Joshua (Yeshua)
What is in a name?
October 2007
Ever since the promise, in Geneses 3:15, was given to Eve, parents have yearned for their child to be this promised one that would deliver humanity from the tyranny of the deceiver. In their pursuit of this honored position they have given names to their sons befitting a man capable of fulfilling this role. What better way to draw God’s attention to your child, than to name him with a name declaring him a warrior for God.
...Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins. Matthew 1:20-21.
...Yosef, Son of David, do not be afraid to take Miryam home with you as your wife; for what has been conceived in her is from the Ruach HaKodesh. She will give birth to a son, and you are to name him Yeshua, [which means ‘Adonai saves,’] because he will save his people from their sins. Matthew 1:20-21 CJB. The Only Begotten Son of God was placed in the care of Joseph and Mary with instructions that He be named Jesus, (Joshua translated from Hebrew) because of the definition of the name. The name God chose for His Son was not a new name, but rather a familiar name, rich in history and popular amongst the Jewish people because it was an appropriate name for a warrior that would bring deliverance and salvation to God’s people.
Zechariah, in his book describes for us visions he was shown concerning future events. In chapter three we read about events that will happen at the time God’s Kingdom is established; the time when God removes the iniquity of the land. In this vision Joshua, in filthy clothes, is portrayed standing before the Angel of the Lord, with Satan present to discredit him. This Joshua is not Jesus nor is it Joshua the son of Nun. Ellen White tells us that the Angel of the Lord in this panoramic view is Christ Himself, our High Priest and both Zechariah and Haggai tell us that this Joshua is the son of the high priest. (Zechariah 6:11, Haggai 1:1 and the type is found in Leviticus 16:32)
With this information and other information found in chapter three, we see a snapshot in the hand of Zechariah with a date stamp “the beginning of the Kingdom of Glory”. In this snapshot we see Joshua the son of the high priest, standing in front of His Father, the Angel of the Lord. As He stands there Satan points out that He is clothed with filthy clothes and as such He belongs to Him. But His Father turns to Satan and says I rebuke thee Satan because I have plucked this brand out of your fire.
In Leviticus chapter sixteen we find the reason the son of the high priest is clothed with filthy garments. And the priest, whom he shall anoint, and whom he shall consecrate to minister in the priest’s office in his father’s stead, shall make the atonement, and shall put on the linen clothes, even the holy garments: And he shall make an atonement for the holy sanctuary, and he shall make an atonement for the tabernacle of the congregation, and for the altar, and he shall make an atonement for the priests, and for all the people of the congregation. Leviticus 16:32-33. In fulfilling His duties as priest Joshua makes atonement. This requires Him to temporarily bear sin. While this sin is not sin Joshua committed, Satan misses no opportunity for accusation and slander, and in a last ditch effort to claim Him for his own, he takes up a position on Joshua’s right hand to accuse Him.
After directing others to take away Joshua’s filthy clothes and to place a crown upon His head, the Angel of the Lord spoke to Joshua saying Thus saith the LORD of hosts; If thou wilt walk in my ways, and if thou wilt keep my charge, then thou shalt also judge my house, and shalt also keep my courts, and I will give thee places to walk among these that stand by. Zechariah 3:7. Notice the similarity between this and the words the Lord spoke to Solomon. And if thou wilt walk in my ways, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as thy father David did walk, then I will lengthen thy days. 1 Kings 3:14. Solomon is a type for Joshua who will build the temple in these last days.
In Zechariah chapter three verse eight we learn that Joshua’s disciples will be men wondered at when the Angel of the Lord reveals His servant the BRANCH. In chapter six verse twelve we find the Angel of the Lord revealing His servant the BRANCH and behold, it is Joshua. And so it says ...and he shall grow up out of his place, and he shall build the temple of the LORD... In verses eleven and fourteen we learn why the disciples of Joshua are men wondered at. Besides the crown that was placed upon Joshua’s head, He is given many crowns and these crowns He shares with the ones sitting before Him. Joshua, fulfilling the words of Apostle Paul, allows those who are in Christ to become joint-heirs with Himself and receive of His inheritance. Joshua the priest, heir to the throne of David, heir to the throne of Adam and heir to the throne of Heaven, in a magnanimous gesture beyond comprehension, shares what is rightfully His, with those sitting before Him making them men wondered at. This inheritance elevates them to the position of kings and priests. His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord. Matthew 25:21. As the kingdom grows and kings and kingdoms are appointed there will soon be many kings and priests ruling righteously directly under the Angel of the Lord (Jesus) fulfilling the words of John the Revelator. 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. Revelation 17:14.
