Several of the podcasters I listened to this week referred the story of the woman who is cast into the wilderness in Revelation 12. I am not sure why. Maybe there are some key words in this chapter that refer back to the passage in Revelation, but if so, they aren't super obvious to me. More than one commentator talked about it, so there must be something there.
In that story the woman is about to give birth (Revelation 12:2) but as soon as her child is born it is taken up to heaven. Then the woman flees into the wilderness (v. 6) where is she protected while the dragon fights against Michael and his hosts. Once the war is over the dragon his hurled to earth. He then pursues the woman, but she is miraculously saved and preserved (v. 15). Then when the dark ages are over, she is brought out of the desert and enthroned with the Lamb (21:9). The podcasters compared this to the apostacy and restoration. The true church is the woman, who, after Jesus is taken into heaven, has to flee and hide because of persecution. This leads to apostacy which is represented by the desert. The restoration is when the church is restored by Joseph Smith and takes its place as God's true church. I think that is a good interpretation of this scripture, but I think the image doesn't just have one interpretation.
I tried to think up all the times this pattern was reenacted. To be clear, this is the pattern
1. a start-up group of people bring forth something great but then immediately has to flee into the wilderness for safety.
2. While in the wilderness they are protected and nurtured.
3. When they are strong enough, they emerge from hiding.
4. They are then ready to take their place next to God.
The first place this happens is when the children of Israel, while still a small group, produce the Abrahamic covenant and religion, but within a few generations descend into Egypt so they won't die due to a famine. There in the wilderness, although enslaved, they grow into a mighty nation. When they get strong enough they are lead out of Egypt into the Promised Land. They eventually conquer the people of the Promised Land establishing Jehovah worship at the temple as the dominant culture.
Most Christian religions see the woman figure as Mary, who watches over the church between the time of Jesus' death until his return. It is she who will join Jesus on the throne at his second coming.
It happens again with the Latter-Day Saints. While small, the church produces the Book of Mormon and establishes a church. It is then driven out of the USA and hides in the desert of Deseret, protected and safe from the Civil War. In recent decades we have seen it then emerge from obscurity to become a major force for good in the world.
This further confirms what I wrote in my last blog. It really was essential for the continued success of the church to leave civilization and set up camp in Utah. The whole Doctrine and Covenants document key events in that process. There they were able to grow in both size and cultural identity until now, we have gone to almost all the world, trying to bring people back to Christ.
I am curious if there are other instances of this pattern. It feels like an archetype--like the wilderness journey, and the hero's journey--to me. I will have to keep my eye open for it.
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