors (considered notorious sinners) freely accepted the message of repentance and humbled themselves and acknowledged their sins and were saved. But the religious leaders would not be saved because of self-serving reasons and they did not want anyone else to be saved either so they plotted to kill Jesus in order to keep the people under bondage to their own dead religion.

Preaching to a Willing Audience

Acts 13:46-48 (NKJV)

⁴⁶ Then Paul and Barnabas grew bold and said, "It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken to you first; but since you reject it, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, behold, we turn to the Gentiles.

⁴⁷ For so the Lord has commanded us: 'I have set you as a light to the Gentiles, That you should be for salvation to the ends of the earth.' "

⁴⁸ Now when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and glorified the word of the Lord. And as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed.

It was necessary that the gospel be first preached to the Jews because they were God's chosen people. But those religious Jewish people who were hardened in their hearts and continued to embrace dead religion and refused to repent were rejected because of their own human freewill choice. Paul went to the Gentiles and this was a fulfillment of the scripture that Jesus became a light to the Gentiles and his salvation went forth to all the earth. The Gentiles were glad when they heard this and they glorified the word of the Lord. Those who believed appointed themselves to eternal life (by having a good receptive attitude toward the gospel) which resulted in their salvation.

Barley and Wheat Harvests

The book of Ruth is a beautiful analogy of the Jewish (barley) harvest and the Gentle (wheat) harvest. Gideon was a Jewish man and he was depicted as a cake of barley bread so the barley harvest speaks of the harvest of Jewish souls.

See the like called "Ruth-A Spiritual Analogy" for more details.

John 4:35 (NASB)

³⁵ "Do you not say, 'There are yet four months, and then comes the harvest'? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look on the fields, that they are white for harvest.

Jesus compared the salvation of souls to a harvest and said that the fields were white (or ripe) for harvest. This harvest can be divided into two separate harvests with one being Jewish (the barley harvest) and one being Gentile (the wheat harvest). The harvest first started with the Jews because the knowledge of God came from the Jews and the Messiah was also Jewish. But then the wheat harvest of the Gentiles commenced and went all over the world to all nations with hundreds of millions of Gentiles in every nation being saved. Eventually however the harvest will come full-circle and will end again with the barley harvest of the Jews.

Romans 11:25-27 (NIV)

²⁵ I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in.

²⁶ And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: "The deliverer will come from Zion; he will turn godlessness away from Jacob.

²⁷ And this is my covenant with them when I take away their sins."

The Jewish race has largely been blinded to the gospel with a hardening of heart for this time and season until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. This means that the barley harvest of the Jews has been suspended while the wheat harvest of the Gentiles is presently on-going. But a time will come with the Messiah will appear in Jerusalem as a deliverer and he will turn away the godlessness of Jacob and those Jews that will be alive in that time will all be saved.

Zechariah 13:7-9 (NIV)

⁷ "Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, against the man who is close to me!" declares the LORD Almighty. "Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered, and I will turn my hand against the little ones.

⁸ In the whole land," declares the LORD, "two-thirds will be struck down and perish; yet one-third will be left in it.

⁹ This third I will bring into the fire; I will refine them like silver and test them like gold. They will call on my name and I will answer them; I will say, 'They are my people,' and they will say, 'The LORD is our God.'"

The scripture above speaks of the whole land of Israel and the Jewish people within it. This population will be divided into those who are wicked and those who are righteous. The righteous are those who are grieved about everything that is done which is evil within their society and these will make up the one-third population considered worthy to escape judgment and spare their lives.

Ezekiel 9:3-7 (NIV)

³ Now the glory of the God of Israel went up from above the cherubim, where it had been, and moved to the threshold of the temple. Then the LORD called to the man clothed in linen who had the writing kit at his side

⁴ and said to him, "Go throughout the city of Jerusalem and put a mark on the foreheads of those who grieve and lament over all the detestable things that are done in it."

⁵ As I listened, he said to the others, "Follow him through the city and kill, without showing pity or compassion.

⁶ Slaughter old men, young men and maidens, women and children, but do not touch anyone who has the mark. Begin at my sanctuary." So they began with the elders who were in front of the temple.

⁷ Then he said to them, "Defile the temple and fill the courts with the slain. Go!" So they went out and began killing throughout the city.

