EXAMING REVELATIONS TWELVE:2

            READ CHAPTER NINE OF DANIEL

             REVELATION TWELVE FILLS IN THE VOID LEFT BY THE PROPHETIC GAP IN DANIEL 9:25-26.  THE PROPHECY BEING: 

"SEVENTY WEEKS (weeks of years)  ARE DETERMINED FOR THY PEOPLE (israel) AND UPON THY HOLY CITY (Jerusalem) " Dan. 9:24

              In Daniel  9:25, having arrived at the point of time "threescore and two weeks", the last segment of 7 weeks and 62 weeks timeline (in verse 26), the "Messiah is cut off, but not for Himself...."  We know, for Israel-Jerusalem, historically, the Messiah, (Christ-Messiah Jesus) is rejected and crucified by Israel, Messiah's people, leaving no Messiaic Kingdom. (NASV translates "...and have nothing" following he"cut off " of the Messiah.  So this totals 69 weeks of years, leaving still one week or seven yearsyears to total seventy  70WEEKS

Daniel's concern was the restoration of Jerusalem, at a time whenfinishng transgration, ..end of sin...everlasting righteousness..." would happen, and that fact links this to Revelation twelve.

         So today the Messiah--Christ having been cut off and as a Jewish Messiah having nothing --for almost 2000 years.  
Why does that Daniel nine prophecy need to fill any void? And how does Revelations twelve fill that void? 

 READ AND STUDY DANIvingEL 9:26 AND 27 

"And the people of   the Prince who is to come...."

WHAT  PEOPLE AND WHAT PRINCE?

Is this ISRAEL and Jesus CHRIST?   NO!  

Both "the people" and "the Prince" are describecd in Daniel, verse 9:26.
"The people of the Prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary"

Historically, we know the Romans destroyed the city and the sanctuary.  So neither is Israel or Christ named here.

     So that leaves a void in Daniel 9.

        One point of a prophecy of the "woman" in Revelation 12. The major emphasis in Revelation 11: 19-20: 15 is the attack of Satan against the people with whom God is dealing at that time. This attack comes of years, chapter thirteen through the beasts,) who offer a false Messiah and a false fulfillment of the Abrahamic covenant. It comes in chapters seventeen and eighteen through an apostate religious system, which falsely claims to be the Kingdom of God. It comes in chapter nineteen through the alliance of nations which is formed against this people and their King, which the Lord destroys at His coming.

Since the major movement in this portion of Revelation is against the one called in chapter twelve the woman, it is important to identify this individual who occupies so im­portant a place in the book.

Revelation 12 centers around three personages. It will help us in the identification of the woman to identify the other two. Fortunately their identification is made easy by the context itself.

JESUS CHRIST, RULER AND MESSIAH

1.. A man child. The quotation from Psalm 2, which all would agree is a Messianic Psalm, identifies the man child here as none other than Jesus Christ. The fact of the birth, the fact of the destiny of this child, for He is "to rule all nations with a rod of iron," and the fact of the ascension, since He is "caught up unto God, and to His throne," all cause the identification to point to one person, the Lord Jesus Christ, for of none other, could all three statements be made.

2.. A woman clothed with the sun. While there has been general agreement among commentators of all types concerning the identity of the two aforementioned individuals, there is a great diversity of interpretation concerning the key individual in this passage:

1. There have been many false interprutations of the indentity of this woman.  Some have held that it is Mary. However,  the only feature to make this possible would be the fact of motherhood, , for Mary was never persecuted, never fled into the wilderness, was never cared for for 1260 days." Others have }J(' that this woman is the church that is travailing to bring Chri to the nations.²² This, however, is built on the allegorizing pri ciple of interpretation and must be rejected.

The church did not produce Christ, but Christ the church. Since the church not seen on earth in chapters four through nineteen of Revelation, the church can not be represented by this woman.

