REVELATION 12 - The Woman in heaven and the red dragon.

Rev 12:1	And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars: O-------------------------------------- WONDER (Strong's 3173) Greek for 3173 megas (meg' as) CLOTHED WITH THE SUN - periballo {per-ee-bal'-lo} 1) to throw around, to put around a) to surround a city with a bank (palisade) b) of garments, to clothe one 1) to put a thing on one 2) to clothe one with a thing c) to put on or clothe one's self Psa 104:1 Bless the LORD, O my soul. O LORD my God, thou art very great; thou art clothed with honour and majesty. Pro 31:21 She is not afraid of the snow for her household: for all her household [are] clothed with scarlet. Isa 61:10 I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh [himself] with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth [herself] with her jewels. Eze 16:10 I clothed thee also with broidered work, and shod thee with badgers' skin, and I girded thee about with fine linen, and I covered thee with silk. Clothing represents spiritual status and state. It's important to regard the style of wedding attire in the ancient world. It is the UTMOST metaphor to regard Christ as the bridegroom, and the church as the betrothed on their wedding day, like these relatively modern traditional bedoin and Egyptian brides. This is the style of weddings in Christ's day, and how John and the Apostles regard him. The bride in the Solomonic prophecies, refers to this style of dress. (Song of Solomon/Canticles) This is important because these metaphors form the magnifient codex images in Revelation. These are all vital to the lifeblood of the mysterious purpose of God, revealed in Revelation, literally reiterating the Bridegroom and Bride of Scripture. More importantly, while metaphors, they are also literal in some senses. For instance, what will we wear, living with Christ? I would dress like this, if I could, that is. I love thinking about material things, when they are the perfection of all symbolic treasure hunts in Scripture. God's art. Adorable brides! Siwa girls in their wedding finery (postcard) Mar 16:5 And entering into the sepulchre, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white garment; and they were affrighted. Rev 10:1 And I saw another mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud: and a rainbow [was] upon his head, and his face [was] as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire: Rev 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: Rev 19:13 And he [was] clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. O============================== Why is the moon under the Holy Lady's feet?? =? I think the first meaning is " literal," because John took Mary to Ephesus, where they lived. Ephesus was dedicated to the "moon goddess" Artemis/Diana. It was an ironic destiny for Mary, and for the old Greek and Roman religions, for some of the right reasons, but, many wrong ones. It is the essential core of the Mystery religion. John, writing this prophecy, saw Mary conquer those who hungered for real religion. She fed them meat, like a holy raven in the wilderness. These miracles, and Christ-mania angered the Artemis temple incorporated silver and idol craftsmen, but, soo enough, Mary provided fresh inspiration for wise entrepreneurs. At the end of the first century, John watched the Dianaic religion wane and lag behind the fever of the Apostolic century. Eat the Lord's dust thou serpent. These Christians were endowed with incredible grace and power to heal, and even to affect weather, like Elijah, by their great faith. Mary was like Elijah, because she was also a prophetess. Two thousand years later, more people love Mary than Artemis, anyway. The moon is under her toes... Why does the red dragon go after the woman? This was put into the original CONTRACT. Gen 3:15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
Rev 12:2	And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, in birth, and pained to be delivered. Mary gave birth to the Messiah who defeated the snake. Greek for 1064 gaster {gas-tare'} 1) the belly 2) the womb 3) the stomach a) a glutton, gormandiser, a man who is as it were all stomach Luk 21:23 But woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck, in those days! for there shall be great distress in the land, and wrath upon this people. This is a metaphor for believers. We each long to be perfected, and we labor with this conception, incubation, and worry about coming to birth, even after we've been guarenteed delivery in Christ.
