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THE EARTHLY INHERITANCE SERIES of BIBLE SUBJECTS
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Various Bible study guides in subjects pertaining to
New Earth prophecy, as taught by Paul Phelps.
For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the LORD,
they shall inherit the earth. Psalm 37:9
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The VISION of REVELATION TWELVE
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Bible quotes are from the New Revised Standard Version
except for my own translations or as otherwise indicated.
The woman that comes from heaven to earth symbolises the
end-time transition from the heavenly to the earthly gospel.
A Bible study project by Paul Phelps.
After several years of study this writing was completed in 2000.
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The Book of Revelation is about the future, not the past. Even when it seems
to be referring to past events it is not, it is all forward from the time of the vision.
Rev. 1:1,The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him
to show his servants what must soon take place;
he made it known by sending his angel to his servant John.
John calls it prophecy (v 3), saying, “the time is near.” Even when the vision
refers to the past the application is still future. John was told to write everything,
all he had seen, all he was then seeing, and all he would later see (v 19). This is
saying that John received writing instructions after the visions began—and Jesus
wanted him to know that everything in the vision must be written, including all
that he had seen earlier. This means that all the visions apply forward in time.
In the Rev. 12 vision, the woman is the kingdom of God. Revelation 12:1-2,
A great portent appeared in heaven: a woman
clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet,
and on her head a crown of twelve stars.
She was pregnant and was crying out in birth pangs,
in the agony of giving birth.
There are Zodiac star patterns of the night-time sky that represent this vision,
and other writers have expounded on this aspect of the subject. In this writing,
we focus on the interpretation and symbolic meaning of the vision in relation to
other Scriptures. The message contained in this vision is important for us now.
The Greek word for ‘lady’ is usually translated as ‘woman’ in English Bibles.
It is correct but not adequate because the word normally means married woman.
In heaven she represents the Church gospel—a covenant of marriage to Christ.
But this marriage is waiting until the Church age has ended. Until then the saints
are in preparation, in womb, awaiting birth, the resurrection into heaven.Rom. 8:18-19,22-23,
v 18… I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not
worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us.
For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing
of the children of God…
v 22... We know that the whole creation has been groaning
in labour pains until now; and not only the creation,
but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit,
groan inwardly while we wait for adoption,
the redemption of our bodies.
The resurrection into heaven happens during a quiet time before labour pain.
Isaiah 66:7,Before she was in labour she gave birth;
before her pain came upon her,
she delivered a son.
v 8b, Yet as soon as Zion was in labour she delivered her children.
In v 8 we see that Zion is the mother of a son. Therefore the lady in the vision
is Zion, and the conqueror-child born in heaven is her firstborn.Hebrews 12:22-23,
But you have come to mount Zion and to the city of the living God,
the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering,
and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven…
Galatians 4:26-28,
… the Jerusalem above; she is free, and she is our mother.
For it is written (in Isaiah 54:1),
Rejoice, you childless one, you who bear no children,
burst into song and shout, you who endure no birth pangs;
for the children of the desolate woman are more numerous
than the children of the one who is married.
Now you, my friends, are children of the promise, like Isaac.
Christian saints that comprise Christ’s body are Zion’s children. Collectively
they are Christ’s body. They are collectively the conqueror-child.Rev. 12:5,
And she gave birth to a son, a male child,*
who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron.
But her child was snatched away and taken to God and to his throne…
*(literally: conqueror-child)
The birth of the conqueror-child is a resurrection to a body made for heaven.
1 Cor. 15:51-52,Listen, I will tell you a mystery! We will not all die,
but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye,
at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound,
and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.
Following the birth (resurrection change), the saints are caught up to heaven.
1 Thes. 4:16-17,For the Lord himself, with a cry of command, with archangel’s call
and with the sound of God’s trumpet, will descend from heaven,
and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive,
who are left, will be caught up in the clouds together with them
to meet the Lord in the air; and so we will be with the Lord forever.
The woman is the kingdom of God; while in heaven—in sunlight, she signifies
the Church age New covenant, the Gal. 4:21-31 Sarah covenant; (see Heb. 8-9).
Church saints are called to a marriage covenant as the future bride of Christ.
But they also are servants of the King—who in this age are in preparation to be
the future governors of the Kingdom (Luke 12:35-48; 19:11-19).
As servants of a king, the saints in glory are a "male child." This is two words;
the word for "male" is a conqueror or superman, and "child" is a newborn baby.
At their moment of birth into heavenly glory the saints are conquering heroes.
They are the body of Messiah. Rev. 2:26-27,To everyone who conquers and continues to do my works to the end,
I will give authority over the nations;
to rule them with an iron rod, as when clay pots are shattered—
even as I also received authority from my Father.
