Schriftstudies :: 10-Studies-in-English - 11-Jacob-I-loved-but-Esau-I-hated-Part-1.htm

4 Whereas Edom says, “We are beaten down, but we will return and build the waste places;” thus says YHWH of Armies, “They shall build, but I will throw down; and men will call them ‘The Wicked Land,’ even the people against whom YHWH shows wrath forever.”

On closer study, the book of Malachi turns out to be End-times aimed, focused on the restoration of Elohim's traditionally chosen people Israel.
That in itself is certainly not a strange thing, because the same can be said of the other books of the Minor Prophets, in the Bible Canon starting with the book of Hosea. But it also applies to the so-called Great Prophets: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Daniel, although the latter by some is considered as belonging to the Hagiographa (Writings).

That Malachi as Elohim's proven spirit-inspired messenger also is looking ahead to End-time events can be derived from several passages, at least announcing twice YHWH Elohim's Great and dreadful day:

3:1 “Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me; and the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, behold, he comes!” says YHWH of Armies.

2 “But who can endure the day of his coming? And who will stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner’s fire, and like launderer’s soap;

3 and he will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi, and refine them as gold and silver; and they shall offer to YHWH offerings in righteousness.

4 Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasant to YHWH, as in the days of old, and as in ancient years.

5 I will come near to you to judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against the perjurers, and against those who oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and who deprive the foreigner of justice, and don’t fear me,” says YHWH of Armies.

4:1 “For, behold, the day comes, it burns as a furnace; and all the proud, and all who work wickedness, will be stubble; and the day that comes will burn them up,” says YHWH of Armies, “that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.

2 But to you who fear my name shall the sun of righteousness arise with healing in its wings. You will go out, and leap like calves of the stall.

3 You shall tread down the wicked; for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I make,” says YHWH of Armies.

That YHWH Elohim, at the Times of the End, will focus again exclusively on his chosen people Israel is clear from 3:6 where He is assuring Jacob's sons [which always stand for members of ethnic Israel]: “For I, YHWH, don’t change; therefore you, sons of Jacob, are not consumed”. His love for them has not changed. Therefore, although they are strictly corrected by him, they did not come to their end.

Compare also Jeremiah 30:10-11, 17 >>

Therefore don’t you be afraid, O Jacob my servant, says YHWH; neither be dismayed, Israel: for, behold, I will save you from afar, and your seed from the land of their captivity; and Jacob shall return, and shall be quiet and at ease, and none shall make him afraid. For I am with you, says YHWH, to save you: for I will make a full end of all the nations where I have scattered you, but I will not make a full end of you; but I will correct you in measure, and will in no way leave you unpunished… For I will restore health to you, and I will heal you of your wounds, says YHWH; because they have called you an outcast, saying, It is Zion, whom no man seeks after.

As we again give our attention to the introductory verses, we will undoubtedly perceive that the inspired prophet protests against Israel's complaint that YHWH would have ceased to love his people. Looking back on the Jewish history of the past (almost) 2000 years, and also taking into account how the Jews since the Holocaust are looking at YHWH their Elohim - or at least many of them - one can somehow understand that they respond to the question: How did you show your love for us? Actually, their reaction is not much different from that of Job who, in his sufferings, became a prophetic type of Israel. While YHWH spoke affectionately about my ebed Job, that one also, in all his tribulations, began to doubt whether his Elohim had the better with him.
Compare Job 1:8; 32:2; 33:8-12; 42:1-8.

Isaiah 41:8-10.

Behind Edom

Concerning Israel's doubts about the sincerity of his love for them, YHWH has a striking but typical divine answer, punctuated by hidden prophetic elements: “Wasn’t Esau Jacob’s brother? Yet I loved Jacob; but Esau I hated, and made his mountains a desolation, and gave his heritage to the jackals of the wilderness. Whereas Edom says, ‘We are beaten down, but we will return and build the waste places’ thus says YHWH of Armies, They shall build, but I will throw down; and men will call them ‘The Wicked Land’ even the people against whom YHWH shows wrath forever.”

That his love for his people (Jacob) is sincere, Elohim proves by putting himself in a context of his hatred towards Esau, at the same time connecting a remarkable prophetic statement regarding his offspring, the people of Edom.
But notice in particular the very strong terms in the oracle when YHWH makes known his eternal judgment of Esau (Edom), and that in a prophetic setting which goes far beyond the fate of the literal nation of Edom. All that is the more striking because the Edomites as a people for a long time have disappeared from the earthly scene. After the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD, they ceased to exist as a people.

