Quote:
Originally Posted by Bowas
So. Are we all in agreement this "manchild" was the gospel of Jesus Christ coming forth from the woman, the church, and specifically during the first century when the enemy tried so hard to kill the gospel of Jesus by persecuting the church.
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The son birthed by the woman (Israel) is Christ. In Christ is the gospel, the ministry, the whole church and kingdom of God.
Just as Christ stands for or represents the gospel, the kingdom, the people of God, everlasting life, etc, so too all those things can be included as being part of that which is signified by the son. But the son is actually, literally, and specifically a direct representation of Christ, the "seed of the woman".
Christ ascended in the first century, so the vision of His first coming and triumphant ascension to the throne is a first century event. But it has ongoing eternal effects and results.
The rest of the vision describes things that occur AFTER His ascension, therefore the fulfillments of those things are likewise post-ascension. That they are signified as occurring pretty much immediately after the ascension indicates the fulfillments begin upon His ascension, thereby ruling out the futurist interpretation which places them all into the indefinite future.
What remains then is to answer the question "Does the whole vision take place within the first century, or does it extend beyond the first century?"
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