Miriam, mother of Yahoshua, in the beginning of Matthew, is found with child before she is legally married to her husband, Joseph. This causes great controvercy that echoes on down through the ages, even to the present! How could the Messiah, Prince of Peace, be a "bastard child?" Much is made of the term used by Isaiah "a young maiden shall give birth," and in Matthew we find a highly disputed and contravercial reference to this scripture, and a bold statement that Mary was a pure, physical virgin when she conceived, and that the father was some "ghostly" apparation of God himself. I covered this subject at length in the article "Virgin Birth," and I recommend you read that article as well before pressing on into this study.

Yet, we find, in the end times, in the book of Revelation, Chapter 12, either a repeat of history, or a "recap" of events, depending upon who is doing the interpretation. Modern teachers of the prophetic seem to agree that the events of Revelation 12 start out by "recapping" the birth and ascension of Yahoshua Messiah. They are certain in their own minds that the "woman with child" in Revelation 12 is Israel, and the "man child" she brings forth is none other than "Jesus Christ."

There are, however, a myriad of problems in the text of Chapter 12 itself, when one takes this approach. I will outline them here. First, let's look at the beginning of this chapter:

Revelation 12: 1-2
"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:
2 And she being with child, cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered."

If you just glance at these first two verses it seems apparent that it is indeed talking about Israel at the time of the birth of Messiah. Israel was in great pains, awaiting her deliverer, Messiah, at his first appearing. Israel has 12 tribes, who were depicted as "stars" in Joseph's dream. Also, in Joseph's dream, the sun was depicted as "Jacob" the patriarch of the 12 tribes, and the moon was depicted as "their mother."

Genesis 37: 9-10
"9 And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it his brethren, and said, "behold, I have dreamed a dream more; and behold the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance to me.
10 And he told it to his father, and to his brethren: and his father rebuked him, and said to him, What is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall I and your mother and your brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to you in the earth?"

As you can see, I have made a great case that "the woman" of Revelation 12 is indeed Israel, and "the child" is none other than "the deliverer," Yahoshua Messiah. Yet, as we read the next few verses, serious problems in harmony start to rear up.

Revelation 12: 3-4
"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.
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."

The first problem in hermeneutics here is the depiction of the "red dragon" as having "seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads." The reason this description poses a problem is simple, it's the exact same description of the Beast of Revelation 13, and most interpreters teach that the events here depicted occurred prior to the writing of Revelation.

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 of blasphemy."

If you are not well versed in prophecy, you might not see the significance of this, and you certainly won't understand why it poses a problem. Yet, when we read this description of this beast, and compare it to the visions of Daniel concerning the "fourth great kingdom on the earth" we begin to know and understand that Revelation 13 is not depicting Ancient Rome, which is widely regarded as the proper interpretation. There is one very logical reason why Revelation 13 cannot be depicting the rise of Rome. Rome had already risen and indeed was the ruling empire at the time of the writing of the book of Revelation. It is clear from reading Revelation 13, that these events have not yet happened, and are yet in the future, when John writes them down. John states clearly at the beginning of Revelation that the things he is about to unviel are things that "must shortly come to pass." Yet, we know from history that Rome is indeed "the fourth great kingdom upon the earth," and Daniel's description of this "beast" that is the fourth great kingdom totally matches the description in Revelation 13, with some minor differences.

There can only be one conclusion, therefore, and that is, the beast of Revelation, who is given power from the Dragon himself, is some form of government that arises in place of Rome, yet is identical to Rome, and in fact is a "resurrection" of Rome. Thus, this great beast of Revelation is indeed, the rise of a "new" Roman Empire, which will be built upon the ashes of the old, and be fashioned in the same fashion. Thus we understand why Revelation 13 says the beast receives a fatal head wound, but that wound is healed. Rome fell and is no more. Yet, there comes a day when Rome is once again the bone crushing power in the world!

What has all this to do with "the woman" of Revelation 12? Everything. If Revelation 12 is talking about Israel and outlines the events of the birth of Messiah, why is the Dragon described as having "seven heads, ten horns, and ten crowns?" Revelation 12: 3 is clearly setting the time frame of this birth to coincide with the arising of the Beast of Revelation 13! That is the significance of the "seven heads, ten horns and ten crowns." It's basic logic!

