The Woman — part B
The Woman of Revelation 12
Part B
On Sabbath, August 22, 2020 @ 12:30pm a few Mt. Dale Associates gathered together via Free Conference Call to participated In a Bible study discussion that was discussing the merits of identifying who is “the Remnant” of Rev. 12:17. It had been previously discussed alongside with “Who are the Esauites” the previous week on the Aug. 15, 2020. For further details about what was discussed you may go to https://fccdl.in/LvIguRBFJJ for “Esauites & The Remnant” and https://fccdl.in/xSFYEvT8VG “The Remnant Revisited.”
What is clear from the intent of some of the brethren
leading out in many of these “Advanced” Bible Studies is that they firmly
believe that the Fundamental Beliefs will be fulfilled in a strict
chronological order as they are enumerated. And thus some, if you were not
aware already, can begin to understand why every reference and point is being
contested. Of course, there is no room for wresting any interpretation out from
its immediate context. This theory is not proven and does not appear anywhere
else in the SRod message.
One thing to be considered if one is going to hold that
these beliefs must be fulfilled in the order they appear, why are the first 22
beliefs never considered in this way only the additional 15 beliefs? The other
oddity is that the word “chronology” used (x4), and “chronological” (x17) to
indicate an order of fulfillment of events are missing from both the
Fundamental Beliefs and in 2TG10. These words was available to Bro. Houteff as
can be evidenced in its usage in the SRod with the most outstanding one in
2TG13 “The Chronological Setting of the Revelation Chapter by Chapter—The
Summary” and 2TG40:38.3.
This theory also defies the organic chronological
arrangement of some of these beliefs appearing together without following the
order in which they appear in 2TG10. This proof will be given to you for your
personal investigation. You will come to understand that each word contained in
each enumerated 15 additional belief only affects the belief in which it is
contained. It does not necessarily have to affect the previous nor the succeeding
belief. I will also be presenting evidence why these beliefs could not occur in
the order they appear. Unfortunately some zealous Davidians try to equivocate and
attribute unbelief if you do not subscribe to the Fundamental Order. This is a
mistake and a ploy. I believe in every one of those beliefs as they organically
appear in the SRod message and not in the fabricated theory. I will confess
from the start that there is appearance of an order. But appearances alone is
insufficient to sustain the theory.
Now that the motive is disclosed in plain view and brought
to light transparently I would like to return to the subject at hand. It has
been agreed upon in the second presentation listed above that we all agree that
the 144,000 is “the Remnant” and also a great multitude is ”the Remnant.” Some
want to also have us believe that the 144,000 are first the Remnant BEFORE the Great Multitude is the
Remnant. They could not be both “the Remnant” at the same time. But I have a
better plan revealed by Inspiration itself. Let us allow the SRod to determine
if the symbol of “the Woman” ever ceases to exist AFTER the earth
swallows up the flood and WHEN the 144,000 arrive on Mt. Zion with the
Lamb.
In this report we will be arranging the evidence of the
symbol of “the Woman” in the VERY ORDER of the unrolling of the scroll, in the progression
of revealed light in the entire SRod message. There will be no favorite, biased
references in order to skew your judgment one way or the other. What is there
is what you get. Pray that that Holy Spirit guide you into all truth as you
consider this momentous exposé.
The Woman is mentioned approximately
185 + 4 in Titles in regards to Rev. 12.
The first time the Woman is
mentioned as a symbol of the church in the context of Rev. 12 is 1SR:151
[1930] 1SR:151 [x2]
High points of interest:
1. The woman here
mentioned is God's church (Seventh-day Adventist) "which keep the
commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ." The "flood" is not the blue Sunday
law, or any persecution in the past.
But, is it a persecution in the present? No. [Proof: 15Tr:86.2; 2TG16:21.1; 9SC1-12:6.8, 9; 2Ans:47.2, 3]
2. The blue law has a different setting, and is described in Revelation 13, as a persecuting power TO ENFORCE the mark of the beast.