This vision starts in heaven but finishes in earth, and we follow that sequence.
The woman's position changes; she is identified by a heaven-to-earth sequence.
She is God's kingdom wherever she is, signifying both the Church-age heavenly
gospel and an eternal earthly gospel (Rev. 14:6); therefore she is God's kingdom
in both heavenly and earthly provisions of the New covenant. The New covenant
has two provisions: the New Heaven and the New Earth, and we must know both
to correctly comprehend the message of Revelation Twelve.
The New covenant for earth is for the House of Israel and the House of Judah,
to be agreed “after those days” (Israel’s exile, and Church age). Jer. 31:31-34,v 31, The days are surely coming, says the LORD, when I will make
a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah.
It will not be like the covenant that I made with their ancestors
when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt—
a covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, says the LORD.
v 33, But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel
after those days, says the LORD: I will put my law within them,
and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they
shall be my people. No longer shall they teach one another,
or say to each other, “Know the LORD,” for they shall all know me,
from the least of them to the greatest, says the LORD;
for I will forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin no more.
The New Testament gives the New covenant promise a spiritualised meaning
because the Church call is heavenly; but a literal earthly fulfilment is also in the
pre-ordained plan of God. After the Church resurrection to heaven, the earthly
aspect of the New covenant comes in effect. This truth is vital for these last days.
Lady Zion has two kinds of children—heavenly and earthly; and prophetically,
Abraham has these same two kinds of seed, the heavenly and the earthly.Gen. 22:17,
I will indeed bless you, and I will make your offspring as numerous
as the stars of the heaven and as the sand that is on the sea shore.
Heaven’s pre-ordained people are the firstborn. This Church call to heaven
was a hidden mystery until Jesus opened the Church age.Eph. 3:9-10,
... and to make everyone see what is the plan of the mystery
hidden for ages in God who created all things; so that
through the church the wisdom of God in its rich variety might now
be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.
Lady Zion’s sunshine clothing symbolises the glory and honour promised for
the Church saints, a resurrection body for heaven.1 Peter 1:4,
... and into an inheritance imperishable, undefiled, and unfading,
kept in heaven for you ...
1 Cor. 15:41-42,
There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon,
and another glory of the stars; indeed, star differs from star in glory.
So it is with the resurrection of the dead.
What is sown is perishable, what is raised is imperishable.
v 49, Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust,
we will also bear the image of the man of heaven.
Lady Zion’s crown is the glory and authority promised to the saints in heaven.
The twelve stars in the crown are the twelve apostles. They will rule the twelve
tribes of Israel, as prophesied in Matthew 19:28,Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, at the renewal of all things,
when the Son of Man is seated on the throne of his glory,
you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones,
judging the twelve tribes of Israel.”
This vision now describes the Devil as a great fire-red, seven-headed dragon,
with crowns on each head (indicating former empires) and ten horns (ten kings).
The stars of heaven are angels, the “morning stars” and “sons of God” (Job 38:7).
The angels in hell (TARTARÚS, 2 Pet. 2:4) are chained in darkness until judgment,
but Satan evidently has more angels that join him for the endtime war in heaven.
Satan the great fire dragon has had access to heaven until the war of the angels.
Rev. 12:3-5,v 3, Then another portent appeared in heaven: a great red* dragon,
with seven heads and ten horns, and seven diadems on his heads.
His tail swept down a third of the stars of heaven,
and threw them to the earth. Then the dragon
stood before the woman who was about to bear a child,
so that he might devour her child as soon as it was born.
v 5, And she gave birth to a son, a male child,
who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron.
But her child was snatched away and taken to God and to his throne…
*(some manuscripts say fire)
The birth of this son is the resurrection of Christian saints to heaven. Satan’s
attempt to stop the Church resurrection is certain to fail, but it is important that
Satan not know the time of resurrection and 'catching up' of the saints; Mt. 24:43.
(In the spirit realm some things are kept secret; Apostle Paul was allowed to hear
“things that are not to be told, that no mortal is permitted to repeat”; 2 Cor. 12:4.)
The Rev. 12 vision concerns the end of this age and the final antichrist empire.
It is a time of war in heaven and chaos on earth. Lady Zion comes down to earth
to a ‘wilderness’ refuge region, a place prepared by God. Rev. 12:6,… and the woman fled into the wilderness,
where she has a place prepared by God, so that there
she can be nourished for one thousand two hundred sixty days.