Concerning Esau (Edom), manifestly we will have to look behind the "Edom" of Malachi 1. Why? Not just because the Book is End-times oriented, but mainly because of Edom’s residential area is designated by God himself as the region of wickedness, and its inhabitants as the people against whom YHWH has indignation forever. Apparently, hidden things are behind ‘Edom’.

To what or to whom are we to think?

In our view, there is ample reason to believe that behind the region of wickedness, and behind the people against whom YHWH is forever indignant, unclean spirits are lurking, the fallen sons of God, those who made themselves into demons.
Compare the double judgment that would come upon 'Edom' as it is announced in the book of Obadiah, especially in the verses 18 and 21.

The house of Jacob will be a fire, the house of Joseph a flame, and the house of Esau for stubble. They will burn among them, and devour them. There will not be any remaining to the house of Esau. Indeed, YHWH has spoken… Saviours will go up on Mount Zion to judge the mountains of Esau, and the kingdom will be YHWH’s.

The Prophets about Edom

All the prophets who made prophetic utterances about Edom had an almost identical message: Completely ruin because of his relentless, murderous hatred towards YHWH Elohim's people Israel. Not infrequently, they mentioned the prophetic details in that regard in connection with the announcement of God's Great Day. See:

Isaiah 34. Note the verses 4 and 5 >>

All the army of the sky shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll; and all their army shall fade away, as the leaf fades from off the vine, and as a fading leaf from the fig tree. For my sword has drunk its fill in the sky: behold, it shall come down on Edom, and on the people of my curse, to judgment.

Isaiah 63:1-6 >>

Who is this who comes from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah? this who is glorious in his clothing, marching in the greatness of his strength? I who speak in righteousness, mighty to save. Why are you red in your clothing, and your garments like him who treads in the wine vat? I have trodden the winepress alone; and of the peoples there was no man with me: yes, I trod them in my anger, and trampled them in my wrath; and their lifeblood is sprinkled on my garments, and I have stained all my clothing. For the day of vengeance was in my heart, and the year of my redeemed is come.

(63:1-4).

Jeremiah 49:7-22.

Of Edom. Thus says YHWH of Armies: Is wisdom no more in Teman? is counsel perished from the prudent? is their wisdom vanished? Flee you, turn back, dwell in the depths, inhabitants of Dedan; for I will bring the calamity of Esau on him, the time that I shall visit him… I have made Esau bare, I have uncovered his secret places, and he shall not be able to hide himself: his seed is destroyed, and his brothers, and his neighbours; and he is no more… For thus says YHWH: Behold, they to whom it didn’t pertain to drink of the cup shall assuredly drink; and are you he who shall altogether go unpunished? you shall not go unpunished, but you shall surely drink. For I have sworn by myself, says YHWH, that Bozrah shall become an astonishment, a reproach, a waste, and a curse… As for your terror, the pride of your heart has deceived you, O you who dwell in the clefts of the rock, who hold the height of the hill: though you should make your nest as high as the eagle, I will bring you down from there, says YHWH. Edom shall become an astonishment: everyone who passes by it shall be astonished, and shall hiss at all the plagues of it… The earth trembles at the noise of their fall; there is a cry, the noise which is heard in the Red Sea. Behold, he shall come up and fly as the eagle, and spread out his wings against Bozrah: and the heart of the mighty men of Edom at that day shall be as the heart of a woman in her pangs.

Ezekiel 25:12-14 and

Chapter 35, very similar to Jeremiah 49.

Joel 3:19.

Elohim's indignation

Elohim's indignation against his disobedient spirit sons was first expressed in the days of Noah. When the Flood overflowed the earth and destroyed all the people outside the ark, the demons were forced to get rid of their materialized male figures. However, from 1 Peter 3:18-20, in the context of a suffering Israel and her Messiah, we learn that their situation was now no longer the same. YHWH Elohim subjected them to restrictions by locking them up in a "prison":

Since the Messiah also once for all time died for sins, a righteous for the unrighteous, that he might lead you to God; indeed being put to death in the flesh but being made alive in the spirit, in which he also - after he went his way - preached to the spirits in custody, who were once disobedient, when the longsuffering of God waited to the end in Noah's day.

