BIRTH OF THE BODY

BIRTH OF THE BODY

                 In their book, “The Revealing” by Gary Huffman and Douglas Woodward, they quote the scholarship of Dr. Michael Heiser and also a book by Dr.  Ernest Martin (Author of the book “ The Bethlehem Star: The Star that Astonished the World”), it has been established that the sign described in Revelation 12:1-5 actually appeared in the heavens  and gave birth on September 11 3 B.C. just as it did in 2017. They believe that the Revelation 12 sign in the heavens may have actually marked the date of Christ’s birth as being  on September 11 3 B.C. They have also established that Herod died a couple of weeks after a total eclipse of the moon on January 10, 1 B.C.

                These scholars believe that the astral sign of Revelation 12 actually marked the birth of Jesus. So, that leaves us to wonder why the same exact sign showed up again in our time. It is agreed by most scholars that the original meaning of Rev. 12:1-5 points to Israel, the woman who gives birth to the Messiah and the man child refers to Jesus Christ who was born of the Virgin Mary and was subsequently caught up into heaven after His resurrection.

                We also see the Dragon, Satan going out in great fury to pursue the woman Israel through time to the end when she will have to flee Jerusalem and Judea at the Abomination of Desolation that the antichrist will enact according to Scripture in these last days.

                This is all certainly true concerning the first application of these signs in marking the birth of Christ and Satan’s pursuit of Israel and the remnant of Israel through time. But there is also a growing number of scholars who believe that this is a duel prophecy concerning the conception of the church, the Body of Christ on the day of Pentecost followed by a 2000 year incubation period leading to the birth of the Sons of God, the true Body of Christ in these last days also known as the Remnant of her Seed.

                We could toss this idea off as just so much speculation, but a lot of scholarship has gone into establishing the dates of these signs and a point was made that caught my attention. Everything in God’s creation speaks forth God’s handiwork. Even the sun, moon and stars, mark God’s appointed times and seasons and feasts. Therefore, why would God not also mark some of the most significant events in history with signs in the heavens for those who are watching?

                What if the Revelation 12 sign that we saw in our time actually marked the birth of the Remnant of her seed as described in Revelation 12:17? It may seem like a stretch, but think of this: In any normal birth the head is born first and then the body is born. Is it therefore possible that the Head: Jesus Christ was born first and that now, after a conception and 2000 year incubation, the Body  has been born?

                If this is true then the appearance of this sign once again in Sept 23 of 2017 should give us pause and so should the signs in the sun, moon and stars that have appeared in a tight pattern beginning in 2014 including 4 blood moons, several major eclipses of both the sun and the moon along with the appearance in 2017 of the Bethlehem Star for the first time in over 2000 years.

                When we talk about astral signs we are not referring to occult signs, but those signs, or “Moedim” which God has established for His Feast Days and for many other signs throughout world history. I do know this: Those who are wise are certainly seeing the signs of Christ’s second coming and whether we see it in the sun, moon and stars or not, these signs are most evident from the prophetic warnings of Scripture  and these things should be waking the sleeping church, but  they are not.

                Only a few shepherds and a group of wise men from the east witnessed the birth of Christ even as Jerusalem remained unaware and asleep. And it appears today too, that only a small remnant and a few wise men and shepherds are truly aware of the ominous and awesome events of our time as they pertain to the soon return of Jesus.

                The Head (Jesus) has waited patiently for the Body (the Church) to be born and indeed, as Romans 8 tells us, the entire creation has been eagerly waiting for the revealing of the sons of God. Rom 8:14.

                Any way you slice it we live in the most significant and auspices times.

                Those who have been born again have been conceived by the Holy Spirit and now in these last days, our Lord is looking for maturity in His sons and daughters. And believe me; God is not going to leave this important step to chance. Jesus was not caught up to heaven until He had fulfilled all that the Father had sent Him to fulfill. As such HE became the firstborn of many brethren.  (Rom. 8:29) So when Jesus went back to heaven, He became the head of the Body and so we who are His Body are learning to do only those things that the Head directs us to do.

                In the natural world, our minds contain huge amounts of information, some of it conscious and some of it unconscious, some of it voluntary and some involuntary. On a voluntary level, our minds tell our arms and legs when to move in coordination with our desires. But on an involuntary, our minds are presiding over our heartbeat, our digestion, our metabolism, the creation and release of thousands of chemicals, hormones and enzymes that regulate the actions of every cell in our bodies.

