Christmas
- Thread starter gdyloves
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If it will fit here, gdyloves, I'll post a book excerpt on that Sept 11th.
The Serpent and the Seed of the Woman (12:1-6)
v1 And a great sign appeared in heaven: a Woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars;
v2 and being with child she cried out, being in labor and in pain to give birth.
v3 And another sign appeared in heaven: and behold, a great red Dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads were seven diadems.
v4 And his tail sweeps away a third of the stars of heaven, and threw them to the Land. And the Dragon stood before the Woman who was about to give birth, so that when she gave birth he might devour her Child.
v5 And she gave birth to a Son, a male, who is to rule all nations with a rod of iron; and her Child was caught up to God and to His Throne.
v6 And the Woman fled into the wilderness where she has a place prepared by God, so that there they may nourish her for one thousand two hundred and sixty days.
vv1-2 St. John alerts us from the outset that we must give careful attention to the subject of this vision, for the symbol of the Woman here is a great sign.3 “Literalists” would have it that the use of this term implies that “most of Revelation is to be taken literally.” 4 But this is to miss the point. St. John is not saying that this passage, in contrast to the rest of the book, is a “sign,” for he has already told us that the entire book is composed of “signs” (1: 1). The point here is that this is a great sign, an important symbol, central to the interpretation of the prophecy as a whole. St. John is telling his readers to think carefully about the Biblical meaning of the sign.
This central symbol is a Woman, a familiar Biblical image for the Church, the people of God. (Specifically,…….
1. Milton S. Terry, Biblical Apocalyptics: A Study of the Most Notable Revelations of God and of Christ in the Canonical Scriptures (New York: Eaton & Mains, 1896), p. 381.
2. Ibid.
3. The word sign is used seven times in chapters 12-19; three are in heaven (21:1, 3; 15:1), four are on earth (13:13, 14; 16:14; 19:20).
4. Henry M. Morris, The Revelation Record: A Scientific and Devotional Commentary on the Book of Revelation (Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 1983), p. 213.
Page 124
12:1-2 — OK
……. as we shall see, the Woman here stands for the Church in the form of Old Covenant Israel.) St. John’s first readers would immediately have thought of previous prophetic uses of the Woman as representing the Church (see, e.g., Isa. 26; 49-50; 54; 66; Jer. 3-4; Lam. 1; Ezek. 16; Hos. 1-4; Mic. 4). Some of the prophetic passages about the Woman-Church are not particularly complimentary, for Israel had often descended into adultery with heathen gods. But the symbol in Revelation 12 is a glorious vision of the Church in her purity, as the wife of God: She is, in the image of her Husband (Ps. 104:2; Rev. 1:16; 10:1), clothed (the same word as in 10: 1) with the sun (cf. Isa. 60:1-2). The moon under her feet and her crown of twelve stars enhance the picture of glory and dominion — indeed, of her ascent from glory to glory (1 Cor. 15:41; 2 Cor. 3:18). Solomon proclaims that the Bride is “lovely as Jerusalem, terrible as an army with banners”;
she looks forth like the dawn,
Beautiful as the full moon,
Resplendent as the sun,
Terrible as an army with banners.
This Woman, St. John says, is the Mother of Christ: She is seen to be with child (the same Greek expression used of the Virgin Mary in Matthew 1:18, 23), carrying in her womb the Messiah who is destined “to rule all the nations with a rod of iron” (v. 5). The image of the Woman/Mother has its origins all the way back to the Garden of Eden and the protevangelium — the first proclamation of the Gospel, in which God revealed that through the Woman would come the Redeemer to crush the Serpent’s head (Gen. 3:15). The picture then becomes a regular motif in the historical outworking of God’s purposes with Israel. One familiar example occurs in the story of Jael and Sisera, which tells how the enemy of God’s people is destroyed, his head shattered, by a woman (Jud. 4:9, 17-22; 5:24-27; cf. the death of Abimelech in Jud. 9:53). This is also a major theme in the story of Esther and her deliverance of Israel. The definitive fulfillment of this prophecy took place in the Virgin Birth, as Mary clearly recognized:
He has done mighty deeds with His arm;
He has scattered those who were proud
in the thoughts of their heart.
He has brought down rulers from their thrones,
And has exalted those who were humble.
