Welcome to EBible Fellowship’s Bible study in the Book of Genesis. Tonight, is study #9 of Genesis, chapter 14 and we are going to read Genesis 14:4-5:

Twelve years they served Chedorlaomer, and in the thirteenth year they rebelled. And in the fourteenth year came Chedorlaomer, and the kings that were with him, and smote the Rephaims in Ashteroth Karnaim, and the Zuzims in Ham, and the Emims in Shaveh Kiriathaim,

I will stop reading there. As we have been discussing, this is an historical parable that is giving us the timeline for the events that will unfold at the time of the end of the world. The end of the world began with the Great Tribulation period. The end stage of earth’s history began in the year 1988, which was the 13,000th year from creation. As we have shown, on one hand the Bible likens the timeline for the history of the world to 12,000 years and, on the other hand, it likens it to 13,000 years. As we talked about in our last couple of studies, the corporate church and national Israel and, originally, Adam and Eve were all outward representations of the kingdom of God (going back to the very beginning in the Garden of Eden) and they all fell into sin in their disobedience to God. They served Satan instead of God. As Romans, chapter 6 explained, the one you obey is the one you are the servant of and Adam and Eve became servants to the serpent (the devil) and, likewise, national Israel, with its high places and idolatry, served the devil. The churches and congregations also did service to Satan throughout the history of the church – there were “synagogues of Satan” and there were tares sown among the wheat. There were many emissaries of Satan, as Satan came as an angel of light and his ministers as ministers of righteousness. This was the tendency with all that were the outward representation of the kingdom of God on earth. Of course, within these corporate bodies, there were the remnant of God’s elect, the few represented by Zoar. And Zoar was involved with this battle and for 12 years, representing 12,000 years from creation until the church age came to an end, the people that were representatives of God’s kingdom “served Chedorlaomer,” a figure of Satan.

And, yet it says in Genesis 14:4:

…and in the thirteenth year they rebelled.

Historically, the implication is that Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim and Zoar rebelled against Chedorlaomer. That is why there is a battle that will take place between the four kings and five. We have seen that the spiritual dimension to this is that the service to Chedorlaomer was carried out because of believing the “lie” over the truth or believing Satan over God. We have to carry this idea through and when God is giving us the number “13” He is pointing to that date of May 21, 1988, which the Bible locks in as the starting point of the Great Tribulation at the end of the church age. It was the day that judgment began at the house of God and it continued for 23 full years. It occurred after exactly 13,000 years of earth’s history, so this Scripture is telling us that in the 13,000th year the professed Christians within the churches and congregations rebelled. They had been accustomed to doing service to Satan throughout their history, for the most part. Of course, within that corporate body there were God’s elect. But then God finally came to visit the corporate church and pronounced judgment against them as judgment began at the house of God and it was at this point that they rebelled against Satan.

We wonder how it can be a bad thing that the churches that were now under the wrath of God would finally do what they should have done all along by fighting against Satan and the forces of evil. They could have done that all along by believing the truth and trusting in God and His Word and by adhering to the true and faithful doctrines of the Bible. That would have been doing battle with Satan throughout their history, but now at the end, they finally want to fight against Satan. However, they are still in rebellion against God because God had determined in bringing judgment upon the corporate church that the churches were to serve Satan. We find that kind of language in several places, but let us go to Jeremiah 27:8-15:

And it shall come to pass, that the nation and kingdom which will not serve the same Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, and that will not put their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, that nation will I punish, saith JEHOVAH, with the sword, and with the famine, and with the pestilence, until I have consumed them by his hand. Therefore hearken not ye to your prophets, nor to your diviners, nor to your dreamers, nor to your enchanters, nor to your sorcerers, which speak unto you, saying, Ye shall not serve the king of Babylon: For they prophesy a lie unto you, to remove you far from your land; and that I should drive you out, and ye should perish. But the nations that bring their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him, those will I let remain still in their own land, saith JEHOVAH; and they shall till it, and dwell therein. I spake also to Zedekiah king of Judah according to all these words, saying, Bring your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him and his people, and live. Why will ye die, thou and thy people, by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence, as JEHOVAH hath spoken against the nation that will not serve the king of Babylon? Therefore hearken not unto the words of the prophets that speak unto you, saying, Ye shall not serve the king of Babylon: for they prophesy a lie unto you. For I have not sent them, saith JEHOVAH, yet they prophesy a lie in my name; that I might drive you out, and that ye might perish, ye, and the prophets that prophesy unto you.

In this passage, we find that the Lord repeats several times that you must serve the king of Babylon and if you refuse to serve the king of Babylon, God will punish you. Keep in mind that God raised up Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, and He called him His servant. It was the Lord who loosed Satan, as typified by King Nebuchadnezzar, and gave Satan official rule within the churches and congregations of the world.