J.A. Seiss in his lectures on the book, "THE APOCALYPSE, Lectures on the Book of Revelations" Still another landmark in the case is, that the birth here spoken of is not consummated before the period of the end of this age. Whatever earnests of it may have preceded, it is not fully accomplished till the day of judgment comes. It is here placed under the seventh trumpet, and the seventh trumpet is the last, with which the whole history of this present world comes to an end.

2. It has been the interpretation of dispensational premillennialists that
the woman in this passage represents the nation of Israel. There are a number of considerations which support this interpretation.

a. The whole context in which this passage is set reveals that John is dealing with the nation Israel. Gaebelein writes:

Revelation, chapters eleven to fourteen, leads us prophetically to Israel, Israel's land and Israel's final tribulation, the ti of Jacob's trouble and the salvation of the godly remnant. 'I scene of the eleventh chapter is "the great city, which spiritua is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified

 That city is not Rome but Jerusalem. The twelfth chapter begin connected prophecy, ending with the fourteenth.  Gaebelein, loco cit

THE PROPHETIC CLOCK FOR ISRASEL STARTS AGAIN

THUS CLOSING THE GAP LEFT AFTER THE MESSIAH WAS "CUT OFF" AND LINKING THE PROPHECY OF DANIEL 9:27

"Grant says of Revelation 11: 19,

 "The ark, then, seen in 1 temple in heaven is the sign of God's unforgotten grace tows Israel. ... " 24 

Thus, the context in which this passage is set shows that God is dealing with Israel again.   Cf. Ottman, THE UNFOLDING OF THE AGES., pp. 278-79

J. Dwight Pentacost, THINGS TO COME,  Pp283-285

C. A great red dragon. Verse nine makes the identification of this individual is certain. It is none other than Satan. Chapter 20, verse 2, confirms this identification. Satan is clearly revealed as the author and instigator of the attacks against the people of God hereafter described in the book. Scott well observes:

                Why is the dragon used as 11 symbol of Satan'? Pharaoh, king of Egypt, in his cruelty to God's people, and in proud and haughty independence of God, is termed "the great dragon" (Ezek. 29: 3, 4). Nebuchadnezzar is similarly spoken of in respect to his violence and cruelty (Jer. 51: 34). Gathering up the numerous scripture references in the Book of Psalms, and in the first three of the greater prophets, to the crocodile, the sovereign of the seas, who is identified with the dragon, insatiable cruelty seems the main feature. The Egyptians regarded the crocodile or dragon, according to their hieroglyphics, as the source and author of all evil, worshipped under the name of Typho. The color of the dragon, red, denotes his murderous, bloodthirsty character. This is the first time in Scripture that Satan is directly spoken of as a dragon. The heathen monarchs, Pharaoh and Nebuchadnezzar, en­ slaved and oppressed the people of God, and, thus far acting in satanic power, merited the appellation of dragon. But at the time treated of in our chapter, Satan is the prince of the world-its virtual ruler. The Roman power is the instrument through which he acts. Hence the title "great red dragon" can now for the first time be used of him....    Walter Sco.tt, Exposition of the Revelation of Jesus Christ, pp. 249-50.

3.The dragon is seen to have seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns upon his heads (Rev. 12: 3), which are the same as the beast possesses in chapters thirteen and seventeen. It is plainly stated in 13:2 that this individual derives his authority from Satan. This shows us that Satan is seeking a governmental authority over the woman's "remnant"  (12: 7), which authority rightly belongs to Christ Himself.

THE PEOPLE-ACTORS IN FINAL ACT

THE PEOPLE OF ISRAEL    EZEKIEL  37

Ezekiel lived in the 6th century BC, and he was a Jewish preist which enabled him to personally describe such things as the Shekinah glory of GOD.  In exile, far from the glory of GOD'S earthly temple, surrounded by the pomp of man's earthly idolatry, Ezekiel, exiled in a hopeless situation and his people had this impossible vision of these dry bleached bones coming to life.