3. "Flood" is
the same as "water", which means people (in the church) unconverted,
whom Satan is using to cause the church to be carried away in a very quiet
manner, so that no one would be suspicious of the great deception. In this way he
attempts to deceive the very elect (144,000) if it were possible. Being impossible, Christ Himself interposes
and delivers His people (those who sigh and cry for all the abominations in the
church) and then makes an example of the others.
Is Christ's interposition being
made synonymous with a deliverance at the moment the tares are separated from
the wheat?
1SR:152.1, 2 [x3]
1. This WILL fulfill Matt. 13:29, 30: "Let both the wheat and the tares grow together until the harvest." The separation will mark the beginning of the harvest, which is the Loud Cry of the third angel's message. Rev. 18:1.
As soon as the separation is finished, and Satan has lost out with his
deceptive scheme, the church finds herself in a great conflict with the
enemy. Rev. 12:17, "And the dragon
was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed
[those who are left], which keep the commandments of God, and have the
testimony of Jesus Christ." (The war
against the woman is the blue law.)
Does this position remain inspired
and correct as the SRod message continues to unfold in VTH's lifetime?
1SR:179.2
1SR:180.2
Micah 4:11, "Now also many nations are gathered against thee, that
say, Let her be defiled, and let our eye look upon Zion." As soon as God's church as a body (not as
individuals) escapes the clutches of the devil (for the unclean shall not enter
in), and becomes earnest, filled with the Spirit of God, the wrath of the old
enemy will be aroused, and will bring about the fulfillment of Rev. 12:17. "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."
[1932] 2SR:5 [x2] List of Illustrations
2SR:65.1, 3 [x2]
2SR:67.1 [x3]
2SR:71.1, 3, 4 [x4]
2SR:72-75.2 [x11]
2SR:76 [x3]
2SR:77.4
2SR:78.2
2SR:79.3
2SR:93.4
…Thus preparing a church to stand "without spot,
wrinkle or any such thing," of which only can be said: "And the
dragon was wroth with the woman [the church as a body] and went to make
war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have
the testimony of Jesus Christ." (Rev. 12:17.) It is the purity of the church that incurs
the wrath of the dragon.
2SR:124.2
…Therefore, it would have made no allowance for the church
which "keep the commandments of God, and the Faith of Jesus," and
thus it would have contradicted the following Scripture: "And the dragon
was wroth with the woman [God's church], and went to make war with the
remnant of her seed [Israel the true—the 144,000], which keep the commandments
of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ." (Rev. 12:17.)
2SR:127.4
2SR:129.1 [x2]
The woman is a
symbol of God's church; the crown of twelve stars is her authority or
government (the twelve apostles), and the child is Christ.
We again call your attention to the "woman" (church) of Revelation 12, where we are told she was given "Two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness…that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and three score days." (Rev. 12:14, 6.) As the wings of the lion (Babylon) and the four-headed leopard (Grecian four divisions, Dan. 7:4, 6) represent periods of world history, (see pages 33-42), so the wings of the woman also must denote two great periods of church history.
2SR:141.5
Had not inspiration emphasized the fact that
the wings were of a great eagle we could possibly conclude that one of them may
stand for the Old Testament period, and the other for the Christian era. But the word, great, does not allow such
conclusions. Thus, one of the wings must
apprehend the church history from creation to the crucifixion of Christ, and
the other from the resurrection to the end of this present world. Here, too, it would be possible for us to
conclude that one wing may stand for the period before the Bible came, and the
other for the Biblical period after the exodus.
But the words of the Revelator overrule that thought, for he says:
"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 a half a time, from the face of the serpent." (Rev.
12:14.) Therefore, she was given
the wings to fly into the wilderness in the New Testament time.
