JOHN PRATT - THE WAR WITH THE DRAGON AND EARLY (RESTORED) CHURCH HISTORY

Folks, this is good stuff - although hard to follow.  He could not be accused of sitting around on his pratt and doing nothing.....

This guy is WAY into his calendars - and therefore, you really have to dig into it to get some good stuff out of it.  He seems to point to 2017 as a significant year - and specifically the day I start my personal Jubilee year (I have snap-shotted the best portion of the info):

http://johnpratt.com/items/docs/2016/clothed_with_sun.html

3.2 Date of the Birth

Birth of Kingdom of God on Passover

The precise date of the official birth of the Kingdom is perhaps indicated by the pattern shown at the birth of Jesus Christ: it was born on the Passover following the sign of the heralding of the year.
Did anything of importance occur on Passover of the year 1833? It was indeed a date so significant that one of my earlier articles opined that if the date of the birth of the restored Church (Tue 6 Apr 1830) had not been known, that the most likely date as indicated by sacred calendars would have been Sat 6 Apr 1833, which was Passover that year. One of the reasons for that choice was that the day was both 6 Apr the day to celebrate the birth of the Savior on our calendar and also Passover, also a date to celebrate His birth. In fact, it was Passover on both the Hebrew Calendar and also the Enoch Calendar. Moreover the article in which this was discussed noted that every year is named as a day on the Enoch Calendar, and that year was PASSOVER (all capitals indicates a year). Finally, it was noted that it had been exactly 1,803 years (a "saros century") since the beginning of the Savior's public ministry on Sat 6 Apr 30. That is an interval in which the Hebrew Calendar exactly repeats. Thus, there was a long section in that 2002 article with little to say that actually happened on that day except that there was a general conference of the church held in Zion (Independence, Missouri).^[12]
Now the significance of that date becomes more clear. It appears now that an event occurred which was even more important than the birth of the Church. That is, the date of birth of the man child representing the Kingdom of God is of more importance than the birth of its mother, being the Church. The Prophet Joseph summarized that day by stating: "The day was spent in a very agreeable manner, in giving and receiving knowledge which appertained to this last kingdom — it being just 1800 years since the Savior laid down his life that men might have everlasting life". He goes on to say that "they thought upon the time when this world came into existence" and "they thought of the time when Israel ate the Passover". Moreover, he said they "felt like the shepherds who watched their flocks by night" at the birth of the Savior (DHC 1:337).
Think about the significance of what he said. First he mentioned that they talked of the "kingdom", which is a bull's-eye for the current proposal. Then he confirmed that it was 1800 years since the death of Christ, which exactly matches the date proposed in my work. That may not be too significant because it also matches the most popular belief at that time. But then he talked about the creation of the world. They were thinking about beginnings and this article is proposing that it was an important beginning date. And finally, he speaks of thinking about the night of the birth of Christ and that day was Passover. It is not clear that he knew from secular sources that the day was Passover, but in any case he pondered both Passover and also the birth of Christ. That is the first (implied) suggestion known to me from anyone in history that Christ was born on Passover, which is one of the cornerstones of my chronology. It was an important date indeed and the Prophet definitely either sensed or knew that.
It is true that no clear earthly record of the birth of the Kingdom of God has been brought forth in this section to prove its date of birth. But remember, this was a kingdom founded without hands! Thus, the record of heaven has been subpoenaed to testify and it's witness is compelling when combined with that of the next two sections.

3.3 Stars Cast Down

The Night the Stars Fell

Right in the middle of this prophecy is a rather long discussion of Satan and his angels being cast down to the earth, falling like stars from heaven (v. 4). What is all of that about? It is usually considered totally out place and ignored as part of this prophecy. It is interpreted as a flashback to the pre-existence when Satan and a third part of the hosts of heaven were cast out before Adam and Eve were placed in the Garden of Eden, where Satan was allowed to tempt them.
But as stated above, prophecies can have several fulfillments. Let us suppose that the Lord did not lose his train of thought at this point and that what John saw was indeed all relevant to the prophecy. What if it actually referred to stars falling?
During the pre-dawn hours of Wed 13 Nov 1833 there occurred what was most likely the largest meteor storm ever recorded. It was seen all over the United States. The sky was so bright with bright falling stars that people were awakened believing that their house was on fire!^[13] "Meteor" is the scientific term for what are popularly called "falling stars" or "shooting stars". They are caused when particles enter the earth's atmosphere and brilliantly burn up from intense heat caused by friction. For comparison, on any given night there is about one falling star per hour. During a meteor shower, there are about 100 meteors per hour. When the earth's path takes it through a huge patch of space debris left over from the head of a shattered comet, it is called a meteor storm and there can be hundreds of thousands of falling stars per hour. The meteor storm of 13 Nov 1833 lasted at least from 2 am until dawn.
Here is what the Prophet Joseph Smith recorded both of seeing and interpreting this marvelous event:

