Let us go back to Esther 5. I will read the first five verses. It says in Esther 5:1-5:
Now it came to pass on the third day, that Esther put on her royal apparel, and stood in the inner court of the king's house, over against the king's house: and the king sat upon his royal throne in the royal house, over against the gate of the house. And it was so, when the king saw Esther the queen standing in the court, that she obtained favour in his sight: and the king held out to Esther the golden sceptre that was in his hand. So Esther drew near, and touched the top of the sceptre. Then said the king unto her, What wilt thou, queen Esther? and what is thy request? it shall be even given thee to the half of the kingdom. And Esther answered, If it seem good unto the king, let the king and Haman come this day unto the banquet that I have prepared for him. Then the king said, Cause Haman to make haste, that he may do as Esther hath said. So the king and Haman came to the banquet that Esther had prepared.
Again, it is the third day, which is what date on the calendar of King Ahasuerus’ kingdom? It is the 16th day of the 2nd month, and God makes sure that we understand that the banquet was that same day, “Come this day unto the banquet.”
We found that once Esther made the statement that she had not been called into the king “these thirty days” that God was very careful to detail every day thereafter for those three days. In Esther 5:1, he states, “Now it came to pass on the third day.” In Esther 5:4, He states that it was “this day” that they came to the banquet. He was very, very careful to make sure that we know where we are after that point. This is the 16th day of the 2nd month.
We have been seeing Esther as a type and figure of the true believers because she is the bride of the king. King Ahasuerus is a figure of God. He reigns over 127 provinces and Esther is his wife, but we were thinking that there was a switch made here and that Esther becomes a figure of Christ. This was primarily because of the language of the three days of fasting and the language of “the third day,” but there are some things that we have to think about.
Christ was three days and three nights in the heart of the earth, which really points to Thursday night in the garden, then Friday night, then Saturday night in the tomb; and then the three days were Friday, Saturday, and then He rose on Sunday. But God makes sure that we know that Christ did this all alone. Isaiah says, “And I looked, and there was none to help; and I wondered that there was none to uphold: therefore mine own arm brought salvation unto me.”
But here, Mordecai and all of the Jews fast with Esther and her maids. We could still think, though, that maybe this is a picture of all of the believers being in Christ. But more than that, when we get to the third day, Esther presents herself before the king. She does go into the inner court, but she is not bearing sin in any way. She is not doing as Christ did. Christ paid for the sins of His people before the foundation of the world and then He demonstrated this in history in 33 A.D. Not even in a figurative way is she bearing sin that we can see. She also goes into the inner court by grace, not according to law. Then as she approaches, she must find favor in the king’s sight; and then the king holds out his scepter.
The second reason why we used to think that Esther was a type of Christ was because she was interceding, which is the work of Christ. He is the intercessor on behalf of His people. He is the One who goes to God the Father. He is the One who pleads for those whom He has saved, as we see in Isaiah 53:12:
Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.
Christ, who is in view here, bore the sin of many. The only time that He did this was before the world began. Then it says that He made intercession for them.
As Christ experienced the wrath of God, He was doing this for the elect’s sake. All of the sins that you and I are guilty of in our lives – past, present, and future – were laid on Him, if we are a child of God, before the world began. God poured out His wrath and Jesus died to satisfy the Law’s demands for each one of His elect.
So the penalty was completely paid. It was one act of intercession done and finished from before the foundation of the world. All was accomplished. But in the book of Hebrews, the Bible does speak of Christ continuing to intercede. We read in Hebrews 7:24-27:
But this man, because he continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood. Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them. For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens; Who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people's: for this he did once, when he offered up himself.
So, again, Christ offered up Himself once and that was an act of intercession; but then as it says in verse 25:
…he ever liveth to make intercession for them.
The way that I think we can understand this is that God saved the whole company of the elect, every single one, before the world began; but the history of the world had to unfold. Each of these people had to be born into the generations of the world all throughout history.
When an individual would be born into the world and they would come under the hearing of the Gospel, it was as if Christ was there saying, “Yes; this is one whom I paid for.” Then He would intercede with the Father. Then we could say that through the blood of Christ or through just the hearing of the Gospel, God would save that individual and apply it. The application of redemption was made.
