(new article tomorrow)
The Bible says the Believing Remnant that goes into the kingdom will be “BORN at once” out of a time of tremendous suffering that is like a woman “travailing in birth.”
Isaiah 66: 7-8 is a famous passage often misinterpreted: 7] Before she travailed, she brought forth; before her pain came, she was delivered of a man child.
[8] Who hath heard such a thing? who hath seen such things? Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day? or shall a nation be born at once? for as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children.
[8] Who hath heard such a thing? who hath seen such things? Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day? or shall a nation be born at once? for as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children.
As another famously misinterpreted passage, Revelation 12:1-2, reads, [1] And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars:
[2] And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered.
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[2] And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered.
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“The standard teaching on that passage is that the woman is Mary and the child being born is Jesus. That’s Roman Catholic heresy," explains Richard Jordan.
“You see pictures all through history of Mary with the sun and the moon under her feet, and the stars, and she’s got the child at her feet. That’s the classic picture of the Madonna, or whatever they want to call it. It’s all mythology and it comes out of Revelation 12.
“The woman in the passage is Israel. Just the mention of the ‘twelve stars’ tells you that. The symbolism is Revelation is stuff anybody who knows their Old Testament would understand. Just remember, John’s book is written to Jewish Believers. They knew what stars represented in the Bible.
“Reading Revelation 12, anybody who knows anything about revival would immediately go back in their mind to Genesis 37 and the story about Joseph and his difficulties with the brethren.
“Genesis 37: 8-9 says, [8] And his brethren said to him, Shalt thou indeed reign over us? or shalt thou indeed have dominion over us? And they hated him yet the more for his dreams, and for his words.
[9] And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it his brethren, and said, Behold, I have dreamed a dream more; and, behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance to me.
“If you’ve got 11 brothers and one more brother, you’ve got 12. So you’ve got Joseph, his mother and the 12 tribes. Verse 10 says, [10] And he told it to his father, and to his brethren: and his father rebuked him, and said unto him, What is this dream that thou hast dreamed? Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee to the earth?
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“Over and over and over again, the nation Israel is described as a woman in the Bible because the nation Israel is the carrier of ‘the seed of the woman’ from Genesis 3:15 (‘And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.’) She is the bearer of the seed line.
“So when they see this woman in Revelation 12, the saints would know that’s Israel, and they would know it’s Israel in connection with her reigning in the kingdom and their obtaining of the inheritance.
“Revelation 12:3-4 is about Satan: [3] And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads.
[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.
[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.
“Now, that didn’t take place at the birth of Christ! That’s something in the future, to take place in the tribulation. Verse 5: [5] And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne.
“John tells you in Revelation 4 that what he’s writing about are ‘things which must be hereafter,’ and what you read in the book is future from where John wrote, which was sometime before 70 A.D. You know when you get to chapter 12 you’re not talking about Jesus being born. You’re talking about Israel giving birth to a man child.
“The man child is then caught up to God and raptured out. Verse 13 says, [13] And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man child.
“You’re in the second half of the 70th week here. The next verse says, [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.’
“That’s the last three and a half years of the tribulation. The rest of the chapter reads, [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.
[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.
[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.
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“In a lot of ways that’s a strange passage. First there’s going to be this man child, and those who are going to rule all nations turn out to be the 144,000.
“The reason people say verse 5 is Christ is because Revelation 19 says He’s going to come with a rod of iron and rule all nations, but He doesn’t do that by Himself. He has a group of people associated with Him--the little flock—who reign with Him.
“All of the seven churches in Revelation 2 and 3 have a group of people associated with them who are called ‘overcomers.’ This is a crowd that comes out of the tribulation into the kingdom and is given a special status of ministering in that millennial temple. They literally dwell there in that temple with the Savior.
“When Christ talks about the 'many mansions,' He’s talking about these temple servants in that millennial temple--the ‘overcomers’; that little flock He’s talking to, and especially its leaders.
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“If you go back to Revelation 12:5, you see this group of people has something strange happen to them. It says ‘her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne.’ This man child is taken off the earth into the throne of God into the third heaven. You say, ‘Well, what in the world is that all about?!’ Well, it’s a fascinating thing.
