Prophetic Events

Between Now and the Rapture-- The probable order of prophetic events that must occur before the Rapture. Some of these events will overlap with each other.

God's breath begins blowing upon His saints: Ezekiel 37:1-14

" The hand of the Lord was upon me, and carried me out in the spirit of the Lord, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones, and caused me to pass by them round about: and, behold, there were very many in the open valley; and, lo, they were very dry. And he said unto me, son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord God, thou knowest. Again he said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus saith the Lord God unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter unto you, and ye shall LIVE: And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I am the Lord. So I prophesied as I was commanded: and as I prophesied, there was a NOISE, AND BEHOLD A SHAKING, AND THE BONES CAME TOGETHER, BONE TO HIS BONE. And when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh came up upon them, (muscle = strength from teaching, good solid foundation in the word of God) and the skin covered them above: (speaking of unity coming from above--God's Spirit) but there was no breath in them. Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord God; Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live. So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath (God's out pouring of His Spirit in the latter rain) came into them, and THEY LIVED, AND STOOD UP UPON THEIR FEET, AN EXCEEDING GREAT ARMY. Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel: behold, they say, our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts. Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, O my people, I will OPEN YOUR GRAVES, AND CAUSE YOU TO COME UP OUT OF YOUR GRAVES, AND BRING YOU IN THE LAND OF ISRAEL. And ye shall know that I am the lord, when I have opened your graves, O my people, and brought you up out of your graves, (Eph.2:1), And shall put my spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I shall place you in your own land: (living in spiritual places with Christ--Eph.2:6), then shall ye know that I the Lord have spoken it, and performed it, saith the Lord. "

The visible church travailing in torment to be delivered

 Revelation 12:2   And she (the woman = the church) being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered.

 She is travailing and she's pained to be delivered.  " Crying out, being in birth pains and being tormented to give birth. " (Kingdom Interlinear)" And she was with child and crieth out being in pangs and in anguish to bring forth. "(Rotherham)

 So she's not just casually bringing forth just like any woman--she's in anguish. She's really going through pains and testing and pressure from with in and from with out.

 Travailing in birth, the word here is similar to some words in Matt.24:8, "The beginnings of sorrows"--that word is birth pains or birth pangs. Also, Mark13:8 a parallel to Matt.24:8.

 So it says that in the end of time the earth is going to go through contractions, you might say, or spasms that point to this fact that God's kingdom on earth is going to come in. It's going to be born. And so the earth goes through birth pains as a sign of that. And so also the spiritual creation of God when she is about to bring forth a manchild, Rev.12:5-- She goes through birth pains as well, (the church).

 Galatians 4:19 " My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you, v.27 For it is written, rejoice, thou barren that bearest not; break forth and cry, thou that travailest not: for the desolate hath many more children than she which hath a husband. "

 So there's a travail to bring forth Christ, like Paul said, " I travail in birth to bring forth Christ in you. " It's a painful process to bring forth Christ. And it says that she is being TORMENTED TO GIVE BIRTH. That's the literal rendering of pained to be delivered here.

 She's being tormented. 2 Peter 2:8 has the same word in the Greek, but the K.J.V. translates it as vexed. It talks about lot--who was vexed with the filthy behavior in Sodom.

 Woman = the church--Eph.5:24-33;Gal.4:26; 2 Cor.11:2;Gen.3:15.

 We know that this chapter, chapt. 12, is prophetic of the end time because in Rev.12:3--we see that world government is here. We see 7 heads, the 7th and last world government. So we see that the church will be tormented before world government, and probably will last until the manchild is born (verse 5)--when the latter rain falls.       

 Also, Isa.26:16-21 " Woman with child that draweth near the time of her delivery, is in pain, and crieth out in her pangs. "

The invisible church shaking sleep, praying always. The invisible church = the manchild that comes out of the woman (the visible church) Revelation 12:5. We will go over this later

 Lk.21:34 "And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares."

 Overcharged =  " be weighed down. " Surfeiting =  " carousing, intoxication. "

 Being weighed down and intoxicated with the cares of this life, so that day come upon you unawares.    

 Lk.21:35 " For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth."  36 " WATCH ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to ESCAPE ALL THESE THINGS THAT SHALL COME TO PASS, AND TO STAND BEFORE THE SON OF MAN. "

 (Gr.) " Be keeping sleepless but in all appointed time supplicating in order that you might be strong to flee out of these all the (things) being about to be occurring, and to stand in front of the son of man. "

 1Jn.3:2,3 " Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this HOPE IN HIM PURIFIETH HIMSELF, EVEN AS HE IS PURE. "

 Phil.3:21 " Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself. "

 Col.3:2 " Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. 3 For ye are DEAD, and your life is HID W/ CHRIST IN GOD. "

 1 Cor.15:50 " Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. "

 So we need to be keeping sleepless and supplicating in order that we might be STRONG TO FLEE OUT OF ALL THINGS BEING ABOUT TO OCCUR. Being not intoxicated and weight down with the cares of this life, but purify yourself and be hid with Christ in GOD.

World Government

 Rev.12:3 " And there appeared another wonder or sign in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, (Satan), having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads. "

 So this is another wonder, another sign; a sign that points to something else.

 And behold a great red dragon. So it's a large, great in size, red dragon. This great red dragon is called the devil and Satan down in verse 9. And the Antichrist kingdom is empowered by this dragon in chapter 13:1,2--  And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and I saw a beast rise up out of the sea.

Now this isn't the dragon. This is a beast.

 Having 7 heads and 10 horns, and upon his horns 10 crowns, and upon his heads the names of blasphemy. And at the end of verse 2, it says the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority. So the dragon is giving this Antichrist, (anti = against), system its power and authority. And this beast, it doesn't say there what color it is, but over in chapter 17:3 we see that this beast is also red. Verse 3, So he carried her away into the wilderness and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet colored beast, full of names of blasphemy, having 7 heads and 10 horns. It's that same beast. So this beast, you might say, is the spittin' image of its father, the devil, because it's the spirit of Satan that's in the hearts of men drawing them  through the lust of money and power and hatred of the truth-- that's what makes possible this beast system in the end of time.

So this beast, it says, has 7 heads.

 It says, having seven heads and ten horns. Seven heads again points you to the parallel in Rev.17:9,10. It tells you what these 7 heads represent. Rev. 17:9, And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth. Now mountains speak of kingdoms in the Scripture. And there are 7 kingdoms, 5 are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space.

 So since Babel, and Babel is found in Genesis 11, there have been 7, you might say, world kingdoms; kingdoms of world scope and world power in terms of the Biblical world. Now there have been other kingdoms such as Gangus Kahn's kingdom when he tried to conquer all of China, and other world kingdoms. But in Bible terms, in terms of the kingdoms that the Bible talks about, there have been 6 powerful world kingdoms, and they are: Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Medio- Persia, Greece, Rome, the one that is, and one is yet to come, the Antichrist system at the end of time-- the 7th and last world system we see in Rev.12:3 and Rev.17:9-17.

 Now, notice something very interesting here and something very relevant to what we can expect in the days ahead. That is, that this great red dragon has seven heads and ten horns before the manchild is caught up, Rev.12:5. The manchild has not yet been caught up here. So there is going to be a world government in the end of time, and we're going to be living under it before the Rapture comes. This is important, because if you don't have this truth; you will think there is no Rapture or your in the tribulation.

The 10 horns = 10 powerful kings that will reign with the antichrist in this last world government, Rev.17: 9-17.

 Rev.17:9,10-- 5 have fallen: Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Medio- Persia, Greece, one that is, Rome, and one yet to come--the last world government with 10 kings that hold the power of the world. In 2 Thess.2:3, you see the first revealing of the antichrist, and in verse 6, you see that something is holding him back from taking full power-- withholdeth (Gr.) " The thing holding down " which is the bride of Christ or more specifically the manchild. Now after the Rapture, you see the 2nd revealing of the antichrist, verses 7,8-- the antichrist will come forth with full power and fulfill Rev.13:7 and 2 Thess. 2: 9 --working of Satan, etc. with lying signs and wonders. Now notice back in verse 1 of 2 Thess. 2 that it is talking about the Rapture--us gathering unto him (1Thess.4:16-18) and verse 2 says, the day of Christ (Gr.)-- the Lord is at hand. He's saying don't be shaken or troubled, because the Rapture (verse 1) can not happen until verse 3, the falling away and the man of sin is revealed --these have not yet happened. So the Rapture can not happen until verse.3, the falling away and the first revealing of the Antichrist.

 Rev.12:3 we see the first form of world government where the antichrist is revealed but not yet in power as you see in Revelation 13:1 with Revelation 17:9,10 where the ten horns are crowned. In 12:3, you see that the horns are not yet crowned, only the seven heads are crowned. In Rev. 17:9,10, the 10 kings have given the antichrist power and then the world marvels at him. That's when the antichrist rules with the working of Satan-- 2 Thess.2:9 (Greek for working) is Energia = to work in or work within, also, read Daniel 8:24. I believe Satan in the flesh is a counterfeit to Jesus, who was God in the flesh. This is when the whole world will follow the Antichrist-- Rev.13:3. I believe that after the first form of world government, the manchild will be born and have a powerful ministry ( Ezekiel 37:1-14; Daniel 11:32; Isaiah 66:5-11; Ephesians 4:11-17, etc..) and bring millions into the kingdom of God and bring a temporary death wound to the world government. During this temporary death wound to the world government, God will move in a mighty and wonderful way bringing in the great harvest. Then the Rapture, Jude 23--pulling them out of the fire, (Gr.) harparzo, same as in 1 Thess.4:16 and Revelation 12:5. The Rapture is pulling them out of the fire. Revelation 12:4 says Satan stands there ready to devour the manchild, but praise God He Harparzo's us to His throne forever. NOW THAT SHOULD BE OUR VISION! Then the 2nd form of world government (the 2nd revealing of the antichrist) when Satan will have rule over the whole earth through the antichrist and the ten kings during the Great Tribulation period.

The Great Apostasy

 Rev.12:4 " And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth. "

 Now notice that this occurs after verse 3, the first form of world government. So possibly the world government causes many to fall. Many may think they are in the tribulation and have missed the Rapture; therefore, they will throw away the Rapture teaching.

Stars are compared to saints in a number of passages of scripture

 Daniel 8:9,10 The horn was Antiochus Epiphanes, a ruler of the Syrian Empire. And also it points, in a more future sense, to the antichrist. Cast down some of the host and of the stars (saints) to the ground.