2SR:142.2
2SR:227.4 [x5]
As Israel and the Gentiles in the first and second calls comprised God's church in the vineyard then the third, fourth, and fifth calls must represent the church in the vineyard as well. We turn the reader's attention to the "woman" with the crown of twelve stars of Revelation 12:1, 6, 14. She being a symbol of the church, was given the wings of an eagle to fly into the wilderness for 1260 days—years. Therefore, while she was in the wilderness there could have been no church in the vineyard. The long prophetic period has been fixed and accepted to be the period from 538 A.D. to 1798 A.D. Therefore, during the long wilderness journey of the "woman," there can be no call for laborers in the "vineyard." Thus, the three last calls in the parable must have met their fulfillment after 1798, at which time the "woman" was to return from the "wilderness." Consequently the following question is asked: If the church ("woman") was in the wilderness between the years 538 and 1798, in which period the above stated reformers did their wonderful work to bring about reformation by obedience to the Scriptures, were they not called out and sent by God? Answer.—Surely they were. There can be no doubt about it. Their work, character, and sacrifice answers the question. Think of Luther, the father of Protestantism, who risked his life like those of God's great servants in the past. God, by the hand of Luther, tore asunder the doors of darkness, brought an end to the terrible persecution and bloodshed of the saints of the most High, and caused the light in His written word to shine into the hearts of men. Had it not been for the earnest and zealous efforts of these godly reformers, the woman (church) would have been in the wilderness until this day, and there would have been no Protestantism. Thus, their unselfish service broke the power of despotism and by the imprisonment of the Pope terminated the long prophetic period. Therefore, God, through the service of these men was to bring the "woman" (church) from the wilderness and prepare the way for the third call, at the sixth hour.
2SR:228.1
The calls at the sixth, ninth, and eleventh
hours, must be similar to that of the preceding ones—made by a special message,
preached for the first time—which would have made it necessary on each occasion
for another company—"laborers."
The nature of these messages also must have been world wide, for they
were sent into His "vineyard"—world.
The third call therefore, represented by the sixth hour, must have come
sometime after 1798 A.D., at which time the "woman" was due to
return. Just such a message was
presented to the world after A.D. 1798 and prior to A.D. 1844 in the preaching
by William Miller of the 2300 days of Daniel 8:14. Therefore, the message by Miller was
represented by the company hired at the "sixth hour."
2SR:265.1 [x2]
…This is the church that is represented in Revelation 12:17,
"Which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus
Christ." The "woman"
represents the church as a body.
"The remnant of her seed" are the 144,000 against whom the
dragon makes war. The war is waged
against them, because they are the earthly leaders and founders of the
movement. "Of her seed" signifies
that they are part of "the woman," or in other words, the
144,000, and the great multitude, is but one movement—one family.
2SR:266.3
The question before
us is, when will the anti-type meet its perfect fulfillment? In the preceding paragraphs it was explained
that the first section of the Christian church ended in 538 A.D.; and the
second must commence after 1798 A.D., at which time the "woman"
was supposed to return from the wilderness.
A close study of the type is the only possible way to clear the truth, not only of the foregoing question, but also of the following ones: If the "woman" was to return from the wilderness to the vineyard (civilization) after the end of the prophetic period of 1260 years, what transpired in 1798 to prove that "she" came back in that year? As the imprisonment and death of the pope answers one side of the question and clears the end of the prophetic period, where is the sign to show that the "woman" returned from the wilderness? If the accepted interpretation of the "woman" is a symbol of the church, and if she was in the "wilderness" from 538 A.D. to 1798 A.D., what about the four great denominations that were raised up prior to that time; namely, Lutherans, Presbyterians Methodist, and Christian? Were they not the "woman" (church)? Bible students have failed to clear this mystery because of their lack of light on the Word of God. A great searchlight by the power of the Spirit shining through the types, is the only medium that can remove the obstruction and clear the way to an understanding of these and many other mysteries that are considered incomprehensive and that baffle the human mind. Therefore, the temple type of the church (woman) is the only channel by which these questions can be answered.
2SR:267.1 [x3]
The "temples" and the "woman" represent the church as a body; or in other words, the symbol of the woman is a revelation of the types (temples), and the temples are symbolical prophecies of the "woman"—church.
2SR:268.2 [x4]
The foregoing explanation answers one of our questions. The Protestant churches which were raised up before the "woman" returned from the wilderness were in total darkness concerning the sanctuary service. Therefore, they are not represented by the "woman," or by the "temple," for, as we stated before, the typical temples represent both sections of the church with two divine laws; namely, moral and ceremonial. Thus the "woman" represents a church that keep the "commandments of God—moral law, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ"—ceremonial law or the plan of salvation revealed in the light of "The Spirit of Prophecy." (Rev. 12:17.) The reformers, before the "woman" returned from the wilderness, were divinely called out as a preparatory step to bring her back to the "vineyard"; that is, to establish a true anti-typical temple service—true church worship.
