Truth Matters: 11 16 21

This is Truth Matters! Daily Devotion with Dr. Cheryl Davis. Truth Matters is a ministry of The Truth Project whose mission is to empower men and women in the Christian faith to teach Biblical truth in the culture and the marketplace of ideas, using the Bible as a sacred trust of truth in sharing the message of Jesus. Learn more about the ministry of The Truth Project at www.projecttruthmatters.com. Today we get into symbolism and the mysterious woman.

Here's your host. There's a lot of debate about her identity. We're going to get into who she is. If you read the media or you scan the internet, Christian Science Religion founder Mary Baker Glover Patterson Eddy says that it is her. The Catholic Church teaches that the woman represents the Virgin Mary who is in heaven in bodily form following her assumption. An assumption is when you're taken into heaven when the course of her life was finished.

There are quite a few issues with this. We know that it's not the Christian Science Religion founder, so I'm not necessarily going to defend that, but there are quite a few issues with this being Mary though. Mary had already birthed Jesus before she was ascended into heaven. Some Protestants teach that this woman is the modern day church, but the church did not birth Christ.

The church is his bride. The correct identity of this woman, and really when you read verses 1 and 2, if you use context clues as far as the history of the Israel nation, is Israel. Israel is often described by the prophets as a woman in travail. In Romans 9 verse 5 Paul points out that Christ came from a Jewish nation and we know that Jesus was a Jew. Christ is pictured here being born of a woman and that woman is the nation of Israel. So how do we know that?

We know that based on the history of Israel. Chapter 37 verse 9 and this is the interesting story of Joseph who we know as Joseph the Dreamer. Chapter 37 records his dreams of greatness. Verse 9 says, Joseph was the dreamer and in this case Jacob was the sun. Jacob's wife Rachel was the moon and his brothers were the stars.

Verse 1 let me call that out again. Verse 1 the woman is clothed with the sun which we know is Jacob whose name was later turned to Israel. We know that Rachel is the moon under her feet and on her head a garland of 12 stars which are the 12 tribes of Israel. And in Joseph's dream there were 11 those were his brothers. Joseph is the 12th star.

The first sign in chapter 12 the nation of Israel symbolized by a woman trying to give birth to a child who is the Lord Jesus Christ. For more information on these messages on demand go to ProjectTruthMatters.com and click on the podcast link. Dr. Davis is also available to speak to your ministry group or church function. She can be reached by email at CherylDavis at ProjectTruthMatters.com or if you'd like to send a letter the address is Project Truth Matters post office box 159 St. Paul's North Carolina 28384. You can hear Truth Matters weekdays on this radio station at 820 a.m. and 520 p.m. for the full length teaching program on Saturday afternoon at 1230. Until next time let's all work together to teach a biblical truth to assist, equip, edify and encourage one another and bring the gospel to the world because truth matters. you