The History of the Old Testament
an illustration of God’s Providence,from Abraham to the Conquest of Canaan.
God’s goal is to destroy the Devil. God is planning on fighting against the Devil and thus, needs an army. In order to build the army, God set Jesus and the Olive Trees’ roles early on. In the Old Testament from Abraham to the Conquest of Canaan, God illustrated His Providence through physical shadows. God’s shadow is Abraham, Jesus’ shadow is Isaac, the Olive Tree’s shadow is Jacob, God’s army’s shadow is the Twelve Tribes of Israel, and the shadow of the Battle of Armageddon to destroy the Devil is the Conquest of Canaan. In addition, the shadow of the solders’ eternal authority to reign is the tribal allotments of Israel.
God called forth Abram and entitled him “the source of blessings” (Genesis 12:2). The title, “the source of blessings,” is not appropriate for a man and represents the status of God. In addition, God made Abram change his name to Abraham, which means “father of many nations” (Genesis 17:5). Abraham’s descendants only founded Israel and Edom, so Abraham is not the father of many nations. This also represents the status of God. Thus, Abraham is a symbol of God.
God said to Abraham to go a mountain in the region of Moriah and sacrifice his only son, Isaac, as a burnt offering (Genesis 22:2). He demonstrates his plan to sacrifice his only son Jesus as an offering. The mountain is where Jesus was crucified, and it is Mount Zion in Jerusalem (2 Chronicles 3:1). Thus, Issac played the role of Jesus’ predecessor.
Jacob was titled Israel for overcoming wrestling with an angel (Genesis 32:28). Likewise, the Olive Tree overcame Jesus’ tests, and his qualifications were acknowledged. Jacob had twelve sons, who completed Israel’s twelve tribes. It foreshadows the Overcomer’s completion of God’s army, the spiritual 12 tribes of Israel, Thus, Jacob is the Overcomer’s predecessor.
In the Old Testament, God had himself called as, “the God of Abraham, the God of Issac and the God of Jacob” (Exodus 3:15). God addressed Abraham, Issac, and Jacob because they were predecessors to the most important characters in God’s Providence: God, Jesus, and the Overcomer.
The Israelites’ slavery in Egypt indicates humans’ slavery to the Devil. Exodus shows God pulling out His army from the Devil’s world. Israel represents God’s army, and Canaanites represent the Devil’s army. Thus, the Conquest of Canaan is the shadow of the Battle of Armageddon, in which God’s army and the Devil’s army will fight in the spiritual world. Israelite’s conquest of Canaan represents the God’s army’s destruction of the Devil and reign over every tribe.
In other words, the Old Testament, which takes place over 700 years from Abraham to the Conquest of Canaan, explicitly shows God’s plan over 7000 years to destroy the Devil. However, no one knew of this fact, because God has never explained this secret. Now that God’s last servant, the Overcomer has been established, God explained this providence to him.