Planet Rahab - Part II - Return of the Dragon

"Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field, which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, "Indeed, has God said, 'You shall not eat from any tree of the garden?' ". (Genesis 3:1)

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"And the Lord God said to the serpent, 'Because you have done this, Cursed are you more than all cattle, and more than every beast of the field; On your belly shall you go, and dust shall you eat all the days of your life; And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, and you shall bruise him on the heel' ". (Genesis 3: 14-15)

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"And another sign appeared in heaven; and behold, a great red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and on his head were seven diadems . . . And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old, who is called the devil, and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him . . . And when the dragon saw that he was thrown down to the earth, he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male child . . . And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and went off to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus . . . And he (the dragon) stood on the sand of the seashore. And I saw a beast coming up out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads, and on his horns were seven diadems, and on his heads were blasphemous names . . . And the dragon gave (the beast) his power and his throne and great authority . . . And (the world) worshipped the dragon because he gave his authority to the beast; and they worshipped the beast, saying, 'Who is like the beast, and who can wage war with him?' " (Revelation 12:3 - 13:4)

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"And I saw another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spoke as a dragon. and he exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence . . . And I saw coming out of the mouth of the dragon and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits like frogs; for they are the spirits of demons, performing signs, to gather them (the nations) together for the war of the great day of God, the Almighty".l (Revelation 13:11 - 16:14)

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"And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies, assembled to make war against Him who sat upon the horse (Jesus), and against His army . . . And the beast was seized, and with him the false prophet who performed the signs in his presence . . . these two were thrown alive into the lake of fire . . . And the rest were killed with the sword which came from the mouth of Him, who sat upon the horse . . . And I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand, and he laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, and threw him into the abyss, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he should not deceive the nations any longer until the thousand years were completed, and after these things he must be released for a short time . . . And when the thousand years are completed, Satan will be released from his prison, and will come out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth . . . to gather them together for the war . . . and fire came down from heaven and devoured them. And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever". (Revelation 19:19 - 20:10)

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Scripture introduces us to the evil one three chapters into Genesis, and reveals to us his final fate two chapters before the end of Revelation. We know that God made the heavens and the earth and all that is in them, and that he looked at what He made and called it good. For some reason scripture does not tell us exactly when the angels were made, or when rebellion first came to part of that race, or why God allowed that rebellion to eventually infect mankind. We know that angels are spirit beings and that their chief residence is not on earth, but that they can come to earth and interact with it. It appears to me that there must be a lot of time elapsed in the unrevealed history of the evil one prior to his deception of Eve, and that clues to part of it can be found in Ezekiel's 28th chapter. It starts with a description of the prideful human leader of the ancient and important island city/nation of Tyre, and then in verses 11 - 19 it describes the ultimate source of that type of pride, which many Biblical scholars believe is a reference to the evil one. In verse 14 it says that "You were the anointed cherub who covers".

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The cherubim seem to be a class or type of angel charged with protecting, or limiting access to, the holy presence of God. In Genesis 3:24, after God drove man out of the garden of Eden, "He stationed the cherubim and the flaming sword which turned in every direction, to guard the way to the tree of life". The tree of life, later seen in the New Jerusalem, is or represents then something much more than just a fruit tree. There were two gold cherubim placed on top of the mercy seat, present in the Holy of Holies in the wilderness tabernacle, and in Solomon's temple there were embroidered two giant cherubim into the fabric covering the inner sanctuary. Although those were not actual angels, they represented the ones who were guardians before the real and awesome presence of God, His glory residing in the most holy place of the wilderness tabernacle, and later for a time in the first temple. In the 1st chapter of Ezekiel there is a description of the four living creatures, identified later in verse 10:15 as cherubim, and they carry what appears to be the throne of God, and they reside in, and transport, the brightness of the glory of God. It was from such a class of beings that one rebelled. This one is a deceiver and a destroyer, who was beautiful in appearance, and who had close access to the glory and majesty and very presence of the Almighty, but who became filled with pride because of his beauty, and desired for himself the worship and awe due to God alone. For some reason God did not stop the rebellion at its beginning, allowing instead the enemy to bring lies and distortion and even accusations against Almighty God, leading to the rebellion of both angels and man from the path of light, truth, and life. The result has been corruption and destruction, pain and sorrow, to both created beings and to the rest of creation.