He has filled the hungry with good things;
And sent away the rich empty-handed.
He has given help to Israel His servant,
In remembrance of His mercy,
As He spoke to our fathers,
To Abraham and his seed forever. (Luke 1:51-55)
Isaiah’s prophecy of the Virgin Mother is the specific Biblical background for St. John’s vision of the Woman, as Philip Carrington explains: “The actual words are drawn not from any heathen myth, but from the prophet Isaiah, Moreover the LORD spake again unto Ahaz, saying, Ask thee a Sign of the LORD thy God; ask it either in the Depth, or in the Height above (7:10-11); or, to translate it into Johannine language, either in the Abyss or in Heaven. In Isaiah, the language appears to be purely a rhetorical flourish; but it is obviously the origin of St. John’s Sign in Heaven.
“This is made perfectly clear by what follows in Isaiah. The king refuses to ask for the Sign, and Isaiah replies, The LORD himself shall give you a Sign; Behold, a Virgin shall conceive, and bear a Son, and shall call his name Immanuel [7:14]. The words of St. John are simply a quotation from the earlier prophet: There appeared a great Sign in the Sky, a Woman.5.. with child, and she cried in her pain and was in torment to be delivered. More than this, St. John has given us a much closer translation of the Hebrew than our Authorized Version, which is influenced by the Septuagint; the Greek translation does, indeed, say, A Virgin shall conceive, but the original Hebrew only says, A Woman is with Child, and St. John has given it to us exactly. And, what is more, the words Crying in her pain and was in torment come from Isaiah also (26:17).
“St. John is therefore announcing the birth of the male child, the warrior king, foretold by... Isaiah.” 6
St. John thus brings together all the Woman-imagery of the Bible for this composite portrait of the covenant community, laboring to bring forth the Messiah: She is Eve, the Mother of all living, whose Seed will crush the Dragon’s head; she is also Sarah, Rebekah, Rachel, Jochebed, Hannah, and the other women of the covenant who gave birth to deliverers, forerunners of the Seed; she is the Virgin Mary, through whom the promises to the fathers met their fulfillment. But this great cosmic figure cannot simply be identified with any one of these women; rather, each of them individually embodied and portrayed before the world a different facet of the Woman’s meaning, imaging the labors of the Church to give birth to the Messiah:
As the pregnant woman approaches the time to give birth, She writhes and cries out in her labor pains, Thus were we before Thee, O LORD. (Isa. 26:17)
As prophetic revelation progresses in Scripture, it becomes increasingly clear that the Old Covenant Church is laboring to bring forth the Christ (cf. Mic. 4:9-5:9): He was the basic promise of the Abrahamic covenant. This is what Israel was waiting for, being in labor and pain throughout her existence. This is the most essential meaning of Israel’s history, apart from which it has no significance: the bearing of the Manchild (cf. John 16:20-22), the Savior of the world. From the protevangelium to the Flood, from the Abrahamic Covenant through the slavery in Egypt, the Exodus, the settling of Canaan, the Babylonian Captivity, the return from exile, and the suffering under the Greeks and the Romans, Israel was laboring to give birth to the Christ, to bring in the Messianic age.
5. The word woman (or women) is used 19 times in Revelation, prompting Ford to suggest that “the woman symbol is almost as important as the Lamb” (Revelation: Introduction, Translation, and Commentary [Garden City: Doubleday and Company, 1975]), p. 188.
6. Philip Carrington, The Meaning of the Revelation (London: SPCK, 1931), pp. 204f.
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12:1-2 — OK
In the midst of the Church’s struggles, therefore, she cried out. This verb (krazo) has special significance in Scripture, generally being used for an oath or the solemn proclamation of God’s revelation; it is often used of God’s servants speaking in the face of opposition.7 Here it has reference to the Church’s official declaration of the Word of God, the prophecy that she uttered as she travailed in birth. This was the essence of all prophetic revelation, to bear witness to the Christ (John 5:39, 45-46; Luke 24:25-27; Acts 3:24; 13:27).
