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Gen. 37:9-10
9 And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it his brethren, and said, Behold, I have
dreamed a dream more; and, behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made
obeisance to me.
10 And he told [it] to his father, and to his brethren: and his father rebuked him, and
said unto him, What [is] this dream that thou hast dreamed? Shall I and thy mother and thy
brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee to the earth?
As to the "great wonder in heaven," it has to be a wonder to the
inhabitants of heaven that God would go to all the time and trouble of creating man with
all of his complexities, as well as the fullness of the earth (We have yet to discover all
that He created), and the vastness of space (worlds without end and a seemingly boundless
space) all for man's benefit when they consider, that for the most part, man wants nothing
to do with Him. And they must especially wonder at rebellious, idolatrous Israel
— the seed of God's friend Abraham. For centuries, the heavenly citizens have
had to look on as God revealed Himself and His love to this nation chosen in Abraham, when
more often than not, Israel has returned His kindness and love by playing the part of a
harlot. But the greatest wonder of all has to be that He would send His Only
Begotten Son to die for them, knowing that they would be the ones who would have His Son
crucified.
...a woman clothed with the sun,
This is an expression meaning that the faithful of Israel are / will be
covered by the righteousness of Christ.
Ps. 84:11 For the LORD God is a sun and
shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that
walk uprightly.
Again, we see the grace and mercy of God. Even though man crucified
His Only Begotten Son, this was foreknown by the Godhead from the foundations of the
world. On the Cross Christ took upon Himself the sin of the world and made available
His righteousness for whosoever will receive Him as Lord and Savior — including the
Jews that had Him crucified.
Luke 23:4; 20-34
4 Then said Pilate to the chief priests and [to] the people, I find no fault in this man.
...
20 Pilate therefore, willing to release Jesus, spake again to them.
21 But they cried, saying, Crucify [him], crucify him.
22 And he said unto them the third time, Why, what evil hath he done? I have found no
cause of death in him: I will therefore chastise him, and let [him] go.
23 And they were instant with loud voices, requiring that he might be crucified. And the
voices of them and of the chief priests prevailed.
24 And Pilate gave sentence that it should be as they required.
25 And he released unto them him that for sedition and murder was cast into prison, whom
they had desired; but he delivered Jesus to their will.
26 And as they led him away, they laid hold upon one Simon, a Cyrenian, coming out
of the country, and on him they laid the cross, that he might bear [it] after Jesus.
27 And there followed him a great company of people, and of women, which also bewailed and
lamented him.
28 But Jesus turning unto them said, Daughters of Jerusalem, weep
not for me, but weep for yourselves, and for your children.
29 For, behold, the days are coming, in the which they shall say, Blessed [are] the
barren, and the wombs that never bare, and the paps which never gave suck.
30 Then shall they begin to say to the mountains, Fall on us; and to the hills, Cover us.
31 For if they do these things in a green tree, what shall be done in the dry?
32 And there were also two other, malefactors, led with him to be put to death.
33 And when they were come to the place, which is called Calvary, there they crucified
him, and the malefactors, one on the right hand, and the other on the left.
34 Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what
they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots.
...and the moon under her feet,
As the moon reflects the light of the sun to the earth in the natural, so
have the churches (the "called-out ones" — Israel and the New Testament
Church) been chosen to reflected the Light of Heaven to the rest of mankind. In this
instance the moon symbolizes Israel.
This expression "under her feet" means Israel has wielded power over
something. During the Age of Promise and the
Age of the Law, Israel had the moon under her feet: i.e., the
Israelites had the option of walking with God and letting their neighbors see their
"light," or they had the option of turning their backs on God and walking in
darkness. A study of the Old Testament will show that they chose to live in darkness
more than light. (During our age, the Age of Grace, the New
Testament Church has been the "moon" of prophecy; but the Church has not always
walked in light. (One particular period in history wherein she failed to do so has
even been labeled the "dark ages" by secular historians.) Also, we're told
that at the end of our age, the Church will fail to "let her light shine" in a
big way: i.e., when she enters into the great "falling away" from the Word just
prior to the Rapture of the Church.[II Thes. 2:3].)
