Who Is This Woman? Who Is This Earth?

And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto

 the earth, he persecuted the woman which 

brought forth the man child. 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 half a time, from the face of the serpent. 

And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as 

a flood 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. And the dragon 

was wroth with the woman, and went to make 

to make war with the remnant of her seed, which 

keep the commandments of God, and have the

 testimony of Jesus Christ.

Revelation 12:13-17 

     Before I begin I must apologize for not writing yesterday as I had to aid a person and it took almost all day, and today the morning was used up at the Veteran Medical Clinic as I had my monthly treatment. But we again tackle this wonderful book so full of symbols and even has caused so much controversy and once again I will remove myself as far as I can from those controversies.

     We know that the dragon is Satan and John now tells us that he has been (The Greek word is aorist, and means something that has happened back in time) cast unto the earth. The earth: is it the literal earth? Or, is it something symbolic? In the past Satan was able to go before God as we have read in the Book of Job, but now something else has happened, Satan cannot any longer go before God as before. Satan has lost some of his power. Remember, Satan did not oppose God in regard to God's power for if he had done so God would have been justified to destroy Satan. Satan opposed God's right to rule, His authority. Satan desired to rule the earth and into the earth he was cast and without power to go before God Satan knows that he has lost and time is not on his side. Satan, angry, knowing that he has lost and has lost his original power now persecutes the woman. Who is this woman? Why would Satan persecute those who do not believe in God? That would be ridiculous. There fore Satan persecutes the "woman" and that symbol, "woman," is a symbol for the Church, God's people. How is this to be true? It is from God's people that the Son of God came into this world and it is God's people who make up the bride of Christ, therefore the "woman" is the Church. God's protection is once again portrayed as the woman is given to wings of a great eagle. It is appropriate that an "eagle" was used as a symbol, not just any eagle, but a "great eagle." An eagle has eyesight so strong that he can see a creature, a small creature, we even use the phrase "eagle eye" for someone who sees not just physically well but sees the unseen. Into the wilderness for a time, times and half a time, a short period of time and while the woman is in this wilderness she is fed and kept from Satan. Satan was not deterred by this so he and does now, attemts to drown out the Gospel, to overcome the faithful, to quench their hopes, to destroy the people of God, but, to no avail. The people of God aided one another, and should do so today, why else to we go to Church, yes to hear a sermon, but more, to care for one another. It is our faith in Jesus, not a sermon, nor meeting together on Sunday, etc., but our faith in Jesus Christ that lifts us up on wings of eagles so we can withstand the wiles of Satan, his war against God's people. Authentic Christians may have to suffer some of these wiles of the devil, but Authentic Christians have already won the war: Heaven awaits the faithful. Who are the faithful? It is those who keep the commandments of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. 

     There are two roads to travel: 1. to be earthly, that is to be in opposition towards God and His people. 2. To be that woman, that woman that is made up of people, those faithful people resided temporarily on this earth. We are told to put on the full armor of God so we can withstand the darts thrown at us be the devil. That includes that we keep the Church free from those who use Christianity as a "club" rather than to be a child of God who has a relationship with Him. God is Just: so we must be just. God Love: so we must be love (that does not mean love as this world defines love, but agape love, God's principled love). God is Merciful: we must be merciful. God allow His Son to be cruelly killed on the cross for us: we must die to Him and do the work that He did by bringing the Gospel to our world. We do not have complete understanding of God: we do have all that God has revealed to us in His word. 

     The question is: Which of the two choices are you making? Each have consequences!

I have not hid Thy righteousness

    within my heart; I have declared

Thy faithfulness and Thy salavation:

    I have not concealed Thy lovingkindness

and Thy truth from the great congregation

                     Psalm 40:10

Rejoice and be glad in God

Richard L. Crumb 

Who Is This Michael The Archangel?

And there was war in heaven: Michael and his

 angels fought against the dragon; and the

 dragon fought and his angels, and prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil,

 and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out

 with him. And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven,

 Now is come salvation, and strength, and the 

kingdom of our of our God, and the power of His Christ:

 for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, 

which accused them before our God day and night.

 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, 

and by the word of their testimony; and they

 loved not their lives unto the death. Therefore rejoice, 

ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and and of he sea! for the 

devil is come down unto you,having great wrath,

 because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.

