The Woman and the Dragon

“In your distress when all these things have found you in the latter days, then you will return to Yahweh your God, and you will listen to his voice.” Deuteronomy 4:30.

I have maintained the book of John’s Revelation needs to be examined in small portions and compared to other scripture to find its meaning. The goal of this blog post is not to provide any concrete answers or interpretations of scripture, but to open the readers mind to scripture that they may not have been previously exposed to. This is to challenge the reader to dig deep in scripture for themselves, and to not be satisfied with the many narratives, false doctrines and imaginations of men that have been floating around for many hundreds of years. In the first part of chapter 12, we see a sign in the heavens and a woman giving birth to a male child.

Rev 12:1 And a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars.
Rev 12:2 She was pregnant and was crying out in birth pains and the agony of giving birth.
Rev 12:3 And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads seven diadems.
Rev 12:4 His tail swept down a third of the stars of heaven and cast them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she bore her child he might devour it.
Rev 12:5 She gave birth to a male child, one who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron, but her child was caught up to God and to his throne,
Rev 12:6 and the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, in which she is to be nourished for 1,260 days.

Jesus is the only one who is to rule with a rod of iron.

Rev 19:15 From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty.

This was prophesied long ago by Jacob to his son Judah. Jesus fulfilled this prophecy:

Gen 49:8 Judah, as for you, your brothers shall praise you. Your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies. The sons of your father shall bow down to you.
Gen 49:9 Judah is a lion’s cub. From the prey, my son, you have gone up. He bowed down; he crouched like a lion and as a lioness. Who shall rouse him?
Gen 49:10 The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff between his feet, until Shiloh comes. And to him shall be the obedience of nations.
Gen 49:11 Binding his donkey to the vine and his donkey’s colt to the choice vine, he washes his clothing in the wine and his garment in the blood of grapes.
Gen 49:12 The eyes are darker than wine, and the teeth whiter than milk.

The second half of chapter 12 gives us a war in heaven, and the dragon and his angels being thrown down to Earth.

Rev 12:7 Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back,
Rev 12:8 but he was defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven.
Rev 12:9 And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.
Rev 12:10 And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God.
Rev 12:11 And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death.
Rev 12:12 Therefore, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath, because he knows that his time is short!”
Rev 12:13 And when the dragon saw that he had been thrown down to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child.
Rev 12:14 But the woman was given the two wings of the great eagle so that she might fly from the serpent into the wilderness, to the place where she is to be nourished for a time, and times, and half a time.
Rev 12:15 The serpent poured water like a river out of his mouth after the woman, to sweep her away with a flood.
Rev 12:16 But the earth came to the help of the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed the river that the dragon had poured from his mouth.
Rev 12:17 Then the dragon became furious with the woman and went off to make war on the rest of her offspring, on those who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus. And he stood on the sand of the sea.

The dragon is called a serpent, the devil and Satan. None of these titles give this entities’ name. Satan is just a Hebrew word meaning adversary (שטן). Does this devil have a name? The book of Enoch names him Gadriel, and he is the one who deceived Eve, or Chuah, which means life giver.

The name of the third is Gadr’el: he discovered every stroke of death to the children of men. He seduced Chuah; and discovered to the children of men the instruments of death, the coat of mail, the shield, and the sword for slaughter; every instrument of death to the children of men. From his hand were derived to them who dwell upon earth, from that period forever. CHANOK (ENOCH) 69:6-8 את CEPHER

Enoch is a book that Jesus and the Apostles were familiar with. Both Peter and Jude quote from Enoch, and Enoch explains the origin of the devils and evil spirits talked about all through the New Testament. There are things in the sixty-six book Bible that are alluded to from Enoch that are never explained, in my opinion, because the writers assumed their audience had read the book of Enoch. Some people don’t like the book, or are afraid to read it, but it contains information one should know. Going back to chapter 12 of Revelation, the great sign that appears in the heavens described in verse one is similar to that of a dream Joseph had.