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We have an account in Genesis of a serpent who talks to Eve. Although there is not a description of what that serpent looked like, I will guess that it was much different than our picture of a snake hanging from an apple tree. Through the Old Testament the same Hebrew root word, tannin, could be translated either serpent, meaning our picture of a snake, or dragon, as in a sea monster or a large serpent like creature with legs and wings, possibly breathing fire. Perhaps this was even a class of dinosaur, alive before most types (but apparently not all) were destroyed at the flood. It seems that although this serpent/dragon was more crafty than other created beasts, possibly even able to speak, it was not just the beast by himself, but the beast being used as a tool of the evil one, who deceived Eve. The physical judgment came to the beast, changing its form to become snake like and having to eat dust all the days of its life. But the spiritual judgment is carried through the seed of the evil one, who used the serpent/dragon to deceive. The types then go on throughout scripture. The evil one is pictured as a dragon, the evil source and power behind other beasts, who may be nations or kingdoms or individual rulers who oppose the people of God.

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This helps us to better understand the references to Rahab that occur in Job 9 and 26, Psalm 87 and 89, and in Isaiah 30 and 51. There are people who mistakenly interpret Rahab as being a planet that was between Mars and Jupiter, and that planet was the the dwelling place of the evil one. They interpret certain references in scripture in interesting ways. The 10 precious stones in their settings of the ruler of Tyre as seen in Ezekiel 28 are 10 planets. The 5th planet was Rahab, where the evil one ruled, until it was split apart by God, becoming the asteroid belt. One of those asteroids hit earth, causing the moon to come out of it, and making the earth formless and void, the condition we see between verse I and 2 of Genesis. The evil one still resides in another of those asteroids, called wormwood, and he will be cast to earth with his asteroid in the Day of the Lord. The amber stone represents the planet Saturn, which is seen as the location of Heaven, its rings as being the glory around the throne, and the cherubim in Ezekiel are really the first 4 visible planets, the wheels within the wheels being their orbits. Now I agree that our solor system, the location of the stars, the moving of comets, the rotations and orbits of them all, are planned and laid out by God. In them He has put representations and marked time, and our understanding of the signs in the sun and moon and stars has largely been corrupted. But the planet Rahab people are taking each of those scriptures out of their context, making up an imaginary world. Yet in studying the scriptures to check on their interesting claims, I have gained a little better insight into the description of the evil one as a dragon, and the powers that that oppose Israel and God's people as beasts.

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In both places in Job the word Rahab has been translated "pride" in the Septuagint translation. And we can certainly associate pride with the evil one. But Rahab is also connected with the name of a mythological beast found in the traditions of the early Mid-East civilizations. This was a large, sea dwelling beast, with multiple heads. Perhaps in the early centuries following the flood there actually were large, multi-headed dinosaur related, sea creatures that dominated their area and terrified the human inhabitants, and that there is some truth in the myth. The references to Rahab are all connected to the water, with the idea that God has conquered Rahab and is in control of the water, and thus also in control of the destiny of His people. Rahab might then be seen as an ancient sea serpent/sea dragon, an enemy of God, who God has defeated. Allusions can then be made, for example, to the deliverance of Noah from the flood, and also to compare a nation such as Egypt, which oppressed the Jewish people, to the beast Rahab. God delivers them through the waters of the Red Sea, crushing Pharaoh and his army in that sea.

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In Job 26: 12-13 it says; "He quieted the sea with His power, and by His understanding He shattered Rahab (defeated the sea monster). By His breath the heavens are cleared (the sky, not space); His hand pierced the fleeing serpent". In Psalm 89: 9-11 it says; "Thou dost rule the swelling of the sea; When its waves rise, Thou dost still them. Thou Thyself didst crush Rahab like one who is slain. Thou dost scatter Thy enemies with Thy mighty arm". In Isaiah 30: 6-7 it says; "Through a land of distress and anguish. From where come lioness and lion, viper and flying serpent, they carry their riches on the backs of young donkeys. And their treasures on camels humps, to a people who cannot profit them, even Egypt, whose help is vain and empty. Therefore, I have called her Rahab who has been exterminated". And lastely from Isaiah 51: 9-13; "Awake as in the days of old, the generations of long ago. Was it not Thou who cut Rahab in pieces, Who pierced the dragon? Was it not Thou who dried up the sea. The waters of the great deep; Who made the depths of the sea a pathway for the redeemed to cross over? So the ransomed of the Lord will return, and come with joyful shouting to Zion; And everlasting joy will be on their heads. They will obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing will flee away". HEH! When you look at the use of Rahab in its context you don't need a degree in theology or a special revelation from God to understand the meaning.