Revelation 12:7-12 

      Who is this Michael who fought against the dragon? We must know who this Michael is as there are many interpretations as to who he is as with the Jehovah Witnesses who state that there is "Scriptural evidence indicates that the name Michael applied to God's Son before he left heaven to become Jesus Christ and also after his return" (Aid to Bible Understanding, Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania, 1971, p.1152). This fits their theology or Christology that Jesus is a created being and is the Archangel used by God to do God's work. Is this true? Is Jesus a created angel, the Archangel and not God, the Second Person of the Trinity? From the earliest of Christian times there was various understanding as to who Michael was and Origen thought that this came from a Hebrew writing called the "Asumption of Moses." Some will say that Jude who mentions Michael the Archangel was referring to accepted story or tradition, probably based on Deut. 34:6., and this verse does not mention Michael being present at the burial of Moses so this is simply speculation. The Mormons have their theology as to who Michael is:

Michael, or Adam, is the archangel or chief angel.

• The Lord shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel:1 Thes. 4:16;
• Michael is the archangel:Jude 1:9; ( D&C 29:26; D&C 88:112; D&C 128:20–21; )

      A problem that exists within humans is the need to dogmatize and this they do by attempting to give rank and numbers of angels. We, as humans like things that we can relate with so we give interpretations that make us feel as though we have the truth. So, let us study this: Michael is described by David as a might Prince, and by Jude as an Archangel. Paul accounts that an archangel will blow the trumpet that calls the world to judgment. Even Michael, Gabriel, and a third if one reads the history of Tobit. Our problem is that angels are spirits and have no body, not as our physical body and they are described in various shapes and forms to give to us meaning, the meaning that God desires for us to have and this gives to us assurance that God will, when the occasion requires that they will come to our aid. We must remember that angels are ministering servants of God, messengers. We must not act presumptuously and give them more meaning that what Scripture allows and we will not know much more until we too are in heaven. Jesus refers to us in that when we rise from the dead we will be as the angels that are in heaven (Mark 12:25). Whatever God has planned for His children for eternity we can know this: we will be messengers, ministers for Him for eternity. Jesus Christ, the incarnate God, was made more excellent than the angels. Jesus Christ, the incarnate God is said to be not only higher than all other angels, messengers of God, but to be worshiped. Now only God can receive worship so if Jesus is worshiped then He must be God or otherwise as a created being he would then be placed on equal ground as God and Scripture does no allow for this to occur. John in Revelation (19:10;22:8-9) states that only God alone can be worshiped: "See thou do it not; I am thy fellow servant: worship God."

    Unfortunately many people give some sort of meaning where Scripture does not and this is certainly the case when it comes to Michael the Archangel. God does use means to accomplish His work, and Jesus was the means for our salvation, but He never became a created being for only He by means of His death could by His death make eternal intercession for all who believe. The question is: Why would God use means when He has all the power to do whatever Himself? God did not do what needed to be done out of His necessity as if He were not able to do this Himself. God uses means, so that we who are weak and in need God comes to us so that we can know that it is He that comes, it is He that saves, It is He that protects and our confidence is strengthened, not by some invisible, unknowable, but by our senses we can know the truth: God will do whatever it is that is necessary for us so that we can come to Him. 

     We know that there is and will be a war, a war against the Devil, Satan, to end all wars so that God will then reign over all those who believe in His Son Jesus Christ. It is Jesus Christ who calls us to Himself, it is Jesus Christ who defeats Satan who at this time has turned to attempt by power to defeat God, but God is all-powerful so that now by the justice of God, God can destroy Satan all his demonic angels. 

     Jesus Christ is the Word of God, therefore is the greatest of all spokesmen for God, it is this Word of God who was before the beginning for He was at the beginning of creation, with God and is God and is the One who created all things. Jesus Christ comes as mighty Michael with all His angels and the war comes to a conclusion but until that conclusion there will be a time when this earth will suffer under the hands of Satan. You, all who are Authentic Christians may have to suffer also, but that sufferings leads to life, whereby those who do not believe suffer to eternal death. 