According to 2 Peter 2:4, in that situation, those disobedient spirit sons were handed over to chains of thick darkness by imprisonment in Tartarus, a state in which it is impossible for them to materialize again: God did not spare the angels who sinned, but delivered them to chains of darkness - by imprisonment in Tartarus- to be reserved for judgment.
Evidently, in the Times of the End, their situation will again be altered, as is suggested in this verse, revealing that God saved them with a specific purpose: to play a role in the way he will judge humanity.
In the Tartarus’ situation those unclean spirits are not merely kept awaiting their final extinction at the last judgment, as many believe. In that case, Elohim after all could have better destroyed them right away when the Flood came, and they had to dematerialize. Even more than the people who perished in the Flood the Nephilim [fallen angels] deserved such a punishment.

It is certainly not surprising that God is holding the demons at his disposal with a view to still serving his purpose. As the proverb assures us: Everything YHWH has made for his purpose, yes, even the wicked for the evil day (Prov 16:4).

In Revelation, chapter 20, we find a corresponding situation: the Devil himself will shut up in the abyss for the duration of the Millennium and there he too "will be kept on hand" to the end of the thousand years to be released for a short time. And then too with the intention to serve Elohim's purpose when He pours out his final judgment upon a rebellious humanity.

In Two Thessalonians 2:8-12 the apostle has summarized how God will use the demons for the fulfilling of his purposes during the Times of the End:

And then the Lawless One will be revealed, whom the Lord Yeshua will consume by the spirit of his mouth, and bring to nothing by the manifestation of his presence. His presence [of the Lawless One; in reality the power exercised by the materialized demons], is according to [an] operation of Satan in all power and lying signs and portents and in all seduction of the unrighteousness for those that perish, as a retribution because they did not accept the love of the truth for their salvation. And for that reason God sends them a working of error so that they will believe the Lie, that all may be judged, those who did not believe the Truth but delighted in the unrighteousness.

The Beast

The final end of those materialized demons is described in Revelation, however there by the use of the emblems of the Beast and the False Prophet:

And I saw the Beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him who sat on the horse, and against his army. And the Beast was taken, and with him the False Prophet who performed the signs in his sight, with which he deceived those who received the mark of the Beast and those who worshiped his image. These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur. And rhe rest were slain with the sword of him who sat on the horse, the sword which came forth out of the mouth of him who sat on the horse. And all the birds were filled with their fleshy parts.

(Rev 19:19-21).

Why are we not told that the fleshy parts of the Beast and the False Prophet are feeded to the birds? For the simple reason that they, being demons, have no carnal nature; they possess a spiritual nature! Although they receive their punishment together with the people who took their side, they can not be killed ‘in the usual manner’ as is the case with people of flesh and blood.

All those others are put to death in the 'human' way.

So, ‘Edom’, the world of the demons - or according to Malachi the region of wickedness - is reflected in the apocalyptic Beast. However, that conclusion leads us further to the Roman World Power. Why? Because its description in Rev 13:5-7 >>

And it was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and it was given authority to act forty-two months. And it opened its mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tent, those residing in heaven. And it was granted to wage war with the saints and to overcome them. And it was given authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation.

corresponds precisely with the description of the Little Horn which, in the End Times, shall appear on the ‘head’ of the Roman World Power, in Daniel 7 pictured by the Fourth Beast

I considered the horns [the ten upon the head of the Fourth Beast], and, behold, there came up among them another horn, a little one, before which three of the first horns were plucked up. And, behold! In this horn were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking great things… I saw, and the same horn made war with the saints, and it prevailed against them; until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the Most High, and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom.

Thus he said: “The Fourth beast shall be a fourth kingdom on earth, which shall be diverse from all the kingdoms, and it shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down and crush it. As for the ten horns, out of that kingdom shall arise ten kings; and still another shall arise after them; and he shall be diverse from the former, and he shall humiliate three kings. And he shall even speak words against the Most High, and he shall wear out continually the saints of the Most High; and he shall think to change the times and the law; and they shall be given into his hand for a time and times and half a time. And the Judgment shall be set, and they shall finally take away his dominion, to annihilate and to destroy [him] to the end. And the kingdom and the dominion, and the greatness of the kingdoms under all the heavens were given to the people of the saints of the Most High. His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all the dominions shall serve and obey him.

