I am a retired pastor of
the Church of God (Tennessee). My name is Isaac Livingston. I am from Neyyoor India. |
Email: Pastor True Gospel
"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 is a wonder in heaven. Wonder is miraculous. Since it is in heaven, it is of the spirit and not of the world. A few churches say that the woman is Israel. Israel is of the world, but not of heaven. And so, she is not Israel. This woman is clothed with the sun. If we make it to new heavens, our glorified spirits in heaven will be like Jesus Christ, and he shines like the sun. God is also sun as in Psalms 84:11. So, the sun that covers the woman, is either her glory, or it is the presence of God. Moon is secondary light to the sun. God is the sun; his word is light, and so, his doctrine is the moon. So, this woman stands on the doctrine of Jesus Christ. Upon her head a crown of twelve stars. The twelve apostles are the twelve stars on the crowns of the woman. They are spiritual and their spirits are in heaven. "2 And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered." It is a figure of speech. Jesus and his disciples as a group represent the woman, and she was going through painful time. Jesus being crucified and dead, and it was the travailing of the woman in birth. She is about to give birth; that is, he is going to be raised from death, and to be born in heaven as a child. Even after that, his disciples and followers will remain as the woman in the world, doing ministry, even though their spirits are in heaven, and they are spiritual.
"3 And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads." It is another wonder in heaven. So, it is not in the world. A great red dragon is Satan himself. Seven heads and ten horns are pertained to future events, which will be even after the millennium. So, let us skip that portion now. "4 And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born." His tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven refers to the event that Satan and his angels will be cut off from heaven. When Satan goes down, his demons also will go down with him. We will see it in 9&10 also. Now Satan is waiting to devour her child. "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." This is the most unexpected shock of all shocks to Satan. Let us go to the actual events. God became a man; he was Jesus; he began his ministry and had twelve disciples. Jesus and his disciples, as a small group, was very vulnerable. And Satan as the prince of this world, was extraordinarily strong, almost had power to destroy them, and he was in the process of doing it. He wants to destroy God when he was man. So, as Jesus ascends to heaven, that is being born into heaven, Satan wants to devour him as a child; that is to devour the soul of Jesus, just before he gets into the omnipotent Spirit of God. Satan successfully killed Jesus, and Jesus was buried. But God raised him from his death and made him ascend into heaven; not as a child, but as the begotten Son of God as in John 3:16, with a rod of iron, anointed and declared him as God as in Hebrews 1:8&9, gave all omnipotent powers as in Matthew 28:18, and made him sat on the throne of God. So, Jesus Christ is now God with all his power. Satan has miserably failed in his plan and ambition to devour him as a soul, that is as a child. Now Satan could not stand before Jesus Christ since he is now God. But he went after the woman, who was the disciples and followers of Jesus Christ, to persecute them.
"7 And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, 8 And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. 9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him." God tolerated Satan so far, and allowed him access to heaven, even talked with him, until he attempted to devour his child in heaven. Michael, and his angels, threw Satan and all his angels to earth and destroyed the place that he was staying in heaven. So, he will have no more access to heaven. Please notice; Satan was completely cut off from heaven, and it is the beginning of the new testament; yet, he is still the prince of this world, and so, he has power in this world. "6 And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days." We must notice a few things here. This passage is a twofold prophesy. Something happened right then, and something will be carried to the end and will be fulfilled there. The woman is also twofold. The spirit part of the woman is in heaven, and Satan cannot do anything with her. The physical part of the ministry was in the world, it was with the disciples of Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ promised the ministry to continue until the end of the world, and Satan can persecute the ministry. The 1260 days is three and a half years. It is also twofold. It was applied to the 12 apostles and followers of Jesus, to Paul at Arabia, and to people like us also, if we are taught by God and the Holy Ghost. Also, it will apply in the great tribulation towards the end, to the woman and to the remnant. The woman will be taken in rapture, and will be kept safe, away from the tribulation of Satan. But the remnant will go through the tribulation. Most preachers present various kinds of geographical places to feed the woman and have written a lot of books. They are doing it to become popular, and to make money.
