Obadiah’s Mysterious Vision – Part 3 of 4

n Saturday, August 10, 2013 by Bill Salus

This 4-part study comes from the Chapter called Obadiah’s Mysterious Vision in my book called Psalm 83 – The Missing Prophecy Revealed, How Israel Becomes the Next Mideast Superpower.

It is my sincere belief that achieving a rich understanding of Obadiah’s vision requires a basic understanding of the Psalm 83 prophecy. My book, which is available for purchase at this link, is a compilation of over 11-years of research on the subject of the Psalm 83 concluding Arab-Israeli war. For information about the Psalm 83 book click here.

Onward with Obadiah’s Vision – Part 3 This study looks at Obadiah 1:8-14 (all footnotes are included in the Psalm 83 book).

“Will I not in that day,” says the LORD, “Even destroy the wise men from Edom, And understanding from the mountains of Esau? Then your mighty men, O Teman, shall be dismayed, To the end that everyone from the mountains of Esau May be cut off by slaughter.” (Obad. 1:8–9, NKJV; emphasis added)

Obadiah has previously stated the severity of the judgment in verse (Obad. 1:5–6) to befall Edom, and in (Obad. 1:8–9) he extends the scope even further to include the destruction of the “wise” and the “mighty men.” These mighty men “shall be dismayed” because of the slaughter that will be inflicted upon them by the exceedingly great army of Israel.

For violence against your brother Jacob, Shame shall cover you, And you shall be cut off forever. (Obad. 1:10, NKJV; emphasis added).

The reason for the slaughter is “For violence against your brother Jacob.” As stated previously this behavior provokes upon the persecutor of the Jews the curse-for-curse-in-kind clause of the Abrahamic Covenant as prescribed in Genesis 12:3. Obadiah continues in verses 11 through 14 below to outline and identify the historical crimes, whereby Esau’s descendants, the Edomites committed “violence against Jacob.” Their criminal rap sheet spans the scope of time from the Exodus to the present.

In the day that you stood on the other side. (Obad. 1:11a, NKJV; emphasis added)

The Exodus of the Jews via the route of Edom is referenced in verse 11. The Jews were disallowed by the Edomites to pass through the territory of Edom, as they were making their way into the Promised Land. The Edomite descendants of Esau “stood (their ground) on the other side” in opposition to the request of Moses to harmlessly pass through. This was the first serious offense they committed against the descendants of Jacob.

This was a slap in the face of the God of the Jews, Who had clearly evidenced His favoritism to the Hebrews. Jehovah, their God, had parted the Red Seas and conquered the Egyptian army single-handedly enabling the descendants of Jacob the freedom to migrate toward the Promised Land.

Now Moses sent messengers from Kadesh to the king of Edom. “Thus says your brother Israel: ‘You know all the hardship that has befallen us, how our fathers went down to Egypt, and we dwelt in Egypt a long time, and the Egyptians afflicted us and our fathers. When we cried out to the LORD, He heard our voice and sent the Angel and brought us up out of Egypt; now here we are in Kadesh, a city on the edge of your border. Please let us pass through your country. We will not pass through fields or vineyards, nor will we drink water from wells; we will go along the King’s Highway; we will not turn aside to the right hand or to the left until we have passed through your territory.’” Then Edom said to him, “You shall not pass through my land, lest I come out against you with the sword.” Thus Edom refused to give Israel passage through his territory; so Israel turned away from him. (Num. 20:14–18, 21, NKJV ; emphasis added)

In the day that strangers carried captive his forces, When foreigners entered his gates And cast lots for Jerusalem—Even you were as one of them. (Obad. 1:11b, NKJV; emphasis added)

Obadiah 1:11b is most likely depicting the siege in 845 BC by the Philistines. The Edomites at that time behaved indignantly to the Jews, much like the Philistines did. “Even you were as one of them.”

But you should not have gazed on the day of your brother In the day of his captivity; Nor should you have rejoiced over the children of Judah In the day of their destruction; Nor should you have spoken proudly In the day of distress. (Obad. 1:12, NKJV; emphasis added)

Obadiah 1:12 testifies of the crimes committed by the Edomites during the Babylonian period. Jerusalem and the temple were destroyed, and the Jews were carted off into seventy years of Babylonian captivity. He references three events: “the day of his captivity,” “day of their destruction,” and “the day of distress.” By ordering these episodes chronologically, Obadiah appears to identify for us the three Babylonian sieges that came against the Jewish people.