Gen 37:9 Then he dreamed yet another dream and told it to his brothers. And he said, “Behold, I dreamed a dream again, and behold, the sun and the moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me.”
Gen 37:10 And he told it to his father and to his brothers. And his father rebuked him and said to him, “What is this dream that you have dreamed? Will I and your mother and your brothers indeed come to bow down to the ground to you?”
Gen 37:11 And his brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the matter in mind.

Some people believe this sign in the heavens happened on September 23, 2017, just after Yom Toruah. It was the one time the constellation of Virgo had Jupiter in such a place as to give birth with twelve stars around her head and the moon at her feet. At some point after this the dragon is thrown down to Earth and makes war with those who keep the commandments of Yahweh and have faith in Jesus. The mother of the child, Israel, is forced into the wilderness, “where she is to be nourished for a time, and times, and half a time”. This is all speculation, but some think this time that Israel is nourished in the wilderness is referring to the regathering of the remnant spoken of over and over by the prophets. In many of my blogs I make reference to the dispersion of Israel, also spoken of by the prophets, and apostles. Israel sinned by committing adultery with foreign gods, going after false feast days, sabbaths and holidays, angering Yahweh to the point of where He divorced them and scattered them. Next, we are going to look at this regathering that will take place, possibly in the context of chapter twelve in Revelation, and possibly soon. This is sometimes referred to as the second exodus. First, the prophecy of the dispersion for disobedience:

Deu 4:26 I call to witness against you today the heaven and the earth, that you will perish soon and completely from the land that you are crossing the Jordan into it to take possession of it; you will not live long on it, but you will be completely destroyed.
Deu 4:27 And Yahweh will scatter you among the peoples, and you will be left few in number among the nations to where Yahweh will lead you.
Deu 4:28 And you will there serve gods made by human hands, of wood and stone, gods that cannot see and cannot hear and cannot eat and cannot smell.
Deu 4:29 But from there you shall seek Yahweh your God and will find him, if you seek him with all your heart and with all your soul.
Deu 4:30 In your distress when all these things have found you in the latter days, then you will return to Yahweh your God, and you will listen to his voice.
Deu 4:31 For Yahweh your God is a compassionate God; he will not abandon you, and he will not destroy you, and he will not forget the covenant of your ancestors that he swore to them.

Yahweh called the two witnesses of Heaven and Earth, and Jesus similarly uses these two witnesses describing the time the Law of Yahweh will exist.

Mat 5:18 For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.
Mat 5:19 Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

All throughout the prophets we see of a regathering taking place of Yahweh’s people who were dispersed to the nations and mixed with the Gentiles.

Jer 16:14 Therefore look, days are coming,’ declares Yahweh, ‘and it will no longer be said, “As Yahweh lives, who led up the Israelites from the land of Egypt,”
Jer 16:15 but only “As Yahweh lives, who led up the Israelites from the land of the north, and from all the lands where he had driven them,” for I will bring them back to their ground that I gave to their ancestors.

This will be a bigger event than Israel being delivered from Egypt. This does not appear to have happened yet, although some say this was fulfilled on the day of Pentecost in the book of Acts, or when many people returned to the nation state of Israel. I believe there is merit in those theories, but they do not explain everything, unless scripture is viewed completely allegorically. This following verse in Isaiah gives us more of this picture:

