Flown away from or flown to...the serpent?

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whirlwind

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Flown away from or flown to...the serpent? Last night I watched a program about Sir Isaac Newton in which he was shown to be obsessive about Biblical study in trying to determine the time of the end. He was a Calvinist that believed as an elect that God would reveal mysteries to him through intense study. The date he believed would be the end of the world was 2060. It said that Newton studied Hebrew so he was able to translate the scriptures himself. What caught my eye wasn't the date he determined but rather a scripture used in the program. Was it one he himself translated or was it taken from another source?

I'm paraphrasing as I jumped up from bed, grabbed a pen and in the dark, scribbled down....Revelation 12:14 and the key words....FLY TO THE SERPENT in the wilderness! All the translations available to me through Bible Gateway show her being flown away from the face of the serpent.

By the way....after seeing how the various translations, some really terrible translations, changed the words...that led me to see why I'm sticking to my King James Version. But, the point is all of them show her being taken away from the serpent...at least the face of the serpent. I've written that the tail of the serpent, the false prophet(s) will still be teaching her in the wilderness as well as the witnesses. <blockquote>
Revelation 12:14 (New International Version)
14The woman was given the two wings of a great eagle, so that she might fly to the place prepared for her in the desert, where she would be taken care of for a time, times and half a time, out of the serpent's reach.

Revelation 12:14 (New American Standard Bible)
14But the (A)two wings of the great eagle were given to the woman, so that she could fly (B)into the wilderness to her place, where she was nourished for (C)a time and times and half a time, from the presence of the serpent.

Revelation 12:14 (The Message)
13-17When the Dragon saw he'd been thrown to earth, he went after the Woman who had given birth to the Man-Child. The Woman was given wings of a great eagle to fly to a place in the desert to be kept in safety and comfort for a time and times and half a time, safe and sound from the Serpent. The Serpent vomited a river of water to swamp and drown her, but earth came to her help, swallowing the water the Dragon spewed from its mouth. Helpless with rage, the Dragon raged at the Woman, then went off to make war with the rest of her children, the children who keep God's commands and hold firm to the witness of Jesus.

Revelation 12:14 (Amplified Bible)
14But the woman was supplied with the two wings of a giant eagle, so that she might fly from the presence of the serpent into the desert (wilderness), to the retreat where she is to be kept safe and fed for a time, and times, and half a time (three and one-half years, or 1,260 days).(

Revelation 12:14 (New Living Translation)
14 But she was given two wings like those of a great eagle so she could fly to the place prepared for her in the wilderness. There she would be cared for and protected from the dragon[a] for a time, times, and half a time.

Revelation 12:14 (King James) 14And 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.

Revelation 12:14 (English Standard Version)
14But the woman was given the two(A) wings of the great eagle so that she might fly from the serpent(B) into the wilderness, to the place where she is to be nourished(C) for a time, and times, and half a time.

Revelation 12:14 (Contemporary English Version)
14But the woman was given two wings like those of a huge eagle, so that she could fly into the desert. There she would escape from the snake and be taken care of for a time, two times, and half a time.

Revelation 12:14 (New King James Version)
14 But the woman was given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness to her place, where she is nourished for a time and times and half a time, from the presence of the serpent.

Revelation 12:14 (New Century Version)
14 But the woman was given the two wings of a great eagle so she could fly to the place prepared for her in the desert. There she would be taken care of for three and one-half years, away from the snake.

Revelation 12:14 (21st Century King James Version)
14And 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.

Revelation 12:14 (American Standard Version)
14 And there were given to the woman the two wings of the great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness unto her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.

Revelation 12:14 (Young's Literal Translation)
14and there were given to the woman two wings of the great eagle, that she may fly to the wilderness, to her place, where she is nourished a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent;

Revelation 12:14 (Darby Translation)
14And there were given to the woman the two wings of the great eagle, that she might fly into the desert into her place, where she is nourished there a time, and times, and half a time, from [the] face of the serpent

Revelation 12:14 (Holman Christian Standard Bible)
14 The woman was given two wings of a great eagle, so that she could fly from the serpent's presence to her place in the wilderness, where she was fed for a time, times, and half a time.

Revelation 12:14 (New International Reader's Version)
14 The woman was given the two wings of a great eagle so that she could fly away. She could fly to the place prepared for her in the desert. There she would be taken care of for three and a half years. She would be out of the serpent's reach

Revelation 12:14 (Wycliffe New Testament)
14 And two wings of a great eagle were given to the woman, that she should fly into desert [that she should flee into desert], into her place, where she is fed by time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.

Revelation 12:14 (Worldwide English (New Testament))
14But the woman was given two wings like a big eagle's wings. With them she could fly away from the dragon into the wilderness to her place where she would have food for three and a half periods of time.