 Gen.15:5 Here God gives Abraham a promise and he says his seed is going to be as the stars of the heaven, and he is the father of our faith--spiritually.

 Daniel 11:35 Those with understanding are saints with spiritual understanding.

 Daniel 12:3 These are saints which are compared to the stars.

 And so the Bible talks about a third of the stars (saints) being swept from heaven and being cast down to the earth. Remember that Ephesians tells us that we're seated in heavenly places with Christ. And being swept out of their place and cast unto the earth means that this is showing saints loosing their position in the heavenly places with Christ, and being cast down to the earth with a part of the earthly system of things. They are loosing their position with God. It's the Great Apostasy.                                                         

 The Bible prophesies that great deceptions will come that if possible will destroy the very elect (Matt.24:24). And so we're seeing a picture of the Great Apostasy.

 Remember that this occurs before the Rapture Rev.12:5, and after the first form of world government and the first revealing of the antichrist, 12:3; 2 Thess.2:3.

 2 Thess.2:3 " Let no man deceive you by any means: FOR that day ( the Rapture v.1, by our gathering together unto him. ) shall not come, except there come (Gr.) THE FALLING AWAY FIRST. "

 So there shall come a falling away first. An "Apostasia", a standing away, a falling away, an apostasy. An apostasy will come before the Rapture. And here we see a great apostasy that happens before v.1-- the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together unto him.

The Feast of Trumpets

 Leviticus 23:23-25  And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,  24  Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, In the seventh month, in the first day of the month, shall ye have a sabbath, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, an holy convocation.  25  Ye shall do no servile work therein: but ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD.

 Now, we have seen the feast of Passover, that's salvation, and we have seen the feast of Pentecost, that's the Baptism in the Holy Spirit. But, we have not yet seen the feast of Tabernacles, and the feast of Trumpets is the first component of the feast of Tabernacles. The feast of Trumpets is signaling that the next two components are about to come: the feast of Atonement and the feast of Tabernacles, or Booths, sometimes called the feast of ingathering: the harvest.

Trumpets have several meanings in scripture

 1.) One is warfare. Trumpets are used in warfare and this is a divine warfare we're going to see up ahead. Jer.4:19 speaks about the sound of the trumpet being the alarm of war.

 2.) They are also connected with the idea of fear, Amos 3:6,9 (Read).

 3.) Trumpets are also connected with royalty. 2 Kings 9:13 says that in Israel, "They blew with trumpets saying, Jehu is king." So it was a sign of royalty being brought in.

 4.) They are also connected with judgment, Josh.6:13-16. And this judgment was on a city that represented the world system, the fall of Jericho. Trumpets were blown 7 times before the city fell. Once each day for 7 days.

 The Feast of Trumpets, as we see, came in the 7th month (our Sept./Oct.), which is the last month of Israel's agricultural year. This is when they would bring in the long awaited harvest. The Feast of Trumpets began on the 1st day of the 7th month, and they were blown to show that something is about to happen--Jesus is about to come to his people and usher in a great harvest: the fruit harvest.

 At the Feast of Trumpets, Israel did not blow just one trumpet once, but they blew many all day long. This is showing that as the Lord's return is near, many of God's ministers will be blowing the trumpets, continually. Now, in Jerusalem when the priest blew the trumpets, the streets rang with great noise. So it is today, when the ministers of God blow the trumpets, there will be a great noise in the camp of Israel of a summoning together for a great gathering for war and to usher in the harvest. It's a time to awake, Eph. 5:14.

 Psalms 89:15 says, Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound.  Ps 98:6  With trumpets and sound of cornet make a joyful noise before the LORD, the King.

 Now, the blowing of the trumpets is to alarm the people to get ready for war, etc., but also its a joyful sound. Why? Because God is about to bring in the next two components: The Feast of Atonement and The Feast of Tabernacles, which will result in a worldwide move of God bringing in the long awaited harvest.          

 Now we also see that the Feast of Trumpets is a call to repent and prepare. It's a call to get ready for good things to come: the harvest is about to come in. It's a call to sanctify yourselves and get ready for the work of the Lord. When God's ministers start blowing the trumpets, we should be preparing for great things on the horizon--God is about to pour out his Spirit and bring restoration to his people.

 Matt.25:6 " And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him. " The trumpet sound can already be heard. Are you preparing to meet your bridegroom?

The invisible church unbowing itself and looking up

 Lk.21:28 " And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh. "

 When these things BEGIN--look up (Gr.) anakupto = to lift oneself up, to be elated, raise the spirits of--make happy. It is used of the physical straightening up of the body (Lk.13:11). But here, it seems to be used for the lifting of one's spirit--"to be elated." That fits in with the next expression, "lift up your heads"  (literal Greek).

 Lk.13:11 The woman was bowed together with a spirit of infirmity 18 years, and could in no wise lift up herself. This implies she was previously bowed down with sorrow. Same with us (the woman = the church) being bowed down with sorrow because of the persecution from world government. Lk.13:13 And he (Jesus) laid his hands on her: and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God. When Jesus touches the church, she will be healed and lift herself up and be full of joy.

 Rev.12:1,2  " And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman ( the church in heavenly places Eph.2:6) clothed with the sun, (Jesus Christ), etc...  And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered. "

 John 16:20-23 " Verily, verily, I say unto you, that ye shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice: and ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy. A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow, because her hour is come: but as soon as she is delivered of the child, she remembereth no more the anguish, (affliction or tribulation) for joy that a man is born into the world. And ye now therefore have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you. And in THAT DAY YE SHALL ASK ME NOTHING. Verily, verily, I say unto  you, whatsoever ye shall ask the father in my name, he will give it you. "

 Lk.1:57 " Now Elisabeth's full time came that she should be delivered; and she brought forth a son. " She is a type of the church bringing forth a son (manchild) that is in the fulness of Christ, crying out as John the Baptist--Behold, The Lamb of God Cometh, or the cryers crying out, The Bridegroom Cometh.

 Psalms 30:5 " Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning. "

 Gal. 4:21-31--We see two sons, Isaac & Ishmael. Isaac = the bride or manchild that has come to the full knowledge of Christ--Christ formed in them. The seed of promise becoming experientially like Christ. Ishmael = the saints that are in bondage to the law and are only legally like Christ. They are the church legally, but the manchild comes out of the church and moves with the Spirit of God in liberty. So Isaac represents the ones who unbowed themselves, looking up and shaking sleep. Ishmael represents the ones who stay in their traditions, busy about the cares of this world.

 So we see that as God begins to blow upon His saints, Satan comes to torment the church, then the invisible church (the manchild) begins to shake sleep, praying always. Satan comes with the world government and persecution of the church and many will not stand and fall away, but the trumpets sound for the church to repent and get ready for the Lord's visitation, unbowing itself and looking up in elation with expectation of restoration and healing, etc... God then breaths into the invisible church, and she will begin to stand upon her own feet and separate herself from the church in bondage to the law, becoming a great army (the manchild, the bride, the cryers). Saying, the Bridegroom cometh with the latter rain, GET READY to swim in the Spirit of God and do exploits and bring millions into the kingdom of God.

God breaths into the invisible church, she stands upon her own feet, and separates from the woman (the visible church), and the latter rain falls

The man child:  The invisible company of saints inside the visible church

 Revelations 12:5 " And she (the woman v.1, the visible church) brought forth a man child (the invisible church inside the womb of the visible church)."

 She brought forth a man child. (Gr.) "Arsen Huios " a male son. "Arsen" here means "male" "Huios" means "son." When they are set side by side, usually there is an agreement, there is a concord between the two nouns, and they would be written in the same gender.  It would be written in the same form. However, here Arsen is neuter and Huios is masculine. If Arsen were to be masculine, it would have been written Arsena, but it is Arsen here, the neuter form. It would seem if you didn't know what God was trying to do, inspiring His Word, it would seem at first glance to be a mistake. And some manuscripts actually do change it to the masculine form. They change the word of God a little bit and try to correct it. But God has a revelation in mind here. The original clearly has the neuter Arsen coupled with the masculine Huios.        

 Down in verse 13 (read), man is all that there is there, it takes its usual masculine form, Arsena.

 Now it is strange. It doesn't seem to fit. And it should point us to the realization that God has a revelation in mind here, and He has something that He has to show us.

 This is a manchild, a son, born with man strength and vigor and ability to work, and yet the masculinity of it is not emphasized. He is not saying that this is a man. The manchild is not an individual man. Neither is it a company of people who are both men and women. It's many people. It's a many membered body. It is a company of men and women who reach full maturity and Christ-likeness and emerge from the visible church inside which they have been the invisible church. They emerge to serve the father and to finish His work which He gave them to do. And so sex is not emphasized here for a purpose, because it is a universal company of men and women in one united body of Christ. Not just a manchild, but a bride. Jesus Christ is the greater manchild, and we are to come into the likeness of Him. So we are coming into the image of Jesus Christ, and therefore, it is spoken of as a son.

A male, neuter, as a bride. A son, masculine, as a man with strength and vigor, etc.. being placed in the ministry to do the Father's work.

 Ephesians 4:13 had already prophesied before this time that the culmination of God's plan in His church was to make us into a perfect man, to be like Christ. It says that we shall all come in the unity of the faith, in the knowledge of the son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ. There is a man that has come into the fulness of Christ, and he's being born. He is emerging upon the world. Man (Gr.) = full grown man. One you can trust and put into the ministry for the work of God, no more tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness whereby they lie in wait to deceive; But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, Eph.4:14,15.

 The manchild shows us that this company is full grown Christ-likeness and maturity, and has ability to do spiritual warfare against the dragon. He is newly born, and yet he is a mature son able to do his father's work and accomplish His will. Brand new born, and yet able to do his father's will.

Some parallels to this scripture about the manchild

 One of the main ones is Isa. 66:1-9. Isa. 66:1 " Thus saith the Lord, the heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is the house that ye build unto me? and where is the place of my rest? " So He's looking for a place of His rest, He's looking for somewhere that He can dwell in and fully feel at home and have kinship with.

 Isa. 66:2 " For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been saith the Lord: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at My word. " Shows that His resting place is one who is poor, who genuinely and sincerely knows he is poor in himself and does not trust himself. So He's looking for a place to rest and to dwell in, and He says that He is going to look to him that is poor, to him that is of a contrite spirit, to the one who's contrite and knows he has not attained. He's mourning after the righteousness of God. He sees and understands the full plan of God to make us like Jesus. And at the same time, he sees that he falls short and he does not measure up yet to being that full resting place of God. Yet it doesn't cause him to be condemned, but it causes him to repent at his flesh and his lacks, continually. And God is continually able to make him like Christ.

