Woman in Revelation 12

Gary Garrett, acknowledging that, while the Old Testament Israelites, under the Prevailer with God, provided the type of the Israel of God, Jesus Christ, who was called out of Egypt, fulfilling multiple Messiahship prophecies, is actually God's Israel. The Israel of God makes up the body identified in Galatians 6:15-16. The Israel of God identifies the Church which He established, and over which Christ is the Head. The Church, symbolized as a woman, serves as a remnant of all Israel, (1) overcoming Satan by the blood of the Lamb, (2) overcoming Satan by its testimony, and (3) turning their lives over to God. As God will spare one portion of the Israel of God, bringing it to a place of safety, He will require a second portion to demonstrate its loyalty during fiery tribulation. As God's called-out ones, we must seek the Lord while He may be found, diligently conforming to the image of Jesus Christ, rather than risk becoming refined the painful way by tribulation.

John Ritenbaugh reiterates that, although every nation has its own unique kind of conservatism, American conservativism is judged more harshly because its tenets took root in biblical principles advanced by the Puritans, who sought to find religious freedom on the North American Continent, and because the Founding Fathers, established the Declaration and the Constitution on biblical principles. Consequently, American conservatism rests on a decidedly biblical foundation. French philosopher and historian Alexis de Tocqueville proclaimed that America's greatness was not the result of its natural resources or its political leaders, but rather, was the consequence of the ardent zeal and faith emanating from its ubiquitous churches and meeting houses. He concludes that when America ceases to be good, she will cease to exist. Sadly, at the beginning of the 20th century, anti-God, pernicious, humanist, 'progressive' lies started to flood the classrooms of the universities, eventually reaching the public schools. The stream of liberal lies seems to parallel the flood coming from the dragon's mouth in Revelation 12:15, attempting to destroy the woman, symbolizing God's Church.

John Ritenbaugh reminds us that, though we are born equally, we rapidly become vastly different due to the forces and elements which shape us. Those who have been called by God have been given an enviable treasure, something which must be guarded and esteemed above everything else. What we treasure will determine what we think, say, or do throughout our lives. What we treasure is that which is closest to our hearts. The responsibility given to the Church Christ has called out of this world to expand the teachings of Christ, magnifying them and making them clear and honorable. This process began with the Sermon on the Mount. Christ is the head; the church is to fill Christ out. Like the physical body, the spiritual body has many interdependent organs designed to serve the entire body. Nobody's calling was accidental. Consequently, the church continues with the same work Christ began, serving as a teaching institution, teaching the world and teaching its members. Over one billion people proclaim themselves to be Christian, but only one body keeps His commandments, including His Sabbath and Holy Days and the whole testimony of Christ. This group is a little flock compared to the rest of the aggregate that refuse to follow God's way. We have been reared in a nation that claims to be Christian, with its Constitution constructed upon biblical elements, but those elements have been ravaged and superseded by the traditions of man who have no respect for the things of God. When Christ first came to earth, the conditions were similar with the teachings of the Sadducees and Pharisees usurping God's ways—the way Protestant and Catholic teachings do today. We are cautioned about the leavening of the modern-day Pharisees and Sadducees, the doctrines of the world's religions.

John Ritenbaugh, cuing on Deuteronomy 30:15-20, maintains that our worldview must include the value of our calling, determining the kinds of choices we make to overcome and pursue our spiritual journey. We alone can determine the value of that calling. The primary responsibility of the church is to continue what Jesus started in His ministry. We have to carry on , doing what the disciples did, walking the walk Jesus had given to them. The church has the responsibility to preach the Gospel to the world and to magnify and sharpen the teachings of Christ to the called-out ones, showing them the Way. Every member of the body of Christ has priestly responsibilities, not hiding our witness under a bushel. We don't hide God's way from others, keeping God's Commandments. We have all been given different, specific responsibilities. Every single one of us has been gifted for the equipping of the saints. Ministry is a synonym for service pertaining to equipping and teaching. We don't want to go beyond the gifts that have been given to us, but must use them with humility,employing them to edify the body. The Church is a teaching institution preaching the Gospel to the World. Each member of the body has been gifted by Christ. Human reaction to one another is deeply wired in our brain, compelling us to "follow the crowd" The human mind has an overpowering compulsion to follow what everybody else does. We need to be thinking people, realizing that everything matters: it is not a walk in the park. Satan in the most influential entity aligned against us, using the world and its systems as his tool. Government and educational institutions have been formed to deceptively use language to create and manipulate attitudes have made us vulnerable to Satanic, worldly influences, twisting and influencing our minds. The state-controlled media (that is, television, radio, and newspapers) are owned by the same groups of sinister, clandestine elite progressives, whose goal is collective manipulation of the sheep-like masses. We are

Who is the Woman of Revelation 17 and 18? John Ritenbaugh explains that this fallen Woman displays no religious characteristics but instead acts as a city or nation involved in the politics, economics, and culture of its time. What nation fits the symbolism?

