Jepthah or Jiphtah means "he opens" or Whom God sets free, or the breaker through.
The Story of Jepthah is found in Judges 11:1 to 12:7 On first reading of this passage, you may think that it depicts a horrifying, senseless act of barbarism. For that reason, most readers will not want to spend much time going back over the story. But hold on here, there end time implications if you study the typology.
The End Time implications can be seen once you realize that Jepthah is a type of Jesus Christ; and Jepthah's brethren represent Israel. Further meaning becomes clear when you see that Jepthah's daughter is a type of the End Time Church. And her sacrifice, as a necessary part of God's End Time Plan. I didn't want to believe this myself when the Lord first showed it to me. But if you read carefully, the pieces fall into place.
Jepthah as a type of Jesus
Jepthah was the son of Gilead, but by a harlot. This means he was of the royal line, but illegitimate.
Jesus is the Son of God, but his mother was unmarried when he was conceived. [This was well know among the people of his day. In John chapter 8, the Pharisees attacking him make reference to it. "... Then said they to him, We be not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God. John 8:41]
Jepthah was rejected by his brothers and left to live in a distant country.
Jesus was rejected by his brethren and left, returning to sit at the right hand of the Father.
Jepthah's return as a type of the Second Coming
"It came to pass in the passage of time that the children of Ammon made war against Israel." Judges 11:4
And Jepthah's people called for him to come and be their captain. And Jepthah required that they make him their head.
At the end of the age, Jesus brethren, the people of Israel will be attacked by all the nations of the world, leading to the battle of Armageddon. Then they will seek help from their God. They will repent and acknowledge him as their Lord and Messiah. They will make Him their head, saying Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord. And He will come and fight their battle for them. And the Lord, His Father, will deliver His enemies into His hand.
The Price of Victory
And Jephthah vowed a vow unto the LORD, and said, If thou shalt without fail deliver the children of Ammon into mine hands,
Then it shall be, that whatsoever cometh forth of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the children of Ammon, shall surely be the LORD'S, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering. (Judges 11:30-31)
Jepthah's daughter as a type of the End Time Church
Jepthah's daughter was his only child, and he loved her deeply, she was the apple of his eye..
Jesus' Church is his beloved bride whom he loves with a infinite divine love.
Whatsoever cometh forth shall surely be the Lord's
The daughter comes out of the house to meet him with timbrels and dancing.
The End Time Church will come out from institutional religion into the freedom of Revival. She will celebrate being in the presence of her Lord with great praise and rejoicing.
Her Destiny Revealed
Jepthah tells her about his vow and she willingly accepts her fate out of great love for Jepthah and total agreement with his purposes. This is part of the Revelation of Jesus Christ!
She is seen asking for a short time go out on the mountain before she must die. This is like Caleb's daughter who says you have given me land, now give me springs of water to water it. Which speaks of the Church who has been given the great commission but needs the great outpouring of the Spirit, living waters, to bring in this harvest.
When the Lord reveals Himself to His church, in revival, she will become willing to obey in all things. Like Mary who said, "Be it unto me according to thy word." The church will be willing in the day of His power to offer herself a living sacrifice which is her reasonable service. Her obedience is her worship. When you place your self at God's disposal you give him the right to dispose of you.
Jepthah's daughter goes out for a short time to go up and down the mountains.
The church will then have a short season to bring in the harvest moving in the miraculous end time power of God. She will be the one spoken of as how lovely on the mountains, [nations], are the feet of them that bring good news, [feet shod with the preparation of the gospel], and announcing the Kingdom of God is at
hand.
Jepthah's Daughter meets her end as an offering to the Lord.
The End time Church will offer themselves a living sacrifice. [Rom. 12:1] When the beast is given power To Make War With The Saints, And To Overcome Them (Revelation 13:7)
The Mighty Men
There is another parallel with the sacrifice of the church in the story of David when he yearned for a drink from the well of Bethlehem.
And three of the thirty chief went down, and came to David in the harvest time unto the cave of Adullam: and the troop of the Philistines pitched in the valley of Rephaim.
And David was then in an hold, and the garrison of the Philistines was then in Bethlehem.
And David longed, and said, Oh that one would give me drink of the water of the well of Bethlehem, which is by the gate!
And the three mighty men brake through the host of the Philistines, and drew water out of the well of Bethlehem, that was by the gate, and took it, and brought it to David: nevertheless he would not drink thereof, but poured it out unto the LORD.
And he said, Be it far from me, O LORD, that I should do this: is not this the blood of the men that went in jeopardy of their lives? therefore he would not drink it. These things did these three mighty men. 2 Sam 23:13-17
What David does here is pour out the water as a sacrifice to the Lord, calling it the blood of his mighty men. This speaks of Jesus offering up the lives of those who risk all for Him. It also speaks of Jepthah offering whatsoever comes forth out of his house, his daughter, in order that he might gain the victory over Israel's enemies.