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I considered the horns [upon the head of the Fourth Beast], and, behold, there came up among them another horn, a little one, before which three of the first horns were plucked up. And, behold! In this horn were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking great things

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Therefore, it is certainly not by chance that in Malachi, already in the introduction, is made mention of Elohim's hatred with regard to Edom [Esau], the region of wickedness and the people at whom YHWH is indignant forever.

Nor is it by chance that in the oracle in which YHWH announces the eternal judgment of Esau (Edom) very strong terms are used: Behind ‘Edom’ the world of demons is hidden.

Surprisingly, that conclusion is also confirmed in the Book of Esther, proven by the numerical values (NV) of Haman and his ten sons, namely:

● Haman son of Hammedatha the Agagite.
NV >> 95 + 52 + 450 + 22 = 619.
● The 10 sons, respectively, according to Esther 9:7-10 .

1035 + 170 + 542 + 687 + 46 + 616 + 1021 + 281 + 225 + 424 = 5047.

Total therefore 5-666 [619 + 5047].

However, the value 666 is the number of the demonic Beast, Satan's parody in the person of the Antimasjiach, in Esther including the supernatural value 5000.

See the study: Esther, she who hid

Yeshua and the demons

But let us return to Malachi. In his Introduction, he stated that "Edom" is saying: We have been shattered, but we will return and build the waste places.
Concerning the 'Edom' of the demons, David's antitype, Messiah Yeshua, during his 3½-year ministry on earth he was constantly in conflict with those unclean spirits. With the aid of Elohim's active spirit force he regularly turned out to be their superior. Again and again he drove them from their human victims. He himself said that with his arrival the demon realm was on the verge of collapse:

Once he was casting out a demon, and it was mute. It happened, when the demon had gone out, the mute man spoke; and the multitudes marveled. But some of them said, “He casts out demons by Beelzebul, the prince of the demons.”… Knowing their thoughts, he said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation. A house divided against itself falls. If Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand?”…

“When the strong man, fully armed, guards his own dwelling, his goods are safe. But when someone stronger attacks him and overcomes him, he takes from him his whole armor in which he trusted, and divides his spoils. (Luke 11:14-22).

By means of that parable, he showed exactly what was going on in his day: With Yeshua's presence Satan's domain, the demon realm over which he rules, was on the verge of collapse. In principal Yeshua had already achieved complete victory over that diabolical ruler of this world and his demon dominion, although it will completely perish after the establishment of his [the Messiah's] kingdom (John 12:31).

Earlier, Yeshua had already alluded to the complete collapse of the demon realm, namely when his disciples returned joyfully from a mission trip to announce the Messianic Empire:

The seventy-two now returned with joy, saying, "Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name." He said to them: "I beheld [beforehand] Satan like lightning from heaven. Behold, I granted you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing will harm you in any way. However, do not rejoice in the fact that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are enrolled in heaven. "

(Luke 10:17-20)

At the final establishment of Messiah's kingdom, the demons’ empire will perish completely. As proof Yeshua beheld in advance Satan's ejection.
In Revelation 12:5-12 is announced that we may expect that event to happen immediately after the "birth" of the kingdom at the half of the last [70th] Year Week. The first act of power by the kingdom will be the purification of the holy heavens by the removal of the great Prosecutor, Satan the Devil. He will no longer be permitted to accuse the Jewish End-time saints in the sight of YHWH Elohim. Compare Job 1.

And war occurred in heaven. Michael and his angels waged war with the Dragon. And the Dragon and its angels waged war, and it had not strength, nor was found place anymore for them in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, the ancient Serpent, who is called Devil and the Satan, the deceiver of the whole inhabited earth - he was cast into the earth, and his angels were cast with him. And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying now occurred the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Messiah, because the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them day and night before our God was cast. And they overcame him by reason of the blood of the Lamb and by reason of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their soul unto death. The heavens and those who have their residence there, be glad for this. Woe for the earth and the sea! Because the Devil came down until you, having great fury, knowing that he has short time.

(Revelation 12:7-12)

Esau’s heel

The Demons Empire does not surrender without fight, as has been shown repeatedly, and will be the case again after Satan and his demon horde have been thrown out of the holy heavens. In the further part of this chapter (12) - but also in the next chapter (13) – that thing is all too clear. It's like hearing "Edom" say, We are shattered but we will return and build the waste places. However in turn, we also hear YHWH, Israel’s Elohim, say, They shall build, but I will throw down.