The Great Harlot of Revelation 17 has intrigued Bible students for centuries. John Ritenbaugh explains her peculiar characteristics and tackles the questions, "Is she a church?" and "What does it mean that she is a 'mother of harlots'?"

After showing that today's Europe is far from "Beastly," John Ritenbaugh speculates on the identity of the Woman depicted in Revelation 12. Is she, as the church has dogmatically taught in the past, the church itself—or is she another prophetic entity that we can see active in the world today?

John Ritenbaugh explains the seven thunders and the little book of Revelation 10. This chapter serves as an inset, not following the time sequence of Revelation, but explaining in detail events necessary to understand more fully what is happening within it. The thunders (symbolic of God's voice) are the messages of the seven churches (end-time organizations typified by seven first-century organizations), occurring before the Tribulation, before the Two Witnesses preach, and before the seals are opened in chapter 6. The little book is God's Word, having both sweet and bitter aspects to those who are nourished by it. The seventh thunder, weak as it is, rumbles in the distance, typifying the Laodicean era, badly in need of oil (Matthew 25:3), gold (Revelation 3:18), and water (Isaiah 55:1-2)'all costly but necessary items for spiritual warfare.

In Matthew Christ likens end-time events to the time of Noah's Flood. John Ritenbaugh gives insight into how this end time flood might manifest itself and what we can do to avoid being swept up in it.

John Ritenbaugh focuses on eight conclusions regarding fleeing and the Place of Safety: 1) There will be a geographical separation of the church. 2) We can be worthy to escape the Tribulation. 3) Lukewarm fence-sitters will go into the fire of tribulation for purification. 4) Faithful people are generally assured protection from the hour of trial. 5) The Bible is purposely vague about the specifics of the Place of Safety. 6) Obsessing about the Place of Safety is a sure way to disqualify oneself from it. 7) God calls some faithful, zealous ones for martyrdom during the Tribulation. 8) If we make the Kingdom of God our focus, being faithful day by day, yielding to God's purpose for us, He will faithfully supply all our needs.

John Ritenbaugh takes issue with a misguided teacher in the W.C.G. who claimed that fleeing is nothing more than a "cop-out," using Psalm 91 as his proof-text. Many biblical examples, including Jesus, David, and Jacob all fled for their lives in a prudent common sense move(proving that discretion is often the best part of valor.) On the other hand, Noah, Lot, and Enoch received forcible nudges from God. Scriptural hints seem to indicate a literal location (Revelation 12:13, Isaiah 42:11, Isaiah 16:3-4) for a refuge protecting a remnant of the church. God wants us to use both faith and common sense, recognizing that God's purpose may run counter to what we may think is best for us.

John Ritenbaugh provides compelling evidence that remnants of four out of the seven churches will be extant at the time of Christ's return. The inset chapters of the book of Revelation are digressions which give clarity to the sequential events. Revelation 10 and 11 constitute one inset, reflecting a time before the Tribulation and the Day of the Lord, a time when the last of the seven thunders (symbolic of the messages of the seven eras of God's church) rumble to a faint whimper. After this time, the dramatic work of the Two Witnesses will begin. Because we have all become contaminated with the worldliness of the Laodicean era/attitude, we need to soberly reflect upon the extent of this contamination.

Prior to the study of Lamentations, John Ritenbaugh, focusing upon the meaning of Matthew 24:40-41, contends that the separation that occurs does not apply to a secret rapture but, more probably, to a separation suggested by Revelation 13:10-16, in which a portion of the church is preserved in a place of safety and another portion is designated to endure the persecution of Satan. Lamentations 3 and 4 show the stark contrast of a once proud people (secure in their wealth, technology, and cleverness) suffering bitter persecution and humiliation at the hands of a people considered by them to be their moral inferiors. In the midst of this suffering, in which the ravages of famine have brought about a degradation of compassion and moral sensibility in Israel, the narrator (presumably Jeremiah) stresses that vindication and ultimate restoration will come only from God.