“As the Book of Revelation begins in 1:1, [1] The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John.
“You go through Revelation and you’ll discover time and again it is written to His servants, and there’s a special group of people identified with that moniker.
“Just look at John’s vision in Revelation 7:
[1] And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree.
[2] And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea,
[3] Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.
[4] And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel.
[1] And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree.
[2] And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea,
[3] Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.
[4] And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel.
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“So the 144,000 are identified as the servants. Have you ever wondered about how, after the ‘dispensation of grace’ is over with and the Body of Christ is caught up into the third heaven, the kingdom program can be started again?
“How did God start the ‘dispensation of grace’? There’s no members of the Body of Christ on Planet Earth and God wants to start the dispensation of grace.
“What did He have to do? He had to intervene personally in a cataclysmic way. Paul says ‘He apprehended me.’ That’s a term we use for cops who stop and arrest you. He literally stopped Paul’s wild career, apprehended him, and made him the first guy to kick-start a new program.
“Well, there will be the same kind of apprehension program to start the prophetic program back up. There will be no choice. He’ll have to intervene once again, and the people He intervenes with to re-start that program is this 144,000.
“They will compare, if you go back and study Matthew, Mark, Luke and John and early Acts—you’ll find the 12 apostles will compare with the 144,000 and the little flock will compare to that remnant that comes out of the ministry of the 144,000.
“In the middle of the week, look at where this 144,000, who are on the earth in Revelation 7, turn up in Revelation 14:
[1] And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father's name written in their foreheads.
[2] And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder: and I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps:
[3] And they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth.
[4] These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb.
[1] And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father's name written in their foreheads.
[2] And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder: and I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps:
[3] And they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth.
[4] These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb.
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What’s infinitely fascinating is that in the genealogy of Mary, listed in the Book of Luke, there are 77 names that go all the way back to Adam and in the line of 77, Jesus was born of Mary at the appointed time. Galatians 4:4 says, [4] But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law.
“In order to have His birth there at the right time, things had to be put into place 77 generations before,” explains Jordan. “Now, that means this was not an afterthought on God’s part by any means.
“There was a point in time God had preplanned the conception and the birth of Jesus and 280 days after the conception was the birth. That’s why God used the pagan ruler Caesar Augustus— He literally manipulated a godless, unbelieving devil-worshipping ruler to accomplish the political things in the earth in order that Jesus be born, not in Nazareth, where His mom and Joseph lived, but in Bethlehem where Micah, 700 years before, said Christ would be born.
“Part of the wonders of the birth of Christ, as natural as the surroundings were, was that there were supernatural things going on in the background ALL the time. God’s orchestrating, not just the timing but the place, and using ALL kind of people who have no idea they’re being used!
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“Mary and Joseph didn’t live in Bethlehem; they lived in Nazareth almost 100 miles north. As the verse says, ‘she’s great with child,’ meaning she’s ready to pop any moment and be delivered.
“God uses a pagan ruler to give the decree that all the world has to be taxed and people have got to go back to their hometown.
“What would have motivated Joseph to put his pregnant little wife on the back of a donkey, or in the back of a cart, and drag her a hundred miles in that condition? Because she had to go 100 miles for Him to be born where He’s supposed to be born.
“Everything about it is beyond human calculations. What that means is that, based on the mathematical, statistical laws of probability, the very science that you use to demonstrate that DNA conclusively identifies someone as guilty or innocent (DNA is all based on statistical probability), on that science of statistical probability that one verse there demonstrates.
“There are over 300 verses just like that! If you just took eight specific verses like that, you’d have the ability to identify in a court of law a statistical absoluteness that this is true; that He is who He said He was.
“To me that’s a fascinating thing, because surrounding the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ is the scientific, cultural, conclusive proof that He is who He said He was by the fulfilling exactly on time…how could a baby prearrange all that to happen? How did a baby pre-stage it?
“When He died on the Cross, and He’s dead, they take Him down off that Cross and bury Him in a rich man’s tomb just like Isaiah 53 said they would. His body lays there and doesn’t see corruption, just like Psalm 16 said it wouldn’t.
