Women, Widows, and the 70th Week

As part of the Revelation 12 Sign discovery, prophecy students have gained familiarity with the woman, child, labor motif in scripture.  This post aims to further explore the meaning of each, and other closely related ones, such as husband, marriage, widow.  These are important!  Let's observe what scripture has to say about them, and use our discoveries to paint a more vibrant picture of the end of this present age.  May the Spirit guide you, and may the LORD give you as much hope and encouragement as He has given me in this study.

Woman, Husband, Marriage

Before we start, please be aware that the nation of Israel is the wife of the LORD God.  This fact is mentioned or alluded to countless times in the Old Testament, so I won't spend much time on dwelling on that here.  An overarching survey of their relationship from that perspective is found in the book of Hosea.  Spoiler alert: she breaks His heart by committing adultery with the other nations... yet He waits for her to repent and return to Him.

But is there another subtle angle from which we can see the woman, husband, and marriage in scripture?  A different lens to wear as we ponder those parts of the Word?

A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head. 2 She was pregnant and cried out in pain as she was about to give birth.  Revelation 12:1-2 (NIV)

In these two verses, John sees a woman, which is clearly describing Israel from the context (Rev 12:6,13-17), and the connection to the rest of scripture (Matt 24:15-21).  But it's deeper and more specific than simply, "Israel".  Isaiah adds clarification in a few key locations:

“Before she goes into labor,

    she gives birth;

before the pains come upon her,

    she delivers a son.

8 Who has ever heard of such things?

    Who has ever seen things like this?

Can a country be born in a day

    or a nation be brought forth in a moment?

Yet no sooner is Zion in labor

    than she gives birth to her children.  Isaiah 66:7-8 (NIV)

For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent,

    for Jerusalem’s sake I will not remain quiet,

till her vindication shines out like the dawn,

    her salvation like a blazing torch.  Isaiah 62:1 (NIV)

She is Zion, and Zion is Jerusalem.  As in, the land itself.  And yes, it is simultaneously the people/nation as well, but hold that thought for a moment while we just consider the land... more specifically, the city.  So when scripture uses the imagery of a woman in a prophetic sense, the next question in our minds could be, "what city?"  Let's continue with more verses in Isaiah 62:

The nations will see your vindication,

    and all kings your glory;

you will be called by a new name

    that the mouth of the LORD will bestow.

3 You will be a crown of splendor in the LORD’s hand,

    a royal diadem in the hand of your God.

4 No longer will they call you Deserted,

    or name your land Desolate.

But you will be called Hephzibah,

    and your land Beulah;

for the LORD will take delight in you,

    and your land will be married.

5 As a young man marries a young woman,

    so will your Builder marry you;

as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride,

    so will your God rejoice over you.

6 I have posted watchmen on your walls, Jerusalem;

    they will never be silent day or night.

You who call on the LORD,

    give yourselves no rest,

7 and give him no rest till he establishes Jerusalem

    and makes her the praise of the earth.

  Isaiah 62:2-7 (NIV)

Who is "you" in these verses?  The city of Jerusalem.  Who is married?  The land itself.  Who is the Husband?  The LORD is the husband, though the term "husband" isn't used here.  Isaiah 54 does use that word:

For your Maker is your husband—

    the LORD Almighty is his name—

the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer;

    he is called the God of all the earth.  Isaiah 54:5

And this is where the lightbulb should start to flicker in our minds.  The word husband here is ba'al, which communicates the idea of having dominion over, or ruling over (as king).  So whenever a city is being ruled, one could say the city is "married" to that ruler.

Let's define the terms we've discovered so far:

• Woman - a geographic area; a land/city
• Husband - a ruler
• Marriage - when a ruler is reigning over a land

In the previous verses, we read about the woman being the city of Jerusalem, the Husband being the LORD Himself, and His reign being His marriage to her.