Rev 12:3	And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads. Greek for 1404 drakon {drak'-own} Snake and dragon are interchangeable in drakon and the Hebrew word. taniym. tanniyn {tan-een'}/ tanniym (Ezekiel 29:3)} 1) dragon, serpent, sea monster a) dragon or dinosaur b) sea or river monster c) serpent, venomous snake RED - Greek for 4450 purrhos {poor-hros'} It means to have the color of fire, red. Red means POWER and RULE. This word is only used 2 times. Both times are in Revelation, to describe the red horse, and the red dragon. Rev 6:4 And there went out another horse [that was] red: and [power] was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword. Rev 12:3 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. These verses harmonize with Zechariah's red beast: Zec 1:8 I saw by night, and behold a man riding upon a red horse, and he stood among the myrtle trees that [were] in the bottom; and behind him [were there] red horses, speckled, and white. Red is the color of fire in this greek word, "poorhros," so, it firstly denotes the fiery eminence of God, his judgment, and his salvation. Context determines the use of fire, or red in these symbolic verses, meant to be codes. Cursory "fire" in the OT from Exodus: Exd 3:2 And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush [was] not consumed. Exd 9:23 And Moses stretched forth his rod toward heaven: and the LORD sent thunder and hail, and the fire ran along upon the ground; and the LORD rained hail upon the land of Egypt. Exd 9:24 So there was hail, and fire mingled with the hail, very grievous, such as there was none like it in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation. Exd 12:8 And they shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with fire, and unleavened bread; [and] with bitter [herbs] they shall eat it. Our blood is red, and our life is in the blood. Gen 9:4 But flesh with the life thereof, [which is] the blood thereof, shall ye not eat. Lev 17:11 For the life of the flesh [is] in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it [is] the blood [that] maketh an atonement for the soul. John 6:53 Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. John 6:54 Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. Our spiritual life is in the blood of our Messiah, who was sacrificed, the Pesach lamb. He is the firstborn of the dead. Scarlet is the color of life itself, in immortality, which we obtain by the blood of Christ. Scarlet red, and fiery colors, are the colors of our salvation. In the red dragon's case, he is the deceiver and accuser of mankind, the Snake. He is secure in his ability to deceive men. We're easily corrupted and given to temptations, without the assistance of the Holy Spirit, and a consistant walk with Christ. The dragon is the same old garden variety snake, ala Eden, and, this is his last act on stage. He puts on his red duds, and feels he can deceive this world of suckers. Even lame expressions of Christian love are considered unacceptable in most of the world, costing Christians their lives. This intolerance for Christianity is permeating America and Europe. It's over. The world is his. For now. Jesus Christ's blood washes clean our manifold iniquities and transgressions. This is the only way we can justify ourselves to the Lord, who determines who will be in his kingdom. Woe to those in the path of the red dragon, and God's fiery wrath! Red represents the sacrifice, the blood of the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ. The dragon's red is a counterfeit. Everything about the dragon is a counterfeit, from the seven heads, to the ten crowns. This is the snake, this is the principality who has influenced so many kingdoms on Earth. He represents power over this realm, but, not for long. Exd 36:19 And he made a covering for the tent [of] ram's skins dyed red, and a covering [of] badgers' skins above [that]. Christ's sacrifice is denoted by the red ram's skin. This veil of the temple was torn in two when Christ hung on the cross and died. This was a sign, since the veil being torn in two was a heavenly sign that the symbolism veiled is now clearly seen and fulfilled by Christ's sacrifice. Mathew 27:51 And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent; Exd 39:34 And the covering of rams' skins dyed red, and the covering of badgers' skins, and the vail of the covering, Here's one popular theory for the seven heads: The substantial empires that may fulfill prophecy are 1. Babylon 2. Medo-Persia 3. Assyrians or Macedonia 4. Egyptian 5. Greece 6. Romans 7.... I'm not convinced Arabia is the 7th Empire. I think it could even be Great Britain, or EU.
Rev 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. Tail refers to false prophet and his lies. False doctrine costs men their souls. (Rev. 9- the tail of the scorpion.) This is warfare in heaven. We can pick sides, but, this has nothing to do with mankind, other than mankind is the casuality of this treachorous war. Iraq is nothing compared to this event. It takes place, it took place. Things in this heaven, do not reflect time in our Time/Space orientation. Christ is the victor. It is finished. We have salvation, and an escape route. He will lead us to the Promised Land of God. He will again rule in Jerusalem.
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. Isaiah 66:7 Before she travailed, she brought forth; before her pain came, she was delivered of a man child. Rev 2:27 And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father. This is an amazing revelation. Considering the battles over Mary, regarding the churches, here is a heavenly being, who seems to represent Mary, and her being the chosen. John, who wrote Revelation, was very close to Mary, the mother of the Lord. On the cross, Jesus told him, "thy mother," and since he was still a young teen, he told his mother, "thy son." If anyone understood Mary's illustriousness and grace, it was John. We see her majesty in celestial metaphors. She appears as the luminary. Does this illustration in Rev. 12 mean the literal Mary? I think it does. I also think that apart from the original meaning, there is a greater prophetic meaning in the theater of the Lord, as told by the Prophets. John was the final dispensational prophet. When he wrote this, in 90-100 AD, there most likely were none of the original Apostles and disciples left. Maybe I'm over romanticizing the personal lives of the Holy Prophets, Apostles and Disciples, like John. We know he took care of Mary, and she of him. We also know he took her to Ephesus with him. He wrote Revelation when he was elderly, nearly 100, and all his friends and family have been killed or have died off. LAST SUPPER Part of this Revelation was to revive the heart of the old prophet, John, the one who preached "all you need is love." Christ had a special relationship with this young disciple. It was he who leaned on Christ's shoulder, in the "Last Supper," and may have been his biological brother, at least adopted brother and son of Mary. John, who wrote this Revelation, was with Mary, after Christ rose. He was there as a support to his mother. He helped her cope with her loss, initially, and to protect her from being violated or KILLED! It was this wonderful brother of Christ's who got to live, and who watched the brethren die, while he lived. His heart would ache most for his mother, Mary, and all his brethren.