Bible teachers have difference of opinion about when the new testament begins. Most of them say that it begins with Matthew, since Jesus began to preach the gospel there. They are right. Some of them say that it begins with the Holy Ghost baptism and its ministry, and so, new testament begins with the book of Acts. Their reason is good, and so this is also right. But if we look into the spiritual events of when the old testament, or when the old covenant is cut off and the new covenant is implemented, we may find another event. "10 And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night." In Hebrews 10:9 Jesus Christ tells God the Father that "Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second." At the ascension of Jesus Christ to heaven, and when he was seated on the throne in heaven, the old testament has ended, and the new testament began. First, Satan and his angels were thrown down to earth from heaven, and they will have no more access to heaven. The kingdom of God with the power of Jesus Christ began. But common people saw it at the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem. When the temple is broken down, the Jews were disbursed, and sacrifices and worship in the temple were no more, it is proof that the old testament was ended. But even now preachers say that Satan is still the accuser of the brethren. They are ignorant. "11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death." They overcame. Who are they? They are the woman and those who follow Jesus Christ. How did they overcome? They loved not their lives unto the death for the cause of God, and it was by the word of their testimony. So, they must have lived sinless life, in order to have this holy testimony. And so, God forgives all their past sins by the blood of the Lamb. So, they overcame.
God is above all, the universe, hell, and heaven. However, in the new testament, while Jesus Christ is sitting on the throne of God in his kingdom, which is spiritual reality; Satan will be the prince of this world, and he will have power in the world, until an angel from heaven "cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled:" as in Revelation 20:3. God has set it up that way. "12 Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time. 13 And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man child." These verses will have prophetic fulfillment; that is, parts will happen then, and it will also fulfill latter. At that time, Satan persecuted the apostles and followers; they were symbolical woman. Satan used Jews, and then Romans, to persecute them. And, this verse will apply to the rapture, and to the great tribulation also. So, it tells those who are in heaven to rejoice. "14 And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent. 15 And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood." Satan cast water like ocean. Water is symbol for the word of God. Here, the water comes from the mouth of Satan; so, it is the word of Satan, which is false doctrine. He sent his doctrine as a tsunami to drown the woman. But she flew with the wings of eagle above the water, and she was taken to a spiritual place of God and was taught the pure word of God for symbolical three and a half years, until she abides in the word of God. A time, and times, and half a time, refers to three and a half years. Again, the prophesy will fulfill in the end time, at tribulation. Then the woman will fly in the rapture and will be with Jesus until the Millennium reign. "16 And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth." The earth represents the worldly churches, and they are not of the spirit. The earthly church and the spiritual church have no affiliation or friendship. It says that the earth helped the woman, but it is sarcastic usage. The earth had no other choice but to drink the tsunami water, which are the doctrines of Satan. So, all the major churches in the world have the doctrine of Satan. "17 And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ." Here, the dragon is in war with all those who obey the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. Please notice, that he could not do anything to the woman, since she is in heaven with God, and so, he went to the remnant. There is the difference between the woman and the remnant. What is it? The rapture just happens. Whoever will be made perfect at that point, will be the woman, and they will be raptured. But whoever are on the process, but not yet made perfect, will not be taken in the rapture. They will be the remnant and will get stuck in the tribulation. Satan and his people will persecute them. But this remnant shall overcome since they will keep the commandments and have the testimony of Jesus Christ (verse 11). They should and they will inherit new heavens as sons of God.
However, the rapture will not happen for another 300+ years according to the bible. It is another study. The link is: "Rapture."
The book of Revelation is important to spiritual people. The twelfth chapter has a few important facts. Fact one: Jesus sat on the throne in the Kingdom of God; Satan and his demons were cast down to earth, with no more access to heaven; but he has power as prince of this world. Here, new testament begins. Fact two: Spirit of the true church is safe in heaven; but the body is open to persecution by Satan on earth; but at the end, the church will be with God, either as bride or as sons. Fact three: Church will be striving to become perfect. Perfected people are the woman, and in-process people are remnant. The woman will go in rapture with Jesus Christ as his bride. Her remnant will go through great tribulation and should become Sons of God.
Note: If any point needs explanation, OR, if you find
an error according to scripture,
Please write to me in the 'Mail Box' below. I will
reply promptly. Thanks.
God Bless You
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Matthew 28:20, & Mark 16:15. Jesus Christ preached his commandments to obey, as his
Gospel; it is the true Gospel to inherit Eternal life. Genesis 3:1-4 & 2 Corinth 11:2-4. But Preachers, who are Serpents of Satan, preach the life of man Jesus just to believe, but not to live as a chaste virgin, as the gospel; it is another gospel, which cannot and will not give Eternal life.The true gospel will convert evil people to do good and thereby they will inherit the kingdom in heaven.
John 3:19-21 say that people are two kinds, evil and true. Evil doers will not come to the Light, who is God; but people of truth come to God for their deeds to be made manifest. We have good and evil people by our standard of our society or culture. These evil people may be converted to be doers of truth by the power of God, and they may inherit the kingdom of God in heaven.
Email: Pastor True Gospel