Why can we absolutely be sure of such a state of affairs? For several reasons:

With a view of the way in which the twin then came into the world. In Genesis 25 we read:

The children struggled together within her [Rebekah]. She said, “If it be so, why do I live?” She went to inquire of YHWH. YHWH said to her,

“Two nations are in your womb,

Two peoples will be separated from your body.

The one people will be stronger than the other people.

The elder will serve the younger”.

When her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, there were twins in her womb. The first came out red all over, like a hairy garment. They named him Esau. After that, his brother came out, and his hand had hold on Esau’s heel. He was named Jacob.

Generally the view is hold that the present era comprises the world domination by ‘Esau’; which is the demonic 'Edom’ or Rome. But that era will be succeeded, without any interruption, by the world domination of Jacob-Israel, which is that of the Messiah.

As Jacob's hand held Esau's heel, so that his hand directly followed, without interruption, after Esau's heel, in like manner Jacob’s global era, Yeshua's Messianic Kingdom, will immediately follow after the era of the Edomite, demonic era, in its final phase represented by the Roman world power, the Fourth Beast of Daniel, chapter 7.

Daniel – The Little Horn of Rome

As we saw above, all this corresponds with the prophetic facts that are announced in Daniel 7. Yet, during the reign of the Fourth Beast, in his last appearance of the Little Horn, the Ancient of days, YHWH Elohim, hands over the kingdom to his Beloved Son, also named the son of Man (the verses 13 and 14):

I saw in the night-visions, and, behold, there came with the clouds of the heavens one like a son of man, and to the Ancient of days he gained access, and they brought him near before him. And to him there were given dominion, and dignity, and a kingdom, that all the peoples, nations, and languages should all serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.

Then, after the 3½ times, during which the 'Little Horn' will cause the ‘Great Tribulation’ over the Jewish saints, harassing them continually, it is handed over to complete destruction by the Heavenly Court, at the same time giving royal world power to his Saints on earth (the verses 23 to 27).

Iron and miry clay

For the identification of the Beast-like "Edom", chapter 2 of the Book of Daniel is also providing us various leads for further research.

Acknowledging that demonic spirit princes operate behind the scenes of world powers, and - invisible to us - influence politics and religion, brings us, quite obviously, to that Bible-part.

In that chapter, the series of four successive world powers – starting with Neo-Babylon (Nebuchadnezzar) – too are depicted prophetically, not by beasts rather by means of a terrifying, gigantic image composed of noble and less noble metals: gold, silver, bronze, iron.

Miry clay finally is also coming in view because in the End-times - in the final stage of the image - the iron is mixed with that miry clay. The literal translation of Young, reads in 2:43 >>

Because thou hast seen iron mixed with miry clay, they are mixing themselves with the seed of men: and they are not adhering one with another, even as iron is not mixed with clay.

This raises the questions:

1.) Who are the "they" who will mingle, or mixing, with the seed of men?

2.) How are we to understand in this context the phrase: the seed of men?

To arrive at a sound solution to these issues, we first need to clarify what the image represents as a whole.

We are of the opinion that the picture represents the period of world domination which was performed – and still is - by the Edomitic demons, from

1. The neo-Babylonian Empire (Nebuchadnezzar), followed by

2. Medo-Persia

3. Hellas (Greece)

4. Rome

We rely on the following reasoning:

In Daniel 2:38 Nebuchadnezzar himself is identified as the head of gold.

[you are the head of gold.]

However, when he - in chapter 3 - erects a golden image, it is apparently his aim to worship the god to whom he attributes his power and dominion. Consequently, it is his expressive wish that his subjects worship the image [in our vision: to worship the idol].

In 1 Corinthians 10:19-21, Paul revealed what then is really going on:

What am I saying then? That a thing sacrificed to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything? But I say that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons, and not to God, and I don’t desire that you would have communion with demons. You can’t both drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You can’t both partake of the table of the Lord, and of the table of demons.

Nebuchadnezzar saw a god behind his image, evidenced by his comment in verse 14, when he Shadrach, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego calls to account: Is it true that you don’t serve my god, nor worship the golden image which I have set up?

See also their response in verse 18 >> Be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods, nor worship the golden image which you have set up.