Sidetracked By The Planet Rahab

I have a feeling that 2008 will be a very important year prophetically. I don't know if the rapture will come this year, or even in the next 5 years, but it may. Recently I had a dream in which I was outside in a field with a group of people. Dark storm clouds filled the sky, and from one particularly dark cloud I could see that a very wide part descended to the ground and then started to rotate. Looking around, to the left of the main funnel, there appeared several more funnels, and to the right, many more funnels, stretching across the near horizon in a wide arc. I started to tell everyone that we needed to get away right now to find a safe place, but every one's first reaction was - Huh? - What? Perhaps my dream means that there will be a series of upcoming challenges or dangers, or perhaps it means something else. But whatever it means, I am anxious in my spirit that time is running short and we must be prepared to witness to family, friends and others to the glorious salvation available to all who call upon the name of the Lord. I have been trying to work on a couple of different subjects to post, but always seem to get pulled back to thinking about the times we are in, the people I know who do not have a reborn spirit, and how urgent it is for them to open their lives to the truth and light that comes from Jesus through the Holy Spirit.

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The study of Biblical prophecy concerning the rapture and the second coming of Jesus has been a pleasure of mine for the last 35 years. Even when I was in college and an atheist, majoring in Political Science, we studied Israel's six day war of 1967. The head of our Political Science department remarked in 1971 that Israel was in the news every day, but eventually other events in the world would move them out of the papers. It did not happen that way. Some months after my conversion came the Mid-East war of 1973, and every month since then has seen world events moving nations and peoples closer to that as described in the prophetic scriptures, with Israel planted firmly in the center of it all. As these things happen, and the time to the return of Jesus gets closer, the Spirt has opened up a greater understanding of the prophetic scriptures. Sometimes we may even need to set aside long cherished interpretations of certain parts as the Spirit gives us better understanding of another piece of the puzzle, bringing the whole picture into greater focus. Doing that is always difficult, because our natural tendency is to hold onto theological ideas and intepretations that take root early in our spiritual journey, especially if the source of those ideas and interpretations came from people we really admire and trust. That being said, even the earnest student of the Bible can read things into scripture and can come to conclusions that are not valid if sound principles of Biblical study are not learned, or are thrown aside to make scripture fit the theory. When verses and words are taken out of context, we head down paths that may be interesting, with theories and timelines that may have an appearance of truth, but truth will not be there. What is real and what is not may run many parallel courses, but in the end, a theory based on scripture taken out of context will prove to be a distraction, and a hindrance to the Spirit's ability to give us a clear understanding of the plan and the purpose of God.

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An example of using a scripture passage out of context to determine the timing of the return of Christ comes from a saying of Jesus in the 24th chapter of Matthew in the illustration of the fig tree. "Now learn the parable from the fig tree; when its branch has already become tender, and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near; even so you too, when you see all these things , recognize that He is near, right at the door. Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place.". This is the key scripture quoted by most of those that look to calculate the timing of the rapture, the event or pre-event leading to the last 7 years before Christ returns. The interpretations follow in this manner. The fig tree represents the nation of Israel, and Israel became a nation again in 1947/48 after thousands of years. After the six day war of 1967 they aquired control over the eastern half of Jerusalem, containing the land area of the ancient Jewish temples, also acquiring the historical Jewish lands of the Gaza, West Bank, and Golan Heights (The branches putting forth their leaves). The word "generation" in the Matthew quote is seen as the length of time it will be between the fig tree beginning to bloom and the return of Jesus.

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Different examples are used to demonstrate the length of a Biblical generation, coming in anywhere from 35 to 40 to 42 to 48.33 to 70 years. Go forward in time a generation from either 1947/48 or 1967, and they arrive at the date for either the rapture, the end of the Church age, the wrath of God, or the second coming (although most people are trying to pin down the date of the pre-tribulation rapture). The 39/40 year span is popular because there are many Biblical examples of 39 or 40 being a time of testing. Mix into this the teachings of patterns and cycles for the 49/50 year Hebrew Jubilee, the 430/490 year national cycles, the 42nd and 43rd generational patterns, the 360 day prophetic year, and the timing and patterns of the major Jewish feast days, and you get some interesting stuff, including lots of different dates for events that will happen in "the last days".

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These dates and the reasoning for them get revised every year the rapture doesn't happen. The next date offered always seems to be very close, and I think this is because: everyone wants to be alive for the rapture, life for us here on earth can be tough, and anyway, wouldn't it be nice for Jesus to come tomorrow? One thing that bothers me is that this "blessed hope" can even supesede our desire to see widespread rival in our families, our cities, or our nation. I don't think revival has to come before the rapture, but sometimes I wonder if, instead of praying "Come Lord Jesus" it would not be better to pray; "Please Lord, give them a little more time".

