Benjamin Generation

Benjamin Generation

Joseph Prince

Contents

Chapter 1: The End-Time Generation Of Grace

Chapter 2: Why Grace?

Chapter 3: Grace Is A Person

Chapter 4: Get Ready For The End-Time Blessings!

Salvation Prayer

Contact Information

The Last Generation

We are living in prophetic times. In times like these, God is revealing prophetic truths that are going to be a great blessing for His church. You see, prophetic teaching has the ability to pass on what was spoken hundreds, even thousands, of years ago into the “here and now”. What was spoken of back then becomes relevant for us today.

One key prophetic truth that I believe God wants to make known to us is that before Jesus comes again for His people, the last generation will become known as the Benjamin Generation. In fact, the Lord spoke to me and said, “The Benjamin Generation is here.”

What marks the Benjamin Generation is

not God’s judgment but His grace.

Now, I’ve heard about the Joshua Generation, but I’ve never heard of the Benjamin Generation. So when God said that, I immediately remembered that Benjamin was the last son of Jacob. I began to realize what the Lord was saying — that the Benjamin Generation will be the last generation before Jesus comes again!

A Generation Of Grace

When I received this revelation, I began to study the life of Benjamin and I found that the Benjamin Generation is a generation of grace. Today, God wants His people to know that the end-time church is the Benjamin Generation. And what marks this generation is not God’s judgment, but His grace.

Grace is unmerited, unearned and undeserved favor In these end times, God wants to emphasize to His people that His blessings come by grace alone.

You will find that Benjamin’s life was a life of undeserved favor and blessing. When Joseph and Benjamin were reunited, the first words Joseph spoke to Benjamin were words of grace. When Joseph saw his youngest brother, he said, “God be gracious to you, my son.” (Genesis 43:29) Another important feature of Benjamin is that the number five is stamped all over his life. The number five speaks of God’s abundant provision through His grace. Though all the brothers ate at Joseph’s table, the Bible says that “Benjamin’s serving was five times as much”. (Genesis 43:34) Later, in Genesis 45:22, we see reference to this number again — “to Benjamin he [Joseph]gave… five changes of garments”.

Whenever the number five appears in the Bible, you will see God’s grace being manifested. The children of Israel offered five offerings. (Leviticus 1–7) David brought five smooth stones with him when he went to face Goliath. (1 Samuel 17:40) And Jesus multiplied five loaves to feed 5,000 people. (Mark 6:37–44) So we see that Benjamin symbolizes God’s grace.

Likewise, the last generation before Jesus returns is a generation of grace. And if grace is God’s unmerited, unearned favor, then we are the generation that will experience His undeserved favor, His grace.

Even the way in which Benjamin received his name shows us a picture of God’s grace. When he was born, his mother Rachel named him Ben-Oni, which means “son of my sorrow”. But his father Jacob intervened and changed his name to Benjamin, which means “son of my right hand”. (Genesis 35:18) We know that the right hand is the hand of favor, the hand which brings His help. The psalmist declared, “Your right hand upholds me.” (Psalm 63:8) Isn’t that beautiful? When we were born, our destiny was to be Ben-Onis, sons of sorrow. But because of what Jesus did on the cross, we are now Benjamins, sons of His right hand. Jesus took our place at the cross because Isaiah 53:3 tells us that He became a “Man of sorrows”. He did that so that we might become sons of His right hand, seated in the place of favor Ephesians 2:6 declares that God “raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus”. This is what marks us, the end-time church, as the Benjamin Generation.

Don’t be quick to believe prophecies

that strike fear in God’s people.

Gloom In The World, Glory In The Church
Some people are surprised to hear that God is going to bless the end-time church through His unmerited favor My friend, are you surprised? Some people are so conditioned to hearing doom-and-gloom preaching about the end times. They hear preachers tell them that in the end times, darkness will cover us all.

In fact, some years ago, I heard a “prophecy” that Singapore would fall into the hands of foreign powers and parts of Australia would literally slip under the sea. I stood against this “prophecy”

because people were photocopying and distributing all this bad news and calling it “prophecy”. Don’t be quick to believe such “prophecies” which strike fear in God’s people. God does not give prophecies to frighten His people.

Instead, the Apostle Paul said that “he who prophesies speaks edification and exhortation and comfort to men”. (1 Corinthians 14:3) Isn’t it just like God to use prophecies to edify, exhort and comfort His people rather than put fear in them? As for those “prophecies”, many years have come and gone, and none of them have come to pass.

If you are one of those who have been plagued by fear because of doom-and-gloom prophecies, I have good news, my friend. It is true that Isaiah 60:2

declares, “For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and deep darkness the people… ” But it does not stop there. The second part of that verse says, “But the Lord will arise over you, and His glory will be seen upon you.”

So although darkness will cover the people in the world, the Lord will arise over us, His people. He will pour His glory on us.