The Jewish Prophet Ezekiel speaks of those being marked who are righteous in God's sight. These people are the ones who are grieved and lament over all the detestable things that are done in their city. These are the ones who are marked to be spared destruction which will make up the one-third righteous. The rest of the population will be culled just as is depicted in the vision of the prophet Ezekiel. The culled population will represent the two-thirds portion who do not grieve over wickedness but instead embrace it and even glorify it.

Psalm 12:7-8 (NIV2011)

⁷ You, LORD, will keep the needy safe and will protect us forever from the wicked,

⁸ who freely strut about when what is vile is honored by the human race.

This scripture speaks of a time when all things vile are honored by the human race. The people of this type will not be preserved in the coming cull but will be part of the two-thirds population that will be struck down and will perish.

Escape with Your Life

Jeremiah 39:15-18 (NIV)

¹⁵ While Jeremiah had been confined in the courtyard of the guard, the word of the LORD came to him:

¹⁶ "Go and tell Ebed-Melech the Cushite, 'This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: I am about to fulfill my words against this city through disaster, not prosperity. At that time they will be fulfilled before your eyes.

¹⁷ But I will rescue you on that day, declares the LORD; you will not be handed over to those you fear.

¹⁸ I will save you; you will not fall by the sword but will escape with your life, because you trust in me, declares the LORD.'"

Ebed-Melech the Cushite was an example of a righteous man in God's sight who grieved over the evil done in society. When God brought disaster upon the land, Ebed-Melech was one of those who was considered worth sparing and he escaped with his life as a prize! This man trusted in God and was spared during the cull of judgment!

Jeremiah 45:2-5 (NIV)

² "This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says to you, Baruch:

³ You said, 'Woe to me! The LORD has added sorrow to my pain; I am worn out with groaning and find no rest.'"

⁴ [The LORD said,] "Say this to him: 'This is what the LORD says: I will overthrow what I have built and uproot what I have planted, throughout the land.

⁵ Should you then seek great things for yourself? Seek them not. For I will bring disaster on all people, declares the LORD, but wherever you go I will let you escape with your life.'"

Baruch served the Lord and honored God’s servant Jeremiah the prophet so God also allowed Baruch to escape with his life. Sometimes during a great disaster, the best thing that a person can have is to escape with their life in a time when everything is being destroyed and people are dying like flies around them.

These scriptures all confirm that God will mark those to be preserved during calamity. Those who are not marked for preservation will be the ones to be culled.

Zechariah 13:7-9 (NIV)

⁷ "Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, against the man who is close to me!" declares the LORD Almighty. "Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered, and I will turn my hand against the little ones.

⁸ In the whole land," declares the LORD, "two-thirds will be struck down and perish; yet one-third will be left in it.

⁹ This third I will bring into the fire; I will refine them like silver and test them like gold. They will call on my name and I will answer them; I will say, 'They are my people,' and they will say, 'The LORD is our God.'"

Again, the prophet Zechariah speaks of two-thirds of the population being struck down and perishing in the final cataclysmic battle. Yeshua (Jesus) will then return to defend Jerusalem but only after the two-thirds (wicked) population has perished. I believe this will be a cull of the unrighteous during this time. This cull will leave only the one-third population of righteous seed which will be refined during the time of the tribulation period. God will call them His people and they will say, "The Lord is our God!" This indicates that the surviving one-third group have become believers and were considered righteous in order to escape with their lives.

Romans 11:26 (NIV)

²⁶ And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: "The deliverer will come from Zion; he will turn godlessness away from Jacob.

All of the surviving Jewish people (which have been marked for preservation in the spiritual realm) will be those who are saved. These are those who are believers in their own Jewish Messiah who is Yeshua the Lord.

Zechariah 14:1-3 (NIV)

¹ A day of the LORD is coming when your plunder will be divided among you.

² I will gather all the nations to Jerusalem to fight against it; the city will be captured, the houses ransacked, and the women raped. Half of the city will go into exile, but the rest of the people will not be taken from the city.

³ Then the LORD will go out and fight against those nations, as he fights in the day of battle.

At this time the Lord Yeshua the Messiah will come and defend Jerusalem from the attack of all of the nations of earth united together into a massive international coalition military that is without number.

Satanic Attack of Israel

Revelation 12:1-5 (NIV)

¹ A great and wondrous sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head.

² She was pregnant and cried out in pain as she was about to give birth.

³ Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on his heads.

⁴ His tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth. The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that he might devour her child the moment it was born.

⁵ She gave birth to a son, a male child, who will rule all the nations with an iron scepter. And her child was snatched up to God and to his throne.