Widow, Child, Labor

Given the previous three definitions we found of woman, husband, and marriage, what would widowhood be?  It would seem to be when the land has lost its ruler.  But can we do better?  I remember when the LORD first brought me to this verse and lightbulb went fully on.  I believe this is a keystone chapter to fitting all these concepts snuggly:

How deserted lies the city,

    once so full of people!

How like a widow is she,

    who once was great among the nations!

She who was queen among the provinces

    has now become a slave.

2 Bitterly she weeps at night,

    tears are on her cheeks.

Among all her lovers

    there is no one to comfort her.

All her friends have betrayed her;

    they have become her enemies.

3 After affliction and harsh labor,

    Judah has gone into exile.

She dwells among the nations;

    she finds no resting place.

All who pursue her have overtaken her

    in the midst of her distress.

4 The roads to Zion mourn,

    for no one comes to her appointed festivals.

All her gateways are desolate,

    her priests groan,

her young women grieve,

    and she is in bitter anguish.

5 Her foes have become her masters;

    her enemies are at ease.

The LORD has brought her grief

    because of her many sins.

Her children have gone into exile,

    captive before the foe.  Lamentations 1:1-5 (NIV)

That word "masters" implies "headship" (literally "rosh"), which should remind you of marriage (Eph 5:23). From this and the rest of the chapter, we see that widowhood communicates 1) a change of rulership away from the current ruler, and/or 2) desolation, e.g. loss of her citizens, who are her children.

Okay!  Now we can use these definitions so far to better grok what is being said in Isaiah 54.  The connection between citizens and children is also clearly reinforced here, and emphasized by Paul, who makes an astounding set of statements:

Tell me, you who want to be under the law, are you not aware of what the law says? 22 For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the slave woman and the other by the free woman. 23 His son by the slave woman was born according to the flesh, but his son by the free woman was born as the result of a divine promise.

24 These things are being taken figuratively: The women represent two covenants. One covenant is from Mount Sinai and bears children who are to be slaves: This is Hagar. 25 Now Hagar stands for Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present city of Jerusalem, because she is in slavery with her children. 26 But the Jerusalem that is above is free, and she is our mother. 27 For it is written:

“Be glad, barren woman,

    you who never bore a child;

shout for joy and cry aloud,

    you who were never in labor;

because more are the children of the desolate woman

    than of her who has a husband.”

28 Now you, brothers and sisters, like Isaac, are children of promise. 29 At that time the son born according to the flesh persecuted the son born by the power of the Spirit. It is the same now. 30 But what does Scripture say? “Get rid of the slave woman and her son, for the slave woman’s son will never share in the inheritance with the free woman’s son.” 31 Therefore, brothers and sisters, we are not children of the slave woman, but of the free woman.  Galatians 4:21-31

WOW!  We are children of a heavenly city (Phil 3:20, Heb 12:22-23)!  That city is our mother!  But we have one thing left to decipher.  What is labor?  Intuitively, it should be when the children come into the land of their mother, receiving her comfort (Is 66:12-13), which is after her pain, sorrow, and agony from destruction (1 Thess 5:2-3).

With that in mind, what is Isaiah/Paul saying?  Two things!  Remember, this is Isaiah writing to Israel, but if we Rightly Divide - Just Right, we can see Paul hinting at the church (very loudly in this case):

To the body of Christ, Paul is saying there is a woman (heavenly Jerusalem) who is currently desolate (without her citizens), and without her husband (the LORD hasn't yet exercised full dominion - Rev 12:7-9).  BUT!  She somehow has children without labor (without desctruction)!  This should make sense, because to deliver a child with pain is new, and perhaps only applies to earthly women while cursed (Gen 3:16).

To Israel, Isaiah is saying there is a woman (earthly Jerusalem) who is currently desolate (her children are slaves/exiles), and without her husband (the Messiah is not yet ruling).  It sounds like Isaiah is comforting the children of Israel during the second half of the 70th Week, when Jerusalem becomes desolate, after the abomination that causes desolation.  This is when the false-messiah turns on Israel and commits an abominable act that causes her children to flee the land (Dan 9:27, Matt 24:15-21).  At that time, Mystery Babylon is the one who "has a husband"... in other words, her ruler is ruling and her citizens are in the land at peace, just prior to her judgment (Rev 17-18).