“He’s raised from the dead like Psalm 2 said He would be. He then ascends up into heaven just like Psalm 110 said He would. When He’s stone-cold dead on the market, how did He arrange to be buried where Isaiah said He would be buried? How do you arrange that for yourself?”
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“Jeremiah 32 is the 777th chapter in the Bible. By the way, this stuff will only come true in a King James Bible. Jeremiah is going to be given a sign by God and communicate a sign about the return of Israel to her land.
“Just like there are 77 generations in Luke 3, now we’re in the 777th chapter of the Bible and you’ll see the connection in a minute.
“Jeremiah 32 reports, ‘And I bought the field of Hanameel my uncle's son, that was in Anathoth, and weighed him the money, even seventeen shekels of silver.
[10] And I subscribed the evidence, and sealed it, and took witnesses, and weighed him the money in the balances.
[11] So I took the evidence of the purchase, both that which was sealed according to the law and custom, and that which was open:
[12] And I gave the evidence of the purchase unto Baruch the son of Neriah, the son of Maaseiah, in the sight of Hanameel mine uncle's son, and in the presence of the witnesses that subscribed the book of the purchase, before all the Jews that sat in the court of the prison.
[13] And I charged Baruch before them, saying,
[14] Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Take these evidences, this evidence of the purchase, both which is sealed, and this evidence which is open; and put them in an earthen vessel, that they may continue many days.
[10] And I subscribed the evidence, and sealed it, and took witnesses, and weighed him the money in the balances.
[11] So I took the evidence of the purchase, both that which was sealed according to the law and custom, and that which was open:
[12] And I gave the evidence of the purchase unto Baruch the son of Neriah, the son of Maaseiah, in the sight of Hanameel mine uncle's son, and in the presence of the witnesses that subscribed the book of the purchase, before all the Jews that sat in the court of the prison.
[13] And I charged Baruch before them, saying,
[14] Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Take these evidences, this evidence of the purchase, both which is sealed, and this evidence which is open; and put them in an earthen vessel, that they may continue many days.
“So He makes a written document. We would say, ‘I made out the deed to the land, had it signed and notarized and then sealed up.’ So I took the evidence of the purchase. I’ve got a title deed that I bought the land.
“He’s got two copies. One is sealed where you can’t get to it and the other is open for you to read. Israel’s fixing to go off into that 5th Course of captivity, be taken out of the land, not just for 70 years, but for generations to come.
"But before God sent them out in Jeremiah, He said, ‘I’m going to give you a token. I don’t want you leave the land without any hope. I want you to know I’m going to bring you back in.’
“Jeremiah 30:1 says [1] The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying,
[2] Thus speaketh the LORD God of Israel, saying, Write thee all the words that I have spoken unto thee in a book.
[3] For, lo, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will bring again the captivity of my people Israel and Judah, saith the LORD: and I will cause them to return to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall possess it.
[4] And these are the words that the LORD spake concerning Israel and concerning Judah.
[2] Thus speaketh the LORD God of Israel, saying, Write thee all the words that I have spoken unto thee in a book.
[3] For, lo, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will bring again the captivity of my people Israel and Judah, saith the LORD: and I will cause them to return to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall possess it.
[4] And these are the words that the LORD spake concerning Israel and concerning Judah.
“Over 203 times, the Bible identifies God as the Lord God of Israel. There’s no other nation, no other religion, no other group of people on the planet in all of history that the God of the Bible ever said, ‘I’m their God, I’m their God, I’m their God, I’m their God.’
“God says, ‘Write the words on a piece of paper, scribe them and put them in a book.’ So God writes down some words and puts it in ‘the book of the purchase,’ as He calls in Jeremiah 32. I love that. God has scribed a title deed.
“You’ll see this book again in Revelation 5 when Jesus comes and unseals the sealed book. But what’s happening here in Jeremiah is you’re getting the title deed to the land and God’s saying, ‘I’m going to come back and scribe it in a book, put it into my book, and your land's going to be there.’
“He wrote all those words in a book and said, ‘I want you to have a hope. You’ve got one copy that’s sealed until the Second Coming of Christ and one that’s unsealed.’
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“Again, you’ve got two books. First coming and Second Coming. There’s the preservation of it. Now, this is one of those mind-blowing things--verse 14 says to take the ‘evidence which is open; and put them in an earthen vessel, that they may continue many days.’
