Juneteenth (June 19th) commemorates General Order No. 3, which announced that all enslaved people in Texas were free. This came two years after Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation (January 1, 1863). Texas was the last major Confederate territory to receive the news, and the day became the oldest known celebration of the end of slavery in the United States.

In the Presidents Code, Lincoln’s presidency and the Civil War portray the time of the patriarch Abraham—the covenant God cut with him, the promise that he would be the father of a multitude, and the coming of the Promised Seed who would defeat the adversary. The Emancipation Proclamation and the 13th Amendment (which took effect under Andrew Johnson, who pictures Isaac) point to the Promised Seed of Abraham, through whom slavery to sin would end.

Although the slaves were proclaimed free, prejudice continued for another century. This parallels the four hundred years of affliction spoken to Abraham (Genesis 15:13) before the Exodus. The fuller realization of freedom in the Civil Rights era corresponds to the presidencies of Truman and Eisenhower, which picture the days of Moses.

The Battle Hymn of the Republic (“Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord”) became a rallying cry of the Union and was later echoed by Martin Luther King. Lincoln and Kennedy are linked in the code through their assassinations, which point to the death of Christ, the Promised Seed. The reunification of North and South portrays the reunification of the two houses of Israel and the laughter (Isaac) of redemption.

During Lincoln’s presidency the nation was re-dedicated to faith in God (the motto “In God We Trust” began appearing on currency), and Lincoln spoke of a “new birth of freedom.” In the natural realm this freedom from slavery is a shadow of the greater freedom from sin that comes through Christ, the Promised Seed of Abraham, who reconciles all things to God through the blood of His cross.

Juneteenth (June 19th) is a federal holiday in the United States celebrating General Order No. 3, announcing that all enslaved people in Texas were free. This came two years after Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation (1/1/1863). Texas was the last major Confederate territory to receive the news of the end of the Civil War. The day became known as Juneteenth and is considered the oldest known celebration of the end of slavery in the United States.

In the Presidents Code, Abraham Lincoln’s Presidency and the Civil War portrays (in parable) the time period of the Patriarch Abraham. The Presidents Code is a parable based upon the name meanings of the U.S. Presidents. Amazingly, their name meanings tell the story of the Biblical text, from the beginning of creation unto the days of Christ.

Lincoln’s Presidency portrays the time period after the dividing of the nations and the covenant that God cut with Abraham. Abraham was promised to be the father of a multitude and in whom would come the Promised Seed, the Seed of the woman who would defeat the adversary of mankind (Genesis 3:16; Galatians 3:16, 26-29; Romans 4:13; Psalm 105:42; Luke 1:72-75; 1 John 2:25; Acts 13:32).

Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863 which led to the 13th Amendment being passed in December of 1865 which proclaimed all slaves in the United States as freemen. The Proclamation was signed by Lincoln but the Amendment did not go into effect until the Presidency of Andrew Johnson, who pictures Isaac, the promised seed (Romans 9:7-9). This is ultimately pointing to THE Promised Seed of Abraham, through whom slavery to sin would end. Isaac was a picture of this Promised Seed (Galatians 3:16; 4:28; Romans 9:9)

While slavery officially ended with the Emancipation Proclamation, prejudice and persecution against blacks did not end for another 100 years. In Genesis 15, God cut a covenant with Abraham in which He spoke to him and told him that his descendants would be strangers in a foreign land and be afflicted for four hundred years (Genesis 15:13). On the self same day, at the time appointed, Israel was delivered from bondage (Exodus 12:41).

We see a parallel in American history. Although the slaves were proclaimed as freemen, the true fulfillment of this was not seen until the Civil Rights movement which began in the 1950s. This is the time period of Harry Truman and Dwight Eisenhower whose Presidencies picture the days of Moses and the Exodus of Israel from Egypt.

This parallel is further seen in the words of the Battle Hymn of the Republic. The Battle Hymn of the Republic was written during the days of the Civil War and became the ‘anthem’ of the war and rallying cry for the North. The song gave the Union the sense that they were fighting for the Lord.