Now we can finally understand why this statement is so derogatory (from Rev 18:7):

“Now then, listen, you lover of pleasure,

    lounging in your security

and saying to yourself,

    ‘I am, and there is none besides me.

I will never be a widow

    or suffer the loss of children.’

9 Both of these will overtake you

    in a moment, on a single day:

    loss of children and widowhood.

They will come upon you in full measure,

    in spite of your many sorceries

    and all your potent spells.  Isaiah 47:8-9

Satanic Mystery Babylon is taunting God Himself (Is 46:9) and mocking Jerusalem's plight: her ruler is absent; her citizens are absent or no more.

Reviewing the new terms:

• Widow - a change of rulership away from the ruler, and/or the loss/exile of her citizens; desolation
• Child - a citizen of a land
• Labor - the pain, sorrow, and agony from coming into a land; destruction

Okay.  With this understanding, other parts of scripture may begin to come to life.  And some of it should sound eerily familiar.  Perhaps there have been prophetic stories buried within real life stories all along.  These thoughts below are still a work in progress. What do you think?  What do you see?

Naomi, Ruth, and Boaz

Students of prophecy should be familiar with the prophetic nature of this story.  Tying it in with what we just discovered, let's list out the major characters, and the parts/roles they play.

• Boaz = Jesus
• Naomi = the land of Israel
• Elimelek = the LORD God
• Ruth = believers in Jesus
• Orpah = unbelievers?
• Mahlon/Kilion = the children of Israel

Replaying and reconsidering the major prophetic story points:

• Naomi is exiled from her land, and widowed
• 10 years pass
• Naomi and Ruth return to Israel, but do not yet posses their land
• Ruth cares for Naomi by working the field of Boaz during the barley and wheat harvests
• Boaz marries Ruth and redeems Naomi's property as ruler

We can now see a deeper story being told:

• The Jews are dispersed from Israel, losing their Ruler
• The widowhood of Israel nears its end... with similar ratios of time!  Let's explore this momentarily:
• Story of Ruth:
• Time of exile = ~10 years
• Time of barley and wheat harvests = ~5 months (0.4167 years)
• 0.4167 / 10 = 0.0417
• One possible reality:
• Time of national Israel exile = ~1916 years (1948-32)
• Nation of Israel existence before Jesus rules = 84 (2032-1948)
• 84 / 1916 = 0.0438
• Caution: all these numbers are just for fun, so take it with a grain of salt.  But it is noteworthy that they can be even closer together if we adjust the Ruth exile and/or harvest times within reason.  Examples:
• Ruth harvests: (5 months + 1 week) = (5*30 + 7) / 360 = 0.4361
• 0.4361 / 10 = 0.0436
• Ruth exile: 9.5 years... the ratio is now spot on:
• 0.4167 / 9.5 = 0.0438
• The nation of Israel is reformed, but Jesus does not yet rule over it
• The body of Christ cares for Israel while working Jesus' field during the barley harvest; the Jewish remnant and tribulation saints during the wheat harvest
• Jesus marries the church (heavenly and earthly) and rules Jerusalem (heavenly and earthly)

Jacob, Rachel, and Leah

In Genesis 29-30+, we see a prophetic story of Jacob and his two brides.  Let's review the major story points, and see their potential prophetic parallels:

• Jacob was on mission to marry Rachel after working seven years
• He ends up marrying Leah at the beginning of the bridal week
• He ends up marrying Rachel at the end of the bridal week
• Jacob works another seven years, and presumably these begin concurrently:
• Rachel desired to conceive, but could not, and was jealous of Leah
• Undesirable Leah desired her husband, and was enabled to conceive first

Actual reality being described?