Before the Lord began to give me an understanding of His Righteous Harvest, I did not have even the slightest inkling that there were two Joshuas in God’s plan to bring salvation. The Lord took me one step at a time unfolding to me truths concerning one of the mysteries of God and how Jesus will also have an Only Begotten Son, just like His Father.
Like Father like Son
Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise. John 5:19.
And said unto them, Whosoever shall receive this child in my name receiveth me: and whosoever shall receive me receiveth him that sent me: for he that is least among you all, the same shall be great. Luke 9:48.
The Spirit explained to me that the phrase in my name is literal, not only will the Son carry His Father’s surname, but will also carry His Father’s first name because of the definition of the name. According to our English terminology this would make Him, Jesus Jr. or Joshua Jr. for these are the same name except one comes to us from Greek the other from Hebrew.
Ellen White was shown in vision that God will send someone to lead His people into the kingdom, and wrote this about Him. I saw that God would raise up a Joshua that would lead us into the kingdom. Review & Herald, May 29, 1860.
In the story of the delivery of the Ten Commandments we find a prophecy of these two Joshuas and their separate Advents. After God spoke the Ten Commandments, He delivered to Moses two tablets of stone hewn out and written on by the finger of God. Moses carried these tablets down the mountain and broke them at the sight of Israel’s sin. This is a prophecy of the First Advent, God sent His Son to be broken for us. At that time the LORD said unto me, Hew thee two tables of stone like unto the first, and come up unto me into the mount, and make thee an ark of wood. And I will write on the tables the words that were in the first tables which thou brakest, and thou shalt put them in the ark. Deuteronomy 10:1-2. Here we see a joint effort between God and man. Moses is to hew out the tablets, God is to engrave the words. The words are not going to change, they will still be the words God spoke aloud for all Israel to hear, essentially the Character of God written in stone. This is a prophecy of the Second Advent. The Only Begotten Son veiled in a human body, one hundred percent God and one hundred percent human, (a joint effort between God and Man) will raise up a Joshua to lead us into the kingdom, represented by the ark of wood into which the tablets of stone were placed.
On Atonement Day, two kids of the goats without blemish were brought before the Lord, lots were cast to choose which one would make atonement in death and which one would make atonement in life. To make atonement the goat must temporally bear sin. As the goat takes our sin upon Himself, we stand before the judge sinless. This act, saves us from the death penalty required by the law for the sins we have committed. In the act of saving, one becomes a savior and thus becomes the definition of the name Joshua. In the book of Proverbs we find a messianic prophecy in the form of a riddle for us to consider. Without an understanding of who these two goats symbolize, this riddle would go unsolved. Who hath ascended up into heaven, or descended? (John 3:13) who hath gathered the wind in his fists? who hath bound the waters in a garment? who hath established all the ends of the earth? what is his name, (Joshua) and what is his son’s name, (Joshua) if thou canst tell? Proverbs 30:4.
Who is this Child?
In Genesis we find a prophecy telling us that the Child will be a direct descendant of Judah. 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. Shiloh, another name for Messiah, meaning peaceable or Prince of Peace, is also the sacred place where the Ark of the Covenant resided. Putting these two symbols together we realize it is the Joshua of the Second Advent, for it was the second set of stone tablets that were placed into the Ark of the Covenant. This is the Joshua who stands before the Angel of the Lord and receives a crown.
In Romans we find a prophecy telling us He will come out of Sion. For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: Romans 11:25-26. Sion, Zion or Jerusalem, the location of the throne of David, is also a symbol of the bride of Christ. Putting these symbols together we see that this is part of the mystery of God. The deliverer (Joshua) is born to Jesus of the Jerusalem which is above and is free, making Him free from the original sin of Adam and an “alive” heir to the throne of David.