Isa 11:10 And this shall happen on that day: the nations shall inquire of the root of Jesse, which shall be standing as a signal to the peoples, and his resting place shall be glorious.
Isa 11:11 And this shall happen on that day: The Lord will again extend his hand a second time to acquire the remnant of his people that is left, from Assyria, Egypt, Pathros, Cush, Elam, Shinar, Hamath, and the coastlands of the sea,
Isa 11:12 and he will raise a signal for the nations. And he will gather the outcasts of Israel, and he will gather the scattered ones of Judah together from the four corners of the earth.
Isa 11:13 And the jealousy of Ephraim shall depart, and the enemies of Judah shall be cut off. Ephraim shall not be jealous of Judah, and Judah shall not be an enemy of Ephraim.
Isa 11:14 But they shall swoop upon the Philistine shoulder, westward. Together they shall plunder the sons of the east. Edom and Moab will be under their command, and the sons of Ammon will be their subjugated people.
Isa 11:15 And Yahweh will divide the tongue of the sea of Egypt, and he will wave his hand over the river with his scorching wind; and he will strike it into seven streams, and he will make it passable by foot.
Isa 11:16 So there shall be a highway from Assyria for the remnant of his people that remains, as there was for Israel when it went up from the land of Egypt.

Yahweh is going to make it possible to come by foot as the people crossed the Red Sea leaving Egypt. It looks like a physical movement of mortals because they will be blind, lame and pregnant.

Jer 31:6 For there will be a day when watchmen will call in the hill country of Ephraim, ‘Stand up, and let us go up to Zion, to Yahweh our God.'”
Jer 31:7 For thus says Yahweh, “Sing for joy for Jacob with gladness, and shout out for the head of the nations. Proclaim, praise, and say, ‘Save, O Yahweh, your people, the remnant of Israel.’
Jer 31:8 Look, I am going to bring them from the land of the north, and I will gather them from the remotest part of the earth. Among them the blind, and the lame, those who are pregnant, and those who give birth, together, a great assembly, they will return here.
Jer 31:9 With weeping they will come, and with pleas for mercy I will bring them; I will let them walk by streams of water in a straight path. They will not stumble in it, for I have become to Israel a father, and Ephraim, he is my firstborn.”
Jer 31:10 Hear the word of Yahweh, O nations, and declare in the coastlands from afar, and say, “The scatterer of Israel will gather him, and he will keep him as a shepherd his flock.
Jer 31:11 For Yahweh has ransomed Jacob, and he has redeemed him from the hand of the person stronger than he.

These images of Yahweh regathering His people are too numerous to list. I am only providing some examples. Once it is understood there is only one people of Yahweh, “who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus”, these scriptures appear to point to this remnant of people who exist now, or sometime in the future. These events seem to happen before the resurrection where believers receive their spiritual bodies.

Hos 2:14 Therefore, Look! I am going to allure her and bring her into the desert, and I will speak tenderly to her.
Hos 2:15 From there I will give her her vineyards, and the Valley of Achor as a doorway of hope. And there she will respond, as in the days of her youth, just as in the day of her coming out of the land of Egypt.
Hos 2:16 And on that day—a declaration of Yahweh—you will call me, “My husband;” you will no longer call me, “My Baal.”
Hos 2:17 I will remove the names of the Baals from her mouth, and they will no longer be mentioned by their name.
Hos 2:18 I will make a covenant for them on that day, with the animals of the field, with the birds of the heaven, and with the creeping things of the ground; the bow, the sword, and the war I will abolish from the land, and I will let them lie down in safety.
Hos 2:19 And I will take you as my wife forever; I will take you as a wife for myself in righteousness and in justice, in steadfast love and in mercy.
Hos 2:20 I will take you as my wife in faithfulness, and you will know Yahweh.
Hos 2:21 On that day I will answer, declares Yahweh, I will answer the heavens, and they will answer the earth.

In Hosea 2:16, Yahweh says we will no longer call Him “My Baal”. In the English translations it is confusing with Yahweh’s name being substituted with “LORD” because in this verse “My Baal” actually means “My Lord”. Here it is is the King James translation:

Hos 2:16 And it shall be at that day, saith the LORD, that thou shalt call me Ishi; and shalt call me no more Baali.

