The subject of this writing has the purpose of bringing a new understanding
to a portion of scripture which has been
misinterpreted and completely corrupted. My reference is to the twelfth chapter
of the Book of Revelation. This falls
within the context of end time prophecy and it has a connection to a four part
series in which I am seeking to cover the subject of resurrection in much
detail. We began with Daniel’s prophecy of the ‘seventy weeks’ with the purpose
of proving that the prophecy has been completely fulfilled and has no
application to the teaching that the final week occurs at the end of the age.
This foundation had to be laid for the purpose of proving that there is no
pretribulational rapture of the church as is held by those who endorse
dispensational theology. The second blog was a detailed account establishing
that the resurrection occurs after
the tribulation and there is no pretribulational rapture of the entire body of
the church. The text of I Thessalonians
4:13-17 was explained to be the description of that resurrection event when compared with other
scripture and not a description of the
so-called rapture. This leads us to our current topic.
The
text in chapter twelve of Revelation describes a great wonder seen in heaven
consisting of a woman clothed with the sun and the moon under her feet and on
her head a crown of twelve stars. This of course is a metaphor which needs to
be understood. Where then does the metaphor come from and how do we interpret
it? The metaphor is drawn from Joseph’s dream recited from Genesis 37:9-10.
From that text we can discern that the sun, moon and stars represent the whole
household of God as it existed at that time and is represented by the family
of Jacob (Israel). So by application of the Revelation text we can see that the
woman along with her offspring represent metaphorically all of God’s people,
i.e. the church. We further see that the woman is with child and is in travail
ready to give birth. Then the text reveals to us the dragon (Satan) is operatung through his
instrumentality the beast having seven heads and ten horns. This entity is
more thoroughly described in Revelation 13:1-2 and we glean from other scriptures as detailed in Daniel 7:7 & f that this beast in both texts is one and the
same and represents the final worldwide kingdom under the control of Satan at
the end of the age. In modern vernacular that is the “New World Order” which
will prevail universally at the end of this age. Then we see in verse four that
the woman is in travail and ready to give birth. The dragon seeks to devour her
offspring as soon as it is born. In verse five of the text we read that she “brings forth a man child which is to rule
all nations with a rod of iron: and her child is caught up to God and to his
throne.” We now need to know how to interpret
the text up to this point.
The
woman who is clothed in the metaphor is the entire church living on the earth
at the end of the age. She is in the travail
of birth for within her resides a people who have been perfected and purified
by the workings of the Holy Spirit in them. Through their faithful responses to
Christ he has been thoroughly formed in their hearts. We do not know their
number. We only know that Christ has been formed in them through their enduring
faith. Thus, this remnant out from the
church as a whole is “caught up (to
snatch or seize violently, to take away by force-Strong’s Concor.) to God and to the throne.” The
preparatory text for understanding this phenomenon is found at Rev. 11:1-2 in
the measuring of the temple (the house of God, i.e. the church) finding those
who are worshiping in truth therein in
contrast to the court without which is given
unto the Gentiles to be trodden under foot forty and two months. This divides
the people of God into two spiritual conditions and prepares our understanding
as to why a remnant (the man child) is caught to the throne. Then we see in
verse seven that the woman (the church) ‘fled
into the wilderness’ finding a place which God has provided to sustain her
for a thousand two hundred and three score days (the period of the duration of
the tribulation).
This
catching up of the man child precipitates warfare in the heavenly realm.
The Lord has procured the spiritual ground through the
man child to evict Satan from any access to the heavenly realm which he has
retained continuously since the fall of man. “… the dragon fought and his
angels, and prevailed not; neither was there place found any more in
heaven…..he was cast out of heaven, and his angels were cast out with him.”
(portions of verses 7, 8, and 9). “And I
heard a loud voice. Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our
God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down,
which accused them before our God day and night. And they overcame hum by the
blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony: and they loved not their
lives unto the death.” (Rev. 12:10-11).
We then see the devil as cast down to the earth having great wrath for
he knows he has but a short time. “And
the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of
her seed (the church remaining on the earth during the tribulation), which keep the commandments of God and
have the testimony of Jesus Christ.”(Rev.12:17).
The
purpose of this series of blogs is again to clarify and explain the extreme
confusion in the church on the subject of resurrection and in the case of the
‘man child’ a translation (catching up of living and faithful saints into the
heavenly kingdom) prior to the three and one-half year tribulation.
A
fourth presentment will be made soon to finalize and summarize this study on
the subject of resurrection. You would profit to read them all as well as
chapter twelve. It is recognized by the writer that this account of the text is
entirely new to almost everyone who will read it. Obtain my book These Prophets and the Revelation for
an entire exegesis of end time prophecy.
David Lance
Dean website:
authordavidlancedean.com
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