The Remnant & The Mission: The persecution of the woman

A woman in distress

We’re going to look at the state after the woman/church had given birth to the male Child in Revelation 12. Now, just to add some clarification regarding the woman that just gave birth in this chapter, as we have discovered in the first night’s talk, we identified that the woman is the church.

Now, I am not stating a specific church or denomination, but all I can say is that this church are believers and followers of Jesus. This coming Sabbath we will be more specific on the characteristics of a group of people in the time of the end.

But for the mean time, we’re talking about a community of believers in Jesus Christ. A group of believers that believe in the Child that is born to the woman who would rule the nations with a rod of iron and claim His throne in Heaven.

We’re going to look at Revelation 12:13-16 tonight and look at the outcome of this woman/church and see her outcome after she had given birth.

Revelation 12:13–16 NKJV

13 Now when the dragon saw that he had been cast to the earth, he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male Child. 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. 15 So the serpent spewed water out of his mouth like a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away by the flood. 16 But the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed up the flood which the dragon had spewed out of his mouth.

We already know the identity of the dragon, and we already know the identity of the woman and the male Child. So we know all the players but we’re introduced to another player that you might not be aware, do you know who the other player might be? We’re introduced to the earth who helps the woman.

We would tend to think that the earth is an inanimate object, however, the fact that the earth helps the woman says something about the earth, and we will discover who the earth is later.

But starting from verse 13 the dragon has been kicked out of heaven, he has been defeated and the Child, Jesus, takes His place to rule over His people, so the dragon can’t accept defeat and goes and persecutes the woman. In verse 12 we’re told with great wrath because he knows that he has a short time.

But when we read verse 14, we’re told that the woman was given two wings of a great eagle, who gave the woman these wings and why an specifically an eagle? And when it comes to the Bible regarding themes of salvation, there is always wings of eagles associated with it. Take for example in Isaiah 40:31

Isaiah 40:31 NKJV

31 But those who wait on the Lord Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.

Another example is when God saved the Israelites from the Egyptians in Exodus 19:4

Exodus 19:4 NKJV

4 ‘You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Myself.

We see the theme of eagle wings assosicated with deliverance and haste of God’s people. God is delivering His people from the enemy to a place of safety reserved by Him in a quick and timely manner, and in Revelation 12:14 God is delivering His church without execption the same way He delivered His people in the past, but the question is where and for how long?

Setting up the stage

So the first part of the question is where is she being delivered to? And we’re told in two places in Revelation 12:6 and Revelation 12:14, these verses reveal to us that she is taken into the wilderness. Now the wilderness could be any place on earth but at least we have a location, however, in verse 6 it is a place prepared by God and in verse 14 she is nourished.

In both verses we’re also given a time period as well, in verse 6 we’re told 1260 days and in verse 14 we’re told time, times and half a time. Let me quickly tell you that 1260 days and time, times and half a time are the same numbers with time, times and half a time looking like this (360 (time) + 720 (times) + 180 (half a time) = 1260).

Which brings us to another question as to when does this time begin and when does it end?

But you have to know something about ‘days’ when it comes to Bible prophecy, remembering what John wrote in Revelation 1:3

Revelation 1:3 NKJV

3 Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near.

Now, if we put 1260 days as 24 hour periods, then we’re really looking at 3 years and 5 months, but prophetically speaking, God has given us something incredible when it comes to prophetic days.

Numbers 14:34 NKJV

34 According to the number of the days in which you spied out the land, forty days, for each day you shall bear your guilt one year, namely forty years, and you shall know My rejection.

Here we have a day for a year principle, we’re also told in Ezekiel 4:6

Ezekiel 4:6 NKJV

6 And when you have completed them, lie again on your right side; then you shall bear the iniquity of the house of Judah forty days. I have laid on you a day for each year.

Another reference to a day for a year, but that’s all the references we have regarding a day for a year principle. So, 1260 days would equal to 1260 years, this time references is also mentioned in Revelation 11:2-3, and Revelation 13:5, and even in the Old Testament in Daniel 7:25 and Daniel 12:7

Revelation 11:2–3 NKJV

2 But leave out the court which is outside the temple, and do not measure it, for it has been given to the Gentiles. And they will tread the holy city underfoot for forty-two months. 3 And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy one thousand two hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth.”

Revelation 13:5 NKJV

5 And he was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and he was given authority to continue for forty-two months.