2SR:271.1
…And as the sacred vessels were carried from the sanctuary and set up in a pagan temple in a heathen land, just so the papacy trod down the "truth" and set up a pagan priesthood in a so-called Christian church during the dark ages, while the "woman” was in the wilderness, which was typified by the heathen land—Babylon.
2SR:271.3
…If so, then the type clearly shows that nothing could have happened to the church in 1798 A.D. to signify that the "woman" had returned from the wilderness.…
[1935] 1SC9:4.3
The night is
approaching and the shadows of the dark ages are beginning to fall upon God's
people, when "all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer
persecution" (2 Tim. 3:12). The time is nigh upon us of which prophecy
says: "The dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war
with the remnant (the 144,000) of her seed, which keep the
commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ." (Rev.
12:17.) But we "reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not
worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us." (Rom.
8:18.)
[1937] 3SC3,4:2 [2nd Poem]
[1941] 7SC7-12:8.7-9, 12 [x4] [Additional light on this point arrives]
Yea, he made a
complete turn-about and even compelled the heathen to join the church, thereby
casting out of his "mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he
might cause her to be carried away of the flood." Rev. 12:15. From persecuting those who would
unite with the church, he turned to persecuting those who would not, so that
she might be flooded with unconverted heathen and there-by "carried away
of the flood." Rev. 12:15.
And now, since in HER progression of
time, THE WOMAN represents EACH SUCCESSIVE ministry,
therefore at the TIME that the dragon is wroth with HER, she
necessarily must represent the last ordained ministry, the 144,000,
those who bring all their brethren from all nations to God's "holy
mountain Jerusalem." Isa. 66:20.
With THIS LIGHT shining on the subject,
the truth is clearly seen that after
the earth swallows the flood, after the angels separate the wicked ("the
tares," the "bad"—"fish") from the righteous (the
"wheat," the "good"—"fish") in the church, and take
the righteous to Mount Sion ("the barn," "the vessels"—Matt.
13:30, 48), the dragon WILL THEN be
angry with the woman (the servants of God), and as a result will war
against the remnant (the second fruits, those who are then to be
called out of Babylon—Rev. 18:4).
Does the Woman
walk to the kingdom or is she taken to Mount Sion?
[1941] 8Tr:21.1
Such a state of holiness will today, just as
in the past, cause the dragon to be wroth with the woman, also now to
make war with her remnant (Rev. 12:17), a conflict which is further described in
the words:
[1941] 12Tr:42-44.2 [x7] [The Woman is a symbol of the church]
12Tr:44.3
Stirred to fury over HER
purification, the dragon will make war "with the remnant of her
seed." Against her personally, though,
he will not war, because her communicants, the 144,000 (the first
fruits—Rev. 7:3-8; 14:4), those who go first into the kingdom, stand with the
Lamb, the King, on Mount Sion (Rev. 14:1) His palace grounds. Thus being the rulers of the tribes, they
are symbolized by the crowned woman.
And being in their own land, they are protected from the dragon who
consequently persecutes only the "remnant," those
who are left behind, who are still in Babylon but who are finally called out of
her (Rev. 18:4).
Are the
144,000, the Woman, protected before they arrive in the kingdom? (See:
1Tr:39.3, 40.2)
[1942] 8SC1-12:20.1-3
If one cannot deny that the 144,000,
the first fruits, are members of the church, then one cannot deny that they are
of her seed. And as they remain alive
from the slaying of the unfaithful in their midst, they are therefore the
"remnant"—that which remains.
By the same token of logic, it is equally undeniable that since the
woman of Revelation 12 IS a symbol of the church to the end of time,
then the second fruits of her seed, those who remain alive from the destruction
of the wicked throughout the world, are also a "remnant."
