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Religion See other Religion Articles Title: The Grand Secret of the Bible - Who is the woman Found at Genesis 3:16? The Grand Secret of the Bible Who is the woman Found at Genesis 3:16? Genesis 3:16 To the woman he said: “I shall greatly increase the pain of your pregnancy; in birth pangs you will bring forth children, and your craving will be for your husband, and he will dominate you.” The Bible is a consistent and verifiable source of knowledge….. if you understand the purpose of the Bible, and, the different information lines that run through it. This is, the woman found at Genesis 3:16, perhaps, the most important story line that occurs in the Bible. Why? Because it involves the solution to the question of who is best suited to rule; Jehovah God, or Satan the Devil. In other words, this is all about the resolution of the issue of Jehovah God’s Universal Sovereignty. But to understand this, you have to know who this woman is. Isaiah 54:1-11 “Cry out joyfully, ! Become cheerful with a joyful outcry and cry shrilly, you that had no childbirth pains, for the sons of the desolated one are more numerous than the sons of the woman with a husbandly owner,” Jehovah has said. 2 “Make the place of your tent more spacious. And let them stretch out the tent cloths of your grand tabernacle. Do not hold back. Lengthen out your tent cords, and make those tent pins of yours strong. 3 For to the right and to the left you will break forth, and your own offspring will take possession even of nations, and they will inhabit even the desolated cities. 4 Do not be afraid, for you will not be put to shame; and do not feel humiliated, for you will not be disappointed. For you will forget even the shame of your time of youth, and the reproach of your continuous widowhood you will remember no more.” 5 “For your Grand Maker is your husbandly owner, Jehovah of armies being his name; and the Holy One of Israel is your Repurchaser. The God of the whole earth he will be called. 6 For Jehovah called you as if you were a wife left entirely and hurt in spirit, and as a wife of the time of youth who was then rejected,” your God has said. 7 “For a little moment I left you entirely, but with great mercies I shall collect you together. 8 With a flood of indignation I concealed my face from you for but a moment, but with loving-kindness to time indefinite I will have mercy upon you,” your Repurchaser, Jehovah, has said. 9 “This is just as the days of Noah to me. Just as I have sworn that the waters of Noah shall no more pass over the earth, so I have sworn that I will not become indignant toward you nor rebuke you. 10 For the mountains themselves may be removed, and the very hills may stagger, but my loving-kindness itself will not be removed from you, nor will my covenant of peace itself stagger,” Jehovah, the One having mercy upon you, has said. 11 “O woman afflicted, tempest-tossed, uncomforted, here I am laying with hard mortar your stones, and I will lay your foundation with sapphires. There is a tremendous amount of information in the verses quoted above; Grand Maker is your husbandly owner, Jehovah of armies being his name … But of all of the information contained in those verses, this is the key; Jehovah is the husband. The woman is his wife. Now, before you go off on a tangent, this is speaking of Spiritual matters, and we are instructed in the Bible that the Spirit realm does not know the same things we do on this earth, so please read on and give the information a chance to develop. Also, note the reference to you barren woman that did not give birth. And how another woman is giving birth, but for the sons of the desolated one are more numerous than the sons of the woman with a husbandly owner. This is a reference that there were no righteous men on the earth, and could not be until the Ransom Sacrifice would be paid. Why? Because the atonement for sin had not been made through the Christ, and Jehovah God can have no dealings with unrighteous men, which means that there could be no Spiritual Children, through a Spiritual Wife, taken from among such men. Jeremiah 3:14 Return, O YOU renegade sons,” is the utterance of Jehovah. “For I myself have become the husbandly owner of YOU people; and I will take YOU, one out of a city and two out of a family, and I will bring YOU to Zion. This is a for instance to the above. Jehovah here is named as the husbandly owner of YOU people. This would make ‘YOU people’ the wife of Jehovah. As I said, this is about