It is important to recognize the relationship of all this to the very obvious astronomical symbolism in the text. The word St. John uses for sign was the term used in the ancient world to describe the constellations of the Zodiac; St. John’s model for this vision of the Church is the constellation of Virgo, which does have a “crown” of twelve stars.8 It seems likely that the twelve stars also represent the twelve signs of the Zodiac, from ancient times regarded as symbols of the twelve tribes of Israel; in Joseph’s famous dream his father, mother, and the twelve tribes were symbolized by the sun, the moon, and twelve stars or constellations (Gen. 37:9).9 We have already seen how the divine arrangement of Israel’s tribes around the Tabernacle (Num. 2) corresponded to the zodiacal order of the constellations.10 The Seventh Trumpet of 11:15 brought us to Rosh Hashanah:
the Day of Trumpets, the first day of the seventh month, the first day of the new year, the Day of the enthronement of the King of kings in the New Creation. The statement that Virgo is “crowned” with the twelve constellations, therefore, “means that she is the one among the twelve who reigns at the time,” i.e. during the seventh month, just as “the Scorpion’s claws seem about to catch the Virgin.” 11 In terms of astral symbolism, therefore, the birth of the Messiah takes place on the Day of Trumpets.
It is interesting that by pursuing several lines of very convincing evidence, Prof. Ernest Martin carefully and painstakingly narrows down the probable date of Christ’s birth to sometime in September, 3 B.C.12 Martin then adds the icing to the cake: “In the period of Christ’s birth, the Sun entered the head-position of the Woman about August 13, and exited from her feet about October 2. But the Apostle John saw the scene when the Sun ‘clothes’ or ‘adorns’ the Woman. This surely indicates that the position of the Sun in the vision was located somewhere mid-bodied of the Woman — between the neck and knees.
(The sun could hardly be said to ‘clothe’ the Woman if it were situated in her face or near her feet.)
“The only time in the year that the Sun could be in a position to ‘clothe’ this celestial Woman (to be mid-bodied) is when it was located between about 150 and 170 degrees along the ecliptic. This ‘clothing’ of the Woman by the Sun occurs for a 20-day period each year. This 20-degree spread could indicate the general time when Christ was born. In 3 B.C., the Sun would have entered this celestial region about August 27 and exited from it about September 15. If John in the Book of Revelation is associating the birth of Christ with the period when the Sun is mid-bodied to the Woman, then Christ would have had to be born within that 20-day period. From the point of view of the Magi (who were astrologers), this would have been the only logical sign under which the Jewish Messiah might be born — especially if he were to be born of a virgin. Even today, astrologers recognize that the sign of Virgo is the one which has reference to a messianic world ruler to be born of a virgin....
“But there is a way to arrive at a much closer time for Christ’s birth than a simple 20-day period. The position of the Moon in John’s vision could pinpoint the nativity to within a day — perhaps to an hour period or less. This may seem absurd, but it is entirely possible.
“The key is the Moon. The apostle said it was located ‘under her feet.’ What does the word ‘under’ signify in this case? Does it mean the Woman of the vision was standing on the Moon when John observed it or does it mean her feet were positioned slightly above the Moon? John does not tell us. This, however, is not of major consequence in using the Moon to answer our question because it would only involve the difference of a degree or two. Since the feet of Virgo the Virgin represent the last 7 degrees of the constellation (in the time of Christ this would have been between about 180 and 187 degrees along the ecliptic), the Moon has to be positioned somewhere under that 7-degree arc. But the Moon also has to be in that exact location when the Sun is mid-bodied to Virgo. In the year 3 B. C., these two factors came to precise agreement for less than two hours, as observed from Palestine or Patmos, on September 11. The relationship began about 6:15 P.M. (sunset), and lasted until around 7:45 P.M. (moonset). This is the only day in the whole year that this could have taken place.” 13
An added bonus: Sundown on September 11, 3 B. C., was the beginning of Tishri 1 in the Jewish calendar — Rosh Hashanah, the Day of Trumpets! 14 Martin…….
7. See, e.g., Matt. 27:50; Mark 3:11; 5:7; 9:24; 10:48; 15:13; John 1:15; 7:28; 12:13, 44; Acts 19:28, 32, 34; Rom. 9:27; Gal. 4:6; James 5:4; and see its use especially in Revelation: 6:10; 7:2, 10; 10:3; 14:15; 18:2,18-19; 19:17.