It gets confusing, so the translators do some linguistic gymnastics. If it were all translated to English, it would read, “And it shall be at that day, saith the LORD, that thou shalt call me My Husband; and shalt call me no more My Lord.” This proposes a problem for translations that substitute “LORD” for Yahweh or YHWH יהוה.

Eze 20:33 “As I live,” declares the Lord Yahweh, “surely with a strong hand and with an outstretched arm and with rage pouring forth I will reign as king over you!
Eze 20:34 And I will bring you from the peoples, and I will gather you from the countries to which you were scattered with a strong hand and with an outstretched arm and with rage poured out.
Eze 20:35 Then I will bring you to the desert of the peoples, and I will execute justice on you there face to face.
Eze 20:36 Just as I executed justice on your ancestors in the desert of the land of Egypt, likewise I will execute justice on you!” declares the Lord Yahweh.
Eze 20:37 “And I will make you pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant.
Eze 20:38 And I will purge the rebels from among you and the ones transgressing against me; I will bring them out from the land where they are living as aliens, but into the land of Israel they will not come, and then you will know that I am Yahweh.
Eze 20:39 And you, house of Israel, thus says the Lord Yahweh: “Let each one go serve his idols now and after, if you are not listening to me, but my holy name you will not profane any longer with your gifts and with your idols.

Who are the rebels who are not going to continue into the land? This whole process sounds like a retake of the forty years in the desert. Could this be a time in the wilderness or desert where Yahweh gets serious with His people before the resurrection? Is this what is being referenced in Revelation 12:14? “But the woman was given the two wings of the great eagle so that she might fly from the serpent into the wilderness, to the place where she is to be nourished for a time, and times, and half a time.”

Mat 24:15 “So when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand),
Mat 24:16 then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.
Mat 24:17 Let the one who is on the housetop not go down to take what is in his house,
Mat 24:18 and let the one who is in the field not turn back to take his cloak.
Mat 24:19 And alas for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days!
Mat 24:20 Pray that your flight may not be in winter or on a Sabbath.
Mat 24:21 For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be.
Mat 24:22 And if those days had not been cut short, no human being would be saved. But for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short.

Jesus also says the elect will be gathered from the four winds at His coming.

Mat 24:29 “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
Mat 24:30 Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
Mat 24:31 And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

It is not exactly clear as to what all this means; however, we are moving past the 20th century pre-tribulation, dispensationalist view of future events as knowledge increases, and Yahweh removes the scales from our eyes. Once a person realizes there is only one people of Yahweh, and there is not two peoples, the church and Israel, prophesies start to make sense. This is not to say the church replaces Israel, but that Israel was always the church, and we can be grafted in as Paul explains in Romans chapter 11. Maybe the angels gathering the remnant of His people on the Earth is a gathering of the physical people left on Earth. There is no time line given for how long it will take for the angels to gather the elect, or what state they will be in, mortal or immortal.

I have talked about the word church in the past quite often. It is sometimes used to obfuscate the identity of the people of Yahweh. An example of this is found in the book of Acts. Where Stephen talks about the church at Mount Sinai.

Act 7:38 This is the one who was in the congregation in the wilderness with the angel who spoke to him at Mount Sinai, and with our fathers. He received living oracles to give to us. ESV

Act 7:38 This is he, that was in the church in the wilderness with the angel which spake to him in the mount Sina, and with our fathers: who received the lively oracles to give unto us: KJV

King James set forth rules to the translators of the King James Bible. From the Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature, Volume 3, Authorized Version of the Holy Scriptures:

“The old ecclesiastical words to be kept, as the word church not to be translated congregation.”

The Greek word Ekklesia, is translated to congregation for Stephen’s speech in many English versions, but Church elsewhere. In modern Christianity, too much theology gets rendered unclear if the twelve tribes at Mount Sinai are called “the church”. The King James translators were not making a theological statement in Acts 7:38, just following a set of rules that said, “Ekklesia is always to be translated to the word church”. The truth is the congregation at Mount Sinai was the start of the Ekklesia, which simply means congregation. It is all a play on words. There is no such thing as something called “the Church” as thought of in the modern dispensational theological system. From the Smith Bible dictionary, the word church comes from gathering in the form of a circle, the Latin word circus.