Spiritual matters, BUT, another point we need to consider is that ALL of the Biblical rules about marriage apply. This includes headship, fidelity and devotion. Another point that should be mentioned is that the ‘YOU people’ mentioned here were intended to bless the earth; they WERE NOT intended to rule the earth. In fact, ‘YOU people’ were warned as to what would happen if they demanded to have an earthly king instead of relying on Jehovah God as King/husband. Such warnings were ignored and we all know what happened. Isaiah 61:1-7 For the sake of Zion I shall not keep still, and for the sake of Jerusalem I shall not stay quiet until her righteousness goes forth just like the brightness, and her salvation like a torch that burns. 2 “And the nations will certainly see your righteousness, [O woman,] and all kings your glory. And you will actually be called by a new name, which the very mouth of Jehovah will designate. 3 And you must become a crown of beauty in the hand of Jehovah, and a kingly turban in the palm of your God. 4 No more will you be said to be a woman left entirely; and your own land will no more be said to be desolate; but you yourself will be called My Delight Is in Her, and your land Owned as a Wife. For Jehovah will have taken delight in you, and your own land will be owned as a wife. 5 For just as a young man takes ownership of a virgin as his wife, your sons will take ownership of you as a wife. And with the exultation of a bridegroom over a bride, your God will exult even over you. 6 Upon your walls, O Jerusalem, I have commissioned watchmen. All day long and all night long, constantly, let them not keep still. “YOU who are making mention of Jehovah, let there be no silence on YOUR part, 7 and do not give him any silence until he fixes solidly, yes, until he sets Jerusalem as a praise in the earth.” And here we see Jerusalem introduced, but again, remember, this is about Spiritual matters, so it would stand to reason that this is a Spiritual Jerusalem. Not a remake or continuation of the earthly Jerusalem. Jeremiah 31:32 not one like the covenant that I concluded with their forefathers in the day of my taking hold of their hand to bring them forth out of the land of Egypt, ‘which covenant of mine they themselves broke, although I myself had husbandly ownership of them,’ is the utterance of Jehovah.” A New Covenant is introduced here. And, the notation made that ‘YOU people’ mentioned earlier had broken the Covenant/marriage agreement that Jehovah had made with them. The Divorce. What is the basis of divorce in the Bible, according to Jesus Christ? Only fornication, and here we clearly see, below, that it is stated as the reason for the divorce. Again, this would be a Spiritual fornication, and not a physical act. We are told in the Bible not to worship other gods, for Jehovah is a Jealous God, demanding exclusive devotion. Would we expect that is would be different for His Spiritual wife: Not hardly!! Up to this point in time, it had been the intent of Jehovah God to beget Spiritual Children from fleshly Israel, and with these Children to bless the earth and end the domination of the earth by Satan the Devil. Hosea 2:2 Carry on a legal case with YOUR mother; carry on a legal case, for she is not my wife and I am not her husband. And she should put away her fornication from before herself and her acts of adultery from between her breasts, Spiritual Israel We are told in the Bible how Jehovah God turned His attention to the nations to take out of them ‘a people for His Name.’ This would correspond to the ‘YOU people’ that we saw earlier, and would constitute the Spiritual Israel that came about through the Ransom Sacrifice of The Christ. Only now those Spiritual children are to come from all of the nations of the earth, and not just from fleshly Israel. 2 Corinthians 11:2 For I am jealous over YOU with a godly jealousy, for I personally promised YOU in marriage to one husband that I might present YOU as a chaste virgin to the Christ. 3 But I am afraid that somehow, as the serpent seduced Eve by its cunning, YOUR minds might be corrupted away from the sincerity and the chastity that are due the Christ. Galatians 4:24-31 These things stand as a symbolic drama; for these [women] mean two covenants, the one from Mount Si´nai, which brings forth children for slavery, and which is Ha´gar. 25 Now this Ha´gar means Si´nai, a mountain in Arabia, and she corresponds with the Jerusalem today, for she is in slavery with her children. 