“The day of his captivity” The Babylonians, led by Nebuchadnezzar, first attacked Judah in 606 BC. This resulted in the first deportation wave of Jews into captivity. Some royal youths, including the prophet Daniel and some of his companions were relocated into Babylon. Additionally the king and his family along with many notable and skillful Jews were likewise transported out of Judah at this time.

“The day of their destruction”: In 586 BC there was a second general deportation of Jews by Nebuchadnezzar. Many more principal Jews were moved into Babylon. The first Jewish temple was destroyed, and the Babylonians confiscated many of the holy vessels at this time.

“The day of distress”: In 582 BC, the last deportation occurred. Many of the heads of families, their wives and children were exiled to Babylon because of this third Babylonian siege. Because of these three deportations, a sizeable Jewish community was established in Babylon.

Ample forewarning of the pending “day of” Esau’s twin “brother” Jacob had been given by the prophet Jeremiah, among others. The world was put on notice that the client nation Israel would be disciplined through captivity for a period of seventy years for their idolatrous practices and overall failure to honor and obey their Mosaic Law.

The Edomites “gazed on the day of your brother.” The crime of the Edomites was that rather than glean from the mistake of their cousins the Jews; they “gazed” upon them at the time of their first deportation, depicting their severe disdain toward the Jewish people. First, they “gazed” then they “rejoiced” at the events of the second deportation, and lastly they “spoke proudly” at the time of the third Jewish deportation.

Moreover, history tells us at that time that they capitalized on the captivity of the Jews by further migrating into Hebron and the surrounding areas of Israel, further homesteading the Holy Land.

You should not have entered the gate of My people In the day of their calamity. Indeed, you should not have gazed on their affliction In the day of their calamity, Nor laid hands on their substance In the day of their calamity. (Obad. 1:13; NKJV, emphasis added)

Obadiah advances the clock to the time of the Roman Empire. The phrase “day of their calamity,” used in this passage three times alludes to a completely calamitous period in Jewish history. Such was the case during the occupation of the Romans in the Holy Land. First the Edomites “entered the gate,” as exemplified by Antipater, a full blooded Idumean (Greek word for Edomite), who was established by Julius Caesar as the procurator over Judea in 47 BC. Then, Antipater’s son, Herod the Great reigned over Israel between 37 BC and 4 BC with the blessings of the Roman Empire.

Subsequently we see that the Edomites are again accused of gazing rather than gleaning: “you should not have gazed on their affliction.” They gazed during the Babylonian period, and that led to rejoicing and prideful boasting, Obadiah foretells in the Roman episode, they will likewise gaze, and then possess things of value to the Jews. One of the things most esteemed by the Jews was their second temple and all of its priestly implements. This temple became known during the Roman era as the “Herodian Temple,” named after Herod, who was not even a Jew. He was one-half Edomite, and one-half Nabatean. Herod and his court found themselves in a position to have “laid hands on their (Jewish) substance.”

You should not have stood at the crossroads To cut off those among them who escaped; Nor should you have delivered up those among them who remained In the day of distress. (Obad. 1:14, NKJV)

Obadiah identifies two groups of Jews, those who attempted to escape from the Roman destruction of AD 70 and those who remained in Israel during the destruction, “In the day of distress.” In so doing, he concludes his list of historical war crimes committed by the Edomites against their Jewish kindred.

In verse 1:14 he accuses the Edomites of attempting to hinder the prescribed disciplinary dispersion of the Jews out of Israel, into the nations of the world. They “stood at the crossroads to cut off those (Jews) among them who escaped.” The Romans destroyed Jerusalem and the second Jewish temple in AD 70. This provoked a majority of the Jewish population to scatter amongst the nations of the world. This dispersion was in fulfillment of numerous Old Testament Bible prophecies.

The irony is that the Edomites as a population were “among them who escaped.” At that time, they were identified by their Greek name, the Idumeans. Idumea was a recognized region in Southeastern Israel. The Idumeans “stood at the crossroads to cut off ” those Jews attempting to flee from Roman persecution.

A study of Hebrew history between the time of AD 33 to about AD 135 evidences a period of time whereby many Jews began to exit out of Israel into the nations of the world. The Idumeans tended to present themselves more as an obstacle to, rather than a facilitator of, that migration process. Obadiah ranks that episode of Edomite/ Idumean history as being comparable to the other war crimes on his lengthy list.