Many who have taught that the Beast of Revelation 13 is definately the Roman Empire, have effectively argued that it was Rome who attempted to destroy the Messiah the moment he was born. Harad, the Roman Governor, sent troops into Bethlehem to kill every child born within the last year. Mary and Joseph barely escaped with their lives, and with the life of the young Messiah, only by God's intervention. Yet, if this interpretation be true, then John is not describing things that "must shortly come to pass," in his life time, but is giving us a "recap" of history, and describing things that had already occurred. This makes absolutely no logical sense at all. Furthermore, when we read the rest of Revelation 12, we read of events that had not yet occurred, things that could not logically have occurred in the history. Also, those who teach this interpretation are Christian, and the descriptions of the child born to the woman of Revelation 12 do not match the description of Messiah, not the Messiah who is taught by Christianity, at least.

Most importantly, as we read Revelation 12, certain events transpire with the Dragon that leave no doubt this prophecy did not take place at the time of Messiah's birth.

Revelation 12: 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."

We know that "the stars of heaven" are not literal. The stars of heaven are distant suns, billions and even trillions of miles away, and should one of those stars be cast to the earth, the earth would be instantly vaporized. This leaves no doubt that it's talking about the "falling away." When John wrote Revelation, the great falling away that would precede the return of Messiah was still yet in the future. The great "falling away" is described in 2 Thessalonians Chapter 2 (verses 3 through 12), but we won't go into that. Suffice it to say, verse 3 is clearly an account of this falling away, when many turn from the truth and follow the anti-Messiah teachings. This is the clearest and most stark evidence that the events of Revelation 12 had not yet occurred when John wrote Revelation.

Some have put forth the idea that the "stars from heaven cast to the earth," is a depiction of when Satan deceived "a third of the angels in heaven" and they were cast to the earth, to become Demons. They quote Messiah's words "I saw Satan like lightning cast to the earth." (Luke 10: 18) This interpretation defies all logic. First and foremost, the Dragon drags these "stars" to the earth while he's standing before the woman who is "ready" to be delivered. Yet, if the stars are "fallen angels" and fallen angles are "demons," then why were demons common knowledge prior to Messiah's birth? Demons are spoken of thousands of years before Messiah's birth. Yet, this is not the end of the contradictions.

Revelation 12: 5- 9
"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.
6 And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days.
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 deceived the whole world: he was cast out into the earth and his angels were cast out with him."

Modern hermeneutics simply is all mixed up about the casting down of Satan. Most teach that Satan was cast down to earth when he fell from Grace (as depicted in Isaiah), and that a third of the angels were cast down with him. Yet, Satan fell from Grace before man was even created, for we find the "Serpent" in a fallen state in the Garden of Eden in Genesis. Why would Messiah then say, "I saw Satan like lightning fall to the earth?" (Luke 10: 18) According to Revelation 12 Satan and his angels aren't cast out of heaven until after the birth of "the man child." If this birth is talking about Yahoshua Messiah's birth, then, evidently Satan was cast down to earth while Messiah was still alive, before he shed his blood on the cross. Yet, according to the next verses, this cannot be so either.

Revelation 12: 10-11
"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 Messiah, for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.
11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony, and they loved not their lives unto death."

Here we have clear statements that at the time Satan is overthrown, the kingdom of God takes over, and the power of Messiah is instituted. Verse 11 states that "they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb." Thus, we see Satan with access to accuse "the brethren" who "overcame him by the blood." How could this happen if Satan was cast to earth before Messiah even shed his blood? It also says, "and by the word of their testimony." So, evidently, the "brethren" here mentioned are they that testify of Messiah and of his salvation.

It should be clear to all who read this that the casting down of Satan does not take place before the birth of Messiah, it does not take place before the death and resurrection of Messiah, before he can shed his blood, and it does not take place before the Gospel can be preached to the entire world or before testimony could be given of his work in the earth. Satan is accusing "the brethren" in heaven before he is cast down, those who "have the testimony of Yahoshua," and those who "overcame him by the blood."

Therefore, we can only conclude that the events of Revelation 12 had not yet occurred when John wrote them! (Which, again, makes perfect sense because Revelation is a book of "things that must shortly come to pass"). Satan was still in heaven, accusing, and the third of the angels whom he deceived also were still in heaven at the time of the writing of Revelation. Thus, logic also dictates that at the time of the writing of Revelation, this "man child" was not born yet! This is truly an amazing revelation. There can be no doubt of this simple truth, which we arrive at through simple deductive reasoning.

