“A Great Red Dragon”
Page 2
In both the Old Testament Scriptures and The Book of Enoch Yehuveh use animals to represent nations, as in Daniel 7:3-6 where the lion represented ancient Babylon, the bear represented Medo-Persia, and the leopard represented ancient Greece. This is not unlike modern conventions which represent the United States with an eagle or Russia with a bear. Enoch 89:10 and the discussion which follows in the next several verses identify several others animals-to-kingdom associations: the ancient Egyptians were symbolized as wolves, the Edomites as wild boar, and the Philistines as dogs.
However, Daniel 7:7-8 describes a government, ancient Rome, which in no way resembles any specific animal’s characteristics, and which was therefore simply described as a “beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns.”
In a similar manner, Revelation 12:3 introduces a dragon—a power over mankind, but a power very different from any single specific nation. This dragon is described as “a great red dragon, having seven heads adn ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads.” His activities are described as: “his tail drew the thir part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman . . . to devour her child as soon as it was born.” Later he is further identified as “that old serpent, called the devil, and satan, which deceiveth the whole world.” Revelation 12:3, 4, 9. Regarding this fatal deception, also consider the insights presented in Revelation 13:14; 18:21-23; 19:20; 20:3, 8, 10.
That feature of this creature which makes it dramatically different from most of the other beasts is its profound ability to deceive the whole world! To retain power, every deception must be embraced and cherished by those individuals who cling to it. Although all of us have “inhereited lies, vanity, and things wherein there is no profit,” we can escape these if we seek and receive truth. Thus Yehuveh states: “My people would not hearken to My voice; and Israel would none of Me. So I gave them up to their own hearts’ lust: and they waalked in their own counsels.” Jeremiah 16:19; Psalms 81:11-12.
Isaiah directly ties this deception of the whole world to mankind’s embracing of the idolatry inherent in every false religion: “he maketh an elohim [a god], and worshippeth it. . . . A deceived heart hath turned him aside, that he cannot deliver his soul, nor say, Is there not a lie in my right hand?” Daniel described this as “the abomination which maketh desolate [paralizes us].” Isaiah 44:14-20; Daniel 11:31.
While this deception of the whole world is tragic, Job assures us that none of the developments are outside of Yehuveh’s control: “With Him is strength and wisdom: the deceived and the deceiver are His. He leadeth counsellors away spoiled, and maketh the judges fools. He looseth the bond of kings, and . . . leadeth princes away spoiled, and overthroweth the mighty. . . . He increaseth the nations, and destroyeth them: He enlargeth the nations, and straiteneth them again.” Job12:16-23. Compare Ezekiel 14:9-10.
(1) When Does This Dragon Appear?
Revelation 12:1-2 introduced the timeframe with an astronomical marker, “a great wonder in heaven,” involving a very specific configuration of a constellation [“a woman,” Virgo], the sun, the moon, and certain other stars [“a crown of twelve stars,” Coma Berenices]. For full identification of each component of this sign in the heavens, study “A Great Wonder in Heaven”.
When this configuration occurred, which it did on 5 October 2005, Revelation 12:5 added one more feature to the arrangement, “the man child” or messenger or Messiah planet, Jupiter. With such a specific and singular astronomical sign, we have a very specific time to anticipate the rise of the powerful dragon described in Revelation 12:3-4. As the picture presented in the first five verses of Revelation 12 are decidedly linked, we can anticipate this dragon to emerge sometime in the spring to fall of 2005.
What powerful entity became prominent on the global scene in the spring-to-fall of 2005?
A little research leads us directly to the stealthy and dominating World Trade Organization (WTO). While this entity had been developing long before 2005, it was at this time that it became a notable world player and participant in the closing scenes of world history.
Gael Bataman
Originally Written: 2 October 2005
Latest Update: 6 October 2011
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