Daniel 7:25 NKJV

25 He shall speak pompous words against the Most High, Shall persecute the saints of the Most High, And shall intend to change times and law. Then the saints shall be given into his hand For a time and times and half a time.

Daniel 12:7 NKJV

7 Then I heard the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand to heaven, and swore by Him who lives forever, that it shall be for a time, times, and half a time; and when the power of the holy people has been completely shattered, all these things shall be finished.

Which would mean that this time reference is important to God and His people, so when does this 1260 days begin and is it actual 24 hour period (which is 3 years and 5 months) or do we apply the day for year principle? Where is this wilderness that God prepared for the woman/church?

When does it happen?

In 538 AD, something was happening in Rome that has not been seen in all of Christian Church history, to give you a bit of history, the Roman Empire still rules over Western and Eastern Europe, however, with such a vast empire to manage, pockets of resistance against the empire were emerging.

The seat and power over the Roman and Byzantine empire was in Constantinople, now present day Istanbul. Here the emperor Justinian I had full authority over these two empires.

In March 538 AD, Rome was being invaded and sieged by the Ostrogoths, a Germanic people during the 5t and 6th centuries. Eventually the invading armies would abandon the capitol city of the west due to resistance by the Byzantian military commander, Flavius Belisarius who was on the hunt for Ostrogoth invaders.

It was in this period that the emperor Justinian I had enacted his ‘Decree of Justinian/Code of Justinian’ which purpose was to clear any confusion with the laws of Rome and to enforce them in the empire and a special consideration was made with the official declaration of the Bishop of Rome as the supreme head over all Christian churches.

Thus giving ultimate authority to pope Vigilius over ecclesiastical, and spiritual matters of the empire.

On May of that same year, the ‘Third Council of Orleans’ took place and it was here that the church established Sunday as the day of the Lord, with it came also laws regarding the prohibition of work on Sunday and thus enforcing a day that God did not decree on His people.

In Daniel 7:25 we are introduced to a kingdom that would speak out against the Most High and persecute the saints of the Most High. It is also said that this same power that intends to change times and law. We’re also told in this same verse that the saints would be given into the hands of this kingdom for time, times and half a time or 1260 days.

Friends, it is without a doubt that there is a connection with 538 AD and the 1260 day prophecy found in the seven references in the Bible. The saints will be led into the wilderness and persecuted for 1260 days, but we still need to ask the question whether it was 3 year and 5 months or 1260 years? Also, what wilderness will the church be delivered to where she will be nourished?

Into the Wilderness

If we followed the 24 hour day principle, then May 538 AD plus 3 years and 5 months would lead us to October 541 AD, nothing really happens in this period, apart from a plague that hit the Egyptian port of Pelussium before spreading to Constantinople and the rest of the Mediterranean basin killing hundreds the is no mention of saints being given into the hands of the kingdom shown in Daniel 7:25.

However, if we use the day for year principle, we come 538 + 1260 will get us to 1798 AD and this is where things get interesting.

In 1798 AD something would happen in this period that would help the woman as she comes out of her wilderness experience.

On the 11 February 1798, French troops under General Louis-Alexandre Berthier invaded Rome and conqured the Papal States, a Roman Catholic civil and religious empire that was first given authority in 554 AD by emperor Justinian I and then in 756 AD by king Pepin the Short which would evolve into the Papal States.

When it comes to a civil and religious form of government, it gives power to men who claim to have the authority of God to enforce the laws of the land and religious laws.

With that comes religious persecution, and we know what happens when power is given to God’s creatures in this corrupt world; power corrupts, even if they think they are religious, power will consume them and they will abuse it.

This is something that has occured throughout time, king David, king Solomon all the way to Jesus was persecuted by the religious leader in Jerusalem; power corrupts.

So, on the 15 February 1798, Rome would be declared a republic removing pope Pius VI and the succession of popery from the throne and installing an Unitary Directorial Republic, thus removing the Papal States authority over religious and civil governance.

Thus, the day for year principle fits perfectly with the 1260 day prophecy, we have a beginning and we have an ending of the prophecy period.

But, that doesn’t make sense, isn’t the church the Roman Catholic church? How is it possible that the church was in the wilderness from 538 AD to 1798 AD? What was the kingdom that persecuted the Roman Catholic church? Is the woman/church the Roman Catholic church?

Persecution of the woman

So, now we need to discuss this final question, the wilderness and is the Roman Catholic church the woman described in Revelation 12?