Lastly in Obadiah 1:14, not only did the Idumeans attempt to hinder the exodus of the Jews out of Israel, they “delivered up those among them who remained.” This behavior completely evidenced their adversarial attitude against the Jewish people. It served to prove that down through the ages the ancient hatred spawned by Esau against his twin brother Jacob, continued to filter on down through to his descendants, the Edomites, and Idumeans.

The pages of history authenticate and adjudicate Obadiah’s accusations. Today it is as if those very damaging pages have been reopened and are being relived through the events of the Arab-Israeli conflict. The Palestinians, who have some traces of Edomite ancestry among their ranks, continue to harbor the same ancient attitude of hatred outlined out of the annals of their history.

The atrocities of their past, combined with the catastrophes of their present seal their fate for the future! They will soon experience their ethnical demise through divine judgment. Although many suggest that the end of the Edomites came in correlation with the conclusion of Obadiah’s list of war crimes, Bible prophecy defeats that presumption. The Edomites resurface on numerous pages of end time’s prophecy.

Though it would have appeared as though they sealed their judgment from their actions in the past, that judgment has not been officially executed as of yet. The Judgment of the Edomites, who became called the Idumeans, and can now be best referred to as the Palestinians, will be judged in the fashion described in Ezekiel 25:14 and Obadiah 1:18.

“I will lay My vengeance on Edom by the hand of My people Israel, that they may do in Edom according to My anger and according to My fury; and they shall know My vengeance,” says the LORD GOD. (Ezek. 25:14, NKJV)

“The house of Jacob shall be a fire, And the house of Joseph a flame; But the house of Esau shall be stubble; They shall kindle them and devour them, And no survivor shall remain of the house of Esau,” For the LORD has spoken. (Obad. 1:18, NKJV)

Make no mistake: by his usage of “the house of Esau,” Obadiah refers to the ancient Edomites in the Hebrew language, later labeled the Idumeans in the Greek language, who are today known as the Palestinians, which is a derivative from the Hebrew word Pelesheth, the Arab term Filastin, the Latin word Palaestina, and the English word Palestine. The Palestinian trail can be traced in part back to the ancient Philistines, and the Edomite descendants of Esau.

Presently the Palestinians have picked up where the Idumean contingency of their ancestors left off. “Nor should you have delivered up those among them who remained In the day of distress.” They are still delivering up their Jewish cousins to oppressive conditions. It is as if the Jews who have returned to their motherland, are still living under persecution as in the former times “In the day of distress.”

Click HERE to read Obadiah’s Mysterious Vision – Part 1 (Commentary on Obadiah 1:1-2)

Click HERE to read Obadiah’s Mysterious Vision – Part 2 (Commentary on Obadiah 1:3-7)

Click HERE to read Obadiah’s Mysterious Vision – Part 4 (Commentary on Obadiah 1:15-21)

http://www.prophecydepotministries.net/2013/obadiahs-mysterious-vision-part-3/

The Woman and the Dragon

By Brian C Thomas

Introduction

The story of the Woman and the Dragon is located in the Book of Revelation chapter 12. This chapter describes a combination of heavenly and earthly warfare events - past and future.

The Woman

^"1Now a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a garland of twelve stars. ²Then being with child, she cried out in labor and in pain to give birth".- Revelation 12:1-2 (NKJ).

The chapter opens by describing a great sign that appeared in heaven. There is a woman clothed with the sun, the moon under her feet, and a garland of twelve stars on her head. A garland is a form of a crown. As is often the case, to get understanding of prophecy, one must look to scripture in earlier books. In Genesis 37:9, Joseph describes the following dream: "Then he dreamed still another dream and told it to his brothers, and said, "Look, I have dreamed another dream. And this time, the sun, the moon, and the eleven stars bowed down to me." Here we find almost identical language that describes the woman from Revelation 12:1. Joseph's father gave the following response to his dream, "…and his father rebuked him and said to him, "What is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall your mother and I and your brothers indeed come to bow down to the earth before you?""- Genesis 37:10. Joseph's father's response reveals that the sun represented him (Jacob), the moon represented Joseph's mother Rachel, and the eleven stars were Joseph's brothers. The descendents of Joseph and his eleven brothers became known as twelve tribes of Israel. Joseph's dream was fulfilled when he was sold into slavery and his family had to come to him for food during the famine. If we apply the same interpretations to Revelation 12:1, we can conclude that this woman is symbolic of the nation of Israel.