Clearly, therefore, both statements are
correct. The only point of difference between them is that when the one in
Volume 2 was made, the Rod did not have the additional light which later
inspired the one in the Code, and which shows that both the 144,000 and the great
multitude are remnants: the former because of escaping from the
slaying of the Lord in the church (Isa. 66:19), and the latter because of not
being called out of Babylon until after the former have gone to the land of
Israel (Isa. 66:20)…
[1943] 12SC6,7:6.5
…The Revelation only says that the woman was to be
fed in the wilderness 1260 days; it does not say how long she would be
there. Her warfare was to be in the wilderness.…
[1943] 9SC1-12:6.3, 4, 8, 12 [x7]
Nearly all
Christians accept as the only tenable interpretation of the
"woman" here mentioned, that she symbolizes the church.
"Fruits" garnered are the result of a harvest. When the 144,000, the first fruits (Rev. 14:4), are garnered in, and the tares (flood) are destroyed (swallowed) from among them, the 144,000 are taken to Mt. Zion, where they then comprise the Mother church, the twelve-star-crowned woman, under the protection of the Lamb, the One with them. Thus protected, the dragon consequently can not then war against her. So he wars only against her "remnant," those yet to be garnered—the second fruits still scattered throughout the world, away from Mt. Zion.
– When does a woman become a mother? As soon as
she gives birth.
– Is the Woman represented AFTER the
earth swallows up the flood? Yes.
(Proof: [1941] 12Tr:44.3; [1947] 2TG14:18.2; 2TG16:22.1, 2; [1947] 15Tr:88)
– Does the Woman ever cease to exist? No.
(Proof: [1941] 7SC7-12:9.9; [1944] 2Ans:15.2; 63.3; 12SC5:13.3)
The living church
represented also by the woman of Revelation 12, was in existence
from Eden and will continue to the time the Holy City receives the saints.
2Ans:9.3-10.1; 11.2; 14.2; 15-16.1
[x10]
With this light
shining on the subject, the truth is clearly seen that after the earth swallows
the flood, after the angels separate the wicked ("the tares," the
"bad" "fish") from the righteous (the "wheat,"
the "good" "fish") in the church, and take the righteous to
Mount Sion ("the barn," "the vessels" Matt. 13:30, 48), the
dragon will then be angry with the woman (the servants of God), and as a
result will war against the remnant (the second fruits, those who are then to
be called out of Babylon—Rev. 18:4).
"Fruits"
garnered are the result of a harvest. When the 144,000, the first fruits (Rev.
14:4), are garnered in, and the tares (flood) are destroyed (swallowed) from
among them, the 144,000 are taken to Mt. Zion, where they then comprise the
Mother church, the twelve-star-crowned woman, under the protection
of the Lamb, the One with them. Thus protected, she is secure from the
dragon's then making war against her. So he wars only against her
"remnant," those yet to be garnered--the second fruits still
scattered throughout the world, away from Mt. Zion. (See: 7SC7-12:10.3; 2Ans:15.3)
If one cannot deny
that the 144,000, the first fruits, are members of the church,
then one cannot deny that they are of HER seed. And as they
remain alive from the slaying of the unfaithful in their midst, they are
therefore the "remnant"—that which remains. By the same token of logic, it is equally undeniable that since the woman of Revelation 12 is a symbol of the church to the end of time,
then the second fruits of her seed, those who remain alive from the destruction
of the wicked throughout the world, are also a "remnant."
15Tr:69.1
"Clothed with
the sun," the woman is, of course, God's everliving church, clothed
with the Light from Heaven, the Bible.
"Thy Word," says the Psalmist, "is...a light unto my
path." Ps. 119:105.
Bro. Houteff now does something interesting in this tract that
he hadn't done “before.” He called the symbol of the woman God's everliving church. The phrase is used in
the SRod 9 times. Once in the Table of contents 15Tr:C and once as a subtitle
in 15Tr:67.5. The last seven times are used as an interpretation of God's
church. To suppress this weight of evidence on the meaning and symbol of the
Woman as everliving is
disingenuous and it is not actuated by the Spirit of truth.