During the Kingdom Age, we are not sure who all will be the
"moon" to "reflect" the light of heaven; for as we've said, we're told
very little about the Kingdom Age. It does seem that the Jews who will have come
through the awful time of tribulation and the 1st 1/2 of Daniel's 70th Week will reflect
the Light of their new-found Messiah. This will probably include their offspring as
well.. (I can't find what status the believing Gentiles of the Kingdom Age will have. Nor
can I find a Kingdom Age, Gentile church mentioned in prophecy other than the glorified
one.) Since the Light of the World (Jesus) will be on the earth once more walking
among men, I don't know just how much light the Kingdom Age Jews will need to
reflect. More than likely, like the Jews of Joseph's day, they will enjoy some sort
of special status because of their relationship to Abraham. (Remember, Joseph's
family was blessed when they first went to Egypt because of Joseph, and because of God's
promise to Abraham, not because of their belief and obedience.) Once again during
the Kingdom Age, God will honor his promises concerning the Jewish people; but His
blessings will be of grace, or "unmerited favor." Jesus will cause them to
"shine," but it will be a miracle of "grace" to a people known for
their wanderings and disobedience. They will be brought under submission to a
Theocracy government where Jesus rules from the throne of David with a rod of iron. They
will know that they are blessed because of long-ago covenants that God had with
their forefathers.
During the 3 1/2 periods of Daniel's 70th Week on either side of
the Kingdom Age, Israel will be the only "moon" left on the earth; however
it will be questionable as to just how much light she will be able to give during this
time when she will be fleeing for her life.
...and upon her head a crown of twelve stars:
In Genesis 15:1-5 God promised Abraham, who was unable to bear children,
that like the stars in the heavens, he would be unable to count his posterity for their
number. Also, like the Church, the glorified Israelites will also be given crowns for
their obedience to the Word of God. The number 12 is the signature of the churches
(24 being the number of the law / grace churches combined), and the stars in the
Scriptures stand for the wise believers who obey God and win souls (Daniel 12:3-4).
During the times when Israel has been or will be given charge of the Word of God, even the
most insignificant Hebrew who fears God and loves His ways will be as a "star"
because they do their part to help maintain and perpetuate the Scriptures — the
"seed" that produces eternal life in the believing soul.
2 And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and
pained to be delivered.
To understand Israel's travailing, we need to be aware that just as there
are two churches during our age — i.e., the born-again church and the "law"
church composed of trash fish and tares [See Mt. 13:47-50 cf. Mt. 13:25-40.] — so
have there been two Israel's: those with the faith of Father Abraham and those with their
hearts fixed on the world. It was given to the faithful Hebrews at the time of our
Lord's Visitation to travail with God and to bring the Child (Christ Jesus) into the
world.
Isa 7:13-14
And he said, Hear ye now, O house of David; [Is it] a small thing for you to weary men,
but will ye weary my God also?
Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and
bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
Mat 1:
18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was
espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.
19 Then Joseph her husband, being a just [man], and not willing to make her a publick
example, was minded to put her away privily.
20 But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him
in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife:
for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.
21 And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save
his people from their sins.
22 Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the
prophet, saying,
23 Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call
his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.
However, for the end-time Jews of the Grace-Age dispersion, there will be
another travailing. It will be given unto them to travail to bring forth their own
children. The next verse places this travailing at the end of our age when the
Israelites hear the trump, when they see the lightning's flash at the time of the Rapture,
when they mourn as one as they realize that Christ Jesus is their Messiah, and when they
understand that they have been opposing the very One they have been waiting for.
(Note that the man child had already been delivered to the world before
this travailing: i.e., during the Visitation when there was "no room for Him at the
inn" and the virgin Mary birthed Him in a stable.)
Isa 66:7-8
Before she travailed, she brought forth; before her pain came, she was
delivered of a man child.
Who hath heard such a thing? who hath seen such things? Shall the earth be made to bring
forth in one day? [or] shall a nation be born at once? for as soon as Zion travailed, she
brought forth her children.
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