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The Twelve Tribes of Jacob
Those Who Come Out of the Tribulation
  Since you followed my suggestion to read the entire 7th Chapter of Revelation, you will not be required to read what follows, but I am placing these verses as a research aid. Listed are the 12 tribes of Israel. From each tribe 12,000 (twelve thousand) were sealed; thus, making the total sealed 144,000 (one hundred and forty and four thousand). I know that this may not be necessary to write, but believe me . . . I have met more than one person who did not understand the numbers. This is NOT the Church that is being numbered, IT IS ISRAEL.
And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel. (Revelation 7:4) Of the tribe of Juda were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Reuben were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Gad were sealed twelve thousand. (Revelation 7:5) Of the tribe of Aser were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Nepthalim were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Manasses were sealed twelve thousand. (Revelation 7:6) Of the tribe of Simeon were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Levi were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Issachar were sealed twelve thousand. (Revelation 7:7) Of the tribe of Zabulon were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Joseph were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Benjamin were sealed twelve thousand. (Revelation 7:8)
 For the astute, you may have noticed that the names of these twelve tribes are NOT the same names of the original tribes. One name is missing, and one name is added in substitution of the missing name in Revelation Chapter 7. WHAT tribe is the substitution and WHY?
  I am betwixt and between the challenge of why the Holy Spirit selects certain names of the twelve tribes in a specific order whenever these twelve tribes are listed in the Old Testament. There is a pattern of order, therefore, there MUST be a spiritual reason for each order. Also, particular patterns of order occur in certain chapters numbered for a definite purpose, and to add to this pattern, there is also the question of why a certain order of names in a particular book? My instinct is to go on and NOT to be distracted by this pattern of tribal names. My heart tells me that I am not yet spiritually ready for this challenge. Yet I also am aware of the moving of the Spirit of God in how He teaches me. He has shown me a pattern, an order, but what am I to understand? First, I am not to fear the unknown; secondly, I am to trust Him; thirdly, I must follow where He leads; and fourthly, I must rely on His leading. Let us proceed. I know that all that precedes in the Old Testament regarding the twelve tribes of Israel will come to its perfect ending in the 7th Chapter of the book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ.
  Genesis Chapters 29 and 30 are the birth history of each tribe. Chapter 35 are the tribes according to their birth mothers. (The order of the birth of each tribe has many spiritual overtones, for instance, the tribe of Dan (the serpent) was the first son born of a handmaid, and NOT from one of Jacob’s two wives.) Chapter 1 of the book of Numbers is the order in how they were to fight. Chapters 2 and 3 was the order in where they camped, and in Numbers Chapter 7 was the order in which they as ‘princes,’ offered gifts for sanctification. Chapter 10 of Numbers was their order in how they journeyed. Numbers Chapter 26 was the order of their inheritance, and in Numbers Chapter 32 was the order in which the land was divided. However, Genesis Chapter 49 is the direct connection to Revelation Chapter 7 because in the very first verse the voice of the Holy Spirit of God said, that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the last days. Therefore, read the following, I have divided it according to each tribe. Let’s not be afraid together with whatever the Holy Spirit has for us in His word.