The Key to this whole thing is Jepthah's vow, the sacrifice of his daughter and what it means in terms of the church.
So we must consider how it is that Jesus comes and gets the victory in the battle of Armageddon. Or in other words, exactly how does the Second Coming come about?
Three things must happen.
The Gospel must be preached to all the world [Matt. 14.24]
The Powers of Heaven must be removed and
Israel must call upon their Lord to come and save them.
If Jepthah's daughter represents the End Time Church, her role is in part one. But her sacrifice is needed for part two.
Let's look at them in reverse order.
One point is that Israel must repent before Jesus can return. He said 'you will not see me again till you say blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
We hear it spoken in several places that Israel will repent when she sees herself surrounded by enemies and has no other choice but to call on the Lord.
Here is a quote From "America Will Burn" by Dimitru Duduman:
"When Israel realizes she does not have the strength of America behind her, she will be frightened. That's when she will turn to the Messiah for deliverance. That's when the Messiah will come. Then, the church will meet Jesus in the air, and He will bring them back with Him to the Mount of Olives. At that time the battle of Armageddon will be fought."
And here from Tom Cooper in an article titled "Update Israel"
... Syria, Iran, Iraq, and just about everyone else wants to go to war against Israel and liberate "Palestine". I think Egypt is planning to join this challenge as well. They have recalled their ambassador to Israel, and called up their reserve forces (two things they have only done before when preparing to go to war) I believe we are headed for a full scale war.
I also am sorry to say that my long predicted blow out between the U.S. and an allied Russia and China seems to be looming ever closer. China will take Taiwan, pulling the U.S. into a war, and Russia will attack the U.S. mainland. This will free the road to Israel once the U.S. has been taken out of the picture.
Whether this is a couple years down the road I am not sure, but the Middle East is set to explode this summer in my humble opinion. This will lead to the destruction of Damascus the Bible speaks of. Israel will use nuclear weapons, and the world will quake. The end result will be the U. N. putting ground troops in Israel, and dividing the land, which Joel tells us is the precise reason God gathers the nations for judgment, because they divided His land.
I believe all of this is going to force Israel into absolute seclusion, and a desperate situation that only the Mercy of God can deliver them (us) from. This is what will make them cry out Baruch Ha Ba B'Shem Adonai (Blessed be Him who comes in the name of the Lord.) It is then that Jesus will come again to His people, and the veil will be lifted.
This next point is crucial, I can't emphasize it enough.
It is not enough that Israel is attacked on all sides by all nations of the world.
It is not enough that Israel is forced into a desperate situation.
It is not enough that Israel is frightened and facing annihilation.
These conditions only reflect the physical situation. To make her repent something more is needed, a change in the spiritual situation.
We can't say that Israel will have no other choice but to call on the Lord in this situation. There is another possibility. This has happened before and she fought to the death in 70 AD at the destruction of Jerusalem and later at Masada where all the Jews committed suicide. This time she has an arsenal of nuclear weapons at her disposal. [Anwar Sadat knew this and decided to make peace. Today's Arab leaders seem to have forgotten it.]
There is one more condition needed for Israel to repent and that is that her spiritual blindness must be removed. Otherwise, to call on the Lord will not be considered an option.
That spiritual blindness is due to the presence of the powers of heaven. These are spiritual powers that exercise influence on the minds of those beneath them. They are the cause of spiritual blindness; the spiritual blindness that we speak of as a veil. [It would take another very detailed teaching to go into exactly how this happens. Ralph Mahoney, for example, has an excellent 6 tape series on 'Spiritual Influences On The Mind'. But it is these spiritual influences that come into play here.]
The second point is that Jesus can't return till the powers of heaven are removed.. And what exactly does that mean?
Let's look at two parallel cases in the bible which speak of Jesus return. The first involves Moses, and we need to consider this as an example of prophetic typology where Moses is acting as a type of Jesus.
Exodus 4
18 And Moses went and returned to Jethro his father in law, and said unto him, Let me go, I pray thee, and return unto my brethren which are in Egypt, and see whether they be yet alive. And Jethro said to Moses, Go in peace.
19 And the LORD said unto Moses in Midian, Go, return into Egypt: for all the men are dead which sought thy life.
20 And Moses took his wife and his sons, and set them upon an ass, and he returned to the land of Egypt: and Moses took the rod of God in his hand.
His return to his people depended on the removal of those who sought his life.
And in Mathew 2 where Jesus, as a young boy, or Moses as a type of Jesus cannot return to the land of his people till those who sought his life are dead.
But when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeareth in a dream to Joseph in Egypt,
Saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel: for they are dead which sought the young child's life.
And he arose, and took the young child and his mother, and came into the land of Israel. Mat 2:19-21
Once again, His return to his people depended on the removal of those who sought his life.
At the end of the Tribulation, the battle of Armageddon, His return to his people will depend on the removal of those who sought his life.
Who are they that sought his life?
Now who is it that sought his life but the Kings of this world, or the powers of the air. The principalities and powers ruling in heavenly places. The Powers of Heaven.