The other seven references:
15Tr:67.5
15Tr:69.1
15Tr:70.3
15Tr:79.1
[1944] 11SC8:12.4
[1947] 2TG16:18.2
[1948] 2TG24:24.4
We return to our primary search "The Woman"
15Tr:69.2
…This phase of the symbolism very definitely points out that
the woman was emerging from the period in which the Word of God,
"the sun," was indirectly reflected, was passed on from father to
son, and that she was entering into the period in which she was clothed with
God's Light, the Bible.
15Tr:70.4 [Bible quote]
15Tr:80.1, 4 [X2] [bible quote]
15Tr:81.3
Satan, then, was
not cast out of heaven immediately after
he rebelled or even when he caused Adam and Eve to sin. Rather, it must have been after Job's
time. But to determine just when, we
shall read Rev. 12:13: "And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the
earth, he PERSECUTED the woman which brought forth the man
child." He therefore was cast out BEFORE
he went to persecute the church. This he
did at the "time there was a great persecution against the church which
was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions
of Judaea and Samaria, except the apostles." Acts 8:1.
15Tr:84.2, 3 [x2]
Since a wilderness
is just the opposite of a vineyard, the statement "that she might fly into
the wilderness" emphatically implies that she must have left the
vineyard. And that is precisely what she
did: Shortly after the resurrection, the church (the woman) left the
holy land (the vineyard) and went to the land of the Gentiles (the wilderness).
15Tr:85
Unquestionably,
therefore, the wilderness, where the woman was nourished for the time
being, is the land of the Gentiles. And
the woman's having to flee from the face of the serpent in her homeland, shows
that the dragon had made the holy land his headquarters. Not satisfied with this, though, he even
followed her into the wilderness.
15Tr:86.1, 2 [x3]
In the hope of
destroying the woman, the serpent at first persecuted her. Failing, though, to reach his goal, he
suddenly reversed his tactics. He ceased
the persecution and began instead to befriend her. But at what cost to the woman! Cunningly he cast water as a flood after her,
seeming to put forth a mighty effort to refresh her, when in actuality it was a
mighty effort thereby to destroy her.
The
"earth," God's mighty weapon, is finally to help the woman. It is to swallow up the "flood";
that is, the same Divine means which, according to the parable, takes away the
tares and burns them, likewise takes away all who have joined the church but
who are still pagan at heart. And what
happens then?—The Scriptures supply the answer:
15Tr:88.1 [Bible quote]
15Tr:88.2-4 [the interpretation]
The term
"remnant" discloses that her seed is divided into two parts:
The one is taken, the other is left. Nehemiah, for example, explains: "The
remnant that are left of the captivity there in the province are in great
affliction and reproach." Neh. 1:3. A "remnant" always represents one
part of the whole, either large or small.
And notice that the
dragon wars, not against a remnant of the "flood," but against
the remnant of her seed. Christ being the woman's only child, her seed
are therefore the Christians, those who are born into the church through the
Spirit of Christ. Accordingly, the
act of taking the first fruits to Mount Sion (Rev. 14:1) brings about a
condition which makes a remnant of those who are still left among the
Gentiles. In this instance,
therefore, they, the second fruits, are the remnant.
Let it be remembered
that it is AFTER the earth swallows the flood that the dragon is to
be wroth with the woman, and "to make war with the remnant of her seed
[not with
her personally], which keep the commandments of God and have the
testimony of Jesus Christ." Rev. 12:16 17.
Clearly, then, there is no escaping the conclusion that the doing away
with Satan's flood is doubtless the purifying of the church, the destroying
of those who have joined the church
through the aid of the serpent. This
purifying is the very thing that enables the church as a body to keep
the commandments of God and also to have the testimony of Jesus Christ, the
living Spirit of Prophecy (Rev. 19:10), in her midst. This is her only hope, her only strength, her
ONLY deliverance.
This is the second time that VTH makes the following
distinction: "not with her personally," made in 1947. The first time
with different words he said, “Against her personally, though, he will not war,”—12Tr:44.3
[1941]. This is very significant and it is being suppressed by the
theory.
The rule is that if Bro. Houteff makes a different opposite
or additional application on the same point and both cannot theologically
occupy the same moment in the same way then the latter statement is accepted
over the first one. A primary example of this is found in 1SR:152.1 when VTH
made the statement: "(The war against the woman is the blue
law.)"—1SR:152.1.
