Part 41 - Rango - Form a Possum!

Continuing from the previous post, it will be seen in the day of the Bride theft that those left behind will receive it as a sign. I know, that would seem OBVIOUS, right? Those who had formerly refused to lay down their lives, a great multitude in number will be confronted with the undeniable difference between them and those who had just been stolen away out of their house by the Bridegroom. Finding themselves immediately in what is called great tribulation, sacrifice is the order of the day, and willing self-sacrifice is preferred.

For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.

Matthew 16:25

This observation is expressed in the animated feature Rango by a “church” lady in the congregation at the Bank of Dirt as she wails, “We're all going to die!” Well, yeah, that's pretty much the way will be. Many of those with robes that were soiled (as Soiled Doves, remember?) will understand that they must be washed in the blood of the Lamb. I believe some number will be alive and changed when Shavuot's wheat harvest rolls around less than 2 months later, but even those will have died, to self, because no one keeps the life that is of real value by wishing to save their physical life. This life we have to give, you see, is as currency that may be used to purchase the life of real value and substance.

The church lady's observation is echoed shortly thereafter when Rango spouts off with another comically non sequitur remark.

Mayor John: My friends! We all know what we have to do now!
Sheriff Rango: That's right! We all know what we have to do now. And that would be?
Mayor John whispers to Rango.
Sheriff Rango: Form a possum!

Rango strikes a pose and freezes. Humor. What he should have said was “posse,” obviously. Yet, think about what's suggested by the forming of a possum and Rango's little acting cue. The famous behavior peculiar to a possum is that they involuntarily enter a death-like state.

When threatened or harmed, they will "play possum", mimicking the appearance and smell of a sick or dead animal. This physiological response is involuntary (like fainting), rather than a conscious act. In the case of baby opossums, however, the brain does not always react this way at the appropriate moment, and therefore they often fail to "play dead" when threatened. When "playing possum", the animal's lips are drawn back, the teeth are bared, saliva foams around the mouth, the eyes close or half-close, and a foul-smelling fluid is secreted from the anal glands. Their stiff, curled form can be prodded, turned over, and even carried away without reaction. The animal will typically regain consciousness after a period of between 40 minutes and 4 hours, a process which begins with slight twitchings of the ears.

Opossum - Wikipedia

“We all know what we have to do now. ” Indeed! The season of striving to save this temporal flesh life will cease for what will amount to a great multitude of saints, although, sadly, some Christians will even then fail to yield what is due their Master, who gave His life for them.

Following the scene at the bank, Rango gets a posse together to go after the thieves and recover the water. He makes sure they're armed and know how to handle a weapon, and we see him assemble an impressive band of warriors. To understand the posse scenario we look to the 6th chapter of the Song of Solomon, a passage I introduced at the conclusion of the previous post.

9 But my dove, my perfect one, is unique: She is her mother’s only daughter; she is the pure child of the one who bore her. The maidens saw her and called her blessed, the queens and the concubines also, and they praised her, saying,
10 ‘Who is this that grows like the dawn, as beautiful as the full moon, as pure as the sun, as awesome as an army with banners?’
11 “I went down to the orchard of nut trees to see the blossoms of the valley, to see whether the vine had budded or the pomegranates had bloomed.
12 “Before I was aware, my soul set me over the chariots of my noble people.”
13 “Come back, come back, O Shulammite; Come back, come back, that we may gaze at you!” “Why should you gaze at the Shulammite, as at the dance of the two companies?

Song of Solomon 6:9-13 NASB

This awesome passage is about the Bridegroom and His Bride in the season of her readiness for being taken. She is that Shulammite, the dove. When, in verse 13, we read pleas for the return of the Shulammite, the dynamic behind Rango's posse is in view. When the church left behind (sleeping virgins) fully awakens to the meaning of what just occurred, it will be perceived as a crime of great deprivation. Many will desperately want her back. So it is that Sheriff Rango, in the position of responsibility, forms a posse.

This passage is so beautiful and exciting! The moon is a symbol of the Bride, that celestial body that stands out from all others in the sky as second only to the sun in glory. It has no light of its own but reflects the glory of the sun. It's a exquisite symbol! The Bride is seen in verse 10 to grow like the dawn, increasingly bright with the light of the sun, her Bridegroom.

The Bride is also seen as an army with banners. She is fit for battle, with banners that suggest she is warring according to the resources of and for the glory and honor of her King, subject to His command.

Verses 11 and 12 speak of the interaction between the Bride and the 144,000 sons of Israel, who have a key relationship, about which I've been thrilled to write much in the body of work titled Beyond the Veil. When the numbered sons of Israel come to the threshold of "acceptance" referenced in Romans (“For if their rejection is the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead?” - Romans 11:15), they will have attained what state is described in verse 11 above. The Bride and the 144,000 sons of Israel are the two companies of verse 13, gone to meet together with Y'shua as revealed in the dramatic vignette with Joseph in Egypt (Genesis 45). I get so excited about this engagement that I always rejoice to see it even as it's cryptically embedded in the adversary's bean spilling media!