Also, whenever these people sin after salvation, it is as though God, the Lord Jesus Christ, is right there instantaneously interceding with the Father and saying, “I paid for that sin, too.”
I do not know how God works this out, but we could imagine how often this would be done, even though God does not need reminding. They are One; they know the elect; they know that all of their sins are paid for. In this sense, it is a constant reinforcement that all the sins of every child of God were completely paid for; and so, “He ever liveth to make intercession for them.”
This is why we have that great security of eternal life. It is because our eternal life can never be taken away. Our sins have been completely paid for and Christ will live forever to declare this, to make this statement.
Is Esther a type of Christ then because He is the intercessor? No; we have to look at everything.
Let us go to Romans 8:26. It says:
Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.
So the Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit, makes intercession for us on our behalf; and yet God is speaking of our prayers, “We know not what we should pray for.” He is talking about the child of God. We are going to Him in prayer. We are going to Him beseeching Him and we do not know what we should pray for. We really do not, do we? We have some idea, maybe a little bit, but we do not know exactly what to pray for; and so the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God, helps us and intercedes on our behalf to God “with groanings which cannot be uttered.”
Then look at the next verse, Romans 8:27:
And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he [the Spirit] maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.
This is exactly what Esther was doing. She was going before the king to make intercession. Yes, she made intercession on behalf of herself, but she also made intercession on behalf of all of the Jewish people in the kingdom. She was going to the king and beseeching him that they might live, which would mean that she would live.
We can see how God, of course, was completely involved in this. The Holy Spirit leads His people to prayer. He leads us to go to the Father and to cry out to Him. More than this, He even makes intercession when we do this on behalf of the saints.
So Esther was the bride of King Ahasuerus, which clearly typifies the relationship between the Father or Christ and the church, but she does not go into the king according to law; she goes in according to grace. When she goes in, she finds favor.
Going back to Esther 5:2, we read:
And it was so, when the king saw Esther the queen standing in the court, that she obtained favour in his sight: and the king held out to Esther the golden sceptre…
The word “favor” is like the word “grace.” The king could have put her to death. That was the law, and God can put any of us to death because we have broken the Law. Esther broke the law. If she went into that inner chamber, she could die.
Is it not something that in the law of the Medes of the Persians, they made a provision for grace? They made allowance for the king to grant favor.
This very much pictures the Law of God. Within the Law of God, we have language that tells us that God can be merciful. He can be gracious to sinners. He can pardon iniquity; but, of course, this is only done through Christ.
This is the thing. If Esther is a picture of Christ, how can the king bestow grace? The Father bestowing grace to Christ does not match up. Esther is going in and she is finding grace. Also, it is not just a matter of three days and there is no payment for sin involved. There is a fourth day, which is the second day of the banquet. This means that several things do not add up and it does fit when we see Esther as a picture of the believers.
So Esther comes in and she touches the golden scepter of the king. In relation to this, let us look at Hebrews 1:8:
But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom.
So this scepter represents the righteousness of God, Christ’s righteousness. This is where she is finding grace. This is how the king can grant her favor and, spiritually, how God can pardon sinners.
She comes before the king, which is a place that, by law, she cannot be. She touches the scepter, which indicates the righteousness of the Lord Jesus. The Bible tells us that He is righteousness Himself. In this sense, it is as though God is imparting the righteousness of Christ to her, thereby allowing her to live and to make her plea, to be able now to beseech Him and to make her request. In her intercession, we can understand that this is being done through the Holy Sprit and by the Holy Spirit.
Again, let us look at the spiritual chronology of Esther. It is going from Vashti, who represents national Israel, and then she is put away in Esther 1. Then the virgins are gathered unto Shushan. The Gospel went out into the world and the believers came in, who are typified by virgins. These virgins were gathered to Christ, which Shushan represents.
At the end of Esther 2, two doorkeepers are killed. These two doorkeepers were rebels who wanted to usurp the king, and these two doorkeepers are a picture of the New Testament church and the end of the church age. They are hung and made an open shame, and they came under the judgment of the king, just like the church came under the judgment of God on May 21, 1988.