8. The twelve stars are: “(l) Pi, (2) Nu, (3) Beta (near the ecliptic), (4) Sigma, (5) Chi, (6) Iota – these six stars form the southern hemisphere around the head of Virgo. Then there are (7) Theta, (8) Star 60, (9) Delta, (10) Star 93, (11) Beta (the second magnitude star), (12) Omicron — these last six form the northern hemisphere around the head of Virgo. All these stars are visible ones that could have been seen by observers.” Ernest L. Martin, The Birth of Christ Recalculated (Pasadena, CA: Foundation for Biblical Research, 2nd cd., 1980), p. 159.
9. See Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, iii.vii.7, where he explains the twelve stones in the high priest’s breastplate, representing the twelve tribes of Israel (Ex. 28:17-21), in terms of the Zodiac.
10. See comments on Revelation 4:7; cf. Ernest L. Martin, The Birth of Christ Recalculated, pp. 168f.
11. Farrer, The Revelation of St. John the Divine (Oxford: At the Clarendon Press, 1964), p. 141.
12. It is generally held that Herod the Great died in 4 B. C., and therefore that Christ was born in 6 or 7 B.C. Martin, however, presents a detailed and persuasive case for Herod’s death occurring in 1 B.C. See his Birth of Christ Recalculated, pp. 26-131.
13. Ibid., pp. 146f. What about December 25, the traditional date of the Nativity?
14. Ibid., pp. 152ff.
Page 126
12:3
……. summarizes: “The central theme of the Day of Trumpets is clearly that of enthronement of the great King of kings. This was the general understanding of the day in early Judaism — and it certainly is that of the New Testament. In Revelation 11:15 the seventh angel sounds his ‘last trump’ and the kingdoms of this world become those of Christ. This happens at a time when a woman is seen in heaven with twelve stars around her head and the Sun mid-bodied to her, with the Moon under her feet. This is clearly a New Moon scene for the Day of Trumpets.” 15
The Serpent and the Seed of the Woman (12:1-6)
v1 And a great sign appeared in heaven: a Woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars;
v2 and being with child she cried out, being in labor and in pain to give birth.
v3 And another sign appeared in heaven: and behold, a great red Dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads were seven diadems.
v4 And his tail sweeps away a third of the stars of heaven, and threw them to the Land. And the Dragon stood before the Woman who was about to give birth, so that when she gave birth he might devour her Child.
v5 And she gave birth to a Son, a male, who is to rule all nations with a rod of iron; and her Child was caught up to God and to His Throne.
v6 And the Woman fled into the wilderness where she has a place prepared by God, so that there they may nourish her for one thousand two hundred and sixty days.
vv1-2 St. John alerts us from the outset that we must give careful attention to the subject of this vision, for the symbol of the Woman here is a great sign.3 “Literalists” would have it that the use of this term implies that “most of Revelation is to be taken literally.” 4 But this is to miss the point. St. John is not saying that this passage, in contrast to the rest of the book, is a “sign,” for he has already told us that the entire book is composed of “signs” (1: 1). The point here is that this is a great sign, an important symbol, central to the interpretation of the prophecy as a whole. St. John is telling his readers to think carefully about the Biblical meaning of the sign.
This central symbol is a Woman, a familiar Biblical image for the Church, the people of God. (Specifically,…….
1. Milton S. Terry, Biblical Apocalyptics: A Study of the Most Notable Revelations of God and of Christ in the Canonical Scriptures (New York: Eaton & Mains, 1896), p. 381.
2. Ibid.
3. The word sign is used seven times in chapters 12-19; three are in heaven (21:1, 3; 15:1), four are on earth (13:13, 14; 16:14; 19:20).
4. Henry M. Morris, The Revelation Record: A Scientific and Devotional Commentary on the Book of Revelation (Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 1983), p. 213.
Page 124
12:1-2 — OK
……. as we shall see, the Woman here stands for the Church in the form of Old Covenant Israel.) St. John’s first readers would immediately have thought of previous prophetic uses of the Woman as representing the Church (see, e.g., Isa. 26; 49-50; 54; 66; Jer. 3-4; Lam. 1; Ezek. 16; Hos. 1-4; Mic. 4). Some of the prophetic passages about the Woman-Church are not particularly complimentary, for Israel had often descended into adultery with heathen gods. But the symbol in Revelation 12 is a glorious vision of the Church in her purity, as the wife of God: She is, in the image of her Husband (Ps. 104:2; Rev. 1:16; 10:1), clothed (the same word as in 10: 1) with the sun (cf. Isa. 60:1-2). The moon under her feet and her crown of twelve stars enhance the picture of glory and dominion — indeed, of her ascent from glory to glory (1 Cor. 15:41; 2 Cor. 3:18). Solomon proclaims that the Bride is “lovely as Jerusalem, terrible as an army with banners”;
she looks forth like the dawn,
Beautiful as the full moon,
Resplendent as the sun,
Terrible as an army with banners.
