Joshua Sets an Ambush Against the City: Jesus Christ Has Set an Ambush Against the Global Government of the Beast

Joshua 8:1-29

Click for a description of the image and mark of the beast.

• Victory is given to Jesus Christ over this world.
• The plan of ambush against this world is laid out.
• Jesus Christ is with us throughout the ambush plan.
• The ambush plan of Jesus Christ goes into action.
• The beast, second beast (false prophet), and Satan are destroyed.

Victory is given to Jesus Christ over this world.
“Now the Lord said to Joshua: “Do not be afraid, nor be dismayed; take all the people of war with you, and arise, go up to Ai. See, I have given into your hand the king of Ai, his people, his city, and his land.” Joshua 8:1

God has made Jesus Christ the commander-in-chief and we are His soldiers. This present world and all its inhabitants will fall to Jesus, and we share the victory with Him. While this world system governs and lives by the entity empowering them with what to feel, think, say, and do, in the Spirit of Christ we are told not to fear nor be dismayed. “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.” Ephesians 6:1o-12

In today’s world, it’s easy to think of Ai as being AI [Artificial Intelligence]. The king of AI being the entity with power over physiology to intertwine itself within thoughts, feelings, words, and behaviors. In Ezekiel 1, Ezekiel sees the vision of the space shuttle, space station, and space satellites, which are very much connected with AI.

“And you will do to Ai and its king as you did to Jericho and its king. Only its spoil and its cattle you will take as booty for yourselves. Lay an ambush for the city behind it.” Joshua 8:2

This world of AI will fall like Jericho [Jericho 6], which has built up walls and shut out Jesus Christ and His people. The global government and its global culture will lose everything in this world and the followers of Jesus Christ will gain it all in the eternal New Jerusalem. In the name of Jesus, God has set a global ambush against this world.

The plan of ambush against this world is laid out.
“So Joshua arose, and all the people of war, to go up against Ai; and Joshua chose thirty thousand mighty men of valor and sent them away by night.” Joshua 8:3

God has chosen us through Jesus Christ to reconcile us to Him by the forgiveness of sin. He has sent us out in the night of this world as His soldiers of the Cross. The night of this world consists of opposing God, scoffing at the need for Jesus Christ, and oppressing the presence of the Holy Spirit. “Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves.” Matthew 10:16

“And he commanded them, saying: “Behold, you will lie in ambush against the city, behind the city. Do not go very far from the city, but all of you be ready.” Joshua 8:4

As followers of Jesus Christ, we lie in ambush against the global government and its global culture by coming apart from their city, “And I heard another voice from heaven saying, “Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues. For her sins have reached to heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities.” Revelations 18:4-5 When our Lord Jesus gives the command, and He returns to bring vengeance to this world, the world will see us as His victorious soldiers.

We do not go very far away from the global culture in that we do not engage in armed rebellion against the people and governing authorities of this world, “…be subject to rulers and authorities, to obey, to be ready for every good work, to speak evil of no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing all humility to all men…” Titus 3:1-2

“Then I and all the people who are with me will approach the city; and it will come about, when they come out against us as at the first, that we will flee before them.” Joshua 8:5

While we have come apart from this world, our Commander-in-Chief arrives, who is Jesus Christ. This is His second coming. He brings the warriors from Heaven with Him when He comes, “And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses.” Revelations 19:14 The strategy of behind setting the ambush is to make the global government, and its global culture think that they have Jesus Christ, and His followers, in retreat and on the run.

“For they will come out after us till we have drawn them from the city, for they will say, ‘They are fleeing before us as at the first.’ Therefore we will flee before them.” Joshua 8:6

The global population of this world comes out after Jesus Christ and all of Christianity, “Then he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name, His tabernacle, and those who dwell in heaven. It was granted to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them. And authority was given him over every tribe, tongue, and nation. All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb…” Revelations 13:6-8 The “he” in this verse is the beast of the image and mark of the beast. They say, “They are fleeing before us as at the first.”

“Then you will rise from the ambush and seize the city, for the Lord your God will deliver it into your hand.” Joshua 8:7

We who are laying in ambush [by coming apart from this atheistic culture] will arise and seize the city [the eternal city]. The Lord God will deliver it into our hand. “Then the seventh angel sounded: And there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He will reign forever and ever!” Revelations 11:15

“And it will be, when you have taken the city, that you will set the city on fire. According to the commandment of the Lord you will do. See, I have commanded you.” Joshua 8:8

“But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.” 2 Peter 3:10 Global warming is already in the world as the Fourth Plague in Revelations 16:8-9. The more powerful the United Nations become as the one world government, the hotter and more intense the effect of global warming becomes.