Symbol	Joseph's Dream (Genesis 37:9-10)	The Woman's Description (Revelation 12:1)
Sun	Joseph's Father (Jacob)	Jacob's Descendents*
Moon	Joseph's Mother (Rachel)	Rachel's Descendents*
Stars	11 - Joseph's brothers	Garland of 12 - Descendents of Joseph and his 11 brothers (12 Tribes of Israel)

*Note: Jacob and Rachel's descendents all became the nation of Israel as God later changed Jacob's name to Israel.

Verse two states that the woman is in labor pain in preparation to give birth to a child. We find similar text in Micah 4:10 that confirms the woman in labor is symbolic of Israel, "Be in pain, and labor to bring forth, O daughter of Zion, Like a woman in birth pangs…"

The Dragon

^"3And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great, fiery red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and seven diadems on his heads.  ⁴His tail drew a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was ready to give birth, to devour her Child as soon as it was born". - Revelation 12:3-4 (NKJ).

The fiery red dragon in heaven is Satan. His fiery red color represents the blood of the great number of people that have been murdered at his hands. He has seven heads and ten horns, and seven diadems on his heads. A diadem is another form of crown that signified royalty. What the seven heads represent is a bit difficult to determine. A few scenarios are:

Scenario 1: Seven kings of the Roman Empire.

Scenario 2: Seven forms of worldly governments.

Scenario 3: Rome was known as the city built on seven hills. The seven heads represent the seven hills.

Scenario 4: Seven kingdoms of past, present, and future (as of the time Revelation was written) that oppressed the Jews.

It is possible that the seven heads have multiple meanings and include each of these scenarios. No matter which scenario is correct, they are all tied to satan and the overall conclusion of the prophecy remains the same. To gain understanding of these scriptures, we will look back to other passages as well. We find in the book of Daniel and later chapters of Revelation, a beast with seven heads and ten horns. This beast will attempt to deceive all inhabitants of world. I will elaborate on scenario 4. The symbolism is determined as follows:

• Seven heads = World kingdoms with kings under Satan's control
• Ten horns = Ten end time world leaders that will be under Satan's control

We find evidence of this in the following scriptures:

• There are also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, and the other has not yet come. And when he comes, he must continue a short time. - Revelation 17:10 

      INTERPRETATION: At the time John wrote this book, the nation of Israel had been under the oppression of five kingdoms in its history - Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Media-Persia, and Greece. These were the five that have fallen. Each king in the above scripture represented a kingdom. At the time of John's writing, Israel was in bondage to the Roman Empire. The "one is" found in the above scripture is reference to the Romans. As for, "the other has not yet come" - this refers to a future kingdom which many believe will be the revived Roman Empire known today as the European Union. Time will tell if this last kingdom will be the European Union or some other coalition. The last kingdom will complete the total of seven kingdoms that will have afflicted the Jews. The seven heads of the dragon represent these seven kingdoms that are mentioned in Revelation 12:3.

•  The ten horns which you saw are ten kings who have received no kingdom as yet, but they receive authority for one hour as kings with the beast. - Revelation 17:12
• The ten horns are ten kings Who shall arise from this kingdom. And another shall rise after them; He shall be different from the first ones, And shall subdue three kings. - Daniel 7:24 

INTERPRETATION: The ten horns represent 10 world leaders that will arise out of the seventh kingdom. Keep in mind that the European Union is made up of several countries, each with a leader. They will all be inspired by Satan to rule with immorality. Another leader will rise from this kingdom to take the place of three leaders. This will be the ultimate evil ruler, the Antichrist.

The text in Revelation 12:4 goes on to state that the dragon's tail drew a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to earth. I think this scripture may have dual representation as well, speaking of a past and future event. This describes what happened to the angels that made allegiance with Satan. A third of the angels fell with Satan when he rebelled against God. They were thrown to earth and then became known as demons in Satan's army. Daniel 8:10 gives another account of this event, "And it grew up to the host of heaven; and it cast down some of the host and some of the stars to the ground, and trampled them". But although satan and his angels were cast from heaven, he still had access to the throne of God where he visits frequently to falsely accuse the saints. The day will come when satan will no longer have access to God's throne. He will be restricted to earth only. This will happen in the middle of the 7 year covenant with Israel which is known as the Tribulation. He and his angels will terrorize all inhabitants of the earth due to their earthly restriction. Evidence of this is found later in chapter 12, "⁷And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, ⁸but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer. ⁹So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. ¹⁰Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, “Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down. ¹¹And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death. ¹²Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time.” - Revelation 12:7-12.

The 4th verse in chapter 12 closes with Satan standing before the woman (nation of Israel) waiting to devour her child as soon as it was born.