This vision involves the final antichrist empire. Some people think this empire
is world-wide (see Dan. 7:23; Rev. 13:7), but Lady Zion has a safe place on earth
prepared as a refuge (Rev. 12:6). Other Scriptures give added confirmation that
this antichrist empire cannot be world-wide. Satan is being forced into a retreat
and God is not allowing him to extend his area of control.
Lady Zion has firstborn and also later-born children. Christians are firstborn
(Heb. 12:23) and their home is in heaven. But Zion gives birth to more children.
In these last days God is also choosing an elect people for his kingdom on earth.
The later-born children are those that inherit earth. Isaiah 66:8,Who has heard of such a thing? Who has seen such things?
Shall a land be born in one day? Shall a nation be delivered in one
moment? Yet as soon as Zion was in labour she delivered her children.
The children brought forth at once, the nation born in one day is Israel entire,
sealed in the last days for earth's New covenant. Lady Zion's later-born children
(Rev. 12:17) are they of the final generation including Jacob's remnant and many
more endtime believers worldwide that inherit earth; they are the endtime elect.
But ultimately, the elect will include all the righteous dead rising to life.
The prophet Micah also has prophecy about the woman in Revelation Twelve.
Micah 5:2-5,
But you, O Bethlehem of Ephrathah, who are one of the little clans
of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to rule in Israel,
whose origin is from of old,* from ancient days. Therefore he shall give
them up until the time when she who was in labour has brought forth;
then the rest of his kindred shall return to the people of Israel. And he
shall stand and feed his flock in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty
of the name of the LORD his God. And they shall live secure, for now he
shall be great to the ends of the earth; and he shall be the one of peace.
*(Heb. KEDEM, the ancient orient)
This foretells Messiah's birth and future kingdom. All during the Church age,
the Jews were put aside until the time when she who is in labour has brought forth
(the true Church); then the rest of his kindred shall return to the people of Israel.
Ancient Israel did not meet God’s requirement, so he put them aside till the end
of the Church age—with the intent of restoring them afterwards.Isaiah 61:9,
Their descendants shall be known among the nations,
and their offspring among the peoples; all who see them
shall acknowledge that they are a people whom the LORD has blessed.
Zeph. 3:12-15,
For I will leave in the midst of you a people humble and lowly.
They shall seek refuge in the name of the LORD—the remnant of Israel;
they shall do no wrong and utter no lies, nor shall a deceitful tongue
be found in their mouths. Then they will pasture and lie down,
and no one shall make them afraid.
Sing aloud, O daughter Zion; shout, O Israel! Rejoice and exult with
all your heart, O daughter Jerusalem! The LORD has taken away the
judgments against you, he has turned away your enemies. The king
of Israel, the LORD, is in your midst; you shall fear disaster no more.
After the Church is taken up (birth of the male-child) war comes in heaven;
Rev. 12:7-9,
And war broke out in heaven; Michael and his angels fought against
the dragon. The dragon and his angels fought back, but they were
defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven.
v 9, The great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, called
the Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was
thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.
The gospel call is the reason that heaven’s war has been on wait, till the saints
are taken up. But the Church resurrection alters heaven’s military power status
and starts heaven's war; therefore Satan's top priority is to stop this resurrection.
The casting of Satan and his angels out of heaven is a big event. The saints are
no more accused by Satan—and God’s kingdom can begin! Rev. 12:10-12,v 10, Then I heard a loud voice in heaven proclaiming, Now have come
the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the
authority of his Messiah, for the accuser of our comrades has been
thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God.
v 11, But they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb
and by the word of their testimony,
for they did not cling to life even in the face of death.
v 12, Rejoice then, you heavens and those who dwell in them!
But woe to the earth and the sea, for the devil has come down to you
with great wrath, because he knows that his time is short.
This shout is among the most joyful announcements heard in heaven since the
world began, but it is not good news for earth; it is the start of the worst trouble
earth has ever seen. The wrath however lasts only a short time; God is pursuing
the war to the earth and Satan has no strength to resist. The antichrist empire is
Satan’s last effort, he has no strength to win. But he is angry against the woman
and her earthly seed, and he wants to kill them.
The earthly elect bring life to the upright, but death to the wicked; Micah 5:7-8,
v 7, Then the remnant of Jacob, surrounded by many peoples,
shall be like dew from the LORD, like showers on the grass,
which do not depend upon people or wait for any mortal.
v 8, And among the nations the remnant of Jacob, surrounded by
many peoples, shall be like a lion among the animals of the forest,
like a young lion among the flocks of sheep, which, when it goes
through, treads down and tears in pieces, with no one to deliver.