4	EZEKIAL 37 Again he said to me, Prophesy over these bones, and tell them, you dry bones, hear the word of Yahweh.
5	Thus says the Lord Yahweh to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live.
6	I will lay sinews on you, and will bring up flesh on you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live; and you shall know that I am Yahweh.
7	So I prophesied as I was commanded: and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and, behold, an earthquake; and the bones came together, bone to its bone.
8	I saw, and, behold, there were sinews on them, and flesh came up, and skin covered them above; but there was no breath in them.
9	Then said he to me, Prophesy to the wind, prophesy, son of man, and tell the wind, Thus says the Lord Yahweh: Come from the four winds, breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.
10	So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up on their feet, an exceeding great army.
11	Then he said to me, Son of man,  these bones are the whole house of Israel:  behold, they say, Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are clean cut off.
12	Therefore prophesy, and tell them, Thus says the Lord Yahweh: Behold, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, my people; and I will bring you into the land of Israel.
13	You shall know that I am Yahweh, when I have opened your graves, and caused you to come up out of your graves, my people. Israel, a people, after close to 2,000 years of being scattered, no identity other than being a New--which was hated by many, only recently suffering close to genocide persecution, suddenly comes alive.  THE WORDS OF PRIME MINISTER NETANYAHU IN 2010,  The Jewish people rose from ashes and destruction, from a terrible pain that can never be healed.  Armed with the Jewish spirit, the justice of man, and the vision of the prophets, we sprouted new branches and grew deep roots. Dry bones became covered with flesh, a spirit filled them, and they lived and stood on their own feet.  As Ezekiel prophesized: “Then He said unto me: These bones are the whole House of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up, our hope is gone; we are doomed.’ Prophecy, therefore, and say to them: Thus said the Lord God: I am going to open your graves and lift you out of your graves, O My people, and bring you to the land of Israel.” I stand here today on the ground where so many of my people perished — and I am not alone. The State of Israel and all the Jewish people stand with me.  We bow our heads to honor your memory and lift our heads as we raise our flag-a flag of blue and white with a Star of David in its center.
	EZEKIEL 37
26	Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them; and I will place them, and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them forevermore.
27	My tent also shall be with them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
28	The nations shall know that I am Yahweh who sanctifies Israel, when my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them forevermore

THE APPROACHING FINAL SCENES ACT 1

Revelation 6:2 I saw that the Lamb opened one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures saying, as with a voice of thunder, "Come and see!" 2 I saw, and behold, a white horse, and he who sat on it had a bow. A crown was given to him, and he came forth conquering, and to conquer. kai; ei\don, kai; ijdou; i&ppoß leukovß,     I saw, and behold, a white horse    kai; oJ kaqhvmenoß ejpj aujto;n e~cwn tovxon,     and he who sat on it had a bow    kai; ejdovqh aujtw'/ stevfanoß,     A crown was given to him,   kai; ejxh'lqen nikw'n kai; i&na nikhvsh/.    and he came forth conquering, and to conquer

What has a restored Israel got to do with REVELATIONS?
They are the main  characters in this period of time.
I, myself, have witnessed Israel moving from a hated--mostly disliked suspect  people--mostly viewed as some unconnected individual, and suffering untold persecutions in WW 2, suddenly being in the world spotlight as a major world player.

GOD 'S  prophetic time clock has started.  Next comes a world leader.
  REVELATIONS 6:

2. I saw, and behold, a white horse, and he who sat on it had a bow. A crown was given to him, and he came forth conquering, and to conquer.

READ DANIEL 9th chApter.
Then read my blog "The 70th Week".

White seems to be the color of victory (cf. the white horse of the Persian Kings) like the white horse ridden by the Roman conqueror in a triumphant procession. Had (ecwn). Agreeing in gender and case with o kaqhmenoß. 
A bow (toxon). Old word (Zechariah 9:13 of a great bow), here only in N.T. Was given (edoqh). First aorist passive indicative of didwmi. 
A crown (stepanoß). See on "Rev 4:4" for this word. 