For those who are sincerely looking to understand the identity of the Joshua whom the Lord will raise up in these last days we must go to the writings of Paul. Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ. Galatians 3:16. Notice the word promises here is both plural and inclusive, indicating none of the promises are excluded. One of the most notable promises made to Abraham is that he would have a son. In Genesis chapter 15 we find Abram asking God of what benefit are all the blessings he is receiving because he does not even have an heir to leave them to except for the servant that was born in his house. And, behold, the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir. Genesis 15:4. Later when Ishmael is born to Abraham of the bond servant, Abraham offered to let him be his heir. And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him. Genesis 17:19. Linage is so very important, not only paternal linage but also maternal. For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman. But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise. Galatians 4:22-23. The same is true for Jesus. Jesus has children of His bond servant the church, but none of us can lay claim to this inheritance because we are born after the flesh, born under the condemnation of sin. A child of the “Jerusalem which is above” though is different, because She is free, dipped in the blood of Her mate at Calvary and set free. (Read Leviticus 14:1-7) It is by this woman that Christ has the Son who is by promise. Together they have a Son and call His name Joshua because He lives up to the definition of the name.
Who is this Freewoman?
In Genesis chapter one we find that everything God created was designed to bear fruit after its kind. The same was true for Adam. God created a suitable mate for him by removing from his side the substance that would become Eve. Unto these, our first parents, God said ...Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the heavens, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. Genesis 1:28. Jesus came into this world to take up the gauntlet Adam had dropped. In order to Be fruitful, or bear fruit after His kind, Jesus requires a mate that is like Himself, one hundred percent God and one hundred percent human. Our Lord entered into a deep sleep as He hung upon the cross at Calvary. It was at this time His Father removed from His side the substance that would be His Help Meet. The separate fountains of blood and water which emerged when the spear opened His side attest that this separation had taken place.
In chapter twelve of the book of Revelation we are afforded a word picture of this Help Meet and the events that lead up to and follow the time when Joshua stands before His Father, the Angel of the Lord. We all know that the church symbolizes the woman found here at a specific point in time. But let us not, like the Pharisees, hang on to our understanding of the symbolic with such tenacity that we refuse the literal when the time comes for the symbolic to be obsolete. And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars: Revelation 12:1. Notice there is a great wonder in heaven, a woman. Woman is a word coined by Adam for His feminine counterpart, meaning she was taken out of man. Some will contend though that this was written in Greek, not Hebrew and as such, does not have the same meaning. So let us look at the Greek word to see if it has a different meaning. This particular word comes from Strong’s #G1135 meaning a “wife” which in turn comes from the root word #G1096 meaning to “be divided” “be drawn out” “be married”. Praise God, there is a great wonder in heaven, the wife that was drawn out of the side of our Messiah, as He hung on the cross, is with child. No my friends this is not the church, that is last years news. We have moved on from the symbolic and now it is time for the literal. Jesus Christ will have a son, when He is born He will be caught up to God and the throne with Satan desperately trying to discredit (devour) Him. As He stands there before the throne, His Father with searching eyes looks Him through and through and beholds righteousness, because He sees His Son has the ability to build the Temple. This is a Son like Adam was meant to have, pure and righteous. Now is when the Angel of the Lord turns to Satan and speaks those words, The LORD rebuke thee, O Satan; and then those wonderful words are heard ringing through Heaven. And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night. Revelation 12:10.
Clad in the armor of Christ’s righteousness, the church is to enter upon her final conflict. “Fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners” (Song of Solomon 6:10), she is to go forth into all the world, conquering and to conquer. PK 725.
Only through an understanding of Jesus, His Mate and their Righteous Harvest can we be Clad in the armor of Christ’s righteousness, it is this message that must be taken to the whole world. And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come. Matthew 24:14. What better way is there to take a message of the Kingdom, than to tell the world about the soon to be born King! A message to witness to the world how Jesus and His Mate, the free Woman, are allowed under the guidelines of the law of the “kinsman redeemer” to provide for Adam and Eve an “alive” child who can reclaim their lost dominion. When the Child is born, He will be caught up to God where He will receive the crown once proudly worn by Adam. This is the same crown which has been worn by Satan ever since he usurped it, right there at the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. This is why Satan is so desperate to devour the Child; he does not want to give up this crown or the power it commands. The forcible removal of the crown, so it can be returned to Him whose right it is, completes the prophecy, He shall bruise thy head. Only when an “alive” Child is born in Adam’s name of a near kinsman can the statement be made, Now is come salvation. Not only will this bring salvation to the human race but also the whole of creation. The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God. Romans 8:19-21 NIV.
And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory. Revelation 18:1. Paul tells us the glory of the man is his wife, and John tells us the glory of the father is his son. When the purified church preaches the message of the Wife and Son, which is in essence the Good News of the Kingdom, the earth will be lightened (enlightened) with Jesus’ Glory. Praise God!
Yours to solve this riddle.
Athen Slawson
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