• The LORD's mission was to bring salvation to the world via Israel (Is 49:6)
• And along the way He picks up a part-gentile bride: the church, the body of Christ.  Just like Jesus intended to revive Jairus' daughter, and heals a sick gentile woman along the way (Mk 5:21–43, Matt 9:18–26, Lk 8:40–56)
• After the rapture, Jesus will betroth the Jewish remnant bride, marrying her at the end of the 70th Week
• The 70th Week commences
• Israel desired to give birth to salvation, but didn't (Is 26:18), will be jealous of the body of Christ (Rom 11:11)
• The undesirable part-gentile nation (Deut 32:21, Zeph 2:1-3 NKJV), the church of this age, will give birth first

It would seem a prophetic pattern is beginning to emerge: there are TWO women... TWO brides.  One represents Israel and the earth, the other represents the body of Christ and heaven.  We have already seen a similar paradigm with Sarah and Hagar, mentioned above.  There is also another TWO: there are TWO children representing Israel and the church.  I highly recommend reading through Jeff's post about this at unsealed.org:

Birthday Break-Away: The Perez Prophecy And The Male-Child Of Revelation 12:5.

The Woman with Five Husbands

Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.”

11 “Sir,” the woman said, “you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? 12 Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his livestock?”

13 Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

15 The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.”

16 He told her, “Go, call your husband and come back.”

17 “I have no husband,” she replied.

Jesus said to her, “You are right when you say you have no husband. 18 The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.”  John 4:13-18 (NIV)

This is incredible to me.  In this short dialog, you can almost HEAR the conversation taking place between the LORD God and Israel.  It's almost as if this could be the dialog:

The LORD:  I am here as your Messiah to offer my Life to you.  If you accept Me, I will write my law on your heart by my Spirit.

Israel:  Deep down, I don't enjoy the sacrificial system.  It is burdensome having to continually offer sacrifices all the time.  What are my next steps?

The LORD:  You have had five previous kingdoms rule over you, and right now you only partially rule yourself.  I am with you right now.  You just need to call upon My name.  I am your Husband.  Come back to Me.

And we know the rest of the story.  Israel declined.  In fact, she will take on one more false-husband-lover before she turns back to the LORD.  Could we know when this next relationship takes place?  Maybe.  Read the next section.

Anna the Prophetess and Baby Jesus

For this one, if we take the NIV at face value, we end up with an interesting discovery.

There was also a prophet, Anna, the daughter of Penuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, 37 and then was a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. 38 Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem. Luke 2:36-38 (NIV)

This is what the text is saying:

• Anna married a man
• The marriage lasted 7 years
• Then she became a widow until she was 84
• The Messiah entered the world

Anna clearly represents Israel/Jerusalem.  This could be a major end-time clue:

• Israel will take on a new ruler
• This new ruler will rule for 7 years
• Then Israel will become desolate until she is 84
• The Messiah would return to the world when Israel is 84

How about some ASCII art as a visual? (AOD = abomination of desolation)

 73      77      80      84
2021    2025    2029    2032
 |       |       |       |
 |       |       |       |
 +<--new rule-->AOD------+
         |               |
         |<--70th Week-->|

So if the logic is not mistaken: Israel will get a some sort of new ruler (or perhaps full authority over her land?) that will last 7 years, fitting with Anna's 7 year prophetic marriage, beginning when Israel is 73.

It would also mean the 70th Week would start when Israel is 77.  Do you remember what Jesus said about how many times to forgive someone?

Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?”

22 Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times. Matthew 18:21-22 (NIV)

As this source explains, if Jesus was quoting the Hebrew text, the number used was 77.  If He was quoting the septuagint, it was 70*7 = 490.  I find this very interesting.  All of this is why I used 84 in the Ruth exploration above.  It would be unsurprising for the LORD to begin to deal with Israel once again at the age of 77.

[------- EDIT: Feb 3rd, 2019.  Of course this is no coincidence, but just after I posted yesterday, I watched Barry Scarbrough's newly posted video, where he went over the two fold fulfillment of Daniel's 70 Week prophecy.  He reviews the idea that Suleiman's decree of 1535 is another fulfillment of the 70 Weeks of years, in which 2018-2019 is the 483rd, and the 70th Week is about to start.  Now, this wasn't new to me.  I remember when Daniel Matson first published the idea here.