26 But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother. for she is in slavery with her children – What kind of slavery? Slavery to sin. This is the two women spoken of earlier. And here we see once again the Spiritual Jerusalem above. I have repeated the verses used above just below for comparison purposes. 27 For it is written: “Be glad, you barren woman who does not give birth; break out and cry aloud, you woman who does not have childbirth pains; for the children of the desolate woman are more numerous than [those] of her who has the husband.” 28 Now we, brothers, are children belonging to the promise the same as Isaac was. 29 But just as then the one born in the manner of flesh began persecuting the one born in the manner of spirit, so also now. 30 Nevertheless, what does the Scripture say? “Drive out the servant girl and her son, for by no means shall the son of the servant girl be an heir with the son of the free woman.” 31 Wherefore, brothers, we are children, not of a servant girl, but of the free woman. Now we move on to A Revelation to John Revelation 12:1-6 And a great sign was seen in heaven, a woman arrayed with the sun, and the moon was beneath her feet, and on her head was a crown of twelve stars, 2 and she was pregnant. And she cries out in her pains and in her agony to give birth. 3 And another sign was seen in heaven, and, look! a great fiery-colored dragon, with seven heads and ten horns and upon its heads seven diadems; 4 and its tail drags a third of the stars of heaven, and it hurled them down to the earth. And the dragon kept standing before the woman who was about to give birth, that, when she did give birth, it might devour her child. 5 And she gave birth to a son, a male, who is to shepherd all the nations with an iron rod. And her child was caught away to God and to his throne. 6 And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and sixty days. Pretty interesting, especially so when you understand the history of the woman from Genesis on. It is good to note the term; who is to shepherd all the nations with an iron rod. To understand a shepherd here, review the information about how Jesus Christ, when he returns, will first separate the sheep from the goats. Revelation 21:21-4 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the former heaven and the former earth had passed away, and the sea is no more. 2 I saw also the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God and prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 With that I heard a loud voice from the throne say: “Look! The tent of God is with mankind, and he will reside with them, and they will be his peoples. And God himself will be with them. 4 And he will wipe out every tear from their eyes, and death will be no more, neither will mourning nor outcry nor pain be anymore. The former things have passed away.” Please understand these terms; and the sea is no more – This refers to the great mass of humanity that flows back and forth over the earth, blown this way and that by lies and a lack of effort to learn the Truth of Scripture, and who will not survive the Great Tribulation and the return of Jesus Christ. The former things have passed away – No more sin (to be allowed), no more death, no more evil on the earth (except for the final test, when Satan and his demons are to be loosed for a short time to once more tempt the people AFTER they have been blessed with life eternal AND LEARNED THE TRUTH ABOUT JEHOVAH GOD, at the end of the 1,000 year reign of Jesus Christ on earth). This is the government that is intended to govern the earth, and will do so to time indefinite, or forever. That government is comprised of the 144,000 Spirit anointed Children/Sons of God that were birthed by the spiritual woman, and were resurrected in Heaven to be joint-rulers with Jesus The Christ over the earth. They are intended to be priests to Jehovah, and kings and judges for the earth. There will never again be a government of men allowed to rule the earth, just as Jehovah God warned the Israelites not to demand an earthly king. Such demands will never again be allowed. The above is a rapid examination of this material. Below is a more detailed examination, but it takes quite some time to study and begin to understand all of the material, of which only a small portion is included in this paper. “And a great sign was seen in heaven, a woman arrayed with the sun, and the moon was beneath her feet, and on her head was a crown of twelve stars, and she was pregnant. And she cries out in her pains and in her agony to give birth.”