Our essay entitled “The Twelve Tribes of Israel” has further information about
Jacob’s endtime remnant. The world recognises Jews as Jacob’s kindred but the
ten unknown tribes are also Jacob’s seed. God will restore all of Israel's tribes,
not just Judah (see Rev. 7:1-8). Jacob’s remnant is a topic understandable only if
God reveals it. When the prophets foresaw Israel’s future restoration, they were
writing mainly about the diasporas of Assyria and Babylon that later migrated to
East Asia. There is not much prophecy about the later western Roman Diaspora.
The angel that reveals Israel’s lost tribes appears in East Asia because the early
diasporas migrated eastward (Rev. 7:2 Gr. ANATOLÉS HÉLIOU, rising of the sun).
In prophetic fulfilment therefore, most of Jacob’s remnant is in the Asian Far East.
Israel was in Goshen, Egypt’s eastern wilderness (Gen. 47:1-6; Ex. 12:40-41).
Goshen was in Egypt but separate from Egypt’s people; Ex. 8:22. Egypt typifies
the world, and Goshen typifies prepared places for Hebrew people in the world.
A large part of Israel’s seed is still unrecognised but God knows them. After
the first captivity the House of Israel migrated on the Silk Road into the Far East,
and later, after the Babylonian captivity, many Judeans also went to the Far East.
God put Israel’s tribes in a larger land of Goshen, in east Asia. After 2500 years
in Asia they have greatly increased. By assimilating with Asians, the larger part
of Israel has now become Oriental. In the Exodus history the Hebrews learned
about God only after their foreign bondage ended—and so it is now. In this time
of renewal, Eastern Hebrews are again learning about the God of the Hebrews.
East Asians are Hebrew through Joktan (Gen. 10:26-30). When Israel’s tribes
went east they assimilated in another Hebrew culture, so their posterity is both
Hebrew and Israeli. Lady Zion’s earthly posterity are not identified—except that
they follow the commandments of God and have a testimony of Jesus. But other
Scriptures identify the end-time elect as Jacob’s seed, Israel’s natural posterity.
The outside world shall be very stunned to discover that most of Israel’s people
are Asians ...and have become such a large multitude.
We know that God’s view of assimilation is different from the traditional view.
Men look at the outward appearance but God sees the inward reality in the soul.
Jacob’s seed have the same soulish identity in assimilation as when they began.
While in their first homeland of Canaan, Jacob’s tribes were in western Asia, but
later migration moved them farther east. Micah 5:2 mentions the ancient orient,
and Micah 5:3 says the Judean remnant will finally be rejoined to Israel’s people.
This is saying that Israel’s posterity was divided, (not confined to Canaan alone).
Israel’s assimilation into the Asian population was always God’s plan, which was
a secret that was been kept hidden until the end of this age.
God has prepared places for his remnant. Economic renewal throughout Asia
is moving fast. This endtime development of Asia was a plan ordained long ago;
and in the past—preparations were made for Israel’s tribes when they first arrived.
God is not caught unprepared; God did not put Israel in exile without providing
a home for all future generations—and a long-term plan. Now, in these last days,
a number of Asian nations (along with modern Israel) hold within them heritages
and destinies brought in by the past migrations of Israeli people into their lands.
Lady Zion’s refuge is called a wilderness. A wilderness is a place of safety,
compared to the Exodus sojourn in Egypt and wilderness journey in the time of
Moses. God is with his people during the 1260 days that Lady Zion begins to be
active in the earth. Israel’s tribes are joined to God's New covenant at that time.
The place of this future covenant making is called the wilderness of the peoples.
Ezekiel 20:35-37,… and I will bring you into the wilderness of the peoples,
and there I will enter into judgment with you face to face.
As I entered into judgment with your ancestors
in the wilderness of the land of Egypt,
so I will enter into judgment with you, says the Lord GOD.
I will make you pass under the staff,
and will bring you within the bond of the covenant.
The tribes in Asia are brought into the New covenant when they are sealed by
the angel of the east (Rev. 7:2). Jerusalem's Jews learn about the New covenant
while the two witnesses are preaching for 1260 days (Rev. 11:3-10) and evidently
the people of Judea enter into the New covenant only after the 1260 days—when
Jesus returns. Lady Zion's earthly seed will then be united in the New covenant,
and Israel will then be complete.
All other nations and people-groups are made righteous by obedience to the
Kingdom gospel. This responsibility is upon each individual. Each person must
obey the Kingdom gospel even at risk of death; their place in God’s kingdom is
then secure. The New covenant will be made with restored Israel first, and then
everyone else can enter it.
Daniel’s Chapter Seven dream differs from the king’s dream of Chapter Two.
The king’s dream is of ancient empires but Daniel’s dream is endtime empires.