The Child

^"5She bore a male Child who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron. And her Child was caught up to God and His throne". - Revelation 12:5.

The woman (nation of Israel) then gave birth to a male Child. Another account of this is found in Isaiah 66:7,"Before she was in labor, she gave birth; Before her pain came, She delivered a male child". This male Child is Jesus Christ. The genealogy of Jesus covers generations of Jews beginning with Abraham, continuing through King David, and ending with Jesus' earthly father Joseph. This is why Jesus is often called the Son of David. The identity of this Child being Jesus is confirmed in the following scripture, "'He shall rule them with a rod of iron; They shall be dashed to pieces like the potter's vessels'- as I also have received from My Father;" - Revelation 2:27. This verse provides the same description of Jesus as Revelation 12:5. We find more confirmation of this identity in, "You shall break them with a rod of iron; You shall dash them to pieces like a potter's vessel.'" - Psalm 2:9. Jesus ruling with an iron scepter is also found in Revelation 19:15. Prophecy is given here that Jesus will eventually return to earth and rule all the nations. All of Satan's evil kingdoms will be destroyed by Jesus' "rod of iron".

To revisit verse 4 of this chapter, Satan was waiting to devour the Child as soon as He was born. This prophecy was fulfilled when King Herod attempted to kill Jesus by killing all male babies in Bethlehem. He did this because the Wise Men had prophesied to him that a king would be born in Bethlehem when the star in the east was seen. King Herod feared that this king would overthrow him. But an angel warned Joseph, the earthly father of Jesus, to flee to Egypt to escape Herod's slaughter.

Once Jesus completed His mission on earth of bringing salvation by dying on the cross, He was taken to heaven by God. This was the act of God rescuing the Child and taking Him up to His throne to a safe haven. 

The Woman in the Wilderness

" ⁶Then the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, that they should feed her there one thousand two hundred and sixty days". - Revelation 12:6.

Much earthly suffering and destruction is in the future for mankind. As bad as things are in the world today, it will become exponentially worse as the Antichrist approaches his time. For example, one-third of the world's human race will be killed as conflict escalates - Revelation 9:15-18. Based on current world population, that is more than 2 billion people. The Antichrist will make a covenant with Israel for a 7 year period in the future. In the middle of the 7 year covenant (3 ½ year mark), he will betray Israel (Daniel 9:27). This is when the Great Tribulation will begin which is the last half of the 7 year Tribulation. The One thousand two hundred and sixty days refers to the Great Tribulation. During this time, the Antichrist will terrorize the inhabitants of the earth with his focus on the Jews. The months in the Jewish calendar average 30 days long. Thus, 1260 days / 30 days in a month = 42 months. Revelation 13:5 states, "And he was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and he was given authority to continue for forty-two months". This verse is speaking of the beast of the sea which is the Antichrist and reveals that he will rule and make war with the saints for 42 months…42 months / 12 months in a year = 3 ½ years. This calculation lines up exactly with the prophecy given by Daniel in Daniel 9:27. We can find further confirmation for this calculation by looking at verse 14 in this same chapter, "¹⁴But the woman was given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness to her place, where she is nourished for a time and times and half a time, from the presence of the serpent" - Revelation 12:14. It is repeated here that the woman is going into the wilderness for safety. She will be nourished for a time, times, and half a time. A time equals 1 year, times equals 2 years, and half a time equals a half year. Therefore, a time, times, and half a time is a total of 3 ½ years.

Jesus also gave an account of this Great Tribulation in Matthew 24:15-28. God will protect the woman (Israelites) during this time who are obedient to his word. Jesus gave the following instructions for them, "Therefore when you see the 'abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place" (whoever reads, let him understand), "then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains" - Matthew 24:15-16. The "abomination of desolation" is the event in which the Antichrist will enter the temple in Jerusalem, proclaim that all worship him as God, and setup a worship center to himself. The Antichrist will kill two-thirds of the Jewish population during this period. But those who are obedient to Jesus' instructions and flee to the mountains will be spared.

Conclusion

In concluding, God gave these prophecies as tools for empowerment and preparation for His people. They are not meant to scare and there is nothing to be afraid of as long as you have accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. He will protect His people! We find hope and joy in the soon return of our Savior Jesus Christ. Until then, Blessings to Israel and to the only wise God, be glory through Jesus Christ forever. Amen.

Revelation chapter 12 commentary

by Don Koenig

This is another informational chapter from the little book that John digested. This information is about Israel and her Messiah and Satan’s attempt to stop the kingdom of God from being set up on the earth.