—Revelation 12:1, 2. For the first time, John beholds a woman in heaven. She is, of course, not a literal woman. Rather, she is a sign, or a symbol. (Revelation 1:1) What does she symbolize? In the inspired prophecies, women at times represent organizations “married” to outstanding personalities. In the Hebrew Scriptures, Israel was spoken of as a wife of Jehovah God. (Jeremiah 3:14) In the Greek Scriptures, the congregation of anointed Christians is spoken of as Christ’s bride. (Revelation 21:9-14) The woman John here sees is also married to someone, and she is about to give birth. Who is her husband? Well, later her child is “caught away to God and to his throne.” (Revelation 12:5) Jehovah thus claims the child as his own. Therefore, the woman that John sees must be Jehovah’s symbolic wife. 4 About eight centuries earlier, Jehovah had addressed this symbolic wife, saying: “All your sons will be persons taught by Jehovah.” (Isaiah 54:5, 13) Jesus quoted this prophecy and showed that these sons were his faithful followers, who later formed the congregation of anointed Christians. (John 6:44, 45) So members of this congregation, spoken of as God’s sons, are also children of God’s symbolic wife. (Romans 8:14) The apostle Paul adds the final piece of information when he says: “The Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother.” (Galatians 4:26) The “woman” seen by John, then, is “the Jerusalem above.” 5 Exactly what, though, is Jerusalem above? Since Paul spoke of her as “above,” and John sees her in heaven, she is clearly not an earthly city; neither is she the same as “New Jerusalem,” since that organization is the bride of Christ, not Jehovah’s wife. (Revelation 21:2) Notice that she is crowned with 12 stars. The number 12 is associated with completeness in an organizational setting. Hence, these 12 stars seem to indicate that she is an organizational arrangement in heaven, just as ancient Jerusalem was on earth. Jerusalem above is Jehovah’s universal organization of spirit creatures that acts as his wife, both in serving him and in producing offspring. 6 John sees this woman as being robed with the sun and having the moon beneath her feet. When we add her crown of stars, she is completely surrounded by heavenly lights. God’s favor shines upon her day and night. What a fitting symbol of Jehovah’s magnificent heavenly organization! She is also pregnant, enduring labor pains. Her cries for divine help show that her time has come to give birth. In the Bible, labor pains often symbolize the hard work needed to produce an important result. (Compare Psalm 90:2; Proverbs 25:23; Isaiah 66:7, 8.) No doubt labor pains of this kind were experienced as Jehovah’s heavenly organization prepared for this historic birth. A Great Fiery-Colored Dragon What does John next observe? “And another sign was seen in heaven, and, look! a great fiery-colored dragon, with seven heads and ten horns and upon its heads seven diadems; and its tail drags a third of the stars of heaven, and it hurled them down to the earth. And the dragon kept standing before the woman who was about to give birth, that, when she did give birth, it might devour her child.”—Revelation 12:3, 4. 8 This dragon is Satan, “the original serpent.” (Revelation 12:9; Genesis 3:15) He is a ferocious destroyer—a seven-headed dragon, or devourer, that can completely swallow his prey. How strange he looks! Those seven heads and ten horns indicate that he is the architect of the political wild beast soon to be described in Revelation chapter 13. This beast also has seven heads and ten horns. Since Satan has a diadem on each head—seven in all—we can be sure that the world powers represented in that wild beast have been under his rulership. (John 16:11) The ten horns are a fitting symbol of the completeness of the power that he has exercised in this world. 9 The dragon has authority also in the spirit realm. With his tail, he “drags a third of the stars of heaven.” Stars can represent angels. (Job 38:7) Mention of “a third” would emphasize that a considerable number of angels have been misled by Satan. Once these came under his control, there was no escape for them. They could not return to God’s holy organization. They became demons, dragged along, as it were, by Satan their king, or ruler. (Matthew 12:24) Satan also cast them down to the earth. This no doubt refers to Noah’s day before the Flood, when Satan induced the disobedient sons of God to go down to earth and cohabit with the daughters of men. As a punishment, these “angels that sinned” have been thrown by God into the prisonlike condition called Tartarus.