“In the beauty of the lilies Christ was born across the sea,
With a glory in His bosom that transfigures you and me:
As He died to make men holy, let us die to make men free,
While God is marching on.”

The first verse of the song declares ‘Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord.’ These were the last words of Martin Luther King’s last public speech. This speech was a picture of Moses’ last days looking into the land of Canaan as Israel prepared to enter the land (Deuteronomy 32:49; 34:1-4). This is discussed in more detail in the Presidency of John F. Kennedy.

Here in this song we see the promise to Abraham pictured by the days of the Abraham Lincoln (Genesis 12:7; 13:15; 15:13-21), and the future fulfillment which would not come until a later time, pictured during the days of Martin Luther King in the Presidency of John F. Kennedy (Joshua 23:14, 43-45) . Is it any surprise then that these two Presidents are inextricably linked through their assassinations? In the code, assassinations point to the death of Christ, the Promised Seed of Abraham (Galatians 3:16).

Interestingly, the Battle Hymn of the Republic was originally known as ‘Canaan’s Happy Land.’ This points to the redemption which would come to Canaan land through the death of Christ (Daniel 9:24). At this point in the Biblical narrative we see Abraham entering this “happy land” (Genesis 11:31; 12:1).

During Lincoln’s Presidency, the North and South was re-united. This portrays the re-unification of the two houses of Israel and the end of their exile foreshadowed in the birth of Abraham’s son, Isaac. The name Isaac comes from the Hebrew word צחק ‘tsachaq’ which means laughter (Genesis 21:6). This word is linked to the redemption of Israel (Psalm 126:1-2).

Psalm 126:1 A Song of degrees. When the LORD turned again the captivity of Zion, we were like them that dream.
Psalm 126:2 Then was our mouth filled with laughter {צחק ‘tsachaq’}, and our tongue with singing: then said they among the heathen, The LORD hath done great things for them.

Through the Patriarch Abraham, God called the nations of the world to return to Him after the rebellion of the Tower of Babel and Nimrod. God has used Abraham and his seed for this purpose ever since, although his children have not always been faithful to this call (Isaiah 26:17-8). It is through THE Promised Seed that reconciliation between God and man has come to pass (Daniel 9:24; 2 Corinthians 5:18-21; Hebrews 2:17; Revelation 5:9; Romans 5:1).

Romans 5:1 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:
Ephesians 2:14 For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us;
Colossians 1:20 And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.

This message of freedom from sin is seen in the natural realm in the United States, a country founded upon the Biblical principle that all men are created equal and given unalienable rights from their Creator. However, the Founders who penned these words were not fully faithful to them, allowing slavery to persist through the first 87 years of this country.

Portrait of President Abraham Lincoln sitting at a desk, February 24, 1861. (Photo by Fotosearch/Getty Images).

It was during Lincoln’s Presidency that slavery ended, just as slavery to sin ended through Christ, the Promised Seed of Abraham (Romans 5:21; 6:11, 23; 8:2). Mankind was restored to God, so too in the natural, it was during the days of Lincoln’s Presidency that slavery was ended and the country was re-dedicated to faith in God. During Lincoln’s Presidency, the motto ‘In God We Trust’ began being inscribed on U.S. currency. It is through Abraham’s trust in God that he was made righteous (Genesis 15:6; Romans 4:3-25; Hebrews 11:8; Galatians 3:6-14; Hebrews 11:8; James 2:23), a picture of righteousness coming through faith in Christ (Romans 4:23-25).

Lincoln embodied this re-dedication in his words at Gettysburg:
“That this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom — and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”

For more on the Abraham Lincoln parable see:

President Abraham Lincoln

Daily Tidbits 1/16/12 – Martin Luther King Jr.

Daily Tidbits 1/20/12 – A House Divided Cannot Stand

Daily Tidbits 2/12 – Abraham Lincoln

Daily Tidbits 1/12/12 – Freedom

Freedom & Bondage