 "And he trembleth at My word. " Now we're showing some pictures of the manchild here. Tie this back in with Revelation chapter 12. He has a hope, an expectation for what God's word says. If God says He is going to perfect His church, then this man believes His word. You see, if God says He is going to bring His church to the fullness of Christ, then this man trembles at that word and does not stagger at it in unbelief, but he embraces it. And he trembles at it and strives to be a part of it. He keeps humbling himself and calling on God. He trembles to hold onto one tradition of man that is not backed by the word of God.

 Isa. 66:2 Has it's first application in Christ. Above all others, Christ is the man that God looks to, him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembles at My word. But it also applies to those who are in Christ who come into that position with Him.

 Isa. 66:3 " He that killeth an ox is as if he slew a man; he that sacrifieth a lamb, as if he cut off a dog's neck; he that offereth an oblation, as if he offered swine's blood; he that burneth incense, as if he blessed an idol. yea, they have chosen their own ways, and their soul delighteth in their abominations. " You see, the sacrifices which God had once ordained and taken pleasure in, now become an abomination because they become a sign that the people are unwilling to accept God's new covenant in Christ; they're saying no, we're going to keep on offering our sacrifices and the things we want to do to justify ourselves. And He says they have chosen their abominations. Christ fulfilled the law. And in the sense of the manchild ministry, in the manchild's day, the application we would make here is that works of religion and just outward religious observances have no power, have no delight to God at all. They are an abomination to Him. He is looking for a manchild. He is looking for a man who trembles at His word, who knows His heart. He's not looking for people who are religious. There are billions of religious people. God wants someone who knows His heart.

 Isa. 66:4 " I also will choose their delusions, and will bring their fears upon them; because when I called none did answer; when I spoke, they did not hear; but they did evil before mine eyes, and chose that in which I delighted not. " So God called Israel through Christ. He says I called, but none did answer. Three and a half years He called them through Christ and they did not answer. They did not respond and therefore He says, " I will choose their delusions. I will allow them to be deceived and I will cause their fears to come upon them." So God brought their fears upon them. The Romans destroyed their city and their temple, and they were taken captive. And so also today in the parallel sense, those who reject the light of God's manchild in this day will have their fears come upon them, 2 Thess.2:9-11. Those that reject that there is a bride, and God is calling us to come higher and yield ourselves up and become pliable and willing to obey His word, will have their fears come upon them. And they will enter into a time of trouble such as the world has never seen, after the manchild is gone.

 Isa. 66:5 " Hear the word of the Lord, ye that tremble at His word. Your brethren that hated you, that cast you out for my name's sake, said, let the Lord be glorified; but He shall appear to your joy, and they shall be ashamed. " So even in Christ's day, his disciples would read this scripture, and they would say, "Hear the word of the Lord, ye that tremble at His word. Your brethren that hated you, that cast you out for my name's sake. " Now that wasn't the fulfillment of this verse, but they definitely saw how that it applied to them. Their own Jewish brethren had cast them out for His name's sake. But mainly today, there are those who will walk in the whole word of God and strive to be that manchild. And they're trembling at His word, and they're being cast out for His name's sake. Name speaking of the nature of Jesus--He is the only Savior, He is the truth, the way, and the life, etc... A lot of Christians cast you out for believing the Rapture. They say there is no Rapture, no bride, no manchild, no world government, no Holiness, no Baptism in the Spirit, no deeper walk with Christ, and the Holiness of God, they are going to call legalism, etc.....So those who walk in the whole word of God today, God will appear, Jesus will come and catch them up and vindicate them and cause them to rejoice in His presence. And they shall be ashamed by being left, one shall be taken and the other shall be left.

 1 John 2:27-29 (read)  28  And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming.  29  If ye know that he is righteous, ye know that every one that doeth righteousness is born of him.    

 Isa. 66:6 " A voice of noise form the city, a voice from the temple, a voice of the Lord that rendereth recompense to his enemies. " So in the time context of the greater manchild, Christ, and just after that, God allowed Rome to destroy this city and the temple, because they had rejected his man. Their delusions up in verse 4, that they would hold out until Messiah came to deliver them from this Roman siege, went right on until the end. But their fears came upon them. They were deluded. They had rejected the word of God. They had chosen their own abomination, and so their fears came upon them. And today there is a voice of noise from God's spiritual city and temple, a voice of God coming to judge the house of God. The time has come, that judgment must begin at the house of God. And by His word and by His truth, He's going to divide asunder soul and spirit in His body, in His church. He's going to divide asunder truth and  falsehood, and those that love Him with all their heart, from those that are religious people. God wants true religion.

 Isa. 66:7 " Before she travailed, she brought forth; before her pain came, she was delivered of a man child. " And so this applies to Israel, because the church travails before she brings forth. We saw in Rev.12 that she was in travail paining to bring forth. But here, this woman is bringing forth before she travails. And before her pain came, she was delivered of a manchild. And so the fulfillment here is with Christ and Israel. Christ was brought forth from Israel and he accomplished his ministry and he ascended, and then her travail came because they had rejected him. And in 70 A.D. with the Romans coming in to destroy them, their nation, their travail came. But then verse 8 telescopes way down to the end of time, to the manchild, and it says " Who hath heard such a thing? who hath seen such things? Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day? or shall a nation be born at once? for as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children. " So now we're talking about a nation being born at once, for as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children, plural-- her sons. It has male overtones. She brought forth her sons. So this is a nation of sons being brought forth unto God, a nation of sons in the image of Christ. So Christ came forth as that greater manchild. And now we, being the manchild in him, come forth as the sons of God in the end of time. Notice, thing- singular = Christ, things- plural = us--the manchild.

 And so God promised His plan is going to be accomplished in verse 9, " Shall I bring to the birth, and not cause to bring forth? saith the Lord: shall I cause to bring forth, and shut the womb? saith thy God. " And there's going to be rejoicing in the body of Christ when the manchild is brought forth.

 Isa. 60:1-5, A little bit about rejoicing. 3,4--Even in the time of the grossest darkness right up ahead, God is going to cause His light to shine.  5 Then thou shalt see, and flow together.....in the unity of the faith....and thine heart shall fear, and be enlarged; because the abundance of the sea shall be converted unto thee....The manchild ministry is going to have a mighty effect-- an abundance of the Gentles are going to be converted.

 Another scripture relating to the manchild coming forth is found in John 16:16-23, and especially verse 21.

 Verse 21 (read 16-20).  And so when he was taken from them and crucified, they wept and lamented. But their sorrow was going to be turned into joy. Now he immediately starts talking about a woman in travail. He just brings that out of nowhere, so to speak, he's trying to show us something here. " A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow, because her hour is come, but as soon as she is delivered of the child, she remembereth no more the anguish for joy that a man is born into the world." So she's delivered of a child, and a man is born into the world. 22 " And ye now therefore have sorrow: but I will see you again. " So he's reaching down to the time when he will return to take us and snatch us up to be with him. And he says you will see me again. " I will see you again and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you. "  23 " And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. " Because we shall know even as we're known. We'll see him face to face; we won't have to ask questions in a human sense and be taught the way we are today. We'll know and see all things. Most of all, we will know Him. " Verily, verily, I say unto you, whatsoever ye shall ask the father in my name, he will give it you. " And that's in the meantime, in this church age, where we are his disciples and we have his authority, we'll ask in his name. But the time is coming when we won't ask anything, and our hearts will rejoice. And that occurs at the time when the woman brings forth the manchild. Again a time key showing that we're talking about the time of the Rapture.

 Another very marvelous passage that applies to the manchild is in Jeremiah 31:21-26, and especially verse 22. Jeremiah is speaking to Israel and there is a spiritual sense in which we can see that this applies to the church.

 Jer.31:21--read. And so God is calling His people back from captivity. He's saying to them,  You are going to go into captivity, but set up road marks because I'm going to bring you back.  And spiritually, we see that the church went out into Babylon, into a captivity of traditions and losing the power of God, and it went into what is known as the Dark Ages. But God has been bringing His people back out of Babylon, and He still is. And so He says, " Set up waymarks-- set up high heaps. They would set up high heaps of stones beside the road to show the way, and those waymarks are the truths of God's word, the truths of Holiness and sanctification, and the bride of Christ, and these different marvelous truths that we are coming into. And He says to "Set up heaps", heaps of stones piled up to show where the path is, and that shows the truths of God's word piled one upon another and they show you the way because as they add up, you see the way that you are suppose to go. And He says there, "Set thine heart toward the highway", so He wants to set our heart toward the highway, the highway to Zion. Even the way which thou wentest, (past tense). In times past, the church was going that way-- it started out that way, but then, let's say, it took a detour to Babylon (The Dark Ages ). He's saying, come back-- go the way you first started out going. I want you to return. Turn again, O virgin of Israel, turn again into these thy cities.

 Then in verse 22 He says, " How long will thou go about, O thou backsliding daughter?"  How long will you go about seeking your lovers in this world, wandering out there where the beasts are with man's traditions and man's methods and flesh and carnality. How long will you go about in that realm? He says come back.

 Then He says, " O thou backsliding daughter for the Lord hath created a new thing in the earth, a woman shall compass a man. " So He says, come back because the Lord is going to do a new thing in the earth, a woman shall compass a man. Come back and draw near to me because I'm about to do a new thing in the earth, and I want you to be part of it. And the new thing is directly parallel to Isa. 66 " Who hath heard such a thing, who hath seen such things? " You see, nobody has seen this before because it is a new thing.

What is this new thing?

 He tells us what it is, " A woman shall compass a man. " And you say, well what's new about that? Women have had male children for thousands of years. That's nothing new. But it is more than that, it says " A woman shall compass ", meaning surround as a mother having a child in her womb, she shall compass a man, a full grown man. She is going to be pregnant with a full grown man and that is a new thing.

 Now "man" here is a Hebrew word Geber--Tregellis defines it as " a man, so called from strength." Strong's Concordance defines it as: " properly a valiant man or warrior ", and he says it is derived from another word " Gabar " which means " to be strong, and by implication to prevail. "

 So a woman is going to encompass a full grown man, a strong man who shall prevail. And that's the new thing.

