The Going Into The Wilderness Metaphor

[veteran]

In Revelation 12 our Lord gave a metaphor for the symbolic "woman" (God's people) fleeing into the wilderness where she has a place prepared by God, and where she is to be FED for 1260 days. It is very important to understand that is a symbolic metaphor; and to know the when, why, where, and how of it.


Rev 12:6-9
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..
(KJV)

The key to the metaphor doesn't appear until further down in Revelation 12. Reading that 6th verse by itself and thinking it means to physically flee is to totally take its meaning out of the rest of Revelation 12. That is especially what those on a Pre-Trib "secret rapture" do with it. They isolate this 6th verse by itself, and refuse to heed the key to that metaphor given further down in the chapter...

Rev 12:13-17
13 And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man child.
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.
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.

Who's that "dragon" and "serpent"? Those are other titles for Satan himself, explained in the Rev.12:9 verse. The whole purpose of the woman fleeing to the wilderness is to not be subject to those WATERS of a FLOOD that COMES OUT OF THE SERPENT'S MOUTH. What comes out of one's MOUTH? In Satan's case, it means LIES, LIES that cause DECEPTION. That's... the reason for the woman fleeing to the wilderness.

That waters as a flood is a symbolic metaphor for Satan's lies. And how does one flee from LIES that cause DECEPTION? By physical fleeing? NO. But by NOT BEING DECEIVED BY THAT SERPENT AND THE FLOOD THAT COMES OUT OF HIS MOUTH, I.E., LIES.

That's so easy a little child can understand it. It's all the more laughable when grown adults try to pull a literal physical fleeing into the wilderness out of it. Fleeing physically won't protect us those LIES out of the mouth of the serpent. But STAYING IN GOD'S WORD to get understanding will. It's as simple as that.


Rev.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.
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.
(KJV)

The earth helping the woman in that means what? That also is a symbolic metaphor, since that flood out of the dragon's mouth is a symbolic metaphor for lies. It means Satan's lies will not affect those faithful among the woman that listen to God in His Word and heed It.


Back at Rev.12:6, we're also told the woman is FED in the wilderness for a period of 1260 days. What is she FED? God's Word!!! That is how to NOT be deceived during that time of Satan's flood of lies out of his mouth. The first 1260 days period is thus about the FEEDING OF GOD'S ELECT. That's what God's SEALING HIS SERVANTS IS ABOUT. It is so as to not be deceived by Satan's flood that comes out of his what? His MOUTH.

Yet those who pull that single Rev.12:6 out of the chapter and use it to try and support their physical flying away with a Pre-Trib secret rapture are spiritually drunken with how that verse SEEMS to support their escaping the great tribulation. They are not heeding our Lord's Revelation and thus will not be blessed in understanding it (Rev.1).

 

[veteran]

How does mention of two 1260 day time periods given in Revelation 12 relate to the time of the flood cast out of the serpent's mouth upon the woman?

The first mention of a 1260 days period in Rev.12:6 is about the woman going into the wilderness, her being fed during that time period. That first period is mentioned PRIOR to Satan and his angels being cast out of heaven. That would apply to a time of God's sealing of His servants, and that sealing is about having The Word of God in the mind so as to not be deceived by the dragon. It represents a time prior to the midpoint of the tribulation, a time prior to Satan's casting out of heaven. It relates to those sealed with God's seal in Revelation 7.

The second mention of a 1260 days period in Rev.12:14 shows the woman is nourished SPECIFICALLY "from the face of the serpent." And the serpent casts a flood out of his mouth after the woman, which the earth swallows up. Then the dragon becomes wroth and goes to make war with a remnant of the woman that keep God's commandments and have the Testimony of Jesus Christ. That is symbolic of the last half of Daniel's symbolic "one week" in Dan.9:27.

What exactly is that FLOOD the serpent (Satan) casts out of his mouth upon the woman (God's people) for that 2nd 1260 day period? Our Lord Jesus covered it to His disciples while upon the Mount of Olives.

Matt 24:15-31
15 When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand

Per Daniel 11:31 and 9:27, a false one is to appear in Jerusalem, end sacrifices, and then setup an abomination idol inside the temple which causes a desolation of false idol worship. That's the idea our Lord Jesus was pointing to with this abomination standing in the holy place. The "holy place" is the place inside the temple in Jerusalem.

That abomination idol event is linked to what the "another beast" of Rev.13 is to do, in relation to this same dragon (Satan) of Rev.12.

Rev 13:11-16
11 And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon.
12 And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.
13 And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men,
14 And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.
15 And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.
16 And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:
(KJV)

Notice that "image of the beast". That's the abomination idol our Lord Jesus was speaking of in His Olivet prophecy quoting from the Book of Daniel. That idol follows the king of Babylon role of history, when king Nebuchadnezzar setup a golden idol image of himself, and commanded all to bow in worship to it at the sound of the psalter. The false prophets sneaked around to see if Daniel would bow, and instead caught him praying to our Heavenly Father. That's when Daniel was delivered up to the lion's den. That serves as a blueprint for the future tribulation of the placing of the abomination that maketh desolate (Dan.11:31).


Continuing in Matt.24...

Matt 24:16-21
16 Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains:
17 Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house:
18 Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes.
19 And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days!
20 But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day:
21 For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
(KJV)

It's with that sign of a false one coming to Jerusalem, and setting up an abomination idol for false worship, that our Lord Jesus was pointing to. That's when the great tribulation will officially begin, because it will involve the temptation to bow to that image of the beast and fall to false worship of that "another beast" (dragon) instead of Christ. And soon after that abomination idol image is setup, Christ's coming to end that tribulation will occur, which is WHY He wants His servants to clear out of that area, because He's going to pour out His cup of wrath upon Satan's host who take Jerusalem (Zech.14; Ezek.39). That's why He said in Luke 21 that when His servants still in Jerusalem see Satan's host armies surrounding Jerusalem, to get out of that area.