This Woman, St. John says, is the Mother of Christ: She is seen to be with child (the same Greek expression used of the Virgin Mary in Matthew 1:18, 23), carrying in her womb the Messiah who is destined “to rule all the nations with a rod of iron” (v. 5). The image of the Woman/Mother has its origins all the way back to the Garden of Eden and the protevangelium — the first proclamation of the Gospel, in which God revealed that through the Woman would come the Redeemer to crush the Serpent’s head (Gen. 3:15). The picture then becomes a regular motif in the historical outworking of God’s purposes with Israel. One familiar example occurs in the story of Jael and Sisera, which tells how the enemy of God’s people is destroyed, his head shattered, by a woman (Jud. 4:9, 17-22; 5:24-27; cf. the death of Abimelech in Jud. 9:53). This is also a major theme in the story of Esther and her deliverance of Israel. The definitive fulfillment of this prophecy took place in the Virgin Birth, as Mary clearly recognized:
He has done mighty deeds with His arm;
He has scattered those who were proud
in the thoughts of their heart.
He has brought down rulers from their thrones,
And has exalted those who were humble.
He has filled the hungry with good things;
And sent away the rich empty-handed.
He has given help to Israel His servant,
In remembrance of His mercy,
As He spoke to our fathers,
To Abraham and his seed forever. (Luke 1:51-55)
Isaiah’s prophecy of the Virgin Mother is the specific Biblical background for St. John’s vision of the Woman, as Philip Carrington explains: “The actual words are drawn not from any heathen myth, but from the prophet Isaiah, Moreover the LORD spake again unto Ahaz, saying, Ask thee a Sign of the LORD thy God; ask it either in the Depth, or in the Height above (7:10-11); or, to translate it into Johannine language, either in the Abyss or in Heaven. In Isaiah, the language appears to be purely a rhetorical flourish; but it is obviously the origin of St. John’s Sign in Heaven.
“This is made perfectly clear by what follows in Isaiah. The king refuses to ask for the Sign, and Isaiah replies, The LORD himself shall give you a Sign; Behold, a Virgin shall conceive, and bear a Son, and shall call his name Immanuel [7:14]. The words of St. John are simply a quotation from the earlier prophet: There appeared a great Sign in the Sky, a Woman.5.. with child, and she cried in her pain and was in torment to be delivered. More than this, St. John has given us a much closer translation of the Hebrew than our Authorized Version, which is influenced by the Septuagint; the Greek translation does, indeed, say, A Virgin shall conceive, but the original Hebrew only says, A Woman is with Child, and St. John has given it to us exactly. And, what is more, the words Crying in her pain and was in torment come from Isaiah also (26:17).
“St. John is therefore announcing the birth of the male child, the warrior king, foretold by... Isaiah.” 6
St. John thus brings together all the Woman-imagery of the Bible for this composite portrait of the covenant community, laboring to bring forth the Messiah: She is Eve, the Mother of all living, whose Seed will crush the Dragon’s head; she is also Sarah, Rebekah, Rachel, Jochebed, Hannah, and the other women of the covenant who gave birth to deliverers, forerunners of the Seed; she is the Virgin Mary, through whom the promises to the fathers met their fulfillment. But this great cosmic figure cannot simply be identified with any one of these women; rather, each of them individually embodied and portrayed before the world a different facet of the Woman’s meaning, imaging the labors of the Church to give birth to the Messiah:
As the pregnant woman approaches the time to give birth, She writhes and cries out in her labor pains, Thus were we before Thee, O LORD. (Isa. 26:17)
As prophetic revelation progresses in Scripture, it becomes increasingly clear that the Old Covenant Church is laboring to bring forth the Christ (cf. Mic. 4:9-5:9): He was the basic promise of the Abrahamic covenant. This is what Israel was waiting for, being in labor and pain throughout her existence. This is the most essential meaning of Israel’s history, apart from which it has no significance: the bearing of the Manchild (cf. John 16:20-22), the Savior of the world. From the protevangelium to the Flood, from the Abrahamic Covenant through the slavery in Egypt, the Exodus, the settling of Canaan, the Babylonian Captivity, the return from exile, and the suffering under the Greeks and the Romans, Israel was laboring to give birth to the Christ, to bring in the Messianic age.