  As you read verses 2 through 28 in Chapter 49 of Genesis, notice that there is much more in these verses than the spiritual and physical state of each tribe, look closer and you will also see the historical nature of each tribe, and the spiritual historical significance of the nation of Israel in a brief summation: How the nation began in Jacob: strong but unstable as they wavered between serving God and serving the idols of Satan; then united as a people they became tools of Satan. In Judah was their praise (Priest) and scepter (King) and yet He (the Lord Jesus Christ, their Messiah) was covered with blood (the blood of His sacrifice). Then Israel became as ships in many harbors separated and divided from their own land. Dan, the serpent, overthrew the nation of Israel. I have waited for thy salvation, O LORD. (Genesis 49:18) Then salvation comes to the nation, they overcome, they are set free as a hind set at liberty. And through the blessings of Joseph (wearing the crown of the second in authority over the land) Israel will reign once more over their own land. Through the prophecy of Benjamin, we see the spoils divided by the victorious One, the Messiah, the King of Israel. Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.(Isaiah 53:12) Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. (Psalm 2:8)
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And Jacob called unto his sons, and said, Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the last days. (Genesis 49:1) Gather yourselves together, and hear, ye sons of Jacob; and hearken unto Israel your father. (Genesis 49:2)
Reuben, thou art my firstborn, my might, and the beginning of my strength, the excellency of dignity, and the excellency of power: (Genesis 49:3) Unstable as water, thou shalt not excel; because thou wentest up to thy father’s bed; then defiledst thou it: he went up to my couch. (Genesis 49:4)
Simeon and Levi are brethren; instruments of cruelty are in their habitations. (Genesis 49:5) O my soul, come not thou into their secret; unto their assembly, mine honour, be not thou united: for in their anger they slew a man, and in their selfwill they digged down a wall. (Genesis 49:6) Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce; and their wrath, for it was cruel: I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel. (Genesis 49:7)
Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise: thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies; thy father’s children shall bow down before thee. (Genesis 49:8) Judah is a lion’s whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up? (Genesis 49:9) The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be. (Genesis 49:10) Binding his foal unto the vine, and his ass’s colt unto the choice vine; he washed his garments in wine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes: (Genesis 49:11) His eyes shall be red with wine, and his teeth white with milk. (Genesis 49:12)
Zebulun shall dwell at the haven of the sea; and he shall be for an haven of ships; and his border shall be unto Zidon. (Genesis 49:13)
Issachar is a strong ass couching down between two burdens: (Genesis 49:14) And he saw that rest was good, and the land that it was pleasant; and bowed his shoulder to bear, and became a servant unto tribute. (Genesis 49:15)
Dan shall judge his people, as one of the tribes of Israel. (Genesis 49:16) Dan shall be a serpent by the way, an adder in the path, that biteth the horse heels, so that his rider shall fall backward. (Genesis 49:17)
 Verse 18 is separated from verse 17 in that it is not a description of the tribe of Dan, neither is it prelude to the tribe of Gad. This verse sits by itself as a division, a separation, that after the tribe of Dan comes SALVATION. Notice that after Dan, we have the overcomers in Israel, we see royal good things to come, goodly words, and blessings.
I have waited for thy salvation, O LORD. (Genesis 49:18)
Gad, a troop shall overcome him: but he shall overcome at the last. (Genesis 49:19)
  The first mention of the word overcome is found in Genesis 49:19 with the tribe of Gad. This can be considered a concise summary of the spiritual trials of Israel from birth to victory seen in the seventh son, Gad, born to Jacob. Gad (the nation of Israel) had been overcome by a physical and spiritual militarized organized adversaries from its origin. But at the last Gad (Israel) shall overcome. Although the name of Gad which means ‘troop’ for it also takes in ‘the massiveness of an overcoming,’ it is an interesting study, let’s not stop here to smell the ‘troop,’ so we will put the rose down and continue on. It is he that buildeth his stories in the heaven, and hath founded his troop in the earth; he that calleth for the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the face of the earth: The LORD is his name. (Amos 9:6) God founded his troop in the earth in the twelve sons of Jacob.
  Gad was the 7th son born to Jacob, and in this number seven, God composes a silent melody in Gad through the first mention of the word OVERCOME. For it is God who overcomes the enemy of Israel. It is LORD who overcomes at the last. The last mention of the word overcome is found in Revelation 17:14, These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him [are] called, and chosen, and faithful. Although Gad was the 7th in the order of birth, in Genesis 49:19 he is listed in the 8th place. Why? Everything has a meaning: the order of birth, the order in prophecy in Genesis Chapter 49 and in the fulfillment of being sealed in Revelation Chapter 7. Gad was the 7th in birth order, he is the 8th in the prophecy in Genesis 49, and he is the 3rd in the list of the sealed in Revelation Chapter 7. Through the 3rd mention, Gad is symbolic of the 1st in the list, Judah, the PRAISE of God. How? Simply because Gad represents in this 3rd place the fullness of God’s PRAISE in Christ Jesus (the seed of Judah). Gad represents the FULLNESS of God Himself as the GODHEAD (as a TROOP) overcoming sin, the flesh and the devil. There is a spiritual reason for every name in its proper place, there is a spiritual reason for every word in the word of God. The word of God is inexhaustible.