This inspired statement is never repeated. Subsequently it
is updated by the same Spirit who dictated the first. Do with that what you like
but you cannot take both. In 2SR published 2 years later VTH now does not make
an incidental statement as it relates to Isa. 59:19 but gives the subject of
Revelation 12 a complete treatment. When VTH makes this update, he is not
destroying the symbol of the woman AFTER the earth helps the woman
but is shifting the application of the war from the purified woman to the
remnant as the GM where it belongs which is in harmony with what the Bible
says.
"…one…must studiously compare both views of the doctrine
under the super lens of the Bible. We are not, accordingly, given
license to harmonize the Bible with ANY other writings, but are
charged to measure all others [even the SRod] with It."—7SC7-12:21.9
(See also: 1SR:250.1; 2SR:15.2.)
15Tr:89.3
The dragon cannot
war with the woman, the church that is made up of the first fruits,
because at that time she is with the Lamb on Mt. Sion (Rev. 14:1), out of the
dragon's reach.
This is the third time VTH makes the same point using
different words. "the dragon cannot war with the woman, the
church…" Let us count: (1.) 12TR:44.1 [1941], (2.)
15Tr:88.4, and (3.) 15Tr:89.1 [twice in 1947 in the same tract just two
paragraphs apart]. This is a mighty effort to correct or update 1SR:152.1
without changing the meaning of the symbol of the woman AFTER the earth
swallows up the flood. It is improper exegesis to take a 1943 statement made in
9SC1-12:6.12
["Fruits"
garnered are the result of a harvest.
When the 144,000, the first fruits (Rev. 14:4), are garnered in, and the
tares (flood) are destroyed (swallowed) from among them, the 144,000 ARE TAKEN to Mt. Zion, where they then
comprise the Mother church, the twelve-star-crowned woman, under the
protection of the Lamb, the One with them.
Thus protected, the dragon consequently can not then war against her. So he
wars ONLY against her "remnant," those yet to be garnered—the
second fruits still scattered throughout the world, away from Mt. Zion.]
to suppress or subjugate the 1947 statement made in Tract
No. 15.
This reference really does not and cannot support "the
remnant war" theory pointing to the 144,000 as recipients of that war that
is the blue laws before they reach Mt. Zion. The immediate protection described
in 1Tr:39.3-40.2 after the church is purified and the deliverance of Judah described
in 14Tr:18, 24.2-25.4 both during the latter end of the Assyrian/the KON {2SR:151}
period forbids it. Furthermore, the emphatic update inspiration makes which if
you include this 1943 statement made in 9SC1-12:6.12 reaffirms that with the
144,000 the dragon will not make war.
However with a magician's sleight of hand misdirecting the
attention ever so cleverly "the remnant (144,000) against whom the dragon
makes war" theory would take 9SC1-12:6.12 to first suppress unlawfully, or
to overthrow, or to undermine what VTH has profoundly explored and treated as a
complete subject in 1947 Tract No. 15 a later statement. Then misconstrue this
earlier 1943 statement to mean that that the woman, the Everliving
Church, somehow ceases to be "Everliving" at the time the
earth swallows up the flood and mysteriously reappears on Mt. Zion
"Everliving" without VTH describing it in that way. Thus the 144,000
bares simultaneously the symbol of the woman and the remnant. While,
unlike the GM, who in the truest sense are the Remnant whom ONLY the
dragon makes war with them through the blue laws, the conflict with the woman
was by using the flood BEFORE Ezek. 9 commences.
This type of misdirection, and misconstruing of the SRod
message is unacceptable and the wise and prudent will lay it to heart
This reference also proves that the 144,000 are TAKEN
to Mt. Zion. They do not walk there. Type and anti-type do not have to match
rigorously in every iota. It further states what is already mentioned in Tract
No. 1 in 1933, 1941. Their protection begins with the mark upon their foreheads
when it is placed upon them while Jesus is at the threshold of the house and
that protection never ceases, ever.