“As soon as you see that phrase ‘earthen vessel,’ you think of II Corinthians 4:7: [7] But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.
“Who’s the earthen vessel for Jeremiah? Where did God put His word? Go to Jeremiah 18 and He goes to the potter’s house and the potter makes the vessel and the vessel is the nation Israel. He says, ‘I’m the potter; you’re the clay.’
“So God entrusts His Word to the nation Israel, but you know what He’s done in the dispensation of grace? He’s entrusted that word to US. Why? So it can be preserved.
“One of the mechanisms God has used all through human history, all through His dealings with man--one of the designs of preservation--is to use His people. Not an institution, not an organization, not a big-fangled . . .
"Rome says, ‘Well, without the church you wouldn’t have the Bible.’ No, without the Bible you wouldn’t have the church.' If you have the Bible, you’d never have any kind of monstrosity like the Roman church, Mystery Babylon the Great, the Mother of Harlots and abominations of the earth.
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“Exodus 20 is the 70th chapter in the Bible. Seventy is a multiple of seven and seven is the number of perfection in the Bible. You know what happens in Exodus 20? God gives Israel and the world the Ten Commandments. The 70th chapter begins, [1] And God spake all these words, saying.
“He didn’t say God GAVE this message, this idea. It says God spake some w-o-r-d-s. You notice we read in Jeremiah 30 and 32 that He says to ‘write down these w-o-r-d-s.’ You’re writing down words on a page that God spoke.
“If you count the words in Exodus 20:1, there are seven. God is interested in the perfection of His Word. All of these words.
“Revelation 21:5 says, [5] And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.
“The same thing’s going on all the way to the end of your Bible. That’s why you come over to Revelation 22:18, and I know people like to say, ‘Well, that’s just the Book of Revelation,’ but listen, if you read your Bible, and you study your Bible by reading it, ‘All Scripture is given by inspiration,’ and Revelation is part of a Book that goes all the way back to the Book of Genesis.
"In fact, most of the things that happen in Revelation found their beginning in Genesis. But God’s interested in the perfection of His words all the way through His Bible, so that when you get to the end of His Bible, as Revelation 22:18 says, [18] For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book.
“You see that? There’s some w-o-r-d-s written down in a BOOK. That’s why we are ‘the people of a Book.’ That verse is the conclusion of an attitude that begins at the beginning! All the way through God’s Word, that’s the way God feels about His Word!
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“Listen, if you could take that title deed God gave Israel to the land that’s sealed today and Jesus will open one day . . . if you could change that title deed, if that evidence of the purchase was ever lost, the ‘god of this world’ would take over dominion in heaven and earth and Satan would get the heaven and earth that he desires, and be like the Most High and have it as his own.
“All that has to happen is ONE w-o-r-d from God. ‘I have spoken all these words.’ You better have a Bible where ALL the words in it are words God wants in it! That’s a Bible Believer’s attitude, and the only way you’re going to do that is to have a King James Bible.
“God’s Word is important, and when you see that genealogy in Luke 3, and you see the events in Luke 2, timing is everything with God, and one of the things you learn from that genealogy in Luke 3 is that the birth of the Lord Jesus--His conception, His birth, His coming--the events of His life and death and so forth; these things were not an afterthought on the part of God.
“People say, ‘Well, what happened was that God got caught by surprise.’ No, He didn’t. He had it ALL planned, and when the fullness of time--the right point in time--came, He sent forth His son. You have to understand that absolutely none of this (Christ’s birth, death, resurrection) caught God by surprise.
“Here’s a strange verse. Revelation 13:8 says, [8] And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
“So how long had Jesus Christ been slain? I Peter 1 says from the foundation of the world. Well, you know He wasn’t literally slain from the foundation of the world because He wasn’t born until 4 B.C., or whatever they say it was.
“Before God put the world into operation, laying the foundation thereof, He knew when, where and how His Son was going to die. It wasn’t an afterthought.
“I Peter 1:18-20 says, [18] Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers;
[19] But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:
[20] Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you.
[19] But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:
[20] Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you.
“God planned this thing. He foreordained it. Now, when God foreordains something, He preplans and states that it’s going to happen.”
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