Jesus Christ is with us throughout the ambush plan.
“Joshua therefore sent them out; and they went to lie in ambush, and stayed between Bethel and Ai, on the west side of Ai; and Joshua lodged that night among the people.” Joshua 8:9

Our Lord Jesus Christ has sent us out into this world, to be set apart from the atheistic culture to live for Him, “I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.” John 17:15-17 We are not part of the culture that serves the entity that replaces the conscience and spirit [while oppressing the presence of the holy Spirit] to give people what to think, feel, say, and do. At the same time, our Lord Jesus lodges among us, within us, through the Holy Spirit. “And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever— the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.” John 14:16-18

“Then Joshua rose up early in the morning and mustered the people, and went up, he and the elders of Israel, before the people to Ai.” Joshua 8:10

Like Joshua, who rose early in the morning to rally His people, our Lord Jesus is the Bright and Morning Star, Jesus said, “I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star.” Revelations 22:16 He will rally us together at the end of this world, at His return, and we will rise from the grave to see the morning light of our Lord Jesus, “For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus.” 1 Thessalonians 4:14

“And all the people of war who were with him went up and drew near; and they came before the city and camped on the north side of Ai. Now a valley lay between them and Ai.” Joshua 8:11

As soldiers of Jesus Christ, we are the sheep who hear His voice, and we listen when He says to come apart from this world and to wait for His coming. There is a valley, or gap, between we who live for Jesus Christ and the atheistic culture of this world, which is global. There is a gap between making AI the lord over us and living in the spirit and conscience by the Holy Spirit through our Lord Jesus Christ.

“So he took about five thousand men and set them in ambush between Bethel and Ai, on the west side of the city.” Joshua 8:12

We who follow Jesus Christ are in cities all around the world, to this day, we are the faithful but few. We are laying for the Day of the Lord, Zachariah 14 when His ambush plan is carried through and He returns.

“And when they had set the people, all the army that was on the north of the city, and its rear guard on the west of the city, Joshua went that night into the midst of the valley.” Joshua 8:13

When our Lord Jesus returns, His people will be living in the dark valley where the shadow of death lurks. Like Joshua, who went into that valley at night, our Lord Jesus returns in the darkness of spiritual evil. “But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.” Matthew 24:37 Click here for a post on Genesis 6, the day of Noah. “…the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” Genesis 6:5

The ambush plan of Jesus Christ goes into action.
“Now it happened, when the king of Ai saw it, that the men of the city hurried and rose early and went out against Israel to battle, he and all his people, at an appointed place before the plain. But he did not know that there was an ambush against him behind the city.” Joshua 8:14

The king of AI saw Joshua and his soldiers in the middle of the valley, in the night. Th eking of AI thought this would be the perfect opportunity to attack. Whenever today’s global government and its global culture see Christians and the Gospel of Christ being openly displayed, they attack. Whenever they see Jesus Christ in anything or anybody, they oppose Him and bring conflict. The phrase. “There’s one!” has become popular in today’s culture. They serve the atheistic entity that has no conscience nor spirit and gives them what to do, say, feel, and think. However, the king of AI didn’t have a clue that Joshua had planned an ambush against him. The global government of today, and its global culture, doesn’t have a clue of the ambush that Jesus has planned against them when He returns.

“And Joshua and all Israel made as if they were beaten before them, and fled by the way of the wilderness.” Joshua 8:15

Today, the global government and its global culture think that Jesus Christ has been defeated, and Christianity put into oblivion, but there are still those whose name will be in the Lamb’s Book of Life, “It was granted to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them. And authority was given him over every tribe, tongue, and nation. All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb…” Revelation 13:7-8 “Then the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, that they should feed her there one thousand two hundred and sixty days.” Revelation 12:6 The woman gives birth to Christians through Jesus Christ. Click here for a post on Revelation 12.

“So all the people who were in Ai were called together to pursue them. And they pursued Joshua and were drawn away from the city.” Joshua 8:16

The entire global culture is in pursuit against belief in God, against Jesus Christ, and against the presence of the Holy Spirit. Thye continually pursue Jesus Christ like a psychotic “lamb”. Their opposition against God is driving them away from their global “city” [their earthly Garden of Eden] as they become more and more aggressive, dictatorial, and turbulent. Global tribulation follows them, and the collapse of their governing system ensues.

