The meaning of 'Israel'

The story of Jacob is recorded in Genesis. He was tested representing Heaven even after he had gone through a course of atrocious troubles. During the course of those trials, Jacob kept in his heart the thought that he was the blessed, chosen person. He fought to the finish with an angel who was trying to hold that will in check. He then won the victory and was granted entry into the realm of a person chosen by God. Because Jacob attained victory after struggling against all kinds of difficulty centering on God's will, God granted him the name "Israel." We use the word "Israel" frequently today.

This is not a simple noun. This word represented an historical life. This is the noun of victory that concluded the 2,000 year history from Adam to Jacob. We should not forget this. Furthermore, we must realize that after setting up Jacob and granting him the blessing to be called Israel, God felt happiness. At the same time, He was sad.

The reason God carried out the dispensation of toiling for several thousand years looking for Jacob is because Adam, the ancestor, had fallen. Owing to his fall, Adam lost the blessing God gave. That blessing had to be recovered, but the historical course of recovering God's lost blessing was indescribably sorrowful. You must understand that the God who blessed Jacob with the name Israel had this kind of sorrowful heart.

When God granted the blessing of "Israel", the word was not to be limited to the one generation of Jacob. It represented the ideology and ideal of the whole creation. This one word was fraught with God's feeling of heart in its entirety.

Jacob was exhausted from toiling for several decades at Laban's house. He had come through a difficult life course to establish the land of Canaan God had granted. Then he went looking for Esau in the country of Edom, losing everything he had for the sake of carrying out the will of Heaven, which had blessed him through the uplifted hands of Isaac.

However, the homeland he returned to was not the original homeland in which he could have had joy in his own time. It could not be the seat of joy for him. Even as he was going back to see his homeland, for which he felt affection, and his brother, Jacob was anxious and worried. You must not forget that this is not a state of affairs only Jacob, one individual, had to endure. This is a course all of humanity must walk.

The Jordan and Jabbok Rivers blocked the road that led to Jacob's hometown. With the blessed land in front of him, Jacob could not sleep. Instead, he had to pray shedding tears. The ancestors had left behind this state of affairs. This was the situation of God, who was conducting the providence of the heavenly principles. We should know that Jacob felt this in his heart more deeply than anyone else.

This situation was not limited to Jacob's generation. It recurred in the course of the history of the chosen Israelites. All the prophets and sages who appeared in association with God's will had to bear this kind of heart. In order to enter into the bosom of the Father, they had to cross the hill of struggle with a barrier of darkness in front of them. You should bear this in mind.

God granted the blessing through the hands of Isaac and urged Jacob to abandon everything and go back to his homeland. Why could God not make Jacob's path smooth? Why did He let the kind of heartless circumstance develop in which He sent an angel and let the angel hurt Jacob? Why did He not give a word of advice to Jacob who was appealing all night before Heaven, bearing the will of the heavenly principles with a fretful feeling of heart on the banks of the Jabbok River?

​Moses had a similar trial

Although he led a miserable and lonely life as a shepherd in the wilderness, Moses forgot about his miserable conditions. Thinking of the Israelites toiling under mistreatment by their enemies in Egypt, Moses shed tears of sympathy. You must know this. Moses' lonely state of affairs and his heart touched Heaven deeply. Because Moses was concerned for the sake of Heaven and appeared as a representative concerned for the chosen people, God called Moses again and dispatched him to the palace of the Pharaoh.

This is just like Jacob's course when he went with all his belongings to see Esau after toiling for twenty-one years at the house of Laban in fear of Esau. You should understand that Moses walked a difficult course like that of Jacob.

By setting up Aaron and Miriam, who represented the word, and by showing the works of three great wonders, Moses stepped out to look for the palace of the Pharaoh where Heaven commanded him to go.

What happened then? God did not provide a smooth path for Moses. Instead, someone tried to kill him as he retired to rest. (Exod. 4:24) Again, this is a course similar to that of Jacob. Moses had to go through the circumstances of Jacob wrestling with an angel on the banks of the Jabbok River, impervious to his own injury. Moses was put in that same situation by God. You should know that after going over this kind of trial without a hitch, Moses met the chosen Israelites again and built the altar of Israel on the nationwide level, representing God and the people.

These excerpts from the last sermon of Volume 3 (Resources page) show that mankind has to own the Will of God, even at the risk of death. Also that mankind has to prove their determination to see it through in spite of an attack from God.

Jesus overcame a trial of this kind when he was affirming that God exists at the same time that God was denying Jesus:

Jesus said, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" (Matt. 27:46). This was because, as the hero of the restoration of the whole universe, Jesus had to indemnify the fact that Adam, who represented the universe, had betrayed Heaven. Because in this situation Jesus said, "I know God," even as God was saying, "I don't know you," he was able to bring about spiritual resurrection. You must be aware that this kind of crucial historical moment is left for you to overcome too.

If we have the wrong understanding of the restoration providence of God and the crucial element of the Human Portion of Responsibility (with which even God cannot interfere with, or intervene in) then we will fall down in the Last Days. That Christianity has already failed to connect with the 2nd coming of Christ shows that their expectations are seriously skewed. It was shown that the Christian Churches were easily shut down and lumped with non-essential businesses (whatever they are) during the plandemic. Christianity is in need of an upgrade. What better way than to look afresh for the 2nd coming of Christ and connect with the new word and Blessing that he brought.

The evidence that the Lord of the Second Advent came shortly after WW1 can be found two blogs back. St Paul advised to test all things and hold fast to what is good. Awesome advice!

With the 1st amendment rights coming under attack in the present administration in America and dissenting opinions to the official line being suppressed throughout the world it is important that the re-awakening taking place in the wake of these draconian lockdowns, exercise of emergency government powers, and the state asserting that your body and your children are actually owned by the state through the vaccine mandates, will rapidly develop and grow. Evil is on display right now like never before and requires a robust response.

If you don't think that these are the veritable Last Days by now I don't know what further things would need to happen to convince you.

A good comment was left on the last blog by Robert Herring - thank You!

Looking forward to hearing your comments, criticism etc.

​Andrew & Marie Derricutt