Revelation 12:14 (New International Version - UK)
14 The woman was given the two wings of a great eagle, so that she might fly to the place prepared for her in the desert, where she would be taken care of for a time, times and half a time, out of the serpent's reach.

Revelation 12:14 (Today's New International Version)
14 The woman was given the two wings of a great eagle, so that she might fly to the place prepared for her in the wilderness, where she would be taken care of for a time, times and half a time, out of the serpent's reach.
</blockquote>So, is Newton correct in his translation? Is the woman being FLOWN TO THE SERPENT in the wilderness? I think so. I see the woman, Israel the church, being taught by the tail of the serpent today. Reading the above translations one would think the woman is safely tucked away in the wilderness and the serpent can't touch her but....that is not true. Consider...

  • Revelation 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.
I read that as the dragon was exasperated with the woman, gave up and went after her seed...the elect. I couldn't understand how the dragon could give up on obtaining the woman while the serpent's tail, part and parcel of the dragon, was teaching her. So I did what I should have done at the beginning....went to the Strong's:

  • Wroth #3709, 3710 ~ from 3713 to provoke or enrage, become exasperated, be angry (wroth). desire (as a reaching forth or excitement of the mind). i.e. (by anal) violent passion (ire, or justifiable abhorrence); by impl. punishment) anger, indignation, vengeance, wrath. - 3713 to stretch oneself, i.e. reach out after (long for) covet after, desire.
The dragon is wroth with Israel....he desires her, reaches out to her, covets her...in an idolatous relationship, taking her from her husband. Then, as pretenders to the throne do, he goes after the children of the woman's husband, the rightful King.

Sir Isaac Newton was correct....the woman is flown to the serpent in the wilderness!
 

jerryjohnson

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“Sir Isaac Newton was correct....the woman is flown to the serpent in the wilderness!”

Sorry, I must disagree with you and Newton here, the word is “from” not “in to”. The verse does not allow that interpretation.

Rev 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 (G575)
the face of the serpent.

G575
ἀπό, apo, apo'
A primary particle; “off”, that is, away (from something near), in various senses (of place, time, or relation; literally or figuratively): - (X here-) after, ago, at, because of, before, by (the space of), for (-th), from, in, (out) of, off, (up-) on (-ce), since, with. In composition (as a prefix) it usually denotes separation, departure, cessation, completion, reversal, etc.
 
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whirlwind

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jerryjohnson said:
“Sir Isaac Newton was correct....the woman is flown to the serpent in the wilderness!”

Sorry, I must disagree with you and Newton here, the word is “from” not “in to”. The verse does not allow that interpretation.

Rev 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 (G575)
the face of the serpent.

G575
ἀπό, apo, apo'
A primary particle; “off”, that is, away (from something near), in various senses (of place, time, or relation; literally or figuratively): - (X here-) after, ago, at, because of, before, by (the space of), for (-th), from, in, (out) of, off, (up-) on (-ce), since, with. In composition (as a prefix) it usually denotes separation, departure, cessation, completion, reversal, etc.

Hi Jerry,

Notice that she is carried from the "face of the serpent." What of the body and tail of the serpent?


As we are the "body of" Christ...the serpent also has a body of followers. Those that serve as his tail are those that sting and hurt....
  • Revelation 9:10 And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails: and their power was to hurt men five months.
  • Deuteronomy 28:13 And the LORD shall make thee the head, and not the tail: and thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath; if that thou hearken unto the commandments of the LORD thy God, which I command thee this day, to observe and to do them:
  • Isaiah 9:15 The ancient and honourable, he is the head; and the prophet that teacheth lies, he is the tail.
  • Revelation 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.
The point of the thread is that the woman, us, isn't away from the serpent while learning (in the wilderness) as a surface reading would imply. She/we are taught by both the witnesses (the head) and the false prophets (the tail). She is away from the face of the serpent but...not from the deception, not from the stinging tail. That was what I found so interesting about Newton's translation. He wrote that she would be flown to the serpent in the wilderness and....indeed we are.
 

whirlwind

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Something else just crossed my mind about this. Being away from the "face of" the serpent means he is hidden. We can't see him but he is there. We can't see him standing on the pulpit spreading deception...but he is.
 

jerryjohnson

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whirlwind said:
The point of the thread is that the woman, us, isn't away from the serpent while learning (in the wilderness) as a surface reading would imply. She/we are taught by both the witnesses (the head) and the false prophets (the tail). She is away from the face of the serpent but...not from the deception, not from the stinging tail. That was what I found so interesting about Newton's translation. He wrote that she would be flown to the serpent in the wilderness and....indeed we are.

Well, I still disagree! The woman is protectd from the serpent face, tail, body. She is not taught by the serpent.
 
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