  In this section of prophecy in Genesis 49, Gad is the 8th because he is placed after this verse because Gad’s name brings in a new beginning. I have waited for thy salvation, O LORD. (Genesis 49:18) This prophecy of the twelve tribes lays the spiritual historical order in its proper place because AFTER the SALVATION of the LORD in His appearance BEFORE His millennial reign the LORD OVERCOMES so of course, Gad, must be listed as the 8th, because EVERYTHING is made a new beginning. (The number eight is the number of beginnings and of resurrection.) Gad, a troop shall overcome him: but he shall overcome at the last. (Genesis 49:19) Everything listed AFTER I have waited for thy salvation, O LORD, (Genesis 49:18) typifies the victory of the Lord, and the blessings of Israel. In the fulfillment of all prophecy concerning the exaltation of the Messiah in the sealing of the twelve tribes in Revelation 7, Gad is documented as the third (3rd) tribe.Â
Out of Asher his bread shall be fat, and he shall yield royal dainties. (Genesis 49:20)
Naphtali is a hind let loose: he giveth goodly words. (Genesis 49:21)
Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well; whose branches run over the wall: (Genesis 49:22) The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him: (Genesis 49:23) But his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob; (from thence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel:) (Genesis 49:24) Even by the God of thy father, who shall help thee; and by the Almighty, who shall bless thee with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lieth under, blessings of the breasts, and of the womb: (Genesis 49:25) The blessings of thy father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills: they shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him that was separate from his brethren. (Genesis 49:26)
Benjamin shall ravin as a wolf: in the morning he shall devour the prey, and at night he shall divide the spoil. (Genesis 49:27)
All these are the twelve tribes of Israel: and this is it that their father spake unto them, and blessed them; every one according to his blessing he blessed them. (Genesis 49:28)
  Why did God the Holy Spirit place this section of the blessing of the tribes of Israel in the last days in Chapter 49? WHY forty-nine (49)? This blessing as it relates to the last days is in Chapter 49 because it is one number short of fifty (50). The words forty and nine are only mentioned ONCE in all scripture because it was a special year for every one of Israel for at the end of the forty-ninth year LIBERTY was proclaimed throughout the land. It was the year of JUBILE — FREEDOM — LIBERTY — and the return of their God given inheritance.Â
And thou shalt number seven sabbaths of years unto thee, seven times seven years; and the space of the seven sabbaths of years shall be unto thee forty and nine years. (Leviticus 25:8)
Then shalt thou cause the trumpet of the jubile to sound on the tenth day of the seventh month, in the day of atonement shall ye make the trumpet sound throughout all your land. (Leviticus 25:9)
And ye shall hallow the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof: it shall be a jubile unto you; and ye shall return every man unto his possession, and ye shall return every man unto his family. (Leviticus 25:10)
A jubile shall that fiftieth year be unto you: ye shall not sow, neither reap that which groweth of itself in it, nor gather the grapes in it of thy vine undressed. (Leviticus 25:11)
For it is the jubile; it shall be holy unto you: ye shall eat the increase thereof out of the field. (Leviticus 25:12)　
In the year of this jubile ye shall return every man unto his possession. (Leviticus 25:13)
  This is why the 49th Chapter is connected to Chapter 7 of the book of Revelation because through Chapter 7 we have the sealing of a hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel. Genesis Chapter 49 reveals what will occur at the end of the symbolic forty-ninth year before the Christ of Israel takes His place on His throne in Jerusalem and sets His people free . . . LIBERTY finally . . . the year of jubile, the 50th year comes to Israel and shall return every man unto his possession, and ye shall return every man unto his family. Genesis 49 is much more than prophecy, it is much more than historical, it reveals the foreknowledge and sovereignty of Jehovah, it places before ALL worshipers of God that what He begins, He will also end. And Revelation Chapter 7 reveals the beginning of the end.
And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree. (Revelation 7:1) And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea, (Revelation 7:2) Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads. (Revelation 7:3)
  When the hundred and forty and four thousand of the tribes of Israel are sealed, then and ONLY then will the wrath of God be poured out onto the people of the world. Genesis Chapter 49 also has this same message of the wrath of God hidden behind the words. For those of you who actually read the section in Genesis 49, you are probably saying that God’s wrath IS NOT mentioned in Genesis 49, but, you see, IT IS MENTIONED although unseen. As the number 49 is one number short of the number 50, the number of jubile, the number 49 also reveals to us the wrath of God against the evil of the world in the number 49 . . . 4 + 9 = 13. Whether you multiple these numbers or add these numbers God’s judgment is the final sum. (For example: 4 x 9 = 36; 3 + 6 = 9, or 3 x 6 = 18 and 1 + 8 = 9.) The UNSEEN message in number 49 is clear, THE JUDGMENT OF GOD IS SURE.
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