The four wild beasts from the sea are four latter-day nation-groups arising out of
the ancient Roman Mediterranean area: an eagle-winged lion (v 4), a bear (v 5),
a four-headed, four-winged leopard (v 6), and the horned monster (vv 7-8).Daniel 7:11-14,
11b, ... And as I watched, the (fourth) beast was put to death,
and its body destroyed and given over to be burned with fire.
v 12, As for the rest of the beasts, their dominion was taken away,
but their lives were prolonged for a season and a time.
v 13, As I watched in the night visions, I saw one like a human being
coming with the clouds of heaven. And he came to the Ancient One
and was presented before Him.
v 14, To him was given dominion and glory and kingship,
that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him.
His dominion is an everlasting dominion that shall not pass away,
and his kingship is one that shall never be destroyed.
All earthly dominions are taken away when Jesus returns but this vision shows
four empires of the endtime, separate but existing at the same time. The people
of the lion, bear and leopard empires will live, but the fourth (antichrist empire)
will be totally destroyed. This is when Kingdom activity starts to be felt in earth,
and Satan tries to stop it. Rev. 12:13-17,v 13, So when the dragon saw that he had been thrown down to the earth,
he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child.
v 14, But the woman was given the two wings of the great eagle, so that
she could fly from the serpent into the wilderness, to her place
where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time.
v 15, Then from his mouth the serpent poured water like a river after
the woman, to sweep her away with the flood.
v 16, But the earth came to the help of the woman; it opened its mouth
and swallowed the river that the dragon had poured from his mouth.
v 17, Then the dragon was angry with the woman, and
went off to make war on the rest of her children, those who keep
the commandments of God, and hold the testimony of Jesus.
v 18, Then the dragon took his stand on the sand of the seashore.
After the Church is in heaven Satan’s options are limited. He can’t accuse the
saints for he is no more in heaven. He can only try to stop the Kingdom gospel.
But Lady Zion is safe from the dragon in a prepared place. While Satan builds a
kingdom in the area under his rule, God promotes Kingdom activity in prepared
refuge places with the elect and sealed seed of Israel’s tribes. Kingdom activity
(Lady Zion) starts on earth immediately after the Church is caught up to heaven.
Kingdom gospel activity is indicated by the word “nourished” (in Rev. 12:6,14),v 6, … and the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place
prepared by God, so that there she can be nourished
for one thousand two hundred sixty days.
v 14, But the woman was given the two wings of the great eagle, so that
she could fly from the serpent into the wilderness, to her place
where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time.
Gospel activity in the one thousand two hundred sixty days is like Moses’ time,
when Israel was encamped at Mount Horeb. New revelations in the wilderness
are like manna from heaven. As these things occur, the Kingdom comes in effect
in earth. In Moses’ time the Hebrews were protected and taught God’s decrees;
they saw miracles and were made strong for warfare.
In the last fulfilment, all of earth is our promised land (now under Canaanite
occupation); but God’s great army will be waging war against antichrist forces.
The war between God and Satan advances from heaven to earth—and continues
in earth. Satan is defeated in heaven and cannot win in earth, and God does not
allow him more time. God’s great army (Joel 2:11-23) is the people of Zion, the
people of Judah and Ephraim (Zech. 9:13-17). Satan wants to make war on the
woman’s earthly seed (Rev. 12:17), but God intends the woman’s earthly seed to
make war upon Satan. Lady Zion’s earthly seed are assured victory in that war.
All this happens in 31/2 ‘times.’ A ‘time’ is an Old Babylonian unit of 360 days.
Calendars using this time unit are not practical but this time concept is used for
Biblical prophetic timing. 31/2 ‘times’ are one thousand two hundred sixty days,
or forty-two lunar months; (Biblical months are lunar). Lunar calendars have six
or seven months in the year that are 30 days. (The prophetic 42 months are all
30-day months.) Therefore 31/2 times, 42 months, and 1260 days are the same.
There is increased angelic activity in last-day events. Kingdom preparations
involve angels. Satan’s new age activity also involves angels, fallen angels. But
his new age dreams will fail and be replaced by a New Heavens and New Earth
where righteousness dwells (2 Peter 3:13). After the war in heaven and Satan’s
defeat, God’s kingdom begins. “Now have come the salvation and the power
and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Messiah.” (Rev. 12:10).
This proclamation is brought to earth by the seventh angel.Rev. 10:7,
But in the days when the seventh angel is to blow his trumpet,
the mystery of God will be fulfilled,
as he announced to his servants the prophets.
Rev. 11:15,
Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices
in heaven, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom
of our Lord and of his Messiah, and he will reign forever and ever.”