Furthermore, in the same book of Daniel, chapter 5, the great feast is described which was given by King Belshazzar.

Under the influence of alcohol, he proceeds, with his guests, to drink wine out of the golden vessels from YHWH's temple in Jerusalem.

The report tells us (verse 4): They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold and silver, copper, iron, wood and stone.

The Babylonian pantheon therefore included gods of gold, silver, copper and iron; the sequence corresponds to the metals of the image in chapter 2.

Apparently, in the first place and concerning those metals, we have to think of the demon world that lies behind the dominions which are represented by the metals of the horrifying image of chapter 2.

The gematria, the teaching of the biblical numerical values, is supplying us with interesting, additional information:

Before Israel could invade the Land of Promise they had to battle with the two giant nations under respectively Sihon king of Heshbon and Og the king of Bashan (Numbers 21:31-35 and Deutt 3:1-11).

The numerical values of the two kings are:

Sihon (128) + King (90) + Amorites (256) = 474

Og (79) + King (90) + Basan (357) = 526

Total: 1000

The value 1000 corresponds significantly with Daniel 2:38, where we hear Daniel saying to King Nebuchadnezzar:

You [456] + are [12] + head [506] + of [14] + gold [12] = 1000

In Malachi 4:1 that numerical value 1000 can be found in the phrase all [50] + who do [375] + evil [575] = 1000.

Equipped with all the previous information we are ready to answer the two questions that were raised.

The "they" who will mingle with the seed of men are the demons, the wicked spirit forces in the heavenly realms. They are the main characters in the scene of the image.

And the fact that they mingle with the seed of men during the final stage of the image - in the End Times, when also is established the Messianic kingdom (verse 44) - apparently reveals that YHWH Elohim will grant them the opportunity once more to materialize themselves to men!

In that case, actual mixing will be out of the question; that is utterly impossible, just as iron and miry clay are miscible. The superhuman nature of the demons can not be mingled with the human nature.

For those who have difficulty in accepting that in the ‘Final days’ such a spectacular and surprising turn of political events will occur on earth, we may perhaps recall the specific biblical statement in Matthew 24:37>> For just as the days of Noah [were], so the presence of the Son of man will be.

From Genesis 6:1-4 we know that those unfaithful spirit sons of YHWH Elohim materialized themselves in the period that preceded the Flood, with a view entering into marriage commitments with the beautiful daughters of men.

However, with the coming of the Flood they saw themselves forced to get rid of their materialized bodies. But YHWH Elohim granted them no longer the opportunity to return within the circle of the faithful and elect angels.

Although the demons will receive another opportunity to materialize, be clothed with human flesh, giving them the opportunity to serve as the ten kings together with the Beast, the Jewish Anti Messianic Power of the End Times:

The ten horns that you saw are ten kings who have received no kingdom as yet, but they receive authority as kings, with the Beast, for one hour.These have one mind, and they give their power and authority to the beast. These will war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings.

(Rev 17:12-14)

And exactly that spectacular development in the world events of the 70^th Week for Israel, was also foretold by Daniel: The demons [iron] mingled with the seed of men [miry clay] by materialization:

Whereas you beheld iron mixed with miry clay; they will mingle with the seed of men; but they will not adhere to one another, one mixes to the other, just as iron does not with with miry clay. But in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will not be destroyed forever, nor will it be passed to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and put them to an end, and it itself shall remain forever.

And the materialized demons themselves? How will be their end?

Daniel continues: Because you saw that a stone [the Messianic kingdom] was cut out of the mountain [YHWH Elohim's sovereign power] without hands, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the brass [the demons’ power], the clay [man’s weakness], the silver, and the gold [the demons’ power]; the great God has made known to the king what shall happen hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation of it sure (Daniel 2:43-45).

Esau’s Alter ego

If behind 'Edom', in reality the demon world is hidden, it is only logical that, behind the progenitor of that people, Esau, we should look for the chief of the demons, Satan, or Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons, as the Pharisees named him (Matth 12:22-29).

The effect of that conclusion for a proper understanding of Genesis 33:10-11, cannot be called less than surprising. When, after many years of separation, the two brothers met each other again, Jacob urged Esau to accept his peace-gift in particular, with the words:

Please, no, if I have now found favour in your sight, then receive my present at my hand, because I have seen your face, as one sees the face of God, and you were pleased with me. Please take the gift that I brought to you; because God has dealt graciously with me, and because I have enough.