I said earlier that the child born in Revelation 12 does not resemble the Messiah as depicted by Christianity. We can see that in the above quoted verses. Allow me to recap for you.

In verse 5 it says "she brought forth a man child." Christianity states in no uncertain terms that Messiah is not a man, but is "God born in flesh." Thus, the Christian Messiah is not a man child but is a "God child." Also, in verse 5 this "man child" is "caught up to God and to His throne." Christianity teaches that the Messiah WAS God, and therefore, would not have to be "caught up" to the throne. In fact Christianity teaches quite the opposite, that God LEFT his throne and came to earth. Yet, here is this man child, whom the Christians say is Messiah, and he is "caught up" to God and his throne. This makes absolutely no logical sense whatsoever, therefore, to conclude that this man child in Revelation is the Christian "Jesus."

Most importantly, in verse 6 it says the woman flees "into the wilderness" where she is fed for a period of time and where she is "hidden" from the face of the Dragon. Classic hermeneutics teaches, as I've said, that the woman is Israel. When did Israel "flee" to the wilderness? When was Israel "hidden" from the Devil? Israel has been persecuted ever since Rome overthrew Jerusalem, around about 70 A.D. Jews have been slaughtered by the millions down through the ages, all the way into modern times, under Nazi Germany. This does not sound like Israel was being "fed" and "hidden" very well!

As you can see, when you actually READ the book of Revelation, it becomes harder and harder to understand how so many people can be fooled by modern prophetic teaching! It's also very difficult to understand how these errors can be so prevalent, and those who publish books repeating this nonsense can become best sellers! Evidently people love to be lied to, and to be told "cunningly devised fables."

The final evidence that the casting down of Satan does not happen until the very end of things, is found in Revelation 12: 12.

"Therefore rejoice, you heavens, and you that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea for the devil is come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has but a short time."

Once the Devil and his angels are cast out of heaven, they know they only have a "short time." The end is near. When you consider that John stated Revelation was a book of "things that must shortly come to pass," you begin to realize that the war in heaven had not taken place. We further can know that it still has not taken place! How do we know that? If Satan and his angels are all cast to the earth, where are they? We know what they do after they are cast down. They begin to persecute the woman, who is flown to a place of safety, and then they turn on the remnant of her seed.

Revelation 12: 13- 17
"13 And when the dragon saw that he was cast to the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man."
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.
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.
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 Yahoshua Messiah."

These verses depict the great persecutions to come. The Dragon, unable to punish the woman for bringing forth the man child, then turns his attention to "those who keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Yahoshua Messiah."

This "remnant" of which is spoken in verse 17 are not just those who "confess Messiah." Why not? Because the remnant in Revelation 12 don't just "have the testimony of Messiah," they also "keep the commandments of God." Modern hermeneutics teaches that it is IMPOSSIBLE to keep the commandments of God. It further is commonly taught that those who believe that it's possible to keep the commandments of God and those who teach that we MUST keep the commandments are "legalists," "cultish," and "fallen from Grace." Modern thought is that we are "saved by Grace" and that the commandments of God have been done away with in "Christ!"

Someone has clearly gone to great lengths to hide the true meaning and fulfillment of Revelation 12. The "woman" here in Revelation 12 is none other than the Bride of Messiah (who is also Israel). Like Mary, the Bride of Messiah turns up pregnant before the wedding. She brings forth a "man" into the world. The Bride brings forth "Messiah in you, the hope of Glory." This is the second coming of Messiah, in you! It is the prelude event to the triumphant return of Messiah in physical form. The moment when the Bride of Messiah is joined with Yahoshua and becomes ONE!

When the Bride becomes one, and brings forth Messiah from within, the war is over. Satan has lost and is defeated. He can no longer "accuse" the brethren, for there is no longer anything of which to accuse them. The Bride is "like Messiah," and is "one with Messiah," and is "without sin," and is "found without spot or wrinkle." Satan is then cast to the earth, and attempts to use the authorities, principalities, and powers of the earth to destroy the Bride who has brought forth the man child within her. Yet he fails, and she flees, with the help of two great wings of an eagle. Then the Dragon seeks out all the remnant of the Bride, who have not yet brought forth Messiah in them, but who keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Yahoshua Messiah.

There is no more simpler an interpretation of Revelation 12 than the one that is offered here. It truly is not rocket science, and indeed, a child can see it.

Yahweh bless and keep you, IN HIS LOVE.


Shalom

J. Dean

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