Protection And Provision For The

Benjamin Generation

It’s obvious that the world is getting darker and darker, but be encouraged that you are not of this world. You are a child of God. When the devil makes the world darker with terrorism, earthquakes, tsunamis, new strains of viruses and all kinds of evil things, the Word of God tells us to get ready because our light will be seen.

In other words, as the world gets darker, the church will be blessed more and more. The Bible says that the path of the righteous shines brighter and brighter until the perfect day when Christ returns. (Proverbs 4:18) And we are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus, so our path is getting brighter and brighter!

We have nothing but increasing light to look forward to. As the Benjamin Generation, we have only good in front of us. And those who believe this will experience it… even in the midst of darkness.

I have a Sri Lankan student in my church whose father was born again during one of our services in June 2004. His mother dedicated her life to Christ shortly after that. They live in Colombo, the capital city of Sri Lanka, and their hometown is very close to the sea. When the tsunami crashed on their shores on 26 December 2004, they were spared because the entire family had gone to visit an aunt who lived further inland.

After the killer wave had subsided, the family members made their way home to see what damage the tsunami had left behind. They discovered that the tsunami had stopped just three houses from their home! God didn’t just protect them, He also preserved all their possessions! Isn’t God good? The devil wanted that family to be Ben-Onis — sons of sorrow — but Jesus intervened for His Benjamins — sons of His right hand of favor
The more your eyes are opened to see Jesus in His

glory in the Old Testament, the more you will

understand the New Testament.

We are the Benjamin Generation. Like the Sri Lankan family, we can expect to be protected, preserved and prospering in these last days… all because of His unmerited, unearned, undeserved favor!

How Can We Spiritualize The Life Of Benjamin?

Some of you might say, “Pastor Prince, all this sounds very nice, but what gives you the right to spiritualize the life of Benjamin and say that it is a picture of the end-time church?” Well, we must understand that the New (Testament) is in the Old concealed and the Old (Testament) is in the New revealed.

Let me explain. The Old Testament is filled with hidden pictures of Jesus as well as new covenant truths. The King of glory appears in the Old Testament as types, symbols and shadows. And the more your eyes are opened to see Jesus in His glory in the Old Testament, the more you will understand the New Testament.

Paul Used Old Testament Types And Shadows To Teach New Testament Truths Let me explain further by showing you how the Apostle Paul used Old Testament types to teach New Testament truths.

Galatians 4:21–31

21Tell me, you who desire to be under the law, do you not hear the law? 22For it is written that Abraham had two sons: the one by a bondwoman, the other by a freewoman. 23But he who was of the bondwoman was born according to the flesh, and he of the freewoman through promise, 24which things are symbolic. For these are the two covenants: the one from Mount Sinai which gives birth to bondage, which is Hagar — 25for this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia, and corresponds to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children — 26but the Jerusalem above is free, which is the mother of us all.

27For it is written: “Rejoice, O barren, you who do not bear! Break forth and shout, you who are not in labour! For the desolate has many more children than she who has a husband.” 28Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are children of promise. 29But, as he who was born according to the flesh then persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, even so it is now. 30Nevertheless what does the Scripture say?

“Cast out the bondwoman and her son, for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman.” 31So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman but of the free.

Here, Paul said that these two women symbolize two mountains, which represent the two covenants.

Hagar represents the old covenant, which is the law or the Ten Commandments. And Sarah represents the new covenant, which is grace.

Now, the law is from Mount Sinai. And what does Paul say that the law or the Ten Commandments produces? Freedom? No, he says that the law produces bondage! On the other hand, grace is from the heavenly Jerusalem and grace brings freedom.

It was not Abraham but Sarah who could not produce children. And both of them tried to help God keep His promise to them that they would bear a son.

When Sarah gave her bondmaid Hagar to Abraham, Ishmael was born. Hagar, who represents the law, produced Ishmael who “was born according to the flesh”. (Galatians 4:23)

If you want to inherit the promises of God,

don’t trust in your human performance.

Instead, look to His promises.

Can you see from this passage what the flesh represents? The flesh represents self-effort or human strength. Ishmael was born according to the flesh. In other words, he was born out of human effort. Now, note what Paul said about human effort — “… those who are in the flesh cannot please God.” (Romans 8:8) What Paul means is that God is not pleased when we trust in our human strength.

Sarah, on the other hand, gave birth to Isaac, not through the flesh, not through human effort, but through the Spirit. By that time, Abraham was very old and his body was as good as dead. And Sarah, who was barren, had become doubly barren. No amount of human effort could have produced a child for Abraham and Sarah. It was in that moment when no amount of self-effort or human strength could achieve results that Isaac was born. He was born through the Spirit, through God’s promise. It pleases God when we trust in His promises.

If you want to inherit the promises of God, don’t play around with the law, don’t trust in your human performance. Instead, look to His promises. Under grace, the barren can rejoice for the desolate will have many more children than she who has a husband. (Galatians 4:27) That’s why Paul concluded in Galatians 4:30 that we are to cast out the bondwoman. What does he mean?