Rev 12:6	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. 1260 days. Three and a half years. Wilderness- reek for 2048 Elijah being fed "in the wilderness- Rubens (circa late 16th c.) "A Place Prepared"- This is the mirror in to Elijah's ordeal with the Queen of Israel, Jezebel, in 1Kings 17:2- 7 Salvation is in that rabbit hole. Wilderness is often paired with "ravens" in a deliberate way. Just as Moses and the future Israelites were given manna in the wilderness for forty years, the same sacred symbols and meaning are layered surrounding every study of the word "wilderness" and "ravens" (as well as wilderness and other predatory animals.) Generally, the metaphoric "wilderness" refers to the world, but, it gets fine-tuned, when used IN CONTEXT with the Scripture it appears in. 1Ki 17:4 And it shall be, [that] thou shalt drink of the brook; and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there. 1Ki 17:6 And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening; and he drank of the brook. Psa 147:9 He giveth to the beast his food, [and] to the young ravens which cry. Pro 30:17 The eye [that] mocketh at [his] father, and despiseth to obey [his] mother, the ravens of the valley shall pick it out, and the young eagles shall eat it. Luk 12:24 Consider the ravens: for they neither sow nor reap; which neither have storehouse nor barn; and God feedeth them: how much more are ye better than the fowls? The totality of meaning of these words lead us to believe they mean the faithful servants of the Lord, who will be taken care of during the 3 1/2 years of indignation, the "Tribulation." While there will be a new harvest of "Tribulation Saints," the promise to believers is the Rapture. In drawing such plain symbolism to Elijah, this metaphor applies to those in Christ, who will experience "translation" and ascension, the way Enoch, and Elijah did. They never died the first death. The same terms used in Daniel, and elsewhere. Three and a half, is the mid-week point to Daniel's antichrist, who midway through the 7 year term of office, all hell breaks loose. There is no peace, says The LORD, to the wicked. Tribulation. Days are usually 1000 years, but, in this vision, it seems to be literal, well literal in that seven years are 1 week. This is considered the Blessed Church, the Raptured, The Bride of Christ's, married to New Jerusalem, the betrothed of the Lamb. Philly church...yada yada. The 3 1/2 years is what is left of the "week" until the indignation is past, the atrocity of the antichrist, mid-week. It sounds like the world is poisoned by radiation and other poisons, all man-made. Then again, the Lord's plagues are also quite real. The Seven Angels in Revelations, and the Seven Seals, may be as literal as in Exodus, or just the descriptions of events John sees and transcribes in Revelation. God uses nature to cure our arrogance. Nature may attack us back, when we upset the balances. It was a huge sin in the Old Testament. Not taking care of the land was a bigger sin than actual idolatry, in Israel, when God used Babylon to ravish the land he gave to their forefathers. Lev 25:8 And thou shalt number seven sabbaths of years unto thee, seven times seven years; and the space of the seven sabbaths of years shall be unto thee forty and nine years. Jer 25:11 And this whole land shall be a desolation, [and] an astonishment; and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years. The Israelites were penalized for each Jubilee they neglected. The Rapture is a depiction of Jubillee, of the ancient religion. We who wear the robes of his righteousness, and the breastplate of simple faith, are blessed. This "Wedding Feast" is the Lord's Completed WORK. That's why Elijah and Moses are part of it. They are the Two Witnesses, for sure, but, how do they refer to Mary, in her stance as Elijah, in Revelation 12? This is where the miracles occur. I can't wait. Instead of suffering the fate of hell on earth, we may be invited to the best party in the Universe. That's huge. The Raptured Church has always captured the imaginations of church generations. It is a glorious hope that we keep alive, especially kindled during all perilous times. In fact, the worse things are on the planet, the closer I feel to the reality of these very prophecies. I don't apologize. If we're not the generation, I still adore Christ. We may be the generation. If we are, I want to be prepared. If we're not, I'm still glad I had the hope, and took Christ's blood seriously. Christ promised that the the triumphant will inherit the kingdom coming down out of heaven, and I believe him. His promises are true.
Rev 12:7	And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,
Rev 12:8	And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.
Rev 12:9	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.
Rev 12:10	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.
Rev 12:11	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.
Rev 12:12	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.
Rev 12:13	And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man [child].
Rev 12:14	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.
Rev 12:15	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.
Rev 12:16	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.
Rev 12:17	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.