Our Lord then goes into an explanation detail about that specific antichrist-false messiah that places that idol abomination for idol worship of himself...

Matt 24:22-31
22 And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened.
23 Then if any man shall say unto you, "Lo, here is Christ, or there"; believe it not.
24 For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.
25 Behold, I have told you before.
26 Wherefore if they shall say unto you, "Behold, he is in the desert"; go not forth: "behold, he is in the secret chambers"; believe it not.

In that time when the deceived come up and say things like, "Lo, here is Christ; or there", our Lord said to not believe it. The reason is because the deceived will be proclaiming Christ has returned when it will be a false one, the dragon or "another beast" of Rev.13:11 forward. The phrase "false Christs" is actually meant in the singular sense about a particular false Christ, or pseudo messiah. It's the sole Greek word 'pseudochristos' in the Greek manuscripts.

Notice also that our Lord Jesus said He shortened that tribulation time for the sake of His elect. That means the 1260 days period originally given has been shortened to some other amount. But the order and type of events He gave remain.

Then our Lord Jesus gives us a distinction with HOW He returns compared to how that false messiah comes...

27 For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
28 For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together.
29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:
30 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
31 And He shall send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
(KJV)

Just as one can easily see lightning shinning in the sky from east to west, that's how obvious Christ's coming will be. We won't have to wait to hear about Christ's coming like how the deceived will proclaim the false messiah has come in the Matt.24:23 & 26th verses. In verse 28 Christ gives a warning about the deceived, for they will be as dead carcases spiritually having fallen to worship the false messiah and his image, believing those who will proclaim that false one as Christ.

Our Lord Jesus gave this warning especially for His saints that will be in Judea at that time. But it is also a warning for all His saints on earth at that time, just prior to His second coming. That false worship of that dragon as false messiah and bowing to his image is specifically what God's people are to be FED in the wilderness against. It means not being deceived by that false messiah, but making a stand for Christ Jesus instead. That's why the dragon will seek to make war only upon a remnant of the seed of the woman, for the rest will be deceived.

 

[veteran]

What is it our Lord Jesus actually wants His saints to do during that time when the abomination idol is setup in Jerusalem just prior to His return?

It's about our making a 'stand' for Him during that tribulation time, not escape. One the examples of making that stand our Lord showed John in Revelation 11...

Rev 11:1-8
1 And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein.
2 But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months.

That reed is like a rod, which a rod is for punishment. The idea of measuring the pattern is about measuring up to what belongs to God. Ezekiel 40 forward is about the true measuring of Christ's Milennium Temple. It ain't this one here John is shown, for the outer court of this one is given to the Gentiles, and they shall tread under foot the holy city (Jerusalem) for 42 months. Prophecy given in months is about the children of darkness, based on a lunar calendar. That 42 months is also the given time the dragon of Rev.13 is to have power. This is tribulation timing.

Rev.11:3 And I will give power unto My two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.

God is going to send His two witnesses to Jerusalem to prophesy against that temple, and those who worship in it. That same time of 42 months is given here as 1260 days, since it's about God's servants, children of the day. The clothing in sackcloth is an Old Testament sign of grief and mourning. That's another pointer to this temple being used for false worship.

Rev.11:4 These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth.

God's two witnesses that will appear in Jerusalem are the two symbolic olive trees of Zech.4. But who are these two candlesticks? At the end of Rev.1 our Lord Jesus said the seven Churches are the seven candlesticks. In His Messages to the seven Churches, there were only two He had no rebuke for. That's these two candlesticks that make that stand along with God's two witnesses during the great tribulation. Do you see them trying to escape the tribulation? No. Wonder what the other five Churches will be doing during that time, fleeing maybe? But to where?

Rev.11:5 And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed.
6 These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy: and have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they will.
7 And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them.
8 And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.
(KJV)

That 8th verse confirms where that takes place as Jerusalem, where our Lord was crucified.


Eph 6:13-17
13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;
15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
(KJV)

Christ's servants are not to flee during the tribulation, but make a stand in that evil day, with the whole armour of God. We are not to fear the coming false messiah nor his servants. Christ said not one hair on the head of His elect would perish, in your patience posses ye your souls He said (Luke 17:12-19).

I know the idea of making a stand for Christ during the coming tribulation against the false messiah might be difficult for many to take. But that's what we are to do in that time. Our Lord Jesus told us to not fear those who can kill our flesh but not our soul, but fear Him Who destroy both body and soul in the lake of fire.

Satan's host of world controllers today are trying establish a one world government system over all nations on earth under the peace flag. In Dan.11 we're told that vile person (false messiah) will destroy many using peace, and that craft will prosper by his hand. The love of the material pleasures and comforts of this world is what they want us all to have, because relying on those comforts prevents us from wanting to make a 'stand' for Christ during the coming tribulation. That's why many think to escape instead; they've lost their saltiness for Christ and have become weak in the Faith.

 

[veteran]

As a reminder for those here with a short memory, here's the thread where I covered the 1260 days periods of Rev.12, which the 1260 days period is the same period as the 42 months the dragon is given to reign over Christ's saints per Rev.13. It is the latter half of Daniel's symbolic "one week" of Dan.9:27. It's also the "time, times, and a half" period of Dan.12:7.