The woman clothed with the Sun with the moon under her feet with a crown of twelve stars upon her head represents the nation of Israel and the twelve sons of Jacob who became the twelve tribes of Israel. From this nation was born the Jewish Messiah and Satan sought to devour this Messiah child as soon as he was born and even inspired the jealous King Herod to send soldiers to try and kill the infant Messiah in Bethlehem.

Matthew 2:16 (NIV)

¹⁶ When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi.

It must be understood that Satan is the god of this world's system and he became god of the world when Adam committed high treason in the garden and sold out to the devil his God-given dominion on earth. This same Satan is an evil genius who can inspire ungodly men to fulfill his wicked agenda just as he inspired King Herod to do.

Revelation 20:7-9 (NIV)

⁷ When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his prison

⁸ and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth--Gog and Magog--to gather them for battle. In number they are like the sand on the seashore.

⁹ They marched across the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of God's people, the city he loves. But fire came down from heaven and devoured them.

Satan will also go out and deceive the nations of the earth to come and gather together for battle to surround the city God loves and attack Jerusalem! This will be the time that Yeshua the Messiah will appear to defend his city and most particularly defend those righteous Jewish believers who have been marked for preservation.

Revelation 12:15-16 (NIV)

¹⁵ Then from his mouth the serpent spewed water like a river, to overtake the woman and sweep her away with the torrent.

¹⁶ But the earth helped the woman by opening its mouth and swallowing the river that the dragon had spewed out of his mouth.

The water spewed from the dragon's mouth to sweep away the woman (Israel) speaks of the "many waters" of innumerable hordes of enemies from every nation which come to attack Jerusalem. The earth swallowing up the hoard can also be applied to the burial place of Gog after the Lord has destroyed this vast army!

Ezekiel 39:11 (NASB)

¹¹ "On that day I will give Gog a burial ground there in Israel, the valley of those who pass by east of the sea, and it will block off those who would pass by. So they will bury Gog there with all his horde, and they will call it the valley of Hamon-gog.

The remains of the multitude of foreign armies that are killed by the Lord will be buried in on location in a valley will be named Hamon-Gog. This is a fulfillment of the earth swallowing up this hoard after they are all killed and then "buried" in the earth.

Zechariah 14:12 (NIV)

¹² This is the plague with which the LORD will strike all the nations that fought against Jerusalem: Their flesh will rot while they are still standing on their feet, their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongues will rot in their mouths.

The flesh and eyes and tongues of the invading soldiers rotting away could depict the effects of the sword of the Lord which dissolves human flesh instantly while they are still standing on their feet so that they are dead before they even hit the ground!

Revelation 19:15-16 (NIV)

¹⁵ Out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. "He will rule them with an iron scepter." He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty.

¹⁶ On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.

These scriptures speak of the sword that comes out of the mouth of the Lord like a laser light or radiation or a stream of fire which would cause the flesh of the enemy to dissolve or melt instant before their remains can even fall to the ground as dead.

Revelation 19:21 (NIV)

²¹ The rest of them were killed with the sword that came out of the mouth of the rider on the horse, and all the birds gorged themselves on their flesh.

The sword of the mouth of the Messiah seems to kill instantly but leaves enough of the dead body intact to provide carrion for the scavengers which will feed on the remains of these dead soldiers who attacked the holy city and met with the vengeance of the Messiah!

Zechariah 12:2-4 (NASB)

² "Behold, I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that causes reeling to all the peoples around; and when the siege is against Jerusalem, it will also be against Judah.

³ "It will come about in that day that I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples; all who lift it will be severely injured. And all the nations of the earth will be gathered against it.

⁴ "In that day," declares the LORD, "I will strike every horse with bewilderment and his rider with madness. But I will watch over the house of Judah, while I strike every horse of the peoples with blindness.

This blindness could be from the flash of light of the sword of the Lord's mouth which will dissolve eyes in their sockets instantly. All of the nations on earth will send armies against Israel only be to destroyed entirely by the Messiah!

Zechariah 12:8-10 (NASB)

⁸ "In that day the LORD will defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and the one who is feeble among them in that day will be like David, and the house of David will be like God, like the angel of the LORD before them.

⁹ "And in that day I will set about to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.

¹⁰ "I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplication, so that they will look on Me whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him like the bitter weeping over a firstborn.