5. The word woman (or women) is used 19 times in Revelation, prompting Ford to suggest that “the woman symbol is almost as important as the Lamb” (Revelation: Introduction, Translation, and Commentary [Garden City: Doubleday and Company, 1975]), p. 188.
6. Philip Carrington, The Meaning of the Revelation (London: SPCK, 1931), pp. 204f.
Page 125
12:1-2 — OK
In the midst of the Church’s struggles, therefore, she cried out. This verb (krazo) has special significance in Scripture, generally being used for an oath or the solemn proclamation of God’s revelation; it is often used of God’s servants speaking in the face of opposition.7 Here it has reference to the Church’s official declaration of the Word of God, the prophecy that she uttered as she travailed in birth. This was the essence of all prophetic revelation, to bear witness to the Christ (John 5:39, 45-46; Luke 24:25-27; Acts 3:24; 13:27).
It is important to recognize the relationship of all this to the very obvious astronomical symbolism in the text. The word St. John uses for sign was the term used in the ancient world to describe the constellations of the Zodiac; St. John’s model for this vision of the Church is the constellation of Virgo, which does have a “crown” of twelve stars.8 It seems likely that the twelve stars also represent the twelve signs of the Zodiac, from ancient times regarded as symbols of the twelve tribes of Israel; in Joseph’s famous dream his father, mother, and the twelve tribes were symbolized by the sun, the moon, and twelve stars or constellations (Gen. 37:9).9 We have already seen how the divine arrangement of Israel’s tribes around the Tabernacle (Num. 2) corresponded to the zodiacal order of the constellations.10 The Seventh Trumpet of 11:15 brought us to Rosh Hashanah:
the Day of Trumpets, the first day of the seventh month, the first day of the new year, the Day of the enthronement of the King of kings in the New Creation. The statement that Virgo is “crowned” with the twelve constellations, therefore, “means that she is the one among the twelve who reigns at the time,” i.e. during the seventh month, just as “the Scorpion’s claws seem about to catch the Virgin.” 11 In terms of astral symbolism, therefore, the birth of the Messiah takes place on the Day of Trumpets.
It is interesting that by pursuing several lines of very convincing evidence, Prof. Ernest Martin carefully and painstakingly narrows down the probable date of Christ’s birth to sometime in September, 3 B.C.12 Martin then adds the icing to the cake: “In the period of Christ’s birth, the Sun entered the head-position of the Woman about August 13, and exited from her feet about October 2. But the Apostle John saw the scene when the Sun ‘clothes’ or ‘adorns’ the Woman. This surely indicates that the position of the Sun in the vision was located somewhere mid-bodied of the Woman — between the neck and knees.
(The sun could hardly be said to ‘clothe’ the Woman if it were situated in her face or near her feet.)
“The only time in the year that the Sun could be in a position to ‘clothe’ this celestial Woman (to be mid-bodied) is when it was located between about 150 and 170 degrees along the ecliptic. This ‘clothing’ of the Woman by the Sun occurs for a 20-day period each year. This 20-degree spread could indicate the general time when Christ was born. In 3 B.C., the Sun would have entered this celestial region about August 27 and exited from it about September 15. If John in the Book of Revelation is associating the birth of Christ with the period when the Sun is mid-bodied to the Woman, then Christ would have had to be born within that 20-day period. From the point of view of the Magi (who were astrologers), this would have been the only logical sign under which the Jewish Messiah might be born — especially if he were to be born of a virgin. Even today, astrologers recognize that the sign of Virgo is the one which has reference to a messianic world ruler to be born of a virgin....
“But there is a way to arrive at a much closer time for Christ’s birth than a simple 20-day period. The position of the Moon in John’s vision could pinpoint the nativity to within a day — perhaps to an hour period or less. This may seem absurd, but it is entirely possible.