 And this shows that the manchild of Rev.12 is a mature man, although he's newborn. Although he's a brand new born child, he's a full grown man. And this mighty man is a nation born in a day. So we see that the manchild has a maturity to it. It has a strength to it. God is able to do something with it. And this ties right into Eph.4:13, which shows that the manchild is the church as it comes to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, unto a perfect man, a perfect mature complete man. So the manchild is a mature man. And God wants us here to know that it is a new thing. Habakkuk 1:5 " Behold ye among the heathen, and regard, and wonder marvelously: for I will work a work in your days, which ye will not believe, though it be told you." He says lift up your eyes, increase your faith-- it's a new thing. It is not going to be something you can point back to in church history and say the manchild is going to be like what Wycliffe did, or like what Paul did. It's a new thing. It is a thing that will cause the world to say, Nothing like this has ever happened. Who has heard such a thing? Look at all of these people. There's millions of them. They are all speaking the same. These assemblies are not tied together governmentally or anything, and yet they are all one and it is all at once this thing is sweeping the world. You see, there's a fullness to it.

 And God wants us to apply this to our own lives too, and not expect things in our lives to go on as they have as usual, as more of the same only a little bit better. He wants us to realize that He is a God who is able to do new things, sweeping things, things that would never be thought to happen in our lives. A nation never has been born in a day. And the church never has had Christ fully formed in her before. It is a new thing.

 And so Jeremiah goes on, the Lord goes on in verse 23 and says, " Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, as yet they shall use this speech in the land of Judah and in the cities thereof, when I shall bring again their captivity; The Lord bless thee, O habitation of justice, and mountain of holiness. " He says it doesn't look that way. It doesn't look like the church is the habitation of justice and a mountain of holiness. It looks like a heap of Babylonish broken bricks right now. But God says it's going to be a habitation of justice and a mountain of holiness. As yet, this is going to happen. So God is going to build that church into that mountain of holiness.

 Verse 24 " And there shall dwell in Judah itself and in all the cities thereof together husbandmen ", that is, farmers. " And they that go forth with flocks. " So God is going to raise up His husbandmen, His farmers to reap the harvest in this manchild day. " And they that go forth with flocks. " He says that He will give His people shepherds after His own heart. He is wanting to raise up those shepherds, even among us.  So it's a new thing.

So we see that in these last days God is going to raise up a manchild, a nation in a day, to do a new thing-- That the whole world will wonder at with awe.

The latter rain falls

 Now we probably will experience some drops as the invisible church stands upon its own feet and separating itself from the visible church, for the manchild grows to big to stay in the womb and must come out.

 Joel 2:23  Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in the LORD your God: for he hath given you the former rain moderately, and he will cause to come down for you the rain, the former rain, and the latter rain in the first month. {the former rain moderately: or, a teacher of righteousness} {moderately: Heb. according to righteousness}

 God said that he would send the former and the latter rain. He said that he has given us the former or early rain morderately, and he will cause to come down for us the rain, the former rain, and the latter rain in the first month-- the planting rain and the maturing rain would both come in the same month.

 He does not finish with that, he also said in Joel 2:24 And the floors shall be full of wheat (souls), and the vats shall overflow with wine (joy and rejoicing) and oil ( the anointing). There will be an abundant harvest of souls, and with this abundance of souls, will come rejoicing.

 When we see a promise for the last days of this magnitude, we should be filled with joy and gladness. Why? Because when God restores all that these locust have destroyed, there will be must rejoicing in the camp of Israel. God will not only restore, but he will restore all things in a greater way than ever before. There is coming a revival in proportions and dimensions, in these days ahead, we have never seen;  we have had the former rain-- that was at Pentecost when God poured out his Spirit, and we have had bits of the latter rain, but God has something much greater coming-- the mighty out pouring of his Spirit and a great harvest of souls.

 We see that God promised both rains in the first month. This will bring in such a harvest that God will need everyone that he can use, the reaper is going to overtake the sower. This latter rain is going to come down in violent showers; the result will be the harvest. The former rain (the planting rain) will come in due measure, and the latter rain (the harvest rain) in violent showers. So we can see that there is a mighty move of God's Spirit yet to come, when not only will millions of souls be brought in, but the ripening of the souls as well-- the bride of Christ without spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing.

 Haggai 2:9 "The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former, saith the LORD of host: and in this place will I give peace, saith the LORD of hosts."

 The latter rain will be a torrential downpour! "The rain" in Joel 2:23 is, literally, "violent shower." God also says that this rain has a due season, just as there was a set time for Christ to do his work. So don't be discourage if the outpouring of God's Spirit has not arrived yet to it fullness, because it will surely come. And when it does, we want to be prepared for it and do what Jesus wants for us. So prepare for great days to come!

 De 11:14  That I will give you the rain of your land in his due season, the first rain and the latter rain, that thou mayest gather in thy corn, and thy wine, and thine oil.

 Job 29:23  And they waited for me as for the rain; and they opened their mouth wide as for the latter rain.

 Pr 16:15  In the light of the king's countenance is life; and his favour is as a cloud of the latter rain.

 Jer 3:3  Therefore the showers have been withholden, and there hath been no latter rain; and thou hadst a whore's forehead, thou refusedst to be ashamed.

 Jer 5:24  Neither say they in their heart, Let us now fear the LORD our God, that giveth rain, both the former and the latter, in his season: he reserveth unto us the appointed weeks of the harvest.

 Ho 6:3  Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the LORD: his going forth is prepared as the morning; and he shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth.

 Zec 10:1  Ask ye of the LORD rain in the time of the latter rain; so the LORD shall make bright clouds, and give them showers of rain, to every one grass in the field. {bright...: or, lightnings}

 Jas 5:7  Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain. {Be...: or, Be long patient, or, Suffer with long patience}

 Psa.72:6 " He shall come down like rain upon the mown grass: as showers that water the earth. "

 Hos.10:12 " Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the Lord, till he come and rain righteousness upon you. "

 Ezekiel 47:1-10, Waters to swim in! First, ankle deep, 2nd, water up to the loins, 3rd, water to swim in. Verse 8 Healing, v.9 shall live, and there shall be a very great multitude of fish ( multitudes of new converts). For they shall be healed; and every thing shall live whither the river cometh. Verse 10 They shall spread forth nets; their fish shall be according to their kinds, as the fish of the great sea, exceeding MANY--multitudes of souls for this last day harvest.

 We need to be praying for God's latter rain to fall, and when it does, God will do marvelous things for his people-- set them free from demonic powers, miracle healing (both physical and spiritual), unify the body of Christ to that perfect man of Ephesians, and much more!

 Now, we saw that the former rain moderately has the connotation of a teaching of righteousness--teaching about Jesus with the right balance. So there will be the former rain along with the latter rain, (a teaching the right balance) when the latter rain falls. So God will need teachers!

Feast of Atonement will bring the unity of the faith, being fitly joined together and coming into the knowledge of the Son of God. The manchild will minister as a unified man of Christ becoming a great army

The Feast of Atonement

 Lev. 23:26  And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 27  Also on the tenth day of this seventh month there shall be a day of atonement: it shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD. 28  And ye shall do no work in that same day: for it is a day of atonement, to make an atonement for you before the LORD your God. 29  For whatsoever soul it be that shall not be afflicted in that same day, he shall be cut off from among his people.  30  And whatsoever soul it be that doeth any work in that same day, the same soul will I destroy from among his people. 31  Ye shall do no manner of work: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations in all your dwellings. 32  It shall be unto you a sabbath of rest, and ye shall afflict your souls: in the ninth day of the month at even, from even unto even, shall ye celebrate your sabbath.

 Now the feast of atonement will be a time that the following scriptures will come to the fullness, experientially. Now we know that the fulfillment of the feast of Passover is salvation, and the feast of Pentecost is the Baptism in the Holy Spirit, where not only is the Spirit with us, but in us. But there is one feast that has not been fulfilled yet, and that is the feast of Tabernacles, which consist of: the feast of Trumpets, the feast of Atonement, and the feast of Tabernacles (or booths). So let's look at some of these scriptures that the feast of Atonement will fulfill.

 "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect" (Matt. 5:48).

 1 Peter 3:8 Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous.

 1 Corinthians 1:10 Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.

 Colossians 1:28 Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus.

 Colossians 3:14 And above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection.

 Hebrews 6:1,2 Therefore leaving the principles [elementary principles] of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God, Of the doctrine of baptisms [plural-in water and in the Spirit], and of laying on of hands...

 John 17:21-26 That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou has sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me....And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them.

 Ephesians 4:13-16 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ....From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.

 The church has never fulfilled the scriptures we've just read, so God is going to have to do new things or we will never get there. God is the God of new things, and he wants to do new things in our lives because we will never get to that perfected church-- the bride of Christ without spot, or any such thing--unless God does new and unprecedented things. We have not attained to that spiritual place yet, but the Lord Jesus will direct his body in new ways that will bring his body of believers into new spiritual places in him.

 Isaiah 42:9 Behold, the former things are come to pass, and new things do I declare: before they spring forth I tell you of them.

 Isaiah 43:19 " Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert. "

 Isaiah 48:6 " Thou hast heard, see all this; and will not ye declare it? I have shewed thee new things from this time, even hidden things, and thou didst not know them. "

 Now, on the day of atonement, the high priest went into the holy of holies to atone for the sins of the nation of Israel. In type, this points to the fact that Christ, who is our high priest, made an atonement for our sins (the spiritual nation of Israel) by dying on the cross. After Christ died on the cross and rose from the dead, he ascended into the holy of holies (heaven) and now we are legally forgiven of our sins, being made one with each other and God. But, God wants us to become one with each other and him, experientially.

 Now to become experientially one with each other and the Lord, there will be afflicting of the soul. In other words, dying to self, coming to the cross of Christ and giving our all to him. The church will go through affliction (Rev. 12:2).

 Also when the high priest went into the holy of holies, he brought his censer with incense, and the cloud of incense covered the mercy seat. As he uttered the name of Yahweh, the glory of the Lord appeared. Once we move into the feast of Atonement, spiritually, we will become one with each other and the glory of the Lord will fall upon his church. Now, incense represents prayer in scripture, so the glory of God will come about through prayer-- and no other way! The censer is an instrument to hold the incense until it's to be poured out, and that represents us (the saints) as an instrument to carry prayer and pour it out before the throne of God, and in result, the GLORY of God will fall upon his church. What will happen then? The fruit harvest and rejoicing-- abundance of souls. Amen!

 So we see that this feast will bring unity and perfection of His saints having one mind, speaking the same things, fitly joined together in love.

