by Kosonen 543 Replies latest jw friends
That first website is incorrect because it claims the woman is ancient Israel. Ancient Israel has never been in heaven. Ancient Israel was an unfaithful harlot who schemed to kill God's Son.
The second website is incorrect because they claim the woman is the church. The church hasn't given birth to the Christ. He came first, and then the congregation came after.
Could there be a connection between these scriptures?
No, Revelation 12:6 is a different time period than Ezekiel 38.
Revelation 12:6 And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God and where they would feed her for 1,260 days.
Exekiel 38:8 “‘“You will be given attention after many days. In the final part of the years you will invade the land whose people have been restored from the ravages of the sword, collected together out of many peoples onto the mountains of Israel, which had long been lying devastated. The inhabitants of this land were restored from the peoples, and all of them dwell in security.
11 (NIV) You will say, “I will invade a land of unwalled villages; I will attack a peaceful and unsuspecting people—all of them living without walls and without gates and bars. 12 I Will plunder and loot and turn my hand against the resettled ruins and the people gathered from the nations, rich in livestock and goods, living at the center of the land” 13 Sheba and Dedan and the merchants of Tarshish and all her villages will say to you, “Have you come to plunder? Have you gathered your hordes to loot, to carry off silver and gold, to take away livestock and goods and to seize much plunder?”’
Here is why we know they are not related...
Revelation 12:6 is talking about how true Christians will be protected and fed by the figurative "woman" during the 1260 days (3 1/2 years) of the great tribulation. The "wilderness" just means the condition of not having religious institutions to take "refuge" in. The remnant of the 144,000 kingdom heirs and those associated with them are not strong, they are weak like a newborn baby compared to what they will be later. They need the protection of the angelic organization in order to survive the onslaught of the "dragon" and his minions during the days ahead.
Ezekiel 38 is talking about "Gog of Magog". Revelation 20:7-10 identifies "Gog of Magog" as those who attack God's people after the 1000 year reign.
Ezekiel 38 has nothing to do with the 3 1/2 years of the great tribulation or the time known as "Armageddon". Ezekiel 38 takes place way way way later.🙂
We are free to make our personal conclusions. There are as we see many different conclusions to what Revelation 12 is about. I just checked what Wikipedia says. There were multiple variants from different sources.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woman_of_the_Apocalypse
So let's pray for wisdom to understand things right.
Because I personally hope to be able to flee from this system of things 3 and half years before the destruction of Babylon the Great. This would allow to escape from persecution, when the beast will persecute those who refuse to worship its image and take its mark.
I would gladly help people to escape.
"Babylon the Great" is all the religious institutions. "Institutions" means the "organizations", not the people in the organizations. They (the religious organizations) will be destroyed at the beginning of the 3 1/2 years of the great tribulation.
Many of the individuals who make up the institutions will be okay - it's the institutions themselves that are destroyed.
That is why Jesus said of the religious leaders that they will be gnashing their teeth and weeping when the religious institutions are destroyed, because many of the religious leaders will still be alive as individuals and it will be clear they were frauds.
Revelation says Jesus has eyes like a fiery flame.:"the Son of God...the one who has eyes like a fiery flame." He sees everything hypocritical going on in the congregations/denominations that claim to represent him. The lyrics of this song talk about how "the grand facade soon will burn". It's a good illustration for what will happen to Babylon the Great at the beginning of the 3 1/2 years. Jesus will allow the UN to destroy the religious institutions (not all the people in them, but the organization structures.) Then afterwards, true Christians will follow Christ as head instead of human hypocritical religious frauds. And during that time, some others who were not associating with a religion before will see too that Jesus is the one to follow.
(Kosonen, here is a tip regarding any websites and knowing whether they contain "truth"...any so-called "Bible scholars" and their websites that have a "Donations" section are NOT trustworthy. They are compromised, because they have attempted to misuse the teachings of the Christ as a means of monetary gain. They do not have holy spirit backing them and they cannot be trusted as a pure source of truth. Both of those websites you posted are asking for money from people for their "work". They are not God's representatives and they are not asking for money because Christ told them to. They are being naughty and they are not reliable for accurate information on understanding Revelation or the rest of the Bible for that matter.)
Christ said: "You received free, give free" regarding sharing truth with others.
Matthew 26:41 Keep on the watch and pray continually, so that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit, of course, is eager, but the flesh is weak.”
Luke 21:34 “But pay attention to yourselves that your hearts never become weighed down with overeating and heavy drinking and anxieties of life, and suddenly that day be instantly upon you 35 as a snare. For it will come upon all those dwelling on the face of the whole earth. 36 Keep awake, then, all the time making supplication that you may succeed in escaping all these things that must occur and in standing before the Son of man.”
Acts 17:11 Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thes·sa·lo·niʹca, for they accepted the word with the greatest eagerness of mind, carefully examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so.
James 1:19 Know this, my beloved brothers: Everyone must be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger, 20 for man’s anger does not bring about God’s righteousness. 21 Therefore, put away all filthiness and every trace of badness, and accept with mildness the implanting of the word that is able to save you.
Some scriptures about love for today:
1 Corinthians 13:2 And if I have the gift of prophecy and understand all the sacred secrets and all knowledge, and if I have all the faith so as to move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.
Revelation 2:3 You are also showing endurance, and you have persevered for the sake of my name and have not grown weary. 4 Nevertheless, I hold this against you, that you have left the love you had at first.
Mark 9:35 So he sat down and called the Twelve and said to them: “If anyone wants to be first, he must be last of all and minister of all.”
Mark 10:44 and whoever wants to be first among you must be the slave of all. 45 For even the Son of man came, not to be ministered to, but to minister and to give his life as a ransom in exchange for many.”
Some scriptures to better understand Christ's mind:
John 8:54 Jesus answered: “If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my Father who glorifies me, the one who you say is your God.
John 13:31 When, therefore, he (Judas Iscariot) had gone out, Jesus said: “Now the Son of man is glorified, and God is glorified in connection with him. 32 God himself will glorify him, and he will glorify him immediately.