In that day all armies of the nations of the earth will be destroyed at Jerusalem. The Jewish survivors (counted worthy to be alive) will only be those who are believers in that time. They will mourn that their own Jewish people who had in the past rejected their own Messiah when he stood among them and walked in the flesh as a human. But all those survivors who are alive at this time will be believers and so every Jewish person alive in that day will be saved.

God's Plan that All Nations be Blessed by the Jews

Genesis 18:18 (KJV)

¹⁸ Seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him?

God promised that all nations of the earth would be blessed through Abraham (and his offspring the Jews). This was fulfilled when Yeshua (Jesus) the Jewish Messiah (of the lineage of David) was born as the savior of the whole world.

Genesis 18:19 (KJV)

¹⁹ For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD, to do justice and judgment; that the LORD may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him.

God gave Abraham the knowledge of his ways knowing that Abraham would instruct his own children and household after him. Thus, the knowledge of God passed from Abraham to Isaac and from Jacob to his twelve sons. These twelve sons multiplied into twelve tribes with a population over 600,000 male heads of households. This Jewish nation was large enough to exert a godly influence upon all of the nations of earth. This nation received the Torah of God through Moses at Mount Horeb.

Genesis 22:15-18 (NIV2011)

¹⁵ The angel of the LORD called to Abraham from heaven a second time

¹⁶ and said, “I swear by myself, declares the LORD, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son,

¹⁷ I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies,

¹⁸ and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me.”

Just as Abraham offered his only son Isaac in obedience to God so God also offered his own Son Yeshua (Jesus) for the sacrifice of sin for the whole world.

Romans 3:1-2 (NIV)

¹ What advantage, then, is there in being a Jew, or what value is there in circumcision?

² Much in every way! First of all, they have been entrusted with the very words of God.

Everything that can be known about the one true God was given to the Jews through Abraham and his descendants (the Jews) and through Moses through whom was entrusted with the very words of God!

John 4:22 (NIV)

²² You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews.

Jesus said clearly that salvation comes from the Jews because only the Jews possessed the knowledge of the one-true God! God revealed himself to no other people except the Jewish race.

Acts 4:12 (NIV)

¹² Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved."

There is salvation found in no one else except Yeshua the Jewish Messiah. Only by calling upon this Name can humans of all nationalities of earth be saved!

God's Plan of Salvation Includes Gentiles

God's plan of salvation originally included salvation for the Gentiles. God raised up one-man Abraham who would be faithful to teach his children and household then he raised a nation of people from this one man so that the Jews would exert godly influence over all nations on earth because of their Jewish Torah.

Isaiah 11:10 (NKJV)

¹⁰ "And in that day there shall be a Root of Jesse, Who shall stand as a banner to the people; For the Gentiles shall seek Him, And His resting place shall be glorious."

Jesus was the Root of Jessie being born of the lineage of King David the son of Jessie. Yeshua (Jesus) stands as a banner for all people of the earth and the Gentiles will seek him. The gospel went out to all the ends of the earth and the Gentiles have received it.

Romans 10:15-18 (NIV)

¹⁵ And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!"

¹⁶ But not all the Israelites accepted the good news. For Isaiah says, "Lord, who has believed our message?"

¹⁷ Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.

¹⁸ But I ask: Did they not hear? Of course they did: "Their voice has gone out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world."

This scripture speaks of how beautiful are the feet of those who bring the good news of the gospel. The foreign Jews who were saved on the day of Pentecost became carriers of the gospel message to their own Jewish people in every nation. They were earthen vessels (made of dust) but they carried the Holy Spirit within them and carried God's word to their Jewish brethren in every nation. Their voice went out into all the earth and their words to the ends of the world.

John 4:28-30 (NIV)

²⁸ Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people,

²⁹ "Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Christ?"

³⁰ They came out of the town and made their way toward him.

A Gentile woman of Samaria told the people to come out and see a man who told her everything she ever did and then the town people came to see Jesus.

John 4:39-42 (NIV)

³⁹ Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman's testimony, "He told me everything I ever did."

⁴⁰ So when the Samaritans came to him, they urged him to stay with them, and he stayed two days.

⁴¹ And because of his words many more became believers.

⁴² They said to the woman, "We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world."

The Samaritans heard the words of Jesus and they also believed themselves that he was the Savior of the world! This is an example of how the gospel is carried and how it can spread to peoples and nations and tongues.

Revelation 5:9-10 (NIV)

⁹ And they sang a new song: "You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation.

