God's Illegal Immigrants

kw: opinion, immigration, end times, eschatology

Amid the current controversy about people who enter the U.S. illegally, I stepped back to take a larger view. I and many others have wondered why our national leaders are so blind to the danger of our overly-open borders. But I wonder no more. If we really are in the End Times, it is part of the preparation for the times of tribulation predicted by Jesus and His apostles.

Go grab whatever Bible you have, and read Revelation chapter 12. I'll summarize the main points of verses 1-9:

• vv 1-2: "A great sign", a woman clothed with sun, moon, and stars, is in labor, birthing a child.
• vv 3-4: "Another sign", a great dragon in front of the woman, is ready to devour her newborn.
• vv 5-6: Her child is born, a male child "who is to shepherd all the nations with an iron rod", and is caught up to God; she flees to "the wilderness" prepared by God to hide her for 1,260 days.
• vv 7-9: War in heaven, Michael and his angels against the dragon and his angels. Michael wins, and the dragon is cast to the earth. In v 9 the dragon is named Satan.

In later verses (13-16), we see more details of v 6: the dragon chases the woman, who is given two eagle wings to fly to "the wilderness". The dragon tries to flood her, but the earth swallows up the flood.

Verse 17 is the key to understanding the chapter: "And the dragon became angry with the woman and went away to make war with the rest of her seed, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus." "The rest of her seed" refers to the woman's children other than the male child of v 5. Setting aside the dragon, we have three entities here, three corporate persons: the woman, the male child, and the rest of her seed.

Christian literature is full of controversy regarding these three. The majority, according to my study, interpret these as Mary, Jesus, and all the Christians believers. However, the chapter ends (v 18) with the dragon standing on the seashore, and the following chapter begins with the Beast rising from the sea, then another Beast rising from the earth, and the beginning of the Great Tribulation.

Therefore, a better interpretation is that the woman represents the universal church, including all the people of God, of Old and New Testament, both living and asleep; the male child represents the overcomers, those who diligently follow Christ and are caught up to God on His throne just prior to the arising of the two Beasts; and the rest of her seed represents the living people of God, both Jews (who keep the commandments of God) and Christians (who have the testimony of Jesus). They remain during the Great Tribulation.

Yes, you guessed it, I believe in partial rapture, or rather, that God's people will be caught away in stages. The promise to the church in Philadelphia is that those who have "kept the word of My endurance" will be kept out of the hour of trial (Rev 3:10). These are the male child. The promise in 1 Cor 15, that after the dead in Christ rise, "at the last trumpet...we shall be changed", and in 1 Thes 4 that "we who are living, who are left remaining, will be caught up...to meet the Lord in the air" both refer to an event at the end of the Great Tribulation ("the last trumpet"). The "rapture" is a series of events, mainly a partial reaping of "firstfruits" and a later, general harvest.

How does this have any connection with immigration? The woman's flight into the wilderness indicates that many of God's people will flee to a place "prepared by God" for their protection during the Great Tribulation. Its duration is 1,260 days, or 3½ years of 360 days (3 years, 5½ months by our calendar).

What is "the wilderness"? The two wings are a clue. North America is the continent that is emphatically situated between two oceans. The U.S. has often been pictured as an eagle with the Atlantic and Pacific as her wings. Though the apostles did not know of this continent, God surely did, and I belive He put this image in Rev 12 as a clue. The language of the Seal, Trumpet, and Bowl visions in Revelation, and of Daniel's last vision, indicate that the authority of the Beast, the "man of sin", (whom many wrongly call Antichrist) extends only over the territory of the Roman empire at its height: southern Europe, northern Africa, and most of the Middle East.

When the astounding level of religious persecution that characterizes the Beast's reign begins, I believe many Jews and Christians will flee to America. Though the U.S. is very strong, her borders at least must be weak, and her people accommodating, to absorb such a surge of immigration. This will be the shining hour for American Christians, to extend hospitality to these "angels in disguise."