1 And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars:

Symbolic scripture in heaven is always interpreted by scripture. Genesis explains who the sun, moon and stars represent in the verse above.

Gen 37: 9 And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it his brethren, and said, Behold, I have dreamed a dream more; and, behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance to me. 10 And he told it to his father, and to his brethren: and his father rebuked him, and said unto him, What is this dream that thou hast dreamed? Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee to the earth?

Jacob probably rebuked Joseph because Joseph was arrogant and he misunderstood the dream. Jacob and Rachel never bowed in worship to Joseph. Rachel died long before Joseph became a ruler in Egypt. The dream was a similitude of Joseph representing the Messiah that would come. There are hundreds of other similitude's in the story of Joseph that point to the Messiah that would come. The Messiah will rule over Jacob, Rachel and all descendants of Israel. Jacob and his eleven brothers did come before Joseph in Egypt but I do not believe Jacob ever bowed in worship to his son. Therefore, in the dream the important thing to grasp is that the sun represented Jacob, the moon represented Rachel and the eleven stars represented Joseph's brothers. Together with Joseph, they and all their descendants represent the whole house of Israel.

Now that we have seen what scripture says about this subject we can discern the symbolic wonder that John sees:

This woman that John sees symbolized in heaven is true Israel. It is the people that descended from Jacob (Israel) that have stayed faithful to Jehovah. John sees Israel symbolized in heaven as a woman. She is clothed with the sun and moon because those in her are descendants from Jacob and Rachel (The sun and moon in the genesis passage above). Like their parents, the chosen people of Israel are clothed with special revelation (light) from God and reflect His glory. The crown with twelve stars that is on her head represents the twelve brethren apostles from the twelve tribes of Israel that were chosen to rule over the twelve tribes of Israel and that laid the foundations for the new covenant Church.

Mat 9:28 And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

Catholics claim that the woman in this passage is Mary the “queen of heaven”. There simply is no foundation for such an assumption in scripture. This belief simply comes by interpretation of scripture through prejudiced supersession theology and the idolization of Mary. The “queen of heaven” was always a pagan god in the scriptures and she is not the real Mary of scripture. The worship of the Madonna and child actually goes back to the time of Nimrod and Babylon. Nimrod and his wife Semiramis supposedly had a supernatural child called Tammuz. Tammuz allegedly was gored to death by a wild boar and came back to life. He and his mother were actively worshiped in ancient times in many cultures. The Romans called them Venus and Cupid and the Greeks called them Aphrodite and Eros. These two demonic gods are still popular names with some today.

Either Catholics are still doing pagan Babylonian practices or they have allowed pagan Babylonian practices to be Christianized. Even if the latter were true, in effect it is doing the same thing because they have put Mary in the place of Jesus who is the only mediator between God and man (1 Ti 2:5). There simply is no scriptural support for placing the human mother of Jesus as the intercessor between man and her Son. She had to be saved “by faith” in the work of her Son on the cross for forgiveness of her sins like everyone else. Scripture says that John the Baptist was the greatest born of woman, not Mary, and Jesus chose twelve male apostles to lay the foundation of the Church. When Jesus was crucified, Jesus put Mary under John’s care and not the other way around. This adoption of this Babylonian practice has obviously led to serious heresy but in addition it has led to incorrect interpretation of this passage in Revelation for a billion Catholics on earth today. The Bible speaks of the “queen of heaven” but she is always a demon!

Jer 7:18 The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead their dough, to make cakes to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto other gods, that they may provoke me to anger.

Jer 44:17 But we will certainly do whatsoever thing goeth forth out of our own mouth, to burn incense unto the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto her, as we have done, we, and our fathers, our kings, and our princes, in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem: for then had we plenty of victuals, and were well, and saw no evil.

Jer 44:18 But since we left off to burn incense to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto her, we have wanted all things, and have been consumed by the sword and by the famine.

Jer 44:19 And when we burned incense to the queen of heaven, and poured out drink offerings unto her, did we make her cakes to worship her, and pour out drink offerings unto her, without our men?

Jer 44:25 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, saying; Ye and your wives have both spoken with your mouths, and fulfilled with your hand, saying, We will surely perform our vows that we have vowed, to burn incense to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto her: ye will surely accomplish your vows, and surely perform your vows.

2.And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered.

First, the King must be born and must take possession of his kingdom. The Child from Israel that pained to be delivered was the promised Messiah that we know as Jesus.

