THE COMING REMOVAL*
By LT. -COL. A. KENNEY-HERBERT
[* From Who Are the Woman and the Man-child?.]
[Note. Because Greek lettering is not available I have
indicated (in seven places) with ellipsis ... indicating where Greek
words are used throughout this writing.]
Rev. 22.,
in my opinion, has proved one of the great enigmas of the study of
prophecy. I do not remember any
authority whose interpretation does justice to the details of the picture. The reason is not far to seek, for this
subject belongs to that section of Bible study, which, perhaps more than any
other, has been obscured by the dogmas of traditional interpretation. These dogmas have been so frequently
enunciated that they are now generally accepted, without any further
verification, as unquestionable.
Without
attempting at this stage to identify either the Woman or the Man-child it
is evident that the removal of the child, by rapture to the throne, is a most
important detail. Now the great majority
of futurists hold that the whole Church will be raptured before
the great tribulation. To them this
dogma is so vital that to question it, in any way, is almost heresy. Another section, on the authority of Matthew 24: 29-31, places the parousia, or bodily presence, 1 Thess. 4: 13-17, and consequently
the rapture which is dependent on it, after the great
tribulation. Either of these
preconceived ideas stands in the way of an impartial interpretation of this
passage: for this rapture does not include the whole Church
on the one hand; on the other hand it takes place before the
great tribulation. If the student has
the courage to disregard the dogmas of tradition he will face this question - Who
are represented by the Woman and the Man-child of Revelation
12?
THE WOMAN
Being
a sign, a pictorial allegory, it is not to be supposed that any particular
woman is intended. As Mystery Babylon, a
mother, a city, and a system is represented by a woman, this woman must also
represent a mother, a city and a system, for the two are contrasted in every
possible way.
As a mother, she is
the mother of those (a) who
keep the commandments of God and (b) who have the
testimony of Jesus Christ. That
is to say she is the mother of those who are included in the blessing of
Abraham (Gal. 3:
14-18), and is identified with the on high
As a city and a bride, she is seen in Revelation 21. descending from God out of heaven (the throne).
As a system, she
represents all those of her children, who shall shine forth as the sun in the
Kingdom of their Father. Her crown and
her foundations are the twelve apostles of the Lamb. But at this epoch she is to be seen partly in
heaven, and partly on earth. In spirit,
we may dwell in her by faith, now, just as we hope to dwell in her through the
eternal ages: "Ye are come unto Mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly
Jerusalem ... to the spirits of just men made
perfect" (Heb. 12: 22, 23).
THE MAN-CHILD
The Man-child is to rule all nations with a rod of
iron. The reference must be, either to Revelation 19: 15, where this is said of the Lord;
or to Revelation 2: 26, 27, where such rule is promised to the overcomer
of the Thyatiran assembly. Some have held that the Lord is
indicated. If so the details recorded in
Revelation 12: 1-5 are singularly
inapplicable to the facts of the Lord’s birth, or of any other period of His
life.
(1)
Our Lord was never snatched away from Satan’s power to the throne of God. When His earthly work was done, He ascended,
as a conqueror, to Whom all power had already been
committed. (2) His mother did not fly to
the wilderness for 1,260 days. (3) War
in heaven did not follow the birth, neither was Satan cast down, for Paul describes
him as now controlling the darkness of this age from the over heavens (Eph. 6: 12).
(4) This child is called ... [in the
Greek by ... (See Greek.)], a word never
applied to the Lord by the Holy Spirit.
(5) If this birth is rightly connected with Micah
5: 1-3 it could not have been fulfilled when our Lord was born, for they
had not then smitten the judge of
Now
it was a foundation doctrine, common to the myths of ancient paganism, that the
Queen of Heaven was the bride of her own son who had died and had risen again
to be her husband. I cannot think that
an interpretation, which might give some colour to so foul a doctrine, can have
been intended. As this suggestion misses
the mark in so many details I am compelled to reject it. Consequently there only remains the
alternative solution implied by Revelation 2: 26,
27.
1. Both before
and after birth the child is called ... [See Greek], but at birth ... [See Greek ]. This distinction is important. We are ...
[See Greek] in virtue of the new birth, but we become
... [See Greek] by obedience to
the Spirit’s leading (Rom. 8: 14, 17).
2. The
birth takes place immediately before the Great Tribulation, and it divides the living seed of the Woman
into two parts. The one is raptured, the
other remains. This second part
is called ... [See Greek] which, by
derivation from ... [See Greek] primarily
means "left." This word occurs in
1 Thess. 4: 13.
3. Who
can "the brethren" of Revelation 12: 10, the overcomers of Revelation 12: 2, and those who "tabernacle in heaven" of Revelation
12: 12 be but the man-child who has been raptured? Now compare Revelation
13: 6 and 13: 7. The beast blasphemes those who tabernacle in
heaven, for they are out of his reach, but he overcomes the saints who are within his power. Who can these be but the ...?[See Greek]
This
Man-child, therefore, must represent the
overcomers of all the assemblies.
"He that overcometh, and he that keepeth my
works unto the end, to him will I give authority over the nations; and he shall
rule them with a rod of iron, as the vessels of the potter are broken to
shivers" (Rev. 2: 26).
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