“The key is the Moon. The apostle said it was located ‘under her feet.’ What does the word ‘under’ signify in this case? Does it mean the Woman of the vision was standing on the Moon when John observed it or does it mean her feet were positioned slightly above the Moon? John does not tell us. This, however, is not of major consequence in using the Moon to answer our question because it would only involve the difference of a degree or two. Since the feet of Virgo the Virgin represent the last 7 degrees of the constellation (in the time of Christ this would have been between about 180 and 187 degrees along the ecliptic), the Moon has to be positioned somewhere under that 7-degree arc. But the Moon also has to be in that exact location when the Sun is mid-bodied to Virgo. In the year 3 B. C., these two factors came to precise agreement for less than two hours, as observed from Palestine or Patmos, on September 11. The relationship began about 6:15 P.M. (sunset), and lasted until around 7:45 P.M. (moonset). This is the only day in the whole year that this could have taken place.” 13
An added bonus: Sundown on September 11, 3 B. C., was the beginning of Tishri 1 in the Jewish calendar — Rosh Hashanah, the Day of Trumpets! 14 Martin…….
7. See, e.g., Matt. 27:50; Mark 3:11; 5:7; 9:24; 10:48; 15:13; John 1:15; 7:28; 12:13, 44; Acts 19:28, 32, 34; Rom. 9:27; Gal. 4:6; James 5:4; and see its use especially in Revelation: 6:10; 7:2, 10; 10:3; 14:15; 18:2,18-19; 19:17.
8. The twelve stars are: “(l) Pi, (2) Nu, (3) Beta (near the ecliptic), (4) Sigma, (5) Chi, (6) Iota – these six stars form the southern hemisphere around the head of Virgo. Then there are (7) Theta, (8) Star 60, (9) Delta, (10) Star 93, (11) Beta (the second magnitude star), (12) Omicron — these last six form the northern hemisphere around the head of Virgo. All these stars are visible ones that could have been seen by observers.” Ernest L. Martin, The Birth of Christ Recalculated (Pasadena, CA: Foundation for Biblical Research, 2nd cd., 1980), p. 159.
9. See Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, iii.vii.7, where he explains the twelve stones in the high priest’s breastplate, representing the twelve tribes of Israel (Ex. 28:17-21), in terms of the Zodiac.
10. See comments on Revelation 4:7; cf. Ernest L. Martin, The Birth of Christ Recalculated, pp. 168f.
11. Farrer, The Revelation of St. John the Divine (Oxford: At the Clarendon Press, 1964), p. 141.
12. It is generally held that Herod the Great died in 4 B. C., and therefore that Christ was born in 6 or 7 B.C. Martin, however, presents a detailed and persuasive case for Herod’s death occurring in 1 B.C. See his Birth of Christ Recalculated, pp. 26-131.
13. Ibid., pp. 146f. What about December 25, the traditional date of the Nativity?
14. Ibid., pp. 152ff.
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12:3
……. summarizes: “The central theme of the Day of Trumpets is clearly that of enthronement of the great King of kings. This was the general understanding of the day in early Judaism — and it certainly is that of the New Testament. In Revelation 11:15 the seventh angel sounds his ‘last trump’ and the kingdoms of this world become those of Christ. This happens at a time when a woman is seen in heaven with twelve stars around her head and the Sun mid-bodied to her, with the Moon under her feet. This is clearly a New Moon scene for the Day of Trumpets.” 15
Lucifer wasn't born on December 25th.
Do not let that mess with your mind. Neither let your mind be messed up with why God allowed Lucifer to deceive
Just know and trust that a plan was in place already.
Genesis 3:15
15 And I will put enmity
Between you and the woman,
And between your seed and her Seed;
He shall bruise your head,
And you shall bruise His heel.”
Do not let that mess with your mind. Neither let your mind be messed up with why God allowed Lucifer to deceive
Just know and trust that a plan was in place already.
Genesis 3:15
15 And I will put enmity
Between you and the woman,
And between your seed and her Seed;
He shall bruise your head,
And you shall bruise His heel.”
Jesus likes German chocolate cake, strawberry cheesecake, and carrot cake.
He also likes it when the cakes are at my house. Hehe...
He also likes it when the cakes are at my house. Hehe...
I was going to relax tonight and eat some cake at my house...
but now I know that would make Jesus unhappy.