     Keep your eyes on Jesus Christ and make Him your personal Savior, your personal Messenger from God who speaks to you through His word by Him, the Holy Spirit who dwells in you. We learn about this war but we are not afraid.

Where there is no vision,

    the people perish: but

he that keepeth the law,

    happy is he.

             Proverbs 29:18

You, today, are God's messenger

Richard L. Crumb

The Woman versus The Dragon

And there appeared a great wonder in heaven;

 a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon 

under her feet, and upon her head a crown of

 twelve stars: and she being with child cried, 

travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered. 

And there appeared another wonder in heaven; 

and behold a great red dragon, having seven 

heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon 

his heads. And his tail drew the third part of 

the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the 

earth: and the dragon stood before the the 

woman which was ready to be delivered, for to 

devour her child as soon as it was born. And she 

brought forth a man child, who was to rule all 

nations with a rod of iron; and her child was 

caught up unto God, and to His throne. And the 

woman fled into the wilderness, where she 

hath a place prepared of God, that they should

  feed her there a thousand two hundred and

 threescore days.

Revelation 12:1-6

     Depending on which view a person holds will determine how they interpret these verses. While there are little consensus among the views they do hold to some things in common. I will labor towards these views for they are much speculation and I will not speculate, but I will look at Scripture and see if I can find answers. Let us begin at the beginning of man and woman and their fall from grace. Moses wrote this account about God prophesying that He would put enmity between the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent (Genesis 3:15). So what we know for sure is that there will be, and is, a battle, a war between good and evil. Who are the good? It is the Church of Authentic Christian believers, and, it is all the faithful before the coming of the birth of Jesus Christ. The true faithful people are the Church. The Church, that is the Authentic Christian people are elected to have given to them freely all the promises of God. This alone causes great despair and even hate by those who do not have these promises, especially when they are confronted by those bringing the Gospel. Women are spoken of in Scripture by both good and bad women but in this case the woman is good, a woman from heaven, clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head. This can be nothing less than a good woman, one with brightness as the sun, and having even the darkness lit, and the twelve stars reminds us of the twelve tribes of Israel chosen by God to have His Son born. The twelve stars reminds of the twelve disciples who walked and talked with Jesus. The number twelve is a number related to the Church in all its holiness. The people in this Church are justified, sanctified, and in full union with Jesus Christ. Darkness cannot hide from the woman who bring light into all darkness. Those who love sin love to do this sin in darkness, hidden from view, or have given their sin a clothing to hide what is in reality true. The Gospel unveils all this and those who do not want God, or His Son, hate those who bring this light. 

     God spoke of the seed of the dragon and that dragon is none less than Satan himself and all those who fell from heaven following after him. Oh! How people love a good story, especially if that story fits their character and beliefs. This dragon is red denoting fire, fierceness, cruelty and with him is all those who are his principle agents. Satan did not get all the stars, the angels to follow him but he did get a third of them to do so and they join him in attempting to destroy the child who was promised to bring salvation. This child, Jesus Christ, did what Satan did not want, a people who were and are believers in God, in Jesus Christ and when they hear the Gospel they respond to it changing their ways to conform to the commands of God. This child could not be captured and destroyed for this child was caught up to heaven and sits at the right hand of God on the throne. 

     The woman, the Church flees into the wilderness, a place prepared by God that they should be fed, to hear the words of God and to worship Him in truth. This they do for a thousand two hundred and threescore days. Using the Jewish 30 day month this is a limited time of 39.3 months. What is the meaning of this? I can only say that it is a limited time when God takes special care for His people preparing them for the war to come, the wilderness was a place of security bringing forth true and faithful professors of Jesus Christ. We are now in a time, a short time before the return of Jesus Christ, we have His word to guide us and to lead us to bring the Gospel to our world, we are living in eternity now so we have all the security that we need no matter whatever this world does to us in this life. 

    The question is: Do you believe? Do you intentionally bring the Gospel into your world? Or not? Are you waiting for some other sign? There is none! The time is now! Join in, blessed is he/she that bring good tidings. 

For the LORD loveth judgment, 

    and forsaketh not His saints;

they are preserved for ever:

    but the seed of the wicked

shall be cut off.

             Psalm 37:28

You make up the Church of God

Richard L. Crumb