                Even on a natural level, we are fearfully and wonderfully made, but for those who are born again, there is another level of awesomeness, for as Romans 8 tells us: “All who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God.” Romans 8:14. This spiritual connection between our Head           (Jesus) and our spirit (as sons) gives meaning and purpose in life. Our lives are ordered by something higher than mere flesh. We have a spiritual Head in heavenly places who presides over the affairs and events of our lives.
                We are not randomly bouncing here and there like balls in a pinball machine. We are not simply reacting to whatever hits us. Indeed we are told that the “The steps of the righteous man are ordered by the Lord.” Psalm 37:23.

                We know that we are His Body when we are connected to the Head so that none of our actions are random and pointless. “All things work together for good to those who love God to those who are called according to His purpose.” Rom. 8:28.

                If we will once determine to live by the directions of the Head, then our lives become intentional and guided. And most often when you see Christians whose lives a chaotic and confused and desperate, it is because they have in some way stopped receiving signals from the Head. They have retreated to the randomness of flesh and guided by various lusts, they are floundering from one ditch to another, unable to stay on the road.

                If we have determined to be a part of the Body of Christ, then we must realize that in a special way, God’s last day’s Remnant Body has been born and our Head is now taking us through whatever is necessary to bring us to maturity. Until we learn to take our orders from the Head, our lessons will be tough ones. We will be bruised and battered by our own stubborn mistakes. But we are destined to overcome even as He overcame.  (1 Jn. 2:13, 14, 4:4, Rev. 2:7-3:21, Rev 21:7) We are being prepared. We are being guided into maturity. We are being trained to reign with Jesus… the Head and the Body united in the kingdom and reigning forever.

                We should never lose these perspectives you know. Life is not random and we are not victims of circumstance. Everything in our lives happens according to God’s greater purposes if our steps are ordered by the Lord. And when we are standing on the Sea of Glass we will be shouting out, “Great and Marvelous are Thy ways O Lord God the Almighty. Righteous and true are Thy ways, Thou King of the nations.” Rev. 15:2, 3.

                 There are tough things to be learned in this life. There are things we can’t understand such as why some people are healed and some are not, why a child is taken from us by sickness or death…. Why life seems so grossly unfair to some, while godless, vain and greedy people seem to prosper.  We stumble over these things because we can’t make sense of them… but if we could see the big picture from God’s point of view we would begin to understand why it must be so. We live in enemy territory. We have been born into a satanic rebellion. We have created this hellish environment by our own godless actions. But it is in just such an environment that God has placed those who will become His mature sons and daughters. This is our training ground. We are not being trained for the short term, but for the long term… for the greater purposes of God beyond this war torn planet.

                Not only have we bee born into the midst of a monumental battle, but we have been born into the climax of the battle. We have been born into the last desperate struggle of Satan to destroy God’s people and to secure the kingdom for himself. We have been born into the time of harvest, of the threshing of wheat and the separation of wheat and tares, grain and husks. But it is in this cauldron heated 7 times that pure gold is made. On the anvil of heat and fire, God is forging out sons and daughters that will be able to administrate His kingdom.

                “There will be no end to the increase of this government or of peace… on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness from then on and forever more. The zeal of the Lord of Hosts will accomplish this.” Isa. 9:7.

                It is we, who are in training for such a time as this. We, the Body, with Jesus the Head. We, both Jews and Gentiles, will form one city of God as demonstrated by the New Jerusalem.

                We tend to think too small simply because we so rarely share God’s perspective. We see signs in the sun, moon and stars and we think, “Surely it is our imagination… surely these things cannot be talking to us.” But such was the small thinking in Jerusalem when only a small handful of wise men and shepherds witnessed the greatest event of all time. They had followed the star of Bethlehem to the birth place of an infinite King.

                Even so today, even as most people shake it off as meaningless simply because they don’t understand it, the wise are still seeking Him and the wise are still following the signs of His second coming.

NOTE: Dr. Michael Heiser has his doctorate in ancient languages, so not only does he thoroughly understand Hebrew, but he also understands the languages of the nations that were surrounding the Israelites in their journeys. This knowledge helps to flesh out many details and issues that Israel faced as well as to bring insight and meaning to events in the Bible that we often miss.