He came forth (exhlqen). Second aorist active indicative of exercomai, either to come out or to go out (went forth). Conquering (nikwn). Present active participle of nikaw. And to conquer (kai ina nikhsh). Purpose clause with ina and the first aorist active subjunctive of nikaw. Here wß nikhswn (future active participle with wß) could have been used. The aorist tense here points to ultimate victory. 

Commentators have been busy identifying the rider of the white horse according to their various theories. "It is tempting to identify him with the Rider on the white horse in Zechariah 19:11, whose name is 'the Word of God'" (Swete). oxon).

Old word (Zechariah 9:13 of a great bow), here only in N.T. Was given (edoqh). First aorist passive indicative of didwmi. A crown (stepanoß). See on "Rev 4:4" for this word. He came forth (exhlqen). Second aorist active indicative of exercomai, either to come out or to go out (went forth). Conquering (nikwn). Present active participle of nikaw. And to conquer (kai ina nikhsh). Purpose clause with ina and the first aorist active subjunctive of nikaw. Here wß nikhswn (future active participle with wß) could have been used. The aorist tense here points to ultimate victory.

What these Commentators have been busy identifying " the rider of the white horse according to their various theories. "Is wrong.
THIS IS NOT CHRIST OR THE 2nd COMING OF CHRIST.
Tempting as it may be.
REVELATIONS 19 ;11 identifies Christ with a Rider on the white horse in VERSE 19:11, whose name is 'the Word of God'".
CHRIST in this vision has permanently golden diadems for crowns not very temporary laural leaves which is the crown in REVELATIONS 6:2--a crown called the "stepanous"

	World English Bible	\
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WHAT IS THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THIS VERSE? The obvious is that the rider on the white horse must have some meaning as the rider on the red horse, the grey horse and the black horse has their own meaning. He has a bow and he conquers? How?  There is mention of a bow, but no arrows. I believe this person must conquer, as he does repeatedly, without actuallyfighting. Something else is that he is given a crown.  This has all appearance as the Messiah. However there are problems with this idea.

THE UNWALLED VILLAGES

EZEKIEL 37

	THE HAPPENING    EZEKIEL 38
7	Be you prepared, yes, prepare yourself, you, and all your companies who are assembled to you, and be you a guard to them.
8	After many days you shall be visited: in the latter years you shall come into the land that is brought back from the sword, that is gathered out of many peoples,  on the mountains of Israel, which have been a continual waste; but it is brought forth out of the peoples, and they shall dwell securely, all of them.
9	You shall ascend, you shall come like a storm, you shall be like a cloud to cover the land, you, and all your hordes, and many peoples with you.
10	Thus says the Lord Yahweh: It shall happen in that day, that things shall come into your mind, and you shall devise an evil device:
11	and you shall say, I will go up to  the land of unwalled villages;  I will go to those who are at rest, who dwell securely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates;
12	to take the spoil and to take the prey; to turn your hand against the waste places that are [now] inhabited, and against the people who are gathered out of the nations, who have gotten cattle and goods, who dwell in the middle of the earth.
13	Sheba, and Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish, with all the young lions of it, shall tell you, Are you come to take the spoil? have you assembled your company to take the prey? to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to take great spoil?
14	Therefore, son of man, prophesy, and tell Gog, Thus says the Lord Yahweh: In that day when my people Israel dwells securely, shall you not know it?
15	You shall come from your place out of the uttermost parts of the north, you, and many peoples with you, all of them riding on horses, a great company and a mighty army;
16	and you shall come up against my people Israel, as a cloud to cover the land: it shall happen in the latter days, that I will bring you against my land, that the nations may know me, when I shall be sanctified in you, Gog, before their eyes.
17	Thus says the Lord Yahweh: Are you he of whom I spoke in old time by my servants the prophets of Israel, who prophesied in those days for [many] years that I would bring you against them?