And it is they who must die, [fall like Adam], for Jesus to return. The following scripture reference speaks of those who sought his life.
6 Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect: yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to nought:
7 But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory:
8 Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 1 Corinthians 2:6-8
Before He returns these powers of heaven must be taken out.
Here's a set of scriptures relating to the Lord's return, the powers of heaven and the repentance of Israel.
Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen. Revelation 1:7
The burden of Egypt. Behold, the LORD rideth upon a swift cloud, and shall come into Egypt: and the idols of Egypt shall be moved at his presence, and the heart of Egypt shall melt in the midst of it. Isaiah 19:1
And Jesus said, I am: and ye shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven. Mark 14:62
And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn. Zechariah 12:10
In those days, and in that time, saith the LORD, the children of Israel shall come, they and the children of Judah together, going and weeping: they shall go, and seek the LORD their God. Jeremiah 50:4
In those days, and in that time, saith the LORD, the iniquity of Israel shall be sought for, and there shall be none; and the sins of Judah, and they shall not be found: for I will pardon them whom I reserve. Jeremiah 50:20
Therefore thus will I do unto thee, O Israel: and because I will do this unto thee, prepare to meet thy God, O Israel.
For, lo, he that formeth the mountains, and createth the wind, and declareth unto man what is his thought, that maketh the morning darkness, and treadeth upon the high places of the earth, The LORD, The God of hosts, is his name. Amos 4 12-13
One of the final judgments is that the powers of heaven will be shaken and the stars will fall. This means the satanic kingdoms of the air will be judged and the demonic princes who sit in those thrones [Prince of Persia etc. ] will all fall to earth.
And the stars of heaven shall fall, and the powers that are in heaven shall be shaken. Mark 13:25
Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. Luke 21:26
Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: Matthew 24:29
One way that every eye might see Jesus when He comes is that He will orbit the planet. Perhaps he will do so several times like the space shuttle, as He carries out this judgment against the heavenly powers.
Why must these powers of heaven be removed? And what does this result in?
Because these powers make up the veil of spiritual blindness, and removing them removes the veil. Once this phase of the judgment is complete, the veil will be gone from over the nation of Israel. She will still be facing all her enemies coming to the battle of Armageddon. But then she will see clearly her need for Jeshua her Messiah and call upon him for deliverance in the day of trouble. Jesus will already be on the way, having heard the prayer before it was made.
A third condition for Jesus return is the gospel must be preached to all the world. This is the church completing the great commission and bringing in the harvest. After this the beast is given power to make war and overcome the saints.
We know that when the fullness of the gentiles comes in the veil will be removed. And we see that removing the veil means judging the powers of heaven. And this is because they are the ones who enforce spiritual blindness on Israel. They are the veil over their [Israel's] minds that must be taken away. What causes the powers of heaven to be judged, and why at this time?
The death of the church by persecution of the beast is what triggers the final wrath of God.
In Romans 12 He says:
Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. Romans 12:19
That's not just a warning, it's a promise.
Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head.
Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good. Romans 12:20-21
The Church that is willing to be martyred is the church that overcomes evil.
We read in Joel where God is speaking of the nation attacking His people and the beast who leads them:
He hath laid my vine waste, and barked my fig tree: he hath made it clean bare, and cast it away; the branches thereof are made white. Joel 1:7
Figuratively this speaks of the final persecution of the church bringing about the wrath of God upon his enemies.
So perhaps the fullness of the gentiles coming in means not just coming into salvation but coming into the throne room of heaven which means they must be martyred. This is what is spoken of by the vow of Jepthah. Just as Jepthah had to honor his vow which gave him the victory, it is the death of the church that will "give place unto wrath".
He Comes To Avenge The Blood Of His Servants.
At any rate the death of the church is what's required to trigger God's vengeance. This vengeance comes first on the powers of heaven. These are the men who sought his death, and when they are out of the way, this removes the veil of spiritual blindness from Israel. As Israel repents, the final condition for Jesus' return is met and He comes to fight their battle for them at Armageddon.
We have read many testimonies where people who get a very powerful visitation from God, confess their willingness to die for him. This can be seen in the scriptures as well. We will experience the same thing in revival.
What's unusual in this allegory of Jepthah's daughter is that her sacrifice comes after the battle is fought, but Jepthah is required to carry out his vow.
If we can see that the sacrifice of the [gentile] church is necessary we can also remind ourselves that Jesus has already fought the battle and won the victory for us.
Recap:
The End Time Church 'comes out' of the institutional church.
She receives a Revelation of Her Lord and Grace to accomplish His purposes.
When the Harvest is complete, great persecution comes. All but a small remnant perish.
When this reaches it's end, the Lord Rises up [with a shout!] to judge the powers of heaven.
This removes the veil of spiritual blindness from the nation of Israel, who then call upon the name of the Lord.
Thus fulfilling the final condition for The Second Coming.
Now what does it take to get her to come out?