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As a student of Biblical prophecy I believe that there are plans and patterns with everything God does. I see the emergence of the nation of Israel only 2 years before my birth, a regathering predicted by Jesus to happen "in the last days", as being huge. The reclaiming of additional lands promised to them by God, especially their gaining control of the ancient temple area (perhaps needed as a prophetic requirement for the rebuilding of a temple that will be descrated by the antichrist during the mid-point of the tribulation) is also huge. Because there are other scripture references (eg. Jeremiah 24) that confirm the relationship of the Jewish people with figs, I believe that a dual interpretation of the fig tree in Matthew is permissable. The context uses the progression of the fig tree growing fruit as a call to watch for the signs of the times, ie., one thing will surely happen after the other. Thus we can also watch Israel itself to know that we are in a special time. These are some of the things that convince me that the time for the return of Jesus, which in my theological understanding is preceded by the rapture, is near, and maybe in my lifetime. But date setters (and I also would like to know) are having the same problems as those that see a six thousand year time frame from creation to the second coming. It has been more than six thousand years from creation until now, and it has been more than 40 years from 1947/48, then 1967, until now. They now have to redefine how long a Biblical generation is, still thinking that the word "generation" in Matthew is a clue.

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The thing that must be considered in interpreting the 24th chapter of Matthew is the audience to whom Jesus is speaking, the timing of the events He is talking about, and thus the context of Jesus being "near, right at the door", and the context of the word "generation". It seems to me that Jesus is prophesying to a Jewish audience that will be alive and in or near Jerusalem during the last part of the tribulation. Thus the return of Jesus, indicated by "He is near, right at the door", is not the rapture, but the second coming, ruling out using these verses to support either the theology or the timing of the rapture (except perhaps because of its Jewish character as another argument for a pre-trib rapture). But my main concern is the way in which so many authors, preachers and teachers interpret the word "generation" In the context, the way a normal person would read it if not pre-influenced, the idea conveyed is that some of the (Jewish) people, alive at the time of the events Jesus outlines in Matthew, will make it through alive to the end of the time of tribulation, when Jesus returns. The people, or the race (both are consistent with the way the word generation can be translated) will not die out, despite the tremendous judgment and resulting death that occurs. To take the word "generation" as a code for a 40 or other year period is a manipulation of the verse, because the sense of the verse is of encouragement to the Jewish people that even in the most terrible of times, God will establish His kingdom through Jesus in the land He promised to them, and some will be left to receive that inheritance.

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Your favorite prophecy teachers will probable still talk about the length of a Jewish generation, and frankly, they are all much smarter than I am. I have learned a lot from them. Unfortunately, there are many young Christians today who are not interested in the study of Biblical prophecy. Perhaps this is because it takes time, and who has time today? Or perhaps it is because they think that their elders have focused too much on it, speaking our own private language. Maybe it all seems so overwealming and they don't know how to begin, or maybe life is complicated and they just don't want to think about the world going to pieces. I can understand all of that. If we think that believing in the rapture is a way to grab a special ticket out of here, then we are completely missing what the Spirit is always trying to show us.

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But let me present it this way. Our spiritual life should never be about what we know, but about Who we know. The closer we know Him the more we realize how holy He is, and how much we need Him, and how much the world needs Him. We see that He had a plan for our lives from our very beginning, and we begin to see that He has a plan as well for our family, friends, and even for the nations. To know Him better we read the scriptures, and as we meditate on what we read, the Holy Spirit moves in our hearts and minds, building us up, speaking to us concerning our daily lives. But He also speaks to us to go forth, to share the good news of this glorious salvation to others. Prophecy warns us that things will not always proceed as they have, but that He is faithful and true. Prophecy tells us that the clock will someday stike the hour and everything will change, but He changes not. In 1948 prophecy jumped out the pages of scripture and proclaimed to the world, loud and clear - "I am coming soon!". I believe as we get closer to that time there will arise false prophets and false teachers, and churches and individuals will be pulled in directions that are not in the plan of God. Everyone will be affected in one way or another, which is why we all need to grow in knowing how to read the scriptures that are being used to support the misdirections, and why we need to have sound foundations for our spiritual beliefs, including prophecy. And that leads us to discussing the Planet Rahab, but more about that later.