From a biblically point of view it is certainly not strange that, behind the historical person Esau, we look for an angel -or rather, for a son of God.

In this particular part of the history of Jacob / Esau -painted in Genesis 32 and 33 - we then arrive at Elohim's Chief adversary, Satan.

After all, in Elohim's Word we are repeatedly faced with the activities of so-called angel-princes, acting out of the invisible, hidden behind the actions of man. However, the time is rapidly coming that YHWH Elohim will act against them, as can be read in Zephaniah 2:11, according to the LXX-version: The Lord shall appear against them, and shall utterly destroy all the gods of the nations of the earth.

Not the earthly rulers, but celestial beings are the actual rulers of the political, human kingdoms. Compare Daniel 10:13, 20-21.

Psalm 82 too, is a famous example: Elohim presides in the great assembly. He judges among the gods.“How long will you judge unjustly, and show partiality to the wicked?” (82:1-2).

So, to whom was Jacob referring when he told Esau: I have seen your face, as one sees the face of elohim, and you were pleased with me.(?)

Obviously, he referred to the very special experience he had shortly before that meeting. At night, when he crossed the Jabbok river as the last of his family, a mysterious celestial creature, a "man", went struggling with him:

Jacob was left alone, and wrestled with a man there until the breaking of the day. When he [the ‘man’] saw that he did not prevail against him, he touched the socket of his thigh, and the socket of Jacob’s thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him.

And he [the ‘man’] said, “Let me go, for the day breaks.”

And he [Jacob] said, “I won’t let you go, except if you bless me.”

And he [the ‘man’] said to him, “What is your name?”

And he said, “Jacob.”

He [the ‘man’] said, “Your name shall not be called ‘Jacob’ anymore but ‘Israel,’ for you have struggled with god and with men, and have prevailed.”

And Jacob inquired and asked him, “Please tell me your name.”

And he said, “Why is it that you inquire after my name?” And he blessed him there.

And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel, for “I have seen god face to face, and my life is preserved.”

And the sun rose upon him as he passed over Penuel, and he was limping upon his thigh.

(Genesis 32:24-31).

It is generally assumed that the "man" with whom Jacob struggled was a faithful angel of YHWH Elohim. However, that thought provides some significant problems:

(a) If he would have been a good angel, why then did he shun the daylight?

Because not only did he confront Jacob during the night (verses 22-24), but as soon as the dawn ascends, he wants to depart (verses 25-26)!

According to an old belief ‘unearthly visitants of the night must be gone before daybreak’. This ‘son of a god’ was not an angel of light, but rather of darkness!

(b) In the nightly struggle the victory was not reached by the mysterious 'man', but rather by Jacob! A true angel of YHWH would definitely proved stronger than a puny human.

Compare Two Peter 2:11.

The patriarch had no need at all for a blessing; at least not in the sense of the original Abrahamitic promise. For not only his father Isaac had already given him the patriarchal blessing (Genesis 27:26-29), but also, shortly after he had fled from Esau, at Bethel, YHWH Elohim Himself had confirmed that blessing in unequivocal terms. That was when Jacob, at Luz (Bethel), had the dream of the ladder reaching to heaven (Gen 28:12-15).

He dreamed. Behold, a stairway set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven. Behold, the angels of God ascending and descending on it. Behold, YHWH stood above it, and said, “I am YHWH, the God of Abraham your father, and the God of Isaac. The land whereon you lie, to you will I give it, and to your seed. Your seed will be as the dust of the earth, and you will spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south. And in you and in your seed will all the families of the earth be blessed. Behold, I am with you, and will keep you, wherever you go, and will bring you again into this land. For I will not leave you, until I have done that which I have spoken of to you.”

(d) Finally, when he is in a hurry to leave before it is getting light, the "man" still inflicts a serious blow on Jacob, thus causing him a serious injury. What good reason could a good angel have had for such a terrible action? After all, in the Bible, the male hip is mainly associated with the reproduction. Compare Genesis 46:26 >> All the souls who came with Jacob into Egypt, who were his direct descendants, besides Jacob’s sons’ wives, all the souls were sixty-six.

The 'man' was not only a spirit of darkness, but also one of the malicious kind. When he could not achieve real victory on the patriarch, he finally hit him very viciously in his seed, his progeny. At least he tried.