Posted by AU on 10/4/2001, 2:28 pm

Re: An Answer for Pat Posted by Author Unknown on 9/16/2001, 5:14 am , in reply to "Re: About The Apocalypse Class at the Chapel" Chapter 4 THE SEED FROM THE WOMAN In the last chapter it became evident that a smaller group of Christians will be caught up from the main body of believers, this group is called, the favorite of the one who bore her” in Scripture. We should now ask ourselves: Is there any illustration of a small body of believers that come from a larger body in God’s Word? Yes, here are a few examples: In the book of Revelation we see the fulfillment of a prophecy from Genesis. In this next scripture concerning the natural woman Eve, the verse transcends our physical realm into a spiritual application. Eve, who is the mother of all mankind in a natural sense, is a type of the church body that brings forth spiritual children. The serpent in the verse is symbolic of Satan interacting in earth's terrain. The seed from the woman is symbolic of a smaller group of developing Christians. “So the LORD God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, “Cursed are you above all the livestock and all the wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life. And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel” (Genesis 3:14-15, NIV). In the context of this verse, God was cursing that serpent, the devil. He went on to say the women's seed would “crush” the head of the serpent's seed. In the original Hebrew language in which Genesis was written, the word “crush” is showing us a death wound to the serpent’s head. In all of Scripture, the only place there is a serpent mentioned that has received a death wound to the head by the seed of a woman is in the book of Revelation 13:3. The time frame is at the start of the New World Order right before Antichrist receives power to rule the world. This woman in Revelation 12 is a woman in a symbolic sense, and the male child she delivers is symbolic of something a woman brings forth for the child comes from the woman, yet is a smaller part. Here is a good example of this woman from the Old Testament: “As a woman with child and about to give birth writhes and cries out in her pain, so were we in your presence, O LORD. We were with child, we writhed in pain, but we gave birth to wind. We have not brought salvation to the earth; we have not given birth to people of the world” (Isaiah 26:17-18, NIV). It is obvious that this is not one woman in a natural sense. The word “we” is found in this passage six times. No matter how one reads this passage, the word usage suggests a figurative interpretation. A woman in Bible prophecy is always a church. “We” “Christians” are who make up the Church. God has called his Church to be his bride. “For your Maker is your husband the LORD Almighty is his name” (Isaiah 54:5, NIV). Let’s now turn our attention to the “man child” that the woman brings forth reading this passage again, “We were with child, we writhed in pain, but we gave birth to wind. We have not brought salvation to the earth…” (Isaiah 26:18, NIV). One might wonder about the implications of this text. It appears that the child this woman will have, figuratively speaking, is supposed to perform a ministry that will bring deliverance to the world. This text is an illustration. Therefore, it’s meant to be taken symbolically. Let us look for a spiritual application to this proverb. It’s not by man’s will nor by human capability, but by the Spirit of God that this child will be brought forth. It’s by the Spirit and the Word that the deathblow will be delivered to the world government under Satan. “Before she goes into labor, she gives birth; before the pains come upon her, she delivers a son. Who has ever heard of such a thing? Who has ever seen such things? Can a country be born in a day or a nation be brought forth in a moment? Yet no sooner is Zion in labor than she gives birth to her children” (Isaiah 66:7-8, NIV). Zion is symbolic of the Church throughout Scripture. As we can see, this seed from the woman is symbolic of a nation. The Zion of the Holy One of Israel shall bring forth children. “Be glad, O people of Zion, rejoice in the LORD your God” (Joel 2:23, NIV). This nation of spiritual Israel will come from the Church around the time she’s travailing in pain from persecution of the Antichrist world government during its formation. Therefore, a nation which shows nationality and a very large group of people is what this child in Isaiah is symbolic of. We can be sure that not everyone who professes Jesus Christ as Savior will be a part of the symbolic child that is born from the woman/church in Isaiah’s prophecy. This child or smaller body that comes forth from the overall church/woman will be a group of dedicated Christians—God will call them out as prophets and witnesses. Jesus said, “Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves. I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father” (John 14: 11-12, NIV). Nowhere in history have we seen the followers of Jesus do miracles on a greater scale than Jesus himself did, yet Jesus said they would. Is it possible that these dedicated Christians that come out of the symbolic women will fulfill this last prophecy of Christ by performing miracles in the last days? These men and women of God will be part of the visible church on earth yet shall be disdained by many of their Christian brethren. “Hear the word of the LORD, you who tremble at his word: “Your brothers who hate you, and exclude you because of my name, have said, ‘Let the LORD be glorified, that we may see your joy!’ Yet they will be put to shame” (Isaiah 66:5, NIV). Christ shall appear to our joy and take us into his hiding place; however, many shall be ashamed because they did not make themselves ready, spiritually, to be received at the marriage feast. Many are called, but few are chosen. When the winds of adversity start to blow and the driving rain falls in the early summer, the seed from the woman will grow to maturity; then comes the harvest. As we see events from the Scriptures unfolding in front of our eyes, the reality of biblical prophecy and the desire to follow Christ will set in. Many Christians will set their faces like flint and carry their own crosses. Paul has recorded in I Corinthians15:31, “I die every day.” The Woman and Man Child of Revelation “A great and wondrous sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head. She was pregnant and cried out in pain as she was about to give birth” (Revelation 12:1-2, NIV). This woman is the New Testament Church. She is found interacting with the Antichrist world government at the end of time. This woman is wearing a crown. The church is promised a crown in II Timothy 4:8. This text uses the number twelve in a symbolic pattern. The number twelve is symbolic of the Church throughout Scripture. This woman is adorned with stars. Stars are symbolic of people in several verses. As we have observed in Isaiah, this woman bears a nation that brings salvation in the earth. The nation’s name is Israel meaning “he will rule as God.” This woman's offspring, both in Isaiah and Revelation, get caught up in the Rapture. Jesus promised the overcoming Christians, “To him who overcomes and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations—‘He will rule them with an iron scepter,” (Revelation 2:26-27, NIV). In the 12th chapter of Revelation, this woman “gave birth to a son, a male child, who will rule all the nations with an iron scepter. And her child was snatched up to God and to his throne” (Revelation 12:5, NIV). This set of verses is also depicting a smaller body of Christians (a male child) coming out of the Mother church. Then the child is caught up to God's throne. We also note that these Christians have a testimony: “They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony” (Revelation 12:11, NIV). It is through this testimony that the overcoming Christians will crush the head of the Antichrist/beast/government. However, that may be a short-lived victory, for the Antichrist government will grow stronger.