{"id":484,"date":"2012-07-07T11:26:14","date_gmt":"2012-07-07T15:26:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/isittheendoftheworld\/?p=484"},"modified":"2012-07-07T11:26:14","modified_gmt":"2012-07-07T15:26:14","slug":"the-woman-of-the-apocalypse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/isittheendoftheworld\/2012\/07\/the-woman-of-the-apocalypse.html","title":{"rendered":"The Woman of the Apocalypse"},"content":{"rendered":"

On a lush mountain in Ecuador’s capitol city of Quito sits a magnificent statue of a women clothed in symbols. Commissioned in 1976, the “Virgen of Quito” glistens in the sun. <\/p>\n

For me, she is proof that Bible prophecy is truly global. I’ll explain what I mean.<\/p>\n

The Bible is clear that God has a redemptive plan for all mankind. Some believe it, many reject it. Yet truly Solomon was correct when he said that God has set eternity in men’s hearts. Man has a relentless need to find His Creator. He will, then, place reminders of this epic hunt all around.<\/p>\n

To me, the Virgen de Quito is just such an example. I squinted up at her a few years ago during a visit to the friendly and wonderful country of Ecuador. Recently, I saw a much smaller representation near my home, nestled in the Ozark Mountains of Arkansas.<\/p>\n

I invite you to read from the book of Revelation, chapter 12. There you will find a mysterious story of a woman, “a great wonder in heaven.” She stands atop the moon and has a crown of 12 stars. Remember, this is a story literally pregnant with symbolism.<\/p>\n

We are told that she is great with child and that a terrible red dragon stands before her, ready to kill her child when He is born. Again, I encourage you to read this passage for yourself and get a good commentary (I use Henry Morris’s).<\/p>\n

The woman represents Israel, the Jewish people, called of God to be His light to the world. The dragon of course is Satan. Her child is the Messiah, and all this is linked to Genesis 3 (read it!). How delicious that the beginning of the Bible is linked to the ending.<\/p>\n

One of the reasons I find this story compelling is that it proves once again that the Bible is highly relevant (despite what some of you have been told). For example, notice verse 13:<\/p>\n

“And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man child.”<\/p>\n

Who was it that brought forth the “man child” (Messiah)? Israel. Who is Satan persecuting? Israel.<\/p>\n

The world makes a bit more sense when seen through the lens of Scripture. I am asked often why the Jews are so terribly persecuted. There are geopolitical reasons and cultural reasons. Some valid, some not. THE reason, though, is that an intelligent, evil entity loathes the Jews and seeks their harm.<\/p>\n

This is one of the main points of Revelation 12. It is practical, plain, and symbolic all at the same time. The world makes sense when viewed from the Bible, remember that, and read the rest of it for yourself.<\/p>\n

You are smart enough to read the Bible and apply it to your life, so I won’t spoon-feed you the details found in Revelation 12, Revelation overall, or the other 65 books of the Bible. But I did want to flavor the story enough so that you will want to pursue it.<\/p>\n

A wise person once said to me, God sometimes winks at us, and sometimes He puts up a stop sign. I believe that means that there are moments in our lives when God reveals Himself very clearly to us as individuals. His revelation comes in myriad ways.<\/p>\n

Sometimes it comes when we look up, squinting, into His light.<\/p>\n

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On a lush mountain in Ecuador’s capitol city of Quito sits a magnificent statue of a women clothed in symbols. Commissioned in 1976, the “Virgen of Quito” glistens in the sun. For me, she is proof that Bible prophecy is truly global. I’ll explain what I mean. The Bible is clear that God has a…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":392,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-484","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Woman of the Apocalypse - Is it the End of the World?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/isittheendoftheworld\/2012\/07\/the-woman-of-the-apocalypse.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Woman of the Apocalypse - Is it the End of the World?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"On a lush mountain in Ecuador’s capitol city of Quito sits a magnificent statue of a women clothed in symbols. 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