Super Bowls and symbolism…

Perhaps to understand the implications of Super Bowl 51, it helps to understand symbolism and how God chooses to employ it on occasion.  Symbolism is rarely a tit for tat (i.e. this one thing is this other thing), instead it is usually a generality.  For instance, God told Hosea to marry a harlot, (a prostitute), and to have children with her.  This, God said, represented Israel forsaking God for idols.  Hosea was to marry Gomer, a prostitute, which is strangely parallel to Israel (the nation) forsaking its monotheism of worshiping God, and replacing it with idolatry, (i.e. worshiping the gods of other nations).

There are other clues in this picture.  For instance, Hosea’s name actually means “to be open, wide or free” (Strong’s).  This, in a general sense, could depict Israel’s freedom as a nation up to this point.  Gomer’s name actually means “to end, as in the sense of completion or failure” (ibid).  Strangely, this too in a general sense could depict Israel’s freedom as a nation was coming to an end after a great failure of marrying foreign gods.  (By marrying, I mean joining in intimate relationship.  Israel was considered “married” to God, which is why God later “divorces” her, which is another message.  But realize when you’re married, you’re known by your husband’s name.  Israel was married to God originally, and was known to belong to God.  When Israel started fornicating with other gods by worshiping the other nations’ gods, Israel was found by God to be unfaithful.)

But the point is, God used a prophet to depict a symbol or analogy of what was going on in the nation at the time.  To further His point, God required Hosea to name his children from Gomer specific names to depict the state or upcoming state of the nation of Israel.  Hosea was to name the first child “Jezreel” to deal with a sin of Jehu against Jezreel. He also foretold He would be ending Israel’s kingdom soon.  Then Hosea and Gomer had “Lo-ruhamah”, which was to symbolize God’s determination to no longer show compassion and forgiveness toward Israel.  And then they had “Lo-ammi” because God was no longer considering Israel His people.

[This is far from the only time God used symbolism and allegories.  Think of how Ezekiel was to lie on his side to represent the iniquity of Israel (Ezek. 4); his wife was taken from him as a sign (Ezek. 24); he was to put on traveling clothes and dig a hole in the wall as a sign(Ezek. 12).  Recall that Christ spoke in parables to depict scenarios.  The parables were not literal, but they served as symbols for things He was illustrating.]

Considering God has spoken to His people with signs throughout recorded history, and Christ is “the same yesterday, today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8), God very well may still speak to His people with signs, allegories and parables.  What does this have to do with the Super Bowl?

I had not given signs and Super Bowls any thought before 2009.  I’m a pretty avid NFL fan, and Sundays in our household found the TV (which was rarely on any other time) on all day.  I was doing chores as I wandered past the TV and paused to see who was playing.  The Saints were playing and it was the first half of the season.  I don’t follow New Orleans so this didn’t matter much to me, except God spoke to me just then.  And He said, “Watch the Saints.  Watch what I’m going to do with the Church this year.  I’m going to demonstrate it through the Saints.  They will win the Super Bowl as a sign that the Church is at a turning point in this nation.”

It’s important to understand the New Orleans Saints were a losing team, generally speaking.  Since their inception in 1967, they didn’t find their first winning season for two more decades.  Overall, they have twenty-five losing seasons to their eight winning seasons.  (seven seasons of an even win/loss record)  It was an unlikely scenario that unfolded with the season.  They went on to have their best season of their history and to win the Super Bowl.  (I, in fact, made a public statement two weeks before the Super Bowl to say that the Saints were going to win, based on what God had shown me.)

From that point on, I began to listen for God’s heart during the NFL season and other national events.  He seemed to use national “entertainment” or sporting events to demonstrate what He was doing in areas that were not sports or entertainment.  I knew that the Ravens and 49ers were going to go to the Super Bowl in 2013 because God told me about half-way through the season.  He said they would represent brother against brother, and the inference was that it was a time of choice for God’s people.  Christians were going to face increased conflicts with their own family members based on their allegiance to Christ.  I did not know who was going to win for awhile, until the Lord showed me the difference between the brothers.  John means “God is gracious” while James (Jim) means “supplanter” (“to take the place of something else by force or plotting” – Webster’s).