 This unity will bring God's people victory as it did when Israel marched around Jericho and the walls fell down, Jos. 6:20.  Psalms 133:1 " Behold how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! " Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 " Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour. For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up. Again, if two lie together, then they have heat: but how can one be warm alone? And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken. "

 Isaiah 52:8 " Thy watchmen shall lift up the voice; with the voice together shall they sing: for they shall see eye to eye, when the Lord shall bring again Zion. 9 Break forth into joy, sing together, ye waste places of Jerusalem: for the Lord hath comforted his people, he hath redeemed Jerusalem. "

The result: An exceeding great army

 Ezekiel 37:1-14  " The hand of the Lord was upon me, and carried me out in the spirit of the Lord, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones, and caused me to pass by them round about: and, behold, there were very many in the open valley; and, lo, they were very dry. And he said unto me, son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord God, thou knowest. Again he said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus saith the Lord God unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter unto you, and ye shall LIVE: And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I am the Lord. So I prophesied as I was commanded: and as I prophesied, there was a NOISE, AND BEHOLD A SHAKING, AND THE BONES CAME TOGETHER, BONE TO HIS BONE. And when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh came up upon them, (muscle = strength from teaching, good solid foundation in the word of God) and the skin covered them above: (speaking of unity coming from above--God's Spirit) but there was no breath in them. Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord God; Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live. So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath (God's out pouring of His Spirit in the latter rain) came into them, and THEY LIVED, AND STOOD UP UPON THEIR FEET, AN EXCEEDING GREAT ARMY. Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel: behold, they say, our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts. Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, O my people, I will OPEN YOUR GRAVES, AND CAUSE YOU TO COME UP OUT OF YOUR GRAVES, AND BRING YOU IN THE LAND OF ISRAEL. And ye shall know that I am the lord, when I have opened your graves, O my people, and brought you up out of your graves, (Eph.2:1), And shall put my spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I shall place you in your own land: (living in spiritual places with Christ--Eph.2:6), then shall ye know that I the Lord have spoken it, and performed it, saith the Lord. "

 This is speaking to natural Israel, but also has an application to spiritual Israel, the church (Galatians 3:28,29).

The World Government temporarily falls and The Feast of Tabernacles or booths

 Possibly, this great army of God (the manchild) will bring the death wound to the world government we see in Rev.13., and then The Feast of Tabernacles or booths.

The World Government temporarily falls

 Revelation 13:1 " And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name (or names) of blasphemy. "

 " And I stood upon the sand of the sea. " The best Manuscripts instead of saying "And I stood," say " And it stood, or and he stood upon the sand of the sea. " And that would point us back to the dragon in chapt. 12:17. And so in those Manuscripts, what you would do is, you would connect this first clause of chapt. 13 onto the end of chapt. 12. So it would read "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. And it or he stood upon the sand of the sea. " End of chapt. 12.

 And so if the above is true, then chapt. 13 would start out with, "And I saw " because the pronoun I is contained right in the verb saw, here in the middle of 13:1. So it would start out, "And I saw a beast rise up out of the sea," etc..

 If you would read, "And I stood", then the point would be that John is now looking from an earthly standpoint. That is, he is going to begin to describe things happening in the world system. He is going to now go back and look at the same period of time that he has been talking about in chapt. 12:5-17, the Rapture, and the Tribulation upon the woman, the remnant church. And the fact that John is standing upon the sand of the sea, shows that he is in a realm, he is concentrating on a realm that deals with the people of the earth, because the sand of the sea points to the people on earth, the multitudes of the nations.                                                    

 Now a second possibility, which is probably more likely. If we read, "And it stood", or "And he stood" upon the sand of the sea, that is, the dragon, Satan, this may point to the truth that we have already seen-- that now Satan is standing on the sand of the sea. That is, he is present on earth. He has lost his position in heaven and now he is going forth on the earth. And so now with Satan present, his previously death-wounded system now rises up again out of the commotion and out of the turmoil of the nations in a new form and with new power. The same dragon who was seen in chapt. 12 having 7 heads and 10 horns now being present on earth becomes the motivating power behind this new world government that rises up with new strength when it is revived, after the manchild is caught up. (Chapt. 12:3 we see the dragon still in heaven, but in v.7 there is a war in heaven, and Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, etc.. v. 9 the dragon (Satan) is cast out into the earth, and his angel were cast out with him). Remember, Satan has been behind all of the world governments since the beginning of time. He has been trying to use them to bring man into a one world system to worship him. Now, he gives this system its authority and power, and you read that in the last part of Rev. 13:2 "And the dragon gave him his power and his seat and great authority. "

 So the beast rose up out of the sea in verse 1. And the sea, of course, is the peoples of the nations. A couple of references: Rev.17:1,15, says the waters are peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues. That is what the waters are. They are the people of the earth.

 So out of the commotion and the financial panic and the restlessness and the agitation of the nations on earth, and out of the quickly changing moods and fears, they are persuadable-- they're manipulable. So out of the passions of the people on earth crying out for stability, rises this new antichrist system (Don't we see this today). Great turmoil on earth has always given rise to dictatorships, because people are looking for somebody to save them. And so the whole world here is in turmoil, and they become willing to accept a world ruler.

 Already as far as things have gone there are people that are saying, the only way out is for a world government with a world ruler to solve all our problems. One U.N. official said, " What the world needs today is a superman. " And the world is going to get a superman, but he is not going to do what they think he is going to do.

 References: Luke 21:25; 1Thess.5:3; Daniel 7:2.... "Behold, the four winds of the heaven strove upon the great sea." So you see the four winds of the heaven, and I believe that speaks about demonic oppression and agitation and turmoil upon the earth to whip up the nations into a frenzy (Isaiah 5:30).

 Also, Daniel 7:3... Then in verse 4 and following, he goes on to describe these 4 beasts, and they are four Empires reaching from Babylon down to the end of time. And so again, he sees these beasts coming up out of the sea, out of the restless nations of the world (Psalms 65:7; Jer.5:22).

 Now back in Rev.13:1, He says he saw a beast. And so this is a beast. It is not precisely the same as the dragon. In chapt.12:3, he saw a dragon with 7 heads and 10 horns. This time he sees a beast with 7 heads and 10 horns, but it is the dragon that gives this beast its authority, and we see that in the next verse.

 Now this beast is both the Antichrist and his government system on the earth. The Greek is more specific-- it's a wild beast. That's what it says in the Greek. And all through the chapter here it refers to this beast as him, that is, in the King James Bible. But it is ambiguous in the Greek and could be translated either him or it, because the pronoun for both of them in the particular case that is continually being used here is the same whether it is masculine or neuter. It could be him, or it could be it. The only exception to that is found is in verse 8a where it says "..Shall worship him ", and there it is definitely him and cannot be it. "Him" does not agree with wild beast, which is neuter, and so this would point to the fact that they are worshipping the man. They are actually worshipping this man, the Antichrist. But aside from that, through out the chapter keep in mind that it is open-- it could be it, or him.

 And so both are in view, both the man and the system behind the man because they are one. They are accomplishing the same purpose. It is his system.

 Now this beast has 7 heads and 10 horns. And so it is the same 7 heads and 10 horns that were on the dragon in Rev. 12:3, also the same as the 7 heads that were spoken of in Rev. 17:9,10. And we saw already that those 7 heads are 7 world Empires down through time that have co-operated with Satan. The last one is the Antichrist system. Now these 10 horns here are all on the 7th head. They're all on one head. We know that because the 10 horns are said to reign one hour with the beast in chapter 17. So they have their power, they have their crowns in the time of the beast system, not back in the time of Babylon or Greece or Rome or any of these others-- they're all on the 7th head.

 Now it says here that upon his horns were 10 crowns. So the horns now are crowned. If you compare that back to chapter 12 and verse 3, there you see that the great red dragon had 7 heads and 10 horns and 7 crowns upon his heads. So at that time, the 7th world government, that is, the last day world government, is in power because it's crowned. All the others have had power and now it has power. But, the 10 horns are not yet crowned. They have not received a kingdom as yet. But, chapter 17 tells us in verse 12... "And the 10 horns which thou sawest are 10 kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast." So in chapt. 13:1, the 10 horns are crowned. So we know that this is that one hour that they receive power to reign with the beast. It's that 42 month tribulation that chapt. 13 talks about.

 Horns = power. So we're talking about 10 powerful ones who are crowned and they reign as kings. They are the 10 men who reign as kings.

 Crowns here is Diadems. It's a ruling crown-a royal crown. It's not a victor's wreath. It's a crown of authority and ruler ship, so they are reigning as kings, Dan. 7:7,8,19,20,23-24.

 Revelation 13:3 " And I saw one of the heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed; and all the world wondered after the beast. "

 I saw one of his heads wounded as it were to death. I saw here is understood. It's been supplied by the translators. It's not really there. It just says, "And one his heads." He's telling all the things he saw. And he saw these things all at once. "I saw a beast, and it had 10 horns, 7 heads, names of blasphemy. The beast was like a leopard, bear, lion, and one of his heads, as it were wounded to death." And so what this means is that he's not seeing the head being wounded. He's not seeing, "And I saw someone come and wound one of his heads."--  I saw it take place. He's seeing it after the fact. He says "And one of his heads I saw, I noticed, was wounded, as it were to death."

 Wounded here is a word that means slaughtered or slain. It was slaughtered to death, or slain to death. So it shows that it was dealt a powerful blow. This has to be, I might add, the 7th head that was wounded, because previously in 12:3, John saw all 7 heads and he mentioned no wound at that time. He didn't see any wound. But here, when he sees this beast, he notices that one of its heads is wounded. So we know that in the meantime, it wasn't Babylon that got wounded or Assyria or Rome-- they are already passed from the scene. They are already incorporated into a new world Empire in the last day (Daniel 7:4-8;8:3, 27; Rev.13:2). They're not being wounded. They're already defunct. It had to be the head that was in power at the time of the Rapture that received the wound.

 And when the wound is healed, the world wonders after the beast. Now they're not in awe because Rome was healed, they weren't even in the time of Rome. Rome has no significance to their lives. They're looking at things that are happening in the current day. They are in wonder of these things that are happening in front of their eyes. It's the present world system that's rising up again.