3 And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads.

This other wonder in heaven is the Devil. Scripture also defines this symbol. The verse makes it clear that the dragon is synonymous with Satan and the Devil. In the book of Daniel and later in this book we will see a Beast with seven heads and ten horns that will deceive the whole world. The seven heads represent world kingdoms with kings under the control of Satan and the ten horns represent ten end time world leaders that Satan will control in the last Gentile world empire called “Babylon the Great” This is further defined by Daniel and in chapter 17 and 18 of Revelation.

Rev 17:10 And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space.

Dan 7:24 And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.

Rev 17:12 And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast.

4 And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born.

Stars sometimes are used as symbols for angels. This verse is talking about the fall of Satan and his angels. Satan apparently led a third of the angels in heaven in a rebellion against God. The earth may be the place in the universe where God choose to create beings made in his own image that would replace the fallen angels. Satan deceived Adam and Eve so that they sinned and became enslaved to him through sin and death. When Adam sinned and died the stewardship of the earth given to him was placed under the administration of angels until under God’s law a kinsman redeemer is found.

The child the dragon was ready to devour as soon as He was born was Jesus. Satan tried to stop the “kinsman redeemer Messiah” from coming from the Adamic race. In this passage Satan is ready to devour the Messiah as soon as He was born. This occurred when King Herod sent out the order to kill all infants under two years old in Bethlehem. He did this because the wise men from the East told him the Messiah was prophesized to be born at Bethlehem at the time the star was seen.

Satan failed to stop the Messiah from fulfilling the Old Testament prophecies when Joseph was warned by an angel in a dream to flee to Egypt with the child. Later when the child was grown He directly appealed to the Father Himself and no one could take His life from Him. He freely laid down His life for us at the time appointed by the Father to pay the price for the salvation of mankind. The scriptures record several times that some did try to kill Him but they could not. Satan’s continual failure to thwart God’s plan allowed the Son of Man to pay the blood price as kinsman redeemer for the human race at the cross.

5 And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne.

Only one person will rule the world with a rod of iron according to scripture. That person is Jesus (Rev 19:15 - Psa 2:9). Some say the Church is also seen in this passage because we are the body of Christ and are raised up with Him to rule and reign with Him. The Church is not a man child, she is a woman. It should be clear the primary focus of this verse is the birth of King Jesus for without Him we would all be caught down to hell, not up to His throne.

Heb 1:3 Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;

6 And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days.

We have already defined that the woman is Israel. If there is still any doubt about who the woman is this verse tells us she flees into the wilderness for 1,260 days which is the same length of time the Beast Antichrist will have power on earth. Correlation of prophetic Bible passages in Daniel, Revelation and the Olivet discourse by Jesus make it abundantly clear that the remnant of Israel is told to flee into the wilderness for this same period of time after the defilement of their temple. Elect Israel will flee at the mid point of a seven year covenant that a world leader will confirm.

Dan 9:27 And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.

The 1,260 days is the time when Michael the archangel stands up for Israel to protect her from Satan. This will be the worst time on earth the world will ever know.

Dan 12:1 And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.

What the verse above is saying, is that God will protect those that obey Him and flee to the mountains. They are told to do this when they see the desecration of the holy place foretold by Daniel the prophet and also by Jesus in His Olivet discourse. The area of protection will be in the mountains of Jordan in the area of the cliff city of Petra. The people there will be fed manna and they will get water out of a rock just like the Israelites in Exodus did for forty years.

Mar 13:14 But when ye shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not, (let him that readeth understand,) then let them that be in Judaea flee to the mountains:

7 And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,

8 And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.

Michael is commander of the angels that did not rebel against God. In Daniel we are told that Michael is also the angel that watches over Israel. In these last days there is a war in heaven and Michael and his angels fight against Satan and his angels. Satan and his angels are cast out of the heaven.

Some think Satan was long ago cast out of heaven but there are several passages in scriptures that indicate that Satan still has access to God and accuses us before the Father continually. That is why Jesus is our advocate before the Father until the time when Satan no longer has this access.

The casting out of Satan, the desecration of the temple and the killing of the two prophets will all happen very quickly probably on the same day. That is why Jesus warns Israel to not get anything out of the house but to get out of town as fast as they can. By reading only the prior verses you might think that Satan is cast out after the woman flees but verse 13 clarifies this by saying after the Devil sees he is cast out He persecutes the women (Israel). One thing should be clear; since Satan is cast out here he could not have been cast out at the fifth trumpet when the star fell from heaven with the key to open the bottomless pit. Now that Satan is cast out, he has 3 ½ years to work through his Beast and his False Prophet. After that period, Jesus will deal with the Beast and then set up his own kingdom on earth.

