In order to understand “visionary prophecy,” we must broaden our scope of things.
I agree with Stephen on that!
In order to broaden your scope, you have to have your eyes opened by Christ in order to see them.
Luk 24:27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself. 31 Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him."
2 Cor 3:13 We are not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face to keep the Israelites from gazing at it while the radiance was fading away. 14 But their minds were made dull, for to this day the same veil remains when the old covenant is read. It has not been removed, because only in Christ is it taken away. 15Even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts. 16 But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.
Dispensationalists and their pre-trib rapture, are studying the Scriptures like the Israelites who wanted a veil over the Bible. Only when you see Jesus in the prophecies is the veil taken away. I can almost understand the OT saints having difficulty seeing Jesus in the prophecies, but it is very difficult to understand why NT Christians cant see it, and even more so, why do they get so angry at those who do? It is a mistake to follow the letter of the word, we need to understand the spirit of the word. That can only happen when we remove the veil through Jesus Christ!
The Dragon
Since there are three characters in the vision, the dragon, the woman and the male child, we should identify all three. The easiest is the dragon. The safest way to identify a symbol is to let the Bible interpret itself by comparing Scripture with Scripture. If we read verse nine, “The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, we can easily see that the dragon is Satan.
The Male-Child
So, who is the Male ChildThe answer is Jesus Christ. Jesus is always the center of the prophecies. Let's let the Bible prove it. In this passage, the fourth and the fifth verses we find four identifying features that identify the male child as Jesus Christ. The most obvious one is the fact that he is a male (v5).
The next identifying mark is in the last sentence: “her child was snatched up” or caught up “to God and to his throne” (vs. 5). That certainly applies to Jesus.
The next one is in verse four, the dragon tried to devour her child the moment it was born. In Matthew 2:13 Satan is the Dragon (see v9), but he never operates as Satan. He operates through human instruments or nations. Here, he is operating through King Herod of the pagan Roman Empire. He issued a decree when he was told that the Messiah was born, that all male children under the age of 2 years old would be put to death. Of course Jesus’ parents took him to Egypt to protect him, and the dragon failed.
Finally, verse five says, the male child will rule all the nations with an iron scepter.” Some say, that can’t be Jesus because Jesus doesn’t rule with a rod of iron. But let’s let the Bible interpret itself. Turn to Revelation 19:11 “I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and makes war.” In verse 13 “his name is the Word of God.” In verse 16 “On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.” The rider on the white horse is Jesus Christ. There's no doubt about that. Now look at verse 15 “Out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. ‘He will rule them with an iron scepter’.” Jesus does rule the nations with a rod of iron. We find that very same expression concerning Jesus, in a prophecy in the Old Testament of the Messiah to come in Psalm 2. And the literal translation of ruling with a rod of iron, or an iron scepter, is actually understood in the Hebrew as destroying, or shattering, or breaking to pieces like smashing pottery. In Daniel 2, Jesus was symbolized by the stone that was to come and break that image representing the nations and shatter it to pieces. This prophecy gives a snapshot of Christ from His birth to the time when He comes to smash the nations and establish His kingdom.
It’s so easy to understand, when you compare Scripture with Scripture, that the male child is Jesus Christ, and the dragon is the devil.
The Woman
The next question is; “who is the woman?” This one is a little more complicated.
We find a clue in verse nine which mentions the “ancient serpent.” The book of Revelation quotes the Old Testament over 600 times. So in order to fully understand the book of Revelation we must first digest much of the Old Testament. Where in the Old Testament do we find a story about an ancient serpent and a woman?
In Genesis 3:1, the setting is the Garden of Eden. God told Adam and Eve they could eat the fruit from any tree in the garden except the one in the middle which was called the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The serpent told the woman that God lied to them. They would not die if they ate the fruit, in fact their eyes would be opened and they would be like God, knowing good from evil. Now watch what happens. “When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it” (Gen 3:6 – emphasis supplied). Notice that instead of simply believing what God said, she relied on what seemed right and desirable to her. This as a huge shift in how to determine the difference between right and wrong. Prior to that time, God was the standard of truth. Now mankind and human perception becomes the standard.
That means there would be no absolute standard of right and wrong. It isn't as thought God's law is a list of rules that you better follow. God created them. He knows what is best for them (us). He loves us. The question is do we trust Him. If Adam & Eve had trusted God to tell them what would bring happiness, this mess would not have happened. The whole purpose of that tree was to give Adam and Eve an opportunity to demonstrate that they trust God.
Immediately following Adam and Eve’s sin, God was there with a promise. God tells the serpent, who had deceived the woman, “I will put enmity between you and the woman” (vs. 15). Enmity means strife or conflict. So you see, this conflict between the serpent and the woman began back in the Garden of Eden. And He said, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers” (vs. 15). And the seed of the woman, it says, would crush the head of the serpent, but the serpent would bruise the heel of the seed of the woman. This is the first prophecy in the Bible. All of the rest of the Scriptures from Genesis 3:16 until the end, unpacks this prophecy!
The seed of the serpent is not to be understood as little snakes crawling around on the ground. The seed of the serpent represents those who choose to follow Satan. The seed of the woman – those who choose to follow God.
Here is where Adam and Eve made the first mistake in Biblical interpretation. They thought God was speaking literally, and believed “their son” would be the seed who would crush the serpents head. That is the reason they named him “Cain” which means “acquired.” They thought they had acquired the seed of the promise. But the only head Cain crushed was his brother’s head. Little did they know that the seed would not come for some 4000 years.
By the way, God gave a little demonstration of how the seed would crush the head of the serpent. Gen 3: 21 The LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them. Is it possible, that already in Genesis we see the first example of innocent blood being shed in order to cover a sinful human being?
The woman symbolizes God’s people. The seed actually promised in this prophecy was Jesus Christ himself who came through the line of Israel (the woman). Notice the Bible says the serpent would bruise his heel. He did that when Jesus died on the cross. But it wasn't a deadly wound, it was only a bruise on the heel, and three days later, Jesus rose again, was caught up to heaven, and He is coming back to crush the head of the serpent. This is the first prophecy in the Bible. All the rest of Scripture unpacks this prophecy until we find the thrilling climax in:
Revelation 12:17. Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to make war against the remnant [last] of her offspring—those who obey God's commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus.
The woman here, therefore represents the last of God's people, those who ultimately gain the victory over the serpent, or the dragon. All of the rest of Revelation expands and explains this prophecy.
Here is where we have to broaden our scope in order to grasp the true meaning of “visionary” prophecy. In the OT the woman represented God’s people who would deliver the seed, Jesus. That obviously was national Israel. But in the NT, the woman symbolizes God’s New Testament people, the church. Now the focus switches from geography and nationality to Jesus! Where is the cross in this prophecy? If the prophecy sees the seed of the woman after the cross, then the seed of the woman is the Church. Obviously, verse 17 is talking about the last of God’s people; therefore it is symbolizing the church. Here, in the heart of Revelation is Jesus and his church, preparing for earth’s final battle against the dragon. However there is nothing to fear as long as they follow the Lamb, because He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords and he will overcome them along with His called chosen and faithful followers!!!!!
When we broaden the scope of “visionary” prophecy, the veil will be lifted and we will be like the two on the road to Emmaus, “Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him… They asked each other, "Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?" (Luke 23:31, 32).
Follow the Lamb!
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