—Genesis 6:4; 2 Peter 2:4; Jude 6. 10 Thus, two opposing organizations have come clearly into view—Jehovah’s heavenly organization as pictured by the woman and Satan’s demonic organization that challenges God’s sovereignty. The great issue of sovereignty must be settled. But how? Satan, still dragging the demons along with him, is like a vicious beast of prey eyeing a potential victim. He is waiting for the woman to give birth. He wants to devour this expected infant because he knows that it poses an ominous threat to his continued existence and that of the world over which he exercises rulership.—John 14:30. A Son, a Male The appointed time for the nations to rule without interruption by God came to an end in 1914. (Luke 21:24) Then, right on time, the woman bears her child: “And she gave birth to a son, a male, who is to shepherd all the nations with an iron rod. And her child was caught away to God and to his throne. And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and sixty days.” (Revelation 12:5, 6) The child is “a son, a male.” Why does John use this double expression? He does it to show the child’s suitableness, his competence for ruling the nations with adequate power. It also emphasizes how momentous, how joyous an occasion this birth is! It plays a key role in bringing the sacred secret of God to a finish. Why, this male child will even “shepherd all the nations with an iron rod”! 12 Now, does that expression sound familiar? Yes, Jehovah promised prophetically regarding Jesus: “You will break them with an iron scepter, as though a potter’s vessel you will dash them to pieces.” (Psalm 2:9) It was also prophesied regarding him: “The rod of your strength Jehovah will send out of Zion, saying: ‘Go subduing in the midst of your enemies.’” (Psalm 110:2) Therefore, the birth seen by John closely involves Jesus Christ. No, it is not Jesus’ being born of a virgin back before the first century of our Common Era; nor could it refer to Jesus’ being raised again to spirit life in 33 C.E. Furthermore, it is no transmigration. Rather, it is the birth of God’s Kingdom in 1914 as a reality, with Jesus—now in heaven for close to 20 centuries—enthroned as King.—Revelation 12:10. 13 Never would Jehovah permit Satan to devour His wife or His newborn son! At birth, the male child is “caught away to God and to his throne.” He thus comes completely under the protection of Jehovah, who will take the fullest care of this newborn Kingdom, His instrument for sanctifying His holy name. At the same time, the woman flees to a place that God has prepared for her in the wilderness. More details on that later! As for Satan, the stage is now set for a momentous event that will make it utterly impossible for him ever again to threaten the Kingdom in heaven. What is that event? War in Heaven! 14 John tells us: “And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels battled with the dragon, and the dragon and its angels battled but it did not prevail, neither was a place found for them any longer in heaven. So down the great dragon was hurled, the original serpent, the one called Devil and Satan, who is misleading the entire inhabited earth; he was hurled down to the earth, and his angels were hurled down with him.” (Revelation 12:7-9) So as a dramatic development in bringing the sacred secret of God to a finish, Satan is ejected, pitched out of heaven, and his demons are cast down to the earth with him. The one who has misled the entire inhabited earth to the extent of becoming its god is finally restricted to the vicinity of this planet, where his rebellion first began.—2 Corinthians 4:3, 4. 15 Who accomplish this great victory in Jehovah’s name? The Bible says it is Michael and his angels. But who is Michael? The name “Michael” means “Who Is Like God?” So Michael must be interested in vindicating Jehovah’s sovereignty by proving that no one is to be compared to Him. In Jude verse 9, he is called “Michael the archangel.” Interestingly, the title “archangel” is used elsewhere in the Bible with reference to only one person: Jesus Christ. Paul says of him: “The Lord himself will descend from heaven with a commanding call, with an archangel’s voice and with God’s trumpet.” (1 Thessalonians 4:16) The title “archangel” means “chief of the angels.” So it is not surprising that Revelation speaks of “Michael and his angels.” Other places where the Bible mentions angels subject to a righteous servant of God have reference to Jesus. Thus, Paul speaks of “the revelation of the Lord Jesus from heaven with his powerful angels.”