In Esther 3, Haman is advanced. He is promoted. His seat is lifted up above all of the other princes. This is in conjunction with the death of the two doorkeepers. Spiritually, this represents the loosing of Satan as he takes his seat as the “man of sin” in the temple.
As chapter 3 goes on, we find that Mordecai will not bow down. This relates to Revelation 13 when an image comes up and then an image is made to the beast. It actually says that whoever will not bow down should be killed. This is why Haman was so furious with Mordecai and the people of Mordecai.
This was indicating that Christ and His people or the Holy Spirit within His people will not bow down to Satan who has taken his seat as the “man of sin” in the churches and congregations. After all, Satan could reason, “God has put me here. God has given me authority,” just like King Ahasuerus lifted up Haman. It is true and so Satan feels that we should bow down, but God’s people will not bow down.
As we continue, we then see that Esther 3 is representing the time of the great tribulation. During that period of time, there is a proclamation made to the world, all 127 provinces, of a day of judgment. There will be a day when the Jews were to be killed.
When we look at this spiritually, what did they hear? They heard that the fullness of time had come, which was related to two numbers – number 12 and number 13. The number 12 represents the fullness of time, and the number 13 represents the end of the world.
This is the message that all of the Jews in all 127 provinces heard. As a result of hearing this, they were broken in heart and sitting in sackcloth and ashes along with Mordecai, which is what happened to God’s elect who were all scattered throughout the world when they heard the message of Judgment Day. Then we saw that God has actually placed in the book of Esther, following this, a spiritual chronology that leads right up to May 21, the 17th day of the 2nd month.
By the way, this is only valid until 2012. There is an expiration date, because our link is not through years. It is through the 17th day of the 2nd month. This is where God is tying this in. It is with the flood and with May 21.
Once this is locked in, and it is, then it is like we are in the midst of the book of Esther when Haman dies, and then the next thing is the 13th day of the 12th month. It does not apply to 2013 or 2014 because the lock with this is with May 21; then this time is followed by the next Feast of Purim. It only applies to 2012. That is the only connection that we have. If March 2012 were to come and go, what would it mean that Haman was killed on the 17th day of the 2nd month? If we tried relating this to May 21 of 2013, that would not mean anything. It is only valid really at this time as we look ahead to the next date of Purim, which would be in March of this year, only a couple of months away.
Then we saw the intense fasting leading right up until the time that Esther goes into the king; and we can see how this relates. She is going before the king and the spiritual chronology of this is right before May 21.
I do not like doing this, because we cannot look at outward events and then place them into the Bible. People can get into trouble trying to do this. However, when we learn something from the Bible – for example, we see language of the fig tree being in leaf again – and then we look out into the world – and after almost 2,000 years, Israel became a nation again – we see that it matches. But we would never want to do the reverse by looking out into the world and then trying to find something in the Bible that matches.
But let me ask you something. What were you doing on May 20th for yourself, for your family, for your friends, for the world? What were you doing?
Many, many, many of God’s elect were going to God in prayer in a sincere and serious way like they had never done before. We approached Him like Esther. Many of us did not even know if we were elect. I remember meeting many people who were getting the Gospel out. They believed all of these things, but they just did not have that assurance. But many were approaching God for themselves and for their families. I know that parents were praying deeply for their children and for people whom they knew.
Then prayers were also being offered up for those in China and in India and in Africa. All over the world, people were praying for God’s elect. God’s elect all over the world were praying because we believed it. We knew that it was going to happen. We knew that Judgment Day was coming. We thought that the door to Heaven was shutting, and we were correct.
We were correct because that was May 21 and May 21 was the equivalent date to when the flood came and to when the door shut, and so God’s people were making intercession. We were pleading on behalf of the spiritual Jews in all of the kingdom, in all 127 provinces or in all of the world.
So God here is indicating that Esther, who I think typifies the believers, found favor in His sight. Then look at what He says in Esther 5:3:
Then said the king unto her, What wilt thou, queen Esther? and what is thy request? it shall be even given thee to the half of the kingdom.