9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

This passage defines who the dragon is. I have heard a well known author say the Devil and Satan are different beings but this passage should make it crystal clear that the dragon, the Devil and Satan are the same. The Devil is not just an evil force or influence as some might think. A specific being was cast out into the earth and the angels that fought with him were also cast out with him. We read in prior verses in this chapter that the number is a third of all the stars (angels). I do not know how many that is but I think it is safe to assume that many millions of angels will be cast out to the earth. These are beings with incredible power. People on earth will think that the gods have come to earth. This will lead to the great deception. The millions of other angels that were cast out either will have their own bodies or will possess human ones (maybe this is the real “Invasion of the Body Snatchers”). It will be an incredible time for all those living on the earth.

This verse also tells us about Satan’s nature. He is the deceiver of the whole earth. He is a counterfeit god. His work of deception can be seen from his deception in the Garden of Eden until his last deception at the end of the thousand year reign.

10 And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, 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.

11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.

There is a loud voice from heaven announcing that it is time for the Kingdom of God and the power of His Christ. Satan is cast down; Satan obviously had access to God before he was cast out because in this passage it tells us that he was the accuser of the brethren before God. He could not do that if he did not have access to the throne of God. Other passages in scripture also verify that Satan appeared before God and that he patrolled the earth to report to God (Job 1:6, 2:1). Now we see that Satan has been judged by God and cast down to earth.

Those who overcame the devil did so by the blood of Jesus, by their testimony and by dying for their faithfulness to Jesus even at the cost of their natural lives.

12 Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.

When the devil is cast out of heaven he will come with great wrath against humans. He knew from the start that humans were created to replace his angels. He did everything he could to keep the human race from qualifying. Even after the Messiah came he tried to deceive Him into using His divine powers to disqualify Him as a human and as mankind’s kinsman redeemer (Mat 4:1-11).

Now that Satan has lost the battle in heaven he will use his angels to deceive and destroy mankind on earth. He will be very aware that Jesus is about to return with His saints in a very short time and he will do everything in his power to give Him a planet with no one alive. Jesus Himself said, unless those days be shortened no flesh would be saved but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened (Mat 24:22). Satan will make Jews the scapegoats and the focal point to lead mankind to its own destruction.

In verse 12 there is only one woe mentioned by the angel because the other two are now over with. The third woe lasts the entire second half of Daniel’s final week of years. The third woe will span a 3 ½ year period. It will start with the persecution of all mankind who will not worship the Beast as God and it will end with the seven vial judgments from God.

13 And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man child.

The woman as we saw is Israel and the man child Israel produced is the Messiah Jesus. When Satan is cast unto the earth He will persecute the woman who brought forth the Messiah in the flesh. He will persecute Israel and eventually all the Gentiles that claim that Israel’s Messiah is Lord.

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.

The faithful of Israel will flee into the wilderness to a place where God will protect them for 3 ½ years. No one really knows if the great eagle will be a natural airlift or a supernatural airlift. God will provide for Israel as he did in the days of Exodus. As I said, those in the wilderness of Jordan will eat manna and get water out of a rock. The timeline for Satan is given in verse 13 and 14. He is cast out unto the earth just before Israel flees. She is protected by Michael in the wilderness for 3 ½ years or 1,260 days. (A time is a year, times is two years, and a half time is ½ a year = 3 ½ years. The 1,260 days is given to us in verse 6.) The world will be under almost total control by Satan and his millions of angels for this same 42 month time period (Rev 13:5).

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.

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.

There are a couple of schools of thought about this verse. Some think the flood is a tidal wave from the sea and some think it is a huge army of Gentiles. I think it may be both. I believe a great rift will open and swallow the tidal wave and the rift will also prevent the armies of the Beast from reaching the remnant of Israel.

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.

Satan and his angels cannot touch the woman being protected in the mountains of Jordan so he will declare war on all descendants of natural Israel and all who keep the testimony of Jesus Christ all over the earth. This includes those who identified themselves as Christians in the “left behind” apostate World Church who will not renounce Jesus and take the mark of the Beast.

Up until this point the world religion harlot is riding the Beast and controlling the direction of world events but after Satan is cast out to the earth and becomes a counterfeit god he will turn on the harlot of world religion and burn her with fire. This is spoken about in detail in chapter seventeen