Study:
Recall the structure of Revelation 12:
Revelation 12:1-6
Revelation 12:7-17
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: And she being with child cried, travailing in birth,
and pained to be delivered. 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.
vss. 1-3
And there was war in heaven: Michael and his
angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, And
prevailed not; neither was their place found any more
in heaven. vss. 7,8
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. And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations
with a rod of iron:
vss. 4,5a
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. vs. 9
and her child was caught up
unto God, and to his throne. vs. 5b
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. 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. 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. vss. 10-12
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. vs. 6
And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the
woman which brought forth the man child. 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. 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. 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. 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.
vss. 13-17
Recall the structure of Revelation 12:7-17:
And there was war in heaven: Michael and his
angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon
fought and his angels, And prevailed not; neither
was their place found any more in heaven. vss. 7,8
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. vs. 9
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. vs. 10
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.
vs. 11
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. vs. 12
And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto
the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man child. 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. 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. 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.
vss. 13-16
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. vs. 17
Layer 1: War!
Combining these two structures and making a slight modification...
And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun...
And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be
delivered. And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great
red dragon... And his tail
drew the third part of the stars of heaven,...
vss. 1-4a
And there was war in heaven: Michael and his
angels fought against the dragon; and the
dragon fought and his angels, And prevailed
not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. vss. 7,8
[Layers 2,3, and 4.]
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.
vs. 17
Note the addition of verse 4a to the first layer. This verse
indicates Satan's method of capturing a third of the angels in heaven.
Notice now the parallel ideas shared between the two half:
"his tail": "a prophet
that lies" or false prophet!
"the testimony of Jesus Christ": "...the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy."
Revelation 19:10
Ques: If the beginning had its false prophet, Satan, where is
the end times true prophet?
Don't have a prophet?
Get to know Ellen G. White, 1827-1915, then!
"his tail": "a prophet that lies"
"the commandments of God":
"Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour."
Exodus 20:16
"For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is
guilty of all. For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not
kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a
transgressor of the law." James 2:10,11
"Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till
iniquity was found in thee. By the multitude of thy merchandise they
have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned:..."
Ezekiel 28:15,16
As it was in the beginning so it will be in the end. The first war was over God's commandments and so will it be in these end-times. In that first war a false prophet stood up against God but in these end-times, a prophet will stand up for God and his people.
To be continued...
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