"November 13. About 4 o'clock a.m. I was awakened by Brother Davis knocking at my door, and calling me to arise and behold the signs in the heavens. I arose, and to my great joy, beheld the stars fall from heaven like a shower of hailstones; a literal fulfillment of the word of God, as recorded in the holy Scriptures ...

"Some at times appeared like bright shooting meteors, with long trains of light following in their course, and in numbers resembled large drops of rain in sunshine. These seemed to vanish when they fell behind the trees, or came near the ground. Some of the long trains of light following the meteoric stars, were visible for some seconds; these streaks would curl and twist up like serpents writhing. The appearance was beautiful, grand, and sublime beyond description; and it seemed as if the artillery and fireworks of eternity were set in motion to enchant and entertain the Saints, and terrify and awe the sinners of the earth. Beautiful and terrific as was the scenery, it will not fully compare with the time when the sun shall become black like sack-cloth of hair, the moon like blood, and the stars fall to the earth (Rev. 6:12-13) — DHC 1:439-440.

Note that the Prophet Joseph stated that this event was a fulfillment of the word of God in the scriptures and yet still did not compare to what would happen when the usual prophecy about the stars falling would later be fulfilled. So to what prophecy did he refer that was fulfilled? One clue that he had in mind the prophecy discussed in this article is that in his translation of the Book of Revelation he placed the appearance of the dragon after the birth of the man child. That fits with the stars falling a few months after the birth of the Kingdom of God.
The fact that this incredibly rare event occurred just a year after the sign proposed to herald the birth of the Kingdom of God highly favors the date of 1832 as being the correct date of the sign. Moreover, it occurred on the very night when many saints were fleeing from the dragon and even camping out where they would see it. It appears that the entire description in the middle of the prophecy of the stars being cast down from heaven was one way to indicate exactly which date is correct of the many choices throughout history for the fulfillment of this prophecy.

3.4 Nourished for 3.5 Years

The prophecy states that when the dragon attempted to devour her child, that the woman fled into the wilderness to a place God had prepared for her. There she stayed for three and a half years where she was nourished and apparently protected from the dragon. After that time, when she was strong enough to survive it, the wrath of the dragon was unleashed upon her.
It turns out that all of these details have an exact correspondence to early LDS Church history.
First of all, the word "wilderness" in the prophecy may be a big clue. Adam and Eve were cast out of the Garden of Eden into the "wilderness". On Tue 2 Aug 1831 the Prophet Joseph Smith began to found Zion near Independence, Missouri. He also stated that the location of the original Garden of Eden had been near there. This is where the Kingdom of God would be centered, to rule the nations with the iron rod. That is, he was apparently laying the foundation for the Kingdom of God in Independence, Missouri. If so, that would be the expected place for the later birth of the Kingdom of God, which would be not in the "wilderness", but would be in Zion.
Immediately after the Sat 6 Apr 1833 birth of the Kingdom of God in Zion, on Thu 18 Apr 1833 mobs began to meet to plan how to expel the Mormons from Missouri.^[14] Talk about the dragon being there waiting to devour the infant just after his birth! Then on Tue 23 Jul 1833 a mob forced the saints to sign an agreement that they would be out the state by the end of that year. The persecution kept mounting and by November many were fleeing mobs. On the night of 12-13 Nov 1833, the Night the Stars Fell, many of the saints were sleeping outdoors on the banks of the Missouri River, having just crossed it to safety.

