The symbolic "man child" which will be caught up to
the throne of God in the middle of the coming
tribulation, right before the 3.5-year reign of the
Antichrist (Revelation 12:5-6), represents the 144,000
male-virgins part of the church subsequently seen
before the throne of God (Revelation 14:4-5).
After the 144,000 part of the church is caught up, the
rest of the church still on the earth will have to go
through the 3.5-year reign of the Antichrist. Part
of the church will flee into the wilderness and be
protected (Revelation 12:6,14-16), while another part
of the church will remain in the cities and suffer the
wrath of Satan and the Antichrist (Revelation 12:17,
13:7-10, 14:12-13, 20:4, Matthew 24:9-13), just as
some in the church have always had to suffer the wrath
of Satan and evil men (e.g. Revelation 2:10, Acts 7:59).
Those who will suffer the wrath of Satan and the
Antichrist will be the body of Jesus Christ, the
church, for they'll have faith in Jesus Christ
(Revelation 12:17, 13:7-10, 14:12-13, 20:4, Matthew
24:9-13), and everyone who has faith in Jesus Christ
is part of his body (Ephesians 4:4-5).
Those in the church who will suffer the wrath of Satan
and the Antichrist will rule and reign with Jesus on the
earth during the coming millennium (Revelation 20:4-6)
along with all the rest of the church (Revelation 5:10,
2:26-29).
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The symbolic woman in Revelation 12 represents the
church, seen clothed with the symbolic sun of
righteousness (Revelation 12:1, Malachi 4:2), just as
later she's seen symbolically clothed with
righteousness (Revelation 19:8), which comes only
through faith in Jesus Christ (Romans 3:22).
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There's no dichotomy between the church and the
twelve tribes of Israel; they're one and the same
(Revelation 21:9b,12b). The 144,000 male-virgins part
of the church (Revelation 14:4) is from the twelve
tribes of Israel (Revelation 7:4), just as all Jews
in the church remain part of the twelve tribes of
Israel (Romans 11:1, Acts 4:36), and all Gentiles in
the church have been grafted into Israel (Romans
11:17,24, Ephesians 2:12,19, Galatians 3:29), and so
have been grafted into its various tribes (cf. Ezekiel
47:21-23).
This is necessary because the new covenant by which
everyone in the church is saved (Matthew 26:28,
1 Corinthians 11:25, 2 Corinthians 3:6, Hebrews 9:15)
is made only with Israel (Jeremiah 31:31-34).
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The great multitude in heaven in Revelation 7:9 are
those in the church who will enter into the coming
tribulation and then die during its first stage
(Revelation 6:4-14). Their death will take them out
of the tribulation (Revelation 7:14), and into heaven
(Revelation 7:15), just as whenever those in the
church die they enter into heaven, to be with Jesus
(Philippians 1:21,23, 2 Corinthians 5:8).
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Satan hasn't already been cast from heaven to the
earth for good; that won't happen until the start
of the coming 3.5-year world-reign of the Antichrist
(Revelation 12:6-17), when Satan will give all of
his power to the Antichrist (Revelation 13:4-18,
2 Thessalonians 2:9).
Revelation 12 is part of the "things which must
be hereafter" (Revelation 4:1b).
Luke 10:18 could refer to a past, local defeat of
Satan during the ministry of the seventy (Luke 10:17).
Isaiah 14:12 could refer to Lucifer's original fall
into rebellion against God, when he first became
"Satan" or the "Adversary" of God. This could have
happened in the Garden of Eden. The still-unfallen
Lucifer could have been placed by God as the
"covering cherub" over Eden (Ezekiel 28:13-14).
He could have chafed at this assignment, seeing it
as infinitely beneath his dignity to have to babysit
two mud-creatures (Adam and Eve) on some speck-of-
dust planet in the middle of nowhere, when he
thought himself worthy of ascending back into heaven
and taking rule over all the angels there and being
like God himself in heaven (Isaiah 14:13-14).
Once Lucifer had decided in the Garden of Eden to
rebel against God, and so become Satan, his first
act of defiance against God could have been to
deceive Eve into rebelling against God and eating
of the tree of knowledge of good and evil (Genesis
3:13-15).
Isaiah 14:15 could refer to Satan's future
imprisonment in the bottomless pit (Revelation 20:3),
at the second coming of Jesus Christ (Revelation
19:11-20:3).
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The USA, in its corrupt aspects, isn't the entirety
of Mystery Babylon (Revelation chapters 17-18),
because the USA isn't the only entity in which people
buy merchandise from merchants (Revelation 18:11),
nor is the USA responsible for the death of every
martyr on the earth (Revelation 18:24), nor does the
USA reign over the kings of the earth (Revelation
17:18). Mystery Babylon, in its entirety, can only
be all of the corrupt economic, religious, and
political systems on the earth. And throughout
history, for Mystery Babylon has been carried by all
past empires (Revelation 17:7-10).