—2 Thessalonians 1:7; see also Matthew 24:30, 31; 25:31. 16 These and other scriptures lead us to the inescapable conclusion that Michael is no one else but the Lord Jesus Christ in his heavenly position. Now, in the Lord’s day, he no longer merely says to Satan: “May Jehovah rebuke you.” Since this is a time of judging, Jesus, as Michael, hurls the wicked Satan and his demonic angels down from heaven. (Jude 9; Revelation 1:10) It is most fitting that He should be the One to do this, as He is the newly installed King. Jesus is also the Seed, promised back in Eden, who will ultimately crush the head of the Serpent, thus putting him out of existence for all time. (Genesis 3:15) By ejecting Satan from heaven, Jesus has moved toward that final crushing. “Be Glad, You Heavens” 17 John reports a joyous heavenly reaction to this stupendous fall of Satan: “And I heard a loud voice in heaven say: ‘Now have come to pass the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ, because the accuser of our brothers has been hurled down, who accuses them day and night before our God! And they conquered him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their witnessing, and they did not love their souls even in the face of death. On this account be glad, you heavens and you who reside in them!’”—Revelation 12:10-12a. 18 Whose loud voice is it that John hears? The Bible does not say. But a similar cry reported at Revelation 11:17 came from the resurrected 24 elders in their heavenly positions, where they can now represent the 144,000 holy ones. (Revelation 11:18) And since the persecuted anointed servants of God still on earth are here spoken of as “our brothers,” this statement could well come from the same source. No doubt these faithful ones can join their voice, since their resurrection would follow soon after Satan and his demon hordes had been thrown out of heaven. 19 The finishing of the sacred secret of God calls for Jesus to take authority in Jehovah’s Kingdom. The way is thus opened for God to carry out his great purpose to deliver faithful mankind. Jesus brings salvation not only to his God-fearing disciples now on earth but also to the countless millions of dead ones who are in God’s memory. (Luke 21:27, 28) Satan’s being called “the accuser of our brothers” shows that, even though his accusations against Job were proved false, he kept right on challenging the integrity of God’s earthly servants. Evidently, he repeated on many occasions the charge that a man will give all he has in exchange for his soul. How dismally Satan has failed!—Job 1:9-11; 2:4, 5. 20 Anointed Christians, who are counted righteous “because of the blood of the Lamb,” are continuing to bear witness to God and to Jesus Christ despite persecutions. For more than 120 years, this John class has been pointing to the great issues involved with the ending of the Gentile Times in 1914. (Luke 21:24, King James Version) And the great crowd are now serving loyally by their side. None of these are “fearful of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul,” as real-life experiences of Jehovah’s Witnesses have demonstrated over and over again during our time. By word of mouth and by proper Christian conduct, they have conquered Satan, consistently proving him to be a liar. (Matthew 10:28; Proverbs 27:11; Revelation 7:9) On being resurrected to heaven, how happy anointed Christians must be, since Satan is no longer up there to accuse their brothers! It is the time, indeed, for all the angelic host to respond joyously to the call: “Be glad, you heavens and you who reside in them!” A Rival Woe! 21 Chafing because of the third woe, Satan is now intent on afflicting mankind with his own particular brand of woe. It is: “Woe for the earth and for the sea, because the Devil has come down to you, having great anger, knowing he has a short period of time.” (Revelation 12:12b) Satan’s ouster from heaven does indeed mean woe for the literal earth, which is being ruined by selfish humans under his control. (Deuteronomy 32:5) Even more so, Satan’s policy of ‘rule or ruin’ brings woe to the symbolic earth, the structure of human society, as well as to the symbolic sea, the turbulent mass of mankind itself. During the two world wars, Satan’s wrath was reflected in the wrath of the nations subject to him, and similar explosions of demonic rage continue to this day—though not for much longer! (Mark 13:7, 8) But terrible as the Devil’s devices may be, they will never approach the woeful effect that the third woe—action by God’s Kingdom—will produce on Satan’s visible organization! 