Saints fleeing from the dragon as stars fell

Think about that. On the very night that several hundred saints were being driven out of Missouri, the sign was given which appears to be the very one predicted in the prophecy in Revelation. They were fleeing out the Garden of Eden area into "the wilderness". Was this not the woman fleeing? And whither into the wilderness did the Church of God flee? She fled to a place which God had prepared for her in Kirtland, Ohio.
There the Church was nourished for about three and a half years. Previously, on Sun 11 Sep 1831 the Lord had declared that Kirtland would be a "strong hold" of the church for five years (D&C 64:21). That period would end in Sep 1836. As persecution mounted in Missouri there were three and a half of those five years left. During that time there was no persecution there and most of the revelations in the Doctrine and Covenants were given before that period ended (111 of 138). It culminated with the dedication and acceptance by the Lord of the Kirtland temple.
One interesting confirmation of this proposed scenario is that in the dedicatory prayer on the Kirtland temple, it was mentioned that the Church there in Kirtland was indeed in the "wilderness" (D&C 109:73)
The Prophet Joseph commented that Satan would not be allowed to tempt them during that time but added, however, that soon after that Satan would be loosed. After the dedication of the temple, Daniel Tyler recorded:

All felt that they had a foretaste of heaven. In fact, there were several weeks in which we were not tempted of the devil; and we wondered whether the millennium had commenced.... the Prophet Joseph ... said: "Brethren, for some time Satan has not had power to tempt you. Some have thought that there would be no more temptation. But the opposite is true, and unless you draw near to the Lord you will be overcome and apostatize."^[15]

Think about that. During how many periods of history can it truly be said that Satan had no power to tempt someone? The fact that his statement matches exactly the proposed 3.5 year period during which the Bible states that the woman would be protected from Satan is a huge confirmation that the proposed dates are correct.

Great visions in the Kirtland temple
(by Walter Rane)

In all of my research, the period of 3.5 years usually has a special meaning. It often refers to the period of 11 cycles of the planet Mercury, usually counted between holy days, as was true of the the 3.5 years of the Lord's mortal ministry. A period of 1,260 days equals 42 months of 30 days. All twelve months on the Enoch Calendar have 30 days. It also has 4 extra days which are not to be counted in many calculations (Enoch 74:2), so it is a likely candidate to be the implied calendar. A search for dates which are holy days on both the Mercury Calendar and also on the Enoch or Uniform Enoch Calendars yield two dates separated by 3.5 years to mark what might be called the "Golden Age" of Kirtland. The opening date is the morning of Sun 12 May 1833. That day was 1 Storm (Sacred Round), 1 Fulness (Mercury), 1 Summer (U. Enoch), and the day of the star representing Perseus (Star Calendar), which in turn represents Joseph Smith. The date of 1 Fulness also seems symbolic as it represents the Fulness of the Priesthood which had to have been restored before the Kingdom of God could have been born.^[16] If so, the Golden Age ended on the morning of Sun 6 Nov 1836, which was 1 Reed (SR), 1 Fulness (M), 1 Winter (UE). It was also the date of the star named "Wanting" which is in the higher tray of the scale of the Balance (Libra), meaning man was weighed in the balance and found wanting (Dan. 5:27). That is exactly 1,260 counted days in the 42 months and also exactly 3.5 years on the Uniform Enoch Calendar. The two stars which begin and end the interval seem perfectly chosen.
Early in 1837 all the forces of hell broke loose in Kirtland. Hundreds apostatized from the church and by January 1838 the Prophet Joseph and those who still believed he was a prophet fled for their lives from Kirtland, Ohio, to Far West, Missouri. By April 1838, all of the three witnesses of the Book of Mormon and half of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles had been excommunicated. The Church barely survived even though it had had all that time to be nourished and strengthened.
That LDS history matches the revelation perfectly. The woman was nourished out of the reach of Satan for 3.5 years. Then when she was strong enough not to totally succumb, Satan was released. So what power had been binding Satan? That might well have been the war between Michael and Satan mentioned in the prophecy.
Thus, many details of LDS Church history match precise events mentioned in the prophecy including the Night the Stars Fell and a 3.5-year Golden Age of the Church in Kirtland after which the dragon was allowed to attack it. Details of just how and when the newborn but elusive Kingdom of God was taken to heaven are not clear at this time.

4. 2017: Heralding Rebirth?

 

Fig. 7. Heralding Kingdom's Rebirth?
(Click to enlarge)

Several Christian ministers have been popularizing the importance of what appears to be a fulfillment of this prophecy of the woman and the dragon next year on Sat 23 Sep 2017.