I don't care how these admittedly "highly subjective" studies in symbolism come across to others reading them any more; I'm done making excuses or explaining myself to the non-believers and skeptics out there.
Time is far too short. The NEWS OF THE DAY proves as much. Besides, these kinds of studies aren't for the non-believers or skeptics anyway, but for the believers in Christ who have ears to hear and eyes to see.
Sometimes the subjective analysis is a bit of a stretch. Sometimes it requires very little in the realm of speculation.
Take, instance, this story from yesterday...
200 GOATS RUN ONTO CALIFORNIA'S I-5, CAUSING NUMEROUS ACCIDENTS; DOZENS OF GOATS KILLED
"GALT, Calif. (CBS13) -" The California Highway Patrol is still investigating how a herd of goats found their way onto Interstate 5 Saturday night, triggering car accidents and leaving dozens of animals dead.
Some surprised drivers were unable to avoid the nearly 200 goats that walked onto the southbound lanes of traffic near the Twin Cities Road off-ramp, causing several accidents and inflicting non-life threatening injuries to one driver.
As many as 30 to 40 goats were killed, and officers were forced to euthanize some of the severely wounded animals who were still alive. Most of the surviving goats have already been returned to their owner.
The CHP said it appears the animals wandered away from property about 3 miles west of Interstate 5 and may have spent most of Saturday walking around until they reached the road.
"They traveled along the riverbed to get to the freeway and once they got there, [they] were able to make their way on the freeway," said CHP spokesman Alex Manciu.
A faulty fence may have given the animals access to the interstate.
Manciu said the goats' owner has been questioned as part of the investigation, but it doesn't immediately appear that negligence played a role in the incident.
"We're not looking to file any criminal charges, but it is under investigation and it could change at any minute," he said.
What initially stood out to me is how authorities, following their initial investigation, have NO EXPLANATION as to how this happened. Isn't that interesting?
Aside from that fact, let's just take a quick look at some of the other facts reported in this story that caught my attention...
> THIS HAPPENED ON CALIFORNIA'S I-5. THE LETTER "I" IS THE NINTH LETTER OF THE ALPHABET SO "9-5", OR MIGHT WE SAY "95" EVEN? I MENTION THAT BECAUSE THE WORD "GOATS" SHOWS UP IN 95 VERSES IN THE KING JAMES VERSION OF THE HOLY BIBLE. [SOURCE]
> 200 goats, huh? That's odd. God's Word mentions "TWO HUNDRED SHE GOATS" in Genesis 32:4. What do we find in Genesis 32? Jacob prepares to meet Esau (that's timely given the current geo-political climate, wouldn't you say?), and Jacob wrestles with God.
> CLICK HERE to read about how Jacob got Laban's goat and be humbled by the implications for all of us today and our spiritual health (Genesis 30-31).
> The goat is mentioned numerous times throughout the Scriptures and is used in many different ways to convey a very specific meaning to us. CLICK HERE to to learn more.
> The blood of the sacrificed goat was taken by the high priest Aaron and sprinkled on the atonement cover, or mercy seat, of The Ark Of The Covenant inside The Most Holy Place of The Tabernacle In The Wilderness once per year on the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16:15-17). This depicts the blood sacrifice of Jesus Christ, our "High Priest" (Hebrews 8:1), entering The Throne Room of God to make atonement for humanity once for all time (Hebrews 9:23-28).
> The "Azazel" goat (pronounced in Hebrew as "aw-zah-zale"), translated as "scapegoat" in the King James Version, was one of two goats chosen for a ceremony on The Day Of Atonement (Leviticus 16:7-10, 20-22). The first goat was sacrificed, while the scapegoat was taken out into the wilderness and released. With the world's military buildup arounf Libya right now, might that nation be a "scapegoat" to the plans of the "kings of the earth" in the plot to establish a New World Order (a.k.a. One World Government)?
> This goat represents the condemnation of Satan for the Satan-inspired sins of all humanity, and his being put away in a spiritual wilderness (Revelation 20:3,10). The sending of the Azazel goat out into the wilderness, as done by the Old Testament high priest, after he returned from inside The Most Holy Place of the Tabernacle, is a ceremonial "preview" of Jesus Christ sending Satan into the abyss, which will be done after His Return from the Throne Room of God The Father.
> The original meaning of scapegoat was escape goat, the goat that was allowed to "escape" with its life. The accepted modern meaning of scapegoat, someone who is punished for the wrongs of others, is not at all accurate for Satan. He is as guilty as guilty can be, and he deserves everything that's coming to him.
> This unusual event took place at the "Twin Cities Road" off-ramp. Sodom and Gomorrah were thought to be "twin cities" so I'll let the weight of that truth settle upon you for a moment.