Now I'm sitting here putting stamps on a cake...
they hardly even stick to the icing.
I love Christmas, wouldn't miss it for the world! It is a family time, wonderful to be with the grandkids. A time to share the gospel, and preach the Word. I always did this as a teacher. I was in schools where 80-90% of the students were immigrants from non-Christian countries. It was a chance for them to learn Christmas carols about Jesus, and write stories about Christmas and for me to read the Christmas story.
Every church I have been in has put on Christmas outreaches - choirs, plays, dramas which incorporate music and the Christmas story. One church I was in put on Christmas productions, and each production had an altar call. I played in the orchestra, we had over 60 people, including strings that were hired, a 100 piece choir, live animals and different sets. I was sitting in the orchestra pit, playing flute, and a woman in the front row was getting antsy and jumping around. Her little boy was worse! I was quite aggravated, thought she and her son were "ruining" the mood we had put so much effort into creating. As if God needs us to create a "mood" for people to be saved! Anyway, she got to the point where she was disturbing all the woodwinds. We couldn't move. Come altar call time, she jumps up and throws herself on the floor and begs Jesus to save her. I know she not only gave her heart to Jesus, she followed through. And yes, I feel rebuked to this day! I missed what God was doing, by expecting "good" behaviour from a lost soul, who was under the conviction of the Holy Spirit.
Yesterday we had our annual Christmas potluck after church. The parking lot was jammed, even before the service. There was no place to sit in the main sanctuary. I guess because the kids were singing, a lot of parents who never come to church were there. They heard the gospel, in no uncertain terms. At the potluck, the gym was jammed, filled with people who never come to church. A friend of mine said her mom and husband came. She was very excited. No idea if God saved anyone, but seeds were definitely planted.
Why would we not celebrate the day Christ was born? Why would we, in this secular evil world, not want to promote something in which the songs proclaim:
"Christ the Saviour is born..".
or
"Joy to the world, the Lord is come,
Let earth, receive her King"
or
"Hark the herald angels sing,
Glory to the newborn King."
We should use these days, whether Jesus Christ was actually born on Dec. 25 or not. Jesus makes the day special, not all the trappings, of course. When Jesus opens a door, we need to walk through it and use it for his glory. And Christmas is such a day for me.
So sorry for all the "bah, humbug" people who try and force legalism on those of us who celebrate Jesus, God with us!
Every church I have been in has put on Christmas outreaches - choirs, plays, dramas which incorporate music and the Christmas story. One church I was in put on Christmas productions, and each production had an altar call. I played in the orchestra, we had over 60 people, including strings that were hired, a 100 piece choir, live animals and different sets. I was sitting in the orchestra pit, playing flute, and a woman in the front row was getting antsy and jumping around. Her little boy was worse! I was quite aggravated, thought she and her son were "ruining" the mood we had put so much effort into creating. As if God needs us to create a "mood" for people to be saved! Anyway, she got to the point where she was disturbing all the woodwinds. We couldn't move. Come altar call time, she jumps up and throws herself on the floor and begs Jesus to save her. I know she not only gave her heart to Jesus, she followed through. And yes, I feel rebuked to this day! I missed what God was doing, by expecting "good" behaviour from a lost soul, who was under the conviction of the Holy Spirit.
Yesterday we had our annual Christmas potluck after church. The parking lot was jammed, even before the service. There was no place to sit in the main sanctuary. I guess because the kids were singing, a lot of parents who never come to church were there. They heard the gospel, in no uncertain terms. At the potluck, the gym was jammed, filled with people who never come to church. A friend of mine said her mom and husband came. She was very excited. No idea if God saved anyone, but seeds were definitely planted.
Why would we not celebrate the day Christ was born? Why would we, in this secular evil world, not want to promote something in which the songs proclaim:
"Christ the Saviour is born..".
or
"Joy to the world, the Lord is come,
Let earth, receive her King"
or
"Hark the herald angels sing,
Glory to the newborn King."
We should use these days, whether Jesus Christ was actually born on Dec. 25 or not. Jesus makes the day special, not all the trappings, of course. When Jesus opens a door, we need to walk through it and use it for his glory. And Christmas is such a day for me.
So sorry for all the "bah, humbug" people who try and force legalism on those of us who celebrate Jesus, God with us!