 Now the wound here is mentioned as already having happened. That is, when John sees this beast rising up, one of its heads is already wounded. So that wound had to have happened before the Antichrist came upon the scene, in his appointed time, as the world ruler here in 13:1. It had to have happened previously. So it had to have happened somewhere between the time of the vision in 12:3, which was before the manchild was born, and the time of the Rapture (12:5), for then is when Satan is cast down and incarnates himself in the Antichrist and causes this world government to rise again. So it had to have been somewhere between the birth of the manchild and the Rapture that this wound occurred. But, the rest of this verse tells us, that not only was the wound already inflicted when John saw this beast, but it was also already healed when he saw the beast.

 There in verse three it says, "And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed." So he sees, somehow, that it was not only wounded but it's already been healed. So the healing took place when the beast rose up again, when the world government came back into power at the beginning of the Tribulation. So after the Rapture of the manchild, you see Satan cast out of heaven to earth with great wrath to make war with the remnant of her (the woman = the church) seed--the Christians in the Tribulation, and this is when Satan is incarnated in the Antichrist--Rev. 13:2; 2 Thess.2:9). "And all the world wondered after the beast." So it says "his", or "its" deadly wound was healed. And this deadly wound may well have involved the spiritual effect that the manchild ministry, the last day revival, had upon the people of the world. It doesn't directly tie it together. You cannot say that as a doctrinal statement, "The manchild wounded the 7th head." The Bible doesn't say that. But we do see that it occurred at the same time. Somewhere between the birth of the manchild and the Rapture of the saints, this wound was inflicted. And we don't see anything else in scripture that occurred at that time that would cause this wound to take place.

 I would guess that the wound is possibly a wound to the beast, the Antichrist system, not necessarily the Antichrist himself, for the system and the Antichrist are one. You wound his system--you wound him. This might explain the manchild bringing about this wound if it is to the system, because a mighty move of God bringing millions into His kingdom certainly would cause a great deal of problems to this world government system.

 We do know that revivals in the past have had a mighty effect upon the shape of nations, and upon the condition of those nations. One example, England in the early 1700's was ripe for dictatorship and for revolution and to bring in a kind of communistic system, just as the French did in their French revolution. This was fomenting and it was spreading into England. There was turmoil in England. And England was in danger, but, right about that time John Westley came on the scene and he rode a horse from town to town, and he preached to crowds of 1000's and there were revivals everywhere that he went, all of a sudden, the interest in the nation of toppling their leaders and bringing in a new system just dropped off. It couldn't get any kind of a foothold because the people were to taken up with God and with conviction of sin and with the realities of eternity and many thousand of souls were being saved. The whole revolution movement just came to a grinding stop. It was just put under because of this revival in England and the spiritual effect upon the people. Also look at these scriptures: Acts 17:6; John 12:19.

 And we do know the manchild is spoken of as a restraining influence in  2 Thess. 2:6-9. It says there that the mystery of iniquity is already at work, but there's one who is hindering it until he's taken out of the way. So this appears to be the affect after the manchild, the last day revival, the restrainer, comes to a climax. It's been restraining the thing to death. It's put under for a time, and then after the manchild is  caught up, Rev.12:5, the world government is revived.

 You see in 2 Thess. 2:3 and Rev. 12:3 the Antichrist and the first form of world government revealed. Rev.13:1,2 with 2 Thess. 2:8,9 you see the Antichrist revealed again (after the Rapture) with full power from Satan. Now look at Rev. 17:10-12, we see that "The beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition." Also 2 Thess. 2:1-9 you see the Antichrist revealed (first form of world government, verse 3), and then you see that which is restraining or hindering, verses 6,7 with Rev. 12:5 (possibly the manchild). Then in 2 Thess.2:6-9 with Rev.13:1,2  you see the Antichrist and his system with full power and authority revealed in his time (or appointed or allotted time, v.6)--the system revived after the death wound. Now, notice that Rev.17:10-12 says, that the beast that was (the first revealing) and is not (the death wound to the head), even he is the eighth, and is of the seven (the 2nd revealing after the wound is healed--he is the 8th but the 7th, the same but revived, Rev.13:3-- remember the wound is pass tense here, so it could very well be before Rev. 13:1,2 when he's in power from Satan ). Probably somewhere between the birth of the manchild and the Rapture. For more detail on 2 Thess. chapter 2, see the study on the Great Apostasy.

Who deals the death wound to the beast?

 Some feel the Antichrist dies and comes back to life. Lets look at some problems with this theory

 1.) Rev.13:1 The beast having 7 heads = 7 mountains or kingdoms, Rev.17:8-10 (world government, not the Antichrist himself. He's the mouth piece to this system).

 2.) Rev.13:3 Wounded to death--one of the heads. Speaking of the beast, the system, not necessarily the Antichrist himself. Rev. 13:5 Antichrist given a mouth (probably by Satan) speaking great things and blasphemies. Head = world government,  mouth = Antichrist.

 3.) Rev.13:14 Wounded by a sword, an unlikely weapon to be used in these last days. Sword = the Word of God: Eph.6:17;Hebrews 4:12, etc...

 4.) Rev.12:3 Already submitted to the world government. Where will the death wound come from? The only thing that fits is a mighty move of God's Spirit--the manchild ministry.

 Now the wound was inflicted by a sword. And throughout this book, the sword is the Word of God. And so again, this would point us to the manchild, in his ministry, inflicting this wound, Eph.6:17. So God is exhorting His people to take His Word that they might do offensive battle against the devil. And so this is another indication of the possibility that the Word of God is being proclaimed all over the earth, in all nations. Jesus said, "This gospel shall be preached unto all nations and then the end shall come," and that could very well be that which brings the temporary head wound to the Antichrist and his building world government. It's highly possible that the Word of God is the thing that causes the wheels to grind to a halt, for a time, because so many masses of people become involved in revival that there's a hindrance to the plans of the devil, for a time. Then when the manchild is caught up, it's right back with renewed force greater than ever against the world. This is not the idea that this is a manchild revolution, like all the Christians getting together and revolting against the government-- it's the spiritual effect, most heavily, I'm referring to. There may be political effects, there would have to be of the revival in the last days, but, the spiritual effect is what is primarily in front of us here.

 So immediately after the manchild is caught up, this beast system is revived again. And this time, it's not only the world government, but the Antichrist is fully in control of it and at the head of it. He's now at the helm and now the beast is spoken of as both him and the system, and he's called the eighth. There are 7 heads and when he takes power, in his appointed time, he's called the eighth, Rev.17:11. The beast that was, and is naught, so we're talking about the whole system which was put under-- even he is the eighth. So now the system comes back up again with the Antichrist at it's head. And he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition. So once it's revived, it's called the eighth.

 Now it says here in 13:3, "And all the world wondered after the beast". And that is because of its sudden resurgence to vigor and power after it appeared that it was dead. It's such a startling thing that all at once it's right on the scene with more power than ever before. Here it was wounded to death, and now it's in full control. And so all the world wonders and marvels after this beast.

Some scriptures to support the manchild ministry dealing the death wound to the 7th head

 Gen.3:15 is a prophecy. God says that your seed shall bruise or crush the serpent's head. Of course, that is first of all Jesus Christ and the victory that He won for us on Calvary. He said in John 12:30,31, now is the prince of this world cast out. And so Jesus won the victory, and yet there is still a contesting. So we have that victory and we can say, yes, Jesus won the victory for us, and therefore, we're going to conquer, but, we're still contested. But the time comes when the body of Christ comes into unity and full submission to God, where we're walking in the steps of Jesus manifesting only him, that God uses the body of Christ to deal another blow to Satan-- this time it's to his world government system, to the 7th head. It's an experiential conquering. And so the woman's seed crushes the serpent's head. It's Jesus. It's still Jesus. It's not us doing it, but we are in Jesus and therefore, he uses us to be that woman's seed to crush the serpent's head.

 The death blow to the 7th head of the beast is the death blow to Satan in it. It's Satan manifesting it, so it's his plan. It's him being crushed, Romans 16:20. So it's God bruising Satan, but He uses the feet of the saints. He uses men to show that Satan is a liar and a rebel, and that God can have a people, and will have a people, fully surrendered to Him. And through them, He wins a great victory.

 Psalms 149:5-9  "Their" plural, "mouth" singular-- many with one voice, etc.. Notice, "twoedged sword," singular, "their", plural, "hand", singular--one sword, the Word of God, in their hand. So this is showing many people speaking the same Word of God with the same ministry. Hand = ministry. So many people with one voice speaking the same thing in unity-- the manchild ministry.

 Psalms 2:1-3 His anointed--Christ and His saints. Cast away (their) cords from (us).

 Isaiah 26:12-21  Like as a woman with child, that draweth near the time of her delivery, is in pain, and crieth out in her pangs; ...we have as it were brought forth wind; we have not wrought any deliverance in the earth; Rom.8:18-23, NEITHER HAVE THE INHABITANTS OF THE WORLD FALLEN.

 Isaiah 59:19  When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard (banner = Jesus) against him.

 Ezekiel 37:1-14  Speaking of the great army that will rise up in the last days.

 Matthew 16:18  Saints on the offense against the devil. Gates = the last defense before the city falls. Great Babylon is fallen.

 John 14:12   Greater works than these shall he do!

 Rom.8:19-23   Sons of God manifested.

 Also Read: 2 Corinthians 10:3-5;Eph.6:17;Rev.13:14;Isa.49:2;Rev.19:15; 2Thess.2:6,7.

 So it will be a Spiritual warfare-- the body of Christ speaking the truth, in love, with the anointing of God upon them.

The Feast of Tabernacles

 Lev. 23: 33  And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,  34  Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the feast of tabernacles for seven days unto the LORD.  35  On the first day shall be an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein.  36  Seven days ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD: on the eighth day shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD: it is a solemn assembly; and ye shall do no servile work therein.  37  These are the feasts of the LORD, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations, to offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD, a burnt offering, and a meat offering, a sacrifice, and drink offerings, every thing upon his day:  38  Beside the sabbaths of the LORD, and beside your gifts, and beside all your vows, and beside all your freewill offerings, which ye give unto the LORD.  39  Also in the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when ye have gathered in the fruit of the land, ye shall keep a feast unto the LORD seven days: on the first day shall be a sabbath, and on the eighth day shall be a sabbath.  40  And ye shall take you on the first day the boughs of goodly trees, branches of palm trees, and the boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook; and ye shall rejoice before the LORD your God seven days.  41  And ye shall keep it a feast unto the LORD seven days in the year. It shall be a statute for ever in your generations: ye shall celebrate it in the seventh month.  42  Ye shall dwell in booths seven days; all that are Israelites born shall dwell in booths:  43  That your generations may know that I made the children of Israel to dwell in booths, when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.  44  And Moses declared unto the children of Israel the feasts of the LORD.