“There was not a man left in Ai or Bethel who did not go out after Israel. So they left the city open and pursued Israel.” Joshua 8:17

“Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Stretch out the spear that is in your hand toward Ai, for I will give it into your hand.” And Joshua stretched out the spear that was in his hand toward the city.” Joshua 8:18

This world is going to be in absolute chaos and tribulation due to the events of the Seven Trumpets in Revelations 8, 9, and 11 as well as the events of the Seven Plagues in Revelations 16. This is when our Lord Jesus stretches His hand towards “AI”, and He returns as the King of kings and Lord of lords. Victory is His, He brings us home to Him with eternal life

“So those in ambush arose quickly out of their place; they ran as soon as he had stretched out his hand, and they entered the city and took it, and the city was hurriedly set on fire.” Joshua 8:19

We are those who have come apart from this atheistic world, and we lie in wait [in ambush so to speak] for our Commander-in-Chief to give the signal for us to rise. We will rise from our grave and at the same time this is when the global city is set ablaze with the fires of chaos and destruction.

“And when the men of Ai looked behind them, they saw, and behold, the smoke of the city ascended to heaven. So they had no power to flee this way or that way, and the people who had fled to the wilderness turned back on the pursuers.” Joshua 8:20

The men of AI are those of the global culture who had their sight set on the earthly Garden of Eden, but their hopes go up in smoke, “A fire devours before them, and behind them a flame burns; The land is like the Garden of Eden before them, And behind them a desolate wilderness…” Joel 2:3 Click here for a post on Joel 2:1-11

The inhabitants of this earth will have no place to run to, and through Jesus Christ the people of God have their revenge on their persecutors,

“Now when Joshua and all Israel saw that the ambush had taken the city and that the smoke of the city ascended, they turned back and struck down the men of Ai. Then the others came out of the city against them; so they were caught in the midst of Israel, some on this side and some on that side. And they struck them down, so that they let none of them remain or escape.” Joshua 8:21-22

Jesus Christ, and all who serve God through Him, will celebrate the victory that God has given us. All the people of this atheistic world will be struck down, “Then I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the birds that fly in the midst of heaven, “Come and gather together for the supper of the great God, that you may eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them, and the flesh of all people, free and slave, both small and great.” Revelation 19: 17-18

The beast, second beast (false prophet), and Satan are destroyed.
“But the king of Ai they took alive, and brought him to Joshua.” Joshua 8:23

The king of AI is Satan, as his first beast and second beast are behind the power over physiology to give people what to think, feel, say and do. That is why the conscience and spirit are replaced while the presence of the Holy Spirit is oppressed. Satan has his own version of the God’s Trinity, which is Satan as the father, the first beast as the son, and the second beast [with two horns like a lamb] his version of the Holy Spirit. This is described in the post on Revelation 13.

When the global government and its global culture are destroyed [along with the two beasts] and the planet ripped to pieces, Satan will be brought to our Lord Jesus Christ. Satan is put in chains for “10o0 years”, before his final destruction in the burning lake of fire, hell! This is explained in Revelations 20.

“And it came to pass when Israel had made an end of slaying all the inhabitants of Ai in the field, in the wilderness where they pursued them, and when they all had fallen by the edge of the sword until they were consumed, that all the Israelites returned to Ai and struck it with the edge of the sword. So it was that all who fell that day, both men and women, were twelve thousand—all the people of Ai. For Joshua did not draw back his hand, with which he stretched out the spear, until he had utterly destroyed all the inhabitants of Ai.” Joshua 8:24-26

In the same way that Joshua did not hold back his hand from destroying Ai, our Lord Jesus does not hold back from destroying the inhabitants of this atheistic world.

“Then I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the birds that fly in the midst of heaven, “Come and gather together for the supper of the great God, that you may eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them, and the flesh of all people, free and slave, both small and great.” Revelations 19:17-18

Our Lord Jesus comes with His armies,

“Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had names written that no one knew except Himself. He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.” Revelations 19:11-16

“Only the livestock and the spoil of that city Israel took as booty for themselves, according to the word of the Lord which He had commanded Joshua.” Joshua 8:27

The Lord commanded Joshua to keep all of the prosperity that was in Ai for the Israelites. Likewise, God has commanded Jesus Christ to give prosperity to all who live for Him in the name of Jesus. That prosperity is the riches we have waiting for us in the new heaven and earth of the New Jerusalem.

“So Joshua burned Ai and made it a heap forever, a desolation to this day.” Joshua 8:28

Our Lord Jesus burns this present heaven and makes it a heap forever.

“And the king of Ai he hanged on a tree until evening. And as soon as the sun was down, Joshua commanded that they should take his corpse down from the tree, cast it at the entrance of the gate of the city, and raise over it a great heap of stones that remains to this day.” Joshua 8:29

Satan is defeated, kept hanging in prison for a “thousand years”, then cast into the eternal pits of hell, the lake of fire. “The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.” Revelations 20:10

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“….to you who do not hold to her teaching and have not learned Satan’s so-called deep secrets,“
‘I will not impose any other burden on you, except to hold on to what you have until I come.’”
“I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown.”
Revelation 2:24-25, 3:11