Verse 12 is a peculiar verse, with widely variant renderings being produced by its translators. I don't know how to bring forward the best translation, but I feel confident enough in my understanding of what's pictured to assert that the angelic escort of the Bride to the Bridegroom's Father's house is in view.

• “Before I realized it, my strong desires had taken me to the chariot of a noble man.” NLT
• “There I will give thee my breasts: my soul knew [it] not: it made me as the chariots of Aminadab.” LXX-Brenton
• “Before I was aware, my desire set me among the chariots of my kinsman, a prince.” ESV

The word for “chariots” is “merkabah” in Hebrew. The same word is used in the following verses.

And for the altar of incense refined gold by weight; and gold for the pattern of the chariot of the cherubims, that spread out their wings, and covered the ark of the covenant of the LORD.

1 Chronicles 28:18

The wings and whirlwind are esoteric references to inter-dimensional transport, which I really hope to cover at some length in future posts to this blog.

For, behold, the LORD will come with fire, and with his chariots like a whirlwind, to render his anger with fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire.

Isaiah 66:15

Behold, he [the Lord God] shall come up as clouds, and his chariots shall be as a whirlwind: his horses are swifter than eagles. Woe unto us! for we are spoiled.

Jeremiah 4:13

I think the trip is the reason why Rango initially sets out with the posse on a wild ride with no destination in mind. "We ride!" Hilarious, sure, but with Rango I have to think by now that there's ever a more substantial reason behind everything that's done and said.

As I begin to wrap up this post, I really want to explore Song of Solomon 6:13 a little further, which supports that scenario as presented. The following is the rendering from the KJV.

Return, return, O Shulamite; return, return, that we may look upon thee. What will ye see in the Shulamite? As it were the company of two armies.

Song of Solomon 6:13 KJV

The Bride and the 144k sons of Israel are as two “machaneh” in the Hebrew, camps or encampments, as those of armed hosts. This matches to another pair of Bride Theft scenarios as one more independent witness of when those involved are grouped into sets or ranks of 50, as in martial array.

and God turneth round the people the way of the wilderness of the Red Sea, and by fifties have the sons of Israel gone up from the land of Egypt.

Exodus 13:18 (YLT)

As he's beginning to form the posse, Rango annunciates this very distinctly, “Now, we're gonna be doing this in an orderly fashion.” Now you know why!

Verse 18 has been translated in a wide variety of ways. Most translators present the array as a battle formation.

• "And the Israelites went up marshaled [in ranks] out of the land of Egypt." (AMP)
• "and the sons of Israel went up in martial array from the land of Egypt." (NASB)
• "And the Israelites left the land of Egypt in battle formation." (HCSB)
• "The Israelites left Egypt, prepared for battle." (CEV)
• "The Israelites went up out of Egypt armed for battle" (NIV)
• "and the children of Israel went up armed out of the land of Egypt." (ASV)
• "Thus the Israelites left Egypt like an army ready for battle." (NLT)
• "and the children of Israel went arrayed out of the land of Egypt." (DARBY)
• "And the children of Israel went up in orderly ranks out of the land of Egypt. " (NKJV)
• "the children of Israel went up harnessed out of the land of Egypt" (KJV)
• "and the children of Israel went up by five in a rank out of the land of Egypt." (KJ21)

Those who crossed over model the Bride, the Shulamite, an army and sister to the counterpart of Israel. The two companies or camps of Song of Solomon 6:13 are prophetic types of the Bride and 144,000 sons of Israel. Their revelation is not far distant!

The last observation I want make involves another insight Rango offers into the 144k sons of Israel. When the theft of the water reserve from the Bank of Dirt is reported by the teller, that character is never shown with any clarity. I tried hard to capture a crisp screen shot from that scene when he was reporting the crime but there were none to be had. I thought it was really odd. I knew it was done on purpose and that the Lord had me going through the exercise for some good reason. I had to discover why.

I believe the reason is this, because the “focus” at that time, the focus of attention is no longer going to be on the church. While the Bride was there, she was the “valuable” of the Lord's house. Major focus. When she's gone, the focus of attention shifts back off the church to Israel. Romans 11. I've covered this at length in Beyond the Veil. The teller, the left behind church, they aren't going to pick up where the Bride left off. They missed being accounted worthy as Y'shua's Bride, squandering their opportunity - their time has passed. The devil knows how this works, so Dirt's bank teller is indistinct and graphically out of focus. What now is done in the relay race is accomplished by those who have picked up the baton, so to speak. That's not the Soiled Doves. When we later see the teller in the bank vault he's picking up the prospecting permit, and it is then that the reason why he wasn't stolen away sinks in. My friend, let's not be that guy.