22 Since Satan’s catastrophic ouster, Christ’s brothers still on the earth have borne the brunt of his wrath. John reports: “Now when the dragon saw that it was hurled down to the earth, it persecuted the woman that gave birth to the male child. But the two wings of the great eagle were given the woman, that she might fly into the wilderness to her place; there is where she is fed for a time and times and half a time away from the face of the serpent.”—Revelation 12:13, 14. 23 Here the vision picks up the thought introduced in verse 6, which tells us that after the birth of her child, the woman flees into the wilderness, away from the dragon. We may wonder how the dragon can persecute the woman, since she is in heaven and the dragon has now been cast down to the earth. Well, remember that the woman has children here on earth, her seed. Later in this vision, we are informed that Satan expresses his rage toward the woman by persecuting her seed. (Revelation 12:17) What happens to the woman’s seed here on earth may be regarded as happening to the woman herself. (Compare Matthew 25:40.) And the growing number of companions of the seed here on earth would also experience these persecutions. A New Nation 24 While the first world war was being fought, Jesus’ brothers faithfully kept on with their witnessing to the extent possible. This was done in the face of intensified opposition from Satan and his vicious henchmen. Finally, the Bible Students’ public witnessing was virtually stopped. (Revelation 11:7-10) That was when they had an experience quite similar to that of the Israelites in Egypt who also endured under great oppression. It was then that Jehovah brought them swiftly, as if on wings of eagles, to safety in the desert of Sinai. (Exodus 19:1-4) Likewise, after the bitter persecution of 1918-19, Jehovah delivered his witnesses, as representing his woman, into a spiritual situation that was as safe for them as the desert was for the Israelites. This came as an answer to their prayers.—Compare Psalm 55:6-9. 25 In the wilderness, Jehovah brought forth the Israelites as a nation, providing for them spiritually and physically. Similarly, starting in 1919, Jehovah brought forth the seed of the woman as a spiritual nation. This is not to be confused with the Messianic Kingdom that has been ruling from the heavens since 1914. Rather, this new nation is made up of the remnant of anointed witnesses on earth, who were brought into a glorious spiritual estate in 1919. Being provided now with “their measure of food supplies at the proper time,” these were strengthened for the work that lay ahead.—Luke 12:42; Isaiah 66:8. 26 How long did this respite for the seed of God’s woman last? Revelation 12:6 says 1,260 days. Revelation 12:14 calls the period a time, times, and half a time; in other words, three and a half times. In fact, both expressions stand for three and a half years, extending in the Northern Hemisphere from the spring of 1919 to the autumn of 1922. This was a period of refreshing recuperation and reorganization for the restored John class. 27 The dragon did not give up! “And the serpent disgorged water like a river from its mouth after the woman, to cause her to be drowned by the river.” (Revelation 12:15) What is meant by “water like a river,” or “a flood of water”? (The New English Bible) Ancient King David spoke of the wicked men who opposed him as “flash floods of good-for-nothing men” [“streams of the worthless,” Young]. (Psalm 18:4, 5, 16, 17) What Satan now unleashes is likewise persecution by worthless or “good-for-nothing men.” After 1922 Satan spewed out a flood of persecution against the Witnesses. (Matthew 24:9-13) This came to include physical violence, “framing trouble by decree,” imprisonments, and even executions by hanging, shooting, and beheading. (Psalm 94:20) The debased Satan, having been denied direct access to God’s heavenly woman, set out wrathfully to attack her remaining seed on earth and to destroy them, either directly or by causing them to lose God’s favor through breaking their integrity. But their resolve proved to be like that of Job: “Until I expire I shall not take away my integrity from myself!”—Job 27:5. 