Church

1. The derivation of the word is generally said to be from the Greek kuriakon, “belonging to the Lord”. But the derivation has been too hastily assumed. It is probably connected with kirk, the Latin circus, circulus, the Greek kuklos, (kuklos), because the congregations were gathered in circles.

Once a person realizes there is only one people of Yahweh, who He spoke face to face with at Mount Sinai, sent His son Jesus to recover all the lost who had been scattered throughout the world, and breathed His Spirit into them at Pentecost to empower them to recover the remaining lost, we can understand the book of Revelation is not a stand alone book discussing the future of Israel and “the Church”. Much of Revelation can be interpreted from the prophets in the Old Testament.

Is the gathering spoken of by the prophets the same gathering as Jesus spoke about in Matthew 24? The gathering spoken of by the prophets sounds like it is more physical, having waters parted, lame and pregnant women taking part. The gathering Jesus spoke of sounds more like the first resurrection at His coming, where He appears in the sky and there is a trumpet blast.

In the book of second Esdras, found in the King James Authorized Version of the Bible, we see a different view of some of the same events. Second Esdras was a book removed by the 1647 Westminster Confession of Faith for various reasons, some of a political nature. A sixty-six book Bible was also more attractive to the printing press, where they could get the same money for a smaller book. Second Esdras was originally included in the Vulgate, Wyclif, Luther and Tyndale Bibles as well. If it is a later work than the second temple period as some claim, it still gives us insight as to the beliefs of the early church. Let the words speak for themselves:

2Es 13:25 This is the meaning of the vision: Whereas thou sawest a man coming up from the midst of the sea:
2Es 13:26 The same is he whom God the Highest hath kept a great season, which by his own self shall deliver his creature: and he shall order them that are left behind.
2Es 13:27 And whereas thou sawest, that out of his mouth there came as a blast of wind, and fire, and storm;
2Es 13:28 And that he held neither sword, nor any instrument of war, but that the rushing in of him destroyed the whole multitude that came to subdue him; this is the interpretation:
2Es 13:29 Behold, the days come, when the most High will begin to deliver them that are upon the earth.
2Es 13:30 And he shall come to the astonishment of them that dwell on the earth.
2Es 13:31 And one shall undertake to fight against another, one city against another, one place against another, one people against another, and one realm against another.
2Es 13:32 And the time shall be when these things shall come to pass, and the signs shall happen which I shewed thee before, and then shall my Son be declared, whom thou sawest as a man ascending.
2Es 13:33 And when all the people hear his voice, every man shall in their own land leave the battle they have one against another.
2Es 13:34 And an innumerable multitude shall be gathered together, as thou sawest them, willing to come, and to overcome him by fighting.
2Es 13:35 But he shall stand upon the top of the mount Sion.
2Es 13:36 And Sion shall come, and shall be shewed to all men, being prepared and builded, like as thou sawest the hill graven without hands.
2Es 13:37 And this my Son shall rebuke the wicked inventions of those nations, which for their wicked life are fallen into the tempest;
2Es 13:38 And shall lay before them their evil thoughts, and the torments wherewith they shall begin to be tormented, which are like unto a flame: and he shall destroy them without labour by the law which is like unto me.
2Es 13:39 And whereas thou sawest that he gathered another peaceable multitude unto him;
2Es 13:40 Those are the ten tribes, which were carried away prisoners out of their own land in the time of Osea the king, whom Salmanasar the king of Assyria led away captive, and he carried them over the waters, and so came they into another land.
2Es 13:41 But they took this counsel among themselves, that they would leave the multitude of the heathen, and go forth into a further country, where never mankind dwelt,
2Es 13:42 That they might there keep their statutes, which they never kept in their own land.
2Es 13:43 And they entered into Euphrates by the narrow places of the river.
2Es 13:44 For the most High then shewed signs for them, and held still the flood, till they were passed over.
2Es 13:45 For through that country there was a great way to go, namely, of a year and a half: and the same region is called Arsareth.
2Es 13:46 Then dwelt they there until the latter time; and now when they shall begin to come,
2Es 13:47 The Highest shall stay the springs of the stream again, that they may go through: therefore sawest thou the multitude with peace.
2Es 13:48 But those that be left behind of thy people are they that are found within my borders.
2Es 13:49 Now when he destroyeth the multitude of the nations that are gathered together, he shall defend his people that remain.
2Es 13:50 And then shall he shew them great wonders.
2Es 13:51 Then said I, O Lord that bearest rule, shew me this: Wherefore have I seen the man coming up from the midst of the sea?
2Es 13:52 And he said unto me, Like as thou canst neither seek out nor know the things that are in the deep of the sea: even so can no man upon earth see my Son, or those that be with him, but in the day time.
2Es 13:53 This is the interpretation of the dream which thou sawest, and whereby thou only art here lightened.
2Es 13:54 For thou hast forsaken thine own way, and applied thy diligence unto my law, and sought it.
2Es 13:55 Thy life hast thou ordered in wisdom, and hast called understanding thy mother.
2Es 13:56 And therefore have I shewed thee the treasures of the Highest: after other three days I will speak other things unto thee, and declare unto thee mighty and wondrous things.
2Es 13:57 Then went I forth into the field, giving praise and thanks greatly unto the most High because of his wonders which he did in time;
2Es 13:58 And because he governeth the same, and such things as fall in their seasons: and there I sat three days.