 Now the feast of Tabernacles is the last of the three part feast and is the most climatic, because it is the time when the harvest is in and the people can rest and rejoice. We have yet to fulfill this feast of Tabernacles or booths, but God is preparing his church, in these days ahead, to experience things that the church has never before experienced. He will surely do new things.

 Now on the first day of the feast of Tabernacles, we see that it was to be a day of rest. Now, as we have seen before, these feasts have their counterpart in the church, so this points to the fact that the church will finally enter into that spiritual rest in the Spirit. Let's look at the book of Hebrews and see what God says about this rest for spiritual Israel in the New Covenant.

 Heb. 4:7-13  Again he limiteth a certain day, saying in David, Today, after so long a time; as it is said, Today if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts. For if Jesus had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day. There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his. Let us labor therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief. For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.

 By receiving the Baptism in the Holy Spirit, we can now enter into that spiritual rest by yielding to the Spirit of God as he draws and woos us. Jesus said "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest (Matt. 11:28). What was he talking about? How do we do that? He was speaking of that rest in the Spirit as we stop trying to fulfill our own cravings.

 Paul says in Galatians 5:16: "Be walking in the Spirit, and you shall in no wise fulfill the strong cravings of the flesh" (lit. Greek).             

 The book of Ephesians tells us that we are in a warfare (Eph. 6:12-18), and we just read in Hebrews 4 that we are to labour to enter into that rest. It's a war (Gal. 5:17), the flesh man does not want to yield to the Spirit of God, mostly because we only know how to yield to the flesh man. But God knows how to get you to that place where you will yield, that is, if your seeking him. Being Baptized in the Holy Spirit is only another step on this long journey to become like the pattern son, Jesus Christ, it's not the end. We're talking about a long process of yielding to the Spirit of God. We will not get there in one day or even one year. It's a long process of yielding and becoming what God wants for you, and that is to become like Christ.

 We see also that there was to be offering made by fire unto the Lord. This represents us totally surrendering our lives to Jesus. Fire represents being consumed by the Lord's will, burning off all our fleshly cravings and wants-- totally giving all to Jesus!

 Paul tells us in Hebrews 4:3, "For we which have believed are entering into rest" (lit. Greek).

 So he tells us that we need to keep believing so we can enter into that rest--it's a process of warfare against our own fleshly cravings. We need to be continually entering into that rest. As we enter into that rest as a corporate body, we will see the feast of Tabernacles being fulfilled.

 We need the feast of Passover, because it's our salvation, and we need the feast of Pentecost, because it's the Baptism in the Holy Spirit. But, we also need the feast of Tabernacles-- all three components: the feast of Trumpets ( sounding the warning); the feast of Atonement (being atoned for our sins and becoming one with God and each other); the feast of Tabernacles (entering into that spiritual rest), legally and experientially.

 Now we also see that the feast of Booths was to be held "When ye have gathered in the fruit of the land" (Lev. 23:39).  Joel 2:24 "The floors shall be full of wheat--souls. " We see that Israel was to dwell in booths for seven days. The number seven in scripture typolfies completion or perfection. In other words, we will dwell in these temporal booths (our fleshly bodies) until we have become that perfect body of Ephesians chapter 4--that's when we will put off this tabernacle (2 Pet. 1:14) and be Raptured to the throne of God, to ever be with him. God will work within us until we are ready to be taken as that spotless bride.

 Psalms 18:10 says "And he rode upon a cherub, and did fly: yea, he did fly upon the wings of the wind."

 We are the vehicle for the Lord upon this earth until we fly away to be with him.

Job said in Job 5:19 "How much less in them (us, mankind) that dwell in houses of clay, whose foundation is in the dust, which are crushed before the moth?"

 We are pilgrims and strangers in this land, and we need to live as such. These booths or tabernacles that we dwell in on this earth are only temporal, we are looking for that city that's in heaven awaiting us-- Heb 11:9  By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise-- Heb 11:13  These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.

 We see in Joh 1:14  And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. This, of course, is talking about Christ who was the Word of God made flesh, and dwelt or tabernacled among us. He is our pattern to follow--he was not making this world his permanent home. He was only living in a temporal house until his work was finished, as it says in Joh. 17:4. Let's not make this world our permanent home--lets move with God and let him perfect us so we can go home!

 Now what followed the seven day feast? Another sabbath day that was held on the eighth day, after the seven day feast. Eight represents new beginning in scripture, so the eighth day is a day of new beginnings. That is, all the harvest is in and it's a day of rejoicing--no more work! In other words, we will be Raptured to the throne of God and rest in his presence for all of eternity. It's a type of our life in heaven--no more work, no more tears, no more hurt, no more sickness, and thank God, no more devil.

 Finally the church will become that spotless bride that the book of Ephesians talks about.

The bride has made herself ready

 Rev.19:7,8 " Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the lamb is come, and his WIFE HATH MADE HERSELF READY. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the RIGHTEOUSNESS OF SAINTS. "

The manchild comes to a perfect man

 Eph. 4:13-15 " Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, into a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness whereby they lie in wait to deceive; But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ. "

The manchild is caught up to God

 Rev. 12:5 "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. "

 1 Thess. 4:16-18 " For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. WHEREFORE COMFORT ONE ANOTHER WITH THESE WORDS."

Scriptural Proofs For Symbols In Revelation Chapter 12

 Revelation 12:1 "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."

 It says "There appeared a great wonder in heaven". And this doesn't follow chronologically on from chapter 11 and verse 19 because of the time keys that follow. At the time that this great wonder appears in heaven, the great dragon has power on the earth, and he's being cast out of heaven, verses 3 & 9. And the context of the chapter tells us that we will be in some form of world government before the Rapture, 12:3,5. And in verse 6, the woman is persecuted for 1260 days-- 3 ½ year Tribulation period-- Its called time, times, and half a time-- 3 ½ times or years, verse 14. Chapter 13:5 says there was given to him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies. The Antichrist is that mouth. In the beast system, he is the mouth. And power was given to him to continue forty and two months. So the earlier verses in chapter 12, verses 1-5, refer to a time just prior to that 42 month Tribulation.

Revelation chapter 12:1-5 accurately, convincingly, and precisely describes the events preceding the great Tribulation

 1. We see the woman in 12:1, who is the visible Christian church.

 2. We see the dragon-- Satan's system and spirit desiring to devour that child that is within the woman.

 3. The birth of the manchild company-- that overcoming mature manchild who will rule the world with Christ.

 4. We see the Rapture of this mature body being caught up to heaven.

 5. We see war in heaven as a result of that Rapture, and in this war, Satan's forces are defeated by the forces of God as the manchild is Raptured up unto the throne of God.

 6. Then verses 6-17 we see Satan who is now defeated cast out of heaven into the earth and comes down having great wrath persecuting those who were not Raptured (those saints who were not Raptured; the woman and her remaining children-- they're the martyrs of the Tribulation seen in chapter 6, and in chapter 11 in a different view).

 7. The manchild's birth described in chapter 12 actually precedes the opening of the 1st seal of the mortgage scroll in chapter 6.

 So John says there appeared a great wonder in heaven. Now this great wonder is more than a wonder like a miracle or something fantastic. It's actually more specific than that, it's a great sign. It's literally a great sign. There appeared a great sign in the heavens. And a sign tips you off that this thing is not what it appears to be on the surface, but that it points to something else. A sign represents a greater reality. A sign points you to the real thing. And so you might say this is a symbol. And therefore because it's a sign, we know that John is seeing a vision and its a symbolic vision. But that doesn't take away from the truth of it. It points to a great truth that we're going to see.

 Now although he saw this sign in heaven, actually what happens concerning this chapter is taking place on earth. For instance, this woman down in verses 5 and 6, after she brings forth the manchild, is on earth and she stays on earth, and the manchild is caught up into heaven. So she's on earth, although he saw the sign taking place in heaven.

 And also down in verse 9, Satan is cast out into the earth, and in verse 13, when he was cast into the earth, he persecuted the woman who brought forth the manchild. So the woman is on earth. And in verse 3, it says there appeared another wonder in heaven; a great red dragon. So the other sign that he sees in heaven, the great red dragon, is also on earth. The reason that these things are spoken of in heaven, I think, is because we're talking about a conflict in the heavenly places. The saints are seated in heavenly places. The dragon, Satan, is accusing us before God in heaven. It says later in this chapter that he accused the saints before the throne of God day and night. And he is not just trying to devour their souls, he's trying to take them out of heaven. He's trying to make it so they don't have any place in heaven anymore. And this is a spiritual conflict as we're going to see, as well as an earthly persecution. And although those saints are on earth, there's a battle in heaven. So Satan's first choice is not just to kill all the saints, his first choice is to cause them all to backslide and lose their souls. But if he can't do that, then he'll settle for taking their lives. So there's a heavenly aspect to the tension we see in this picture here. And also in verse 16, we see the earth helped the woman. It says, "And the earth opened up her mouth and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth." Now remember that verses 1-5 are taking place before the Rapture (12:5).

 So the great sign that he sees is the woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars. And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered, and in verse 5, she brings forth a manchild.

 Who is this woman? The woman, I believe, is the church, the true church of Jesus Christ in the end of time. That is, those that are really His. Those that have the righteousness of Christ. Those that are truly born from above, are encompassed in the picture of this woman. Now some would say that it's Mary. But I'm going to list a few proofs why this woman could not possibly be Mary bringing forth the baby, Christ.

 1.) The book is a book of prophecy. The whole book is a prophecy, right from the beginning, chapter 1:3.  And the book is summed up as a prophecy in chapter 22:18,19. So start and finish the whole book is wrapped up under the heading of a prophecy. It was written in 96 A.D., approximately, and that's long after Christ was born. So it's not prophesying of the birth of Christ-- the birth of Christ is already long past. Christ is already caught up to heaven before this book is even written.

 2.) At the time that this book was written as prophecy, Mary had already brought forth Christ. Now that's pretty much the same point, but it shows the woman bringing forth the manchild and that had already happened, if this is Mary.

 3.) The dragon who stands before the woman has 7 heads. And 7 heads points us down to the time of the last day world government. Mary lived under the 6th head. Mary did not bring forth Christ in the time of the 7th head. The reason I say that is because of chapter 17:10. So 5 world kingdoms are already fallen when John wrote this book. One is, and that's the 6th one, Rome, and the other is not yet come, and when he comes, he must continue a short space, and  that's the end time Antichrist government. So we're talking about the end times. This has to be a birth that happens in the end of time.

