Happy December! Can you believe that we are now into the final month of 2017? Where did the year go? And do you have your Christmas tree up yet? Greg and I took a trip to the local tree farm a couple of Saturdays ago and got a beautiful tree. I have loads of Christmas ornaments that I have collected over the years. So, when I drag out the boxes and begin pulling out ornaments, it is like a little party. I ‘visit’ with each ornament, remembering where it came from and the circumstances surrounding it. It truly is a walk down memory lane.
On to our Revelation post today. Last time we studied in Revelation 12 we looked at the first six verses. You can review that post HERE.
Today I want to linger a tad longer in verse 6. Take a look at it:
And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, in which she is to be nourished for 1,260 days.
If you are a grammar and word nerd like I am, you will see that virtually all of verses one through five of chapter 12 are written in the past tense. Then, when we get to verse 6 the verb tense changes in the final part of the verse to future tense, i.e. ‘is to be’. Verses 1 through 5 describe something that has already taken place, while verses 6 describes an event yet to occur.
I know all of you were sitting on the edge of your seats, so excited at the prospect of a grammar lesson! It is important stuff, even if it takes you back to your high school English class, which may or may not be a happy trip back in time.
Okay, now on to the focus of today’s study. Do you remember when we talked about the importance of numbers in Scripture? If not, here is a link to that post. In that post we looked specifically at a grouping of numbers that all reference the same amount of time: 1260 days, 3 ½ years, 42 months, and a time, times, and half a time. Twice in Revelation 12 we will bump up against a reference to this amount of time, so I thought it prudent for us to refresh our memories of the importance of it.
In Revelation 12:6 we are told that for 1260 days the woman, who we have established represents Israel, will be nourished or protected in a place that has been prepared by God. The same event is also referenced in Revelation 12:14, but the verbiage is different. In that verse the time frame is designated as a time, times, and half a time.
Allow me, if you will, to pull a quote from the April post on numbers:
After a decent amount of study, I believe (you may believe differently, and that is okay) that the 42 months/1260 days/time, times, and half a time/3 ½ years of intense persecution of Israel begins with the sounding of the 7th trumpet. I also believe that this time of persecution, what Matthew 24:21, Revelation 2:22 and Revelation 7:14 calls ‘the great tribulation”, takes place in the last half of what we call the tribulation period.
You may also recall from THIS post that I believe the Rapture takes place just prior to the sounding of the 7th trumpet and the beginning of the last 3 ½ years of the tribulation period. So, all of this tells me that God is going to take care of His people..both the Jewish people and Gentile believers. While Israel will be a huge target for Satan’s wrath administered through antichrist, God will protect her beautifully in a place and time set apart before the the foundation of the world.
That’s it for today. Next time we gather we will (probably) finish our study of Revelation 12. Have a great week.
SDG/FCA!!
Would you like to enhance your study of the book of Revelation? How about writing out the entire book in your very own Journible that is designed for Revelation? I love Journibles! Check it out using this link!
NOTE: This post contains affiliate links.
