Way To Jesus

First Sign, Second Sign, Satan’s Wrath and Persecution of Israel

First Sign
Woman Clothed with the Sun

Revelation 12:1-2

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:
12:2 And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered.

 

Picture of the First Sign
Chapter 12 begins with the first of three signs appearing in heaven. The sign is of a woman clothed with the sun, the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head. The woman cries out in pain to give birth to the child.

 

What About Signs in the Heaven?
God gave the sun, moon and stars to tell us when signs are to appear in the heavens. In Genesis 3:16, Moses describes what takes place on the fourth day of creation.

 

 “And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years.” (Genesis 3:16)

 

God created the sun, moon and stars not only to give light but for signs, seasons, days and years. We define a day by the time is takes for the earth to make one revolution on its axis. A year is the time it takes the earth to revolve around the sun. A season is caused by the elliptical orbit of the earth around the sun and the tilting of the earth’s axis from it’s orbital plane. The stars revolve around the earth and make up 88 constellations.  Job calls out three of these constellations in the oldest book of the Bible. Amos calls out Pleiades (with seven stars) and Orion.

 

“Who makes the Bear, Orion and the Pleiades.” (Job  9:9 NASB)

“Seek him that maketh the seven stars and Orion, and turneth the shadow of death into the morning, and maketh the day dark with night: that calleth for the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the face of the earth: The Lord is his name.” (Amos 5:8)

 

Isaiah and David tell us God named the stars. David says in Psalm 147:4, “He telleth the number of the stars; he calleth them all by their names” and Isaiah tells us in Isaiah 40:26, “he calleth them all by names by the greatness of his might.”

 

The stars revolve around the earth and don’t change their formation. The sun, moon and planets do move through the heavens in motions separate from the stars. The relationship of the sun, moon and planets as they move through the constellations determine signs in the heaven.

 

An interesting DVD describing the signs in the heaven proclaiming the time of Jesus birth is The Star of Bethlehem. The DVD explains what the wise men saw in the heavens to discern when the Messiah would be born.

 

When Does the Sign Appear?
Using the tool Stellarium, an open source planetarium program, one can determine when the stars align to produce the Revelation 12:1-2 sign. On November 20, 2016 the planet Jupiter enters the womb of Virgo (the woman).  Jupiter exits the womb on September 9, 2017, 294 days or 42 weeks later. During the time Jupiter is in the womb (within the green lines connecting the constellation stars), it goes into retrograde motion. Two weeks after the birth, on September 23, 2017, the sign appears in the sky. This day is the day after Rosh Hashana or the Feast of Trumpets. Virgo is clothed in the sun, the moon is at her feet. The constellation Leo, above Virgo’s head, is the king constellation. Leo has nine stars in its constellation, but on this day the planets Mercury, Mars and Venus are also above Virgo’s head.  Twelve stars now appear above the head of Virgo.

 

What does the sign mean? Not sure, but we do know this is a possible date for the fulfillment of this sign.

 

Three Signs in the Heaven

1st Sign in Heaven	12:1-2	Woman clothed in the sun, moon under her feet with a crown of 12 stars
2nd Sign in Heaven	12:3-6	Seven headed dragon with ten horns and a tail that sweeps a third of stars to earth stands before the woman about to give birth. Child is caught up to heaven and the woman flees to the wilderness.
3rd Sign in Heaven	15:1	Marvelous and great

 

Second Sign
Red Dragon with Seven heads and Seven Horns
Revelation 12:3-6

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.
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.
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.
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.

 

Picture of the Second Sign
A second of three signs appears in heaven. The picture is of a great red dragon with seven heads, ten horns and seven crowns on it heads. The dragons tail draws one-third of the stars of heaven and cast them to the earth. The dragon stands ready to devour the child once it was born. The woman gives birth to the child. The child will rule over all the nations. The child is then caught up into heaven and to His throne. The woman flees to the wilderness where she has a place prepared for her by God for 1260 days or three and one-half years.

 

This sign is more difficult. I have ideas on when this may occur but they are speculative at best.  The dragon is likely  the constellation Hydra. Seven stars are in the head of Hydra.

 

Israel Flees to the Wilderness
The woman, Israel, flees to the wilderness. This will likely occur at the abomination of desolation when the Antichrist begins the persecution of the Jews. Later on in the section there are additional details of the woman (see the section for Revelation 12:13-17).  The woman or Israel flees to the wilderness. The Greek word for “wilderness” means a solidary, desolate place. Some believe this means may escape to Petra, located in Jordan. They may escape to underground bunkers or fly to some remote site. The final regathering of the Jews has partially taken place in the century with the formation of the country of Israel; however, then final regathering takes place at the end of the Great Tribulation and the beginning of the millennial kingdom.

 

“And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea. And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.” (Isaiah 11:11-12)

“Behold, I will gather them out of all countries, whither I have driven them in mine anger, and in my fury, and in great wrath; and I will bring them again unto this place, and I will cause them to dwell safely: And they shall be my people, and I will be their God: And I will give them one heart, and one way, that they may fear me for ever, for the good of them, and of their children after them: And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; but I will put my fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from me.” (Jeremiah 32:37-40)

 

Satan’s wrath
Satan Thrown Down to Earth in Great Wrath
Revelation 12:7-12

12:7 And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,
12:8 And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.
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.
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.
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.
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.

 

War in Heaven
A war takes place in heaven. Michael and his angels fight against the dragon or Satan with his angels. Michael and his angels prevail.  Satan and his angels are cast to earth. Michael is described as an archangel in Jude 9. An archangel is the “chief among angels.”

 

When Does This War Take Place?
Currently Satan has access to the throne of God and finds fault with the saints accusing them before the throne of God. But he will be cast out of heaven in this great war. The likely time of this heavenly war is at the middle of the 70th week or the abomination of desolation.

 

Satan falls from heaven in Revelation 9:1-12 at the sounding of the fifth trumpet judgment.

“And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit.” (Revelation 9:1)

 

Luke 10:18 also accounts for Satan’s fall from heaven.

“And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.” (Luke 10:18)

 

Heaven Rejoices
When Satan is thrown to earth heaven rejoices for, “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.” The accuser of saints is now kicked out of heaven.

 

Woe to the Earth
At the time of heaven’s rejoicing, a “woe” is given to the earth.  The devil has come down in great wrath.  Satan comes to kill the Jews and the saints but 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 (Revelation 13:7).” Jews and Christians will undergo the greatest persecution ever to take place on the earth. Most will be killed by the Antichrist under the power of Satan. The devil knows his time is very short and takes out his wrath in great measure on the Jews and saints.  Yet there is victory in death for the believer.

 

“So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.  But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 15:54-57)

 

Persecution
Satan Persecutes Israel
Revelation 12:13-17

12:13 And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man child.
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.
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.
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.
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.

 

Once Satan is thrown down to earth, he begins to persecute Israel (the woman) in great degree. Israel is given two wings of a great eagle to fly into the wilderness is be supported and fed for three and one-half years. Jews may be flown by plane to an indisclosed safe place. Satan attempts to wipe them out, but God intervenes to keep them safe.

 

Satan, in wrathful vengeance, makes war with the Jewish remnant. The remnant is not every Jew but only those who keep the commandment of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ.

 

Some believe the United States is the eagle. The United States National Emblem is the American Bald Eagle.

 

Written by Timothy Brown

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