 4.) Another problem with making this Mary is that Mary did not flee into the wilderness for 1260 days after Christ was caught up. But verse 6 says 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 three score days. And there's no record of Mary doing anything of the kind after Christ was caught up. The only things we know about Mary after Christ was caught up is she became, so to speak, the foster mother of John the apostle. That is, John took care of her. And she was there at the day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit was given. There's no record of her fleeing out into Arabia or the Sinai desert or anything like that for 1260 days.

 5.) Satan was not cast out of heaven when Mary brought forth Christ. There's no record of Satan being cast out of heaven when Mary brought forth Christ. But, verse 9 says 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. So right after the time of the birth of this manchild and this manchild is caught up, Satan is cast out, and that hasn't happened yet. Neither did Satan go to make war against Mary and the rest of her children who were not caught up as he does with this woman in verse 17--  "And the dragon was wroth, or angry, 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." (That is the rest of her seed, meaning that the rest were not caught up as the manchild was). Verse 10 says when this manchild is caught up, they sing "Now has come salvation, and the accuser of our brethren is cast down."  Satan is still accusing us before God day and night, he certainly has not stopped doing that. So this chapter hasn't happened yet.

Now another common interpretation is to say that this is Israel bringing forth Christ

 1.) Again Christ was already brought forth at the time this prophecy was written. Christ was already brought forth, and yet this speaks of the manchild being born in a time yet to come.

 2.) Now Israel was not persecuted for 3 ½ years after she brought forth Christ, and the devil did not come down to the earth with great wrath knowing that he has but a short time after Christ was caught up, if this be Christ coming to Israel. The devil did not come down to earth in that     time in history. But we read in verse 12..."Therefore rejoice ye heavens and ye that dwell in them. Woe unto the inhibitors 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." And if the devil came down to persecute Israel after Christ was caught up, then he didn't do a very good job of it because it took about 40 years after Christ was caught up before Israel finally fell and the temple was destroyed. There's no 3 ½ years involved there. So this woman is the church, the church of Jesus Christ at the end of the age, because this woman is seen in a time when there are seven heads on the dragon, verse 3. It's the church at the end of time.

 Now there's much precedence in scripture to say that the woman represents the church. One of the main ones is Ephesians 5:24-33. This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church. So he's giving some guidelines about marriage, and in there he's weaving in a higher truth of Christ and his church. So the woman represents the church. Also read: Rev.19:7;21:2;17:4; Gal.4:26; 2 Cor.11:2; Gen.3:15.

Some parallel scriptures to support that the woman is the church

 1.) The woman came from man, as the church came from Christ. The rib was taken from Adam's side and God made a woman out of it. And so to speak, the church was born out of the pierced side of Jesus Christ (Gen.2:22; Eph.5:30; 1 Cor.11:8).

 2.) The woman was brought to the man in the garden of Eden, and the church is going to be brought to Christ.

 3.) The woman was made for the man (Gen.2:18; 1 Cor.11:9). The scripture says the woman was made for the man, as the church was made for Christ.

 4.) The woman bears children for the man, as the church bears children-- spiritual children (converts for Christ) (Gen.4:1,2; Rev.12:5,17).

 5.) Also the woman is named after the man, as the church is called after the name of Christ. That name is Jesus. They're called by His name. And when we get to heaven, it says that he shall give us His new name (Gen.2:23; Rev.3:12).

 6.) Another scripture talking about the church being a woman is Galatians 4:26. But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all. So Jerusalem, the church in heaven, that is, the church being in heavenly places in Christ Jesus, is the mother of us all.

 7.) 1 Corinthians 11:7 is another one..." For a man indeed ought not to cover his head, for as much as he is the image and glory of God. But, the woman is the glory of the man." So we see an analogy there. The man is the image of God. The woman is the image of man who is in the image of God, so the woman is the image of God. The woman is the image of the church

(Isa.62:1-3) The Gentiles is speaking of the church.

 8.) And as a man ought to be submitted to God, so the woman should be submitted to the man (Gen.3:16; Eph.5:22).

 9.) 2 Corinthians 11:2 "For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ." So he compares the church to a chaste virgin who's being espoused to Christ.

 10.) Genesis 3:15 says that the seed of the woman shall bruise the serpent's head. And that's Christ who crushed Satan's authority on Calvary when he died for our sins. And it has another application down at the end of time, there's going to be another seed of the woman that shall bruise the serpent's head. Those scriptures that apply to Jesus Christ apply to those that are in Christ. And so in the end of time, there's going to be another crushing of Satan's head.

"This woman was clothed with the sun"-- Now clothed means "Wrapped around or thrown around or enshrouded with the sun." She's clothed. The sun is her raiment. The sun is the garment that she has on. And the sun, of course, points to Jesus Christ and his righteousness (Gal.3:27).

 Malachi 4:2 calls him the sun of righteousness. It says that unto you that fear my name, the Sun of righteousness is going to arise. You're going to see him. He's going to shine on you. That's Jesus.

 In Matthew 17:2 when Jesus was transfigured, his face shone like the sun.

 Revelation 1:16 says... "And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp two- edged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength." And that's Jesus. His righteousness, his glory is compared to the sun (Acts 26:13-15; Rev.21:23; Psa.84:11).

 Now the Catholics use this phrase in Rev.12:1 to teach that Mary was born without sin. Mary had no sin, and therefore she shined like the sun in and of herself. Of course, this is not true.

 Now the woman (the church) is a light to the world by the light of God, by Jesus whose righteousness is wrapped around her. Christ's righteousness is the source of this sunshine brightness, not the woman herself. You see, she's clothed with the sun, it's not her. It's something that she's put on by her own choice, by her own decision. The righteousness is of Christ, and Jesus is the source of this brightness. It's not a fire or a flame, but it's the sunshine coming from this woman, from what she has on. She has on the righteousness of Christ. Read Rev.19:6-8 speaking of the Bride.

 Matt. 5:14 says you are the light of the world. You, the church, are the light of the world, because when you're wrapped in my righteousness and you're walking in it, you become as a shining light. That's what you're supposed to be.

 Matt.13:43 says, "The righteous shall shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of  God."

Not only is she wrapped with the sun, but she has the moon under her feet.

 The moon is a symbol of the O.T. Covenant and the O.T. church, you might say. The O.T. congregation of the saints of God. The Old Covenant we know borrowed light from the true Covenant, the new Covenant, Jesus Christ being the sun and the sun shines and the moon reflects the light of the sun. The moon has no light of its own. It has no energy or light pulsing out of it, just that which the sun reflects onto the moon. And so the O.T. has no light of it's own, but it borrowed light from that which God knew was going to come. And you look at the tabernacle and all the vessels of the tabernacle and various things-- they all point to Christ. The sacrifices point to Christ. It even says the spirit of Christ was in them, and it signified things concerning Christ. David signified Christ. The kings signified Christ. They all pointed to Christ. Boaz, when he took Ruth for his wife, that pointed to Christ taking his bride. Enoch who walked with God and was not, that points to Christ who walked with God and God took him. You see, the whole Old Covenant was borrowing light from the New Covenant that was going to come.

 Psalm 104:19,20 says, He appointed the moon for seasons. The sun knoweth his going down; Thou makest darkness, and it is night, etc.. It says that God appointed the moon and the sun.

 Psalm 136:7-9 it says... Read. So the sun is to rule by day, and the moon and stars by night. And we'll see that spiritually this time of day and night refers to the New Covenant and the Old Covenant, Jer.31:35.

 Romans 13:12...  Since Christ came and brought us light the day is at hand. The time of the O.T., the time when all the promises of God were yet future, is far spent. The day is now at hand.

 Galatians 3:23-34; Ephesians 5:8 says that you who were at one time darkness are now light in the Lord, 1 John 1:9.  1 John 2:8 ties it all together... Read. And that true light is Christ. The true light now shineth.

 So this woman is standing upon the moon. That means that she is founded. She has her foundation upon the moon, upon the promises of God that He spoke forth in the Old Testament, Matt.5:17; Rom.3:31. He laid a foundation in the Old Testament that is for the church. And that's why it says in Galatians 3:23,24 that the law was a schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ. Through the Law comes the knowledge of sin. The Law shows us how sinful we are, and then we're glad to come to Christ and say, "O.K. Lord, I understand your righteous commandments now. Help me out here." So we come to Christ and we're justified.

Now she has upon her head a crown of 12 stars. The word for crown is "Stephanos", it means "a victor's wreath", 1 John 5:4. A wreath of 12 stars. And twelve is the number of the heavenly kingdom of God, whether it be on earth or in heaven. It's a completeness of government and the authority of God, the kingdom of God. And so it points to God's ministers. It points to those like it says in Hebrews, those who have the rule over you. Who are watching for your souls.

 The church began under the head ship of 12 apostles. When the church was born, there were 12 apostles of the Lamb to lead it and to guide it. However, these 12 stars are not just the 12 apostles of the Lamb (although I think that's involved) but, it doesn't say stop there, because the 12 apostles are not the woman's head ship and government at the time of the seventh head, Rev.12:3. They're not here on earth to bear the rule over us and watch for our souls. Jesus is watching for our souls, and now He has new shepherds and those that are following in the old way of God who are the government of God today. And so if the 12 apostles are involved with these 12 stars, which I think is true, it's pointing to the spiritual government of God in the end times. It's saying that this woman has a perfect government, as it were, has a complete government. There are offices God has bestowed to this church, just as there were offices in the beginning of the church, which God gave to guide the church and protect it. And so also in the end of time, it's the government of God. It also may not be 12 men at all, but spiritually speaking of God's men, in general, leading the church.

 Stars speak of the ministers of God. And in Rev.1:16 and 20 the seven stars are the angels, the messengers to the seven churches. So were talking about the ministers of God. In Dan.12:3 it says that they that turn many to righteousness shall shine as the stars of heaven, also Dan.8:10.

 Genesis 15:5;22:17;26:4.... Compares Abraham's seed, Abraham is to be the father of many nations, and God compares his seed to the heaven, because he becomes the father of many nations, of the faithful saints of God. So you might say the stars are the saints, but more specifically, they are the leadership of those saints. And we know that many times as the leadership goes, that's the way the saints go. The leadership represents the church, and they are accountable for the church.

 Crown with 12 stars-- The 12 stars were the crown-- Godly leaders submitted to God with a victor's wreath, Jesus Christ.

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