I haven’t known or understood all the Super Bowls since 2009.  Sometimes I don’t get anything.  Sometimes I don’t get it until after, (like when the Seahawks won in 2014, God simply told me:  “look who gives Me the glory”).  Sometimes He shows me stuff before or during.  Which leads to the current Super Bowl…

There is a lot of outcry about the Patriots dominating the playoffs and Super Bowls, but what I kept getting was they were symbolizing the true patriots of America.  By that I mean those who adhere to the Constitution and the spirit in which America was originally founded.

Since 9/11/01, the Patriots have been to the Super Bowl seven times.  I picked that date because it was the time of the misnomer: the Patriot Act.  (a grossly unconstitutional act)  It took me awhile to start catching on to the battle raging for control of the United States through the various entities, but once I started learning, I discovered there was way more going on than meets the eye.

So in the last fifteen years, the Patriots have gone to the Super Bowl seven times.  Let that sink in.  Is it possible the Lord could be speaking through this?  In comparison during that span, there are eleven individual teams that have gone ONE time, four teams that have gone TWO times, and two teams that have gone THREE times.  I’m not a mathematician, but out of 32 total teams, for one team to dominate in the last 15 years, the odds are, well, I’m not a mathematician…

Now look at the teams they beat in the Super Bowl:  Rams, Panthers, Eagles, Seahawks and Falcons.  And look at the team they lost against, twice:  Giants.

A “giant” to a Christian would represent the enemy of God.  (Think David and Goliath, the Israelites and Rephaim, etc.)  Giants usually represent the works of darkness contending with the purposes of God.  Now, look at what years the Patriots lost to the Giants:  2008 and 2012.  (That would be election years, and those elections would be when Obama won.)  I’m not saying this is a “thus sayeth the Lord”; I’m just saying the parallels are a little startling.

God didn’t tell me who was going to the Super Bowl this year.  I asked, but He didn’t tell me.  He just told me to pay attention to what happens.  I speculated the Cowboys would go, as “America’s team”, considering Trump’s election.  When they got knocked out, I sat back and watched.  Pay attention to the words that were used to describe this game and one recurring word I heard was “historical”.  Remember that it was the game that broke a number of records:  first team to overcome a deficit larger than ten points, first game to go into overtime, first coach to win five Super Bowls, first quarterback to win five Super Bowls.

And then I looked at some small details, like this:

  • Twelve is the number of divine government. (Brady’s #)
  • Patriots represent the citizens of a nation that uphold and pledge allegiance to the nation’s identity.  (think Constitution, original founding, spirit of intent, etc.)
  • Two is the number of division or separation*. (Ryan’s #)                                                              *(It also means witness or testimony.)
  • A falcon is a hawk that is trained to sport, and “falcon” is given to the female alone. The male hawk trained to sport is considered smaller, weaker, and less courageous and is called a tircelet or tarsel.  (from the 1828 first edition Webster dictionary)  So a falcon is a stalker or predator of female origin.

Again, this isn’t a “word from God” and I’m not saying God has told me this.  I am saying I have learned to watch and see how things unfold as God orders them.  Is it coincidental that the Patriots played the Falcons at a time our nation is divided (#2)?  Is it a coincidence that a falcon is a female hawk trained to sport and operating as a stalker or predator at the same time Hillary lost an election to a man who wants to give the people the power back (another Constitutional principle)?

Could we simplify it to say our nation is engaged in a battle between patriots in support of the Constitution and upholding the Constitutional Law of the land which preserves freedom, and predators seeking to destroy our freedoms, finances, and security?  That it is God’s government in battle against a divisive spirit?  (#12 vs. #2)

If God could possibly be speaking through any of this, what might we be able to learn?  If we base it loosely and look at it generally speaking, maybe we could observe that God has given the upper hand to the true Patriots for this season, and that the adversity is a predator (consider 1 Peter 5:8).  The first part of the battle had a stalemate, but the second quarter brought the predator ahead significantly (21-3).  The third quarter saw a modest attempt by the Patriots to regain ground while the predator gained some as well 28-9, while the last quarter saw a surge in Patriot ground gained, leveling the battle ground (28-28), and catapulting further battle in overtime.  The Patriots gained the victory in a historical relentless drive and historical conclusion.

Translation:  We should be encouraged.  We, the People, the patriots of the Constitution and the nation it serves, should be relentless and never give up in our advancement of righteousness in our nation.  The battle will look like we’re losing for awhile, but if we are relentless, we will come back.  Then the battle will be extended for a brief time and if we remain relentless and focused, we will get the victory.

At least that’s my take on Super Bowl LI.

 

 

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