I have been asked a number of times what I think about the prophecy of Revelation 12 and the astronomical event this coming September 23rd 2017. Is there prophetic significance to this event? This issue has taken the Bible prophecy world by storm, to say the least. There are a number of factors to examine on this issue. In a couple of weeks there is a California production company flying out to Jersey to interview yours truly on these issues. They are producing a major television documentary on this Bible prophecy issue. They know that the book of Revelation is my special area of scholarly research, so I told them I am happy to give them an interview, but I would be interested in focusing on talking about the various interpretations of this text throughout church history up to the present day, whether this passage is talking about the rapture, and provide my opinion on the astronomical phenomenon.
(You can follow my ongoing series critiquing Scott Clarke’s “Great Sign of Revelation 12” theory at this link.)
“Then a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, and with the moon under her feet, and on her head was a crown of twelve stars. She was pregnant and was screaming in labor pains, struggling to give birth. Then another sign appeared in heaven: a huge red dragon that had seven heads and ten horns, and on its heads were seven diadem crowns. Now the dragon’s tail swept away a third of the stars in heaven and hurled them to the earth. Then the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that he might devour her child as soon as it was born. So the woman gave birth to a son, a male child, who is going to rule over all the nations with an iron rod. Her child was suddenly caught up to God and to his throne, and she fled into the wilderness where a place had been prepared for her by God, so she could be taken care of for 1,260 days.” (Rev 12:1–6 NET)