Well, let’s find the identity of this woman because all we know is that it is the church, but which one? There was the Orthodox church, and many other churches in the Byzantine empire and we have the Roman Catholic church, Catholic means universal in Greek, interesting from a church that mainly speaks Latin.

So, the identifying marks we have the church from the verses regarding the saints and the church during the 1260 day period are these:

Flees into the wilderness to a place prepared by God and fed. (Rev. 12:6)

Given two wings of a great eagle and flies into the wilderness to her place and nourished. (Rev 12:14)

The Gentiles will tread the holy city underfoot and God will power His two witnesses to prophesy. (Rev 11:2-3)

A kingdom will speak blasphemies. (Rev 13:5)

A kingdom would speak against the Most High, the saints of the Most High will be given to this kingdom and be persecuted, the kingdom intends to change times and laws. (Dan 7:25)

Does these marks identify the Roman Catholic church? No, in fact, when we look at the Roman Papacy, the civil and religious power, it was this church that locked away the Word of God from their people by making the Word of God inaccessible to the laity through language and through clergy.

And thus taking away the nourishment from the laity, for the Word of God is the Bread of Life that feeds the faith of the followers of Jesus, and by taking it away and interpreting God’s Word to fill their coffers starves God’s people for the assurances of salvation.

The Papacy has continuly declared it’s authority from God and believes itself to be god enforcing their doctrines on the laity while in the guise of human divinity, thus blaspheming, the very fact the title pope and the priest claiming themselves to be father, places themselves as equal to the Father of glory.

They also blaspheme by thinking to change the laws of God and His time, enforcing a day that God did not hallow/sanctify from Sabbath, the seventh day of the week to Sunday the first day of the week and also having a altered 10 commandment that removed the worshipping of idols shows the state of this organisation that fits the characteristics of the kingdom that persecutes God’s people found in Daniel 7.

The kingdom mentioned in Daniel and the dragon that persecutes the saints in Revelation are one and the same, this isn’t to say that the Roman Catholic people are demons in disguise, but that the system of government, the Roman Papacy is the religious and civil kingdom that would persecute the saints.

The Roman Papacy would persecute the saints/God’s true church for 1260 years, and the faithful followers of the Lord would hide in the mountains, the plains, the fields and the wherever the Lord will lead them, where they will study the Word of God and find nourishment to fill their souls by the Bread of Life and the Blood of the Lamb.

People like the Cathars, the Waldensians, the Lollards, the Hussites, people like Pierre Waldo, John Wycliffe, Jan Hus, Huldrych Zwingli, John Calvin, Martin Luther, John Knox and so forth who would lead the charge and declare the hypocrisy of the Roman Catholic church and establish a new chapter for God’s people, a hope that brings people closer to a relationship of Him.

Then in 1620, a new hope was given to God’s people persecuted not only by the Catholics by also by their own bretheren the Protestants, Mayflower where the Christian pilgrims made their way to the new lands so that their faith in God would grow without persecution from their own.

The woman is no longer in distress, the remnant of the bretheren is safe in a land that the Lord has provided with nourishment by the Bread and the Blood of their Redeemer.

I asked before regarding who the earth player is? My friends, it is God who protect His people and it is God who saves His people from persecution, it is God who delivers and He alone will redeem us. God is the one who defeats our foe.

What about us?

Friends, again I remind you all the series that we’re going through called ‘The Remnant and The Mission’, we have seen how the church is always on the move, moving from place to place to where the Lord would want them just like the Israelites moving through the wilderness in the Exodus because they haven’t reached their home that God is giving..

However, are we as God’s people moving where God would want us to be? Are we being fed by God? Do we bear the same characteristics of the woman that we find in Revelation 12?

There is a mission for us friends, and that mission is to be on the move like the Israelites in their wilderness experience, there is mana that the Lord is feeding us that gives us life.

But the moment we stagnate and stop following the Lord, is when we are open to satan’s persecution. You see in Revelation 12:16 it is God who protests God’s followers from the dragon because the woman goes where God sends her. But, when we stop following then we become the target of the dragon.

The next talk will show two characteristics of the Remnant and we’ll talk about the mission as well. But God’s Word is sure, God’s Word is hope for those who follow Him and move with Him.

We have nothing to worry friends for satan has no power over us, God is our guide as we venture through this wilderness because at the end of this journey God is preparing a permanent and eternal place for you and me.

Do you want to be part of that number?