This represents that the king will grant Esther’s request, but this does not mean that God granted our request for each individual whom we prayed for. They might not have been a Jew spiritually; but for every spiritual Jew whom we were praying for, God granted our request. He gave them deliverance and He spared them. We do not actually read about the request here but this is the request that we know about on the second day of the banquet, which was the fourth day or the 17th day of the 2nd month.
Let us look at Proverbs 10:24 in relation to our petition being brought to God. We read in Proverbs 10:24:
The fear of the wicked, it shall come upon him: but the desire of the righteous shall be granted.
Esther touched the tip of the king’s scepter. It was a righteous scepter. She was granted the righteousness of Christ.
We know that Jesus is the righteous One and that “by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.” All of God’s elect became righteous and “the desire of the righteous shall be granted.”
As we prayed according to the will of God for the salvation of individuals who happened to be God’s elect, God heard this. He granted it and He applied the Word to their hearts and redeemed them and they became born again.
Let us go back to Esther 5:6. It says:
And the king said unto Esther at the banquet of wine…
By the way, this is a “banquet of wine,” and the word “banquet” is also translated as “feast/feasted/feasting.” It is the same word that is used in Esther 1 a few times. For example, we read in Esther 1:3:
In the third year of his reign, he made a feast unto all his princes and his servants…
This word is used a couple more times in this passage in Esther 1. This is the same word that is used in Esther 5 that is translated as “banquet” and it is a “banquet of wine.”
Finally at the second banquet of wine, Haman is going to die. Keep in mind the king of Babylon in the book of Daniel and what happened to him at the end of 70 years. At the end of 70 years, what happened? The king saw the writing on the wall. He was drinking wine with a thousand of his lords and it says that the queen came into the banquet house. So that king was at a banquet of wine. Daniel interprets the writing; then later that same night, the king dies. The king of Babylon died at a banquet of wine at the end of 70 years, exactly as Haman will die at a banquet of wine on the 17th day of the 2nd month.
This leads me to think along the lines of God giving the cup of the wine of His wrath to Haman on that day, because it was Judgment Day. We will see this clearer as we go on; but May 21 was Judgment Day. This is confirmation, as we read this in Esther. No; it was not the rapture and it was not a great earthquake, but it was Judgment Day for Haman. It was Judgment Day for the enemies of God and it was the salvation of all of God’s elect.
Also, as Esther intercedes and the king does finally grant her request for the Jews on the 17th day of the 2nd month, all of the Jews in all of the provinces are delivered on the 17th day of the 2nd month without exception. There is not one Jew who had to be delivered later. All of the Jews were really saved by the action of the Holy Spirit interceding through Esther, who typifies the believers who brought the Gospel to the world. Each and every one of the Jews in all of the kingdom finds deliverance on that day. It was just a matter of actually working this out until the 12th month when that day would come, but that day itself was really when the intercession was made and the petition was granted.
Going back to Esther 5:6-8, we read:
And the king said unto Esther at the banquet of wine, What is thy petition? and it shall be granted thee: and what is thy request? even to the half of the kingdom it shall be performed. Then answered Esther, and said, My petition and my request is; If I have found favour in the sight of the king, and if it please the king to grant my petition, and to perform my request, let the king and Haman come to the banquet that I shall prepare for them, and I will do to morrow as the king hath said.
This is all we know about this first banquet. Why did Esther do this? Maybe she was fearful. Maybe she just wanted some early indicators that the king was favorable towards her. I do not know; but we do know that as a result of this, the next day will be the 17th day of the 2nd month, which is the equivalent date to May 21 that was Judgment Day.