> Though not directly on a caravan route into Egypt, the twin cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were relatively close to the main road that led to that country and on into North Africa. My oh my, isn't that fascinating? Egypt AND North Africa come up in this study PRECISELY AT THE SAME TIME that both Egypt and North Africa have been dominating the news.
> It may be worth mentioning that Bah'a'i prophecy states that the twin cities of Haifa and Akka will become the future capital of a federated world.
> Just marvel at some of the phrasing used here! "A faulty fence may have given the animals access to the interstate." Almost like those people who are "on the fence" when it comes to Christ and His free gift of salvation. "Sitting on the fence" isn't "refusing to make a decision" because it's actually choosing to reject making a decision, or rejecting Jesus Christ and His sacrifice on your behalf. So the "fence" (whatever it is people use to justify their stance) caused the "goats" (caused the sinners) to enter the interstate where they where killed (to fall into harm's way because "THE WAGES OF SIN IS DEATH").
> Another mind-blowing phrase given the context of this particular study in symbolism was: "Manciu said the goats' owner has been questioned as part of the investigation, but it doesn't immediately appear that negligence played a role in the incident." The "goats' owner" (as in the Lord Himself) was not responsible for the what caused the "goats" (the lost non-believers) to meet their eventual fate (sin caused that).
> The read-between-the-lines type of language didn't end there though! "The CHP said it appears the animals wandered away from property about 3 miles west of Interstate 5 and may have spent most of Saturday walking around until they reached the road. 'They traveled along the riverbed to get to the freeway and once they got there, [they] were able to make their way on the freeway.'" So, the goats wandered around aimlessly until they found the freeway thanks to the riverbed? In other words, the "goats" (non-believing wicked sinners) wandered around aimlessly (like the lost sinners in this world) until they found the "riverbed" (until the lost sinners found Jesus Christ since He is the Living Water), which ultimately led them to the freeway and to safety (the lost sinners finally found the Living Water and was led to the "free way" that is the gift of salvation!). Are you kidding me!?!
As incredible as all of that is, I think the most glaring symbolism to come from this story is when we prayerfully consider what the goat is ILLUSTRATIVE of in God's Word.
The GOAT is ILLUSTRATIVE of...
> THE MACEDONIAN EMPIRE
DANIEL 8:5 (KJV) "And as I was considering, behold, an he goat came from the west on the face of the whole earth, and touched not the ground: and the goat [had] a notable horn between his eyes."
DANIEL 8:21 "And the rough goat [is] the king of Grecia: and the great horn that [is] between his eyes [is] the first king."
> THE WICKED
ZECHARIAH 10:3 (KJV) "Mine anger was kindled against the shepherds, and I punished the goats: for the LORD of hosts hath visited his flock the house of Judah, and hath made them as his goodly horse in the battle."
MATTHEW 25:32-33 (KJV) "And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth [his] sheep from the goats: And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left."
> (FLOCK OF) THE CHURCH
SONG OF SOLOMON 4:1 (KJV) "Behold, thou [art] fair, my love; behold, thou [art] fair; thou [hast] doves' eyes within thy locks: thy hair [is] as a flock of goats, that appear from mount Gilead."
See what I mean?
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, please take all of this to the Lord in prayer. In the meantime, DANIEL 8 seems to be where we might want to be focusing our time this week. Repent! Judgment is coming! Don't be a goat because the goats are gonna get it.
I'd like to end by sharing something from Matthew Henry. The headline that served as the genesis for today's piece mentioned "200 goats", remember? Genesis 32:14 is the one verse where we actually find that specific number associated with that specific animal.
Well, I found Henry's commentary on that passage of the text quite telling and appropriate for this study here today...
"GENESIS 32:9-23" Times of fear should be times of prayer: whatever causes fear, should drive us to our knees, to our God. Jacob had lately seen his guards of angels, but in this distress he applied to God, not to them; he knew they were his fellow-servants, Re 22:9. There cannot be a better pattern for true prayer than this. Here is a thankful acknowledgement of former undeserved favours; a humble confession of unworthiness; a plain statement of his fears and distress; a full reference of the whole affair to the Lord, and resting all his hopes on him. The best we can say to God in prayer, is what he has said to us. Thus he made the name of the Lord his strong tower, and could not but be safe. Jacob's fear did not make him sink into despair, nor did his prayer make him presume upon God's mercy, without the use of means. God answers prayers by teaching us to order our affairs aright. To pacify Esau, Jacob sent him a present. We must not despair of reconciling ourselves to those most angry against us."
Amen! No matter what "does" or "doesn't" happen in the days ahead please be sure to always fight fear with faith.