THE 70TH WEEK

DANIEL 9:24-27

24 Seventy weeks are decreed on your people and on your holy city, to finish disobedience, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most holy.
25 Know therefore and discern, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem to the Anointed One, the prince, shall be seven weeks, and sixty-two weeks: it shall be built again, with street and moat, even in troubled times.
26 After the sixty-two weeks the Anointed One shall be cut off, and shall have nothing: and the people of the prince who shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end of it shall be with a flood, and even to the end shall be war; desolations are determined.
27 He shall make a firm covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the offering to cease; and on the wing of abominations [shall come] one who makes desolate; and even to the full end, and that determined, shall [wrath] be poured out on the desolate.

THE CHRISTIAN BELIEVER BELONGS TO CHRIST

"IN HIM YOU ALSO, AFTER LISTENING TO THE MESSAGE OF TRUTH, THE GOSPEL OF YOUR SALVATION--having also believed, you were sealed in Him with Holy Spirit of promise.

who was given to us as an earnest of our inheritance with a view of to the redemption of God's own possession to the praise of His glory."   EPHESIANS 1:13-14

"...IF INDEED IF THE SPIRIT OF GOD DWELLS IN YOU.. BUT IF ANYONE DOES NOT HAVE THE SPIRIT OF CHRIST, HE DOES NOT BELONG TO CHRIST. Romans 8:9

Under-rowers and house-lawyers

While Paul is addressing his letters to definite localities,  these. specific localities, are numerous house churches that he writes to.  This fact is demonstrated in the closing of his letters, in many cases.
One major problem, over being numerous churches, presents itself in this,letter, and that was the leadership problem.

1 Corinthians 3.:1-4:1a

The context of this particular portion of scripture is the division that was going on within the church body. One group is following Peter, another group is following Apollos, another group is following Paul, and because of this, Paul is calling them children or babes in Christ even infants.  They are not capable of understanding good teaching of Doctrine and deep things of God.

To answer this, the Apostle Paul straightens them out as to who he is and who Apollos is and who Peter is. They were only men, "born-again"men, called by God, gifted by God, and sent by God.  They, including Paul etc., were all sinners saved and gifted by the unmerited grace of God. It is God who is the master, that converts the sinner and causes spiritual growth--not the work of man.  It's amazing how all this is missed even today. 

The following passage starting in 1 Cor. 3:10-15, are directly related to this. I am going to skip over a passage here that is very important this is the 16th verse Thru the 23rd verse--this will be taken up in another post.

Therefore, having said this, having set the context, the Apostle Paul makes this statement: "Let a man regard Us in this manner, as Servants of Christ,  and stewards of the mysteries of God. ( 1Corinthians 4:1).  Paul deliberately uses certain  Greek words to prove his point. So the Greek words are important here, and their specific detailed meanings shows how much our positions were significantly different. When the Apostle Paul uses the phrase, "Servants of Christ",, he relates it to all believers in Christ, including himself, Paul.

The translators use of the word, "servants," is pretty tame. The Greek word for slave or servant here is different than what Paul normally uses ( like Rom. 1:1). ThIs slave was a slave under-rower chained to a position, who, laboring with other slaves, helped row a large oar on a slave ship. Obviously everything, certainly the moving of the large oar, had to be done in unison.  The separation between this slave and the master was unbridgeable.The master of the slaves walked the deck above all of them. ( In the world at this time 50% of the population were slaves, and had became a slave at birth or as a result of War. ) .  The separation that exists between the believer and Jesus Christ, who is our master, is just as considerable. Considerable degrees of separation separated the slave from the Master. Obviously, this slave handling an oar had to work in unison with the other rowers. ( incidentally, I've read where these slave ships were easily identifiable by their smell. Obviously, these Under-rower slaves were not granted restroom breaks.

Paul changes his analogy with the next Greek word, which is translated, "stewards".
This other Greek word, "stewards" would also be a Slave,  but a slave in charge of the Greek or Roman house. The Greek name opinions contains oikos meaning " "house" and nomos meaning "law". . House law.

The reader should  now be aware of the obvious distinction, that,  I believe, Paul was making.

He had to be, above everything, faithful to teaching the mysteries of God.