If the 144,000 comprise "then the Mother
churcn" in Mt. Zion it only means that the Woman survived the
ordeal while in the wilderness when the earth helped the woman, opened
up her mouth, and swallowed up the flood. It only means that the woman
has returned from the wilderness back into the vineyard, her home. (Proof: 12Tr:40.3-41;
14Tr:24-25)
"The theory, then, that the woman takes her beginning
at the Pentecost,…"
Theories arise when we fail to heed and harmonize "it
is written."
Thus is the
church purified and thus are the tares destroyed. As tares they are burned; as unprofitable
workers they are cast into outer darkness there to weep and gnash their teeth;
as unfit guests for the wedding they are bound hand and foot and cast out into
outer darkness; as foolish virgins they are refused entrance; as goats they are
sent into everlasting punishment; as dragon's flood, they are swallowed by the
earth. But the actual thing that
happens to them all in common, is fully described in Ezekiel's prophecy, chapter
9.
[1947] 2TG14:17-18.2 [x2]
…This chapter ends with the two-horned beast's decree, the
decree to kill all who dare not receive the mark of the beast. Thus will the dragon be wroth with the
woman, and thus will he persecute the remnant.
The theorist love page 17 but skip over the fact of the
woman associated on page 18.
2TG16:17.2
2TG16:18.1, 2 [x2]
Taking all these
points into one common whole, they positively show that the woman is
symbolical of God's everliving Church for all times,…
The Woman can never be taught by any Davidian that AFTER
Ezek. 9 begins for the SDA Church the woman ever ceases to exist. Why? Because
VTH's explicit Inspired interpretation is "The Woman is symbolical of
God's everliving Church for all times." This includes the period of
time AFTER Ezek. 9 and when she is being transported to the Promised
Land in Ezek. 1's chariot.
2TG16:20-22.2 [x6] [Bible quoted]
Having met such a mighty defeat, and having
seen that the Church is freed from his flood, the Dragon's wrath is to be
intensified. He will be wroth with the
woman and "make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the
commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ" (Rev. 12:17),
"the Spirit of Prophecy" (Rev. 19:10).
When is the
church pure? At the TIME of "the Dragon's third defeat." Who
causes that defeat? Michael as he stands first for the firstfruits in their
deliverance from the flood.
[1947] 2TG18:20.1
…a rival of the
religion of Christ, and a counterfeit of the woman in Revelation chapter
12.…"
[1948] 2TG24:22.4 [x2] [Bible quote]
[1948] 2TG27:3.3
[1948] 2TG34:19.4-20.4 [x4]
[1950] 2TG45:9.3, 4 [x3]
GCS:27.3-28.1 [x3]
"And the serpent [the Devil] cast out
of his mouth water as a flood [unconverted multitude] after the woman, that he
might cause her to be carried away of the flood. 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 [did away with the hypocrites, doubters, and men-followers]. And the
dragon was wroth with the woman [the church], and went to make war with the
remnant [with those that escaped] of her seed [those that are truly her
children] which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus
Christ." Rev. 12:15-17.
Thus both Scripture and logic make clear
that these escaped and separated ones are the remnant people of God, in fact.
Once the church is purified,—the sinners
removed from her midst,—then the call made by "the remnant" for God's
people to come out of Babylon, goes forth in a very loud voice:
By whom the
call to come out is made by "the remnant" or the Mother/Woman?
If that alone
is absolutely true then what do you have to say about the five other references
this position contradicts, are those (Proof: [1941] 7SC7-12:9.11; [1941]
12Tr:44.3; [1942] 8SC1-12:20.1-3; [1943] 9SC1-12:6.12); [1944] 2Ans:16.1) false
and the favorite one that seems to sustain "the remnant (144,000) against
whom the dragon makes war" theory before they reach Mt. Zion true?
Moreover, whatever interpretation we may
place on ANY statement in reference to ANY truth, must be
in harmony with EVERY OTHER statement on the subject.—3SC1:11.1
In principle
the following applies to the "the remnant (144,000) againt whom the dragon
makes war" theory before they reach Mt. Zion:
Because we have made a single application of
the trumpets, you want us to give them a double one; whereas, because we have
made a double application of "the judgment of the dead," you want us
to give it a single one! Here we may
pardonably sigh for the jewel of consistency!—5SC6-12:12.7
This study begins with part A
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