Proof of God #81 Revelation 12 12-17 The Dragon Interpreting the Bible 12. Therefore rejoice, you heavens, and you that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has but a short time. John is predicting that once the church has been cleansed then sanctifying the rest of the world will be the goal of God. It made sense to John that since the church was the “house of God,” that naturally, the church would be cleansed of evil before the rest of the world. That hasn’t happened yet, and only God knows, how close God is, to achieving that goal. 13. And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man child. The “dragon” or the devil, is still persecuting God’s church, we see that as time goes by, as pastors and priests fail to live up to their commitment to God. It is interesting to notice how accurate the prophecy has been about the problems that the “church” has had to face, and is currently facing, again proving the existence of God and His ability to predict the future and bring it about. 14. And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent. This is a parable of the “church” flying off into the wilderness, which would reference the great movement of the early church fathers to separate themselves from the world by living in caves or Abbeys in the wilderness. The “church” has done its greatest works in the “wilderness” where the “church’s” missionaries began the process of Justification of people who did not know God or Jesus. It has been most nourished by the converts among former pagans. The time, times, and a half time, represents 3,500 years, and this period will end sometime around 3600 AD. 3600 AD or any year close to it has no attachment to the “Rapture” nor the “End of the World” as it has come into the common understanding. It may represent an “end of the World” as the world is pictured as being self centered and greedy. That is still 1600 years in the future and I would hold a position that such a date is good estimate of when society at large might be fully sanctified, however, John is just giving that date just as a time for full sanctification for the church. The “world” could still be thousands of years in the future to get through before being fully sanctified, apparently. 15. And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood. The “flood” is a parable for the extremist Muslim faith. It appears that in some places the Muslim faith appears to be washing away the Christian faith. 16. And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth. So much for the extremist, the earth will eventually swallow them up, because they cannot fit into the Kingdom of God with those extremist beliefs. The “extremists” are obviously straight out of the dragon’s mouth. 17. And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. There is not much more to add to that, except that it should say “those who follow the dragon,” because the dragon works for God, to try and test those who seek the Kingdom, in order to find their “desire to sin” and to destroy it. Those who “follow the dragon” will also, along the way, be converted and escape the dragon. Tomorrow, Revelation 13. Gary Sechler With knowledge on loan from God
Posted on: Tue, 05 Nov 2013 12:55:19 +0000