In the last few posts, we went through the seven churches of the end times. Placed in charge of those seven churches are seven angels. Now, I'm not going to even begin to pretend that I am an expert on the places in Scripture that refer to these seven angels... but I know a couple. Micah chapter 5 is one of those places, and it is what will be examined below.
Now gather thyself in troops, O daughter of troops: he hath laid siege against us: they shall smite the judge of Israel with a rod upon the cheek.
This is the call to war. A call to war is when a trumpet is sounded, and there are seven trumpets that sound in Revelation. The siege that happens here is in the sixth trumpet and can be read about in Revelation 9:13-21. Revelation 10 is then a chapter that prepares the seven churches for what they are to do: they are given the words of God (the scroll) that they are to speak when they are delivered up to the synagogue of Satan (see Mark 13:11). Now they smote Jesus on the cheek when He was delivered up before Pilate, and this was His example to those who are delivered up at the end time, because they will also smite those delivered up. This is seen in Revelation 11:7-12.
But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall He come forth unto me That is to be ruler in Israel; Whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.
This is a prophecy of Christ, as Jesus was born in Bethlehem. What these words means is very poetic to me: "Bethlehem Ephratah" means "fruitful house of bread." Jesus said in John 6:35, "I am the bread of life." His ministry was and is very fruitful, and those that follow in His ministry are of His house. Jesus also is a direct descendant of Judah (the royal geneology). Luke 3 gives His genealogy from Adam through Abraham, Judah, David and eventually to Heli, who was Mary's father.
Therefore will he give them up, until the time that she which travailtelth hath brought forth: then the remnant of his brethren shall return unto the children of Israel. And He shall stand and feed in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord His God; and they shall abide: for now shall He be great unto the ends of the earth.
The story of the woman who gives birth is found in Revelation 12. This "him" and "his" brothers do come against the children of Israel in Revelation 12:9. The "he" (lower case h) here is the serpent of old, Satan, who will once again attempt to make the tree of knowledge of good and evil appealing. That is to say that he knows the difference between good and evil, and he does evil anyway. His days are numbered. The "He" (capital H) here is Jesus Christ, Who will feed His flock with the truth.
And this Man shall be the peace, when the Assyrian shall come into our land: and when he shall tread in our palaces, then shall we raise against him seven shepherds, and eight principal men. And they shall waste the land of Assyria with the sword, and the land of Nimrod in the entrances thereof: thus shall He deliver us from the Assyrian, when He cometh into our land, and when he treadeth whithin our borders.
BINGO!! The reason I came to Micah 5. The seven shepherds here are the seven angels of the seven churches in the end times. They are the seven angels of the churches written to in Revelation 2 & 3. If you remember from my previous posts (or just look below), there were seven angels, and One walking amongst the churches, for a total of eight. The eight "principal men" stated here. This is a direct connection to the churches in Revelation 2 & 3. There is another reference here, but not necessarily intentional. There were eight souls saved on the ark with Noah (1 Peter 3:20). This will be discussed in another post.
And the remnant of Jacob shall be in the midst of many people as a dew from the Lord, as the showers upon the grass, that tarrieth not for man, nor waiteth for the sons of men.
"The remnant of Jacob" is the "very elect" that Jesus refers to in Matthew 24. These are the few chosen by God to declare His name against Satan when he is cast to the earth, as is described above. They will be on a 3 1/2 year mission, similar to that of Jesus Christ to call sinners to repentance. They will stand against Satan in the end days. For people who believe in God, they will be a refreshment, like a rain that was long overdue (though they are just on time). They are the latter rain, and they will have a lot to accomplish, so they will be taught by God and will not be able to wait for men's teaching to guide them.
And the remnant of Jacob shall be among the Gentiles in the midst of many people as a lion among the beasts of the forest, as a young lion among the flocks of sheep: who, if he go through, both treadeth down, and teareth in pieces, and none can deliver.
The downside for the remnant is that the people who are fooled by the antichrist are going to think that the remnant are blasphemers and heretics. The word "Gentiles" in this passage is "gowy" which is a Hebrew word that is quite often translated as "heathen" and "nations". It depicts anyone that is not a believer in Jesus Christ. Unbelievers will think that Satan is God, so anyone who speaks against Satan will be their enemy. Those people are the "synagogue of Satan" discussed in Revelation 2:9 & 3:9, and because many Christians are not taught today that the false Christ must come before the real Christ, they are in prime position to be fooled and deceived into joining the synagogue of Satan. They are not fed the true word of God as set forth by all His prophets.
The dual nature of the two passages above comes from Proverbs 19:12: "The king's wrath is as the roaring of a lion: but his favour is as dew upon the grass." That is to say that being against the King, and His kingdom, is as though you were against a lion, but to be in His favour is to receive His showers of blessing (Ezekiel 34:26).
So here is an appearance of a prophecy of the seven churches of the end times that was written about 600-700 years before Jesus was born. Micah is a fantastic book in total. I encourage you to read it (it's only 7 chapters). God bless.
