Joseph Herrin (07-23-08)

Dolly officially became a hurricane at the 4:00 PM (Central Time) update of the National Hurricane Center on July 22nd, 2008. There are numerous significant details in what I have just shared with you.

Four is a number symbolizing humility, being related to the earth. Humus, the organic composition of soil, and humility share a common root. Man was formed of the dust of the earth, and to dust (humus) he will return. From beginning to end man’s existence is humble, and God would have mankind to recognize this condition. Yet man is ever exalting himself, causing God to resist man’s efforts and thoughts, and to bring him again and again to a condition of abasement.

Dolly became a hurricane on the 22nd day of the month. Those who have been reading this blog for some time will recognize the number 22 as being significant of flesh cutting, the abasement of the flesh, and the cutting off of wickedness. Doing a search of the occurrences of the number 22 in Scripture will reveal a profound association with the removal of wicked rulers, such as that observed in the following verses.

I Kings 16:29-31
Now Ahab the son of Omri became king over Israel in the thirty-eighth year of Asa king of Judah, and Ahab the son of Omri reigned over Israel in Samaria twenty-two years. And Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the LORD more than all who were before him.

Ahab was reputed to be the most wicked king of Israel, and God cut him off in his 22nd year of reigning. We see the association of the number 22 and the removal of wickedness, an association that is repeated many times. Jeroboam was the king that made all Israel to sin by establishing idols in Dan and Beersheba. We read the following of Jeroboam.

I Kings 14:20
And the time that Jeroboam reigned was twenty-two years; and he slept with his fathers.

Once more we see wickedness and idolatry judged at the end of 22 years.

II Kings 8:26-27
Ahaziah was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Athaliah the granddaughter of Omri king of Israel. And he walked in the way of the house of Ahab, and did evil in the sight of Yahweh, like the house of Ahab had done, because he was a son-in-law of the house of Ahab.

Ahaziah began in evil, and there was nothing pleasing in him. He was 22 years old when he began his reign and was cut-off after one year. This same pattern is seen in the life of King Amon who was cut-off due to his idolatry.

II Kings 21:19-21
Amon was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned two years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was Meshullemeth the daughter of Haruz of Jotbah. And he did evil in the sight of Yahweh, as Manasseh his father had done. For he walked in all the way that his father had walked, and served the idols that his father had served and worshiped them.

We noted that Ahab was cut-off after 22 years of reigning. Ahab manifested a true humility before God on a number of occasions, and he would not have been the wicked king he became apart from the influence of his wife Jezebel.

I Kings 21:25-26
Surely there was no one like Ahab who sold himself to do evil in the sight of Yahweh, because Jezebel his wife incited him. And he acted very abominably in following idols…

Port Isabel Damage

Hurricane Dolly’s eye passed directly over Port Isabel, Texas, doing much damage there. Isabel is a variation of the name Jezebel. In 2003 I wrote an article about Hurricane Isabel, and I will quote from it here:

What then is the message of Hurricane Isabel? In researching the etymology of the name Isabel I have found that there is discord concerning the name’s origin. Some state that Isabel is a foreign form of the English name Elizabeth, while others contend that it is derived from the name Jezebel. Interestingly, when I did a search on the names Isabel and Jezebel together I came up with dozens of links to a theatrical production called “Isabel is a Jezebel.” I believe that there is great significance in this, and that in understanding the message of Hurricane Isabel we must understand that Isabel is a Jezebel…

According to Strong’s Dictionary of Greek and Hebrew words, both the Greek New Testament and the Hebrew Old Testament pronunciation of the name Jezebel bears a striking resemblance to the name Isabel. Following is how Strong’s records it.

NT:2403
Iezabel (ee-ed-zab-ale’); of Hebrew origin [OT:348]; Jezabel (i.e. Jezebel), a Tyrian woman (used as a synonym of a termagant or false teacher):

OT:348
‘Iyzebel (ee-zeh’-bel); from OT:336 and OT:2083; Izebel, the wife of king Ahab:
[End Excerpt]

The website www.behindthename.com provides an identical pronunciation for Isabel as that of the Hebrew Jezebel. Jezebel is not a name reserved only for the Old Testament. The name is found in the last book of the New Testament as well.

Revelation 2:20-23
“But I have this against you, that you tolerate the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, and she teaches and leads My bond-servants astray so that they commit acts of immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols. I gave her time to repent, and she does not want to repent of her immorality. Behold, I will throw her on a bed of sickness, and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of her deeds. And I will kill her children with pestilence, and all the churches will know that I am He who searches the minds and hearts; and I will give to each one of you according to your deeds.”

Note that the two things attributed to Jezebel as sins, leading the people of God to immorality and idolatry, were the same sins as Jezebel of the Old Testament, and the same sins for which God cut-off many wicked kings of Israel, including Ahab who was married to Jezebel. It is for a similar transgression that God is judging the church in this hour. Hurricane Dolly came ashore near South Padre Island and Port Isabel, and the storm surge and other effects from Dolly were reported as far as Corpus Christi, which is Latin for “the body of Christ.”

What is signified in all of these things? Let us look at the name Dolly to discern a profound message. According to the website www.behindthename.com, the name Dolly is a diminutive of the names Dorothy and Dolores. Looking further we see that Dorothy means “gift of God,” and Dolores “means “sorrows”, taken from the Spanish title of the Virgin Mary María de los Dolores, meaning “Mary of Sorrows.”” Combining the meanings of these two names that are both related to Dolly, we find the meaning to be “the gift of God is sorrows,” or “God gives sorrows.”

Taking all the elements we have defined together, we arrive at the following message found in this hurricane.

Due to idolatry and wickedness God will cut-off evil from the Body of Christ by giving her sorrows. God will humble the Body of Christ. He will judge the fathers (Padres, pictured in Ahab), and He will bring forth purity from the body of Christ.

As I have pondered these things I have been reminded of a passage from the prophet Ezekiel.

Ezekiel 9:5-6
“Go through the city after him and strike; do not let your eye have pity, and do not spare. Utterly slay old men, young men, maidens, little children, and women, but do not touch any man on whom is the mark; and you shall start from My sanctuary.” So they started with the elders who were before the temple.

The body of Christ is the temple of God. Dolly struck South Padre Island (the fathers – elders) before striking Corpus Christi. Yet it is symbolized in Dolly that God will give sorrow to all. He will not spare old men, young men, maidens, little children, or women. Only those who have the seal of God on their foreheads will be spared. Who are these with the mark?

Ezekiel 9:4
“Go through the midst of the city, even through the midst of Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and groan over all the abominations which are being committed in its midst.”

Only the righteous will be spared, those who have separated themselves from the idolatry and immorality of the nation. Surely God is giving many signs of that which is coming. What will come will appear suddenly, even as Dolly became a hurricane just one day before striking land. It is a time to separate oneself from all that defiles. It is not a time to tolerate Jezebel in the midst of God’s people. It is a time for the church fathers to cast out Jezebel for she is influencing the body of Christ to consume that which is detestable in God’s sight, and to act wickedly.

May you be blessed with peace and understanding in these days.

Heart4God Website: http://www.heart4god.ws
Parables Blog: http://www.parablesblog.blogspot.com

Mailing Address:
Joseph Herrin
P.O. Box 804
Montezuma, GA 31063