---
While Obama may turn out to be an antichrist (1 John
2:18), he isn't the Antichrist because the gematrial
number of his name isn't 666 (Revelation 13:17b-18),
and because he isn't from a country the territory of
which used to be part of one of the four Diadochian
(Greek) kingdoms which succeeded the Greek Empire of
Alexander (Daniel 8:8-9,21-25). The Antichrist could
be an Arab from Tyre, Lebanon (Ezekiel 28:2, cf.
2 Thessalonians 2:4) who will have a name like "Nabil
Abdullah Falakal al-Hakim", the gematrial number of
which is 666.
---
Revelation 12:3 is a literal description of Satan
(Revelation 12:9), whereas Revelation 13:1-2, 17:3
is a symbolic picture of empires (Revelation 17:9-10,
Daniel 7:4-7) formed by him in his own image.
Satan has seven literal crowns on his seven literal
heads (Revelation 12:3), whereas the symbolic picture
of Satanic empires has ten symbolic crowns on its
ten symbolic horns (Revelation 13:1, 17:12).
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The rapture, or the catching up and gathering together
of the church to Jesus at his second coming
(1 Thessalonians 4:15-17, 2 Thessalonians 2:1), won't
occur until after the tribulation (Matthew 24:29-31)
of Revelation chapters 6-18 is all over with. That's
why the marriage doesn't happen until Revelation 19:7.
When Jesus comes to gather together the church he's
going to destroy the Antichrist (2 Thessalonians 2:1,8,
Revelation 19:7,20). The church will have to go through
the reign of the Antichrist (Revelation 13:7-10,
14:12-13, 20:4). That's why Jesus can't come and gather
together the church until sometime after the Antichrist
commits the abomination of desolation (2 Thessalonians
2:1-4, Matthew 24:15-31, Daniel 11:31,36).
The rapture is only going to take the church as high
as the clouds to meet Jesus in the air on his way
down to the earth at his second coming (1 Thessalonians
4:15-17). Nowhere does the Bible say that the rapture
of the church at the second coming of Jesus is going
to take the church all the way into the third heaven.
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The dragon Satan (Revelation 12:9) could have started
out as a dinosaur on the earth. The dinosaurs were on
the earth for millions of years, long enough to have
become highly intelligent by evolution and God's help.
Satan could have been born naturally (or made by God)
a mutant dinosaur with seven heads. He could have
become a faithful servant of God and been granted
immortality, and allowed to enter into heaven before
the destruction of the dinosaurs. In heaven he could
have been given the name of Lucifer, or Morning Star.
Millions of years later, when God made the Garden of
Eden, because Lucifer was originally from earth, God
could have assigned the still-unfallen Lucifer as the
covering cherub over Eden (Ezekiel 28:13-14) and at
that time given him rule over all of the earth (Luke
4:5-6).
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The time of Jacob’s trouble (Jeremiah 30:7) is the
final attack on the Jews in Jerusalem immediately
before Jesus' second coming saves them (Zechariah
14:2-11).
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The literal fire-breathing dragon (Job 41:21)
leviathan (Job 41:1) is Satan. He is the literal
leviathan/serpent/dragon with multiple heads (Psalms
74:14, Revelation 12:3,9) who currently lives deep
in the sea (Isaiah 27:1), although he can also move
about on the land (Job 1:7, 1 Peter 5:8). He also
rules the atmosphere (the first heaven) and the outer
space (the second heaven) around the earth (Ephesians
2:2, 6:12), and he's allowed by God to periodically
enter into the third heaven to appear before God and
accuse the saints (Job 1:6-11, 2:1-5, Revelation
12:10b).
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Satan could be able to breathe fire by the same
spiritual means by which the human two witnesses will
be able to breathe fire during the coming tribulation
(Revelation 11:5).
---
Satan's authority to imprison the souls of dead
believers in Hades was broken at the death of Jesus
(Hebrews 2:14) and his preaching the completion of
the gospel to them in Hades after his resurrection
(1 Peter 3:19, 4:6). Jesus broke through the gates
of Hades (Matthew 16:18, Psalms 107:16) and led all
those who had died in faith (Hebrews 11:13) up into
heaven (Ephesians 4:8-9) to be part of the church in
heaven (Hebrews 12:22-24).
Now Satan no longer has any spiritual power over dead
or living believers (Luke 10:19), although he can
still physically kill living believers (e.g.
Revelation 2:10, 12:17). But now physical death is no
longer a loss to believers, but gain, for it takes
them into heaven to be with Jesus (Philippians
1:21,23, 2 Corinthians 5:8). So believers are
victorious over Satan even if he kills them
(Revelation 12:11, Romans 8:36-37).
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Job is a great book for those in the church who will
live to enter into the coming tribulation, for God
will allow many of them to be physically harmed by
Satan during that time (Revelation 12:17) just as God
allowed innocent Job (Job 2:3) to be physically
harmed by Satan (Job 2:7); and they'll need to have
the patience of Job (James 5:11, Job 2:10) during
that time (Revelation 13:10, 14:12-13, cf.
2 Thessalonians 1:4) instead of becoming "offended"
by their tribulation suffering (Matthew 13:21,
24:9-13), and cursing God (Job 2:9, Isaiah 8:21-22).
1 Peter 4:12-13.