According to Second Esdras 13:47, “The Highest shall stay the springs of the stream again”. This was the peaceful multitude that Esdras (Ezra) saw. This could be the group that is gathered and protected in the wilderness spoken of Revelation 12:14. Another verse that could allude to this is found in Isaiah. Many were tossing this scripture around in March of this year due to the lock downs and such.

Isa 26:19 Your dead shall live; their corpses shall rise. Wake up and sing for joy, dwellers of the dust, for your dew is celestial dew, and the earth will give birth to dead spirits.
Isa 26:20 Go, my people, enter into your chambers and shut your doors behind you; hide for a very little while, until the wrath has passed over.
Isa 26:21 For look! Yahweh is about to come out from his place to punish the iniquity of the inhabitants of the earth against him, and the earth will disclose her blood and will no longer cover her slain.

If we factor in these verses with the others we have looked at, it appears to be speaking of a resurrection after we hide ourselves from the wrath Yahweh pours out on the Earth, with a time line of a gathering, protection or hiding, wrath, resurrection, and then peace.

I find all these prophesies fascinating and wish I could have seen them earlier in my life. Unfortunately, being brought up in churches with a dispensational mindset, the focus was always placed on “the rapture of the church”. Pre, mid or post tribulation rapture discussion always causes so much anger and division. Israel is presented as a separate entity that endures a different destiny than “the church”. Worship of the nation state of Israel causes bizarre alliances with “the church”, and creates a politicization of prophecy and scripture that appears to be greatly twisted. However, once that is all tossed aside, (approximately 130 years of dispensationalism), a new clarity comes to the scriptures, taking out the page that divides the New Testament and Old Testament. With this clarity, new questions arise and once obscure scripture comes alive. Commands and Feasts of Yahweh that were presented as irrelevant are discovered as relevant prophesied by Moses in Deutoronomy!

Deuteronomy 4:30 -In your distress when all these things have found you in the latter days, then you will return to Yahweh your God, and you will listen to his voice.

This is the reason I am choosing to leave the imaginations of men behind, and use the commandments of Yahuah, from scripture, to determine what actions to take moving forward.