28 This vicious flood of persecution reached a high point during World War II. In Europe some 12,000 Witnesses were incarcerated in Nazi concentration camps and prisons, and about 2,000 died. Under the warlords that ruled Italy, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan, faithful Witnesses suffered similar cruel treatment. Even in so-called democratic lands, the Witnesses were assaulted by Catholic Action groups, tarred and feathered, and run out of town. Christian assemblies were broken up and Witness children were expelled from school. 29 Relief arrived from an unexpected source: “But the earth came to the woman’s help, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed up the river that the dragon disgorged from its mouth. And the dragon grew wrathful at the woman, and went off to wage war with the remaining ones of her seed, who observe the commandments of God and have the work of bearing witness to Jesus.” (Revelation 12:16, 17) “The earth”—elements within Satan’s own system of things—began to swallow up “the river,” or “flood.” During the 1940’s the Witnesses gained a series of favorable decisions in the United States Supreme Court, and from ruling powers in some other lands, that upheld freedom of worship. Finally, the Allied nations swallowed up the Nazi-Fascist juggernaut, to the relief of the Witnesses who had suffered under cruel dictatorships. Persecutions did not stop altogether, for the wrath of the dragon has continued until today, and he keeps up the war against those who “have the work of bearing witness to Jesus.” In many lands, loyal Witnesses are still in prison, and some still die because of their integrity. But in some of these lands, the authorities from time to time relax their pressure, and the Witnesses enjoy a greater measure of freedom. Thus, in fulfillment of the prophecy, the earth continues to swallow up the river of persecution. 30 In this way, the earth has provided sufficient relief to allow God’s work to spread to some 235 lands and produce over six million faithful preachers of the good news. Along with the remaining ones of the woman’s seed, a great international crowd of new believers is observing the commandments of God as to separateness from the world, clean morals, and love of the brothers, and they are witnessing to the Messianic Kingdom. Their integrity answers Satan’s reproachful challenge, so that the death knell is sounded for Satan and his system of things.—Proverbs 27:11. [Footnotes] Compare the 12 tribes of fleshly Israel, the 12 apostles, the 12 tribes of spiritual Israel, and the 12 gates, 12 angels, and 12 foundation stones of the New Jerusalem.—Revelation 21:12-14. Notice, however, that Revelation 12:9 speaks of “the great dragon . . . and his angels.” So the Devil not only makes a counterfeit god of himself but also tries to become an archangel, though the Bible never gives him that title. Most of the above information came from the Jehovah’s Witnesses, and all of the knowledge did come from that source.
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#1. To: richard9151 (#0)
(Edited)
What crap – dump the old testament, it is all wrong – we as a species have advanced our ways. Go with Jesus – one person dominating another person, is not part of the Christian ethos and philosophy – period!
We are weary of all this Yahwism.
Join 2x4 Tuesdays & protect your RKBA. ZZZZZZZ--ZZZZZZZZZZZ
Her name is Eve. Any other questions? Dump JW. It is a cult started by a illumanti member the same time a fellow one started the Mormon religion. They were both started to deceive people and lead them away from the truth. They do it the same way Mossad discredits the 9/11 truth movement today. By mixing a lot of truth with some outrageous lies to discredit the whole thing. Only problem is that some buy the outrageous lies and accept them as truth too because the truth revealed leads them to accept the entire message, despite it being absurd.
God is always good!
Nice to see you posting on something after just reading the first paragraph, but then that also explains why you are so blind, so it is not to be unexpected. And, of course, the same woman being talked about in Genesis, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Hosea, 2 Corinthians, Galatians, and the Revelaion...... why, THAT IS ALSO EVE! She does get around, for a dead woman, that is.
Daniel 2:44 “And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be brought to ruin. And the kingdom itself will not be passed on to any other people. It will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, and it itself will stand to times indefinite;.
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