But, as far as serving the king of Babylon, it was not God’s command for the people of Judah and Jerusalem to do service to the king of Babylon from their own land. God commanded His people to go into captivity in Babylon. And who ruled Babylon? Satan ruled Babylon and, yet, God commanded them to leave the land of Judah and Jerusalem, the holy city, and to go into Babylon and do service to the king of Babylon.

Spiritually, we have correctly understood that God’s command to the Jews to go into captivity was a command to the true believers within the New Testament churches and congregations that were under assault by the forces of Satan (Gog and Magog that were raised up for this final battle) to come out of the churches and to go into the world. The world typifies Babylon. Who was the ruler of the world? Satan was the ruler of the world through right of conquest. God had given Adam dominion to rule, but Adam obeyed the “lie” rather than God and through obedience to the “lie,” Adam did service to Satan and Satan became his ruler. When Satan tempted the Lord Jesus in the wilderness, he told Christ that if He would bow down to him (serve him), Satan would give Him all the kingdoms of the world. That is what God meant when He said to serve the king of Babylon. It was simply a way to express the command to depart out of the churches into the world where Satan has his kingdom of darkness. It was spiritual Babylon and it was Babylon (the world) that overcame the corporate church, so the corporate church became part of Babylon. Overall, however, it is the unsaved people of the world that are Babylon.

That is where God’s people were to go and they refused and this is where the rebellion came in: “…and in the thirteenth year they rebelled.” They rebelled in the 13,000th year when the church age had ended. God opened up His Word to reveal the truth that the church age was over and that it was time to depart out of the midst. The Lord granted His people understanding regarding the Book of Jeremiah and the command to go into Babylon and become a captive and to do service unto Satan. God’s people understood these things and they declared these things to all within the churches and congregations: “You must leave; you must get out of the churches and you cannot stay any longer. It is a command. It is not a request or advice, but it is a command to depart out of the churches and go into Babylon.” The Bible portrays those that went to Babylon as “good figs,” but those that stayed within Judah or Jerusalem, which typified the corporate church, as “evil figs.” God had nothing good to say about them. On one hand, they were giving the appearance of fighting Satan and they were rebelling after a history of doing service to Satan. But, finally, at the end it seemed the churches and congregations of the world had found their strength and their courage and they were now willing to fight Satan and the forces of evil. They would remain and be steadfast in staying within the corporate church and do battle against “Chedorlaomer” and Tidal king of nations. They would battle against the four kings or four beasts – they would fight Gog and Magog.

However, it was total rebellion against God when they reacted this way and they refused to hearken to God’s command to go into captivity. God raised up Nebuchadnezzar to destroy Judah and Jerusalem. How are you going to fight against God’s servant in this instance? Remember, it said in 2Kings 24:1-2:

In his days Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up, and Jehoiakim became his servant three years: then he turned and rebelled against him. And JEHOVAH sent against him bands of the Chaldees, and bands of the Syrians, and bands of the Moabites, and bands of the children of Ammon, and sent them against Judah to destroy it, according to the word of JEHOVAH, which he spake by his servants the prophets.

The king of Judah, Jehoiakim, rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar and God raised up bands of enemies to come against Judah to destroy it. Normally, it would be a good thing to fight against Nebuchadnezzar because he typified Satan, but in fighting against him and rebelling against him there is revealed a stubborn and stiff-necked nature that is against God and against the plan and program of God. Judgment had begun at the house of God and was not to be resisted. It was not to be fought against. It was not to be refused, but there needed to be submission to it.

It also says in 2Kings 24:18-20:

Zedekiah was twenty and one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Hamutal, the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. And he did that which was evil in the sight of JEHOVAH, according to all that Jehoiakim had done. For through the anger of JEHOVAH it came to pass in Jerusalem and Judah, until he had cast them out from his presence, that Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.

The continual rebellion was through the anger of JEHOVAH; that is, God allowed him to continue to resist and fight against the king of Babylon because Zedekiah was not one of the Lord’s people and through his resistance God was fighting against him. It was the wrath of God against these kings when they attempted to resist the king of Babylon.

Let us look at one more verse in 2Chronicles. It is a parallel passage, but God gives some more descriptive information in 2Chronicles 36:11-13:

Zedekiah was one and twenty years old when he began to reign, and reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. And he did that which was evil in the sight of JEHOVAH his God, and humbled not himself before Jeremiah the prophet speaking from the mouth of JEHOVAH. And he also rebelled against king Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him swear by God: but he stiffened his neck, and hardened his heart from turning unto JEHOVAH God of Israel.

There was a lack of humility. Ultimately, his rebellion was not against Nebuchadnezzar but it was against God who had raised up Nebuchadnezzar. Likewise, there was rebellion of the church leaders and all the church members in refusing to hearken to the news that Satan had entered into the churches and taken his seat as the man of sin. They were commanded to leave and depart out of the midst of the churches because God’s Spirit was no longer there. When they determined to stay, it revealed a lack of humility. It revealed a proud nature and a proud heart and a stiff-necked spirit. It showed that they were in rebellion against God.