But something hit me this morning: perhaps it is more specific than just a primary and secondary fulfillment.  Keeping in line with seeing both Israel and the body of Christ in scripture, Daniel 9 could be describing the final 70 Weeks of Israel in the plain text, and in a more hidden way, simultaneously describing the final 70 Weeks of the part-gentile body of Christ.  Israel's began in 445 BC and was interrupted.  Perhaps ours began in 1535 and is contiguous.  TWO separate 7 year blocks of time.  TWO separate 70th Weeks.  Back to back.

Right now, the LORD is not working through Israel.  This turning point comes at the start of the 70th Week of Israel.  Perhaps these hidden 70 Weeks for us are describing the final time period of the fullness of the gentiles (Rom 11:25).  Meaning, we are here for our 70th Week just like Israel will be here for hers.  Just think about what the rapture means to the body of Christ.  Can we not see the shadows and hints of the the body of Christ, the heavenly Jerusalem, the throne room of God, and the completion the church age in the following verse?

“Seventy ‘sevens’ are decreed for your people and your holy city to finish transgression, to put an end to sin, to atone for wickedness, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the Most Holy Place.  Daniel 9:24

Now let's rewind to Matthew 18:22.  The septuagint was a text written in the language of the gentiles.  If Jesus was quoting it, then He said "70 times 7", which is 490.  The end of the 490 year time frame mentioned above is 2025 (1535 + 490), THE SAME YEAR Israel turns 77, the very number of the Hebrew text, or "77 times".  So if this idea is correct, our 70th Week is not the same as Israel's.  It would mean our 70th Week is NOW.  This could be our final 7 years.
-------]

But, like me, you might feel sadness if this is correct, because it would mean more waiting for our Blessed Hope (Titus 2:13).  I recommend staying watchful at all times.  As with any of us speculating about dates and times, we could all be way off.  Maybe this is all intended to throw off the enemy!  So be prepared and expectant for Jesus to come get us at any moment.  As I have told the LORD often:

LORD... I'd rather be raptured than right.

But if the LORD does intend to keep us here a little longer, it means Life for the world, because He lives in us by His Spirit.  Ask your heavenly Father personally what He desires for you while you rest in Him, and wait.  For me, He has given encouragement, hope, and expectation of what may occur between now and His return.  An exciting post for another time if we are still here.

The Meaning For Us

As much time as we have spent going over the plain text application to the earthly nation of Israel, and the underlying hints at the heavenly, many-membered body of Christ, there is an application to each of us individually.

First, let us consider the (eventual) dominion of the LORD over the earth.

• Earth will be under His rule, yet He will reside in the country of Israel
• Israel will be under His rule, yet He will reside in the city of Jerusalem
• Jerusalem will be under His rule, yet He will reside in the Millennial Temple

All His territory, His land, His dominion.  What does Paul say about our bodies?

Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.  1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (NIV)

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.  Romans 12:1 (NIV)

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.  Colossians 3:15 (NIV)

It is fascinating that our very bodies are the one place where the woman, husband, and child meaningfully intersect.  In submission, we offer the land, city, and temple of our bodies and hearts to the LORD.  We desire Him to rule and reign over us as a Husband when we accept Christ.  We then become a newborn creation of God (2 Cor 5:17).  But just like Israel will experience, our individual pain, sorrow, and labor that our flesh experiences often begins only after the birth of this new, inner man, as Christ conquers more and more territory in us (Is 66:7, Acts 14:22, Eph 3:16).

[------- EDIT: Feb 16th, 2019.  BONUS!!!  Congrats if you made it this far!  James Smith discovered the woman, husband, child pattern to describe the 70th Week in 1 Samuel 1-8, as explained in this YouTube video.  It would seem Elkanah, Peninnah, and Hannah are also types and shadows!
-------]