¹⁰ You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth."

There will be people in heaven from every tribe and language and people and nation on earth. This is because humans who are saved become earthen vessels to carry the glory of God and the knowledge of God to every tribe and language and people and nation on earth.

Matthew 4:12-17 (NIV)

¹² When Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, he returned to Galilee.

¹³ Leaving Nazareth, he went and lived in Capernaum, which was by the lake in the area of Zebulun and Naphtali--

¹⁴ to fulfill what was said through the prophet Isaiah:

¹⁵ "Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, the way to the sea, along the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles--

¹⁶ the people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned."

¹⁷ From that time on Jesus began to preach, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near."

Principle Zebulun speaks about how Yeshua came and took up residence in Capernaum beside the lake in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali. This was called the Galilee of the Gentiles. These people were Gentiles who were without the knowledge of God held by the Jews yet at the same time Jesus was teaching among them. These people living in darkness saw a great light as if the sun had dawned upon them changing their spiritual darkness to the brightness of the noon-day sun! Jesus began to preach here and called these people to repent.

Genesis 49:13 (NLT2)

¹³ “Zebulun will settle by the seashore and will be a harbor for ships; his borders will extend to Sidon.

It is interesting that the prophetic word for Zebulun spoke of him settling by a seashore and being a harbor for ships and his borders extending to Sidon a great port city that exported cargoes throughout the world. Spiritually Jesus began ministry here and began to teach the people in a region populated by Gentiles. These Gentiles in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali represent earthen vessels (like cargo ships) that carry a precious cargo of the knowledge of God. Their trade routes to the coastal cities of Tyre and Sidon speak of sending the gospel to the ends of the earth by human earthen vessels.

This all took place after the day of Pentecost when the Jewish believers were first saved and loaded with the precious cargo of God's word to take home to their Jewish people in every nation. Then the gospel jumped the Jewish wall to the Gentiles and the wheat harvest of the Gentiles spread over the earth with hundreds of millions of Gentiles becoming believers in every nation on earth.

This all relates to the Principle Zebulun as a seaport with a harbor to load cargo ships which speaks of the ministry of Apostles and Prophets and bible Teachers who load the cargo of divine order and holiness and fear of God and the revelation of God's word into the earthen vessels of believers who are a temple of the Holy Spirit and who carry God's presence all over the world to every language and tribe and people and nation.

Matthew 4:13 (NIV)

¹³ Leaving Nazareth, he went and lived in Capernaum, which was by the lake in the area of Zebulun and Naphtali--

Both Zebulun and Naphtali are mentioned together because these two regions were together called the Galilee of the Gentiles. Zebulun speaks of loading the precious cargo of God's word into human earthen vessels to be exported to the ends of the earth! Naphtali speaks of a deer set free who bears fawns which is a picture of a mature believer who is free to run and becomes a fruitful believer by walking in relationship and fellowship with the Lord.

See the link "Principle Naphtali" for more details.

So, Principle Zebulun deals with believers being filled with the precious cargo of God's word and having a foundation of Apostles and Prophets laid in their lives. Then the final stage is Principle Naphtali where they are free to walk with God as a deer set free. This is like Moses who dared to ask God to see his glory! These are believers who have been cleaned up of idols and now they live only for God. They are like a well-trained war-horse who does not waver or scare during battle but holds steady and obeys only the commands of their master. These are those who walk with God and are fully mature and living with no more personal agenda of their own but do nothing more or less than exact obedience in everything. Just as Moses was faithful in all God's house so those who attain Principle Naphtali are those who do nothing more or less than perfect obedience to their Master. Principle Zebulun and Principle Naphtali go together because both refer to maturing in Christ and become an adult-spiritually who can then be used as a vessel of honor by the Lord.

2 Timothy 2:20-21 (NASB)

²⁰ Now in a large house there are not only gold and silver vessels, but also vessels of wood and of earthenware, and some to honor and some to dishonor.

²¹ Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from these things, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work.

Fully mature believers (on the Zebulun and Naphtali levels) are those who use their human freewill to purify themselves and put away sin and evil motives will become a vessel of honor which can be used for God's glory. Principle Naphtali is the final stage of maturity when the believers become like a deer set free who walks with God and who has no more personal agendas nor any self-serving motives left within them. This is the highest level to attain after Principle Zebulun (which is when they are earthen vessels being loaded with a precious cargo of God's word to carry to the ends of the earth)!