Then it goes on to say in Esther 5:9-6:4:
Then went Haman forth that day joyful and with a glad heart: but when Haman saw Mordecai in the king's gate, that he stood not up, nor moved for him, he was full of indignation against Mordecai. Nevertheless Haman refrained himself: and when he came home, he sent and called for his friends, and Zeresh his wife. And Haman told them of the glory of his riches, and the multitude of his children, and all the things wherein the king had promoted him, and how he had advanced him above the princes and servants of the king. Haman said moreover, Yea, Esther the queen did let no man come in with the king unto the banquet that she had prepared but myself; and to morrow am I invited unto her also with the king. Yet all this availeth me nothing, so long as I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king's gate. Then said Zeresh his wife and all his friends unto him, Let a gallows be made of fifty cubits high, and to morrow speak thou unto the king that Mordecai may be hanged thereon: then go thou in merrily with the king unto the banquet. And the thing pleased Haman; and he caused the gallows to be made. On that night could not the king sleep, and he commanded to bring the book of records of the chronicles; and they were read before the king. And it was found written, that Mordecai had told of Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king's chamberlains, the keepers of the door, who sought to lay hand on the king Ahasuerus. And the king said, What honour and dignity hath been done to Mordecai for this? Then said the king's servants that ministered unto him, There is nothing done for him. And the king said, Who is in the court? Now Haman was come into the outward court of the king's house, to speak unto the king to hang Mordecai on the gallows that he had prepared for him.
A few people have been saying that Satan knows all about the end; but, surprisingly, Haman had no clue that he was about to die. He went in thinking, “I am going to talk to the king to have Mordecai, my arch enemy, put to death” and the king probably would have granted this. Earlier when Haman requested the death of all of the Jews, including Mordecai, the king sold them, “Sure; it sounds good.” And yet that night, coincidentally, the king could not sleep and so he has the record read of the account of the two doorkeepers, Bigthana and Teresh, who were rebels. They were put to death because Mordecai informed Esther of this and she certified this in his name to the king.
So here is Haman and it seems that he has no idea of what is about to happen. He has his plans, but they are completely thwarted and turned around. The next thing he knows, he is walking down the streets of Shushan parading Mordecai around on horseback and declaring, “Thus shall it be done unto the man whom the king delighteth to honour.” This was how Haman’s day began and it only got worse from there.
I think that we can safely say that we do not know all that Satan is aware of, but here, since Haman represents Satan, Satan seems to have some definite ideas about May 21 that did not go his way. God changed things on him and brought judgment upon him. I think that we can say this.
The other thing I want to make note of before I stop is that it was back in Esther 2 that Esther married the king in the 10th month of his 7th year. A little after that, probably in the 8th year, or it could have been the 9th year since there are no details of this, is when the two doorkeepers were found out.
So this happened a couple of years before this at least. It could have been the 8th year and this is now the 12th year. It could have been two, three, or four years earlier when the doorkeepers had made their plot against the king, but their death typifies the end of the church age and the beginning of the great tribulation. Then they are completely out of mind for a period of a few years. No mention is made of them until the king cannot sleep on the 17th day of the 2nd month. Then the account is read of the two doorkeepers who represent the church that came under the judgment of God, which we know was May 21, 1988.
Amazingly, it was May 21, 2011, spiritually, that was basically in view when the king was reminded about them and asks, “What honor and dignity has been done to Mordecai?” This was because Mordecai had revealed their plot. He revealed their unfaithfulness.
In other words, God found out the sins of the church and He brought judgment upon them. Then on May 21, 2011, which happened to be the end of the great tribulation and the last day of the judgment on the church, this is brought to Ahasuerus’ mind, or to God’s mind, that no honor or dignity had been done to Mordecai, or to the Lord Jesus Christ, for bringing judgment on the churches and congregations.
The reason that Haman is taking Mordecai around the city on horseback is to honor him for bringing judgment on the churches and that judgment is now up because it is May 21. It is a day of exaltation for Christ, and Satan who had taken his seat of authority in the church is now abased. He is brought down and deposed and he is the one, like a servant, who is leading Mordecai around on horseback.
So another interesting thing that matches May 21 is that the two doorkeepers are brought into remembrance on the morning of the 17th day of the 2nd month, and then the account will continue.
We will continue on. May 21 is going to be in focus until Esther 8. Then Esther 9 will get into Purim itself. But the rest of the book of Esther deals with Judgment Day and a little bit with the period thereafter that we are currently in.
I will stop here.